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_id	ga0026
id	ga0026
authors	Ransen, Owen F.
year	2000
title	Possible Futures in Computer Art Generation
source	International Conference on Generative Art
summary	Years of trying to create an "Image Idea Generator" program have convinced me that the perfect solution would be to have an artificial artistic person, a design slave. This paper describes how I came to that conclusion, realistic alternatives, and briefly, how it could possibly happen. 1. The history of Repligator and Gliftic 1.1 Repligator In 1996 I had the idea of creating an “image idea generator”. I wanted something which would create images out of nothing, but guided by the user. The biggest conceptual problem I had was “out of nothing”. What does that mean? So I put aside that problem and forced the user to give the program a starting image. This program eventually turned into Repligator, commercially described as an “easy to use graphical effects program”, but actually, to my mind, an Image Idea Generator. The first release came out in October 1997. In December 1998 I described Repligator V4 [1] and how I thought it could be developed away from simply being an effects program. In July 1999 Repligator V4 won the Shareware Industry Awards Foundation prize for "Best Graphics Program of 1999". Prize winners are never told why they won, but I am sure that it was because of two things: 1) Easy of use 2) Ease of experimentation "Ease of experimentation" means that Repligator does in fact come up with new graphics ideas. Once you have input your original image you can generate new versions of that image simply by pushing a single key. Repligator is currently at version 6, but, apart from adding many new effects and a few new features, is basically the same program as version 4. Following on from the ideas in [1] I started to develop Gliftic, which is closer to my original thoughts of an image idea generator which "starts from nothing". The Gliftic model of images was that they are composed of three components: 1. Layout or form, for example the outline of a mandala is a form. 2. Color scheme, for example colors selected from autumn leaves from an oak tree. 3. Interpretation, for example Van Gogh would paint a mandala with oak tree colors in a different way to Andy Warhol. There is a Van Gogh interpretation and an Andy Warhol interpretation. Further I wanted to be able to genetically breed images, for example crossing two layouts to produce a child layout. And the same with interpretations and color schemes. If I could achieve this then the program would be very powerful. 1.2 Getting to Gliftic Programming has an amazing way of crystalising ideas. If you want to put an idea into practice via a computer program you really have to understand the idea not only globally, but just as importantly, in detail. You have to make hard design decisions, there can be no vagueness, and so implementing what I had decribed above turned out to be a considerable challenge. I soon found out that the hardest thing to do would be the breeding of forms. What are the "genes" of a form? What are the genes of a circle, say, and how do they compare to the genes of the outline of the UK? I wanted the genotype representation (inside the computer program's data) to be directly linked to the phenotype representation (on the computer screen). This seemed to be the best way of making sure that bred-forms would bare some visual relationship to their parents. I also wanted symmetry to be preserved. For example if two symmetrical objects were bred then their children should be symmetrical. I decided to represent shapes as simply closed polygonal shapes, and the "genes" of these shapes were simply the list of points defining the polygon. Thus a circle would have to be represented by a regular polygon of, say, 100 sides. The outline of the UK could easily be represented as a list of points every 10 Kilometers along the coast line. Now for the important question: what do you get when you cross a circle with the outline of the UK? I tried various ways of combining the "genes" (i.e. coordinates) of the shapes, but none of them really ended up producing interesting shapes. And of the methods I used, many of them, applied over several "generations" simply resulted in amorphous blobs, with no distinct family characteristics. Or rather maybe I should say that no single method of breeding shapes gave decent results for all types of images. Figure 1 shows an example of breeding a mandala with 6 regular polygons: Figure 1 Mandala bred with array of regular polygons I did not try out all my ideas, and maybe in the future I will return to the problem, but it was clear to me that it is a non-trivial problem. And if the breeding of shapes is a non-trivial problem, then what about the breeding of interpretations? I abandoned the genetic (breeding) model of generating designs but retained the idea of the three components (form, color scheme, interpretation). 1.3 Gliftic today Gliftic Version 1.0 was released in May 2000. It allows the user to change a form, a color scheme and an interpretation. The user can experiment with combining different components together and can thus home in on an personally pleasing image. Just as in Repligator, pushing the F7 key make the program choose all the options. Unlike Repligator however the user can also easily experiment with the form (only) by pushing F4, the color scheme (only) by pushing F5 and the interpretation (only) by pushing F6. Figures 2, 3 and 4 show some example images created by Gliftic. Figure 2 Mandala interpreted with arabesques Figure 3 Trellis interpreted with "graphic ivy" Figure 4 Regular dots interpreted as "sparks" 1.4 Forms in Gliftic V1 Forms are simply collections of graphics primitives (points, lines, ellipses and polygons). The program generates these collections according to the user's instructions. Currently the forms are: Mandala, Regular Polygon, Random Dots, Random Sticks, Random Shapes, Grid Of Polygons, Trellis, Flying Leap, Sticks And Waves, Spoked Wheel, Biological Growth, Chequer Squares, Regular Dots, Single Line, Paisley, Random Circles, Chevrons. 1.5 Color Schemes in Gliftic V1 When combining a form with an interpretation (described later) the program needs to know what colors it can use. The range of colors is called a color scheme. Gliftic has three color scheme types: 1. Random colors: Colors for the various parts of the image are chosen purely at random. 2. Hue Saturation Value (HSV) colors: The user can choose the main hue (e.g. red or yellow), the saturation (purity) of the color scheme and the value (brightness/darkness) . The user also has to choose how much variation is allowed in the color scheme. A wide variation allows the various colors of the final image to depart a long way from the HSV settings. A smaller variation results in the final image using almost a single color. 3. Colors chosen from an image: The user can choose an image (for example a JPG file of a famous painting, or a digital photograph he took while on holiday in Greece) and Gliftic will select colors from that image. Only colors from the selected image will appear in the output image. 1.6 Interpretations in Gliftic V1 Interpretation in Gliftic is best decribed with a few examples. A pure geometric line could be interpreted as: 1) the branch of a tree 2) a long thin arabesque 3) a sequence of disks 4) a chain, 5) a row of diamonds. An pure geometric ellipse could be interpreted as 1) a lake, 2) a planet, 3) an eye. Gliftic V1 has the following interpretations: Standard, Circles, Flying Leap, Graphic Ivy, Diamond Bar, Sparkz, Ess Disk, Ribbons, George Haite, Arabesque, ZigZag. 1.7 Applications of Gliftic Currently Gliftic is mostly used for creating WEB graphics, often backgrounds as it has an option to enable "tiling" of the generated images. There is also a possibility that it will be used in the custom textile business sometime within the next year or two. The real application of Gliftic is that of generating new graphics ideas, and I suspect that, like Repligator, many users will only understand this later. 2. The future of Gliftic, 3 possibilties Completing Gliftic V1 gave me the experience to understand what problems and opportunities there will be in future development of the program. Here I divide my many ideas into three oversimplified possibilities, and the real result may be a mix of two or all three of them. 2.1 Continue the current development "linearly" Gliftic could grow simply by the addition of more forms and interpretations. In fact I am sure that initially it will grow like this. However this limits the possibilities to what is inside the program itself. These limits can be mitigated by allowing the user to add forms (as vector files). The user can already add color schemes (as images). The biggest problem with leaving the program in its current state is that there is no easy way to add interpretations. 2.2 Allow the artist to program Gliftic It would be interesting to add a language to Gliftic which allows the user to program his own form generators and interpreters. In this way Gliftic becomes a "platform" for the development of dynamic graphics styles by the artist. The advantage of not having to deal with the complexities of Windows programming could attract the more adventurous artists and designers. The choice of programming language of course needs to take into account the fact that the "programmer" is probably not be an expert computer scientist. I have seen how LISP (an not exactly easy artificial intelligence language) has become very popular among non programming users of AutoCAD. If, to complete a job which you do manually and repeatedly, you can write a LISP macro of only 5 lines, then you may be tempted to learn enough LISP to write those 5 lines. Imagine also the ability to publish (and/or sell) "style generators". An artist could develop a particular interpretation function, it creates images of a given character which others find appealing. The interpretation (which runs inside Gliftic as a routine) could be offered to interior designers (for example) to unify carpets, wallpaper, furniture coverings for single projects. As Adrian Ward [3] says on his WEB site: "Programming is no less an artform than painting is a technical process." Learning a computer language to create a single image is overkill and impractical. Learning a computer language to create your own artistic style which generates an infinite series of images in that style may well be attractive. 2.3 Add an artificial conciousness to Gliftic This is a wild science fiction idea which comes into my head regularly. Gliftic manages to surprise the users with the images it makes, but, currently, is limited by what gets programmed into it or by pure chance. How about adding a real artifical conciousness to the program? Creating an intelligent artificial designer? According to Igor Aleksander [1] conciousness is required for programs (computers) to really become usefully intelligent. Aleksander thinks that "the line has been drawn under the philosophical discussion of conciousness, and the way is open to sound scientific investigation". Without going into the details, and with great over-simplification, there are roughly two sorts of artificial intelligence: 1) Programmed intelligence, where, to all intents and purposes, the programmer is the "intelligence". The program may perform well (but often, in practice, doesn't) and any learning which is done is simply statistical and pre-programmed. There is no way that this type of program could become concious. 2) Neural network intelligence, where the programs are based roughly on a simple model of the brain, and the network learns how to do specific tasks. It is this sort of program which, according to Aleksander, could, in the future, become concious, and thus usefully intelligent. What could the advantages of an artificial artist be? 1) There would be no need for programming. Presumbably the human artist would dialog with the artificial artist, directing its development. 2) The artificial artist could be used as an apprentice, doing the "drudge" work of art, which needs intelligence, but is, anyway, monotonous for the human artist. 3) The human artist imagines "concepts", the artificial artist makes them concrete. 4) An concious artificial artist may come up with ideas of its own. Is this science fiction? Arthur C. Clarke's 1st Law: "If a famous scientist says that something can be done, then he is in all probability correct. If a famous scientist says that something cannot be done, then he is in all probability wrong". Arthur C Clarke's 2nd Law: "Only by trying to go beyond the current limits can you find out what the real limits are." One of Bertrand Russell's 10 commandments: "Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric" 3. References 1. "From Ramon Llull to Image Idea Generation". Ransen, Owen. Proceedings of the 1998 Milan First International Conference on Generative Art. 2. "How To Build A Mind" Aleksander, Igor. Wiedenfeld and Nicolson, 1999 3. "How I Drew One of My Pictures: or, The Authorship of Generative Art" by Adrian Ward and Geof Cox. Proceedings of the 1999 Milan 2nd International Conference on Generative Art.
series	other
email
more	http://www.generativeart.com/
last changed	2003/08/07 17:25

_id	3905
authors	Duffy, T.M. and Cunningham, D.J.
year	1996
title	Constructivism: Implications for the design and delivery of instruction
source	D.H. Jonassen, (Ed) Handbook of research for educational communications and technology, N.Y; Macmillan Library reference USA
summary	This will be a seminar that examines Constructivist theory as it applies to our thinking about instruction. Many folks think of constructivism as a method of instruction -- it is not. It is a framework for thinking about learning or what it means to come to know. As such, it is a framework for understanding (interpreting) any learning environment as well as a framework for designing instruction. The seminar will be organized around weekly readings. We will examine the alternative constructivist theories, e.g., socio-cultural constructivism and cognitive constructivism, and the pragmatism of Richard Rorty. However, rather than focusing on the differences between these frameworks, our emphasis will be on the implications of the broader, common framework for the design of instruction. Hence we will spend most of the semester discussing strategies for designing and delivering instruction, e.g., the work of Bransford, Collins, Pea, Jonassen, Spiro, Fosnot, Senge, and Schank. We will consider both business and schooling environments for learning -- there is significant work in both domains. There will be particular emphasis of the use of technology in instruction. We will look at the communication, information, and context providing roles of technology as contrasted to the traditional approach of using technology to deliver instruction (to teach). We will also pay particular attention to problem based learning as one instructional model. In PBL there is particular emphasis on the role of the facilitator as a learning coach (process orientation) as opposed to a content provider. There is also a particular emphasis on supporting the development of abductive reasoning skills so that the learner develops the ability to be an effective problem solver in the content domain. The major paper/project for the course will be the design of instruction to train individuals to be learning coaches in a problem based learning or goal based scenario learning environment. That is, how do you support teachers in adapting the role of learning coach (which, of course, requires us to understand what it means to be a learning coach). Design teams will be formed with the teams all working on this same design problem. A comprehensive prototype of the learning environment is required as well as a paper provide the theoretical framework and rationale for the design strategy. While not required, I would expect that computer technology will play a significant role in the design of your learning environment. With that in mind, let me note that it is not required that the prototype be delivered on the computer, i.e., I am not requiring programming skills but rather design skills and so "storyboards" is all that is required.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	4710
authors	Senyapili, Burcu
year	1996
title	THE TRUE MODEL CONCEPT IN COMPUTER GENERATED SIMULATIONS
source	Full-Scale Modeling in the Age of Virtual Reality [6th EFA-Conference Proceedings]
summary	Each design product depends on a design model originated in the designer's mind. From initial design decisions even to the final product, each design step is a representation of this design model. Designers create and communicate using the design models in their minds. They solve design problems by recreating and transforming the design model and utilize various means to display the final form of the model. One of these means, the traditional paper-based media of design representation (drawings, mockup models) alienate the representation from the design model, largely due to the lack of the display of the 4th dimension. Architecture is essentially a four-dimensional issue, incorporating the life of the edifice and the dynamic perception of the space by people. However, computer generated simulations (walkthrough, flythrough, virtual reality applications) of architectural design give us the chance to represent the design model in 4D, which is not possible in the traditional media. Thus, they introduce a potential field of use and study in architectural design. Most of the studies done for the effective use of this potential of computer aid in architectural design assert that the way architects design without the computer is not "familiar" to the way architects are led to design with the computer. In other words, they complain that the architectural design software does not work in the same way as the architects think and design the models in their brains. Within the above framework, this study initially discusses architectural design as a modeling process and defines computer generated simulations (walkthrough, flythrough, virtual reality) as models. Based on this discussion, the "familiarity" of architectural design and computer aided design is displayed. And then, it is asserted that the issue of familiarity should be discussed not from the point of the modeling procedure, but from the "trueness" of the model displayed. Therefore, it is relevant to ask to what extent should the simulation simulate the design model. The simulation, actually, simulates not what is real, but what is unreal. In other words, the simulation tells lies in order to display the truth. Consequently, the study proposes measures as to how true a simulation model should be in order to represent the design model best.
keywords	Model Simulation, Real Environments
series	other
type	normal paper
more	http://info.tuwien.ac.at/efa/
last changed	2004/05/04 14:45

_id	4b55
authors	Af Klercker, J. , Ekholm, A. and Fridqvist, S. (Ed.)
year	1996
title	Education for Practice [Conference Proceedings]
source	14th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-2-2 / Lund (Sweden) 12-14 September 1996, 425 p.
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1996
summary	There are many of us trying to make place for CAAD in a natural way in the Curriculum of the Architect school. We would like to make CAAD useful to the students already during their studies. Even if we have the support of our collegues for running courses there is very often no space in the timetable. And even if we have all the entusiasm of our students it is hard to practice your CAAD knowledge on projects where it is not asked for. The education of architects in the use of computers has lead me to try to find "the roots of education of architects" in general. A collegue of mine in a bookshelf of course litterature in Informatics found and put into my hands "Educating the reflective practitioner" by Donald Schön. It lead to an interesting process of personal reflection and discussion within our CAAD team. We think by the way that the theme of the conference points to the heart of the message in Donald Schöns book and we are inviting him as a key note speaker at the Conference.
series	eCAADe
type	normal paper
email
more	http://www.caad.lth.se/ECAADE/
last changed	2022/06/07 07:49

_id	eb87
authors	Bhavnani, S.K.
year	1996
title	How Architects Draw with Computers: A Cognitive Analysis of Real-World CAD Interactions
source	Carnegie Mellon University, School of Architecture and School of Computer Science
summary	New media throughout history have passed through a period of transition during which users and technologists took many years to understand and exploit the medium's potential. CAD appears to be passing through a similar period of transition; despite huge investments by vendors and users, CAD productivity remains difficult to achieve. To investigate if history can provide any insights into this problem, this thesis begins with an examination of well-known examples from history. The analysis revealed that, over time, users had developed efficient strategies which were based on powers and limitations of tools; delegation strategies exploited powers provided by tools, and circumvention strategies attempted to overcome their limitations. These insights on efficient strategies were used to investigate the CAD productivity problem based on four research questions: 1. How do architects currently use CAD systems to produce drawings? 2. What are the effects of current CAD usage on product and performance? 3. What are the possible causes of current CAD usage? 4. What are the capabilities of the CAD medium and how can they be used efficiently? The above four questions were addressed through the qualitative, quantitative, and cognitive analysis of data collected during an ethnographic study of architects working in their natural environment. The qualitative and quantitative analysis revealed that users missed many opportunities to use strategies that delegated iteration to the computer. The cognitive analysis revealed that missed opportunities to use such delegation strategies caused an increase in execution time, and an increase in errors many of which went undetected leading to the production of inaccurate drawings. These analyses pointed to plausible cognitive and contextual explanations for the inefficient use of CAD systems, and to a framework to identify and teach efficient CAD strategies. The above results were found to be neither unique to the CAD domain, nor to the office where the data were collected. The generality of these results motivated the identification of seven claims towards a general theory to explain and identify efficient strategies for a wide range of devices. This thesis contributes to the field of architecture by providing a detailed analysis of real-world CAD usage, and an approach to improve the performance of CAD users. The thesis also contributes to the field of human-computer interaction by demonstrating the generality of these results and by laying the framework for a general theory of efficient strategies which could be used to improve the performance of users of current and future computer applications.
series	thesis:PhD
email
last changed	2003/04/15 13:36

_id	0ef8
authors	Völker, H., Sariyildiz, S., Schwenck, M. and Durmisevic, S.
year	1996
title	THE NEXT GENERATION OF ARCHITECTURE WITHIN COMPUTER SCIENCES
source	Full-Scale Modeling in the Age of Virtual Reality [6th EFA-Conference Proceedings]
summary	Considering architecture as a mixture of exact sciences and the art, we can state that as in all other sciences, every technical invention and development has resulted in advantages and disadvantages for the well-being and prosperity of mankind. Think about the developments in the fields of nuclear energy or space travel. Besides bringing a lot of improvements in many fields, it also has danger for the well-being of a mankind. The development of the advanced computer techniques has also influence on architecture, which is inevitable. How did the computer science influence architecture till now, and what is going to be the future of the architecture with this ongoing of computer science developments? The future developments will be both in the field of conceptual design (form aspect) and also in the area of materialization of the design process. These all are dealing with the material world, for which the tools of computer science are highly appropriate. But what will happen to the immaterial world? How can we put these immaterial values into a computers model? Or can the computer be creative as a human being? Early developments of computer science in the field of architecture involved two-dimensional applications, and subsequently the significance of the third dimension became manifest. Nowadays, however, people are already speaking of a fourth dimension, interpreting it as time or as dynamics. And what, for instance, would a fifth, sixth or X-dimension represent? In the future we will perhaps speak of the fifth dimension, comprising the tangible qualities of the building materials around us. And one day a sixth dimension might be created, when it will be possible to establish direct communication with computers, because direct exchange between the computer and the human brain has been realised. The ideas of designers can then be processed by the computer directly, and we will no longer be hampered by obstacles such as screen and keyboard. There are scientist who are working to realize bio-chips. If it will work, perhaps we can realise all these speculations. It is nearly sure that the emergence of new technologies will also affect our subject area, architecture and this will create fresh challenges, fresh concepts, and new buildings in the 21st century. The responsibility of the architects must be, to bear in mind that we are dealing with the well-being and the prosperity of mankind.
keywords	Model Simulation, Real Environments
series	other
type	normal paper
email
more	http://info.tuwien.ac.at/efa/
last changed	2004/05/04 14:43

_id	e4a8
authors	Winograd, Terry ed. (et al.)
year	1996
title	Bringing Design to Software
source	New York, NY:ACM Press and Reading, MA:Addison-Welsley
summary	In this landmark book, Terry Winograd shows how to improve the practice of software design, by applying lessons from other areas of design to the creation of software. The goal is to create software that works---really works---in being appropriate and effective for people who live in the world that the software creates. The book contains essays contributed by prominent software and design professionals, interviews with experts, and profiles of successful projects and products. These elements are woven together to illuminate what design is, to identify the common core of practices in every design field, and to show how software builders can apply these common practices to produce software that is more effective, more appropriate, and more satisfying for users. The initial chapters view software from the user's perspective, featuring the insights of a experienced software designers and developers, including Mitch Kapor, David Liddle, John Rheinfrank, Peter Denning, and John Seely Brown. Subsequent chapters turn to the designer and the design process, with contributions from designers and design experts, including David Kelley, Donald Schön, and Donald Norman. Profiles discussing Mosaic, Quicken, Macintosh Interface Guidelines, Microsoft Bob, and other successful applications and projects are included to highlight key points in the chapters. This book is for the broad community of people who conceive, develop, market, evaluate, and use software. It is foremost, of course, for the software designer, and particularly for the reflective designer---someone who is driven by practical concerns, but who is also able to step back for a moment and reflect on what works, what doesn't work, and why. At the same time, it reveals new directions and new possibilities for programmers who build software, and for product managers who bring software to market. Software users will also find the book valuable in expanding their understanding of what good software design encompasses, which will help them in evaluating, integrating, and productively using computer applications.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	e29d
authors	Arvesen, Liv
year	1996
title	LIGHT AS LANGUAGE
source	Full-Scale Modeling in the Age of Virtual Reality [6th EFA-Conference Proceedings]
summary	With the unlimited supply of electric light our surroundings very easily may be illuminated too strongly. Too much light is unpleasant for our eyes, and a high level of light in many cases disturbs the conception of form. Just as in a forest, we need shadows, contrasts and variation when we compose with light. If we focus on the term compose, it is natural to conceive our environment as a wholeness. In fact, this is not only aesthetically important, it is true in a physical context. Inspired by old windows several similar examples have been built in the Trondheim Full-scale Laboratory where depth is obtained by constructing shelves on each side of the opening. When daylight is fading, indirect artificial light from above gradually lightens the window. The opening is perceived as a space of light both during the day and when it is dark outside. Another of the built examples at Trondheim University which will be presented, is a doctor's waitingroom. It is a case study of special interest because it often appears to be a neglected area. Let us start asking: What do we have in common when we are waiting to come in to a doctor? We are nervous and we feel sometimes miserable. Analysing the situation we understand the need for an interior that cares for our state of mind. The level of light is important in this situation. Light has to speak softly. Instead of the ordinary strong light in the middle of the ceiling, several spots are selected to lighten the small tables separating the seats. The separation is supposed to give a feeling of privacy. By the low row of reflected planes we experience an intimate and warming atmosphere in the room. A special place for children contributes to the total impression of calm. In this corner the inside of some shelves are lit by indirect light, an effect which puts emphasis on the small scale suitable for a child. And it also demonstrates the good results of variation. The light setting in this room shows how light is “caught” two different ways.
keywords	Model Simulation, Real Environments
series	other
type	normal paper
more	http://info.tuwien.ac.at/efa/
last changed	2004/05/04 14:34

_id	a04a
authors	Bhavnani, S.K. and John, B.E.
year	1996
title	Exploring the Unrealized Potential of Computer-Aided Drafting
source	Proceedings of CHI'96 (1996), 332-339
summary	Despite huge investments by vendors and users, CAD productivity remains disappointing. Our analysis of real- world CAD usage shows that even after many years of experience, users tend to use suboptimal strategies to perform complex CAD tasks. Additionally, some of these strategies have a marked resemblance to manual drafting techniques. Although this phenomenon has been previously reported, this paper explores explanations for its causes and persistence. We argue that the strategic knowledge to use CAD effectively is neither defined nor explicitly taught. In the absence of a well-formed strategy, users often develop a synthetic mental model of CAD containing a mixture of manual and CAD methods. As these suboptimal strategies do not necessarily prevent users from producing clean, accurate drawings, the inefficiencies tend to remain unrecognized and users have little motivation to develop better strategies. To reverse this situation we recommend that the strategic knowledge to use CAD effectively should be made explicit and provided early in training. We use our analysis to begin the process of making this strategic knowledge explicit. We conclude by discussing the ramifications of this research in training as well as in the development of future computer aids for drawing and design.
keywords	Task Decomposition; Learning
series	other
email
last changed	2003/11/21 15:16

_id	9b4d
authors	Boerner, Wolfgang
year	2003
title	The “Franziszeische Kataster” (land register) – Only a historial Map?
source	CORP 2003, Vienna University of Technology, 25.2.-28.2.2003 [Proceedings on CD-Rom]
summary	Franz I. of Austria that the legislative and technical hindrances were cleared away in order to commence with big changes. One cantruly say that it was due to his land tax patent from the 23rd of December 1817 that he founded the main land register of Austria andof the whole empire. The basic ideas of this patent are still valid today.This land register, named after it’s originator, was also said to be a “stabile” land register because the net profit rate, which wascrucial for the rating of taxation, was to be stabilized without giving consideration to higher productivity or diligence except to casesin which the fertility of the earth was destroyed by natural phenomenon.The land register was developed for the city of Vienna in the years 1819 to 1824. This land register of Vienna was scanned and digitized by the Urban Archaeology of Vienna. Since the launching of the “Kulturgüterkataster (Cultural Heritage Cadastre)“ in 1996, the individual municipal departments of the City of Vienna have developed a massive body of know-how regarding the various fields of interest. In particular, the inventoryingand evaluation of architectural objects as implemented by the City of Vienna could be easily adapted to other EU cities. It has alreadybeen suggested to initiate corresponding EU projects or participate in such.The long-time objective is an Internet portal. Based on the applications and competence developed in Vienna, the cultural assets of European metropolises could be digitised to present them in a novel forum. Lovers of culture, historians and urban planners would thus dispose of an instrument that renders urbanistic research much more efficient. Here, the “Franziszeischer Kataster“ could play a key role. Especially in the candidate countries in Eastern and South-eastern Europe, land surveying to this day would be unthinkable without this land register. A digital version of the register, could provide enormous support to the surveyor’s offices in the new Member States.
series	other
email
last changed	2003/11/21 15:16

_id	af53
authors	Boyer, E. and Mitgang, L.
year	1996
title	Building community: a new future for architecture education and practice
source	Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
summary	Internships, before and after graduation, are the most essential link connecting students to the world of practice. Yet, by all accounts, internship is perhaps the most troubled phase of the continuing education of architects. During this century, as architectural knowledge grew more complex, the apprenticeship system withered away and schools assumed much of the responsibility for preparing architects for practice. However, schools cannot do the whole job. It is widely acknowledged that certain kinds of technical and practical knowledge are best learned in the workplace itself, under the guidance of experienced professionals. All state accrediting boards require a minimum period of internship-usually about three years-before a person is eligible to take the licensing exam. The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) allows students to earn up to two years of work credit prior to acquisition of an accredited degree. The Intern Development Program (IDP), launched by NCARB and the American Institute of Architects in 1979, provides the framework for internship in some forty states. The program was designed to assure that interns receive adequate mentoring, that experiences are well-documented, and that employers and interns allocate enough time to a range of educational and vocational experiences to prepare students for eventual licensure. As the IDP Guidelines state, "The shift from school to office is not a transition from theory to pragmatism. It is a period when theory merges with pragmatism.... It's a time when you: apply your formal education to the daily realities of architectural practice; acquire comprehensive experience in basic practice areas; explore specialized areas of practice; develop professional judgment; continue your formal education in architecture; and refine your career goals." Whatever its accomplishments, however, we found broad consensus that the Intern Development Program has not, by itself, solved the problems of internship. Though we found mutually satisfying internship programs at several of the firms we visited or heard about around the country, at many others interns told us they were not receiving the continuing education and experience they needed. The truth is that architecture has serious, unsolved problems compared with other fields when it comes to supplying on-the-job learning experiences to induct students into the profession on a massive scale. Medicine has teaching hospitals. Beginning teachers work in actual classrooms, supported by school taxes. Law offices are, for the most part, in a better financial position to support young lawyers and pay them living wages. The architecture profession, by contrast, must support a required system of internship prior to licensure in an industry that has neither the financial resources of law or medicine, the stability and public support of teaching, nor a network of locations like hospitals or schools where education and practice can be seamlessly connected. And many employers acknowledged those problems. "The profession has all but undermined the traditional relationship between the profession and the academy," said Neil Frankel, FAIA, executive vice president of Perkins & Will, a multinational firm with offices in New York, Chicago, Washington, and London. "Historically, until the advent of the computer, the profession said, 'Okay, go to school, then we in the profession will teach you what the real world is like.' With the coming of the computer, the profession needed a skill that students had, and has left behind the other responsibilities." One intern told us she had been stuck for months doing relatively menial tasks such as toilet elevations. Another intern at a medium-sized firm told us he had been working sixty to seventy hours per week for a year and a half. "Then my wife had a baby and I 'slacked off' to fifty hours. The partner called me in and I got called on the carpet for not working hard enough." "The whole process of internship is being outmoded by economics," one frustrated intern told us. "There's not the time or the money. There's no conception of people being groomed for careers. The younger staff are chosen for their value as productive workers." "We just don't have the best structure here to use an intern's abilities to their best," said a Mississippi architect. "The people who come out of school are really problems. I lost patience with one intern who was demanding that I switch him to another section so that he could learn what he needed for his IDP. I told him, 'It's not my job to teach you. You are here to produce.'" What steps might help students gain more satisfying work opportunities, both during and after graduation?
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	59c3
authors	Bruckman, Amy
year	1996
title	Finding One's Own Space in Cyberspace
source	MIT Technology Review. January 1996, p. 50
summary	The week the last Internet porn scandal broke, my phone didn't stop ringing: "Are women comfortable on the Net?" "Should women use gender-neutral names on the Net?" "Are women harassed on the Net?" Reporters called from all over the country with basically the same question. I told them all: your question is ill-formed. "The Net" is not one thing. It's like asking: "Are women comfortable in bars?" That's a silly question. Which woman? Which bar? The summer I was 18, I was the computer counselor at a summer camp. After the campers were asleep, the counselors were allowed out, and would go bar hopping. First everyone would go to Maria's, an Italian restaurant with red-and-white-checked table cloths. Maria welcomed everyone from behind the bar, greeting regular customers by name. She always brought us free garlic bread. Next we'd go to the Sandpiper, a disco with good dance music. The Sandpiper seemed excitingly adult--it was a little scary at first, but then I loved it. Next, we went to the Sportsman, a leather motorcycle bar that I found absolutely terrifying. Huge, bearded men bulging out of their leather vests and pants leered at me. I hid in the corner and tried not to make eye contact with anyone, hoping my friends would get tired soon and give me a ride back to camp.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:50

_id	avocaad_2001_02
id	avocaad_2001_02
authors	Cheng-Yuan Lin, Yu-Tung Liu
year	2001
title	A digital Procedure of Building Construction: A practical project
source	AVOCAAD - ADDED VALUE OF COMPUTER AIDED ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, Nys Koenraad, Provoost Tom, Verbeke Johan, Verleye Johan (Eds.), (2001) Hogeschool voor Wetenschap en Kunst - Departement Architectuur Sint-Lucas, Campus Brussel, ISBN 80-76101-05-1
summary	In earlier times in which computers have not yet been developed well, there has been some researches regarding representation using conventional media (Gombrich, 1960; Arnheim, 1970). For ancient architects, the design process was described abstractly by text (Hewitt, 1985; Cable, 1983); the process evolved from unselfconscious to conscious ways (Alexander, 1964). Till the appearance of 2D drawings, these drawings could only express abstract visual thinking and visually conceptualized vocabulary (Goldschmidt, 1999). Then with the massive use of physical models in the Renaissance, the form and space of architecture was given better precision (Millon, 1994). Researches continued their attempts to identify the nature of different design tools (Eastman and Fereshe, 1994). Simon (1981) figured out that human increasingly relies on other specialists, computational agents, and materials referred to augment their cognitive abilities. This discourse was verified by recent research on conception of design and the expression using digital technologies (McCullough, 1996; Perez-Gomez and Pelletier, 1997). While other design tools did not change as much as representation (Panofsky, 1991; Koch, 1997), the involvement of computers in conventional architecture design arouses a new design thinking of digital architecture (Liu, 1996; Krawczyk, 1997; Murray, 1997; Wertheim, 1999). The notion of the link between ideas and media is emphasized throughout various fields, such as architectural education (Radford, 2000), Internet, and restoration of historical architecture (Potier et al., 2000). Information technology is also an important tool for civil engineering projects (Choi and Ibbs, 1989). Compared with conventional design media, computers avoid some errors in the process (Zaera, 1997). However, most of the application of computers to construction is restricted to simulations in building process (Halpin, 1990). It is worth studying how to employ computer technology meaningfully to bring significant changes to concept stage during the process of building construction (Madazo, 2000; Dave, 2000) and communication (Haymaker, 2000).In architectural design, concept design was achieved through drawings and models (Mitchell, 1997), while the working drawings and even shop drawings were brewed and communicated through drawings only. However, the most effective method of shaping building elements is to build models by computer (Madrazo, 1999). With the trend of 3D visualization (Johnson and Clayton, 1998) and the difference of designing between the physical environment and virtual environment (Maher et al. 2000), we intend to study the possibilities of using digital models, in addition to drawings, as a critical media in the conceptual stage of building construction process in the near future (just as the critical role that physical models played in early design process in the Renaissance). This research is combined with two practical building projects, following the progress of construction by using digital models and animations to simulate the structural layouts of the projects. We also tried to solve the complicated and even conflicting problems in the detail and piping design process through an easily accessible and precise interface. An attempt was made to delineate the hierarchy of the elements in a single structural and constructional system, and the corresponding relations among the systems. Since building construction is often complicated and even conflicting, precision needed to complete the projects can not be based merely on 2D drawings with some imagination. The purpose of this paper is to describe all the related elements according to precision and correctness, to discuss every possibility of different thinking in design of electric-mechanical engineering, to receive feedback from the construction projects in the real world, and to compare the digital models with conventional drawings.Through the application of this research, the subtle relations between the conventional drawings and digital models can be used in the area of building construction. Moreover, a theoretical model and standard process is proposed by using conventional drawings, digital models and physical buildings. By introducing the intervention of digital media in design process of working drawings and shop drawings, there is an opportune chance to use the digital media as a prominent design tool. This study extends the use of digital model and animation from design process to construction process. However, the entire construction process involves various details and exceptions, which are not discussed in this paper. These limitations should be explored in future studies.
series	AVOCAAD
email
last changed	2005/09/09 10:48

_id	a573
authors	Cicognani, Anna
year	1996
title	Thinking Beyond
source	Education for Practice [14th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-2-2] Lund (Sweden) 12-14 September 1996, pp. 87-98
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1996.087
summary	If the new generation of architects is in need of tools, then we can consider ourselves lucky. On the market there are as many CAD systems as we would be able to learn and use in more than a Curriculum of a School of Architecture. On the other hand, being able to use the tools doesn't mean being able to produce good designs. It is often pointed out how much buildings designed by CAD systems look strangely similar. In the challenge of education, in Schools of Architecture, we need to help students to think beyond the tools themselves. This can be done with, for example, Virtual Design Studios and MUDs/MOOs, in which students can practise their architectural skills and adapt the tools to their design, instead of vice versa. This paper is a description of some attempts in educating how to think beyond tools in design tasks.
series	eCAADe
email
more	http://www.arch.su.edu.au/~anna
last changed	2022/06/07 07:56

_id	ab1e
authors	Coyne, R., McLaughlin, S., Newton, S., Sudweeks, F., Haynes, D. and Jumani, A.
year	1996
title	Report on Computers in Practice: A survey of computers in architectural practice
source	UK: University of Edinburgh
summary	This is a report on the dynamic relationship between information technology (IT) and architectural practice. The report summarises the attitudes and opinions of practitioners gathered through extensive recorded interviews, and compares these attitudes and opinions with the findings of other studies. The report is compiled from the point of view of an understanding of appropriating as preceding as the model for understanding. We thereby connect what is going on in IT with concepts currently under discussion in postmodern thought and in the tradition of philosophical pragmatism. We identify several of the major options identified by practitioners in their use of IT, including practicing without computers, substituting computers for traditional tasks, delivering traditional services in an innovative way through IT, and developing new services with IT. We also demonstrate how firms are changing and are being shaped by the market for architectural services. One of the major areas of change is in how IT and related resources are managed. We also consider how the role of the practitioner as an individual in a firm is changing along with changes in IT, and how different prognoses about the future of IT in practice are influenced by certain dominant metaphors. Our conclusion is that IT is best understood and appropriated when it is seen as fitting into a dynamic field or constellation of technologies and practices. Such an orientation enables the reflective practitioner to confront what is really going on as IT interacts with practice. praxis- practice theory
series	report
last changed	2003/04/23 15:50

_id	eb51
authors	Coyne, Richard
year	1996
title	CAAD, Curriculum and Controversy
source	Education for Practice [14th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-2-2] Lund (Sweden) 12-14 September 1996, pp. 121-130
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1996.121
summary	This paper brings some of the debate within educational theory to bear on CAAD teaching, outlining the contributions of conservatism, critical theory, radical hermeneutics and pragmatism. The paper concludes by recommending that CAAD teaching move away from conservative concepts of teaching, design and technology to integrate it into the studio. In a highly illuminating book on education theory, Shaun Gallagher (1991) outlines four current views on education that correspond to four major positions in contemporary social theory and philosophy. I will extend these categories to a consideration of attitudes to information technology, and the teaching of computing in architecture. These four positions are conservatism, critical theory, radical hermeneutics, and pragmatism. I will show how certain issues cluster around them, how each position provides the focus of various discursive practices, or intellectual conversations in contemporary thinking, and how information technology is caught up in those conversations. These four positions are not "cognitive styles," but vigorously argued domains of debate involving writers such as Gadamer, Habermas and Derrida about the theory of interpretation. The field of interpretation is known as hermeneutics, which is concerned less with epistemology and knowledge than with understanding. Interpretation theory applies to reading texts, interpreting the law, and appreciating art, but also to the application of any practical task, such as making art, drawing, defining and solving problems, and design (Coyne and Snodgrass, 1995). Hermeneutics provides a coherent focus for considering many contemporary issues and many domains of practice. I outline what these positions in education mean in terms of CAAD (computer-aided architectural design) in the curriculum.
series	eCAADe
email
more	http://www.caad.ac.uk/~richard
last changed	2022/06/07 07:56

_id	911c
authors	Darken, Rudolph P.
year	1996
title	Wayfinding in Large-Scale Virtual Worlds
source	George Washington University
summary	As important as navigation is to human performance in virtual worlds, it is an often overlooked problem in the design process. This dissertation reports an experiment intended to show that real-world wayfinding and environmental design principles are effective in designing virtual worlds which support skilled wayfinding behavior. The design principles are adapted from both the cognitive psychology literature and urban and architectural design methodologies. There are two categories of design principles; those that guide the organizational structure of the environment, and those that guide the use and presentation of maps. The study measures subject performance on a complex searching task in a number of virtual worlds with differing environmental cues. The environments are extremely large and consist of open sea, land, and ships which are used as targets for search tasks. The worlds are augmented with either a radial grid, a map, both, or neither. For each trial, the subject's viewpoint position and orientation was sampled approximately once per second. A verbal protocol with accompanying video was used to elicit information about the search strategies employed. A map drawing exercise followed each trial in order to gain insight to the subject's spatial knowledge (i.e. cognitive map) of the environment. The results show that subjects in the treatment without any additional cues were often disoriented and had extreme difficulty completing the task. The grid was shown to provide superior directional information but both treatments using the map were superior overall due to the geocentric perspective provided. Behaviors associated with each treatment indicate that the cues had a strong effect on both search performance and search strategy. The results suggest that users of large-scale virtual worlds require structure in order to effectively navigate. Augmentations such as direction indicators, maps, and path restriction can all greatly improve both wayfinding performance and overall user satisfaction.
series	thesis:PhD
email
more	http://www.seas.gwu.edu/~sibert/darken/publications/Dissertation_95/thesis.html
last changed	2003/02/12 22:37

_id	6abd
authors	Dawson, Anthony and Burry, Mark
year	1996
title	The Continuing Dichotomy: Practice vs. Education
source	Education for Practice [14th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-2-2] Lund (Sweden) 12-14 September 1996, pp. 131-142
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1996.131
summary	While it is apparent from the architectural literature that some practices are innovative in their use of computers for architectural design, clear evidence indicates that most architectural practices have applied computing to traditional practice paradigms. Information technology is therefore being applied to practice systems which were in place prior to computers being available. This has significant implications for architectural education in which there is tension developing between the requirements of the commercially oriented architectural practice and the innovation driven computer-aided architectural design educator. The first wishes to equip graduates for immediate and productive employment in computerised architectural practices and may be loosely interpreted as a graduate’s ability to work as a CAD operator within an architectural practice environment. The second has the desire for students to be innovative in their use of information technology as an aid in informing and evaluating parts of both the design process and its outcomes. However, it is only when both architects and educators identify the architectural process as an integrated information system that these tensions can be resolved. This requires reconsideration of the function and use of information technology in both educational institutions and in architectural practices. The paper discusses how fruitful this can be in the current environment and outlines current developments at Deakin University which aim at providing a middle ground
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	9a0d
authors	Debevec, P.E., Taylor, C.J. and Malik, J.
year	1996
title	Modeling and rendering architecture from photographs: a hybrid geometry- and image-based approach
source	SIGGRAPH'96, New Orleans, Louisiana
summary	We present a new approach for modeling and rendering existing architectural scenes from a sparse set of still photographs. Our modeling approach, which combines both geometry-based and imagebased techniques, has two components. The first component is a photogrammetricmodelingmethodwhich facilitates the recovery of the basic geometry of the photographed scene. Our photogrammetric modeling approach is effective, convenient, and robust because it exploits the constraints that are characteristic of architectural scenes. The second component is a model-based stereo algorithm, which recovers how the real scene deviates from the basic model. By making use of the model, our stereo technique robustly recovers accurate depth from widely-spaced image pairs. Consequently, our approach canmodel large architectural environmentswith far fewer photographs than current image-based modeling approaches. For producing renderings, we present view-dependent texture mapping, a method of compositing multiple views of a scene that better simulates geometric detail on basic models. Our approach can be used to recover models for use in either geometry-based or image-based rendering systems. We present results that demonstrate our approach's ability to create realistic renderings of architectural scenes from viewpoints far from the original photographs.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:50

_id	20ff
id	20ff
authors	Derix, Christian
year	2004
title	Building a Synthetic Cognizer
source	Design Computation Cognition conference 2004, MIT
summary	Understanding ‘space’ as a structured and dynamic system can provide us with insight into the central concept in the architectural discourse that so far has proven to withstand theoretical framing (McLuhan 1964). The basis for this theoretical assumption is that space is not a void left by solid matter but instead an emergent quality of action and interaction between individuals and groups with a physical environment (Hillier 1996). In this way it can be described as a parallel distributed system, a self-organising entity. Extrapolating from Luhmann’s theory of social systems (Luhmann 1984), a spatial system is autonomous from its progenitors, people, but remains intangible to a human observer due to its abstract nature and therefore has to be analysed by computed entities, synthetic cognisers, with the capacity to perceive. This poster shows an attempt to use another complex system, a distributed connected algorithm based on Kohonen’s self-organising feature maps – SOM (Kohonen 1997), as a “perceptual aid” for creating geometric mappings of these spatial systems that will shed light on our understanding of space by not representing space through our usual mechanics but by constructing artificial spatial cognisers with abilities to make spatial representations of their own. This allows us to be shown novel representations that can help us to see new differences and similarities in spatial configurations.
keywords	architectural design, neural networks, cognition, representation
series	other
type	poster
email
more	http://www.springer.com/computer/ai/book/978-1-4020-2392-7
last changed	2012/09/17 21:13

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