Cumincad : CUMINCAD Papers : Search Results

CumInCAD is a Cumulative Index about publications in Computer Aided Architectural Design
supported by the sibling associations ACADIA, CAADRIA, eCAADe, SIGraDi, ASCAAD and CAAD futures

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_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	aa7c
authors	Amirante, M. Isabella and Burattini, Ernesto
year	1996
title	Automatic Procedures for Bio-Climatic Control
source	Education for Practice [14th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-2-2] Lund (Sweden) 12-14 September 1996, pp. 29-40
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1996.029
summary	The experiences illustrated here are related to the new regulation of teaching architecture in Italy and these ones in particular have been concentrated on the technological aspects of teaching architecture. We can consider the evolution of the architect from the individual operator to the manager multi- disciplinary aspects of the building process ( building process manager) as a reality today. Information technology, specifically applied to bio-climatic architecture and environmental control, can be of great importance for this professional role, and for this reason it is very useful to include these topics at the beginning the teaching design process. This paper describes a particular approach to bio-climatic problems of the architectural project. An experimental course has been performed by the second year students of the "Laboratorio di Construzione dell' Architettura", at the School of Architecture of the Second University of Naples, in Aversa. Analysing old and new buildings, they used some flow charts for the evaluation and representation of energetic behaviour of buildings regarding their climatic and geographical environment. In the flow charts the decisions are represented by boxes that allow to determine "rightness index" related to: morphological characters of the site and environment, typology and particular organisation of the inside spaces, shape of building, technological solution of the building "skin". The navigation through the decision boxes is made with simple options like; "winds: protected or exposed site", "shape of building; free, close or cross plane", "presence of trees on the south,; yes or not",; it shows the students the bio-climatic quality of the building and, through numeric value assigned to each option, determines the "weight" of its climatic comfort.
series	eCAADe
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	d5c8
authors	Angelo, C.V., Bueno, A.P., Ludvig, C., Reis, A.F. and Trezub, D.
year	1999
title	Image and Shape: Two Distinct Approaches
source	III Congreso Iberoamericano de Grafico Digital [SIGRADI Conference Proceedings] Montevideo (Uruguay) September 29th - October 1st 1999, pp. 410-415
summary	This paper is the result of two researches done at the district of Campeche, Florianópolis, by the Grupo PET/ARQ/UFSC/CAPES. Different aspects and conceptual approaches were used to study the spatial attributes of this district located in the Southern part of Santa Catarina Island. The readings and analysis of two researches were based on graphic pistures builded with the use of Corel 7.0 e AutoCadR14. The first research – "Urban Development in the Island of Santa Catarina: Public Space Study"- examined the urban structures of Campeche based on the Spatial Syntax Theory developed by Hillier and Hanson (1984) that relates form and social appropriation of public spaces. The second research – "Topoceptive Characterisation of Campeche: The Image of a Locality in Expansion in the Island of Santa Catarina" -, based on the methodology developed by Kohlsdorf (1996) and also on the visual analysis proposed by Lynch (1960), identified characteristics of this locality with the specific goal of selecting attributes that contributed to the ideas of the place its population held. The paper consists of an initial exercise of linking these two methods in order to test the complementarity of their analytical tools. Exemplifying the analytical procedures undertaken in the two approaches, the readings done - global (of the locality as a whole) and partial (from parts of the settlement) - are presented and compared.
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:47

_id	ecba
authors	Bosco, Antonio
year	1996
title	Hypertext for Building Rehabilitation. A didactic Use of an Innovative Methodology of Diagnosis of the Building Decay
source	Education for Practice [14th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-2-2] Lund (Sweden) 12-14 September 1996, pp. 59-64
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1996.059
summary	In the paper presented in the last ECAADE conference in Palermo we described a first hypertext for the analysis of ancient buildings. One section of the hypertext was devoted to show diagnostic procedures and specific instrumental tests for building rehabilitation. We can consider that the hypertext represent the best answer to the request of an organised knowledge coming from students of the schools of architecture and public operators. So we describe how the proposed arrangement of the diagnostic tests can become a real operative tool technicians of public agencies and powerful means of building technology knowledge for students too. The diagnostic procedures are related to the specific needs of the architectural design; changing ways to archive the tests are showed. The goal is to allow the architects, operating in the rehabilitation field, to operate the right choice of diagnostic methods to avoid doing many unnecessary, expensive tests.
series	eCAADe
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	e309
authors	Breen, Jack and Stellingwerff, Martijn
year	1996
title	A Case for Computer-Assisted Creativity through Clarity, Project 12 CAD and Beyond
source	CAD Creativeness [Conference Proceedings / ISBN 83-905377-0-2] Bialystock (Poland), 25-27 April 1996 pp. 31-35
summary	A paper exploring the opportunities of different Design Media for the benefit of Architectural and Urban Composition. It is argued that during the design process, the designer develops Models for a projected end result, which are visualised in the form of Images using traditional media. The Computer affords the possibility of creating (virtual) Models from which Images can be taken. Current types of Computer Interfaces still form an obstacle for creative computer assisted design, comparable to Sketching. It is argued that the Clarity of the medium will need to be enhanced, if it is to become an Instrument for truly creative design. Using the example of an educational, practical CAD exercise, the case for' Clarity for the benefit of creative Computing is put forward.
series	plCAD
email
last changed	2003/05/17 10:01

_id	a0d3
authors	Breen, Jack and Stellingwerff, Martijn
year	1996
title	A Case For Computer Assisted Creativity Through Clarity - Project 12 CAD and Beyond ...
source	Approaches to Computer Aided Architectural Composition [ISBN 83-905377-1-0] 1996, pp. 45-60
summary	A paper exploring the opportunities of different Design Media for the benefit of Architectural and Urban Composition. It is argued that during the design process, the designer develops Models for a projected end result, which are visualised in the form of Images using traditional media. The Computer affords the possibility of creating (virtual) Models from which Images can be taken. Current types of Computer Interfaces still form an obstacle for creative computer assisted design, comparable to Sketching. It is argued that the Clarity of the medium will need to be enhanced, if it is to become an Instrument for truly creative design. Using the example of an educational, practical CAD exercise, the case for Clarity for the benefit of creative Computing is put forward.
series	other
last changed	1999/04/08 17:16

_id	7b57
authors	Chase, Scott Curland
year	1996
title	Modeling Designs with Shape Algebras and Formal Logic
source	University of California
summary	A formal, hierarchical model of shape, spatial relations and non-spatial properties is presented, constructed from first principles of geometry, topology and logic. The combination of the two major paradigms used here, shape algebras and logic, is one which has been largely unexplored. The underlying interest is the development of generalized design modeling systems in which the components may be used for a variety of synthesis and recognition problems. The algebras of shape described by Stiny have been shown to be useful in the generation and analysis of designs. The generality of their representations, their non-reliance upon predetermined structure, and their use in combination provide a richness of expression lacking in more traditional representations. The use of formal logic as a specification tool for modeling spatial relations is investigated here. Logic has proven itself useful as a programming and specification tool, providing advantages over traditional procedural programming methods. Among those is the ability to specify the knowledge to be encapsulated in a model without the need to specify data manipulation procedures. It is argued that specification in logic provides a natural method of development. The model is developed by extending the formalisms of shape algebras with the use of logic to make more precise, generalized, parametric definitions of shape and spatial relations than has been previously possible. The value of such a model is demonstrated by the use of these generalized spatial relations for solving typical problems in the fields of geographic information systems and architecture. The advantages of the representations used over more traditional 'kit-of-parts' models is also illustrated.
series	thesis:PhD
email
last changed	2003/02/12 22:37

_id	18bc
authors	Clay, Sharon and Wilhelms, Jane
year	1996
title	Put: Language-Based Interactive Manipulation of Objects
source	IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications
summary	Describing a scene to a computer is an inherent task of computer graphics applications. Modeled scenes are typically built with direct placement techniques or specialized scripting languages. The scene description task could be greatly eased if natural language were an interactive control option. However, natural language understanding is notoriously difficult for computers. This difficulty is exacerbated in the case of computer graphics by the need for geometric output, not just "conceptual understanding" or high-level inferencing. General text-understanding techniques have not been successfully applied to scene generation. Typically, a few task-specific commands, such as "walk," are implemented as an ad-hoc collection of procedures. Our approach aims to separate the expressive power of fundamental natural concepts from the difficult task of text understanding. We are developing a 3D object placement system based on a combination of natural commands and interactive techniques. Guided by research in cognitive linguistics, we use basic spatial relationships--such as in, on, and at--and fundamental scene parameters--such as viewer location and object dimensionality--to identify regions of placement for objects in a scene. These natural commands can be used to quickly prototype a complex scene and constrain object placement.
series	journal paper
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_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	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

_id	ddssup9607
id	ddssup9607
authors	Gordon, T., Karacapilidis, N., Voss, H. and Zauke, A.
year	1996
title	Computer-Mediated Cooperative Spatial Planning
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Third Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture and Urban Planning - Part two: Urban Planning Proceedings (Spa, Belgium), August 18-21, 1996
summary	Decision making on spatial planning problems has to integrate recent advancements on geographical information systems with a framework that supports fair, rational and efficient decision making procedures. Such a framework will assist government and businesses with the retrieval, use and reuse of information in cooperative, distributed planning procedures requiring access to spatial data. This paper gives an overview of a computer-mediated group decision support system for the World Wide Web, namely ZENO. The target is to provide intelligent assistance to human mediators and other kinds cf "trusted third parties" during the above procedures. The role of the system is to remain neutral and help assure that the interests and goals of all members of a group, regardless of their status, are respected and appreciated. In this paper, the system's features are illustrated with a retrospective model of a real urban planning example, concerning the allocation of a new technology park in the area of the city of Bonn, where more than eighty communities, local and federal authorities, and other organizations have been requested to submit their suggestions, objections and comments on a spatial planning problem.
series	DDSS
email
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	934f
authors	Gross, M.D.
year	1996
title	The Electronic Cocktail Napkin – a computational environment for working with design diagrams
source	Design Studies, 17 (1), pp. 53-69
summary	The Electronic Cocktail Napkin is an experimental computer-based environment for sketching and diagramming in conceptual design. The project's goal is to develop a computational drawing environment to support conceptual designing in a way that leads smoothly from diagrams to more formal and structured representations of schematic design. With computational representations for conceptual designs, computer-supported editing, critiquing, analysis, and simulation can be employed earlier in the design process, where it can have a greater impact on outcomes. The paper describes the Electronic Cocktail Napkin program - its recognition and parsing of diagrams and management of spatial constraints, its drawing environment, and two experimental query-by-diagram schemes for retrieving information from architectural databases.
series	journal paper
email
last changed	2003/04/23 15:50

_id	04ad
authors	Koutamanis, Alexander
year	1996
title	CAAD Teaching in the Electronic Era
source	Education for Practice [14th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-2-2] Lund (Sweden) 12-14 September 1996, pp. 239-242
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1996.239
summary	The popularization and wide acceptance of computer technologies is changing the position and role of CAAD in architectural education and practice. The changing profile of architectural students with respect to computing leads to a reconsideration of priorities and structure in CAAD education. These are evident in the growing acceptance of the computer as part of the standard design instrumentation and in the shift from theoretical issues to hands-on experience in CAAD courses and exercises. As such changes can only continue to occur, probably at a faster pace, CAAD has to re-evaluate its position so as to anticipate the emerging patterns of computing in architecture and design. We can distinguish between three possible outcomes. The first is decentralization of CAAD and distribution of CAAD specialists to the other specializations in architecture and building. The second is concentration on theory and methodology and use of the computer as an instrument for verifying insights and hypotheses. The third option -the worst case scenario- is degradation to a supporting role, subordinate to the designer and the theorist.
series	eCAADe
email
more	http://caad.bk.tudelft.nl/koutamanis/
last changed	2022/06/07 07:51

_id	ecaade2012_087
id	ecaade2012_087
authors	Lorenz, Wolfgang E.
year	2012
title	Estimating the Fractal Dimension of Architecture: Using two Measurement Methods implemented in AutoCAD by VBA
source	Achten, Henri; Pavlicek, Jiri; Hulin, Jaroslav; Matejovska, Dana (eds.), Digital Physicality - Proceedings of the 30th eCAADe Conference - Volume 1 / ISBN 978-9-4912070-2-0, Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Architecture (Czech Republic) 12-14 September 2012, pp. 505-513
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2012.1.505
wos	WOS:000330322400052
summary	The concept of describing and analyzing architecture from a fractal point of view, on which this paper is based, can be traced back to Benoît Mandelbrot (1981) and Carl Bovill (1996) to a considerable extent. In particular, this includes the distinction between scalebound (offering a limited number of characteristic elements) and scaling objects (offering many characteristic elements of scale) made by B. Mandelbrot (1981). In the fi rst place such a differentiation is based upon a visual description. This paper explores the possibility of assistance by two measurement methods, fi rst time introduced to architecture by C. Bovill (1996). While the box-counting method measures or more precisely estimates the box-counting dimension D b of objects (e.g. facades), range analysis examines the rhythm of a design. As CAD programs are familiar to architects during design processes, the author implemented both methods in AutoCAD using the scripting language VBA. First measurements indicate promising results for indicating the distinction between what B. Mandelbrot called scalebound and scaling buildings.
keywords	Box-Counting Method; Range Analysis; Hurst-Exponent; Analyzing Architecture; Scalebound and Scaling objects
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:59

_id	1162
authors	Malkawi, Ali and Jabi, Wassim
year	1996
title	Integrating Shadow Casting Methodology and Thermal Simulation
source	Proceedings of the Solar ‘96 Conference. Asheville, North Carolina: American Solar Energy Society, 1996, pp. 271-276
summary	This paper describes an experiment that integrates shadow casting methodology and thermal simulation algorithms developed by the authors. The 3D shadow procedures use a polyhedral representation of solids within a Cartesian space that allows for accurate casting of shadows. The algorithm is also capable of calculating surface areas of polygonal shadows of any arbitrary shape and size. The thermal simulation algorithms – using the Transfer Function Method (TFM) – incorporate the shaded area calculations to better predict solar heat gain from glazing based on transmitted, absorbed, and conducted cooling loads. The paper describes the use of a 3D computer model to illustrate the impact of the pattern and area of shading on the visual and thermal properties of building apertures. The paper discusses the objectives of this experiment, the algorithms used, and their integration. Conclusions and findings are drawn.
keywords	Shadow Casting Algorithms Energey Thermal Simulation
series	other
email
last changed	2002/03/05 19:51

_id	2ca1
authors	Montagu, A. and Bermudez, J.
year	1998
title	Datarq: The Development of a Website of Modern Contemporary Architecture
source	Computerised Craftsmanship [eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Paris (France) 24-26 September 1998
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1998.x.p7a
summary	The pedagogic approach in the architectural field is suffering a deep change taking in consideration the impact that has been produced mainly by the CAD and multimedia procedures. An additional view to be taken in consideration is the challenge produced by the influence of advanced IT which since 1990-92, has affected positively the exchange of information among people of the academic environment. Several studies confirm this hypothesis, from the wide cultural spectrum when the digitalization process was emerging as an alternative way to data processing (Bateson 1976) to the pedagogical-computational side analyzed by (Papert 1996). One of the main characteristics indicated by S. Papert (op.cit) is the idea of "self teaching" which students are used everywhere due to the constant augment of "friendly" software and the decreasing costs of hardware. Another consequences to point out by S. Paper (op.cit) is that will be more probably that students at home will have more actualized equipment that most of the computer lab. of schools in general. Therefore, the main hypothesis of this paper is, "if we are able to combine usual tutorials design methods with the concept of "self-teaching" regarding the paradigmatic architectural models that are used in practically all the schools of architecture (Le Corbusier, F.L.Wright, M.v. der Rohe, M.Botta, T.Ando, etc.) using a Web site available to everybody, what we are doing is expanding the existing knowledge in the libraries and fulfill the future requirements of the newly generations of students".
series	eCAADe
email
more	http://www.paris-valdemarne.archi.fr/archive/ecaade98/html/35montagu/index.htm
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

_id	fadd
authors	Mullet, Kevin E.
year	1996
title	Designing Visual Interfaces: How to Create Communication -- Oriented Solutions Tutorial 3
source	Proceedings of ACM CHI 96 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 1996 v.2 pp. 332-333
summary	This tutorial describes a number of fundamental techniques applied routinely in communication-oriented visual design. The orientation, process, training, and culture of the visual design disciplines (graphic design, industrial design, interior design, architecture) are essential components of effective interface design. Unfortunately, few software developers or human factors engineers receive any training in these disciplines. This tutorial describes important design rules and techniques internalized by every visual designer through coursework and studio experience. While mastery will indeed require extended practice, the techniques we describe are not difficult to understand and can be immediately applied to real-world problems. We draw our background, training, and influence from the rational, functional, information-oriented perspective of the Modernist design ethic. Because all graphical user interfaces are communication systems, we believe their design should reflect these same values. Our tutorial is organized not along the traditional subdisciplines of color, typography, or ideation, but along the problems of graphical interface design as experienced in commercial software development. We describe basic design principles (the what and why), common errors, and practical techniques (the how) for each of the six major areas outlined below.
series	other
last changed	2002/07/07 16:01

_id	ddssup9611
id	ddssup9611
authors	Polidori, MaurIcio Couto
year	1996
title	Built Form Impact Assessment Method of Description
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Third Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture and Urban Planning - Part two: Urban Planning Proceedings (Spa, Belgium), August 18-21, 1996
summary	Continuous change in contemporary cities heve produced an urban space tipollogically diverse, particulary in fast growing South-American countries. As a result, the straight contextual analysis, usually used to assess the degree of innovation/permanence of new buildings in urban settings becomes ineffective, for the simple reason that frequently it is virtually impossible to establish what the context dominance actually is. The method proposed in this paper takes the issue of tipological analysis from a systems approach. This is carried out by a series of procedures, such as: a) identifying buildings'constitutive parts, which can be done at any degree of detail; b) listing them according to their attributes of repertory and formal composition. ;with this it is obtained a extensive catalogue of the entities taking part of the considered urban setting, from which the actual context can be depicted; c) listing each entity's participation in the landscape composition, or the role each one has in the landscape configuration. The software that operates the analysis does the rest, measuring the degree of innovation/permanence of each entity, in relation to the others, and defining what the context is made of.. From this, any inclusion/exclusion in the considered townscape is automatically evaluated in terms of impact on the pre-existing setting. The system can be used at any urban scale, as well as at the building scale.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_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.
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_id	avocaad_2001_20
id	avocaad_2001_20
authors	Shen-Kai Tang
year	2001
title	Toward a procedure of computer simulation in the restoration of historical architecture
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 the field of architectural design, “visualization¨ generally refers to some media, communicating and representing the idea of designers, such as ordinary drafts, maps, perspectives, photos and physical models, etc. (Rahman, 1992; Susan, 2000). The main reason why we adopt visualization is that it enables us to understand clearly and to control complicated procedures (Gombrich, 1990). Secondly, the way we get design knowledge is more from the published visualized images and less from personal experiences (Evans, 1989). Thus the importance of the representation of visualization is manifested.Due to the developments of computer technology in recent years, various computer aided design system are invented and used in a great amount, such as image processing, computer graphic, computer modeling/rendering, animation, multimedia, virtual reality and collaboration, etc. (Lawson, 1995; Liu, 1996). The conventional media are greatly replaced by computer media, and the visualization is further brought into the computerized stage. The procedure of visual impact analysis and assessment (VIAA), addressed by Rahman (1992), is renewed and amended for the intervention of computer (Liu, 2000). Based on the procedures above, a great amount of applied researches are proceeded. Therefore it is evident that the computer visualization is helpful to the discussion and evaluation during the design process (Hall, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998; Liu, 1997; Sasada, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, 1998). In addition to the process of architectural design, the computer visualization is also applied to the subject of construction, which is repeatedly amended and corrected by the images of computer simulation (Liu, 2000). Potier (2000) probes into the contextual research and restoration of historical architecture by the technology of computer simulation before the practical restoration is constructed. In this way he established a communicative mode among archeologists, architects via computer media.In the research of restoration and preservation of historical architecture in Taiwan, many scholars have been devoted into the studies of historical contextual criticism (Shi, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995; Fu, 1995, 1997; Chiu, 2000). Clues that accompany the historical contextual criticism (such as oral information, writings, photographs, pictures, etc.) help to explore the construction and the procedure of restoration (Hung, 1995), and serve as an aid to the studies of the usage and durability of the materials in the restoration of historical architecture (Dasser, 1990; Wang, 1998). Many clues are lost, because historical architecture is often age-old (Hung, 1995). Under the circumstance, restoration of historical architecture can only be proceeded by restricted pictures, written data and oral information (Shi, 1989). Therefore, computer simulation is employed by scholars to simulate the condition of historical architecture with restricted information after restoration (Potier, 2000). Yet this is only the early stage of computer-aid restoration. The focus of the paper aims at exploring that whether visual simulation of computer can help to investigate the practice of restoration and the estimation and evaluation after restoration.By exploring the restoration of historical architecture (taking the Gigi Train Station destroyed by the earthquake in last September as the operating example), this study aims to establish a complete work on computer visualization, including the concept of restoration, the practice of restoration, and the estimation and evaluation of restoration.This research is to simulate the process of restoration by computer simulation based on visualized media (restricted pictures, restricted written data and restricted oral information) and the specialized experience of historical architects (Potier, 2000). During the process of practicing, communicates with craftsmen repeatedly with some simulated alternatives, and makes the result as the foundation of evaluating and adjusting the simulating process and outcome. In this way we address a suitable and complete process of computer visualization for historical architecture.The significance of this paper is that we are able to control every detail more exactly, and then prevent possible problems during the process of restoration of historical architecture.
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last changed	2005/09/09 10:48

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