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

PDF papers
References

Hits 1 to 20 of 555

Reformat results as: short short into frame detailed detailed into frame

_id	e031
authors	Stannard, Sandy
year	1998
title	Computers in Design Exploring Light and Time
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1998.026
source	Digital Design Studios: Do Computers Make a Difference? [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-07-1] Québec City (Canada) October 22-25, 1998, pp. 26-35
summary	Computers have helped bring architectural education to a digital crossroads. This new tool is effecting architectural education on numerous levels, from the simplest word processing of research papers to more complex interactive modeling. This casestudy paper will focus on the new and changing role of the computer in the design studio. In this case, the approach to integrating the computer into the studio revolves around its application simply as another tool for a designer’s use. Clearly, the use of computers in design studios is not a new development. However, as the computer’s use in design education is not yet widespread, a dialogue about methods of application is valuable for design educators. The intent behind computer use in this case was not to replace traditional design methods but to complement and enhance them. In this spirit, this case study focuses on the use of computers to investigate two aspects of design that are challenging to model: light and time. In the studios to be examined here, students were required to explore their designs with both traditional tools (sketches on trace, physical study models as well as final finish models, etc.) and with newer digital tools (lighting simulation programs, threedimensional modeling programs, and animation). Students worked in teams in most cases. The computer was used both as a design tool as well as a representational tool, with varying degrees of success, depending on the student’s expertise, comfort using the computer as a design tool and access to appropriate hardware and software. In the first studio case study, the “new” medium of the computer was a perfect complement for the focus of the studio, entitled “Space and Light.” In addition to utilizing large scale physical models traditionally used for lighting design, three-dimensional computer models using Lightscape enriched the design results. Both sets of tools were vital for the design processes of the studio assignments. In the second studio case study, a traditional fourth year studio was required to use the computer to explore the dimension of time in their designs, which in this case translated into animation modeling. Integrating the computer into the design studio promises to be a complex task. As these examples will illustrate, the advantages and the disadvantages require continual balancing. Philosophical disagreement, potential discomfort, or a general lack of knowledge of digital tools may inhibit design educators from testing the potential of these ever-changing tools. Despite the challenges, this case study reveals the educational value of continued experimental use of digital tools in the design studio.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:56

_id	e72f
authors	Dorta, Tomás and LaLande, Philippe
year	1998
title	The Impact of Virtual Reality on the Design Process
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1998.138
source	Digital Design Studios: Do Computers Make a Difference? [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-07-1] Québec City (Canada) October 22-25, 1998, pp. 138-163
summary	Sketching, either hand or computer generated, along with other traditional visualization tools such as perspective drawing have difficulty in correctly representing three dimensional objects. Even physical models, in architecture, suffer in this regard because of inevitable scaling. The designer finds himself cut off from the reality of the object and is prone to misinterpretations of the object and its surrounding space and to resulting design errors. These are sometimes not perceived until too late, once the object has been constructed. Traditional tools use 2D media to represent 3D objects and only manage to introduce the third dimension in a limited manner (perspectives, not only tedious to construct, are static). This scenario affects the design process, particularly the cycle of proposal, verification and correction of design hypotheses as well as the cognitive aspects that condition the designer’s visualization of the designed object. In most cases, computer graphics mimic, through its interface, the traditional way of doing things. The architectural model is parametricized with little regard for visualization. No allowance is made for the change in the medium of graphic representation. Moreover, effort is not made to capitalize on the advantages of numerical calculation to propose new interfaces and new dimensions in object visualization. Virtual Reality (VR), seen not only as technology but as experience, brings the 3D object, abstractly viewed by traditional means, into clearer focus and provides us with these new dimensions. Errors due to abstracted representation are reduced since the interface is always three dimensional and the interactions intuitively made in real time thus allowing the designer to experience the presence of the designed object very quickly. At the École de design industriel of the Faculté d’aménagement, we have run tests using non-immersive VR–one passive (comprehension) and another active (design). This project, involving a group of 72 students during a period of six weeks (6h/week), aimed at analyzing the impact of VR as a visualization tool on the design process versus traditional tools. The results, described in this presentation, shed light on the effect of VR on the creative process as such, as well as on the quality of the results produced by that process.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	161c
authors	Juroszek, Steven P.
year	1999
title	Access, Instruction, Application: Towards a Universal Lab
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1999.141
source	Architectural Computing from Turing to 2000 [eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-5-7] Liverpool (UK) 15-17 September 1999, pp. 141-150
summary	In January 1998, the Montana State University School of Architecture embarked upon an initiative to successfully integrate computer technology into its design curriculum. At that time only a handful of student computers could be found in the design studio. By January 1999 over 95 students have and use computers in their courses. The increase in computer access and use is occurring through a five-phase initiative called the Universal Lab-a school-wide commitment to the full integration of computer technology into all design studios, support courses and architectural electives. The Universal Lab uses the areas of Access, Instruction and Application as the vehicles for appropriate placement and usage of digital concepts within the curriculum. The three-pronged approach allows each instructor to integrate technology using one, two or all three areas with varying degrees of intensity. This paper presents the current status of the Universal Lab-Phase I and Phase II-and describes the effect of this program on student work, course design and faculty instruction.
keywords	Design, Access, Instruction, Application, Integration
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:52

_id	6397
authors	Marx, John
year	1998
title	A Proposal for Alternative Methodologies in Teaching Digital Design
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1998.058
source	Digital Design Studios: Do Computers Make a Difference? [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-07-1] Québec City (Canada) October 22-25, 1998, pp. 58-73
summary	Computers have the potential to radically change the process of architectural design, and match more closely the formal aspirations of contemporary designers. What, then, should be the direction educators take in response to the opportunities created by the use of computers in the design process? There are, perhaps, two obvious methods of teaching Digital Design at a university level; a course adjunct to a design studio, or a course offered independently of a design studio. The computer is a facilitator of design ideas, but by itself, is not a creator of content. The primary responsibility of the design studio is the creation of content. It is the implementation of theory and critical analysis which should be the core concern of studio instruction. Given the limited time students are exposed to design studio it would seem appropriate, then, that the digital tools, which facilitate the design process, be taught separately, so as not to dilute the design studios importance. Likewise, this separation should allow the student to concentrate attention on Digital Design as a comprehensive process, beginning with initial massing studies and ending with high resolution presentation drawings. The burden of learning this new process is difficult as well as time consuming. Students are generally struggling to learn how to design, much less to design on the computer. In addition, the current lack of digital skills on the part of design faculty makes it difficult to create a level of consistency in teaching digital design. Compounding these problems is the cost to architectural departments of providing hardware and software resources sufficient to have a computer on every studio desk.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:59

_id	41
authors	Peh, Calvin and Noble, Douglas
year	1998
title	The Design of Computer Working and Teaching Environments
source	II Seminario Iberoamericano de Grafico Digital [SIGRADI Conference Proceedings / ISBN 978-97190-0-X] Mar del Plata (Argentina) 9-11 september 1998, pp. 310-315
summary	It is undeniable that the computer has affected every aspect of our lives. Many people work with computers on a daily basis, from writing e-mail or simply browsing the internet to hours of serious modeling and drafting for those in the architecture field. As we spend more time working with computers, research into improving computer teaching and working environments becomes more important. For those working in an architecture office, it almost certain that a major part of the day will be spent in front of a computer drafting. This research provides a preliminary set of guidelines that can be applied in the design of computer working/teaching environments. The on-going research is focussed in creating facilities geared toward user comfort and productivity and improving teaching environments. It covers issues regarding the position and orientation of the room, lighting aspect (including natural and artificial light), acoustics, user visual comfort, psychrometric conditions, furnishings, and the adaptability of the space for future changes. The project includes analysis of existing examples of computer-lecture rooms, noting the problems and suggesting improvements.
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:57

_id	451d
authors	Strong, James and Woodbury, Robert F.
year	1998
title	Psyberdesign: Designing the Cognitive Spaces of Virtual Environments
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1998.276
source	Digital Design Studios: Do Computers Make a Difference? [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-07-1] Québec City (Canada) October 22-25, 1998, pp. 276-288
summary	Increasingly, we find ourselves spending more time on a daily basis engaged in a variety of virtual environments, ranging from those discovered when using the stand-alone computer, to more complex distributed networks such as the World Wide Web. Virtual environments are not restricted to the popular and hyped notion of immersive Virtual Reality systems, though, in immersion, such systems provide a dimension of experience sorely lacking in most human-computer interfaces. The design of a diverse range of virtual environments, from textual through to three dimensional, would seem to require insight from those who habitually create immersive experiences, whether real or virtual. The former include architects, the latter the authors of computer games. Virtual environments such as the Internet, and the World Wide Web in particular, are becoming increasingly confusing to navigate. Exploratory behaviour in these environments requires extensive cognitive effort, and often results in disorientation and a sense of anxiety. This paper attempts to address issues of cognitive mapping in virtual environment design, and the exciting role that architects should occupy in the creation of better virtual environments. A virtual environment tool, called WOMBAT, has been developed to discover more about the relationship between real environment and virtual environment navigation and cognitive mapping, and consequently the degree to which concepts and theories from real environment design and cognitive mapping research can be translated to the virtual environment domain. Both a natural environment and an information environment are being investigated using WOMBAT, with the primary interest being the cognitive mapping and wayfinding activities that are exhibited during exploration.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:56

_id	21
authors	Barroso, Jorge
year	1998
title	Reflexiones Sobre la EnseÒanza de la Arquitectura, la Informatica e Internet (Reflections on the Teaching of the Architecture, Computing and the Internet)
source	II Seminario Iberoamericano de Grafico Digital [SIGRADI Conference Proceedings / ISBN 978-97190-0-X] Mar del Plata (Argentina) 9-11 september 1998, pp. 174-179
summary	This paper proposes a reflection upon the teaching of architecture as seen from the actual practice of the profession within the context of the changes caused by the widespread use of computers and Internet in recent years. This proposal designates the present time as "semic revolution", superseding denominations like post industrial" or information revolution", emphasizing that the "mental prosthesis" created by man represents the highest degree of exploitation of his innerness as a "semic subject". A brief epistemological framework serves to lay the foundation for the concepts of imagination, creation, and design, differentiating the creator by his characteristic of requiring or not, semic mediation in order to reach his goals. The dominant use of new instruments which serve to represent and operate the "primary virtual object" giving priority to the comprehension and function of the new tool over the acquisition of information and ability to use it, is proposed when carried over to the field of application. The integration of internal networks through email strives not only to facilitate document transmission, exercises, group work, etc. but to understand the new dimension in the intellectual activities of man.
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:47

_id	7
authors	Bermudez, Julio
year	1998
title	Interaccion de Medios y Proceso De DiseÒo: Teoria y Base de Conocimientos Para una Produccion Arquitectonica Hibrida (Interaction of Design Media and Process: Theory and Knowledge Base for in the Production of Architectural Hybrids)
source	II Seminario Iberoamericano de Grafico Digital [SIGRADI Conference Proceedings / ISBN 978-97190-0-X] Mar del Plata (Argentina) 9-11 september 1998, pp. 56-65
summary	Integrating computers in architectural design means to negotiate between centuries-old analog design methods and the new digital systems of production. The difficulty lies in the underdeveloped state of the necessary methods, techniques, and theories to relate traditional and new media. Recent investigations on the use of multiple iterations between manual and electronic systems to advance architectural work show promising results. However, these experiments have not yet either developed a theoretical base that connects their procedures to a larger conceptual framework nor been sufficiently cross-referenced and third party tested to conform a reliable knowledge base. This paper addresses the first shortcoming in the light of the forces transforming our contemporary civilization and architecture.
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:47

_id	029f
authors	Bermudez, Julio and King, Kevin
year	1998
title	Media Interaction & Design Process: Establishing a Knowledge Base
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1998.006
source	Digital Design Studios: Do Computers Make a Difference? [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-07-1] Québec City (Canada) October 22-25, 1998, pp. 6-25
summary	Integrating computers in architectural design means to negotiate between centuries-old analog design methods and the new digital systems of production. Analog systems of architectural production use tracing paper, vellum, graphite and ink, clipboard, clay, balsa wood, plastic, metal, etc. Analog systems have also been termed ‘handmade’, ‘manual’, ‘material’ or ‘physical’. Digital systems of architectural production use scanning, image manipulation, visualization, solid modeling, computer aided drafting, animation, rendering, etc. Digital systems have also been called ‘electronic’, ‘computer-aided’, ‘virtual’, etc. The difficulty lies in the underdeveloped state of the necessary methods, techniques, and theories to relate traditional and new media. Recent investigations on the use of multiple iterations between manual and electronic systems to advance architectural work show promising results. However, these experiments have not been sufficiently codified, cross-referenced and third party tested to conform a reliable knowledge base. This paper addresses this shortcoming by bringing together reported experiences from diverse researchers over the past decade. This summary is informed by more than three years of continuous investigation in the impacts of analog-digital conversations in the design process. The goal is to establish a state-of-the-art common foundation that permits instructors, researchers and practitioners to refer to, utilize, test, criticize and develop. An appendix is included providing support for the paper’s arguments.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:52

_id	487c
authors	Blazquez, Oscar and Hardin, Mary
year	1998
title	Balancing Computer Use and Design Content in Studio Projects
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1998.036
source	Digital Design Studios: Do Computers Make a Difference? [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-07-1] Québec City (Canada) October 22-25, 1998, pp. 36-43
summary	Particular design approaches must be taught in order to take advantage of the strengths of computers in design rather than attempting to make computers conform to methods developed as by-products of manual design techniques. For the last three years our team of faculty teaching the second year design studio has been trying different approaches to the use of computers in design, in order to find the advantages and opportunities especially suited to electronic media. There are several projects during the semester which use computers at different stages of the design process. One of these projects, called “A Spatial Sequence,” uses information from a previous project as well as the knowledge from the computer class in parallel to design studio. The project asked students to create spatial archetypes based on the work of well-known architects. They explore the following topics as represented in the work of one particular architect: relationships of major spaces/minor spaces, approach/entry, and transition/threshold. Following the analysis, they create digital models to explore the spaces formed by their archetypes. Before committing to a physical study model, they look at the transitions between spaces by creating a sequence using the digital model and producing a series of shots through the digital model to show the flow of spaces. The use of computer through the process accelerates the options available to explore a sequence of elements, while simultaneously giving them a window to look into the spaces they have created. This hybridized approach of precedent analysis, digital modeling, and physical modeling was uniquely suited to the studio problem.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:52

_id	c0e0
authors	Campbell, Dace
year	1998
title	Architectural Construction Documents on the Web: VRML as a Case Study
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1998.266
source	Digital Design Studios: Do Computers Make a Difference? [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-07-1] Québec City (Canada) October 22-25, 1998, pp. 266-275
summary	The Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) and the World Wide Web (WWW) offer new opportunities to communicate an architect’s design intent throughout the design process. We have investigated the use of VRML in the production and communication of construction documents, the final phase of architectural building design. A prototype, experimental Web site was set up and used to disseminate design data as VRML models and HTML text to the design client, contractor, and fabricators. In this paper, we discuss the way our construction documents were developed in VRML, the issues we faced implementing it, and critical feedback from the users of the Web space/site. We analyze the usefulness of VRML as a communication tool for the design and construction industries. Finally, we discuss technical, social, and legal issues the AEC industry faces as it shifts to embrace widespread use of a “paperless” Web-based communications infrastructure for design documentation.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	a96f
id	a96f
authors	Clayton, M., Johnson, R., Song, Y and Al-Qawasmi, J.
year	1998
title	Delivering Facility Documentation using Intranet Technology
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1998.240
source	Digital Design Studios: Do Computers Make a Difference? [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-07-1] Québec City (Canada) October 22-25, 1998, pp. 240-253
summary	Intranet technologies present new opportunities for delivering facility documentation for use in facility management. After the design stage, building documentation is reused to support construction and then facility operation. However, a common perception is that construction documents and as-built drawings are less than optimal for reuse to support operations. We have conducted a study of facility management processes and the information content of facility documentation in the context of information technologies that are emerging into the marketplace. The study provides guidance for facility managers who are implementing and fielding new information technology systems. A better understanding of information needs during operations may also help designers to better structure their own documents for reuse. An analysis of documents that are used throughout the life cycle of facilities has led us to a characterization of operations documents that are distinct from design drawings, record drawings or as-built drawings. From an analysis of facility management processes, we have identified different roles for facility documentation in those processes. Facility documentation may be used as a resource, as input, or as output. Furthermore, from interviews of facility management personnel, we identified facility information that was rated high in importance and low in satisfaction that might be targeted when implementing a facility information system. We prepared software demonstrations that show how the information may be extracted from drawings, entered into databases and then retrieved via Web and CAD interfaces. We suggest that operations documents consist of a variety of information types and require several kinds of information tools, including databases, CAD drawings and hypertext. Intranet technologies, databases and CAD software can be integrated to achieve facility management systems that address shortcomings in current facility management operations. In particular, intranet technologies provide improved accessibility to information for facility management customers and occasional users of the systems. Our study has produced recommendations based upon utility and ease-of-implementation for delivery of information from the design team to the owner, and among personnel during operation of the facility.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:56

_id	ga9921
id	ga9921
authors	Coates, P.S. and Hazarika, L.
year	1999
title	The use of genetic programming for applications in the field of spatial composition
source	International Conference on Generative Art
summary	Architectural design teaching using computers has been a preoccupation of CECA since 1991. All design tutors provide their students with a set of models and ways to form, and we have explored a set of approaches including cellular automata, genetic programming ,agent based modelling and shape grammars as additional tools with which to explore architectural ( and architectonic) ideas.This paper discusses the use of genetic programming (G.P.) for applications in the field of spatial composition. CECA has been developing the use of Genetic Programming for some time ( see references ) and has covered the evolution of L-Systems production rules( coates 1997, 1999b), and the evolution of generative grammars of form (Coates 1998 1999a). The G.P. was used to generate three-dimensional spatial forms from a set of geometrical structures .The approach uses genetic programming with a Genetic Library (G.Lib) .G.P. provides a way to genetically breed a computer program to solve a problem.G. Lib. enables genetic programming to define potentially useful subroutines dynamically during a run .* Exploring a shape grammar consisting of simple solid primitives and transformations. * Applying a simple fitness function to the solid breeding G.P.* Exploring a shape grammar of composite surface objects. * Developing grammarsfor existing buildings, and creating hybrids. * Exploring the shape grammar of abuilding within a G.P.We will report on new work using a range of different morphologies ( boolean operations, surface operations and grammars of style ) and describe the use of objective functions ( natural selection) and the "eyeball test" ( artificial selection) as ways of controlling and exploring the design spaces thus defined.
series	other
more	http://www.generativeart.com/
last changed	2003/08/07 17:25

_id	40d7
authors	Dalyrmple, Michael and Gerzso, Michael
year	1998
title	Executable Drawings: The Computation of Digital Architecture
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1998.172
source	Digital Design Studios: Do Computers Make a Difference? [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-07-1] Québec City (Canada) October 22-25, 1998, pp. 172-187
summary	Architectural designs are principally represented by drawings. Usually, each drawing corresponds to one design or aspects of one design. On the other hand, one executable drawing corresponds to a set of designs. These drawings are the same as conventional drawings except that they have computer code or programs embedded in them. A specific design is the result of the computer executing the code in a drawing for a particular set of parameter values. If the parameters are changed, a new design or design variation is produced. With executable drawings, a CAD system is also a program editor. A designer not only designs by drawing but also programming. It fuses two activities: the first, drawing, is basic in architectural practice; and the second, progamming, or specifying the relation of outputs from inputs, is basic in computer system development. A consequence of executable drawings is that architectural form is represented by graphical entities (lines or shapes) as well as computer code or programs. This type of architecture we call digital architecture. Two simple examples are presented: first, the design of a building in terms of an executable drawing of the architects, Sangallo the Younger and Michelangelo, and second, a description of an object oriented implementation of a preliminary prototype of an executable drawing system written in 1997 which computes a simple office layout.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	0c54
authors	Datta, Sambit and Woodbury, Robert F.
year	1998
title	Reducing Semantic Distance in Generative Systems: A Massing Example
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1998.164
source	Digital Design Studios: Do Computers Make a Difference? [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-07-1] Québec City (Canada) October 22-25, 1998, pp. 164-171
summary	Generative design formalisms utilise discrete, constructive steps to encode strategies for formal change. In physical design media, the pervasive metaphor for doing design is the direct and continuous manipulation of the developing form. The goal of our investigation is to develop mixed initiative approaches to design exploration. In this paper, we address how constrained manipulation in generative systems can support both discrete and continuous modes of interaction. Massing is a common strategy for processing conceptual notions about three dimensional form. We use massing models of tenth century temple cellas as an example to illustrate an environment for constrained manipulation.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	c88d
authors	Dave, Bharat and Danahy, John
year	1998
title	Virtual Study Abroad and Exchange Studio
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1998.100
source	Digital Design Studios: Do Computers Make a Difference? [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-07-1] Québec City (Canada) October 22-25, 1998, pp. 100-115
summary	The digital design studio has an area of application where conventional media are incapable of being used; collaboration in learning, design and dialogue with people in places other than where one lives. This distinctive opportunity has lead the authors to explore a form of design brief and virtual design studio (VDS) format not well addressed in the literature. Instead of sharing the same design brief, students in this alternative format design a project in the other students’ city and do not collaborate on the same design. Collaboration with other students takes the form of teaching each other about the city and culture served by the design. The authors discovered these studios produce a focus on site context that serves our pedagogical objectives–a blend of architectural, landscape architectural and urban design knowledge. Their students use a range of commercial CAD and computer supported collaborative work (CSCW) software common to that used in many VDS experiments reported on in the literature. However, this conventional use of technology is contrasted with a second distinctive characteristic of these studios, the use of custom software tools specifically designed to support synchronous and asynchronous three-dimensional model exchange and linked attribute knowledge. The paper analyzes some of the virtual design studio (VDS) work between the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, the University of Toronto, and the University of Melbourne. The authors articulate a framework of VDS dimensions that structures their teaching and research.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	2d75
authors	Entous, Marc
year	1998
title	Developments in 3D Scanning and Digitizing: New Strategies for an Evolving Design Process
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1998.212
source	Digital Design Studios: Do Computers Make a Difference? [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-07-1] Québec City (Canada) October 22-25, 1998, pp. 212-220
summary	The computer is now a widely accepted tool in architecture as a production and business tool. Acceptance of digital technology as a design aid has been much slower, but continuing developments in ease of use, capabilities, and lower costs are encouraging the use of three-dimensional design modeling. As the demand for 3D design computing grows, peripheral digital technologies are also developing and being integrated. This paper describes on-going research into how current and near-future developments in three-dimensional scanning and digitizing technology that have the potential to substantially change processes of architectural design. Scanners, or digitizers, assist in transforming physical objects and models into digital representations. The capabilities of 3D scanners in architectural design have only begun to be explored. Existing and emerging 3D scanning technologies are briefly described followed by a discussion of sample existing, new, and potential uses of these capabilities as a design tool. An experiment is conducted to contrast the differences between stylus-based and laser-based digitizers in an architectural design environment.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	a114
authors	Faucher, Didier and Nivet, Marie-Laure
year	1998
title	Playing with Design Intent: Integration of Physical and Urban Constraints in CAD
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1998.118
source	Digital Design Studios: Do Computers Make a Difference? [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-07-1] Québec City (Canada) October 22-25, 1998, pp. 118-137
summary	Our work deals with the exploration of a universe of forms that satisfy some design intents. That is, we substitute a “generate and test” approach for a declarative approach in which an object is created from its properties. In this paper we present an original method that takes into account design intents relative to sunlight, visibility and urban regulation. First of all we study how current CAD tools have considered these properties until now. Our conclusion is that the classical design / simulation / analysis process does not suit design practices, especially in the early stages. We think that an improved CAD system should offer the architect the option of manipulating abstract information such as design intents. We define an intent as a conceptual expression of constraints having an influence on the project. For instance, a visual intent will be stated with no reference to vision geometry: “ from this place, I want to see the front of the new building”. We show how to represent each of these constraints with a 3D volume associated to some characteristics. If some solutions exist, we are sure that they are included in these volumes. For physical phenomena we compute the volume geometry using the principles of inverse simulation. In the case of urban regulation we apply deduction rules. Design intents are solved by means of geometrical entities that represent openings or obstructions in the project. Computing constraint volumes is a way of guiding the architect in his exploration of solutions. Constraint volumes are new spaces that can restore the link between form and phenomenon in a CAD tool. Our approach offers the designer the possibility of manipulating design intents.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	4942
authors	Gardner, Brian M.
year	1998
title	The Grid Sketcher: An AutoCAD Based Tool for Conceptual Design Processes
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1998.222
source	Digital Design Studios: Do Computers Make a Difference? [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-07-1] Québec City (Canada) October 22-25, 1998, pp. 222-237
summary	Sketching with pencil and paper is reminiscent of the varied, rich, and loosely defined formal processes associated with conceptual design. Architects actively engage such creative paradigms in their exploration and development of conceptual design solutions. The Grid Sketcher, as a conceptual sketching tool, presents one possible computer implementation for enhancing and supporting these processes. It effectively demonstrates the facility with which current technology and the computing environment can enhance and simulate sketching intents and expectations. One pervasive and troubling undercurrent, however, is the conceptual barrier between the variable processes of human thought and those indigenous to computing. Typically with respect to design, the position taken is that the two are virtually void of any fundamental commonality. A designer’s thoughts are intuitive, at times irrational, and rarely follow consistently identifiable patterns. Conversely, computing requires predictability in just these endeavors. Computing is strictly an algorithmic process while thought is not always so predictable. Given these dichotomous relationships, the computing environment, as commonly defined, cannot reasonably expect to mimic the typically human domain of creative design. In this context, this thesis accentuates the computer’s role as a form generator as opposed to a form evaluator. The computer, under the influence of certain contextual parameters can, however, provide the designer with a rich and elegant set of forms that respond through algorithmics to the designer’s creative intents. The software presented in this thesis is written in AutoLISP and exploits AutoCAD’s capacious 3D environment. Designs and productions respond to a bounded framework where user selected parametric variables of size, scale, proportion, and proximity, all which reflect contextual issues, determine the characteristics of a unit form. Designer selected growth algorithms then arbitrate the spatial relationships between the unit forms and their propagation through the developing design. While the Sketcher implements only the GRID as an organizational discipline, many other paradigms are possible. Within this grid structure a robust set of editing features, supported by the computer’s inherent speed, allows the designer to analyze successive productions while refining ever more complex solutions. Through creative manipulation of these algorithmic structures ideas eventually coalesce to formalize images that represent a given design problem’s solution set.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:51

_id	46bb
authors	Gerzso, J. Michael
year	1998
title	Speculations on a Machine-Understandable Language for Architecture
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1998.302
source	Digital Design Studios: Do Computers Make a Difference? [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-07-1] Québec City (Canada) October 22-25, 1998, pp. 302-314
summary	One of the objectives of research in computer-aided design in architecture has been to make computer tools or instruments for architectural design, not just drafting. There has been work presented at ACADIA and other conferences related to artificial intelligence, data bases, shape grammars, among others. In all of these cases, existence of a computer language in one form or another is implied. The purpose of this paper is to argue that the progress in the development of intelligent design systems (IDS) is closely linked to the progress of the languages used to implement such systems. In order to make the argument, we will adopt an approach of first specifying the characteristics of an IDS in terms of a conceptual framework of computer languages in a CAD system in general, and what it means to develop a machine-understandable language for architectural CAD in particular. The framework is useful for classifying research projects and for structuring a research agenda in architectural CAD.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:51

For more results click below: