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 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 ga9811
id ga9811
authors Feuerstein, Penny L.
year 1998
title Collage, Technology, and Creative Process
source International Conference on Generative Art
summary Since the turn of the twentieth century artists have been using collage to suggest new realities and changing concepts of time. Appropriation and simulation can be found in the earliest recycled scraps in Cubist collages. Picasso and Braque liberated the art world with cubism, which integrated all planes and surfaces of the artists' subjects and combined them into a new, radical form. The computer is a natural extension of their work on collage. The identifying characteristics of the computer are integration, simultaneity and evolution which are inherent in collage. Further, the computer is about "converting information". There is something very facinating about scanning an object into the computer, creating a texture brush and drawing with the object's texture. It is as if the computer not only integrates information but different levels of awareness as well. In the act of converting the object from atoms to bits the object is portrayed at the same conscious level as the spiritual act of drawing. The speed and malleability of transforming an image on the computer can be compared to the speed and malleability of thought processes of the mind. David Salle said, "one of the impulses in new art is the desire to be a mutant, whether it involves artificial intelligence, gender or robotic parts. It is about the desire to get outside the self and the desire to trandscend one's place." I use the computer to transcend, to work in different levels of awareness at the same time - the spiritual and the physical. In the creative process of working with computer, many new images are generated from previous ones. An image can be processed in unlimited ways without degradation of information. There is no concept of original and copy. The computer alters the image and changes it back to its original in seconds. Each image is not a fixed object in time, but the result of dynamic aspects which are acquired from previous works and each new moment. In this way, using the computer to assist the mind in the creative processes of making art mirrors the changing concepts of time, space, and reality that have evolved as the twentieth century has progressed. Nineteenth-century concepts of the monolithic truth have been replaced with dualism and pluralism. In other words, the objective world independent of the observer, that assumes the mind is separate from the body, has been replaced with the mind and body as inseparable, connected to the objective world through our perception and awareness. Marshall Mcluhan said, "All media as extensions of ourselves serve to provide new transforming vision and awareness." The computer can bring such complexities and at the same time be very calming because it can be ultrafocused, promoting a higher level of awareness where life can be experienced more vividly. Nicholas Negroponte pointed out that "we are passing into a post information age, often having an audience of just one." By using the computer to juxtapose disparate elements, I create an impossible coherence, a hodgepodge of imagery not wholly illusory. Interestingly, what separates the elements also joins them. Clement Greenberg states that "the collage medium has played a pivotal role in twentieth century painting and sculpture"(1) Perspective, developed by the renaissance archetect Alberti, echoed the optically perceived world as reality was replaced with Cubism. Cubism brought about the destruction of the illusionist means and effects that had characterized Western painting since the fifteenth century.(2) Clement Greenberg describes the way in which physical and spiritual realities are combined in cubist collages. "By pasting a piece of newspaper lettering to the canvas one called attention to the physical reality of the work of art and made that reality the same as the art."(3) Before I discuss some of the concepts that relate collage to working with computer, I would like to define some of the theories behind them. The French word collage means pasting, or gluing. Today the concept may include all forms of composite art and processes of photomontage and assemblage. In the Foreword on Katherine Hoffman's book on Collage Kim Levin writes: "This technique - which takes bits and pieces out of context to patch them into new contexts keeps changeng, adapting to various styles and concerns. And it's perfectly apt that interpretations of collage have varied according to the intellectual inquiries of the time. From our vantage point near the end of the century we can now begin to see that collage has all along carried postmodern genes."(4) Computer, on the other hand is not another medium. It is a visual tool that may be used in the creative process. Patrick D. Prince's views are," Computer art is not concrete. There is no artifact in digital art. The images exist in the computer's memory and can be viewed on a monitor: they are pure visual information."(5) In this way it relates more to conceptual art such as performance art. Timothy Binkley explains that,"I believe we will find the concept of the computer as a medium to be more misleading than useful. Computer art will be better understood and more readily accepted by a skeptical artworld if we acknowledge how different it is from traditional tools. The computer is an extension of the mind, not of the hand or eye,and ,unlike cinema or photography, it does not simply add a new medium to the artist's repertoire, based on a new technology.(6) Conceptual art marked a watershed between the progress of modern art and the pluralism of postmodernism(7) " Once the art is comes out of the computer, it can take a variety of forms or be used with many different media. The artist does not have to write his/her own program to be creative with the computer. The work may have the thumbprint of a specific program, but the creative possibilities are up to the artist. Computer artist John Pearson feels that,"One cannot overlook the fact that no matter how technically interesting the artwork is it has to withstand analysis. Only the creative imagination of the artist, cultivated from a solid conceptual base and tempered by a sophisticsated visual sensitivity, can develop and resolve the problems of art."(8) The artist has to be even more focused and selective by using the computer in the creative process because of the multitude of options it creates and its generative qualities.
series other
email
more http://www.generativeart.com/
last changed 2003/08/07 17:25

_id ga9813
id ga9813
authors Pontecorvo, Michael Steven
year 1998
title Designing the Undesigned: Emergence as a tool for design
source International Conference on Generative Art
summary Design, as an act and a result, is a natural part of the larger biological context in which we live. It is both a behavior and a tangible side effect of the organic system from which it arises. A design can be characterized as a physical exemplar of the concept of memes, the 'genetic' building blocks of ideas or units of cultural transmission. In this capacity, design has served to extend humankind's reach and ensure and enrich humankind's survival in the full range and variability of conditions the Earth has to offer. In a very real sense, design has 'evolved' its own rich ecosystem, with a robust diversity of elements, dynamics, and interrelationships rivaling that of the organic system from which it derives. In the ecology of design, designs obey laws analogous to the laws of survival and selection that organisms in nature obey. Given the recent advances in understanding and modeling of the biological and physical systems, it is not surprising that artists and designers are now turning to these models as a 'new' resource for the conceptualization and design of structured artifacts and spaces. While there are many fundamental technical issues surrounding development and application of generative models and processes, the relationship of artist to the process of creation is a central issue in the scaling up and widespread accessibility/acceptance of the generative approach. This paper will present a set of observations from the perspective of a small company of artist/ technologists trying to bridge the commercial and artistic application of generative processes. Specifically, the paper will explore some approaches to the designer/system relationship and process control metaphor, the balancing of serendipity and design convergence, the definitions and representations of design spaces, and finally, present some ideas about the future prospects and promising new techniques for generative design.
series other
email
more http://www.generativeart.com/
last changed 2003/08/07 17:25

_id 24df
authors Saggio, Antonino
year 1998
title HyperArchitecture
source Computerised Craftsmanship [eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Paris (France) 24-26 September 1998, pp. 224-227
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1998.224
summary The "Universale d?architettura" is a pocket book series which is now arrived at 40 titles. Printed by Testo&Immagine in Turin it is directed by Bruno Zevi. It has a very large public, being distributed in newstands, in bookstores and mailed to subscribers at a very convenient price (6 dollars each). Many of its titles will soon appear in English, French, Spanish and German. The book series is divided into different sections (monographs, essays, architectural guides, anthologies) and in April 1988 a new section has been introduced. "La rivoluzione informatica" ("The Information revolution") is the title and Antonino Saggio is the curator. Scope of this new section is to bring closer architecture and computers by providing intellectual and cultural tools to orient the reader in a fast growing filed. The first book (Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi, Hyperarchitecture. Spaces in the electronic era) is an essay that combines a critical overview of most recent projects by Ito, Arakama, Koolhaas, Libeskind with epistemological consideration and researches coming from conceptual art. Three key words organized the material: projection, mutation, simulation. The next book (Gerhard Schmitt, Information architecture) deals with foundation and future of Caad systems and it can be seen from one side as an extremely updated manual and from the other as the construction of the developing lines of Caad research. Other forthcoming titles include: Virtual Terragni, How works the Eisenman Office, Design and Build with Computers. "La rivoluzione informatica" is (not only in Italy but also, quite probably, anywhere) the only book series which addresses the theme of architectural design in the electronic era. To better understand its scope, character and goals, it follows the Afterward by Saggio to the first book.
series eCAADe
email
more http://www.paris-valdemarne.archi.fr/archive/ecaade98/html/11saggio/index.htm
last changed 2022/06/07 07:56

_id ga9814
id ga9814
authors Gatarski, Richard
year 1998
title Evolutionary Banners, exploring a generative design approach
source International Conference on Generative Art
summary This working paper reports pre-mature findings from an ongoing research project that uses Genetic Algorithms (GAs) to automate the design of objects in the World Wide Web (WWW). Digital communications technology has on the business side been conceptualized as electronic commerce (E-commerce). Digitization implies a new cost structure for message design, test and implementation. One important problem regards the use and effectiveness of different means for E-commerce market communications. The purpose with the research presented here is to experiment with a particular use of GAs in E-commerce retailing. It is not to look for an optimal algorithm or fine-tune its parameters. This paper contributes with findings and a discussion of a new E-commerce possibility – evolutionary banner design The scientific aim is to explore the value of such an approach. As well as identify important issues. In a soon-to-be-realized implementation, the commercial aim will be to increase the sales volume for a specific product. In a sense the evolutionary banner works as an artificial art director. Still, a human director is needed to design the banner organism, its genetic code and related parameters. And of course to develop more creative uses of the approach presented below.
series other
email
more http://www.generativeart.com/
last changed 2003/08/07 17:25

_id 4e03
authors Grady, J.M.
year 1998
title Virtual Reality: Computers Mimic the Physical World
source New York: Facts on File
summary In the Science Sourcebook series, a clear and sensible approach to the wonders and mysteries of virtual reality, including its history and some possible scenarios for the future. Grady compares the state of virtual reality to the situation of television in its earliest years: Everyone thought it was great, but it was wildly expensive, and the technology had not yet caught up to the possibilities. He takes a tour through virtual reality's history, and describes its current uses, still in their infancy, in medicine, architecture, business, science, and, of course, fun and games. He writes quite accurately about the function of virtual realityessentially to fool the mind and body into creating a multidimensional experience from computers, software, and devices.
series other
last changed 2003/04/23 15:14

_id c65d
authors Habraken, N.J. and Teicher, J (ed.)
year 1998
title The Structure of the Ordinary
source MIT Press, Cambridge, USA, pp. 73-76
summary According to N. J. Habraken, intimate and unceasing interaction between people and the forms they inhabit uniquely defines built environment. The Structure of the Ordinary, the culmination of decades of environmental observation and design research, is a recognition and analysis of everyday environment as the wellspring of urban design and formal architecture. The author's central argument is that built environment is universally organized by the Orders of Form, Place, and Understanding. These three fundamental, interwoven principles correspond roughly to physical, biological, and social domains. Historically, "ordinary" environment was the background against which architects built the "extraordinary." Drawing upon extensive examples from archaeological and contemporary sites worldwide, the author illustrates profound recent shifts in the structure of everyday environment. One effect of these transformations, Habraken argues, has been the loss of implicit common understanding that previously enabled architects to formally enhance and innovate while still maintaining environmental coherence. Consequently, architects must now undertake a study of the ordinary as the fertile common ground in which form- and place-making are rooted. In focusing on built environment as an autonomous entity distinct from the societies and natural environments that jointly create it, this book lays the foundation for a new dialogue on methodology and pedagogy, in support of a more
series other
last changed 2003/04/23 15:14

_id 50a1
authors Hoffman, Donald
year 1998
title Visual Intelligence
source Norton Publishing, New York
summary After his stroke, Mr. P still had outstanding memory and intelligence. He could still read and talk, and mixed well with the other patients on his ward. His vision was in most respects normal---with one notable exception: He couldn't recognize the faces of people or animals. As he put it himself, "I can see the eyes, nose, and mouth quite clearly, but they just don't add up. They all seem chalked in, like on a blackboard ... I have to tell by the clothes or by the voice whether it is a man or a woman ...The hair may help a lot, or if there is a mustache ... ." Even his own face, seen in a mirror, looked to him strange and unfamiliar. Mr. P had lost a critical aspect of his visual intelligence. We have long known about IQ and rational intelligence. And, due in part to recent advances in neuroscience and psychology, we have begun to appreciate the importance of emotional intelligence. But we are largely ignorant that there is even such a thing as visual intelligence---that is, until it is severely impaired, as in the case of Mr. P, by a stroke or other insult to visual cortex. The culprit in our ignorance is visual intelligence itself. Vision is normally so swift and sure, so dependable and informative, and apparently so effortless that we naturally assume that it is, indeed, effortless. But the swift ease of vision, like the graceful ease of an Olympic ice skater, is deceptive. Behind the graceful ease of the skater are years of rigorous training, and behind the swift ease of vision is an intelligence so great that it occupies nearly half of the brain's cortex. Our visual intelligence richly interacts with, and in many cases precedes and drives, our rational and emotional intelligence. To understand visual intelligence is to understand, in large part, who we are. It is also to understand much about our highly visual culture in which, as the saying goes, image is everything. Consider, for instance, our entertainment. Visual effects lure us into theaters, and propel films like Star Wars and Jurassic Park to record sales. Music videos usher us before surreal visual worlds, and spawn TV stations like MTV and VH-1. Video games swallow kids (and adults) for hours on end, and swell the bottom lines of companies like Sega and Nintendo. Virtual reality, popularized in movies like Disclosure and Lawnmower Man, can immerse us in visual worlds of unprecedented realism, and promises to transform not only entertainment but also architecture, education, manufacturing, and medicine. As a culture we vote with our time and wallets and, in the case of entertainment, our vote is clear. Just as we enjoy rich literature that stimulates our rational intelligence, or a moving story that engages our emotional intelligence, so we also seek out and enjoy new media that challenge our visual intelligence. Or consider marketing and advertisement, which daily manipulate our buying habits with sophisticated images. Corporations spend millions each year on billboards, packaging, magazine ads, and television commercials. Their images can so powerfully influence our behavior that they sometimes generate controversy---witness the uproar over Joe Camel. If you're out to sell something, understanding visual intelligence is, without question, critical to the design of effective visual marketing. And if you're out to buy something, understanding visual intelligence can help clue you in to what is being done to you as a consumer, and how it's being done. This book is a highly illustrated and accessible introduction to visual intelligence, informed by the latest breakthroughs in vision research. Perhaps the most surprising insight that has emerged from vision research is this: Vision is not merely a matter of passive perception, it is an intelligent process of active construction. What you see is, invariably, what your visual intelligence constructs. Just as scientists intelligently construct useful theories based on experimental evidence, so vision intelligently constructs useful visual worlds based on images at the eyes. The main difference is that the constructions of scientists are done consciously, but those of vision are done, for the most part, unconsciously.
series other
last changed 2003/04/23 15:14

_id c38b
authors Kunz, J.C., Christiansen, T.R., Cohen, G.P., Jin, Y. and Levitt, R.E.
year 1998
title The Virtual Design Team
source Communications of The ACM, Vol. 41, No. 11, November, 1998
summary The long range goal of the Virtual Design Team" (VDT) research program is to develop computational tools to analyze decision making and communication behavior and thereby to support true organizational (re)engineering. This article introduces the underlying theory, the implementation of the theory as a computational model, and results from industrial test cases. Organization theory traditionally describes organizations only at an aggregate-level, describing and predicting the behavior of entire organizations in terms of general qualitative predictions. We define and implement a "micro" theory of the structure and behavior of components of organizations, explicitly representing activities, groups of people called "actors," and organizational structure and policies for project teams. A VDT model can be "run" by a discrete event simulation. Emergent aggregate model output behaviors include the predicted time to complete a project, the total effort to do the project, and a measure of process quality. More detailed model behaviors include the time-varying backlog of individual actors and the "exceptions" associated with activities. The results are detailed and specific, so they can guide specific managerial interventions in a project team and can support sensitivity studies of the relative impact of different organizational changes. We conclude that such a theory is tractable and predictive for complex but relatively routine, project-oriented design tasks. The application for which VDT offers unique new kinds of insights is where an organization is striving to shrink time to market dramatically for a product that is similar to ones it has previously developed. Reducing time to market dramatically almost always requires that previously sequential activities are executed more concurrently. In this situation, experienced managers can still correctly identify the required activities and estimate their durations and skill requirements; but they almost always underestimate the increased workload arising from exponentially higher coordination needs and the propagation of rework between the now highly concurrent activities. The VDT framework, which explicitly models information dependency and failure propagation between concurrent activities, has proven to be far more accurate, and to incorporate a wider range of parameters, than CPM/PERT process models for these fast-paced development projects."
series journal paper
last changed 2003/04/23 15:50

_id ga9809
id ga9809
authors Kälviäinen, Mirja
year 1998
title The ideological basis of generative expression in design
source International Conference on Generative Art
summary This paper will discuss issues concerning the design ideology supporting the use and development of generative design. This design ideology is based on the unique qualities of craft production and on the forms or ideas from nature or the natural characteristics of materials. The main ideology presented here is the ideology of the 1980´s art craft production in Finland. It is connected with the general Finnish design ideology and with the design ideology of other western countries. The ideology for these professions is based on the common background of design principles stated in 19th century England. The early principles developed through the Arts and Crafts tradition which had a great impact on design thinking in Europe and in the United States. The strong continuity of this design ideology from 19th century England to the present computerized age can be detected. The application of these design principles through different eras shows the difference in the interpretations and in the permission of natural decorative forms. The ideology of the 1980ïs art craft in Finland supports the ideas and fulfilment of generative design in many ways. The reasons often given as the basis for making generative design with computers are in very many respects the same as the ideology for art craft. In Finland there is a strong connection between art craft and design ideology. The characteristics of craft have often been seen as the basis for industrial design skills. The main themes in the ideology of the 1980´s art craft in Finland can be compared to the ideas of generative design. The main issues in which the generative approach reflects a distinctive ideological thinking are: Way of Life: The work is the communication of the maker´s inner ideas. The concrete relationship with the environment, personality, uniqueness, communication, visionary qualities, development and growth of the maker are important. The experiments serve as a media for learning. Taste and Aesthetic Education: The real love affair is created by the non living object with the help of memories and thought. At their best objects create the basis in their stability and communication for durable human relationships. People have warm relationships especially with handmade products in which they can detect unique qualities and the feeling that the product has been made solely for them. Counter-culture: The aim of the work is to produce alternatives for technoburocracy and mechanical production and to bring subjective and unique experiences into the customerïs monotonious life. This ideology rejects the usual standardized mass production of our times. Mythical character: There is a metamorphosis in the birth of the product. In many ways the design process is about birth and growth. The creative process is a development story of the maker. The complexity of communication is the expression of the moments that have been lived. If you can sense the process of making in the product it makes it more real and nearer to life. Each piece of wood has its own beauty. Before you can work with it you must find the deep soul of its quality. The distinctive traits of the material, technique and the object are an essential part of the metamorphosis which brings the product into life. The form is not only for formïs sake but for other purposes, too. You cannot find loose forms in nature. Products have their beginnings in the material and are a part of the nature. This art craft ideology that supports the ideas of generative design can be applied either to the hand made crafts production or to the production exploiting new technology. The unique characteristics of craft and the expression of the material based development are a way to broaden the expression and forms of industrial products. However, for a crafts person it is not meaningful to fill the world with objects. In generative, computer based production this is possible. But maybe the production of unique pieces is still slower and makes the industrial production in that sense more ecological. People will be more attached to personal and unique objects, and thus the life cycle of the objects produced will be longer.
series other
email
more http://www.generativeart.com/
last changed 2003/08/07 17:25

_id 612c
authors Madrazo, Leandro
year 1998
title Computers and Architectural Design: Going Beyond the Tool
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. 44-57
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1998.044
summary More often than not, discussions taking place in specialised conferences dealing with computers and design tend to focus mostly on the tool itself. What the computer can do that other tools cannot, how computers might improve design and whether a new aesthetic would result from the computer; these are among the most recurrent issues addressed in those forums. But, by placing the instrument at the center of the debate, we might be distorting the nature of design. In the course KEYWORDS, carried out in the years 1992 and 1993 at the ETH Zurich, the goal was to transcend the discourses that concentrate on the computer, integrating it in a wider theoretical framework including principles of modern art and architecture. This paper presents a summary of the content and results of this course.

series ACADIA
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:59

_id 8b37
authors Massie, T.
year 1998
title A Tangible Goal for 3D Modeling
source IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications. pp. 62 - 65. Vol. 18, Issue: 3
summary Although the speed of computers increases exponentially, the amount and quality of useful work that we perform on them seems to increase linearly at best. Faster processors are not enough-to significantly increase the utility of computers requires new computer interfaces. The keyboard was adequate for text-based applications, but the advent of the desktop metaphor and windows computing environment demanded a new mechanical interface-the mouse. As we progress into applications that incorporate interactive life-like 3D computer graphics, the mouse falls short as a user interface device, and it becomes obvious that 3D computer graphics could achieve much more with a more intuitive user interface mechanism. Haptic interfaces, or forcefeedback devices, promise to increase the quality of humancomputer interaction by accommodating our sense of touch. Of all the senses, only touch is bidirectional-allowing us to perceive and change objects simultaneously in the same location. Because the sense of touch is so compelling, researchers have studied it for some time.1,2 (Refer to the annual proceedings of the Symposium on Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environment and Teleoperator Systems, published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New York.) Various commercial devices are now available that can accommodate1 even seven degrees of freedom. I used the three degrees-of-freedom Phantom haptic interface for most of the interactions described in this article. Users interact with the Phantom interface with their finger in a thimble or by holding a stylus
series journal paper
last changed 2003/04/23 15:50

_id 2539
authors Neuckermans, H., De Ridder, T. and Geebelen, B.
year 1998
title Speech-Driven Computer-Aided Design - Innovation in Human-Computer Interaction
source CAADRIA ‘98 [Proceedings of The Third Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia / ISBN 4-907662-009] Osaka (Japan) 22-24 April 1998, pp. 309-316
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.1998.309
summary The use of computers in architectural design has shifted from what initially was a very numerical approach into a graphical way and thus into a designerly way of working. Through the extensive use of WIMPs CAAD packages today are more or less user-friendly. In the meantime the ever increasing functionality of those packages inflate the number of commands, actions, options and choices which have to be activated with the mouse in order to generate a structured drawing. As a result packages become rather cumbersome to handle. In this research we have explored a new medium, namely speech, to tell the machine what to do. With software for speech recognition and making use of a head-mounted microphone we have built a far more user-friendly way of handling a CAD package. Grids, snap, ortho, layers, settings and other commands that can be used in combination with mouse actions are activated and deactivated by voice command. We are convinced that this is a step further towards a more easy and natural way of using computers while designing and certainly a way for speeding up the modeling of real architecture. The experiment has been conducted for AutoCAD with the software for speech recognition by Lernout & Hauspie. This new way of working is not limited to architecture and the principle can be used right now for any other package, provided it has a programming interface.
keywords Electronic Design Media, Human-Computer Interaction, Design
series CAADRIA
email
more http://www.caadria.org
last changed 2022/06/07 07:58

_id ga9810
id ga9810
authors Ransen, Owen F.
year 1998
title From Ramon Llull to Image Idea Generation
source International Conference on Generative Art
summary Our minds follow familiar well trodden paths, and we sometimes need mechanical help to find new, undiscovered thoughts and ideas. Ramon Llull was a Christian philosopher who used a mechanical way of investigating truth, a set of concentric wheels on which words were written. By rotating the wheels, the words were combined in unexpected ways. A similar technique has been (re-)invented, randomised and changed by Edward de Bono and is called Lateral Thinking. Can we apply this technique to image idea generation? This paper describes a first attempt at building an image idea generator for use by artists and non-artists alike, and sets out plans for a new a more powerful version. An image idea generator takes no (or very few) instructions from the user and creates a set of images from which the user chooses those he likes best. The purpose of an image idea generator is to easily create previously un-thought of images, to easily explore the 2D world of color and form.
series other
email
more http://www.generativeart.com/
last changed 2003/08/07 17:25

_id ga9812
id ga9812
authors Riley, Howard
year 1998
title The Genetic Code of Drawing: A systemic – functional approach to the semiotics of visual language
source International Conference on Generative Art
summary The many varied drawing conventions, invented by human cultures world-wide to depict experience of their world on a two-dimensional surface, all derive from the two fundamental processes of selection and combination of marks and surfaces. Here is the DNA of drawing – a dialectically entwined pair from which spirals the luxuriant diversity of human visual representation. Recent work by visual semioticians Michael O’Toole, Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen has extended earlier insights of the linguist Michael Halliday to arrive at a powerful means of analysing painting, sculpture, architecture and graphics. Such analysis is known as systemic-functional semiotics because it identifies from within a visual grammar and vocabulary the systems of choices which enable the social functions of all human communication to be articulated. Those functions are: 1. to represent aspects of our physical and emotional experiences of the world. 2. to afford both artist and viewer the means for expressing or adopting personal attitudes and moods towards those experiences. An interpersonal function. Of course, a third function is required to make the previous two visible: 3. the functon of composition in material form. This kind of semiotics recognise that ideological constraints within a society can determine the choices of visual elements and the rules of their combination; it also recognises, dialectically, that the visual work thus produced may in turn affect the society’s ideological constructs. The paper breaks new ground by extending the concept of social semiotics into the field of Drawing. It goes on to explain an ecological approach to understanding visual perception, and attempts to synthesise aspects of this perception theory and semiotic theory. The resulting synthesis becomes a way of mapping the varieties of drawing which are generated from what may be termed the ?genetic code? of drawing. But this new theoretical model proposed here not only allows us to make contextual sense of existing drawing; it also provides a means of generating new ways of drawing.
series other
email
more http://www.generativeart.com/
last changed 2003/08/07 17:25

_id 52
authors Scurci, Adrian Roque
year 1998
title Numeros en Movimiento - Pinturas De Fin De Siglo (Numbers in Movement - Paintings of the End of the Century)
source II Seminario Iberoamericano de Grafico Digital [SIGRADI Conference Proceedings / ISBN 978-97190-0-X] Mar del Plata (Argentina) 9-11 september 1998, pp. 388-397
summary The electronic art has changed, during the last years, into the way of expression that best represents our culture of the end of the edge. Within the electronic art universe, 1 am going to analyze the 3D animation (CGI) in a special way as the main element in visual revolution. The increasing use of the CGI ( Computer Graphics Images) in film and television is caused by different reasons. From the necessity of a new esthetic expression to use of a technical source impossible of accomplish before. The electronic film period has begun ... the numbers has changed into the essence of this new generation of audiovisual products; the animators, designers and programmers into artisans of virtual world building and new scenic places. The objective of this analysis is to study the incident of CGI of these last twenty years within the audio-visual world.it isn't a chronologic, it is a theoretical rehearse about a new esthetic, a new way of see and build.
series SIGRADI
email
last changed 2016/03/10 09:59

_id 2623
authors Sheth, A. and Klas, W.
year 1998
title Multimedia Data Management
source New York: McGraw-Hill
summary Here is the authoritative handbook on multimedia metadata and data management. In one volume, it gathers a wealth of information from the field's leading international experts in this emerging specialty. Multimedia data-text, image, voice, and video-poses unique challenges to product developers and database professionals in midsized to giant organizations. They need to know how multimedia can be effectively stored, accessed, and integrated into applications. The key is "metadata," which acts as an umbrella for multimedia data and allows it to be modeled and managed. In this invaluable guide, well-known contributors from the U.S., Japan, and Europe examine the metadata concept, present relevant standards, and discuss its global use in video databases, speech documents, satellite and medical imaging, and other applications.
series other
last changed 2003/04/23 15:14

_id 44e0
authors Weishar, Peter
year 1998
title Digital Space: Designing Virtual Environments
source New York: McGraw-Hill
summary Take control of the latest technology in 3D design with this comprehensive guide for architects, designers, illustrators, and graphics professionals. Digital Space provides start-to-finish, how-to instructions of 3D design that close the gap between software manuals and traditional architecture and design books. Chapters include: industry overview...planning...space design...modeling...lighting...textures...interior space...exterior space...rendering...tips and techniques...glossary of terms. The non-technical language and abundant illustrations make Digital Space: Designing Virtual Environments one of the most accessible guides to 3D design on the market. From basic concepts to sophisticated applications, it covers: the design process; optimal working techniques; 3D modeling; methods of streamlining complex tasks; real world case studies; extensive interviews with famous 3D artists.
series other
last changed 2003/04/23 15:14

_id cf9d
authors Yeung, C., Cheung, L., Yen, J. and Cheng, C.
year 1998
title Virtual Classroom for Architecture
source CAADRIA ‘98 [Proceedings of The Third Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia / ISBN 4-907662-009] Osaka (Japan) 22-24 April 1998, pp. 93-102
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.1998.093
summary Over the past few years, we have seen that the evolution of the Internet and World Wide Web technologies have significantly enhanced the global communication and collaboration. People, no matter where they are, are virtually getting closer and closer. The barriers that came from time and distance have been partially removed by the use of such technologies. Internet and WWW are not just technology, they are an environment or space. With such breakthrough in technologies, a new paradigm in education is there. The education very differently from what we have now. This paper presents an Internet-based environment to support teaching and learning in architecture education. We will discuss the design concept and how to integrate the technology and knowledge-based techniques to implement the learning environment for architecture students. Architecture is a very specific discipline which consists of the knowledge from arts, sciences, engineering, and more. One of the focuses in architecture education is to teach how to express and communicate design ideas with the multimedia or other technologies, such as, virtual reality (VR). A case study presented in this paper is about how to deliver and present the ancient Chinese temples and its bracket set systems from the server to the browsers to support distance teaching. That is, students and teachers may not be in the same location, but they are able to watch the same objects and to exchange ideas. We will discuss how to use multimedia technologies to illustrate how a temple and its bracket set differ from dynasties to dynasties and introduce its basic properties to the viewers. Moreover, we will discuss how we organize and handle 3-dimensional objects with such system. Many people are still arguing about whether Internet-based teaching or a real classroom setting is better. We are not implying that Internet-based teaching is superior or predicting that it will dominate the teaching in the near future. However, we strongly believe that it is just another alternative to express and represent architectural thinking to over some of the barriers that come from time and distance. We believe, that it is always true, that the Internet-based teaching may provide both teachers and learners greater flexibility and to support more International collaboration. That is, regardless where the students or teachers are, they can always participate in learning or teaching and make teaching and learning much more rich and interesting.
keywords Virtual Classroom
series CAADRIA
email
more http://www.caadria.org
last changed 2022/06/07 07:57

_id 0320
authors Lynn, G.
year 1998
title Animate Form
source Princeton Architectural Press, New York
summary Animate Form is a book and interactive CD-ROM of recent architectural projects designed by Form, the office of Greg Lynn. The projects documented here explore the potential of time-based animation techniques to inform architectural design. Historically, architecture has been considered static, fixed, and inert. Through the use of state-of-the-art animation and special-effects software, Lynn transforms space and form into highly plastic, flexible, and mutable entities. He uses topological geometries to bend, twist, deform, and differentiate structure, creating unprecedented departures from preconceived notions of architecture. In experimenting with these new methods and media, Lynn has charted an innovative direction in design. The book provides a theoretical context for the experimental projects through a collection of texts by Lynn, extensively illustrated in color. The CD-ROM is an interactive hypertext environment that fully documents the design processes used to generate the projects through animations, renderings, model photographs, videos, and texts. Using a virtual 3D interface, the viewer is able to navigate through space and select objects and animations to view at different scales.
series other
last changed 2003/04/23 15:14

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