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CumInCAD is a Cumulative Index about publications in Computer Aided Architectural Design
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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	5de1
authors	Tah, J.H.M., Howes, R. and Losifidis, P.
year	1999
title	Integration of design and construction through shared objects in the CO-CIS project
source	CIDAC, Volume 1 Issue 1 May 1999, pp.
summary	This paper presents an Integrated Building Project Model (IBPM) which provides the basis on which software applications can share objects and shows how integration is achieved at the conceptual level. It is used to develop a pure object-oriented database server which acts as a central object repository, and facilitates the sharing of objects between multiple applications. The IBPM provided the basis for the development of the COllaborative Construction Integrated System (CO-CIS) based on the principles of client/server computing and utilising dynamic common object sharing in real-time between CAD and project management packages. The work demonstrates the capabilities of pure object technologies and should encourage industry to adopt the approach and facilitate the development of the common information standards.
keywords	Object-Oriented Project Modelling, Object-Oriented Databases, Integration, Collaborative Environment, CAD, Project Management
series	journal paper
last changed	2003/05/15 21:23

_id	f6d5
authors	Song, Y., Clayton, M.J. and Johnson, R.E.
year	1999
title	Anticipating Reuse: Documenting Buildings for Operations Using Web Technology
source	Media and Design Process [ACADIA ‘99 / ISBN 1-880250-08-X] Salt Lake City 29-31 October 1999, pp. 54-65
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1999.054
summary	This research explores the feasibility of Web technology as a means for delivering building information to better support facility operations. Our research proposes just-in-time (JIT) facility documentation as a pragmatic solution to the limitations of current as-built documents, allowing more effective reuse of building information. Our investigation addresses four issues: 1) what building information is needed for facility operations; 2) how the design and construction team can improve the format for delivering the building information to facility operators; 3) how current Web technology can store and deliver facility information in support of operations; 4) what is the mechanism of documenting building information using the Web technology. // We surveyed literature, interviewed members of design and operations teams and reviewed current initiatives of industry and software vendors to identify problems with current practices. We also surveyed promising Web technologies and conducted experiments to determine how these technologies could help to solve the problems. We constructed a conceptual framework of JIT facility documentation as a solution to current information fragmentation problems. We developed a prototype of the JIT document system to demonstrate a “proof of concept” by using current Web technologies such as Autodesk’s DWF, Microsoft’s Active Server Pages, VB and Java script, and Access database to develop the prototype system. By dynamically composing HTML pages in response to task-specific requests, our prototype enables easy access and integration of a variety of building information to support facility operations.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:56

_id	a875
authors	Suwa, M., Gero, J.S. and Purcell, T.
year	1999
title	How an Architect Created Design Requirements
source	G. Goldschmidt and W. Porter (eds), Design Thinking Research Symposium: Design Representation, MIT, Cambridge, pp. II.101-124
summary	There is an anecdotal view that designers, during a conceptual design process, not just synthesise solutions that satisfy initially given requirements, but also create by themselves novel design requirements that capture important aspects of the given problem. Further, it is believed that design sketches serve as a thinking tool for designers to do this. Then, what kinds of cognitive interaction with their own sketches enable designers to create novel requirements? The purpose of this paper is to answer this question. We examined the cognitive processes of a practising architect, using a protocol analysis technique. Our examinations focused on whether particular types of cognitive actions account for the creation of novel design requirements. We found that intensive occurrences of a certain type of perceptual actions, acts of establishing new relations or visual features on the sketches, are likely to co-occur with the creation of requirements. This suggests that this type of perceptual actions are the key constituent of acts of creating novel requirements, and therefore one of the important actions in sketching activities. This presents evidence of the view that designing is a situated act, as well as has an implication for design education.
keywords	Design Requirements; Sketches; Design Cognition; Protocol Analysis
series	journal paper
email
last changed	2003/03/31 08:37

_id	04fd
authors	Karhu, V. and Lahdenpera, P.
year	1999
title	A formalised process model of current Finnish design and construction practice
source	The Int. Journal of Construction IT 7(1), pp. 51-71
summary	There is a need for improved co-ordination to enhance the performance of the building process. The process involves many parties and the communication and interfaces need special attention. Conventionally, the processes of parties are carried out independently, each discipline having its own activities and limits. As a precursor to improving the overall process, formal process modelling may be used to clarify the activities, information flows and the responsibilities of the different parties. The model presented in this paper divides the Finnish construction process into six main stages: briefing, programming, global design, detailed design, construction and hand-over. In developing the model, all these stages were covered - the main focus being on the functions and flows of the process since these were found to be the most critical in the development of the building procedures. The IDEF0 method was used as the modelling technique. It is shown how the developed reference model can be subjected to various view-dependent examinations and that the modelling approach supports process re-engineering and improvement efforts as well as a new means of building process management, especially when combined with modern computer-aided applications.
series	journal paper
last changed	2003/05/15 21:45

_id	37d1
authors	Corona Martíne, Alfonso and Vigo, Libertad
year	1999
title	Before the Digital Design Studio
source	III Congreso Iberoamericano de Grafico Digital [SIGRADI Conference Proceedings] Montevideo (Uruguay) September 29th - October 1st 1999, pp. 247-252
summary	This paper contains some observations which derive from our work as Studio Professors . In the last years, studios are in a transition phase with the progressive introduction of computers in later stages of the design process. The initiative generally belongs to students rather than to studio masters, since the former are aware that a knowledge of CAD systems will make them able to get work in architects offices. It is the first few Studios that will guide the student in forming a conception of what is architecture . Therefore, we have observer more attentively the way in which he establishes his first competence as a designer. We believe it is useful to clarify design training before we can integrate computers into it. The ways we all learn to design and which we transmit in the Studio were obviously created a long time ago, when Architecture became a subject taught in Schools, no longer a craft to be acquired under a master. The conception of architecture that the student forms in his mind is largely dependent on a long tradition of Beaux-Arts training which survives (under different forms) in Modern Architecture. The methods he or she acquires will become the basis of his creative design process also in professional life. Computer programmes are designed to adapt into the stages of this design process simply as time saving tools. We are interested in finding out how they can become an active part in the creative process and how to control this integration in teaching. Therefore, our work deals mainly with the tradition of the Studio and the conditioning it produces. The next step will be to explore the possiblities and restrictions that will inevitably issue from the introduction of new media.
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:49

_id	ga9908
id	ga9908
authors	Senagala, Mahesh
year	1999
title	Artistic Process, Cybernetics of Self and the Epistemology of Digital Technology
source	International Conference on Generative Art
summary	From the viewpoint of Batesonian cybernetics, ‘conscious purpose’ and artistic process are distinct ends of a spectrum of the functioning of self. Artistic activities— by which I mean art, poetry, play, design, etc.— involve processes that are beneath the stratum of consciousness. By definition, consciousness is selective awareness and is linear in execution and limited in its capability to synthesize complex parameters. As Heidegger pointed out, technology is a special form of knowledge (episteme). A machine is a manifestation of such a knowledge. A machine is a result of conscious purpose and is normally task-driven to accomplish a specific purpose(s). The questions this paper raises are to do with the connections between conscious purpose, artistic process and digital technology. One of the central questions of the paper is "if artistic process requires an abandonment or relinquishment of conscious purpose at the time of the generation of the work of art, and if the artistic process is a result of vast number of ‘unconscious’ forces and impulses, then could we say that the computer would ever be able to ‘generate’ or ‘create’ a work of art?" In what capacity and what role would the computer be a part of the generative process of art? Would a computer be able to ‘generate’ and ‘know’ a work of art, which, according to Bateson, requires the abandonment of conscious purpose? The ultimate goal of the paper is to unearth and examine the potential of the computers to be a part of the generative process of what Bateson has called "total self as a cybernetic model". On another plane of discourse, Deleuze and Guattari have added a critical dimension to the discourse of cybernetics and models of human mind and the global computer networks. Their notion of ‘rhizome’ has its roots in Batesonian cybernetics and the cybernetic couplings between the ‘complex systems’ such as human mind, biological and computational systems. Deleuze and Guattari call such systems as human brain and the neural networks as rhizomatic. Given the fact that the computer is the first known cybernetic machine to lay claims to artificial intelligence, the aforementioned questions become even more significant. The paper will explore how, cybernetically, the computer could be ‘coupled’ with ‘self’ and the artistic process — the ultimate expression of human condition. These philosophical and artistic explorations will take place through a series of generative artistic projects (See the figure below for an example) that aim at understanding the couplings and ‘ecology’ of digital technology and the cybernetics of self.
series	other
email
more	http://www.generativeart.com/
last changed	2003/08/07 17:25

_id	7e51
authors	Ucelli, G., Conti, G. and Af Klercker, J.
year	1999
title	Visualisation: The Customer's Perception
source	Architectural Computing from Turing to 2000 [eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-5-7] Liverpool (UK) 15-17 September 1999, pp. 539-544
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1999.539
summary	Probably the most frustrating circumstance which might occur to an architect is to find out that his client is going to live for years in a house that is not like he expected it to be. Everybody has experienced to look at a picture of a place and after some time to go there and find out that the place is not according to his idea. This is due to the effectiveness of the media in representing the real space. During our experience we have tried to find out the way this effectiveness interferes in the relation between client and architect and how computer images can be effective in communicating the idea of architectural space. The problem of communication between designer and client rises when you notice that traditional graphic techniques (plans, sections, facades) are not enough understandable to make laypeople feel the real architectural space. And the unique answer to this problem has always been faced simply by leaving the architect understand the wishes of his client. During these last years though, computer techniques and multimedia tools have changed the way architects communicate their ideas.
keywords	Perception, Computer Images, Rendering
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:58

_id	f317
authors	Arvin, Scott A. and House, Donald H.
year	1999
title	Modeling Architectural Design Objectives in Physically Based Space Planning
source	Media and Design Process [ACADIA ‘99 / ISBN 1-880250-08-X] Salt Lake City 29-31 October 1999, pp. 212-225
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1999.212
summary	Physically based space planning is a means for automating the conceptual design process by applying the physics of motion to space plan elements. This methodology provides for a responsive design process, which allows a designer to easily make decisions whose consequences immediately propagate throughout the design. It combines the speed of automated design methods with the flexibility of manual design methods, while adding a highly interactive quality and a sense of collaboration with the design itself. In our approach, the designer creates a space plan by specifying and modifying graphic design objectives rather than by directly manipulating primitive geometry. The plan adapts to the changing state of objectives by applying the physics of motion to its elements. For design objectives to have an effect on a physically based space plan, they need to be able to apply appropriate forces to space plan elements. Space planning can be separated into two problems, determining topological properties and determining geometric properties. Design objectives can then be categorized as topological or geometric objectives. Topological objectives influence the location of individual spaces, affecting how one space relates to another. Geometric objectives influence the size and shape of space boundaries, affecting the dimensions of individual walls. This paper focuses on how to model a variety of design objectives for use in a physically based space planning system. We describe how topological objectives, such as adjacency and orientation, can be modeled to apply forces to space locations, and how geometric objectives, such as area, proportion, and alignment, can be modeled to apply forces to boundary edges.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	8171
authors	Ataman, Osman
year	1999
title	Facilitating Conceptual Change: Computers, Cognitive Processes and Architecture
source	III Congreso Iberoamericano de Grafico Digital [SIGRADI Conference Proceedings] Montevideo (Uruguay) September 29th - October 1st 1999, pp. 275-279
summary	Computers have gained universal acceptance as tools that designers use. However, computers are often not used to advance the design process but just to make drawings. Many architectural schools still focus on a production orientation which puts the highest value on information management, precise representations and drafting enhancements. Mostly, computer education is limited with button pushing and training manuals. It is the contention of the author that students in Design Studio courses can benefit greatly from computer based educational pedagogy designed to provide them with experiences they currently do not possess. In particular, little time in the computer courses (outside lectures) is spent applying concepts and features of digital tools in design studio environment. In architecture, computers cannot be simply defined as a presentation and production tools. As a cognitive tool, computers provide designers with intelligible and effective representational tools of thought and communication, changes the syntactic structure of design. Consequently, the conceptual structure of computers impacts the conceptual structure of the design project, fosters the analytical processes and facilitates conceptual changes. This paper describes the use of computers in a first year architectural design studio. It attempts to address the importance of developing a design process that is redefined by the use of computing, integrating concept and perception. Furthermore, it describes the theoretical foundations and the underlying cognitive processes that contribute designers' conceptual development.
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:47

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

_id	933a
authors	GVU
year	1999
title	Conceptual Design Space Project
source	Center Virtual Environments Group. GeorgiaTech,Virginia, USA
summary	The Conceptual Design Space (CDS) is a real-time, interactive virtual environments application which attempts to address the issue of 3D design in general and immersive design in particular. We are researching innovative tools and interface elements for virtual worlds. The first application of these techniques is an architectural one. Graduate students from Georgia Tech's College of Architecture will be using CDS to create conceptual building designs. The students will not only be able to inspect and "inhabit" their buildings, but will also have the ability to modify them, add details, or create new designs, all while immersed in the virtual world.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:50

_id	ba93
authors	Hendricx, Ann and Neuckermans, Herman
year	1999
title	About Objects and Approaches - A Conceptual View on Building Models
source	Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures [ISBN 0-7923-8536-5] Atlanta, 7-8 June 1999, pp. 133-148
summary	Considering integrated CAAD environments for architectural design, a number of different approaches are possible. This paper presents the policy of the CADLAB at the KU Leuven University, where design support right from the first design phases is a basic consideration. After a short introduction on the theoretical framework and additional design tests, we will discuss the core object model that forms the cornerstone for the contemplated design environment. This object model describes all possible data, concepts and operations connected with the architectural design process. For its development, we used the object-oriented analysis method MERODE. The starting-points and main aspects of the model will be discussed, illustrated with examples of implemented prototypes. The architect's point of view and the specific nature of the architectural design process were always kept in mind, thus leading to a model that hopes to make a valuable contribution to the research area of integrated design environments.
keywords	CAAD, Integrated Design Environment, Building Models, Conceptual Modelling, MERODE
series	CAAD Futures
email
last changed	2006/11/07 07:22

_id	0b68
authors	Ibáñez, José Enrique and Santos, Laura
year	1999
title	Utilización de un programa didáctico para la formación de desarrolladores, arquitectos, ingenieros y diseñadores (Use of a Didactic Program for the Training of Developers, Architects, Engineers and Designers)
source	III Congreso Iberoamericano de Grafico Digital [SIGRADI Conference Proceedings] Montevideo (Uruguay) September 29th - October 1st 1999, pp. 352-356
summary	For those questions of the specialisation, the Informaitc engineers develop applications of digital graphic destined to designers, users that, in general, ignore with the chore of developing applications. Also, most of the designers have to fight with applications that do not contemplate their necessities neither translates their expressive intentions with clarity. This reciprocal discussion may find an adequate solution in interdisciplinary work. The fecundity, and until the possibility, of the internal dialogue of these teams will depend, between other looks, of the quantity of common concepts that they possess. In this sense, we focused our educational task opposite the future engineers. We understand that, at the same time, the actual education of the designer, in whatever of their multiple looks, should contemplate the basic training (not instrumental but if conceptual) in questions related with the code of the applications that they use. This intellectual effort would enable the digital designer to investigate the topics of personalising their user applications (AutoCAD, CorelDraw, etc.). In this ground, we should greet the admission of the languages of visual code (Delphi, Visual [basic], etc.) that they permit a friendlier development of applications. Its goal is qualify them in order to develop applications of digital graphic, providing them concepts of space understanding and visual training for the production of IT applications of digital graphic.
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:53

_id	avocaad_2001_22
id	avocaad_2001_22
authors	Jos van Leeuwen, Joran Jessurun
year	2001
title	XML for Flexibility an Extensibility of Design Information Models
source	AVOCAAD - ADDED VALUE OF COMPUTER AIDED ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, Nys Koenraad, Provoost Tom, Verbeke Johan, Verleye Johan (Eds.), (2001) Hogeschool voor Wetenschap en Kunst - Departement Architectuur Sint-Lucas, Campus Brussel, ISBN 80-76101-05-1
summary	The VR-DIS research programme aims at the development of a Virtual Reality – Design Information System. This is a design and decision support system for collaborative design that provides a VR interface for the interaction with both the geometric representation of a design and the non-geometric information concerning the design throughout the design process. The major part of the research programme focuses on early stages of design. The programme is carried out by a large number of researchers from a variety of disciplines in the domain of construction and architecture, including architectural design, building physics, structural design, construction management, etc.Management of design information is at the core of this design and decision support system. Much effort in the development of the system has been and still is dedicated to the underlying theory for information management and its implementation in an Application Programming Interface (API) that the various modules of the system use. The theory is based on a so-called Feature-based modelling approach and is described in the PhD thesis by [first author, 1999] and in [first author et al., 2000a]. This information modelling approach provides three major capabilities: (1) it allows for extensibility of conceptual schemas, which is used to enable a designer to define new typologies to model with; (2) it supports sharing of conceptual schemas, called type-libraries; and (3) it provides a high level of flexibility that offers the designer the opportunity to easily reuse design information and to model information constructs that are not foreseen in any existing typologies. The latter aspect involves the capability to expand information entities in a model with relationships and properties that are not typologically defined but applicable to a particular design situation only; this helps the designer to represent the actual design concepts more accurately.The functional design of the information modelling system is based on a three-layered framework. In the bottom layer, the actual design data is stored in so-called Feature Instances. The middle layer defines the typologies of these instances in so-called Feature Types. The top layer is called the meta-layer because it provides the class definitions for both the Types layer and the Instances layer; both Feature Types and Feature Instances are objects of the classes defined in the top layer. This top layer ensures that types can be defined on the fly and that instances can be created from these types, as well as expanded with non-typological properties and relationships while still conforming to the information structures laid out in the meta-layer.The VR-DIS system consists of a growing number of modules for different kinds of functionality in relation with the design task. These modules access the design information through the API that implements the meta-layer of the framework. This API has previously been implemented using an Object-Oriented Database (OODB), but this implementation had a number of disadvantages. The dependency of the OODB, a commercial software library, was considered the most problematic. Not only are licenses of the OODB library rather expensive, also the fact that this library is not common technology that can easily be shared among a wide range of applications, including existing applications, reduces its suitability for a system with the aforementioned specifications. In addition, the OODB approach required a relatively large effort to implement the desired functionality. It lacked adequate support to generate unique identifications for worldwide information sources that were understandable for human interpretation. This strongly limited the capabilities of the system to share conceptual schemas.The approach that is currently being implemented for the core of the VR-DIS system is based on eXtensible Markup Language (XML). Rather than implementing the meta-layer of the framework into classes of Feature Types and Feature Instances, this level of meta-definitions is provided in a document type definition (DTD). The DTD is complemented with a set of rules that are implemented into a parser API, based on the Document Object Model (DOM). The advantages of the XML approach for the modelling framework are immediate. Type-libraries distributed through Internet are now supported through the mechanisms of namespaces and XLink. The implementation of the API is no longer dependent of a particular database system. This provides much more flexibility in the implementation of the various modules of the VR-DIS system. Being based on the (supposed to become) standard of XML the implementation is much more versatile in its future usage, specifically in a distributed, Internet-based environment.These immediate advantages of the XML approach opened the door to a wide range of applications that are and will be developed on top of the VR-DIS core. Examples of these are the VR-based 3D sketching module [VR-DIS ref., 2000]; the VR-based information-modelling tool that allows the management and manipulation of information models for design in a VR environment [VR-DIS ref., 2000]; and a design-knowledge capturing module that is now under development [first author et al., 2000a and 2000b]. The latter module aims to assist the designer in the recognition and utilisation of existing and new typologies in a design situation. The replacement of the OODB implementation of the API by the XML implementation enables these modules to use distributed Feature databases through Internet, without many changes to their own code, and without the loss of the flexibility and extensibility of conceptual schemas that are implemented as part of the API. Research in the near future will result in Internet-based applications that support designers in the utilisation of distributed libraries of product-information, design-knowledge, case-bases, etc.The paper roughly follows the outline of the abstract, starting with an introduction to the VR-DIS project, its objectives, and the developed theory of the Feature-modelling framework that forms the core of it. It briefly discusses the necessity of schema evolution, flexibility and extensibility of conceptual schemas, and how these capabilities have been addressed in the framework. The major part of the paper describes how the previously mentioned aspects of the framework are implemented in the XML-based approach, providing details on the so-called meta-layer, its definition in the DTD, and the parser rules that complement it. The impact of the XML approach on the functionality of the VR-DIS modules and the system as a whole is demonstrated by a discussion of these modules and scenarios of their usage for design tasks. The paper is concluded with an overview of future work on the sharing of Internet-based design information and design knowledge.
series	AVOCAAD
email
last changed	2005/09/09 10:48

_id	1022
authors	Jozen, T., Wang, L. and Sasada, T.
year	1999
title	Sketch VRML - 3D Modeling of Conception
source	Architectural Computing from Turing to 2000 [eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-5-7] Liverpool (UK) 15-17 September 1999, pp. 557-563
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1999.557
summary	When an idea hits upon architect's mind suddenly, that idea may be memorized on a piece of paper like as napkin of a restaurant, reverse face of pamphlet etc. For conceptual design, free-form drawing with pencil and paper can efficiently delineate architect's thinking. In environmental design such as urban developing, architects usually describe their initial conception on 2D sketch. Our aim is to construct the Sketch-VRML system mixing non-photo realistic free-form 2D sketch and usual 3D computer graphics for conceptual design applying it to environmental design. It is our principle that we can use CG lightly and naturally like 'croquis' with no special hardware needed but just pencil and paper. From free-form 2D sketch on paper, the Sketch-VRML system builds it up to 3D model 'as is' resembling free hand drawing and it can be revolved and extruded. 3DCG component already produced will be useful material for design making as well as sketches. Therefore, we would like to use these materials as conception making resource with database.
keywords	Conception, Sketch, 3DCG, Database
series	eCAADe
last changed	2022/06/07 07:52

_id	39cb
authors	Kelleners, Richard H.M.C.
year	1999
title	Constraints in object-oriented graphics
source	Eindhoven University of Technology
summary	In the area of interactive computer graphics, two important approaches to deal with the complexity of designing and implementing graphics systems are object-oriented programming and constraint-based programming. From literature, it appears that combination of these two has clear advantages but has also proven to be difficult. One of the main problems is that constraint programming infringes the information hiding principle of object-oriented programming. The goal of the research project is to combine these two approaches to benefit from the strengths of both. Two research groups at the Eindhoven University of Technology investigate the use of constraints on graphics objects. At the Architecture department, constraints are applied in a virtual reality design environment. At the Computer Science department, constraints aid in modeling 3D animations. For these two groups, a constraint system for 3D graphical objects was developed. A conceptual model, called CODE (Constraints on Objects via Data flows and Events), is presented that enables integration of constraints and objects by separating the object world from the constraint world. In the design of this model, the main aspect being considered is that the information hiding principle among objects may not be violated. Constraint solvers, however, should have direct access to an object’s internal data structure. Communication between the two worlds is done via a protocol orthogonal to the message passing mechanism of objects, namely, via events and data flows. This protocol ensures that the information hiding principle at the object-oriented programming level is not violated while constraints can directly access “hidden” data. Furthermore, CODE is built up of distinct elements, or entity types, like constraint, solver, event, data flow. This structure enables that several special purpose constraint solvers can be defined and made to cooperate to solve complex constraint problems. A prototype implementation was built to study the feasibility of CODE. Therefore, the implementation should correspond directly to the conceptual model. To this end, every entity (object, constraint, solver) of the conceptual model is represented by a separate process in the language MANIFOLD. The (concurrent) processes communicate by events and data flows. The implementation serves to validate the conceptual model and to demonstrate that it is a viable way of combining constraints and objects. After the feasibility study, the prototype was discarded. The gained experience was used to build an implementation of the conceptual model for the two research groups. This implementation encompassed a constraint system with multiple solvers and constraint types. The constraint system was built as an object-oriented library that can be linked to the applications in the respective research groups. Special constructs were designed to ensure information hiding among application objects while constraints and solvers have direct access to the object data. CODE manages the complexity of object-oriented constraint solving by defining a communication protocol to allow the two paradigms to cooperate. The prototype implementation demonstrates that CODE can be implemented into a working system. Finally, the implementation of an actual application shows that the model is suitable for the development of object-oriented software.
keywords	Computer Graphics; Object Oriented Programming; Constraint Programming
series	thesis:PhD
last changed	2003/02/12 22:37

_id	ba3b
authors	Madrazo, L.
year	1999
title	Types and Instances: a paradigm for teaching design with computers
source	Design Studies 20 (2) (1999) pp. 177-193
summary	Types and Instances is the conceptual paradigm of this course for teaching design with computers to architecture students which was devised at the ETH Zurich. The course was initiated in the academic year 1990/91. Since then, it has been offered each following Winter semester up to the academic year 1995/1996. This paper discusses the essential concepts of the course and describes the tools that were created specifically for it. A reflection based on the experience of teaching the course is also included in the conclusions.
series	journal paper
last changed	2003/05/15 21:45

_id	ab13
authors	Mcfadzean, J., Cross, N. and Johnson, J.H.
year	1999
title	An Analysis of Architectural Visual Reasoning in Conceptual Sketching via Computational Sketch Analysis CSA
source	Proc. International Conference on Information Visualisation, IVí99. IEEE Computer Society, London
summary	Visual reasoning in design is facilitated by sketching. This research investigates how designers sketch, specifically analysing the physical details of mark making. It relates the graphical representations to the abstract cognitive processes of architectural design. A new form of protocol analysis has been developed using video and computer records of designers' sketching activity. The analysis of the resulting data compares the designer's retrospective commentary and interpretations of the sketching activity with the computer's record of that activity. The analysis will lead to a greater understanding of the relationships between 'Design Events' and 'Graphical Events' and thus how the notational activity of sketching supports the cognitive activity of conceptual design.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	e6fb
authors	McFadzean, Jeanette
year	1999
title	Computational Sketch Analyser (CSA): Extending the Boundaries of Knowledge in CAAD
source	Architectural Computing from Turing to 2000 [eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-5-7] Liverpool (UK) 15-17 September 1999, pp. 503-510
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1999.503
summary	This paper focuses on the cognitive problem-solving strategies of professional architectural designers and their use of external representations for the production of creative ideas. Using a new form of protocol analysis (Computational Sketch Analysis), the research has analysed five architects' verbal descriptions of their cognitive reasoning strategies during conceptual designing. It compares these descriptions to a computational analysis of the architects' sketches and sketching behaviour. The paper describes how the current research is establishing a comprehensive understanding of the mapping between conceptualisation, cognition, drawing, and complex problem solving. The paper proposes a new direction for Computer Aided Architectural Design tools (CAAD). It suggests that in order to extend the boundaries of knowledge in CAAD an understanding of the complex nature of architectural conceptual problem-solving needs to be incorporated into and supported by future conceptual design tools.
keywords	Computational Sketch Analysis, Conceptual Design
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:58

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