Cumincad : CUMINCAD Papers : Search Results

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

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_id	6d88
authors	Achten, Henri H. and Van Leeuwen, Jos P.
year	1999
title	Feature-Based High Level Design Tools - A Classification
source	Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures [ISBN 0-7923-8536-5] Atlanta, 7-8 June 1999, pp. 275-290
summary	The VR-DIS project aims to provide design support in the early design stage using a Virtual Reality environment. The initial brief of the design system is based on an analysis of a design case. The paper describes the process of analysis and extraction of design knowledge and design concepts in terms of Features. It is demonstrated how the analysis has lead to a classification of design concepts. This classification forms one of the main specifications for the VR-based design aid system that is being developed in the VR-DIS programme. The paper concludes by discussing the particular approach used in the case analysis and discusses future work in the VR-DIS research programme.
keywords	Features, Feature-Based modelling, Architectural Design, Design Process, Design Support
series	CAAD Futures
email
last changed	2006/11/07 07:22

_id	ga9912
id	ga9912
authors	Loocke, Philip Van
year	1999
title	The art of growth and the solution of cognitive problems
source	International Conference on Generative Art
summary	A cellular method is proposed as an alternative for a connectionist approach. The present method does not use connections between cells, but introduces a field concept instead. If the fields are determined in accordance with the transformations familiar from fractal theory, then the solutions of problems that have some symmetry are forms of remarkable beauty. This way, a link is proposed between generative art and problem solving. It is conjectured that the ‘black box’ nature of connectionist systems can be replaced by an approach in which the solution of a problem coincides with a vivid visualization, also if the problems at hand are of a high-dimensional nature.
series	other
email
more	http://www.generativeart.com/
last changed	2003/08/07 17:25

_id	ga9914
id	ga9914
authors	Meogrossi, Piero
year	1999
title	The Idea of Rome: The Shape of Utopy
source	International Conference on Generative Art
summary	After having spent many years in researching about the topographical connections in the city and over the monumental sites and the main architectures of Rome (Palatino, Coliseum, Appia Antica are the areas where he’s working as director of restoring for the Rome Soprintendenza Archeologica) the architect Piero Meogrossi confirms his personal thesis dealing with a strategic oriented direction showing a geomanthic dynamism able to drive the urban growth. A key measure axis used to plan the topography submits the urban shape and the design itself at different ages revealing a virtual matrix whose hidden identity remains astronomically and simbolically characterized by the specific season position of the sun accorded to the dies natalis of Rome, the famous april XXIth connected with the romulean age and the tradictional Squared Rome. Such recognition over the archeological city connects the legendary and historical tales to the main monuments of Rome whose architectonical centers become instrumental knots to control, to accord and to submit to a DNA topographical codex, a symbolical axis-decuimanus by which the romans drive rules of the earth and of the sky (natural perspectives and sundial measures). The utopian reconstruction of the "sun-city plan" has confirmed the quality of the project by Sixtus Vth, the XVIIth century pope who wanted to create, as a new Romulus, a town design able to make comparison with the dynamic shape of the roman antiquities, a "net-city" whose infrastructures (obelisques and streets, etc.) let understood the value of that ancient topographical axis linking each others the center of the optagonal labyrinth to the center of Palatino,to the center of arch of Costantine to the center of Coliseum, to the center of optagonal hall in the golden kingdome by Nero........and further on. Rome, as example of historical town due to the western culture globality, needs to discover and organise those phisical memories,hidden identies whose ancient shape which can yet offer opportunies for the future plans and projects but only if the reality will be pushed by an Utopian vision as the Roman Column 200mt.high,accorded to the shapes upwritten, a Meogrossi’s project winner of the Utopia award in a national competition for the Rome of third millennium.
series	other
more	http://www.generativeart.com/
last changed	2003/08/07 17:25

_id	23a1
authors	Pereira, A.T.C. and Lima, E.K.M.
year	1999
title	Analysis of a Collaborative Computer Based Design Experience
source	III Congreso Iberoamericano de Grafico Digital [SIGRADI Conference Proceedings] Montevideo (Uruguay) September 29th - October 1st 1999, pp. 491-495
summary	The design experience referred to in this paper deals with the creative process for developing the pre-design of a new building for the Architecture and Urbanism Department of the Federal University of Santa Catarina / Brazil. The methodological proposition was to develop the design in a collaborative way and to try to use computers from the very beginning of the process. A tri-dimensional computer model was constructed on the sketch phase. Plans, sections and views were generated from this unique 3D model in order to assist development of ideas, coordination and visualization. As soon as the design alterations were defined, the 3D model was updated in order to generate automatic new drawing documents. Due to the number of design team components (8 people) and the high level of design complexity, constant hardcopies were necessary to ease designer’s participation in the idea propositions during meetings.
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:57

_id	f317
authors	Arvin, Scott A. and House, Donald H.
year	1999
title	Modeling Architectural Design Objectives in Physically Based Space Planning
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1999.212
source	Media and Design Process [ACADIA ‘99 / ISBN 1-880250-08-X] Salt Lake City 29-31 October 1999, pp. 212-225
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	2cf4
authors	Shih, Naai-Jung and Huang, Yen-Shih
year	1999
title	An Analysis and Simulation of Curtain Wall Reflection Glare
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1999.744
source	Architectural Computing from Turing to 2000 [eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-5-7] Liverpool (UK) 15-17 September 1999, pp. 744-750
summary	This paper presents a computer-aided visualization on the influence of reflected sunbeams from curtain wall buildings. A survey was made to local buildings and it was discovered that reflected glare is a significant urban problem. Based on survey findings, a simulation was conducted to compare with actual occurrences in order to increase the comprehension of the consequences of window orientation and angles in the design stage. The simulation enabled design evaluation with an inspection above normal eye level and in a broader area, than that which normally could be achieved in a site survey at a pedestrian's or a driver's level. The computer simulation verified the influence of reflection on the urban environment by using a time-based record. In order to provide design solutions, the simulation used a 10x10x10 cube in referencing the horizontal area that would receive reflections. Due to the symmetric shape of the cube, a butterfly shaped boundary of reflection area (BRA) was concluded. BRA is smaller on the summer solstice than on the spring or autumnal equinox. In order to reduce BRA, a passive design approach was applied by tilting or rotating walls to evaluate how the tilted angles or orientation of the façade could affect reflected glare.
keywords	Reflection Glare, Visualization
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:56

_id	c056
authors	Tsou, Jin-Yeu and Chow, Benny
year	1999
title	Team Orientated Knowledge Construction for Architectural Education
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1999.292
source	Architectural Computing from Turing to 2000 [eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-5-7] Liverpool (UK) 15-17 September 1999, pp. 292-300
summary	Information Technology is always more accessible when we trying to imagine what the IT could be actually used. This situation is even more noticeable in the architecture field, and there are various technologies that have failed on delivering urgent needed education quality. Meanwhile, the tradition architecture education is evolving rapidly under the concepts of problem-based approach, knowledge reconstruction, and self-guided learning. "Education without institutional boundary" happens everyday in the classroom, and multi-direction learning modes have replaced the traditional single-direction teaching approach. The role of IT in the curriculum of architectural design education has become a subject of debate, scrutiny and experimentation in architectural schools. This paper will first outline the theory of applying team-oriented knowledge construction approach into studio teaching, the setup of our integrated digital design media environment is introduced; organization issue regarding the team formation and studio coordination is discussed; case studies are illustrated for demonstrating the methodology applied; and the student feedback is summarized to analysis the effectiveness of the approach.
keywords	Multimedia, CD-ROM, Problem-Based Learning, Team-Orientated Learning, Constructivist Learning
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:57

_id	fb37
authors	Knight, T.
year	1999
title	Applications in architectural design and education and practice
source	Report for the NSF/MIT Workshop on Shape Computation, Cambridge, Mass., 25-26 April 1999
summary	Shortly after shape grammars were invented by Stiny and Gips, a two part project for shape grammars was outlined by Stiny. In a 1976 paper,1 Stiny described "two exercises in formal composition". These simple exercises became the foundation for the many applications of shape grammars that followed, and suggested the potential of such applications in education and practice. The first exercise showed how shape grammars could be used in original composition, that is, the creation of new design languages or styles from scratch. The second exercise showed how shape grammars could be used to analyze known or existing design languages. Both exercises illustrated the unique characteristics of the shape grammar formalism that helped motivate a quarter century (almost!) of shape grammar work. General but simple, formal yet intuitive: qualities that continue to make shape grammar disciples and confound skeptics. The history of shape grammar applications in architecture and the arts for the two complementary purposes of synthesis and analysis, as well as for a third, joint purpose is sketched in the first section of this report. These three categories of applications do not have rigid boundaries. They are used in this report mostly as a framework for discussion. An overview of the roles of shape grammar applications in education and practice is given in the second section. New and ongoing issues concerning shape grammars in education and practice are discussed in the last section.
series	report
last changed	2003/04/23 15:50

_id	138e
authors	Park, S.-H. and Gero, J.S.
year	1999
title	Qualitative representation and reasoning about shapes
source	Gero, J.S. and Tversky, B. (Eds.), Visual and Spatial Reasoning in Design , Key Centre of Design Computing and Cognition, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, pp. 55-68
summary	In this paper we present an approach to the qualitative representation of shape and its use. We use a qualitative coding scheme founded on landmarks in the shape. The scheme encodes a qualitative representation of angles, relative side lengths and curvatures at landmarks. We then show how such a representation can be used as a basis for reasoning about shapes using extracted shape features. We conclude with a preliminary analysis of 12 sketches of the architect Louis Kahn and show how they may be categorised based on these shape features.
keywords	Qualitative Representation, Shape Reasoning
series	other
email
last changed	2003/04/06 09:19

_id	e719
authors	Achten, Henri and Turksma, Arthur
year	1999
title	Virtual Reality in Early Design: the Design Studio Experiences
source	AVOCAAD Second International Conference [AVOCAAD Conference Proceedings / ISBN 90-76101-02-07] Brussels (Belgium) 8-10 April 1999, pp. 327-335
summary	The Design Systems group of the Eindhoven University of Technology started a new kind of design studio teaching. With the use of high-end equipment, students use Virtual Reality from the very start of the design process. Virtual Reality technology up to now was primarily used for giving presentations. We use the same technology in the design process itself by means of reducing the time span in which one gets results in Virtual Reality. The method is based on a very brief cycle of modelling in AutoCAD, assigning materials in 3DStudio Viz, and then making a walkthrough in Virtual Reality in a standard landscape. Due to this cycle, which takes about 15 seconds, the student gets immediate feedback on design decisions which facilitates evaluation of the design in three dimensions much faster than usual. Usually the learning curve of this kind of software is quite steep, but with the use of templates the number of required steps to achieve results is reduced significantly. In this way, the potential of Virtual Reality is not only explored in research projects, but also in education. This paper discusses the general set-up of the design studio and shows how, via short workshops, students acquire knowledge of the cycle in a short time. The paper focuses on the added value of using Virtual Reality technology in this manner: improved spatial reasoning, translation from two-dimensional to three-dimensional representations, and VR feedback on design decisions. It discusses the needs for new design representations in this design environment, and shows how fast feedback in Virtual Reality can improve the spatial design at an early stage of the design process.
series	AVOCAAD
email
last changed	2005/09/09 10:48

_id	64e4
authors	Boardman, Ted and Hubbell, Jeremy
year	1999
title	Inside 3D Studio Max 3 Modeling, Materials and Rendering : Modeling, Materials, and Rendering
source	New Riders Pub
summary	Inside 3D Studio MAX 3 Modeling, Materials, and Rendering is the only in-depth guide dedicated to modeling, materials, and rendering with 3D Studio MAX. You go inside the advanced modeling, texturing, and rendering features of 3D Studio MAX and learn how to use these features to get professional results. Real-world tutorials, advanced tips, and insider tricks take you beyond the basics and help you master high-end techniques. The CD-ROM is loaded with MAX and AVI files, models, materials, and textures for polishing your skills with the book's tutorials.
series	other
last changed	2003/02/26 18:58

_id	48a7
authors	Brooks
year	1999
title	What's Real About Virtual Reality
source	IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, Vol. 19, no. 6, Nov/Dec, 27
summary	As is usual with infant technologies, the realization of the early dreams for VR and harnessing it to real work has taken longer than the wild hype predicted, but it is now happening. I assess the current state of the art, addressing the perennial questions of technology and applications. By 1994, one could honestly say that VR "almost works." Many workers at many centers could doe quite exciting demos. Nevertheless, the enabling technologies had limitations that seriously impeded building VR systems for any real work except entertainment and vehicle simulators. Some of the worst problems were end-to-end system latencies, low-resolution head-mounted displays, limited tracker range and accuracy, and costs. The technologies have made great strides. Today one can get satisfying VR experiences with commercial off-the-shelf equipment. Moreover, technical advances have been accompanied by dropping costs, so it is both technically and economically feasible to do significant application. VR really works. That is not to say that all the technological problems and limitations have been solved. VR technology today "barely works." Nevertheless, coming over the mountain pass from "almost works" to "barely works" is a major transition for the discipline. I have sought out applications that are now in daily productive use, in order to find out exactly what is real. Separating these from prototype systems and feasibility demos is not always easy. People doing daily production applications have been forthcoming about lessons learned and surprises encountered. As one would expect, the initial production applications are those offering high value over alternate approaches. These applications fall into a few classes. I estimate that there are about a hundred installations in daily productive use worldwide.
series	journal paper
email
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	1206
authors	Cabezas, M., Mariano, C., Mitolo, S. and Oliva, S.
year	1999
title	Transformaciones en el Proceso Enseñanza-Aprendizaje de la Geometría Descriptiva con la Apliacación de los Medios Digitales (Transformations in the Teaching/Learning Process of Descriptive Geometry with the Aplplication of Digital Media)
source	III Congreso Iberoamericano de Grafico Digital [SIGRADI Conference Proceedings] Montevideo (Uruguay) September 29th - October 1st 1999, pp. 347-348
summary	The insert of the digital technologies in the atmosphere Áulico has left generalizing in a significant way. An example constitutes it the high percentage of students that they manifested general knowledge in the software handling in the introductory course of visual communication, as well as the voluntary presentation of practical works developed with digital means. The necessity of an answer to the requirements that arise of the students sinks to the certainty of a pedagogic compatibility among the matter to try and the teaching attended by the personal computer that would increase the Iconidad and the understanding of a topic of certain complexity like it is the geometry of the space. An educational program designed for the teaching of the Sistema Monge whose general characteristics were presented in the II Ibero-American Seminar of Digital Graph and that it will be applied as experience pilot in the course 2000, it will allow us to respond to the following queries: what place it will be given to the educational program in the formation process in connection with the other pedagogic means.
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:47

_id	3db8
authors	Clarke, Keith
year	1999
title	Getting Started with GIS
source	2nd ed., Prentice Hall Series in Geographic Information Science, ed. Kieth Clarke. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1999, 2-3
summary	This best-selling non-technical, reader-friendly introduction to GIS makes the complexity of this rapidly growing high-tech field accessible to beginners. It uses a "learn-by-seeing" approach that features clear, simple explanations, an abundance of illustrations and photos, and generic practice labs for use with any GIS software. What Is a GIS? GIS's Roots in Cartography. Maps as Numbers. Getting the Map into the Computer. What Is Where? Why Is It There? Making Maps with GIS. How to Pick a GIS. GIS in Action. The Future of GIS. For anyone interested in a hands-on introduction to Geographic Information Systems.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	2f1a
authors	Dabney, M.K., Wright, J.C. and Sanders, D.H.
year	1999
title	Virtual Reality and the Future of Publishing Archaeological Excavations: the multimedia publication of the prehistoric settlement on Tsoungiza at Ancient Nemea
source	New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
summary	The Nemea Valley Archaeological Project is a study of settlement and land use in a regional valley system in Greece extending from the Upper Paleolithic until the present. Active field research was conducted by four teams between 1981 and 1990. The first component was a regional archaeological survey. Second, and closely related to the first, was a social anthropological study of modern settlement and land use. Next was a team assigned to excavate the succession of prehistoric settlements of Ancient Nemea on Tsoungiza. Last, historical ecologists, a palynologist, and a geologist formed the environmental component of the research. As a result of advances in electronic publishing, plans for the final publication of the Nemea Valley Archaeological Project have evolved. Complete publication of the excavation of the prehistoric settlements of Ancient Nemea on Tsoungiza will appear in an interactive multimedia format on CD/DVD in Fall 2000. This project is planned to be the first electronic publication of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. We have chosen to publish in electronic format because it will meet the needs and interests of a wider audience, including avocational archaeologists, advanced high school and college students, graduate students, and professional archaeologists. The multimedia format on CD/DVD will permit the inclusion of text, databases, color and black-and-white images, two and three-dimensional graphics, and videos. This publication is being developed in cooperation with Learning Sites, Inc., which specializes in interactive three-dimensional reconstructions of ancient worlds http://www.learningsites.com. The Nemea Valley Archaeological Project is particularly well prepared for the shift towards electronic publishing because the project's field records were designed for and entered in computer databases from the inception of the project. Attention to recording precise locational information for all excavated objects enables us to place reconstructions of objects in their reconstructed architectural settings. Three-dimensional images of architectural remains and associated features will appear both as excavated and as reconstructed. Viewers will be able to navigate these images through the use of virtual reality. Viewers will also be able to reference all original drawings, photographs, and descriptions of the reconstructed architecture and objects. In this way a large audience will be able to view architectural remains, artifacts, and information that are otherwise inaccessible.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	d931
authors	Gabryszewski, Artur B.
year	1999
title	Idea of an Intelligent Building - Development Prospects
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1999.739
source	Architectural Computing from Turing to 2000 [eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-5-7] Liverpool (UK) 15-17 September 1999, pp. 739-743
summary	An ever-increasing number of offices as also residential buildings are being realised by designers and investors in accordance with the concept of an intelligent building. Houses of the new generation are being constructed. This is possible thanks to dynamic progress in the development of computer and microprocessor engineering techniques. Putting into reality the idea of the 'intelligent building' will become one of the most interesting assignments of Polish building industry in the rapidly approaching XXI century. The term 'intelligent building' first appeared in the eighties. The idea behind this conception is aspiring to create a friendly, work supporting, effective environment. The revolution in telecommunications and information technology along with change in the standards of office work, have caused computer networks and modem systems of automation and protection, to invade buildings. From the technical point of view, an intelligent building is an object in which all the subsystems co-operate with each other, forming a friendly environment for man. For users of an intelligent building, the most important issue is realisation of the following aims: object management which includes both control of human resources and automation systems in the building and also efficient management of the building space in such a way that the costs of its utilisation are minimised. The possibility of optional installation of modern systems and equipment should be facilitated by the architecture itself. Therefore, the specifics of all the building elements should be taken into account right at the designing stage. The following features characterise an intelligent building: integration of telecommunication systems in the building, central management and supervision system and utilisation of structural cabling as the carrier of signals controlling most of the systems in the building. Presently, there is no building in Poland that could be characterised by the three features mentioned.
keywords	High-tech Architecture, Ecology, CAAD
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

_id	acadia06_426
id	acadia06_426
authors	Garber, R., Robertson, N.
year	2006
title	The Pleated Cape: From the Mass-Standardization of Levittown to Mass Customization Today
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.2006.426
source	Synthetic Landscapes [Proceedings of the 25th Annual Conference of the Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture] pp. 426-439
summary	In the 1950’s, the Levitts put mass-production and the reverse assembly line into use in the building of thousands of single-family houses. However, the lack of variation that made their construction process so successful ultimately produced a mundane suburban landscape of sameness. While there were many attempts to differentiate these Levitt Cape Cods, none matched the ingenuity of their original construction process. The notion of mass-customization has been heavily theorized since the 1990’s, first appearing in the field of management and ultimately finding its way into the field of architecture. Greg Lynn used mass-customization in his design for the Embryological House in which thousands of unique houses could be generated using biological rules of differentiation (Lynn 1999). Other industries have embraced the premise that computer-numerically-controlled technologies allow for the production of variation, though it has not been thoroughly studied in architecture. While digital fabrication has been integral in the realization of several high-profile projects, the notion of large-scale mass-customization in the spec-housing market has yet to become a reality. Through the execution of an addition to a Cape Cod-style house, we examine the intersection between prefabricated standardized panels and digital fabrication to produce a mass-customized approach to housing design. Through illustrations and a detailed description of our design process, we will show how digital fabrication technologies allow for customization of mass produced products.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

_id	803c
authors	Gottfried, A., Angelis, E. De and Trani, M.L.
year	1999
title	Results from the application of a performance-based housing regulation in Cadoneghe, Italy
source	Automation in Construction 8 (4) (1999) pp. 445-453
summary	The article aims to report the experience of a little town, Cadoneghe (suburbs of Padua, northern Italy), in managing a Performance based Building Code. Although pressed by a high housing demand, Cadoneghe asked a design team and a research team for a help to define new basic rules and control tools, to avoid the most usual failures of Italian mass housing projects. The administration pursued the application of these rules in four stages:
series	journal paper
more	http://www.elsevier.com/locate/autcon
last changed	2003/05/15 21:22

_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	8f39
authors	Laiserin, Jerry
year	1999
title	CAD in Practice Profile: Polshek Partnership Architects LLP
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1999.010
source	ACADIA Quarterly, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 10-14
summary	Since the advent of computers for architecture, James Stewart Polshek, FAIA, founding partner of Polshek Partnership Architects LLP, has insisted that his firm's technology standards match the same high level they maintain for their awardwinning designs. As explained by Senior Associate Don Weinreich, AIA, this objective translates into computing priorities that differ significantly from those of the average firm. Weinreich observes that many "typical" firms use computer technology for profitability first, consistency of documentation second, and enhancement of the design process last. At Polshek Partnership these priorities are reversed. Supporting and enriching the design process is the overriding objective of all computing activity at the firm. Consistency of documentation, as a second-level priority, is pursued not just for routine coordination and quality control, but in a proactive effort to maintain control over every detail in the process of communicating design intent—in other words, to further support design. The potential to increase profitability through computerization (e.g., by doing the same work in less time) ranks low among the computing priorities at Polshek Partnership. According to Weinreich, "the guiding principle is to do no harm," that is, to exploit the maximum potential of computers to support the design process without incurring additional net costs. In effect, the firm is taking the time and effort that computerization can save on many routine, procedural tasks and reinvesting those savings in additional design studies and details. This approach to computers for design is consistent with that of other AIA Firm Award-winning practices profiled in this series. (1)(2)
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:52

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