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	ec4d
authors	Croser, J.
year	2001
title	GDL Object
source	The Architect’s Journal, 14 June 2001, pp. 49-50
summary	It is all too common for technology companies to seek a new route to solving the same problem but for the most part the solutions address the effect and not the cause. The good old-fashioned pencil is the perfect example where inventors have sought to design-out the effect of the inherent brittleness of lead. Traditionally different methods of sharpening were suggested and more recently the propelling pencil has reigned king, the lead being supported by the dispensing sleeve thus reducing the likelihood of breakage. Developers convinced by the Single Building Model approach to design development have each embarked on a difficult journey to create an easy to use feature packed application. Unfortunately it seems that the two are not mutually compatible if we are to believe what we see emanating from Technology giants Autodesk in the guise of Architectural Desktop 3. The effect of their development is a feature rich environment but the cost and in this case the cause is a tool which is far from easy to use. However, this is only a small part of a much bigger problem, Interoperability. You see when one designer develops a model with one tool the information is typically locked in that environment. Of course the geometry can be distributed and shared amongst the team for use with their tools but the properties, or as often misquoted, the intelligence is lost along the way. The effect is the technological version of rubble; the cause is the low quality of data-translation available to us. Fortunately there is one company, which is making rapid advancements on the whole issue of collaboration, and data sharing. An old timer (Graphisoft - famous for ArchiCAD) has just donned a smart new suit, set up a new company called GDL Technology and stepped into the ring to do battle, with a difference. The difference is that GDL Technology does not rely on conquering the competition, quite the opposite in fact their success relies upon the continued success of all the major CAD platforms including AutoCAD, MicroStation and ArchiCAD (of course). GDL Technology have created a standard data format for manufacturers called GDL Objects. Product manufacturers such as Velux are now able to develop product libraries using GDL Objects, which can then be placed in a CAD model, or drawing using almost any CAD tool. The product libraries can be stored on the web or on CD giving easy download access to any building industry professional. These objects are created using scripts which makes them tiny for downloading from the web. Each object contains 3 important types of information: · Parametric scale dependant 2d plan symbols · Full 3d geometric data · Manufacturers information such as material, colour and price Whilst manufacturers are racing to GDL Technologies door to sign up, developers and clients are quick to see the benefit too. Porsche are using GDL Objects to manage their brand identity as they build over 300 new showrooms worldwide. Having defined the building style and interior Porsche, in conjunction with the product suppliers, have produced a CD-ROM with all of the selected building components such as cladding, doors, furniture, and finishes. Designing and detailing the various schemes will therefore be as straightforward as using Lego. To ease the process of accessing, sizing and placing the product libraries GDL Technology have developed a product called GDL Object Explorer, a free-standing application which can be placed on the CD with the product libraries. Furthermore, whilst the Object Explorer gives access to the GDL Objects it also enables the user to save the object in one of many file formats including DWG, DGN, DXF, 3DS and even the IAI's IFC. However, if you are an AutoCAD user there is another tool, which has been designed especially for you, it is called the Object Adapter and it works inside of AutoCAD 14 and 2000. The Object Adapter will dynamically convert all GDL Objects to AutoCAD Blocks during placement, which means that they can be controlled with standard AutoCAD commands. Furthermore, each object can be linked to an online document from the manufacturer web site, which is ideal for more extensive product information. Other tools, which have been developed to make the most of the objects, are the Web Plug-in and SalesCAD. The Plug-in enables objects to be dynamically modified and displayed on web pages and Sales CAD is an easy to learn and use design tool for sales teams to explore, develop and cost designs on a Notebook PC whilst sitting in the architects office. All sales quotations are directly extracted from the model and presented in HTML format as a mixture of product images, product descriptions and tables identifying quantities and costs. With full lifecycle information stored in each GDL Object it is no surprise that GDL Technology see their objects as the future for building design. Indeed they are not alone, the IAI have already said that they are going to explore the possibility of associating GDL Objects with their own data sharing format the IFC. So down to the dirty stuff, money and how much it costs? Well, at the risk of sounding like a market trader in Petticoat Lane, "To you guv? Nuffin". That's right as a user of this technology it will cost you nothing! Not a penny, it is gratis, free. The product manufacturer pays for the license to host their libraries on the web or on CD and even then their costs are small costing from as little as 50p for each CD filled with objects. GDL Technology has come up trumps with their GDL Objects. They have developed a new way to solve old problems. If CAD were a pencil then GDL Objects would be ballistic lead, which would never break or loose its point. A much better alternative to the strategy used by many of their competitors who seek to avoid breaking the pencil by persuading the artist not to press down so hard. If you are still reading and you have not already dropped the magazine and run off to find out if your favorite product supplier has already signed up then I suggest you check out the following web sites www.gdlcentral.com and www.gdltechnology.com. If you do not see them there, pick up the phone and ask them why.
series	journal paper
email
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	bd1e
authors	Evans, Barrie
year	1999
title	A Communicating Profession
source	Architectural Computing from Turing to 2000 [eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-5-7] Liverpool (UK) 15-17 September 1999, pp. 313-320
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1999.313
summary	This paper discusses aspects of the near future, a future that in parts is already with us, a future that we need to attend to now. The focus is computer aided design, but not graphics-based CAD. Rather today's CAD innovation is focused on the use of smart communications to provide designers with an information-rich support environment and the design team with an infrastructure for co-operative working. Based on this picture of a different, emerging CAD, the paper finishes with a brief comment on educational implications. One is that the emerging commercial project information management software could prove useful as infrastructure for co-operative educational projects. Another is that there could be significant gaps in information content for educational users as education becomes more IT-based. Should providing this content be a role for joint ECAADE research and development projects?
keywords	Information, Smart Telecomms, CSCW, Learning, CAD
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	f34b
authors	Nir, Eyal
year	2000
title	Smart, Green and in Between - Rethinking the Office Tower
source	ACADIA Quarterly, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 10-11
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.2000.010
summary	The towers that paint Montreal’s skyline are relics of the 20th century. Towers that express the power of capital on the outside turn out to be almost empty from within. It looks like there was a race to reach the skies - to touch the Mount Royal peak. I remember an attorney working in one of those skyscrapers telling me “the windows are for the lawyers and here in the dark open space is where you can find the slaves.” His words took my imagination to think of a boat in the ancient times where slaves where rowing to the rhythm of the drums. But then I realized the contradiction here - I told him “you should place your ‘slaves’ next to the windows if you want them to be able to row and bring your boat to safe land.”
series	ACADIA
last changed	2022/06/07 07:58

_id	28f3
authors	Alvarado, R.G., Vildósola, G.V., Parra, J.C. and Jara, M.R.
year	2000
title	Creacion/Creatividad: Evaluando Diseños Arquitectónicos con Realidad Virtual (Creation/Creativity: Evaluating Architectural Designs by means of Virtual Reality)
source	SIGraDi’2000 - Construindo (n)o espacio digital (constructing the digital Space) [4th SIGRADI Conference Proceedings / ISBN 85-88027-02-X] Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) 25-28 september 2000, pp. 243-246
summary	¿Can the computer improves the architectural creativity? This question is explored through a Virtual-Reality system developed for the modeling of timber structures, based on parametric elements, constructive programming and immersive visualization on real-time. Making experiences of evaluation with advanced students of architecture, whose use the system in the beginning of projects, compared with other group use not the system. This research faces the possibilities to rationalizate part of the creative process in architecture, broading the role of computer and its contribution to quality of design, and extending the possibilities to teach and share the creation of project. It is argue that major potential in this field is the swiftness, formal variety and spatial living of design, challenging the differences between objective and subjective.
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:47

_id	038b
authors	Barron, Alicia
year	2000
title	Generación de Objetos Autónomos en Mundos Virtuales (Generation of Autonomous Objects in Virtual Worlds)
source	SIGraDi’2000 - Construindo (n)o espacio digital (constructing the digital Space) [4th SIGRADI Conference Proceedings / ISBN 85-88027-02-X] Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) 25-28 september 2000, pp. 310-312
summary	The goal of this paper is to define the processes that enable the simulation of an autonomous pedestrian’s journeys in confined spaces; and to determine their paths beginning with random processes under preset parameters in a generic fashion as well as doing so in a manner independent from walking movement. We present a conceptual model designed to generate pedestrian journeys, taking into account the focuses of attraction and their influence in the paths taken. In order to implement this model, we add to an architectural blueprint the elements necessary to recognize the geometric characteristics of the World (Limits, Focuses and Portals) that affect the displacements of pedestrians. These characteristics enable us to determine the paths to be taken in the World. The issues of the simulation (the position that each pedestrian occupies for unit of time) can be used by other applications, to generate animations or to verify critical situations.
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:47

_id	bbb9
authors	Blaise, Jean-Yves and Dudek, Iwona
year	1999
title	SOL: Spatial and Historical Web-Based Interface for On Line Architectural Documentation of Krakow's Rynek Gowny
source	Architectural Computing from Turing to 2000 [eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-5-7] Liverpool (UK) 15-17 September 1999, pp. 700-707
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1999.700
summary	Our paper presents recent developments of a co-operation program that links the MAP-GAMSAU CNRS laboratory (Marseilles, France), specialised in computer science and the HAiKZ Institute of Krakow's Faculty of Architecture, specialised in architectural heritage and conservation. Before undertaking any action to a listed building or interventions in its neighbourhood, it is vital to gain a clear understanding of the building in question. Numerous heterogeneous data detained by diverse institutions has to be handled. This process can be greatly eased by enhanced classification of the information. The development we present is a multidisciplinary platform independent information tool dedicated to education and research. SOL uses an http protocol centred computer architecture connecting a relational database, a VRML 2.0 representation module and a web search interface. It allows searches and updating of the database through a standard text based interface, a VRML 2.0 graphical module and a thematic interface. SOL is experienced on the urban fabric of the Main Square (Rynek Gówny) in Kraków. The choice of a web-centred development, both in the search and updating interface and in the representation module provides platform independence and distant access to the database, and enables successive contributions of students or researchers.
keywords	Web Interface, Database, Architectural Heritage Environment, Information Module, Historical Evolutions
series	eCAADe
email
more	http://alberti.gamsau.archi.fr
last changed	2022/06/07 07:52

_id	cef3
authors	Bridges, Alan H.
year	1992
title	Computing and Problem Based Learning at Delft University of Technology Faculty of Architecture
source	CAAD Instruction: The New Teaching of an Architect? [eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Barcelona (Spain) 12-14 November 1992, pp. 289-294
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1992.289
summary	Delft University of Technology, founded in 1842, is the oldest and largest technical university in the Netherlands. It provides education for more than 13,000 students in fifteen main subject areas. The Faculty of Architecture, Housing, Urban Design and Planning is one of the largest faculties of the DUT with some 2000 students and over 500 staff members. The course of study takes four academic years: a first year (Propaedeuse) and a further three years (Doctoraal) leading to the "ingenieur" qualification. The basic course material is delivered in the first two years and is taken by all students. The third and fourth years consist of a smaller number of compulsory subjects in each of the department's specialist areas together with a wide range of option choices. The five main subject areas the students may choose from for their specialisation are Architecture, Building and Project Management, Building Technology, Urban Design and Planning, and Housing. The curriculum of the Faculty has been radically revised over the last two years and is now based on the concept of "Problem-Based Learning". The subject matter taught is divided thematically into specific issues that are taught in six week blocks. The vehicles for these blocks are specially selected and adapted case studies prepared by teams of staff members. These provide a focus for integrating specialist subjects around a studio based design theme. In the case of second year this studio is largely computer-based: many drawings are produced by computer and several specially written computer applications are used in association with the specialist inputs. This paper describes the "block structure" used in second year, giving examples of the special computer programs used, but also raises a number of broader educational issues. Introduction of the block system arose as a method of curriculum integration in response to difficulties emerging from the independent functioning of strong discipline areas in the traditional work groups. The need for a greater level of selfdirected learning was recognised as opposed to the "passive information model" of student learning in which the students are seen as empty vessels to be filled with knowledge - which they are then usually unable to apply in design related contexts in the studio. Furthermore, the value of electives had been questioned: whilst enabling some diversity of choice, they may also be seen as diverting attention and resources from the real problems of teaching architecture.
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	ac81
authors	Brown, A.G.P.
year	1991
title	Review of Building IT 2000
source	Experiences with CAAD in Education and Practice [eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Munich (Germany) 17-19 October 1991
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1991.x.q2c
summary	Building IT2000 is a Building and Information Technology database which is presented in Hypertextformat. Its production has been co-ordinated by the CICA (the Construction Industry Computer Association), an independent association serving the needs of computer users, specifiers and suppliers in the Construction Industry. The stack is a collection of structured information prepared by a group of experts in computing and the construction industry. As such it represents an interesting advance from two points of view: (1.) It is a valuable source of information in its own right. It could provide a resource for students of architecture which could be used as a self-teaching package. (2.) It points a possible way forward for the development of similar hypertext based teaching packages which could be developed by academics within the European teaching community.
series	eCAADe
email
more	http://www.mediatecture.at/ecaade/91/brown.pdf
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

_id	sigradi2003_012
id	sigradi2003_012
authors	Cabello, D., López, L. and López, M.
year	2003
title	Acido Surtido. Veintiocho miradas en formato editorial (Assorted Acid. Twenty eight views in publishing format)
source	SIGraDi 2003 - [Proceedings of the 7th Iberoamerican Congress of Digital Graphics] Rosario Argentina 5-7 november 2003
summary	Acido Surtido is a wide-ranging editorial project free of charge. Whose purpose is to create a place where visual thinking meets and juxtapose at random. Its active principles arise from the chaotic combination, in a 64 x 94 cm sheet of paper, of twenty eight graphic works developed in an independent and parallel way by an equal number of itinerant authors, and based on a frame topic from which plenty of visual ideas are launched. Through this "cadavre exquis" strategy, Acido Surtido calls on the reader's ability to re-elaborate and develop new interpretations, even new for those originally proposed by the authors. Acido Surtido is an offset printed centrefold, with an impression of 2000 copies.
keywords	Miradas, yuxtaposición, editorial.
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:47

_id	c229
authors	Cavazos, María Estela Sánchez
year	2002
title	Experiencia en Digitalización de Procesos de Diseño Arquitectónico Caso Taller de Modelación Espacial, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes [Experience in Digitalization Processes of Architectural Design: Study Case of Space Modeling, Independent University of Aguascalientes ]
source	SIGraDi 2002 - [Proceedings of the 6th Iberoamerican Congress of Digital Graphics] Caracas (Venezuela) 27-29 november 2002, pp. 252-256
summary	This project has been based in an experience that took time in the years 1999 and 2000 where a group of 13 students of the Architectonic Design Masters in the U.A.A. were submitted to a project that consisted in register their Architectonic Design Processing during a year with the main purpose of having the most complete material possible to be used as material for different research projects. At the end of the architectonic project the students scanned all the graphics and ordered them in the format that was established by the group using ACDSee32 as the program, which resulted very simple to manage and permitted to order the graphics and write comments to them as it was thought. The result obtained was 12 ordered texts by seven segments pefectly identifi ed and with easy manage for any investigation that you want to realice with them, in fact today exist two fi nished investigations that were realized with this information added to one formal investigation and some informal in process.
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:48

_id	0dc3
authors	Chambers, Tom and Wood, John B.
year	1999
title	Decoding to 2000 CAD as Mediator
source	Architectural Computing from Turing to 2000 [eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-5-7] Liverpool (UK) 15-17 September 1999, pp. 210-216
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1999.210
summary	This paper will present examples of current practice in the Design Studio course of the BDE, University of Strathclyde. The paper will demonstrate an integrated approach to teaching design, which includes CAD among other visual communication techniques as a means to exploring design concepts and the presentation of complex information as part of the design process. It will indicate how the theoretical dimension is used to direct the student in their areas of independent study. Projects illustrated will include design precedents that have involved students in the review and assessment of landmarks in the history of design. There will be evidence of how students integrate DTP in the presentation of site analysis, research of appropriate design precedents and presentation of their design solutions. CADET underlines the importance of considering design solutions within the context of both our European cultural context and of assessing the environmental impact of design options, for which CAD is eminently suited. As much as a critical method is essential to the development of the design process, a historical perspective and an appreciation of the sophistication of communicative media will inform the analysis of structural form and meaning in a modem urban context. Conscious of the dynamic of social and historical influences in design practice, the student is enabled "to take a critical stand against the dogmatism of the school "(Gadamer, 1988) that inevitably insinuates itself in learning institutions and professional practice.
keywords	Design Studio, Communication, Integrated Teaching
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:56

_id	ddssar0006
id	ddssar0006
authors	Ciftcioglu, Ö., Durmisevic, S. and Sariyildiz, S.
year	2000
title	Multi-objective design for space layout topology
source	Timmermans, Harry (Ed.), Fifth Design and Decision Support Systems in Architecture and Urban Planning - Part one: Architecture Proceedings (Nijkerk, the Netherlands)
summary	A novel method to produce space layout topologies for architectural design is described. From the uniformly distributed design solutions in the solution space the corresponding design requirements are computed according to a given norm and metric function. The system is based on graph representation of the layout so that the desired relations between the pairs of nodes are considered to be independent variables of appropriate series of multivariable functions mapping the requirements into the solution space. The system so established is used as a knowledge-base for robust layout design where knowledge base having been established, the layout design requirements are introduced to the system as design constraints and the output is identified in the multidimensional solution space by means of interpolation. Since the smoothness of the interpolation is guaranteed, robust design layout, in the form of node locations, is obtained.
series	DDSS
last changed	2003/08/07 16:36

_id	8161
authors	Clayton, Mark J.
year	2000
title	Design Desk Critiques: Digital or Face-to-Face?
source	SIGraDi’2000 - Construindo (n)o espacio digital (constructing the digital Space) [4th SIGRADI Conference Proceedings / ISBN 85-88027-02-X] Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) 25-28 september 2000, pp. 41-44
summary	Internet tools are becoming a legitimate option for conducting design discussions in a global market, but architects are uncertain of how these tools may affect the discussions. The desk critique is an important kind of design discussion in both education and professional practice. This research is employing empirical methods to compare desk critiques. The independent variable in the study is the collaboration medium, which may be either a face-to-face environment or the Internet collaboration software. Pairs of student and instructor participate in sessions with each medium, and their interaction is recorded on videotape. The videotape content is transcribed into sequences of coded events to permit quantitative analysis. Although the research is incomplete, the preliminary results suggest that for some participants and under some circumstances the digital desk critiques are superior to the face-to-face desk critiques. The results of the research may lead to improved methods of conducting design discussion using the Internet.
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:49

_id	349e
authors	Durmisevic, Sanja
year	2002
title	Perception Aspects in Underground Spaces using Intelligent Knowledge Modeling
source	Delft University of Technology
summary	The intensification, combination and transformation are main strategies for future spatial development of the Netherlands, which are stated in the Fifth Bill regarding Spatial Planning. These strategies indicate that in the future, space should be utilized in a more compact and more efficient way requiring, at the same time, re-evaluation of the existing built environment and finding ways to improve it. In this context, the concept of multiple space usage is accentuated, which would focus on intensive 4-dimensional spatial exploration. The underground space is acknowledged as an important part of multiple space usage. In the document 'Spatial Exploration 2000', the underground space is recognized by policy makers as an important new 'frontier' that could provide significant contribution to future spatial requirements.In a relatively short period, the underground space became an important research area. Although among specialists there is appreciation of what underground space could provide for densely populated urban areas, there are still reserved feelings by the public, which mostly relate to the poor quality of these spaces. Many realized underground projects, namely subways, resulted in poor user satisfaction. Today, there is still a significant knowledge gap related to perception of underground space. There is also a lack of detailed documentation on actual applications of the theories, followed by research results and applied techniques. This is the case in different areas of architectural design, but for underground spaces perhaps most evident due to their infancv role in general architectural practice. In order to create better designs, diverse aspects, which are very often of qualitative nature, should be considered in perspective with the final goal to improve quality and image of underground space. In the architectural design process, one has to establish certain relations among design information in advance, to make design backed by sound rationale. The main difficulty at this point is that such relationships may not be determined due to various reasons. One example may be the vagueness of the architectural design data due to linguistic qualities in them. Another, may be vaguely defined design qualities. In this work, the problem was not only the initial fuzziness of the information but also the desired relevancy determination among all pieces of information given. Presently, to determine the existence of such relevancy is more or less a matter of architectural subjective judgement rather than systematic, non-subjective decision-making based on an existing design. This implies that the invocation of certain tools dealing with fuzzy information is essential for enhanced design decisions. Efficient methods and tools to deal with qualitative, soft data are scarce, especially in the architectural domain. Traditionally well established methods, such as statistical analysis, have been used mainly for data analysis focused on similar types to the present research. These methods mainly fall into a category of pattern recognition. Statistical regression methods are the most common approaches towards this goal. One essential drawback of this method is the inability of dealing efficiently with non-linear data. With statistical analysis, the linear relationships are established by regression analysis where dealing with non-linearity is mostly evaded. Concerning the presence of multi-dimensional data sets, it is evident that the assumption of linear relationships among all pieces of information would be a gross approximation, which one has no basis to assume. A starting point in this research was that there maybe both linearity and non-linearity present in the data and therefore the appropriate methods should be used in order to deal with that non-linearity. Therefore, some other commensurate methods were adopted for knowledge modeling. In that respect, soft computing techniques proved to match the quality of the multi-dimensional data-set subject to analysis, which is deemed to be 'soft'. There is yet another reason why soft-computing techniques were applied, which is related to the automation of knowledge modeling. In this respect, traditional models such as Decision Support Systems and Expert Systems have drawbacks. One important drawback is that the development of these systems is a time-consuming process. The programming part, in which various deliberations are required to form a consistent if-then rule knowledge based system, is also a time-consuming activity. For these reasons, the methods and tools from other disciplines, which also deal with soft data, should be integrated into architectural design. With fuzzy logic, the imprecision of data can be dealt with in a similar way to how humans do it. Artificial neural networks are deemed to some extent to model the human brain, and simulate its functions in the form of parallel information processing. They are considered important components of Artificial Intelligence (Al). With neural networks, it is possible to learn from examples, or more precisely to learn from input-output data samples. The combination of the neural and fuzzy approach proved to be a powerful combination for dealing with qualitative data. The problem of automated knowledge modeling is efficiently solved by employment of machine learning techniques. Here, the expertise of prof. dr. Ozer Ciftcioglu in the field of soft computing was crucial for tool development. By combining knowledge from two different disciplines a unique tool could be developed that would enable intelligent modeling of soft data needed for support of the building design process. In this respect, this research is a starting point in that direction. It is multidisciplinary and on the cutting edge between the field of Architecture and the field of Artificial Intelligence. From the architectural viewpoint, the perception of space is considered through relationship between a human being and a built environment. Techniques from the field of Artificial Intelligence are employed to model that relationship. Such an efficient combination of two disciplines makes it possible to extend our knowledge boundaries in the field of architecture and improve design quality. With additional techniques, meta know/edge, or in other words "knowledge about knowledge", can be created. Such techniques involve sensitivity analysis, which determines the amount of dependency of the output of a model (comfort and public safety) on the information fed into the model (input). Another technique is functional relationship modeling between aspects, which is derivation of dependency of a design parameter as a function of user's perceptions. With this technique, it is possible to determine functional relationships between dependent and independent variables. This thesis is a contribution to better understanding of users' perception of underground space, through the prism of public safety and comfort, which was achieved by means of intelligent knowledge modeling. In this respect, this thesis demonstrated an application of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) as a partner in the building design process by employing advanced modeling techniques. The method explained throughout this work is very generic and is possible to apply to not only different areas of architectural design, but also to other domains that involve qualitative data.
keywords	Underground Space; Perception; Soft Computing
series	thesis:PhD
email
last changed	2003/02/12 22:37

_id	ga0012
id	ga0012
authors	Galanter, Philip
year	2000
title	GA2: a Programming Environment for Abstract Generative Fine Art
source	International Conference on Generative Art
summary	Fine artists looking to use computers to create generative works, especially those artists inclined towards abstraction, often face an uncomfortable choice in the selection of software tools. On the one hand there are a number of commercial and shareware programs available which implement a few techniques in an easy to use GUI environment. Unfortunately such programs often impose a certain look or style and are not terribly versatile or expressive. The other choice seems to be writing code from scratch, in a language such as c or Java. This can be very time consuming as every new work seems to demand a new program, and the artist's ability to write code can seldom keep pace with his ability to imagine new visual ideas. This paper describes a software system created by the author called GA2 which has been implemented in the Matlab software environment. By layering GA2 over Matlab the artist can take advantage of a very mature programming environment which includes extensive mathematical libraries, simple graphics routines, GUI construction tools, built-in help facilities, and command line, batch mode, and GUI modes of interaction. In addition, GA2 is very portable and can run on Macintosh, Windows, and Unix systems with almost no incremental effort for multi-platform support. GA2 is a work in progress and an extension of the completed GA1 environment. It is medium independent, and can be used for all manner of image, animation, and sound production. GA1 includes a complete set of genetic algorithm operations for breeding families of graphical marks, a database function for managing and recalling various genes, a set of statistical operations for creating various distributions of marks on a canvas or animation frame, a unique Markov-chain-likeoperator for generating families of visually similar lines or paths, and a complete L-system implementation. GA2 extends GA1 by adding more generative techniques such as tiling and symmetry operations, Thom's cusp catastrophe, and mechanisms inspired by complexity science notions such as cellular automata, fractals, artificial life, and chaos. All of these techniques are encapulated in genetic representations. This paper is supplemented with examples from the authors art work, and comments on the philosophy behind this method of working, and its relation towards the reinvigoration of abstraction after post-modernism.
series	other
email
more	http://www.generativeart.com/
last changed	2003/08/07 17:25

_id	c839
authors	Hwang, Jie-Eun
year	2002
title	SpaceScope: Developing a Spatial Information Retrieval System - Focused on Apartment Unit Floor Plans -
source	Yonsei University, Dept. of Housing & Interior Design
summary	This research investigates the spatial information retrieval (IR) in architecture focused on constructing efficient metadata that is crucial for data retrieval. Generally speaking, metadata is ‘structured data about data’ to describe resources especially in a digital format. In this research, metadata is a sort of data object to be useful in searching spatial information. Metadata is also used to describe raw spatial data object as not only attribute data but also content structurally and semantic ally. There are two issues that motivate this research; 1) what is the spatial information – that materializes the intangible space as a data object, and 2) how we can search the information efficiently – the content-based information retrieval. Although knowledge of a building’s spatial content is most important in architecture, there has been no logical method to manage it. From the viewpoint of content-based retrieval, the researcher analyzes spatial information of a floor plan, with a focus on the apartment unit floor plan common in Korea. Then the metadata items are extracted in a structured manner. To manage the items efficiently, the researcher develops a data model for spatial information according to the concept of the “Structured Floor Plan”. The main object of content to retrieve is a spatial network that consists of nodes of spaces and their linkages. There are two ways to organize the metadata: the traditional index files and the RDF (Resource Description Framework). While the index files are still efficient with computability, the RDF applies greater options to retrieve, such as fuzzy predicates, semantic predicates, and so on. To exploit the metadata, this research shows several possibilities of query operations that present a set of sample queries about L-DK(Living room – Dining room – Kitchen). Implementation of the prototype system is divided into three parts: 1) a modeling module using Vitruvius; 2) an indexing module using MS SQL Server? 2000 in conjunction XML; and 3) a browsing module using the SpaceScope browser. The future works may consider XML-based databases and a knowledge based query language, such as RQL/XQL, working on such databases. The more specific domain knowledge is involved, the more practical systems would be. Even in architecture, there may be a diverse range of domain knowledge, such as design, building performance, facility management, energy management, post occupied evaluation, historical research, and so on. Also the issue of interface should be investigated in depth, so that it will be adequate to the needs of the architectural field.
keywords	Content-based Information Retrieval; Metadata; RDF; XML; Spatial Information; Apartment Floor Plan; Semantics
series	thesis:MSc
email
last changed	2003/04/25 07:27

_id	687c
authors	Kosco, Igor
year	1999
title	How the World Became Smaller
source	Architectural Computing from Turing to 2000 [eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-5-7] Liverpool (UK) 15-17 September 1999, pp. 230-237
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1999.230
summary	The world of computers became fruitful and independent before the new millennium started. New technologies and methods are giving us new tools and possibilities every day as well as the challenge how to use them. The advantage of architecture and namely of architects teaching at the universities or schools is remarkable: new techniques reflect the education, research and practice - and what is important - by one person. The links between practice and university from the point of view: how the computer technologies and CAAD influences methods of designing, managing and collaboration are very important in both directions. It grows with the number of students who left university with good computer skills on one side and number of architectural and engineering offices using computers on the other. Networks and Internet enables to exchange data but also experiences. Internet itself is not only a tool for surfing and enjoying or the source of information, but preferably like a powerful tool for collaboration, workgroups, virtual studios or long distance education. This paper describes experiences from research and educational projects between Slovak Technical University, IUG Grenoble, University of Newcastle and others and their influence on architectural education and practice.
keywords	Long-Distance Education, Research, Practice
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:51

_id	ga0008
id	ga0008
authors	Koutamanis, Alexander
year	2000
title	Redirecting design generation in architecture
source	International Conference on Generative Art
summary	Design generation has been the traditional culmination of computational design theory in architecture. Motivated either by programmatic and functional complexity (as in space allocation) or by the elegance and power of representational analyses (shape grammars, rectangular arrangements), research has produced generative systems capable of producing new designs that satisfied certain conditions or of reproducing exhaustively entire classes (such as all possible Palladian villas), comprising known and plausible new designs. Most generative systems aimed at a complete spatial design (detailing being an unpopular subject), with minimal if any intervention by the human user / designer. The reason for doing so was either to give a demonstration of the elegance, power and completeness of a system or simply that the replacement of the designer with the computer was the fundamental purpose of the system. In other words, the problem was deemed either already resolved by the generative system or too complex for the human designer. The ongoing democratization of the computer stimulates reconsideration of the principles underlying existing design generation in architecture. While the domain analysis upon which most systems are based is insightful and interesting, jumping to a generative conclusion was almost always based on a very sketchy understanding of human creativity and of the computer's role in designing and creativity. Our current perception of such matters suggests a different approach, based on the augmentation of intuitive creative capabilities with computational extensions. The paper proposes that architectural generative design systems can be redirected towards design exploration, including the development of alternatives and variations. Human designers are known to follow inconsistent strategies when confronted with conflicts in their designs. These strategies are not made more consistent by the emerging forms of design analysis. The use of analytical means such as simulation, couple to the necessity of considering a rapidly growing number of aspects, means that the designer is confronted with huge amounts of information that have to be processed and integrated in the design. Generative design exploration that can combine the analysis results in directed and responsive redesigning seems an effective method for the early stages of the design process, as well as for partial (local) problems in later stages. The transformation of generative systems into feedback support and background assistance for the human designer presupposes re-orientation of design generation with respect to the issues of local intelligence and autonomy. Design generation has made extensive use of local intelligence but has always kept it subservient to global schemes that tended to be holistic, rigid or deterministic. The acceptance of local conditions as largely independent structures (local coordinating devices) affords a more flexible attitude that permits not only the emergence of internal conflicts but also the resolution of such conflicts in a transparent manner. The resulting autonomy of local coordinating devices can be expanded to practically all aspects and abstraction levels. The ability to have intelligent behaviour built in components of the design representation, as well as in the spatial and building elements they signify, means that we can create the new, sharper tools required by the complexity resulting from the interpretation of the built environment as a dynamic configuration of co-operating yet autonomous parts that have to be considered independently and in conjunction with each other. P.S. The content of the paper will be illustrated by a couple of computer programs that demonstrate the princples of local intelligence and autonomy in redesigning. It is possible that these programs could be presented as independent interactive exhibits but it all depends upon the time we can make free for the development of self-sufficient, self-running demonstrations until December.
series	other
more	http://www.generativeart.com/
last changed	2003/08/07 17:25

_id	a25e
authors	Loy, Hollis A.
year	1999
title	Foundation for a Thorough CAAD Education
source	Architectural Computing from Turing to 2000 [eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-5-7] Liverpool (UK) 15-17 September 1999, pp. 301-308
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1999.301
summary	The birth and development of computing is considered by most as one of the greatest technological achievements of the twentieth century. Since the integration of computers in the built environment, over two decades ago, computing methods developed into efficient designing and calculating tools. In contrast, accelerating advancements in computing technology have created generation gaps amongst architects. There are inexperienced, novice, intermediate and advanced computer-capable architects. If each group was asked to define CAAD, some would still describe it as a computer program for technical draughting. Others may define CAAD (Computer Aided Architectural Design) as a vast array of digital media in CAD, multimedia and DTP, assisting architects in compiling visual presentations. Currently, most architectural schools are capable of instructing most, if not all, facets of CAAD (2D & 3D CAD, model rendering, photo montage, brochure layouts, etc.). However, this knowledge is accumulated at random throughout the course of study. "Computer Graphics for Architects" is the latest educational development in Europe bridging generation gaps with senior architects and serving as an introductory CAAD seminar to beginning architecture students. This book and lecture presents a gallery of recent architectural CAD, multimedia, and DTP presentations practiced in Europe´s second largest architectural firm. The terminology is user-friendly and its content concentrates on responding to the most often posed questions by CAAD beginners relating to: (1) Terminology (2) Appearance (3) Time Consumption (4) Cost Techniques introduced are independent of any platform. The goal is to summarize quickly and effectively the countless possibilities of presentations applicable in architecture practice. "Computer Graphics for Architects" provides a direction for future presentations and motivates students to excel in CAAD.
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:59

_id	3888
authors	Reffat, Rabee M.
year	2000
title	Computational Situated Learning in Designing - Application to Architectural Shape Semantics
source	The University of Sydney, Faculty of Architecture
summary	Learning the situatedness (applicability conditions), of design knowledge recognised from design compositions is the central tenet of the research presented in this thesis. This thesis develops and implements a computational system of situated learning and investigates its utility in designing. Situated learning is based on the concept that "knowledge is contextually situated and is fundamentally influenced by its situation". In this sense learning is tuned to the situations within which "what you do when you do matters". Designing cannot be predicted and the results of designing are not based on actions independent of what is being designed or independent of when, where and how it was designed. Designers' actions are situation dependent (situated), such that designers work actively with the design environment within the specific conditions of the situation where neither the goal state nor the solution space is completely predetermined. In designing, design solutions are fluid and emergent entities generated by dynamic and situated activities instead of fixed design plans. Since it is not possible in advance to know what knowledge to use in relation to any situation we need to learn knowledge in relation to its situation, i.e. learn the applicability conditions of knowledge. This leads towards the notion of the situation as having the potential role of guiding the use of knowledge. Situated Learning in Designing (SLiDe) is developed and implemented within the domain of architectural shape composition (in the form of floor plans), to construct the situatedness of shape semantics. An architectural shape semantic is a set of characteristics with a semantic meaning based on a particular view of a shape such as reflection symmetry, adjacency, rotation and linearity. Each shape semantic has preconditions without which it cannot be recognised. Such preconditions indicate nothing about the situation within which this shape semantic was recognised. The situatedness or the applicability conditions of a shape semantic is viewed as, the interdependent relationships between this shape semantic as the design knowledge in focus, and other shape semantics across the observations of a design composition. While designing, various shape semantics and relationships among them emerge in different representations of a design composition. Multiple representations of a design composition by re-interpretation have been proposed to serve as a platform for SLiDe. Multiple representations provide the opportunity for different shape semantics and relationships among them to be found from a single design composition. This is important if these relationships are to be used later because it is not known in advance which of the possible relationships could be constructed are likely to be useful. Hence, multiple representations provide a platform for different situations to be encountered. A symbolic representation of shape and shape semantics is used in which the infinite maximal lines form the representative primitives of the shape. SLiDe is concerned with learning the applicability conditions (situatedness), of shape semantics locating them in relation to situations within which they were recognised (situation dependent), and updating the situatedness of shape semantics in response to new observations of the design composition. SLiDe consists of three primary modules: Generator, Recogniser and Incremental Situator. The Generator is used by the designer to develop a set of multiple representations of a design composition. This set of representations forms the initial design environment of SLiDe. The Recogniser detects shape semantics in each representation and produces a set of observations, each of which is comprised of a group of shape semantics recognised at each corresponding representation. The Incremental Situator module consists of two sub-modules, Situator and Restructuring Situator, and utilises an unsupervised incremental clustering mechanism not affected by concept drift. The Situator module locates recognised shape semantics in relation to their situations by finding regularities of relationships among them across observations of a design composition and clustering them into situational categories organised in a hierarchical tree structure. Such relationships change over time due to the changes taken place in the design environment whenever further representations are developed using the Generator module and new observations are constructed by the Recogniser module. The Restructuring Situator module updates previously learned situational categories and restructures the hierarchical tree accordingly in response to new observations. Learning the situatedness shape semantics may play a crucial role in designing if designers pursue further some of these shape semantics. This thesis illustrates an approach in which SLiDe can be utilised in designing to explore the shapes in a design composition in various ways; bring designers! attention to potentially hidden features and shape semantics of their designs; and maintain the integrity of the design composition by using the situatedness of shape semantics. The thesis concludes by outlining future directions for this research to learn and update the situatedness of design knowledge within the context of use; considering the role of functional knowledge while learning the situatedness of design knowledge; and developing an autonomous situated agent-based designing system.
series	thesis:PhD
email
last changed	2003/05/06 11:34

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