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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	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	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	2b39
authors	Duarte, Rovenir Bertola
year	2000
title	O Uso do Computador no Ensino de Projeto: (por) uma Avaliação (Or Use do Computer nonEnsino de Project: (by) uma Avaliaction)
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. 361-363
summary	The computer approaches to the discipline of project near the fifties, with the idea that all the systems and processes can be object of mathematical simulation. However in the last times, the computers were used more in drawings than in the projects, “CADrafting is uncommon (...) and CADesign is almost nonexistent...” (STEVEN, 1991). At the same time it happened a surprising approach with to architecture schools. It stimulated more methodological approaches, and the subject moved, placing the computer as element transformer. The computers have really been changing the production and generation of documents, but the question is if it has been altering the method or process of elaboration of ideas. After so much search in direction to the computers it is time of thinking what was gotten with them and the problems that accompanies him. The work search to discuss the subjects where the computer influences in the learning and the students’ development.
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:50

_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

_id	caadria2000_000
id	caadria2000_000
authors	Tan, Beng-Kiang; Tan, Milton; Wong, Yunn-Chii (eds.)
year	2000
title	CAADRIA 2000
source	Proceedings of the Fifth Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia / ISBN 981-04-2491-4] Singapore 18-19 May 2000, 519 p.
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.2000
summary	Ever since the advent of computer graphics in the sixties, computer-aided architectural design (CAAD) has made a great impact in architectural education and practice. Its central role as a new media for the representation and analysis of designs will ensure that it will continue to do so. The teaching and research in CAAD in Asia have also been growing in scope and in quality. In the 21st century, the challenges of architectural education and practice in the new millennium will open up new fronts in CAAD research. This conference is an important platform to evaluate the challenge and opportunities and will enable researchers to exchange ideas and collaboration in projects with specific relevance to CADD for Asia. This compilation of 48 papers were elected through a blind review by an international panel and presented at the conference in Singapore on 18 - 19 May 2000. The chapters are organised according to the main topics covered by the conference -- Collaborative Design, Simulation, Design Education, Knowledge Representation, Design Process, Information Systems, Design Tools, Virtual Reality and Computer Media. The Collaborative Design section consists of papers which deal with Collaborative Design Process interfaces to databases, Collaborative Design System for Citizen Participation, Team Awareness in Collaboration and Computer Environment for supporting Design Collaboration. The Simulation section deals with lighting studies, colour assessment, simulation of urban growth patterns, dynamic simulations in buildings and way-finding. The Design Education section consists of papers on design pedagogy in design studios using computers, virtual studios and virtual learning. The Knowledge Representation section consists of papers that deal with knowledge-based systems, design representation and shape grammar. The Design Process section consists of papers on design process and cognition, design creativity and the computer media. The Information Systems section consists of papers on information navigation, information management, design information repository and databases. The Design Tools section consists of papers on design tools based on generative systems, a new method for 3D animation and movement-in-architectural-space representation. The Virtual Reality and Computer Media section deals with virtual reality applications and tools in architecture, designing virtual environments and computer media and visualization.
series	CAADRIA
last changed	2022/06/07 07:49

_id	ga0020
id	ga0020
authors	Codignola, G.Matteo
year	2000
title	[Title missing]
source	International Conference on Generative Art
summary	This paper is a summary of my last degree in architecture (discussed in December 1999) with Prof. Celestino Soddu and Prof. Enrica Colabella. In this work I had the possibility to reach complexity by a generative approach with the construction of a paradigm that organizes the different codes of project identity. My general objective was to design shape complexity in variable categories : 3d space surfaces, 2d drawings and 2d textures. I was to discover the identity of one of my favourite architects of the 20th century : Antoni Gaudì, by constructing codes relative to shape complexity. I defined my particular objective in the possibility to abduct from Gaudì's imaginary reference the generatives codes that operate in the logical processing I use to create a possible species project. The next step was to verify the exact working of the new generative codes by means of 3d scenaries, that are recognizable as "Antoni Gaudì specie's architecture". Whit project processing on the generative codes and not on a possible resulting shape design, I was able to organize by my general paradigm the attributes of the project's species : different shapes, different attributes (color, scale, proportion), to get to possible and different scenarys, all recognizable by the relative class codes. I chose three examples in Barcellona built during the period 1902 to 1914 : The Parco Guell, Casa Batllò and Casa Milà are the three reference sceneryes that I used to create the generative codes. In the second step I defined different codes that operate in sequence (it is defined in the paradigm) : The generatives codes are only subjective; they are one possible solution of my interpretation of Antoni Gaudì's identity. This codes operate in four differents ways : Geometrical codes for 2d shapes Geometrical codes for interface relations Spatial codes for 3d extrusion of 2d shapes Geometrical codes for 2d and 3d texturing of generated surfaces. By a stratified application of this codes I arrived at one idea for all the generative processes but many different, possible scenaryes, all recognizable in Gaudì's species. So, my final result has made possible sceneryes belonging to related species defined previously. At the end of my research I designed a project by combination : using Antoni Gaudì's generative codes on a new 3d scenary with a shape catalyst : the Frank Lloyd Wright Guggenheim Museum of New York. In this process I created a "hybrid scenary" : a new species of architectural look; a Guggenheim museum planned by Wright with a god pinch of Gaudì.
series	other
email
more	http://www.generativeart.com/
last changed	2003/08/07 17:25

_id	fa1b
authors	Haapasalo, H.
year	2000
title	Creative computer aided architectural design An internal approach to the design process
source	University of Oulu (Finland)
summary	This survey can be seen as quite multidisciplinary research. The basis for this study has been inapplicability of different CAD user interfaces in architectural design. The objective of this research is to improve architectural design from the creative problem-solving viewpoint, where the main goal is to intensify architectural design by using information technology. The research is linked to theory of methods, where an internal approach to design process means studying the actions and thinking of architects in the design process. The research approach has been inspired by hermeneutics. The human thinking process is divided into subconscious and conscious thinking. The subconscious plays a crucial role in creative work. The opposite of creative work is systematic work, which attempts to find solutions by means of logical inference. Both creative and systematic problem solving have had periods of predominance in the history of Finnish architecture. The perceptions in the present study indicate that neither method alone can produce optimal results. Logic is one of the tools of creativity, since the analysis and implementation of creative solutions require logical thinking. The creative process cannot be controlled directly, but by creating favourable work conditions for creativity, it can be enhanced. Present user interfaces can make draughting and the creation of alternatives quicker and more effective in the final stages of designing. Only two thirds of the architects use computers in working design, even the CAD system is being acquired in greater number of offices. User interfaces are at present inflexible in sketching. Draughting and sketching are the basic methods of creative work for architects. When working with the mouse, keyboard and screen the natural communication channel is impaired, since there is only a weak connection between the hand and the line being drawn on the screen. There is no direct correspondence between hand movements and the lines that appear on the screen, and the important items cannot be emphasized by, for example, pressing the pencil more heavily than normally. In traditional sketching the pen is a natural extension of the hand, as sketching can sometimes be controlled entirely by the unconscious. Conscious efforts in using the computer shift the attention away from the actual design process. However, some architects have reached a sufficiently high level of skill in the use of computer applications in order to be able to use them effectively in designing without any harmful effect on the creative process. There are several possibilities in developing CAD systems aimed at architectural design, but the practical creative design process has developed during a long period of time, in which case changing it in a short period of time would be very difficult. Although CAD has had, and will have, some evolutionary influences on the design process of architects as an entity, the future CAD user interface should adopt its features from the architect's practical and creative design process, and not vice versa.
keywords	Creativity, Systematicism, Sketching
series	thesis:PhD
email
more	http://herkules.oulu.fi/isbn9514257545/
last changed	2003/02/12 22:37

_id	ecaade2010_054
id	ecaade2010_054
authors	Wurzer, Gabriel; Fioravanti, Antonio; Loffreda, Gianluigi; Trento, Armando
year	2010
title	Function & Action: Verifying a functional program in a game-oriented environment
source	FUTURE CITIES [28th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 978-0-9541183-9-6] ETH Zurich (Switzerland) 15-18 September 2010, pp.389-394
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2010.389
wos	WOS:000340629400041
summary	The finding of a functional program for any kind of building involves a great amount of knowledge about the behavior of future building users. This knowledge can be gathered by looking at relevant building literature (Adler, 1999; Neufert and Neufert, 2000) or by investigating the actual processes taking place in similar environments, the latter being demonstrated e.g. by (Schütte-Lihotzky, 2004) or new functionalist approaches of the MVRDV group (Costanzo, 2006)). Both techniques have the disadvantage that the architect might assume a behavior which is seldom experienced in real life (either through lack of information or by failing to meet the building user’s expectations). What is needed is a verification step in which the design is tested on real users. We have devised a game-like environment (Figure 1a) in which it is possible to capture the behavior of future building users in order to verify the relevance of the design even at a very early stage. As result of applying our approach, we can find previously overlooked usage situations, which may be used to further adapt the design to the user’s needs.
keywords	Requirements checking; Participative design
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:57

_id	9bc4
authors	Bhavnani, S.K. and John, B.E.
year	2000
title	The Strategic Use of Complex Computer Systems
source	Human-Computer Interaction 15 (2000), 107-137
summary	Several studies show that despite experience, many users with basic command knowledge do not progress to an efficient use of complex computer applications. These studies suggest that knowledge of tasks and knowledge of tools are insufficient to lead users to become efficient. To address this problem, we argue that users also need to learn strategies in the intermediate layers of knowledge lying between tasks and tools. These strategies are (a) efficient because they exploit specific powers of computers, (b) difficult to acquire because they are suggested by neither tasks nor tools, and (c) general in nature having wide applicability. The above characteristics are first demonstrated in the context of aggregation strategies that exploit the iterative power of computers.Acognitive analysis of a real-world task reveals that even though such aggregation strategies can have large effects on task time, errors, and on the quality of the final product, they are not often used by even experienced users. We identify other strategies beyond aggregation that can be efficient and useful across computer applications and show how they were used to develop a new approach to training with promising results.We conclude by suggesting that a systematic analysis of strategies in the intermediate layers of knowledge can lead not only to more effective ways to design training but also to more principled approaches to design systems. These advances should lead users to make more efficient use of complex computer systems.
series	other
email
last changed	2003/11/21 15:16

_id	389b
authors	Do, Ellen Yi-Luen
year	2000
title	Sketch that Scene for Me: Creating Virtual Worlds by Freehand Drawing
source	Promise and Reality: State of the Art versus State of Practice in Computing for the Design and Planning Process [18th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-6-5] Weimar (Germany) 22-24 June 2000, pp. 265-268
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2000.265
summary	With the Web people can now view virtual threedimensional worlds and explore virtual space. Increasingly, novice users are interested in creating 3D Web sites. Virtual Reality Modeling Language gained ISO status in 1997, although it is being supplanted by the compatible Java3D API and alternative 3D Web technologies compete. Viewing VRML scenes is relatively straightforward on most hardware platforms and browsers, but currently there are only two ways to create 3D virtual scenes: One is to code the scene directly using VRML. The other is to use existing CAD and modeling software, and save the world in VRML format or convert to VRML from some other format. Both methods are time consuming, cumbersome, and have steep learning curves. Pen-based user interfaces, on the other hand, are for many an easy and intuitive method for graphics input. Not only are people familiar with the look and feel of paper and pencil, novice users also find it less intimidating to draw what they want, where they want it instead of using a complicated tool palette and pull-down menus. Architects and designers use sketches as a primary tool to generate design ideas and to explore alternatives, and numerous computer-based interfaces have played on the concept of "sketch". However, we restrict the notion of sketch to freehand drawing, which we believe helps people to think, to envision, and to recognize properties of the objects with which they are working. SKETCH employs a pen interface to create three-dimensional models, but it uses a simple language of gestures to control a three-dimensional modeler; it does not attempt to interpret freehand drawings. In contrast, our support of 3D world creation using freehand drawing depend on users’ traditional understanding of a floor plan representation. Igarashi et al. used a pen interface to drive browsing in a 3D world, by projecting the user’s marks on the ground plane in the virtual world. Our Sketch-3D project extends this approach, investigating an interface that allows direct interpretation of the drawing marks (what you draw is what you get) and serves as a rapid prototyping tool for creating 3D virtual scenes.
keywords	Freehand Sketching, Pen-Based User Interface, Interaction, VRML, Navigation
series	eCAADe
email
more	http://www.uni-weimar.de/ecaade/
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	b1db
authors	Francis, Sabu
year	1999
title	The Importance of Being Abstract: An Indian Approach to Models
source	Architectural Computing from Turing to 2000 [eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-5-7] Liverpool (UK) 15-17 September 1999, pp. 101-109
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1999.101
summary	Traditional Indian way of life is surrounded by ambiguity. This is in direct contrast to an Aristotelian approach, where polarised stands are always taken. A black and white approach tends to yield results speedily, but exhaustive solutions which can explain complexity are usually brute force procedures. Even so, their conclusions in the end are still suspect. The author believes that rich solutions may exist when we use an 'alternate' or abstract synthesized reality to do our modelling instead of relying on analogies and other direct links to the real world. Models that allow synthesis tend to accept ambiguity. The author presents in this paper an 'unconventional' system to represent architecture which has had some amount of success probably because it started of, on pure abstract grounds that allowed ambiguity instead of basing it on an Aristotelian, analytical model.
keywords	Aristotle, Buddha, Representations, Abstract Models
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

_id	f586
authors	Gabriel, G. and Maher, M.L.
year	2000
title	Analysis of design communication with and without computer mediation
source	Proceedings of Co-designing 2000, pp. 329-337
summary	With recent developments in CAD and communication technologies, the way we visualise and communicate design representations is changing. A matter of great interest to architects, practitioners and researchers alike, is how computer technology might affect the way they think and work. The concern is not about the notion of 'support' alone, but about ensuring that computers do not disrupt the design process and collaborative activity already going on (Bannon and Schmidt, 1991). Designing new collaborative tools will then have to be guided by a better understanding of how collaborative work is accomplished and by understanding what resources the collaborators use and what hindrances they encounter in their work (Finholt et al., 1990). Designing, as a more abstract notion, is different than having a business meeting using video conferencing. In design it is more important to 'see' what is being discussed rather than 'watch' the other person(s) involved in the discussion. In other words the data being conveyed might be of more importance than the method with which it is communicated (See Kvan, 1994). Similarly, we believe that by using text instead of audio as a medium for verbal communication, verbal representations can then be recorded alongside graphical representations for later retrieval and use. In this paper we present the results of a study on collaborative design in three different environments: face-to-face (FTF), computer-mediated using video conferencing (CMCD-a), and computer-mediated using "talk by typing" (CMCD-b). The underlying aim is to establish a clearer notion of the collaborative needs of architects using computer-mediation. In turn this has the potential in assisting developers when designing new collaborative tools and in assisting designers when selecting an environment for a collaborative session.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:50

_id	326c
authors	Hirschberg, U., Gramazio, F., H¾ger, K., Liaropoulos Legendre, G., Milano, M. and Stöger, B.
year	2000
title	EventSpaces. A Multi-Author Game And Design Environment
source	Promise and Reality: State of the Art versus State of Practice in Computing for the Design and Planning Process [18th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-6-5] Weimar (Germany) 22-24 June 2000, pp. 65-72
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2000.065
summary	EventSpaces is a web-based collaborative teaching environment we developed for our elective CAAD course. Its goal is to let the students collectively design a prototypical application - the EventSpaces.Game. The work students do to produce this game and the process of how they interact is actually a game in its own right. It is a process that is enabled by the EventSpaces.System, which combines work, learning, competition and play in a shared virtual environment. The EventSpaces.System allows students to criticize, evaluate, and rate each otherÕs contributions, thereby distributing the authorship credits of the game. The content of the game is therefore created in a collaborative as well as competitive manner. In the EventSpaces.System, the students form a community that shares a common interest in the development of the EventSpaces.Game. At the same time they are competing to secure as much credit as possible for themselves. This playful incentive in turn helps to improve the overall quality of the EventSpaces.Game, which is in the interest of all authors. This whole, rather intricate functionality, which also includes a messaging system for all EventSpaces activities, is achieved by means of a database driven online working environment that manages and displays all works produced. It preserves and showcases each authorÕs contributions in relation to the whole and allows for the emergence of coherence from the multiplicity of solutions. This Paper first presents the motivation for the project and gives a short technical summary of how the project was implemented. Then it describes the nature of the exercises and discusses possible implications that this approach to collaboration and teaching might have.
series	eCAADe
email
more	http://www.uni-weimar.de/ecaade/
last changed	2022/06/07 07:50

_id	ga0017
id	ga0017
authors	McLean, A., Ward, A. and Cox, G.
year	2000
title	The aesthetics of generative code
source	International Conference on Generative Art
summary	Aesthetics, in general usage, lays an emphasis on subjective sense perception associated with the broad field of art and human creativity. This paper suggests that it might be useful to revisit the troubled relationship between art and aesthetics for the purpose of discussing the value of generative code. It is now generally accepted that sense perception alone is simply not enough unless contextualised within the world of ideas. Similarly, the world of multimedia is all too easily conflated with a multi-sensory experience (of combining still and moving image, sound, interaction and so on). Thus the limits of traditional aesthetics is emphasised in the problem of defining which of the senses the highest of the arts adheres to -according to Kant and Hegel - the ‘arts of speech’. Poetry throws such crude classificatory distinctions into question as it is both read and heard; or written and spoken/performed. Hegel suggests a way out of this paradox by employing dialectical thinking; as we do not hear speech by simply listening to it. He suggests that we need to represent speech to ourselves in written form in order to grasp what it essentially is. Thus poetry can neither be reduced to audible signs (the time of the ear) nor visible signs (the space of the eye) but is composed of language itself. This suggests that written and spoken forms work together to form a language that we appreciate as poetry. But does code work in the same way? By analogy, generative code has poetic qualities too, as it does not operate in a single moment in time and space but as a series of consecutive ‘actions’ that are repeatable, the outcome of which might be imagined in different contexts. Code is a notation of an internal structure that the computer is executing, expressing ideas, logic, and decisions that operate as an extension of the author's intentions. The written form is merely a computer-readable notation of logic, and is a representation of this process. Yet the written code isn't what the computer really executes, since there are many levels of interpreting and compiling and linking taking place. Code is only really understandable with the context of its overall structure – this is what makes it a language (be it source code or machine code, or even raw bytes). It may be hard to understand someone else’s code but the computer is, after all, multi-lingual. In this sense, understanding someone else's code is very much like listening to poetry in a foreign language - the appreciation goes beyond a mere understanding of the syntax or form of the language used, and as such translation is infamously problematic. Code itself is clearly not poetry as such, but retains some of its rhythm and metrical form. Code is intricately crafted, and expressed in multitudinous and idiosyncratic ways. Like poetry, the aesthetic value of code lies in its execution, not simply its written form. To appreciate it fully we need to ‘see’ the code to fully grasp what it is we are experiencing and to build an understanding of the code’s actions. To separate the code and the resultant actions would simply limit the aesthetic experience, and ultimately the study of these forms - as a form of criticism (what might be better called ‘poetics’).
series	other
more	http://www.generativeart.com/
last changed	2003/08/07 17:25

_id	858c
authors	Medjdoub, B. and Yannou, B.
year	2000
title	Separating topology and geometry in space planning
source	Computer-Aided Design, Vol. 32 (1) (2000) pp. 39-61
summary	We are dealing with the problem of space layout planning here. We present an architectural conceptual CAD approach. Starting with design specifications in terms ofconstraints over spaces, a specific enumeration heuristics leads to a complete set of consistent conceptual design solutions named topological solutions. These topologicalsolutions which do not presume any precise definitive dimension correspond to the sketching step that an architect carries out from the Design specifications on a preliminarydesign phase in architecture.
keywords	Layout, Heuristic, Optimization, Constraints, Conceptual Design, Topological Solutions
series	journal paper
email
last changed	2003/05/15 21:33

_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	36dc
authors	Reffat, Rabee M. and Gero, John S.
year	1999
title	Situatedness: A New Dimension for Learning Systems in Design
source	Architectural Computing from Turing to 2000 [eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-5-7] Liverpool (UK) 15-17 September 1999, pp. 252-261
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1999.252
summary	In this paper we adopt the approach that designing is a series of situated acts, ie designing cannot be pre-planned to completion. This is based on ideas from situated cognition theory that claims that what people perceive, how they conceive and what they do develop together and are adapted to the environment. For a system to be useful for human designers it must have the ability to associate what is learned to its environment. In order for a system to do that such a system must be able to acquire knowledge of the environment that a design constructs. Therefore, acknowledging the notion of situatedness is of importance to provide a system with such capability and add on a new dimension to existing learning systems in design. We will call such a learning system within the design domain a Situated Learning Design System (SLDS). A SLDS should be able to create its own situational categories from its perceptual experiences and modify them if encountered again to link the learned knowledge to its corresponding situation. We have chosen architectural shapes as the vehicle to demonstrate our ideas and used multiple representations to build a platform for a SLDS to learn from. In this paper the notion of situatedness and its role in both designing and learning is discussed. The overall architecture of a SLDS is introduced and how the potential outcome of such a system will support human designers while designing is discussed.
keywords	Designing, Situated Knowledge, Multiple Representations, Situated Learning
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 08:00

_id	1bb0
authors	Russell, S. and Norvig, P.
year	1995
title	Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach
source	Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
summary	Humankind has given itself the scientific name homo sapiens--man the wise--because our mental capacities are so important to our everyday lives and our sense of self. The field of artificial intelligence, or AI, attempts to understand intelligent entities. Thus, one reason to study it is to learn more about ourselves. But unlike philosophy and psychology, which are also concerned with AI strives to build intelligent entities as well as understand them. Another reason to study AI is that these constructed intelligent entities are interesting and useful in their own right. AI has produced many significant and impressive products even at this early stage in its development. Although no one can predict the future in detail, it is clear that computers with human-level intelligence (or better) would have a huge impact on our everyday lives and on the future course of civilization. AI addresses one of the ultimate puzzles. How is it possible for a slow, tiny brain{brain}, whether biological or electronic, to perceive, understand, predict, and manipulate a world far larger and more complicated than itself? How do we go about making something with those properties? These are hard questions, but unlike the search for faster-than-light travel or an antigravity device, the researcher in AI has solid evidence that the quest is possible. All the researcher has to do is look in the mirror to see an example of an intelligent system. AI is one of the newest disciplines. It was formally initiated in 1956, when the name was coined, although at that point work had been under way for about five years. Along with modern genetics, it is regularly cited as the ``field I would most like to be in'' by scientists in other disciplines. A student in physics might reasonably feel that all the good ideas have already been taken by Galileo, Newton, Einstein, and the rest, and that it takes many years of study before one can contribute new ideas. AI, on the other hand, still has openings for a full-time Einstein. The study of intelligence is also one of the oldest disciplines. For over 2000 years, philosophers have tried to understand how seeing, learning, remembering, and reasoning could, or should, be done. The advent of usable computers in the early 1950s turned the learned but armchair speculation concerning these mental faculties into a real experimental and theoretical discipline. Many felt that the new ``Electronic Super-Brains'' had unlimited potential for intelligence. ``Faster Than Einstein'' was a typical headline. But as well as providing a vehicle for creating artificially intelligent entities, the computer provides a tool for testing theories of intelligence, and many theories failed to withstand the test--a case of ``out of the armchair, into the fire.'' AI has turned out to be more difficult than many at first imagined, and modern ideas are much richer, more subtle, and more interesting as a result. AI currently encompasses a huge variety of subfields, from general-purpose areas such as perception and logical reasoning, to specific tasks such as playing chess, proving mathematical theorems, writing poetry{poetry}, and diagnosing diseases. Often, scientists in other fields move gradually into artificial intelligence, where they find the tools and vocabulary to systematize and automate the intellectual tasks on which they have been working all their lives. Similarly, workers in AI can choose to apply their methods to any area of human intellectual endeavor. In this sense, it is truly a universal field.
series	other
last changed	2003/04/23 15:14

_id	diss_sola
id	diss_sola
authors	Sola-Morales, Pau
year	2000
title	Representation in Architecture: A Data Model for Computer-Aided Architectural Design
source	DDes Thesis, Harvard Design School, Cambridge, MA
summary	Traditional representation systems – including technical drawings, perspectives, models and photography – have historically been used by architects to communicate projectual ideas to other agents in the process, as well to communicate ideas to themselves and recording them for future reference. The increasing complexity of the projects, involving more agents in ever more distant locations; the need for a greater semantic richness to express all the subtleties of the technical, cost and styling details; and -- most importantly – the introduction of computers in every day practice, which enable powerful data generation and manipulation; all these factors together demand for a new representation system adapted to the new digital medium. Yet, traditional CAAD software packages do not offer a solution to any of these problems, for their data model is too simplified to model complex projects and ideas, and are based on geometrical representations of the built environment. This dissertation addresses the issue of computer representation of architecture, and tries to refocus the discussion from a “geometric representation of objects” to a “representation of relationships among objects.” After studying the nature of design, it is observed that objects in the built environment can be represented as patterns of relationships. Based on the object-oriented data model (OODM), which can capture such relationships, the research proposes a new data model and a new set of abstractions of architectural elements that represent the patterns of relationships among them. The resulting representations are networks of design concepts and intentions, hypertext-like structures conveying all the semantic richness of the architectural project, containing qualitative as well as quantitative information. It is analogous to a “digital writing” or “encoding” of architecture. Being stored in an OO, centralized, concurrent database, these object models can be shared and exchanged among design professionals, adding up to a universal computer-readable design representation system.
series	thesis:PhD
last changed	2005/09/09 12:58

_id	b0e7
authors	Ahmad Rafi, M.E. and Karboulonis, P.
year	2000
title	The Re-Convergence of Art and Science: A Vehicle for Creativity
source	CAADRIA 2000 [Proceedings of the Fifth Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia / ISBN 981-04-2491-4] Singapore 18-19 May 2000, pp. 491-500
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.2000.491
summary	Ever-increasing complexity in product design and the need to deliver a cost-effective solution that benefits from a dynamic approach requires the employment and adoption of innovative design methods which ensure that products are of the highest quality and meet or exceed customers' expectations. According to Bronowski (1976) science and art were originally two faces of the same human creativity. However, as civilisation advances and works became specialised, the dichotomy of science and art gradually became apparent. Hence scientists and artists were born, and began to develop work that was polar opposite. The sense of beauty itself became separated from science and was confined within the field of art. This dichotomy existed through mankind's efforts in advancing civilisation to its present state. This paper briefly examines the relationship between art and science through the ages and discusses their relatively recent re-convergence. Based on this hypothesis, this paper studies the current state of the convergence between arts and sciences and examines the current relationship between the two by considering real world applications and products. The study of such products and their successes and impact they had in the marketplace due to their designs and aesthetics rather than their advanced technology that had partially failed them appears to support this argument. This text further argues that a re-convergence between art and science is currently occurring and highlights the need for accelerating this process. It is suggested that re-convergence is a result of new technologies which are adopted by practitioners that include effective visualisation and communication of ideas and concepts. Such elements are widely found today in multimedia and Virtual Environments (VEs) where such tools offer increased power and new abilities to both scientists and designers as both venture in each other's domains. This paper highlights the need for the employment of emerging computer based real-time interactive technologies that are expected to enhance the design process through real-time prototyping and visualisation, better decision-making, higher quality communication and collaboration, lessor error and reduced design cycles. Effective employment and adoption of innovative design methods that ensure products are delivered on time, and within budget, are of the highest quality and meet customer expectations are becoming of ever increasing importance. Such tools and concepts are outlined and their roles in the industries they currently serve are identified. Case studies from differing fields are also studied. It is also suggested that Virtual Reality interfaces should be used and given access to Computer Aided Design (CAD) model information and data so that users may interrogate virtual models for additional information and functionality. Adoption and appliance of such integrated technologies over the Internet and their relevance to electronic commerce is also discussed. Finally, emerging software and hardware technologies are outlined and case studies from the architecture, electronic games, and retail industries among others are discussed, the benefits are subsequently put forward to support the argument. The requirements for adopting such technologies in financial, skills required and process management terms are also considered and outlined.
series	CAADRIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

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