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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	ga0007
id	ga0007
authors	Coates, Paul and Miranda, Pablo
year	2000
title	Swarm modelling. The use of Swarm Intelligence to generate architectural form
source	International Conference on Generative Art
summary	.neither the human purposes nor the architect's method are fully known in advance. Consequently, if this interpretation of the architectural problem situation is accepted, any problem-solving technique that relies on explicit problem definition, on distinct goal orientation, on data collection, or even on non-adaptive algorithms will distort the design process and the human purposes involved.' Stanford Anderson, "Problem-Solving and Problem-Worrying". The works concentrates in the use of the computer as a perceptive device, a sort of virtual hand or "sense", capable of prompting an environment. From a set of data that conforms the environment (in this case the geometrical representation of the form of the site) this perceptive device is capable of differentiating and generating distinct patterns in its behavior, patterns that an observer has to interpret as meaningful information. As Nicholas Negroponte explains referring to the project GROPE in his Architecture Machine: 'In contrast to describing criteria and asking the machine to generate physical form, this exercise focuses on generating criteria from physical form.' 'The onlooking human or architecture machine observes what is "interesting" by observing GROPE's behavior rather than by receiving the testimony that this or that is "interesting".' The swarm as a learning device. In this case the work implements a Swarm as a perceptive device. Swarms constitute a paradigm of parallel systems: a multitude of simple individuals aggregate in colonies or groups, giving rise to collaborative behaviors. The individual sensors can't learn, but the swarm as a system can evolve in to more stable states. These states generate distinct patterns, a result of the inner mechanics of the swarm and of the particularities of the environment. The dynamics of the system allows it to learn and adapt to the environment; information is stored in the speed of the sensors (the more collisions, the slower) that acts as a memory. The speed increases in the absence of collisions and so providing the system with the ability to forget, indispensable for differentiation of information and emergence of patterns. The swarm is both a perceptive and a spatial phenomenon. For being able to Interact with an environment an observer requires some sort of embodiment. In the case of the swarm, its algorithms for moving, collision detection, and swarm mechanics conform its perceptive body. The way this body interacts with its environment in the process of learning and differentiation of spatial patterns constitutes also a spatial phenomenon. The enactive space of the Swarm. Enaction, a concept developed by Maturana and Varela for the description of perception in biological terms, is the understanding of perception as the result of the structural coupling of an environment and an observer. Enaction does not address cognition in the currently conventional sense as an internal manipulation of extrinsic 'information' or 'signals', but as the relation between environment and observer and the blurring of their identities. Thus, the space generated by the swarm is an enactive space, a space without explicit description, and an invention of the swarm-environment structural coupling. If we consider a gestalt as 'Some property -such as roundness- common to a set of sense data and appreciated by organisms or artefacts' (Gordon Pask), the swarm is also able to differentiate space 'gestalts' or spaces of some characteristics, such as 'narrowness', or 'fluidness' etc. Implicit surfaces and the wrapping algorithm. One of the many ways of describing this space is through the use of implicit surfaces. An implicit surface may be imagined as an infinitesimally thin band of some measurable quantity such as color, density, temperature, pressure, etc. Thus, an implicit surface consists of those points in three-space that satisfy some particular requirement. This allows as to wrap the regions of space where a difference of quantity has been produced, enclosing the spaces in which some particular events in the history of the Swarm have occurred. The wrapping method allows complex topologies, such as manifoldness in one continuous surface. It is possible to transform the information generated by the swarm in to a landscape that is the result of the particular reading of the site by the swarm. Working in real time. Because of the complex nature of the machine, the only possible way to evaluate the resulting behavior is in real time. For this purpose specific applications had to be developed, using OpenGL for the Windows programming environment. The package consisted on translators from DXF format to a specific format used by these applications and viceversa, the Swarm "engine", a simulated parallel environment, and the Wrapping programs, to generate the implicit surfaces. Different versions of each had been produced, in different stages of development of the work.
series	other
email
more	http://www.generativeart.com/
last changed	2003/08/07 17:25

_id	2ea9
authors	Miranda, Pablo and Coates, Paul
year	2000
title	Swarm modelling. The use of Swarm Intelligence to generate architectural form
source	4th International Conference on Generative Art, Politecnico di Milano University, Milan, Italy
summary	In general the paper discusses the morphogenetic properties of swarm behaviour, and presents an example of mapping trajectories in the space of forms onto 3d flocking boids. This allows the construction of a kind of analogue to the string writing genetic algorithms and Genetic programming that are more familiar, and which have been reported by CECA. Earlier work with autonomous agents at CECA were concerned with the behaviour of agents embedded in an environment, and interactions between perceptive agents and their surrounding form. As elaborated below, the work covered in this paper is a refinement and abstraction of those experiments. This places the swarm back where perhaps it should have belonged, into the realms of abstract computation, where the emergent behaviours (the familiar flocking effect, and other observable morphologies) are used to control any number of alternative lower level morphological parameters, and to search the space of all possible variants in a directed and parallel way.
keywords	Swarm Intelligence; Autonomous agents; Enactive Perception; Structural Coupling; Sensory-motor Perception; Stigmergy
series	other
email
last changed	2003/03/24 15:46

_id	39c6
authors	Miranda, Pablo and Coates, Paul
year	2000
title	Swarm modelling. The use of Swarm Intelligence to generate architectural form
source	3th International Conference on Generative Art, Politecnico di Milano University, Milan, Italy
summary	In general the paper discusses the morphogenetic properties of swarm behaviour, and presents an example of mapping trajectories in the space of forms onto 3d flocking boids. This allows the construction of a kind of analogue to the string writing genetic algorithms and Genetic programming that are more familiar, and which have been reported by CECA. Earlier work with autonomous agents at CECA were concerned with the behaviour of agents embedded in an environment, and interactions between perceptive agents and their surrounding form. As elaborated below, the work covered in this paper is a refinement and abstraction of those experiments. This places the swarm back where perhaps it should have belonged, into the realms of abstract computation, where the emergent behaviours (the familiar flocking effect, and other observable morphologies) are used to control any number of alternative lower level morphological parameters, and to search the space of all possible variants in a directed and parallel way.
keywords	Swarm Intelligence; Autonomous agents; Enactive Perception; Structural Coupling; Sensory-motor Perception; Stigmergy
series	other
email
last changed	2003/03/24 17:13

_id	60a7
authors	Monedero, Javier
year	2000
title	Parametric design: a review and some experiences
source	Automation in Construction 9 (4) (2000) pp. 369-377
summary	During the last few years there has been an extraordinary development of computer-aided tools intended to present or communicate the results of architectural projects. But there has not been a comparable progress in the development of tools intended to assist design to generate architectural forms in an easy and interactive way. Even worse, architects who use the powerful means provided by computers as a direct tool to create architectural forms are still an exception. Architecture continues to be produced by traditional means using the computer as little more than a drafting tool. The main reasons that may explain this situation can be identified rather easily, although there will be significant differences of opinion. In my opinion, it is a mistake trying to advance too rapidly and, for instance, proposing integrated design methods using expert systems and artificial intelligence while no adequate tools to generate and modify simple 3D-models are available. The modeling tools we have at the present moment are unsatisfactory. Their principal limitation is the lack of appropriate instruments to modify interactively the model once it has been created. This is a fundamental aspect in any design activity, where the designer is constantly going forward and backwards, re-elaborating once and again some particular aspect of the model, or its general layout, or even coming back to a previous solution that had been temporarily abandoned. This paper presents a general summary of the actual situation and recent developments that may be incorporated to architectural design tools in a near future, together with some critical remarks about their relevance to architecture.
series	journal paper
more	http://www.elsevier.com/locate/autcon
last changed	2003/05/15 21:22

_id	d244
authors	De Mesa, A., Quilez, J. and Regot, J.
year	2000
title	Análisis Geométrico de Formas Arquitectónicas Complejas (Geometrical Analysis of Complex Architectural Forms)
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. 295-297
summary	The present graphic computer system allows defining high-level shape problems with great freedom. In free-form surface modeling it comes to be a good reason to develop an example that shows, which is the best way to create, modify and control complex free-form shapes in three-dimensional architectonic virtual modeling. The parameters of Bezier curves are not simple. But the use of Splines curves let us a friendly free form curves management with a great designer performance level. Unfortunately, the standard computer graphic tools to control these entities have a lot of variations, and normally create an unclear and confuse interface for generic users without several knowledge of mathematics and geometry. With the help of an example, this paper expose the use of computer graphics to make models of architectonic buildings with complex shapes that contains free-form surfaces. At the same time, it is an evaluation of how the standard CAD software processes this problem.
series	SIGRADI
last changed	2016/03/10 09:50

_id	5477
authors	Donath, D., Kruijff, E., Regenbrecht, H., Hirschberg, U., Johnson, B., Kolarevic, B. and Wojtowicz, J.
year	1999
title	Virtual Design Studio 1998 - A Place2Wait
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.1999.453
source	Architectural Computing from Turing to 2000 [eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-5-7] Liverpool (UK) 15-17 September 1999, pp. 453-458
summary	This article reports on the recent, geographically and temporally distributed, intercollegiate Virtual Design Studio based on the 1998 implementation Phase(x) environment. Students participating in this workshop had to create a place to wait in the form of a folly. This design task was cut in five logical parts, called phases. Every phase had to be finished within a specific timeframe (one day), after which the results would be stored in a common data repository, an online MSQL database environment which holds besides the presentations, consisting of text, 3D models and rendered images, basic project information like the descriptions of the phases and design process visualization tools. This approach to collaborative work is better known as memetic engineering and has successfully been used in several educational programs and past Virtual Design Studios. During the workshop, students made use of a variety of tools, including modeling tools (specifically Sculptor), video-conferencing software and rendering programs. The project distinguishes itself from previous Virtual Design Studios in leaving the design task more open, thereby focusing on the design process itself. From this perspective, this paper represents both a continuation of existing reports about previous Virtual Design Studios and a specific extension by the offered focus. Specific attention will be given at how the different collaborating parties dealt with the data flow and modification, the crux within a successful effort to cooperate on a common design task.
keywords	Collaborative design, Design Process, New Media Usage, Global Networks
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

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

_id	ga0010
id	ga0010
authors	Moroni, A., Zuben, F. Von and Manzolli, J.
year	2000
title	ArTbitrariness in Music
source	International Conference on Generative Art
summary	Evolution is now considered not only powerful enough to bring about the biological entities as complex as humans and conciousness, but also useful in simulation to create algorithms and structures of higher levels of complexity than could easily be built by design. In the context of artistic domains, the process of human-machine interaction is analyzed as a good framework to explore creativity and to produce results that could not be obtained without this interaction. When evolutionary computation and other computational intelligence methodologies are involved, every attempt to improve aesthetic judgement we denote as ArTbitrariness, and is interpreted as an interactive iterative optimization process. ArTbitrariness is also suggested as an effective way to produce art through an efficient manipulation of information and a proper use of computational creativity to increase the complexity of the results without neglecting the aesthetic aspects [Moroni et al., 2000]. Our emphasis will be in an approach to interactive music composition. The problem of computer generation of musical material has received extensive attention and a subclass of the field of algorithmic composition includes those applications which use the computer as something in between an instrument, in which a user "plays" through the application's interface, and a compositional aid, which a user experiments with in order to generate stimulating and varying musical material. This approach was adopted in Vox Populi, a hybrid made up of an instrument and a compositional environment. Differently from other systems found in genetic algorithms or evolutionary computation, in which people have to listen to and judge the musical items, Vox Populi uses the computer and the mouse as real-time music controllers, acting as a new interactive computer-based musical instrument. The interface is designed to be flexible for the user to modify the music being generated. It explores evolutionary computation in the context of algorithmic composition and provides a graphical interface that allows to modify the tonal center and the voice range, changing the evolution of the music by using the mouse[Moroni et al., 1999]. A piece of music consists of several sets of musical material manipulated and exposed to the listener, for example pitches, harmonies, rhythms, timbres, etc. They are composed of a finite number of elements and basically, the aim of a composer is to organize those elements in an esthetic way. Modeling a piece as a dynamic system implies a view in which the composer draws trajectories or orbits using the elements of each set [Manzolli, 1991]. Nonlinear iterative mappings are associated with interface controls. In the next page two examples of nonlinear iterative mappings with their resulting musical pieces are shown.The mappings may give rise to attractors, defined as geometric figures that represent the set of stationary states of a non-linear dynamic system, or simply trajectories to which the system is attracted. The relevance of this approach goes beyond music applications per se. Computer music systems that are built on the basis of a solid theory can be coherently embedded into multimedia environments. The richness and specialty of the music domain are likely to initiate new thinking and ideas, which will have an impact on areas such as knowledge representation and planning, and on the design of visual formalisms and human-computer interfaces in general. Above and bellow, Vox Populi interface is depicted, showing two nonlinear iterative mappings with their resulting musical pieces. References [Manzolli, 1991] J. Manzolli. Harmonic Strange Attractors, CEM BULLETIN, Vol. 2, No. 2, 4 -- 7, 1991. [Moroni et al., 1999] Moroni, J. Manzolli, F. Von Zuben, R. Gudwin. Evolutionary Computation applied to Algorithmic Composition, Proceedings of CEC99 - IEEE International Conference on Evolutionary Computation, Washington D. C., p. 807 -- 811,1999. [Moroni et al., 2000] Moroni, A., Von Zuben, F. and Manzolli, J. ArTbitration, Las Vegas, USA: Proceedings of the 2000 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference Workshop Program – GECCO, 143 -- 145, 2000.
series	other
email
more	http://www.generativeart.com/
last changed	2003/08/07 17:25

_id	7321
authors	Potier, S., Maltret, J.L. and Zoller, J.
year	2000
title	Computer graphics: assistance for archaelogical hypotheses
source	Automation in Construction 9 (1) (2000) pp. 117-128
summary	This paper is a contribution to the domain of computer tools for architectural and archeological restitution of ancient buildings. We describe an application of these tools to the modeling of the 14th century AD. Thermae of Constantin in Arles, south of France. It was a diploma project in School of Architecture of Marseille-Luminy, and took place in a context defined in the European ARELATE project. The general objective of this project is to emphasize the archeological and architectural heritage of the city of Arles; it aims, in particular, to equip the museum of ancient Arles with a computer tool enabling the storage and consultation of archaeological archives, the communication of information and exchange by specialized networks, and the creation of a virtual museum allowing a redescription of the monuments and a "virtual" visit of ancient Arles.Our approach involves a multidisciplinary approach, calling on architecture, archeology and computer science. The archeologist's work is to collect information and interpret it; this is the starting point of the architect's work who, using these elements, suggests an architectural reconstruction. This synthesis contains the functioning analysis of the structure and building. The potential provided by the computer as a tool (in this case, the POV-Ray software) with access to several three-dimensional visualizations, according to hypotheses formulated by the architect and archaeologists, necessitates the use of evolutive models which, thanks to the parametrization of dimensions of a building and its elements, can be adapted to all the changes desired by the architect.The specific contribution of POV-Ray in architectural reconstruction of thermae finds its expression in four forms of this modeling program, which correspond to the objectives set by the architect in agreement with archeologists: (a) The parametrization of dimensions, which contributes significantly in simplifying the reintervention process of the architectural data base; (b) Hierarchy and links between variables, allowing "grouped" modifications of modelized elements in order to preserve the consistency of the architectural building's morphology; (c) The levels of modeling (with or without facing, for example), which admit of the exploration of all structural and architectural trails (relationship form/function); and, (d) The "model-type", facilitating the setting up of hypotheses by simple scaling and transformation of these models (e.g., roofing models) on an already modelled structure.The methodological validation of this modeling software's particular use in architectural formulation of hypotheses shows that the software is the principal graphical medium of discussion between architect and archaeologist, thus confirming the hypotheses formulated at the beginning of this project.
series	journal paper
more	http://www.elsevier.com/locate/autcon
last changed	2003/05/15 21:23

_id	958e
authors	Coppola, Carlo and Ceso, Alessandro
year	2000
title	Computer Aided Design and Artificial Intelligence in Urban and Architectural Design
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2000.301
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. 301-307
summary	In general, computer-aided design is still limited to a rather elementary use of the medium, as it is mainly used for the representation/simulation of a design idea w an electronic drawing-table. hich is not computer-generated. The procedures used to date have been basically been those of an electronic drawing-table. At the first stage of development the objective was to find a different and better means of communication, to give form to an idea so as to show its quality. The procedures used were 2D design and 3D simulation models, usually used when the design was already defined. The second stage is when solid 3D modelling is used to define the formal design at the conception stage, using virtual models instead of study models in wood, plastic, etc. At the same time in other connected fields the objective is to evaluate the feasibility of the formal idea by means of structural and technological analysis. The third stage, in my opinion, should aim to develop procedures capable of contributing to both the generation of the formal idea and the simultaneous study of technical feasibility by means of a decision-making support system aided by an Artificial Intelligence procedure which will lead to what I would describe as the definition of the design in its totality. The approach to architectural and urban design has been strongly influenced by the first two stages, though these have developed independently and with very specific objectives. It is my belief that architectural design is now increasingly the result of a structured and complex process, not a simple act of pure artistic invention. Consequently, I feel that the way forward is a procedure able to virtually represent all the features of the object designed, not only in its definitive configuration but also and more importantly in the interactions which determine the design process as it develops. Thus A.I. becomes the means of synthesis for models which are hierarchically subordinated which together determine the design object in its developmental process, supporting decision-making by applying processing criteria which generative modelling has already identified. This trend is currently being experimented, giving rise to interesting results from process design in the field of industrial production.
series	eCAADe
email
more	http://www.uni-weimar.de/ecaade/
last changed	2022/06/07 07:56

_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	456a
authors	Alvarado, R.G., Parra, J.C., Vergara, R.L. and Chateau, H.B.
year	2000
title	Architectural References to Virtual Environments Design
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2000.151
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. 151-155
summary	Based on a comparison between the perception of digital and real construction, the development of virtual systems and the review of additional sources, this paper states some differences between the design of virtual environments and architectural spaces. Virtual-reality technologies provide advanced capabilities to simulate real situations, and also to create digital worlds not referred to physical places, such as imaginary landscapes or environments devoted to electronic activities, like entertainment, learning or commerce. Some on-line services already use 3D-stages, resembling building halls and domestic objects, and several authors have mentioned virtual modeling as a job opportunity to architects. But it will argue in this paper that the design of those environments should consider their own digital characteristics. Besides, the use of virtual installations on networks impells a convergence with global media, like Internet or TV. Virtual environments can be a 3Devolution of communicational technologies, which have an increasing participation in culture, reaching a closer relationship to contemporary architecture.
keywords	Virtual Environments, Spatial Perception, Design Methodology
series	eCAADe
email
more	http://www.uni-weimar.de/ecaade/
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_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	3f35
authors	Bermudez, Julio and King, Kevin
year	2000
title	Media interaction and design process: establishing a knowledge base
source	Automation in Construction 9 (1) (2000) pp. 37-56
summary	Integrating computers in architectural design means to negotiate between centuries-old analog design methods and the new digital systems of production. Analog systems of architectural production use tracing paper, vellum, graphite and ink, clipboard, clay, balsa wood, plastic, metal, etc. Analog systems have also been termed "handmade", "manual", "material" or "physical". Digital systems of architectural production use scanning, image manipulation, visualization, solid modeling, computer aided drafting, animation, rendering, etc. Digital systems have also been called "electronic", "computer-aided", "virtual", etc. The difficulty lies in the underdeveloped state of the necessary methods, techniques, and theories to relate traditional and new media. Recent investigations on the use of multiple iterations between manual and electronic systems to advance architectural work show promising results. However, these experiments have not been sufficiently codified, cross-referenced and third party tested to conform a reliable knowledge base. This paper addresses this shortcoming by bringing together reported experiences from diverse researchers over the past decade. This summary is informed by more than three years of continuous investigation in the impacts of analog-digital conversations in the design process. The goal is to establish a state-of-the-art common foundation that permits instructors, researchers and practitioners to refer to, utilize, test, criticize and develop. An appendix is included providing support for the paper's arguments.
series	journal paper
more	http://www.elsevier.com/locate/autcon
last changed	2003/05/15 21:22

_id	aa7f
authors	Bollinger, Elizabeth and Hill, Pamela
year	1993
title	Virtual Reality: Technology of the Future or Playground of the Cyberpunk?
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.1993.121
source	Education and Practice: The Critical Interface [ACADIA Conference Proceedings / ISBN 1-880250-02-0] Texas (Texas / USA) 1993, pp. 121-129
summary	Jaron Lanier is a major spokesperson of our society's hottest new technology: VR or virtual reality. He expressed his faith in the VR movement in this quote which appears in The User's Guide to the New Edge published by Mondo 2000. In its most technical sense, VR has attracted the attention of politicians in Washington who wonder if yet another technology developed in the United States will find its application across the globe in Asia. In its most human element, an entire "cyberpunk movement" has appealed to young minds everywhere as a seemingly safe form of hallucination. As architecture students, educators, and practitioners around the world are becoming attracted to the possibilities of VR technology as an extension of 3D modeling, visualization, and animation, it is appropriate to consider an overview of virtual reality. In virtual reality a user encounters a computersimulated environment through the use of a physical interface. The user can interact with the environment to the point of becoming a part of the experience, and the experience becomes reality. Natural and instinctive body movements are translated by the interface into computer commands. The quest for perfection in this human-computer relationship seems to be the essence of virtual reality technology. To begin to capture the essence of virtual reality without first-hand experience, it is helpful to understand two important terms: presence and immersion. The sense of presence can be defined as the degree to which the user feels a part of the actual environment. The more reality the experience provides, the more presence it has. Immersion can be defined as the degree of other simulation a virtual reality interface provides for the viewer. A highly immersive system might provide more than just visual stimuli; for example, it may additionally provide simulated sound and motion, and simultaneously prevent distractions from being present.
series	ACADIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:52

_id	7da6
authors	Campbell, Dace A.
year	2000
title	Architectural construction documents on the web: VRML as a case study
source	Automation in Construction 9 (1) (2000) pp. 129-138
summary	The Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) and the World Wide Web (WWW) offer new opportunities to communicate an architect's design intent throughout the design process. We have investigated the use of VRML in the production and communication of construction documents, the final phase of architectural building design. A prototype, experimental Web site was set up and used to disseminate design data as VRML models and HTML text to the design client, contractor, and fabricators. In this paper, we discuss the way our construction documents were developed in VRML, the issues we faced implementing it, and critical feedback from the users of the Web space/site. We analyze the usefulness of VRML as a communication tool for the design and construction industries. Finally, we discuss technical, social, and legal issues the AEC industry faces as it shifts to embrace widespread use of a "paperless" Web-based communications infrastructure for design documentation.
series	journal paper
more	http://www.elsevier.com/locate/autcon
last changed	2003/05/15 21:22

_id	3a3d
authors	Coors, Volker
year	2002
title	Resource-Adaptive 3D Maps for Location Based Services
source	UMDS '02 Proceedings, Prague (Czech Republic) 2-4 October 2002, I.29-I.38
summary	In this paper, we present a database driven approach for managing and visualizing 3D urban city models and related multimedia content. Such a 3D database is a core component of a 3D Cadastre system (Coors 2002a). In the TellMaris project (IST 2000- 28249, www.tellmaris.com), we will make use of the 3D database to generate 3D maps. The objective of TellMaris is the development of a generic 3D-map interface to tourist information on mobile computers. The interface provides a new concept for creating value added information services on mobile computers for the European citizens related to geographical information. The interface is in the project used for accessing tourist information relevant for boat tourism in the Baltic Sea and Aegean Sea area in the Mediterranean. In this paper we focus on the online generation and compression of 3D-maps in order to make use of these maps in a mobile enviroment.
keywords	3D City modeling
series	other
email
more	www.udms.net
last changed	2003/03/29 10:42

_id	389b
authors	Do, Ellen Yi-Luen
year	2000
title	Sketch that Scene for Me: Creating Virtual Worlds by Freehand Drawing
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2000.265
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
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	7eb9
authors	Dokonal, Wolfgang and Martens, Bob
year	2001
title	A Working Session on 3-D City Modeling
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2001.417
source	Architectural Information Management [19th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-8-1] Helsinki (Finland) 29-31 August 2001, pp. 417-422
summary	On the occasion of a presentation on a city model for Graz at the eCAADe-conference in Weimar (2000), some attendees informed us about their previous work in this field and the idea of preparing a working session with collegues involved in 3-D city modeling was born. During the initial phase of research for this eCAADe conference activity it turned out that a large number of city models has been created in the course of time for different reasons resp. purposes. Therefore a rich variety in the production of city models can be noticed. This working session on 3-D city modeling brings together experts focusing on different aspects concerning the creation and use of city models, such as data input, data structure, data storage and data quality. Also the definition of a perspective on the future of 3-D city modeling can be regarded as an important topic. In this paper a rough overview on the different submissions will be presented. Furthermore three blitz statements are incorporated as time was too short to produce a full paper. Both with the individual contributions as with this overview paper it is intended to present a knowledge-base to this working field. Finally, the start for a growing bibliography was made in order to support future work in this area.
keywords	Urban Modeling, 3-D Modeling, Collaboration, City Information, Model Adaptation
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

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