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

PDF papers
References

Hits 1 to 20 of 717

_id 0277
authors Brusilovsky, P.
year 2001
title Adaptive hypermedia
source User modelling and User-Adapted Interaction, volume 11, pp. 87-110, Kluwer
summary Hypertext/hypermedia systems and user-model-based adaptive systems in the areas of learning and information retrieval have for a long time been considered as two mutually exclusive approaches to information access. Adaptive systems tailor information to the user and may guide the user in the information space to present the most relevant material, taking into account a model of the user's goals, interests and preferences. Hypermedia systems, on the other hand, are `user neutral': they provide the user with the tools and the freedom to explore an information space by browsing through a complex network of information nodes. Adaptive hypertext and hypermedia systems attempt to bridge the gap between these two approaches. Adaptation of hypermedia systems to each individual user is increasingly needed. With the growing size, complexity and heterogeneity of current hypermedia systems, such as the World Wide Web, it becomes virtually impossible to impose guidelines on authors concerning the overall organization of hypermedia information. The networks therefore become so complex and unstructured that the existing navigational tools are no longer powerful enough to provide orientation on where to search for the needed information. It is also not possible to identify appropriate pre-defined paths or subnets for users with certain goals and knowledge backgrounds since the user community of hypermedia systems is usually quite inhomogeneous. This is particularly true for Web-based applications which are expected to be used by a much greater variety of users than any earlier standalone application. A possible remedy for the negative effects of the traditional `one-size-fits-all' approach in the development of hypermedia systems is to equip them with the ability to adapt to the needs of their individual users. A possible way of achieving adaptivity is by modeling the users and tailoring the system's interactions to their goals, tasks and interests. In this sense, the notion of adaptive hypertext/hypermedia comes naturally to denote a hypertext or hypermedia system which reflects some features of the user and/or characteristics of his system usage in a user model, and utilizes this model in order to adapt various behavioral aspects of the system to the user. This book is the first comprehensive publication on adaptive hypertext and hypermedia. It is oriented towards researchers and practitioners in the fields of hypertext and hypermedia, information systems, andpersonalized systems. It is also an important resource for the numerous developers of Web-based applications. The design decisions, adaptation methods, and experience presented in this book are a unique source of ideas and techniques for developing more usable and more intelligent Web-based systems suitable for a great variety of users. The practitioners will find it important that many of the adaptation techniques presented in this book have proved to be efficient and are ready to be used in various applications.
series other
email
last changed 2003/04/23 15:14

_id 0c14
authors Huang, Ching-Hui
year 2001
title A Preliminary Study of Spatializing Cyberspace - A Cognitive Approach
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2001.511
source Architectural Information Management [19th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-8-1] Helsinki (Finland) 29-31 August 2001, pp. 511-516
summary The purpose of this study is to reveal some aspects of the spatial nature of cyberspace by applying a cognitive approach, which is to decode cyberspatial cognition generated from the spatial experiences of an architectural designer. Two types of cities, the physical and the virtual, are compared in order to further realize the spatial knowledge of cyberspace. The results of this research indicate that understanding spatial characteristics of virtual environment can base upon investigating cognitive sketches. In addition, architectural designers might benefit from the findings of this study.
keywords Cyberspace, Physical City, Virtual City, Cyberspatial Cognition
series eCAADe
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:50

_id 4e8c
authors Chien, Sheng-Fen and Flemming, Ulrich
year 2001
title Design space navigation in generative design systems
source Automation in Construction 11 (1) (2002) pp. 1-22
summary Generative design systems make it easier for designers to generate and explore design alternatives, but the amount of information generated during a design session can become very large. Intelligent navigation aids are needed if designers wish to access the information they generate with ease. We present a comprehensive approach to support information navigation in requirement-driven generative design systems, which gain their power form explicit representations of design requirements, which in turn add to the information generated by the system. Our approach takes into account studies dealing with human spatial cognition, wayfinding in physical environments, and information navigation in electronic media. We structure the information to be accessed in terms of a five-dimensional design space model that applies across generative design systems of the type considered here. The model structure supports basic generic navigation operations along its five dimensions. We validated the model in the context of the SEED-Layout system and used it to extend the built-in navigation tools of the system through novel ones, which we subjected to a limited usability study. The study suggests that these tools have promise and warrant further investigation.
series journal paper
email
more http://www.elsevier.com/locate/autcon
last changed 2003/05/15 21:22

_id ef84
authors Gero, John S. and Kazakov, Vladimir
year 2001
title Entropic-Based Similarity and Complexity Measures of 2D Archtectural Drawings
source J. S. Gero, B. Tversky and T. Purcell (eds), 2001, Visual and Spatial Reasoning in Design, II - Key Centre of Design Computing and Cognition, University of Sydney, Australia
summary In this paper we construct an information-theoretic model ofarchitectural drawings. This model is then used to quantify and measurethe complexities and similarities of drawings. The approach is appliedwithin a linear qualitative shape representation but can be generalized toother types of representation. The descriptive and analytic power of theproposed methods are demonstrated by studying the time evolution ofthe architectural plans produced by Aalto and Kahn and by comparingthem to each other.
series other
email
more http://www.arch.usyd.edu.au/kcdc/conferences/vr01/
last changed 2003/05/02 11:13

_id e515
authors Kieferle, Joachim and Wössner, Uwe
year 2001
title Showing the invisible - Seven rules for a new approach of using immersive virtual reality in architecture
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2001.376
source Architectural Information Management [19th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-8-1] Helsinki (Finland) 29-31 August 2001, pp. 376-381
summary Virtual reality, especially in a CAVE environment can be used in different ways. In architecture up to now it is mainly used to visualize planned or ancient buildings. Based on the information approach, on the approach that VR can be used not only to show the visual appearance of things but also information, which might be invisible in real world, seven rules are set up. The rules have been applied in university courses as testbed and verified in commercial projects.
keywords Virtual Reality, Information, Cognition, Space, Collaboration
series eCAADe
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:52

_id 06fd
authors Oxman, Rivka and Heylighen, Ann
year 2001
title A Case with a View - Towards an Integration of Visual and Case-Based Reasoning in Design
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2001.346
source Architectural Information Management [19th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-8-1] Helsinki (Finland) 29-31 August 2001, pp. 346-341
summary Despite the long-term effort to establish the theoretical foundations for Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) in design, it appears that additional theoretical efforts are needed in order to achieve the promise of this affinity. In this paper we argue that visual reasoning, is a fundamental attribute of architectural design, and therefore combining it with CBR may provide significant results both for the field of design thinking as well as for the field of CAAD. This paper focuses on reformulating theoretical foundations for CBR in design by incorporating insights from studies in fields like visual imagery and creativity, where visual reasoning is recognized to play a key role. Within classical CBR research, however, visual reasoning has not received much attention until now. Instead, researchers have concentrated on traditional issues and topics in CBR such as indexing, retrieval and adaptation. The second part of the paper therefore switches attention to how these traditional issues may benefit from integrating Case-Based with visual reasoning.
keywords Case-Based Reasoning, Visual Reasoning, Visual Imagery, Visual Cognition
series eCAADe
email
last changed 2022/06/07 08:00

_id 7491
authors Oxman, Rivka and Streich, Bernd
year 2001
title Digital Media and Design Didactics in Visual Cognition
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2001.186
source Architectural Information Management [19th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 0-9523687-8-1] Helsinki (Finland) 29-31 August 2001, pp. 186-191
summary The cognitive properties of design learning have rarely been the subject of design education. Irrespective of the specific design domain, traditional educational models in design education are based upon the evaluation of the product of designing rather than on what might be considered a learning increment. Lately we have developed the concept of cognitive learning tasks as learning increments in design education and propose that digital media constitute the basis of uniquely powerful learning technologies. The research described in this paper addresses the confluence of cognitive learning tasks as a pedagogical approach in design education, its potential relationship to digital media in order to develop a digital design didactics, and the relationship of these developments in design education to current practices of digital design generation. In this paper, we focus on the cognitive aspects of visual cognition in design learning. An example in the domain of architectural design is illustrated.
keywords Design Learning, Cognitive Design, Visual Cognition, Design Thinking, Design Generation
series eCAADe
email
last changed 2022/06/07 08:00

_id 737e
authors Riegler, A. (ed.)
year 2001
title Virtual Science: Virtuality and Knowledge Acquisition in Science and Cognition
source Virtual Reality: Cognitive Foundations, Technological Issues & Philosophical Implications. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang
summary The focus of this paper is the process of knowledge acquisition (KA) and which role virtuality plays in this context. We argue that there are three different modes of knowledge acquisition which can be identified both in the domains of cognition and science: the empirical, the "constructive", and the "synthetic" mode. We show that the method of constructing knowledge in the virtual domain (i.e., the synthetic mode of KA) is not only a principal mode of KA in our cognition (e.g., thought experiments, making plans, etc.). It becomes increasingly important in the field of (natural) science in the form of simulations and virtual experiments. The attempt to find an answer to the question of whether simulation can be an information source for science, and to validate the computational approach in science, leads to a new interpretation of the nature of virtual models. This new perspective renders the problem of "feature extraction" obsolete.
series other
last changed 2003/04/23 15:50

_id 5da8
authors Tokman, Leyla Y.
year 2001
title Collaborative e-Design
source DCNET'2000: Design Computing on the Net'2000, Organized by Key Centre of Design Computing and Cognition, University of Sydney ve the International Journal of Design Computing
summary In early 1900’s, successful architects who have a strong influencewith not only their ideas on architecture but also their own work gave desk criticism ‘the form of one-on-one conversation’ in their atelier or studio. Being in these studios was a big opportunity for limited number of accepted students. The architectural education in the first half of 1900’s has many other parallels to education from the other professions. Developments in computer technology have been created a new medium in architectural design and education since 1960’s. Today, Computer technology and communication technology together (Information Technology- IT) help architects and students communicate ideas. This is a big opportunity for architecture candidates in 1990’s comparing with the candidates in 1900âs. One of the main changes is desk criticism from ‘the form of one-on-one conversation’ to ‘the form of multiple consultants’. That means today, not only students but also professionals can develop projects together with any adviser/ partner at any time and at any place where IT can be accessible. Moreover, This collaboration for synchronous - asynchronous studies in virtual environments also brings the equal opportunity to the students from not only developed countries but also developing countries. Students and professionals can share and enhance different ideas, progression of design decisions in educational view and practice view. In this study, some experiences will be shared on design computing and also some new visions/ conceptual models of design computing in collaborative environments will be offered.
keywords Collaborative Design, Computing, Information Technology, Participation, Opportunity, Network, Team Design
series journal paper
email
more http://www.arch.usyd.EDU.AU/kcdc/journal/vol3/dcnet/tokman
last changed 2003/05/15 21:45

_id 0f49
authors Burry, M., Coulson, J., Preston, J. and Rutherford, E.
year 2001
title Computer-aided design decision support: interfacing knowledge and information
source Automation in Construction 10 (2) (2001) pp. 203-215
summary Computer-aided design decision support has proved to be an elusive and intangible project for many researchers as they seek to encapsulate information and knowledge-based systems as useful multifunctional data structures. Definitions of `knowledge', `information', `facts', and `data' become semantic footballs in the struggle to identify what designers actually do, and what level of support would suit them best, and how that support might be offered. The Construction Primer is a database-drivable interactive multimedia environment that provides readily updated access to many levels of information aimed to suit students and practitioners alike. This is hardly a novelty in itself. The innovative interface and metadata structures, however, combine with the willingness of national building control legislators, standards authorities, materials producers, building research organisations, and specification services to make the Construction Primer a versatile design decision support vehicle. It is both compatible with most working methodologies while remaining reasonably future-proof. This paper describes the structure of the project and highlights the importance of sound planning and strict adhesion to library-standard metadata protocols as a means to avoid the support becoming too specific or too paradigmatic.
series journal paper
more http://www.elsevier.com/locate/autcon
last changed 2003/05/15 21:22

_id e693
authors Caneparo, Luca
year 2001
title Shared virtual reality for design and management: the Porta Susa project
source Automation in Construction 10 (2) (2001) pp. 217-228
summary The paper presents the implementation of a system of Shared Virtual Reality (SVR) in Internet applied to a large-scale project. The applications of SVR to architectural and urban design are presented in the context of a real project, the new railway junction of Porta Susa and the surrounding urban area in the city centre of Turin, Italy. SVR differs from Virtual Reality (VR) in that the experience of virtual spaces is no longer individual, but rather shared across the Internet with other users simultaneously connected. SVR offers an effective approach to Construction Data Model and Computer Supported Collaborative Work, because it integrates both the communicative tools to improve collaboration and the distributed environment to process information across the networks.
series journal paper
more http://www.elsevier.com/locate/autcon
last changed 2003/05/15 21:22

_id 5d15
authors Clayton, M.J., Song, Y., Han, K., Darapureddy, K., Al-Kahaweh, H. and Soh, I.
year 2001
title Data for Reflection: Monitoring the Use of Web-Based Design Aids
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.2001.142
source Reinventing the Discourse - How Digital Tools Help Bridge and Transform Research, Education and Practice in Architecture [Proceedings of the Twenty First Annual Conference of the Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture / ISBN 1-880250-10-1] Buffalo (New York) 11-14 October 2001, pp. 142-152
summary Web technology provides a new way of generating information about design processes. By monitoring student use of Web-based design aids, it is possible to collect empirical, quantitative evidence regarding the time and sequence of activities in design. The research team has undertaken several software development projects to explore these concepts. In one project, students can use a Web browser running alongside CAD software to access a cost database and evaluate their designs. In a second project, students use a browser to record their time expenditures. They can better document, plan and predict their time needs for a project and better manage their efforts. In a third project, students record the rationale supporting their design decisions. The information is stored in databases and HTML files and is hyperlinked into the CAD software. Each tool provides facilities to record key information about transactions. Interactions are documented with student identification, time of activity, and kind of activity. The databases of empirical information tracking student activity are a unique substantiation of design process that can feed back into teaching and the creation of ever better design tools.
keywords Design Methods, Empirical, Web, Cost Estimating, Time Management
series ACADIA
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:56

_id f97e
authors Commission of the European Communities
year 2001
title The e-learning action plan: designing tomorrow’s education
source Communication from the Commission to the Council and the EuropeanParliament, COM(2001) 172 final, 28 March 2001
summary The "eLearning: Designing tomorrow's education" initiative1 was adopted by the European Commission on 24 May 2000. Following up the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council, it set out the principles, objectives and lines of action of eLearning, defined as the use of new multimedia technologies and the Internet to improve the quality of learning by facilitating access to resources and services as well as remote exchanges and collaboration. The eLearning initiative was welcomed by the Ministers of Education and by the Feira European Council in June 2000. The eLearning initiative is part of the comprehensive eEurope Action Plan2, the aim of which is to allow Europe to exploit its strengths and overcome the barriers holding back the uptake of digital technologies. It also falls in with the Report on the concrete future objectives of education systems3 by adopting information and communication technology development as one of its objectives. The effectiveness of education systems depends entirely on the effectiveness of the approaches to teaching and learning. In order to be effective, the introduction of information and communication technologies will have to be accompanied by a far-reaching reorganisation of learning structures. The eLearning initiative is also of relevance for the candidate countries given the interest they have shown for the eEurope action plan.
series other
last changed 2003/04/23 15:50

_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 9960
authors Cuberos, R., Indriago, J.A. and Villalobos, E.
year 2001
title INFOCENTRO ESPECIALIZADO EN ARQUITECTURA Y DISEÑO (Infocenter Specialized in Architecture and Design)
source SIGraDi biobio2001 - [Proceedings of the 5th Iberoamerican Congress of Digital Graphics / ISBN 956-7813-12-4] Concepcion (Chile) 21-23 november 2001, pp. 120-123
summary This paper relates any experiences on the creation of a digital information center about architecture, urban planning, and graphic design in Zulia University (Maracaibo, Venezuela). Guidelines are detailed, also activities and achievements of this “info center”, and technical specifications about their equipments, their two kinds of storage (centralized and distributed) for their two access ways (telemetric access by http also simple intranet access by MS Windows Terminal Server). Compilation, classification, and presentation methods of multimedia information are explained in order to evaluate current limitations and future potentialities of this digital center.
series SIGRADI
email
last changed 2016/03/10 09:49

_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

_id bfc8
authors Fukai, Dennis and Srinivasan, Ravi
year 2001
title PCIS Revisited: A Visual Database for Design and Construction
doi https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.2001.372
source Reinventing the Discourse - How Digital Tools Help Bridge and Transform Research, Education and Practice in Architecture [Proceedings of the Twenty First Annual Conference of the Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture / ISBN 1-880250-10-1] Buffalo (New York) 11-14 October 2001, pp. 372-379
summary This paper presents research on a piece-based construction information system called PCIS(pronounced “pieces”) first published as a visual information concept at ACADIA’96, Tucson. After more than five years of development it has evolved into a multidimensional visual information system for design and construction. It includes a piece-based anatomical construction model layered according to a work breakdown structure; a dataTheater that surrounds the model as an index to plans, elevations, sections, and details; and a dataWorld with cameras fixed to the intersections of its latitudes and longitudes to add context and perspective. A standard services matrix (SSM) controls layer visibility and camera settings. PCIS can be “played” to access archived resources; support design development, analyze and resolve preconstruction conflicts, and coordinate construction activities. Current research will be used to demonstrate how PCIS might be valuable to increase the potential for technical cooperation, collaboration, and communication by literally aligning the points of view of architectural, engineering, and construction methodology.
keywords Construction, Pictorial, 3D/4D, Modeling, Database
series ACADIA
email
last changed 2022/06/07 07:50

_id e6c5
authors Heintz, John L.
year 2001
title Coordinating virtual building design teams
source Stellingwerff, Martijn and Verbeke, Johan (Eds.), ACCOLADE - Architecture, Collaboration, Design. Delft University Press (DUP Science) / ISBN 90-407-2216-1 / The Netherlands, pp. 65-76 [Book ordering info: m.c.stellingwerff@bk.tudelft.nl]
summary Most research in design project management support systems treats the subject as an isolated objective problem. The goals to be met are defined in terms of a supposed universal view of the project, and now outside concerns are taken into account. While such approaches, including project simulation, may yield excellent results, they ignore what, for many projects, are the real difficulties. Design projects are not isolated. All participants have other obligations that compete with the given project for attention and resources. The various participants in the design process have different goals. For these reasons it is proposed that design project management can be best facilitated by tools which assist the participating actors to share suitable management information in order to make better co-ordination possible, while allowing the resource balancing between projects to occur in private. Such a tool represents the design project management task as a negotiation task that spans both projects and firms; the management of one project is the management of all. The model of design collaboration upon which the Design Coordination System (DeCo) is built was developed from 1) a heuristic case study used to gain insight into the ways in which designers co-ordinate their efforts, and 2) the application of the theory of the social contract as developed by John Rawls to the problem of design project management. The key innovation in the DeCo system is the shaping of the project management system around existing practices of collaborative project design management and planning. DeCo takes advantage of how designers already co-ordinate their work with each other and resolve disputes over deadlines and time lines. The advantage of DeCo is that it formalises these existing practices in order to accommodate both the increasing co-ordination burden and the difficulties brought about by the internationalisation of design practice. DeCo, the design project management system proposed here, provides a representation, a communications protocol, and a game theoretical decision structure. The combination of these three units provides users with the ability to exchange structured pictures of the project as seen from the points of view of individual actors. Further, it suggests a mechanism based on a specific principle of fairness for arriving at mutually acceptable project plans. The DeCo system permits the users freedom to manage their design processes as they will, while providing a basic compatibility between practices of design team members which supports their collaborative efforts to co-ordinate their design work.
series other
last changed 2001/09/14 21:30

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

_id 3c71
authors Maver, Tom and Petric, Jelena
year 2001
title MEDIA in MEDIATION Prospects for Computer Assisted Design Participation
source Stellingwerff, Martijn and Verbeke, Johan (Eds.), ACCOLADE - Architecture, Collaboration, Design. Delft University Press (DUP Science) / ISBN 90-407-2216-1 / The Netherlands, pp. 121-134 [Book ordering info: m.c.stellingwerff@bk.tudelft.nl]
summary One of the most consistent, powerful and philosophical ideas which has run like a silk thread through the short and erratic history of the development of computer aided architectural design is that of user participation in the design decision-making process. It is not an idea with which the architectural profession is particularly comfortable but it is, the authors claim, one which is central to the professional ethic and, therefore, to be its ultimate survival. Design decision-making is, if addressed properly, a hugely, complex multi-variate, multi-person process on which precious little serious research has been focused. In the late 1960's the Design Methods Group in the USA and the Design Research Society in the UK formulated paper-based models of the design process and anticipated, in some regards with un-nerving accuracy, the way in which the application of information technologies would impinge beneficially on the process of design decision-making and, therefore, on the quality of the built environment. One concept expressed at that time was as follows: the application of computers to the modelling and prediction of the cost and performance behaviour of alternative design solutions allows subjective value judgements to be better informed and more explicitly audited, and that such subjective value judgements should be made by those most affected by them, i.e. the future owners and users of buildings. This paper is devoted to the critical re-examination of this concept, on the seminal research and development which has kept the notion alive over 30 years, and, how the current advances in multimedia, virtual reality and internet access make its ubiquitous adoption inevitable: in short, Media in Mediation.
series other
email
last changed 2003/04/16 11:52

For more results click below:

this is page 0show page 1show page 2show page 3show page 4show page 5... show page 35HOMELOGIN (you are user _anon_663994 from group guest) CUMINCAD Papers Powered by SciX Open Publishing Services 1.002