Cumincad : CUMINCAD Papers : Search Results

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

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Reformat results as: short short into frame detailed detailed into frame

_id	ijac20086402
id	ijac20086402
authors	Larsen, Knut Einar; Schindler, Christoph
year	2008
title	From Concept to Reality: Digital Systems in Architectural Design and Fabrication
source	International Journal of Architectural Computing vol. 6 - no. 4, 397-413
summary	One of the challenges for today's architectural designers is the establishment of continuous digital processes between design and fabrication. To achieve this, designers need to acquire knowledge about the production and the methods and tools involved. Two case studies organized at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) on digital timber fabrication investigate the new field of collaboration between architectural designers and fabricators. The studies demonstrate the design potential of acquiring insights into the fabricators' software and digital production machinery and reflect contemporary fabrication technology in formal expression. We identified two different approaches to formal exploration that we defined as "sophistication of the detail" and "variation of the element".
series	journal
last changed	2009/03/03 07:48

_id	sigradi2008_166
id	sigradi2008_166
authors	Papanikolaou, Dimitris
year	2008
title	Digital Fabrication Production System Theory: Towards an Integrated Environment for Design and Production of Assemblies
source	SIGraDi 2008 - [Proceedings of the 12th Iberoamerican Congress of Digital Graphics] La Habana - Cuba 1-5 December 2008
summary	A Digital Fabrication Production System (DFPS) is a concept describing a set of processes, tools, and resources that will be able to produce an artifact according to a design, fast, cheap, and easy, independently of location. A DFPS project is a complex assembly of custom parts that is delivered by a network of fabrication and assembly processes. This network is called the value chain. The workflow concept of a DFPS is the following: begin design process with a custom geometric form; decompose it into constructible parts; send the part files for fabrication to various locations; transport all parts at the construction site at the right time; finally, assemble the final artifact. Conceptually it means that based on a well structured value chain we could build anything we want, at anyplace, at controllable cost and quality. The goals of a DFPS are the following: custom shapes, controllable lead time, controllable quality, controllable cost, easiness of fabrication, and easiness of assembly. Simply stated this means to build any form, anywhere, accurately, cheap, fast, and easy. Unfortunately, the reality with current Digital Fabrication (DF) projects is rather disappointing: They take more time than what was planned, they get more expensive than what was expected, they involve great risk and uncertainty, and finally they are too complex to plan, understand, and manage. Moreover, most of these problems are discovered during production when it is already late for correction. However, there is currently no systematic approach to evaluate difficulty of production of DF projects in Architecture. Most of current risk assessment methods are based on experience gathered from previous similar cases. But it is the premise of mass customization that projects can be radically different. Assembly incompatibilities are currently addressed by building physical mockups. But physical mockups cause a significant loss in both time and cost. All these problems suggest that an introduction of a DFPS for mass customization in architecture needs first an integrated theory of assembly and management control. Evaluating feasibility of a DF project has two main problems: first, how to evaluate assemblability of the design; second, how to evaluate performance of the value chain. Assemblability is a system’s structure problem, while performance is a system’s dynamics problem. Structure of systems has been studied in the field of Systems Engineering by Network Analysis methods such as the Design Structure Matrix (DSM) (Steward 1981), and the liaison graph (Whitney 2004), while dynamics of systems have been studied by System Dynamics (Forrester 1961). Can we define a formal method to evaluate the difficulty of production of an artifact if we know the artifact’s design and the production system’s structure? This paper formulates Attribute Process Methodology (APM); a method for assessing feasibility of a DFPS project that combines Network Analysis to evaluate assemblability of the design with System Dynamics to evaluate performance of the value chain.
keywords	Digital Fabrication, Production System, System Dynamics, Network Analysis, Assembly
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:57

_id	ascaad2009_emmanuel_ruffo
id	ascaad2009_emmanuel_ruffo
authors	Ruffo, Emmanuel
year	2009
title	Programming As an Evolutionary Concept for Architectural Education: From natural systems to computer science materialization to emergent and evolutionary embedded architectural design
source	Digitizing Architecture: Formalization and Content [4th International Conference Proceedings of the Arab Society for Computer Aided Architectural Design (ASCAAD 2009) / ISBN 978-99901-06-77-0], Manama (Kingdom of Bahrain), 11-12 May 2009, pp. 47-59
summary	Logic and evolution in ontogenetic processes for Architectural design was the title for a summer program taught at the Escuela de Arquitectura of the Universidad Anahuac from June to July 2008 in the State of Mexico, Mexico. Every single result in architectural design follows logical steps enclosed in the design processes. These logical processes evolve through space-time sequences in order to generate a diversity of possible solutions. In Biology an ontogenetic process refers to the development of an individual organism, anatomical or behavioral feature from the earliest stage to maturity. Following this development criteria students were encouraged to understand the main logics of natural and physical systems through the aid of computer programming. These logics must be understood as tridimensional geometries digitally generated. Right from the beginning all processes generated during the explorations and investigations had to be visualized as integral design performances. The integral design system must embedded structure, function, form and material capacities through the aid of computer programming, digital fabrication technologies and material assembling techniques. It is important to note that final prototypes had to demonstrate the diversity of capacities of the whole system in order to automate the components in evolution.
series	ASCAAD
email
last changed	2009/06/30 08:12

_id	acadia11_242
id	acadia11_242
authors	Braumann, Johannes; Brell-Cokcan, Sigrid
year	2011
title	Parametric Robot Control: Integrated CAD/CAM for Architectural Design
source	ACADIA 11: Integration through Computation [Proceedings of the 31st Annual Conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA)] [ISBN 978-1-6136-4595-6] Banff (Alberta) 13-16 October, 2011, pp. 242-251
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.2011.242
summary	Robots are gaining popularity in architecture. Snøhetta has recently purchased their own industrial robot, becoming one of the first architectural offices to adopt robot technology. As more and more architects are exposed to robotic fabrication, the need for easy interoperability, integration into architectural design tools and general accessibility will increase. Architects are discovering that industrial robots are much more than kinematic machines for stacking bricks, welding or milling - they are highly multifunctional and can be used for a huge variety of tasks. However, industry standard software does not provide easy solutions for allowing direct robot control right from CAAD (Computer Aided Architectural Design) systems. In this paper we will discuss existing methods of programming industrial robots, published architectural results (Gramazio and Kohler 2008) and the design of a new user interface that allows intuitive control of parametric designs and customized robotic mass production, by integrating CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) functions into CAAD.
keywords	robot programming; parametric design; mass customization; grasshopper component design; fabrication; robot milling; digital architecture
series	ACADIA
type	normal paper
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	ecaade2008_119
id	ecaade2008_119
authors	Celento, David; Harrow, Del
year	2008
title	CeramiSKIN
source	Architecture in Computro [26th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 978-0-9541183-7-2] Antwerpen (Belgium) 17-20 September 2008, pp. 709-716
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2008.709
summary	ceramiSKIN is the result of an inter-disciplinary investigation between an architect and a ceramics artist. We are exploring natural orders as generators for aperiodic (non-repeating) tiling systems in architectural ceramic cladding systems. Of particular interest are the possibilities offered by digital imaging of organic materials [at various scales from 1:1 to 1:1 nanometer] as a means of form generation. After scanning, shapes are computationally deformed to create a range of biophilic effects promulgated through unique large scale ceramic cladding systems constructed using digital fabrication techniques.
keywords	Ceramic cladding systems: biophilia in architecture, digital design, digital fabrication, mass-customization
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	sigradi2008_175
id	sigradi2008_175
authors	Knight, Terry; Larry Sass, Kenfield Griffith, Ayodh Vasant Kamath
year	2008
title	Visual-Physical Grammars
source	SIGraDi 2008 - [Proceedings of the 12th Iberoamerican Congress of Digital Graphics] La Habana - Cuba 1-5 December 2008
summary	This paper introduces new visual-physical design grammars for the design and manufacture of building assembly systems that provide visually rich, culturally resonant design variations for housing. The building systems are intended to be tailored for particular cultures and communities by incorporating vernacular, decorative design into the assembly design. Two complementary areas of computational design research are brought together in this work: shape grammars and digital fabrication. The visual or graphic aspects of the research are explored through shape grammars. The physical design and manufacturing aspects are explored through advanced digital design and fabrication technologies and, in particular, build on recent work on mono-material assemblies with interlocking components that can be fabricated with CNC machines and assembled easily by hand on-site (Sass, 2007). This paper describes the initial, proof-of-concept stage of this work: the development of an automated, visual-physical grammar for an assembly system based on a vernacular language of Greek meander designs. A shape grammar for the two-dimensional Greek meander language (Knight, 1986) was translated into a three-dimensional assembly system. The components of the system are uniquely designed, concrete “meander bricks” (Figure 1). The components have integrated alignment features so that they can be easily fitted and locked together manually without binding materials. Components interlock horizontally to form courses, and courses interlock vertically in different ways to produce a visual variety of meander walls. The assembly components were prototyped at desktop scale with a layered manufacturing machine to test their appearance after assembly and their potential for design variations (Figure 2). Components were then evaluated as full-scale concrete objects for satisfaction of physical constraints related to concrete forming and component strength. The automated grammar (computer program) for this system generates assembly design variations with complete CAD/CAM data for fabrication of components formed from layered, CNC cut molds. Using the grammar, a full-scale mockup of a corner wall section was constructed to assess the structural, material, and aesthetic feasibility of the system, as well as ease of assembly. The results of this study demonstrate clearly the potentials for embedding visual properties in structural systems. They provide the foundations for further work on assembly systems for complete houses and other small-scale structures, and grammars to generate them. In the long-term, this research will lead to new solutions for economical, easily manufactured housing which is especially critical in developing countries and for post-disaster environments. These new housing solutions will not only provide shelter but will also support important cultural values through the integration of familiar visual design features. The use of inexpensive, portable digital design and fabrication technologies will allow local communities to be active, cooperative participants in the design and construction of their homes. Beyond the specific context of housing, visual-physical grammars have the potential to positively impact design and manufacture of designed artifacts at many scales, and in many domains, particularly for artifacts where visual aesthetics need to be considered jointly with physical or material requirements and design customization or variation is important.
keywords	Shape grammar, digital fabrication, building assembly, mass customization, housing
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:54

_id	acadia08_376
id	acadia08_376
authors	Silver, Mike
year	2008
title	The Most Important Airplane In The History Of Architecture
source	Silicon + Skin: Biological Processes and Computation, [Proceedings of the 28th Annual Conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) / ISBN 978-0-9789463-4-0] Minneapolis 16-19 October 2008, 376-381
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.2008.376
summary	Composite structures consist of high strength carbon threads held together in a matrix of epoxy resin or thermoplastics. Surfaces made from these materials are typically 10 times lighter and 1.5 times stronger than aluminum. Both simple and highly contoured shapes possessing extreme strength can be produced using a computer controlled fiber placement machine (FPM). These incredibly thin, corrosion resistant membranes require little or no supplemental support to manage loads and enclose space. The computer’s ability to determine the precise location of each fiber strand in a fiber placed part also facilitates unprecedented control of its aesthetic and functional properties. Fiber placement technology integrates building components that would normally be separated into clearly distinct systems. Here ornament, structure and cladding are collapsed into one material process. This paper explores the architectural potential of a technology normally reserved for aerospace applications through research conducted in close collaboration with fiber placement engineers at Automated Dynamics in Schenectady, New York (ADC).
keywords	Composite; Digital Fabrication; Fiber; Skin; Structure
series	ACADIA
last changed	2022/06/07 07:56

_id	cf2011_p109
id	cf2011_p109
authors	Abdelmohsen, Sherif; Lee Jinkook, Eastman Chuck
year	2011
title	Automated Cost Analysis of Concept Design BIM Models
source	Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures 2011 [Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures / ISBN 9782874561429] Liege (Belgium) 4-8 July 2011, pp. 403-418.
summary	AUTOMATED COST ANALYSIS OF CONCEPT DESIGN BIM MODELS Interoperability: BIM models and cost models This paper introduces the automated cost analysis developed for the General Services Administration (GSA) and the analysis results of a case study involving a concept design courthouse BIM model. The purpose of this study is to investigate interoperability issues related to integrating design and analysis tools; specifically BIM models and cost models. Previous efforts to generate cost estimates from BIM models have focused on developing two necessary but disjoint processes: 1) extracting accurate quantity take off data from BIM models, and 2) manipulating cost analysis results to provide informative feedback. Some recent efforts involve developing detailed definitions, enhanced IFC-based formats and in-house standards for assemblies that encompass building models (e.g. US Corps of Engineers). Some commercial applications enhance the level of detail associated to BIM objects with assembly descriptions to produce lightweight BIM models that can be used by different applications for various purposes (e.g. Autodesk for design review, Navisworks for scheduling, Innovaya for visual estimating, etc.). This study suggests the integration of design and analysis tools by means of managing all building data in one shared repository accessible to multiple domains in the AEC industry (Eastman, 1999; Eastman et al., 2008; authors, 2010). Our approach aims at providing an integrated platform that incorporates a quantity take off extraction method from IFC models, a cost analysis model, and a comprehensive cost reporting scheme, using the Solibri Model Checker (SMC) development environment. Approach As part of the effort to improve the performance of federal buildings, GSA evaluates concept design alternatives based on their compliance with specific requirements, including cost analysis. Two basic challenges emerge in the process of automating cost analysis for BIM models: 1) At this early concept design stage, only minimal information is available to produce a reliable analysis, such as space names and areas, and building gross area, 2) design alternatives share a lot of programmatic requirements such as location, functional spaces and other data. It is thus crucial to integrate other factors that contribute to substantial cost differences such as perimeter, and exterior wall and roof areas. These are extracted from BIM models using IFC data and input through XML into the Parametric Cost Engineering System (PACES, 2010) software to generate cost analysis reports. PACES uses this limited dataset at a conceptual stage and RSMeans (2010) data to infer cost assemblies at different levels of detail. Functionalities Cost model import module The cost model import module has three main functionalities: generating the input dataset necessary for the cost model, performing a semantic mapping between building type specific names and name aggregation structures in PACES known as functional space areas (FSAs), and managing cost data external to the BIM model, such as location and construction duration. The module computes building data such as footprint, gross area, perimeter, external wall and roof area and building space areas. This data is generated through SMC in the form of an XML file and imported into PACES. Reporting module The reporting module uses the cost report generated by PACES to develop a comprehensive report in the form of an excel spreadsheet. This report consists of a systems-elemental estimate that shows the main systems of the building in terms of UniFormat categories, escalation, markups, overhead and conditions, a UniFormat Level III report, and a cost breakdown that provides a summary of material, equipment, labor and total costs. Building parameters are integrated in the report to provide insight on the variations among design alternatives.
keywords	building information modeling, interoperability, cost analysis, IFC
series	CAAD Futures
email
last changed	2012/02/11 19:21

_id	ijac20086405
id	ijac20086405
authors	Ahlquist, Sean; Fleischmann, Moritz
year	2008
title	Elemental Methods for Integrated Architectures: Experimentation with Design Processes for Cable Net Structures
source	International Journal of Architectural Computing vol. 6 - no. 4, 453-475
summary	Tension active systems are compelling architectural structures having an intimate connection between structural performance and the arrangement of material. The direct flow of structural forces through the material makes these systems attractive and unique from an aesthetic point of view, but they are a challenge to develop from a design and an engineering perspective. Traditional methods for solving such structural systems rely on both analog modeling techniques and the use of highly advanced engineering software. The complexity and laborious nature of both processes presents a challenge for iterating through design variations. To experiment with the spacemaking capabilities of tension active systems, it is necessary to design methods that can actively couple the digital simulation with the analog methods for building the physical structure. What we propose is a designer-authored process that digitally simulates the behaviors of tension active systems using simple geometric components related to material and structural performance, activated and varied through elemental techniques of scripting. The logics for manufacturing and assembly are to be embedded in the digital generation of form. The intention is to transform what is a highly engineered system into an architectural system where investigation is as much about the determination of space and environment as it is about the arrangement of structure and material.
series	journal
last changed	2009/03/03 07:48

_id	caadria2008_3_session1a_029
id	caadria2008_3_session1a_029
authors	Ambrose, Michael A., Carl Lostritto, Luc Wilson
year	2008
title	Animate education Early Design Education Pedagogy
source	CAADRIA 2008 [Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia] Chiang Mai (Thailand) 9-12 April 2008, pp. 29-35
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.2008.029
summary	This paper presents a novel approach to the introduction and use of animation and motion graphics in foundation design education. Design inquiry and understanding as generated from, and translated by, movement is the focus. This work explores animation as a design methodology in the first weeks of architectural education. The proposed design exercise discussed here will probe the concept/context and spatial/visual literacy of the learned sense of space-time in architectural design education and representation. Here the digital application of animation and motion graphics is intended to be process driven to encourage students to find an attitude about solutions rather than a solution to the design project. The intention is to examine the relationship between form and space through a structured exploration of movement within a kit-of-parts design project that explores a three-dimensional spatial construct. Animation as a design method poses unique potentials and pitfalls. Animation and motion graphics, as a collection of instances, is both questioned and exaggerated. This project creates a threshold experience of learning that puts in motion an exploration of integrated digital process and design product.
keywords	Education, design theory, design studies, animation
series	CAADRIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	acadia08_464
id	acadia08_464
authors	Belcher, Daniel; Brian Johnson
year	2008
title	MxR: A Physical Model-Based Mixed Reality Interface for Design Collaboration, Simulation, Visualization and Form Generation
source	Silicon + Skin: Biological Processes and Computation, [Proceedings of the 28th Annual Conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) / ISBN 978-0-9789463-4-0] Minneapolis 16-19 October 2008, 464-471
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.2008.464
summary	MxR—pronounced “mixer”—is a Mixed/Augmented Reality system intended to support collaboration during early phases of architectural design. MxR allows an interdisciplinary group of practitioners and stakeholders to gather around a table, discuss and test different hypotheses, visualize results, simulate different physical systems, and generate simple forms. MxR is also a test-bed for collaborative interactions and demonstrates different configuration potentials, from exploration of individual alternatives to group discussion around a physical model. As a MR-VR transitional interface, MxR allows for movement along the reality-virtuality continuum, while employing a simple tangible user-interface and a MagicLens interaction technique.
keywords	Augmented Reality; Collaboration; Interactive; Interface; Physical Modeling
series	ACADIA
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	sigradi2008_049
id	sigradi2008_049
authors	Benamy, Turkienicz ; Beck Mateus, Mayer Rosirene
year	2008
title	Computing And Manipulation In Design - A Pedagogical Experience Using Symmetry
source	SIGraDi 2008 - [Proceedings of the 12th Iberoamerican Congress of Digital Graphics] La Habana - Cuba 1-5 December 2008
summary	The concept of symmetry has been usually restricted to bilateral symmetry, though in an extended sense it refers to any isometric transformation that maintains a certain shape invariant. Groups of operations such as translation, rotation, reflection and combinations of these originate patterns classified by modern mathematics as point groups, friezes and wallpapers (March and Steadman, 1974). This extended notion represents a tool for the recognition and reproduction of patterns, a primal aspect of the perception, comprehension and description of everything that we see. Another aspect of this process is the perception of shapes, primary and emergent. Primary shapes are the ones explicitly represented and emergent shapes are the ones implicit in the others (Gero and Yan, 1994). Some groups of shapes known as Semantic Shapes are especially meaningful in architecture, expressing visual features so as symmetry, rhythm, movement and balance. The extended understanding of the concept of symmetry might improve the development of cognitive abilities concerning the creation, recognition and meaning of forms and shapes, aspects of visual reasoning involved in the design process. This paper discusses the development of a pedagogical experience concerned with the application of the concept of symmetry in the creative generation of forms using computational tools and manipulation. The experience has been carried out since 1995 with 3rd year architectural design students. For the exploration of compositions based on symmetry operations with computational support we followed a method developed by Celani (2003) comprising the automatic generation and update of symmetry patterns using AutoCAD. The exercises with computational support were combined with other different exercises in each semester. The first approach combined the creation of two-dimensional patterns to their application and to their modeling into three-dimensions. The second approach combined the work with computational support with work with physical models and mirrors and the analysis of the created patterns. And the third approach combined the computational tasks with work with two-dimensional physical shapes and mirrors. The student’s work was analyzed under aspects such as Discretion/ Continuity –the creation of isolated groups of shapes or continuous overlapped patterns; Generation of Meta-Shapes –the emergence of new shapes from the geometrical relation between the generative shape and the structure of the symmetrical arrangement; Modes of Representation –the visual aspects of the generative shape such as color and shading; Visual Reasoning –the derivation of 3D compositions from 2D patterns by their progressive analysis and recognition; Conscious Interaction –the simultaneous creation and analysis of symmetry compositions, whether with computational support or with physical shapes and mirrors. The combined work with computational support and with physical models and mirrors enhanced the students understanding on the extended concept of symmetry. The conscious creation and analysis of the patterns also stimulated the student’s understanding over the different semantic possibilities involved in the exploration of forms and shapes in two or three dimensions. The method allowed the development of both syntactic and semantic aspects of visual reasoning, enhancing the students’ visual repertoire. This constitutes an important strategy in the building of the cognitive abilities used in the architectural design process.
keywords	Symmetry, Cognition, Computing, Visual reasoning, Design teaching
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:47

_id	ecaade2008_115
id	ecaade2008_115
authors	Bernal, Marcelo; Yi-Luen Do, Ellen
year	2008
title	Variation from Repetition
source	Architecture in Computro [26th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 978-0-9541183-7-2] Antwerpen (Belgium) 17-20 September 2008, pp. 791-798
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2008.791
summary	Making double curvature surfaces in architectural design is nontrivial and presents many challenges. Design and fabrication of these complex shapes requires systematic approaches. Most current design and fabrication processes distribute adaptable patterns over modulated variable surfaces. But to produce variation with this method means many machining hours and a budget that a conventional architectural project cannot afford. An alternative method to achieve such complex shapes would be to overlap identical elements on a grid. This paper presents an approach to fabricate such complex surfaces from the repetition of a series of identical elements.
keywords	Double curvature, adaptability: automation, digital fabrication
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:52

_id	cdc2008_065
id	cdc2008_065
authors	Celento, David and Del Harrow
year	2008
title	CeramiSKIN: Biophilic Topological Potentials for Microscopic and Macroscopic Data in Ceramic Cladding
source	First International Conference on Critical Digital: What Matters(s)? - 18-19 April 2008, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Cambridge (USA), pp. 65-76
summary	CeramiSKIN is an inter-disciplinary investigation examining recursive patterns found in organic matter. Through the use of digital capture and translation techniques, these biophilic systems may serve as topological generators for structural and ornamental consequences well-suited to mass-customizable ceramic cladding systems for architecture. Digital information is acquired through laser scanning and confocal electron microscopy, then deformed using particle physics engines and parametric transformations to create a range of effects promulgated through digital fabrication techniques. This inquiry is primarily concerned with two questions: Is it possible that natural systems may be digitally captured and translated into biophilic structural forms and/or ornamental effects that may foster beneficial responses in humans? / Since natural orders eschew rigid manifold geometries in favor of compound plastic shapes, is it possible to fabricate mass-customized, large-scale biophilic ceramic cladding from organic digital data?
keywords	Ceramic cladding systems, biophilia in architecture, digital design, digital fabrication, masscustomization
email
last changed	2009/01/07 08:05

_id	sigradi2008_012
id	sigradi2008_012
authors	Dokonal, Wolfgang
year	2008
title	What is the state of digital architectural design?
source	SIGraDi 2008 - [Proceedings of the 12th Iberoamerican Congress of Digital Graphics] La Habana - Cuba 1-5 December 2008
summary	What is the state of digital architectural design? The ubiquity of the computer in architecture can be seen in the many computer based presentations from famous architectural practices. BIM (Building Information Modelling) is the key word and we can see implementations in very ambitious projects all over the world. Glossy magazines show the results of this kind of architecture and predict that this is the future of our profession. But when we go out into the “small world” (in Europe) and talk with architects in small firms, there is a very different reality – at least at the moment. Although they all agree that the computer is crucial for their work, it is a love/hate relationship for many them. Most still use the computer purely as a drafting device and AutoCAD is still the dominant tool. Although many of them agree with the statement that you can use the computer for design, only a minority really use the computer as a design tool in the early design stages. To find out more about the reality of the use of computers in design in “small town Europe” we have been undertaking two different kinds of research over the past 4 years. The first one is an educational experiment using first year’s students to find out about the different qualities of designing with and without the computer. The results have been presented at previous conferences and, since we are doing a last run of these experiments this year, we will update and finalise our findings in this paper. To make it comparable to previous years, we use largely the same settings using the same type of student (first year) and the same project/site. We will also be comparing the results for students designing ‘freestyle’ ie in the way that they want against the previous years controlled groups. The second strand of research we have followed is a survey amongst practitioners and some of the above statements came out of this survey. We did this survey using a web questionnaire and focused on a particular region of Europe. Although the numbers of participants for this survey were quite satisfying we are re-running the survey in a different region and country to see whether there are significant differences. The results of our research and our experience as teachers and architects leads us to the main question of how we can give recommendations on how to teach design the new generation of architects. In many aspects most of the teaching that is done in our faculties is still strictly divided into teaching design and teaching computer skills. The crucial question for architectural education are the implications of the ubiquity of the computer will have especially in the field of design. We will try to give some suggestions for these effects this could have on our teaching. In the long run, this is the only way to avoid some of the pitfalls and bring the benefits of computers in design to our small architectural firms. The paper will present a summary of the results of our research and try to propose an answer to the question: “What is the state of digital design in small town Europe?”
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2016/03/10 09:50

_id	cdc2008_111
id	cdc2008_111
authors	Dounas, Theodore
year	2008
title	Algebras, Geometries and Algorithms, Or How Architecture fought the Law and the Law Won
source	First International Conference on Critical Digital: What Matters(s)? - 18-19 April 2008, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Cambridge (USA), pp. 111-114
summary	An Architect is required to deal quite often with a restrictive piece of Building Code during his/her practice, especially in traditional and hence protected environments. The paper examines the algorithmic nature of such a Building Code and in particular the President's Decree governing the design and architecture of traditional housing in the Old Town, “Ano Poli”, in Thessaloniki Greece. The nature of the constraints and descriptions the Decree contains is algorithmic, which means that the descriptions of the constraints is procedural with a specific start and a specific finish for a house design. The problem with such descriptions in a Law is that, although an architect can develop his/her own interpretations of the traditional language of the area, or even be able to trace his/her designs using shape grammars derived from traditional buildings preserved until today, the final result cannot be approved for a building permit since it does not comply with the Presidential Decree. We suggest that the nature of such legislation should be algebraic in nature and not algorithmic, since algebras allow an amount of freedom in development of architectural language while also permitting the restriction of scale, height and so on. This coupling of architectural design freedom and effective restriction on metrics of new buildings contained in algebraic systems can be shown to be much more effective than the established algorithmic system. The Decree's content comprises of regulations concerning the volume, form and use of new buildings in the protected and conserved built environment of “Ano Poli” in Thessaloniki.
last changed	2009/01/07 08:05

_id	ascaad2012_003
id	ascaad2012_003
authors	Elseragy, Ahmed
year	2012
title	Creative Design Between Representation and Simulation
source	CAAD \| INNOVATION \| PRACTICE [6th International Conference Proceedings of the Arab Society for Computer Aided Architectural Design (ASCAAD 2012 / ISBN 978-99958-2-063-3], Manama (Kingdom of Bahrain), 21-23 February 2012, pp. 11-12
summary	Milestone figures of architecture all have their different views on what comes first, form or function. They also vary in their definitions of creativity. Apparently, creativity is very strongly related to ideas and how they can be generated. It is also correlated with the process of thinking and developing. Creative products, whether architectural or otherwise, and whether tangible or intangible, are originated from ‘good ideas’ (Elnokaly, Elseragy and Alsaadani, 2008). On one hand, not any idea, or any good idea, can be considered creative but, on the other hand, any creative result can be traced back to a good idea that initiated it in the beginning (Goldschmit and Tatsa, 2005). Creativity in literature, music and other forms of art is immeasurable and unbounded by constraints of physical reality. Musicians, painters and sculptors do not create within tight restrictions. They create what becomes their own mind’s intellectual property, and viewers or listeners are free to interpret these creations from whichever angle they choose. However, this is not the case with architects, whose creations and creative products are always bound with different physical constraints that may be related to the building location, social and cultural values related to the context, environmental performance and energy efficiency, and many more (Elnokaly, Elseragy and Alsaadani, 2008). Remarkably, over the last three decades computers have dominated in almost all areas of design, taking over the burden of repetitive tasks so that the designers and students can focus on the act of creation. Computer aided design has been used for a long time as a tool of drafting, however in this last decade this tool of representation is being replaced by simulation in different areas such as simulation of form, function and environment. Thus, the crafting of objects is moving towards the generation of forms and integrated systems through designer-authored computational processes. The emergence and adoption of computational technologies has significantly changed design and design education beyond the replacement of drawing boards with computers or pens and paper with computer-aided design (CAD) computer-aided engineering (CAE) applications. This paper highlights the influence of the evolving transformation from Computer Aided Design (CAD) to Computational Design (CD) and how this presents a profound shift in creative design thinking and education. Computational-based design and simulation represent new tools that encourage designers and artists to continue progression of novel modes of design thinking and creativity for the 21st century designers. Today computational design calls for new ideas that will transcend conventional boundaries and support creative insights through design and into design. However, it is still believed that in architecture education one should not replace the design process and creative thinking at early stages by software tools that shape both process and final product which may become a limitation for creative designs to adapt to the decisions and metaphors chosen by the simulation tool. This paper explores the development of Computer Aided Design (CAD) to Computational Design (CD) Tools and their impact on contemporary design education and creative design.
series	ASCAAD
email
more	http://www.ascaad.org/conference/2012/papers/ascaad2012_003.pdf
last changed	2012/05/15 20:46

_id	ecaade2008_177
id	ecaade2008_177
authors	Fatah gen. Schieck, Ava
year	2008
title	Exploring Architectural Education in the Digital Age
source	Architecture in Computro [26th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 978-0-9541183-7-2] Antwerpen (Belgium) 17-20 September 2008, pp. 861-870
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2008.861
summary	This paper reports on work carried out within the module ‘Digital Space & Society as part of the MSc Adaptive Architecture & Computation course at UCL. I describe my approach in investigating possibilities for integrating digital media and computation into a module taught to students coming predominantly from a design background. The teaching adopts the design studio culture, which integrates: teaching, discovery (research), and application (practice). Here I present an attempt to develop new ways that extend beyond conventionally applied methods within traditional architectural education by adopting project based learning that is carried out in the real world. The project is driven by my recent research activities. Donald Schon’s concept of the ‘knowledge in action’ provides a useful framework for interpreting my approach.
keywords	Architectural education, digital, project based, teaching & research
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	46d4
id	46d4
authors	Fischer, Thomas
year	2008
title	Designing (tools (for designing (tools for ...))))
source	RMIT University, Melbourne
summary	Outcomes of innovative designing are frequently described as enabling us in achieving more desirable futures. How can we design and innovate so as to enable future processes of design and innovation? To investigate this question, this thesis probes the conditions, possibilities and limitations of toolmaking for novelty and knowledge generation, or in other words, it examines designing for designing. The focus of this thesis is on the development of digital design tools that support the reconciliation of conflicting criteria centred on architectural geometry. Of particular interest are the roles of methodological approaches and of biological analogies as guides in toolmaking for design, as well as the possibility of generalising design tools beyond the contexts from which they originate. The presented investigation consists of an applied toolmaking study and a subsequent reflective analysis using second- order cybernetics as a theoretical framework. Observations made during the toolmaking study suggest that biological analogies can, in informal ways, inspire designing, including the designing of design tools. Design tools seem to enable the generation of novelty and knowledge beyond the contexts in and for which they are developed only if their users apply them in ways unanticipated by the toolmaker. Abstract The reflective analysis offers theoretical explanations for these observations based on aspects of second-order cybernetics. These aspects include the modelling of designing as a conversation, different relationships between observers (such as designers) and systems (such as designers engaged in their projects), the distinction between coded and uncoded knowledge, as well as processes underlying the production and the restriction of meaning. Initially aimed at the development of generally applicable, prescriptive digital tools for designing, the presented work results in a personal descriptive model of novelty and knowledge generation in science and design. This shift indicates a perspective change from a positivist to a relativist outlook on designing, which was accomplished over the course of the study. Investigating theory and practice of designing and of science, this study establishes an epistemological model of designing that accommodates and extends a number of theoretical concepts others have previously proposed. According to this model, both design and science generate and encode new knowledge through conversational processes, in which open-minded perception appears to be of greater innovative power than efforts to exercise control. The presented work substantiates and exemplifies radical constructivist theory of knowledge and novelty production, establishes correspondences between systems theory and design research theory and implies that mainstream scientific theories and practices are insufficient to account for and to guide innovation.
keywords	Digital design tools, geometry rationalisation, second-order cybernetics, knowledge generation
series	thesis:PhD
type	normal paper
email
more	http://adt.lib.rmit.edu.au/adt/public/adt-VIT20080424.160537/index.html
last changed	2008/05/10 08:31

_id	cdc2008_105
id	cdc2008_105
authors	Friedrich, Christian
year	2008
title	Information-matter hybrids: Prototypes engaging immediacy as architectural quality
source	First International Conference on Critical Digital: What Matters(s)? - 18-19 April 2008, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Cambridge (USA), pp. 105-110
summary	‘Immediate Architecture’ is an exploratory investigation into possibilities of immediate interactive and constructive interaction with the built environment supported by digital technologies. Aim is to realize interactive reconfigurable architectural objects that support their informational and material reconfiguration in real-time. The outcome is intended to become a synergetic amalgam of interactive architecture, parametric design environment, automated component fabrication and assembly. To this end, computational and material strategies are developed to approach the condition of immediate architecture and applied in real-world prototypes. A series of developed techniques are presented, ranging from realtime volumetric modeling, behavioral programming and meta-application protocol to streaming fabrication and dynamic components for interactive architecture.
email
last changed	2009/01/07 08:05

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