Cumincad : CUMINCAD Papers : Search Results

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

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_id	ijac201614102
id	ijac201614102
authors	Cifuentes Quin, Camilo Andre?s
year	2016
title	The cybernetic imagination of computational architecture
source	International Journal of Architectural Computing vol. 14 - no. 1, 16-29
summary	Since the publication in 1948 of Norbert Wiener’s Cybernetics, this thought model has exerted a profound influence in contemporary knowledge. Such influence has been decisive for a paradigm shift in the profession of architecture and particularly for the rise of a computational perspective in architectural design. This article explores the link between the cybernetic paradigm and the conception of architectural objects as performative, responsive, intelligent, and sentient artifacts—the visions of buildings that have been central to the development of digital architecture since its early stages. This connection shows that the dominant visions of design problems associated with the development of a computational perspective in architecture have not been exclusively the result of the introduction of computer pragmatics in architectural design. On the contrary, following such scholars as Bruno Latour and Katherine Hayles, these developments must be considered as the result of a particular feedback process that includes technical aspects as well as the definition of design problems around an informational ontology and epistemology. The understanding of the intellectual foundations of digital architecture is crucial not only to promote a critical regard of its productions but to imagine scenarios for a viable cybernetic practice of computer-mediated architectural design.
keywords	Architecture, cybernetics, computational design
series	journal
last changed	2016/06/13 08:34

_id	ecaade2016_208
id	ecaade2016_208
authors	Dounas, Theodoros and Spaeth, Benjamin
year	2016
title	Ubiquitous Digital Repositories In the Design Studio - A Case study
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2016.1.241
source	Herneoja, Aulikki; Toni Österlund and Piia Markkanen (eds.), Complexity & Simplicity - Proceedings of the 34th eCAADe Conference - Volume 1, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland, 22-26 August 2016, pp. 241-249
summary	The paper investigates the usability and effect of a ubiquitous digital repository in the architectural design process. Acknowledging the post-digital era where students work with diverse media either digital or analogue, the project explores the suitability of a digital log in augmenting conceptual thinking, feedback provision and intellectual exchange by means of a studio in an architectural undergraduate course. Students integrate a digital log into their workflow resolving a design task of an architectural studio. A server-based repository serves as students' individual archive as well as a share-point for peer-students' informal exchange and tutors' feedback. The conclusion of the study is that sketching and organization habits from the analog media the students have learned persist even with a more digitally inclined generation. The use of digital tools that obliterate the analog-digital division, holding the best of both worlds are still subject to the constraints of timely introduction in the curriculum, cultural resistance in terms of organization of a project and more so void of experimentation in their use by students.
keywords	digital repositories; Design Studio; hybrid media
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:55

_id	ascaad2016_029
id	ascaad2016_029
authors	Hassan, Ramzi; Frode Saetre and Knut Andreas Oyvang
year	2016
title	Trends and Practices Using 3D Visualizations for Large-Scale Landscape Projects in Norway
source	Parametricism Vs. Materialism: Evolution of Digital Technologies for Development [8th ASCAAD Conference Proceedings ISBN 978-0-9955691-0-2] London (United Kingdom) 7-8 November 2016, pp. 269-274
summary	New advances in 3D modelling and visualization tools for large-scale landscape and construction projects have been achieved recently. The introduction of the new 3D digital modelling and visualization tools, e.g. CAD, VR, GIS and BIM initiated a huge shift in the way planners and designers develop, communicate and present project scenarios. This paper outlines the challenges, new trends and workflows connected to the use of new tools and how it’s been practiced and experienced by professionals and stakeholders as observed in Norway. The observation shows that the latest developments are providing new potentials for performing better communication and collaboration. Planners could now demonstrate many aspects of a project which exceed the usual minimum requirements. An important functionality is the capability to work with huge amount of data-sets for large-scale projects which were previously almost impossible to work with.
series	ASCAAD
email
last changed	2017/05/25 13:31

_id	acadia16_130
id	acadia16_130
authors	Koschitz, Duks; Ramagosa, Bernat; Rosenbaum, Eric
year	2016
title	Beetle Blocks: A New Visual Language for Designers and Makers
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.2016.130
source	ACADIA // 2016: POSTHUMAN FRONTIERS: Data, Designers, and Cognitive Machines [Proceedings of the 36th Annual Conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) ISBN 978-0-692-77095-5] Ann Arbor 27-29 October, 2016, pp. 130-139
summary	We are introducing a new teaching tool to show designers, architects, and artists procedural ways of constructing objects and space. Computational algorithms have been used in design for quite some time, but not all tools are very accessible to novice programmers, especially undergraduate students. ‘Beetle Blocks’ (beetleblocks.com) is a software environment that combines an easy-to-use graphical programming language with a generative model for 3D space, drawing on ‘turtle geometry,’ a geometry paradigm introduced by Abelson and Disessa, that uses a relative as opposed to an absolute coordinate system. With Beetle Blocks, designers are able to learn computational concepts and use them for their designs with more ease, as individual computational steps are made visually explicit. The beetle, the relative coordinate system, follows instructions as it moves about in 3D space. Anecdotal evidence from studio teaching in undergraduate programs shows that despite the early introduction of digital media and tools, architecture students still struggle with learning formal languages today. Beetle Blocks can significantly simplify the teaching of complex geometric ideas and we explain how this can be achieved via several examples. The blocks-based programming language can also be used to teach fundamental concepts of manufacturing and digital fabrication and we elucidate in this paper which possibilities are conducive for 2D and 3D designs. This project was previously implemented in other languages such as Flash, Processing and Scratch, but is now developed on top of Berkeley’s ‘Snap!’
keywords	generative design, design pedagogy, digital fabrication, tool-building, pedagogical tools
series	ACADIA
type	paper
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:51

_id	ecaade2016_238
id	ecaade2016_238
authors	Meagher, Mark and Langley, Phillip
year	2016
title	TopoBIM: Web-based Spatial Topology for Early Design Participation
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2016.2.663
source	Herneoja, Aulikki; Toni Österlund and Piia Markkanen (eds.), Complexity & Simplicity - Proceedings of the 34th eCAADe Conference - Volume 2, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland, 22-26 August 2016, pp. 663-672
summary	TopoBIM is a 3D web-based viewer for BIM data that facilitates the capture of stakeholder knowledge related to project requirements and constraints in early design. The software provides an interface for viewing 3D models and data for selected room types and adding topological annotations. The use of topological representation is proposed as a method for facilitating knowledge capture, allowing decisions about the details of plan layout to be deferred and widening the potential for participation in the early stage design process. Topological representation is widely employed in the engineering disciplines, but is not commonly used as a means of capturing schematic information in early design. TopoBIM is proposed as a methodology and workflow for the introduction of topology in early design, and as an example of lightweight, bespoke software that informs design by allowing stakeholders to perform specific tasks using BIM data, without the constraints and limiting complexity of BIM authoring environments.
wos	WOS:000402064400067
keywords	Early design; Topological representation; Participation; BIM; Knowledge capture
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:58

_id	ijac201614101
id	ijac201614101
authors	Webb, Alexander
year	2016
title	Accepting the robotic other: Why real dolls and spambots suggest a near-future shift in architecture’s architecture
source	International Journal of Architectural Computing vol. 14 - no. 1, 6-15
summary	With weak Artificial Intelligence in the pockets of the majority of American adults, a societal introduction of a strong Artificial Intelligence or sentience seems close. Although the “intelligence” of our phones’ intelligence can be laughably brittle, the learning capacity demonstrated by the Internet of Things suggests more robust intelligence is on the way, and some would say it has already arrived. Several private technology firms have asserted that a robust Artificial Intelligence already exists and thought leaders within computation are lining up to ensure that it is not evil. Regardless of the morality of Artificial Intelligence, if our charge as architects is to design occupiable space, then we need to consider post-anthropocentric ecologies as well as how to adapt our design strategies to reflect inclusion of other species. This article describes two linked lines of thought, a meditation on the pending societal inclusion of the robotic other and why that robotic sentience may arrive from an unexpected origin and can reshape how we conceive of architecture itself.
keywords	Artificial Intelligence, Emergent Design, Robots, Digital Communication, Network Models
series	journal
last changed	2016/06/13 08:34

_id	lasg_whitepapers_2016_fulltext
id	lasg_whitepapers_2016_fulltext
year	2016
title	Living Architecture Systems Group White Papers 2016
source	Living Architecture Systems Group White Papers 2016 [ISBN 978-1-988366-10-4 (EPUB)] Riverside Architectural Press 2016: Toronto, Canada
summary	Living Architecture Systems Group "White Papers 2016" is a dossier produced for the occasion of the Living Architecture Systems Group launch event and symposium hosted on November 4 and 5 at the Sterling Road Studio in Toronto and the University of Waterloo School of Architecture at Cambridge. The "White Papers 2016" presents research contributions from the LASG partners, forming an overview of the partnership and highlighting oppportunities for future collaborations.
keywords	design, dissipative methods, design methods, synthetic cognition, neuroscience, metabolism, STEAM, organicism, field work, responsive systems, space, visualizations, sensors, actuators, signal flows, art and technology, new media art, digital art, emerging technologies, citizen building, bioinspiration, performance, paradigms, artificial nature, virtual design, regenerative design, 4DSOUND, spatial sound, biomanufacturing, eskin, delueze, bees, robotics
last changed	2019/07/29 14:02

_id	ascaad2016_049
id	ascaad2016_049
authors	Abdelsabour, Inas; Heba Farouk
year	2016
title	Impact of Using Structural Models on Form Finding - Incorporating Practical Structural Knowledge into Design Studio
source	Parametricism Vs. Materialism: Evolution of Digital Technologies for Development [8th ASCAAD Conference Proceedings ISBN 978-0-9955691-0-2] London (United Kingdom) 7-8 November 2016, pp. 483-492
summary	Physical Models as an architectural design tool, had major effect on architecture learning process. In structural form finding, it helped in improving visual design thinking to track form creation processes during form finding design stage. The aim is to study the impact of using physical models for second year architecture students in design studios learning. By analyzing and comparing students’ performance and progress; to clarify the effect of using physical models as a tool for designing progression, followed by analytical study on the students' structural models, in order to investigate the influence of models on their design educational progress. Research achieved that there were three basic phases the students pass through during form finding process when used manual physical models that improve the students' design capability.
series	ASCAAD
email
last changed	2017/05/25 13:33

_id	ecaade2016_048
id	ecaade2016_048
authors	Abramovic, Vasilija and Achten, Henri
year	2016
title	From Moving Cube to Urban Interactive Structures - A case study
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2016.1.661
source	Herneoja, Aulikki; Toni Österlund and Piia Markkanen (eds.), Complexity & Simplicity - Proceedings of the 34th eCAADe Conference - Volume 1, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland, 22-26 August 2016, pp. 661-668
summary	When thinking about the future vision of a city, having in mind recent development in digital technologies and digital design tools we are inclined to expect new building structures which incorporate this technology to better help us manage the complexity of life, and to simplify our daily lives and tasks. The idea behind this research paper lies in design of such structures, which could be put inside an urban context and engage in creating a built environment that can add more to the quality of life. For us Interactive architecture is architecture that is responsive, flexible, changing, always moving and adapting to the needs of today. The world is becoming more dynamic, society is constantly changing and the new needs it develops need to be accommodated. As a result architecture has to follow. Spaces have to become more adaptive, responsive and nature concerned, while having the ability for metamorphosis, flexibility and interactivity. Taken as a starting point of this idea is a specific module from graduation project in 2014 "The Unexpected city", where it was possible to test out first ideas about interactive and flexible objects in an urban environment.
wos	WOS:000402063700071
keywords	Flexible architecture; Interactive architecture; Responsive systems
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	sigradi2016_537
id	sigradi2016_537
authors	Abreu, Sandro Canavezzi de; Vasconcelos, Guilherme Nunes de; Stralen, Mateus van
year	2016
title	Meta-Lab: programação de um laboratório interativo [Metal-Lab: the programming of an interactive lab]
source	SIGraDi 2016 [Proceedings of the 20th Conference of the Iberoamerican Society of Digital Graphics - ISBN: 978-956-7051-86-1] Argentina, Buenos Aires 9 - 11 November 2016, pp.769-775
summary	Here we discuss the technological and theoretical issues that conform the restructuring proposal of the Computer Laboratory of Escola de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da UFMG, reconfiguring it in what we call “Meta-Lab”: a space composed of programmable modules that make up the so called Sistema Hidra(!), a system structured in three levels (sensory, processor and actuator level) which receives environmental information via sensors, processes these information and changes the environment using actuators. We will address in more detail the processing level, a fundamental layer for enabling the implementation of “interactive permanency” through continuous reprogramming of interactions in Meta-Lab.
keywords	Interactivity; Combinatory; Interactive Architecture
series	other
type	normal paper
email
last changed	2017/06/21 14:52

_id	caadria2016_777
id	caadria2016_777
authors	Aditra, Rakhmat F. and Andry Widyowijatnoko
year	2016
title	Combination of mass customisation and conventional construction: A case study of geodesic bamboo dome
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.2016.777
source	Living Systems and Micro-Utopias: Towards Continuous Designing, Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA 2016) / Melbourne 30 March–2 April 2016, pp. 777-786
summary	With the development of advance fabrication, several digi- tal fabrication approaches have been developed. These approaches en- able better form exploration than the conventional manufacturing pro- cess. But, the built examples mostly rely on advance machinery which was not familiar or available in developed country where construction workers are still abundant. Meanwhile, much knowledge gathers in the field practice. This research is aimed to explore an alternative con- struction workflow and method with the combination of mass custom- ization and conventional construction method and to propose the structure system that emphasized this alternative workflow and meth- od. Lattice structure was proposed. The conventional construction method was used in the struts production and mass customization method, laser cutting, and was used for connection production. The algorithmic process was used mainly for data mining, details design, and component production. The backtracking was needed to be pre- dicted and addressed previously. Considerations that will be needed to be tested by further example are on the transition from the digital pro- cess to the manual process. Next research could be for analysing the other engineering aspect for this prototype and suggesting other struc- tural system with more optimal combination of conventional construc- tion and mass customization.
keywords	Mass customisation; algorithmic design; digital fabrication; geodesic dome; lattice structure
series	CAADRIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	ascaad2016_059
id	ascaad2016_059
authors	Admed, Mohammad H.K.
year	2016
title	Towards Developing BIM Curriculum in Higher Education in Egypt
source	Parametricism Vs. Materialism: Evolution of Digital Technologies for Development [8th ASCAAD Conference Proceedings ISBN 978-0-9955691-0-2] London (United Kingdom) 7-8 November 2016, pp. 589-598
summary	The paper surveys and discusses the current state of teaching BIM in departments of architecture in Egypt. It also connects it to the increasing professional market demand for technologically qualified architects. In specific, the paper explores the reasons behind the fact that the local BIM curriculum is lagging behind its international counterpart. It also explores the need to utilise BIM software capabilities. A further comparative survey is carried out between local case studies and international cases through identifying several stages of BIM implementation in both teaching and design. The advantages and disadvantages of the current method of teaching are explored in an effort to improve performance of BIM curriculum.
series	ASCAAD
email
last changed	2017/05/25 13:34

_id	sigradi2016_448
id	sigradi2016_448
authors	Afsari, Kereshmeh; Eastman, Charles M.; Shelden, Dennis R.
year	2016
title	Data Transmission Opportunities for Collaborative Cloud-Based Building Information Modeling
source	SIGraDi 2016 [Proceedings of the 20th Conference of the Iberoamerican Society of Digital Graphics - ISBN: 978-956-7051-86-1] Argentina, Buenos Aires 9 - 11 November 2016, pp.907-913
summary	Collaboration within Building Information Modeling process is mainly based on file transfer while BIM data being exchanged in either vendor specific file formats or neutral format using Industry Foundation Classes (IFC). However, since the Web enables Cloud-based BIM services, it provides an opportunity to exchange data via Web transfer services. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to investigate what features of Cloud interoperability can assist a network-based BIM data transmission for a collaborative work flow in the Architecture, Construction, and Engineering (AEC) industry. This study indicates that Cloud-BIM interoperability needs to deploy major components such as APIs, data transfer protocols, data formats, and standardization to redefine BIM data flow in the Cloud and to reshape the collaboration process.
keywords	BIM; Cloud Computing; Data Transmission; Interoperability; IFC
series	SIGRADI
email
last changed	2021/03/28 19:58

_id	ecaade2016_026
id	ecaade2016_026
authors	Agkathidis, Asterios
year	2016
title	Implementing Biomorphic Design - Design Methods in Undergraduate Architectural Education
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2016.1.291
source	Herneoja, Aulikki; Toni Österlund and Piia Markkanen (eds.), Complexity & Simplicity - Proceedings of the 34th eCAADe Conference - Volume 1, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland, 22-26 August 2016, pp. 291-298
summary	In continuation to Generative Design Methods, this paper investigates the implementation of Biomorphic Design, supported by computational techniques in undergraduate, architectural studio education. After reviewing the main definitions of biomorphism, organicism and biomimicry synoptically, we will assess the application of a modified biomorphic method on a final year, undergraduate design studio, in order to evaluate its potential and its suitability within the framework of a research led design studio, leading to an RIBA accredited Part I degree. Our research findings based on analysis of design outputs, student performance as well as moderators and external examiners reports initiate a constructive debate about accomplishments and failures of a design methodology which still remains alien to many undergraduate curricula.
wos	WOS:000402063700033
keywords	CAAD Education; Strategies, Shape Form and Geometry; Generative Design; Design Concepts
series	eCAADe
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	caadria2016_797
id	caadria2016_797
authors	Agusti?-Juan, Isolda and Guillaume Habert
year	2016
title	An environmental perspective on digital fabrication in architecture and construction
doi	https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.2016.797
source	Living Systems and Micro-Utopias: Towards Continuous Designing, Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA 2016) / Melbourne 30 March–2 April 2016, pp. 797-806
summary	Digital fabrication processes and technologies are becom- ing an essential part of the modern product manufacturing. As the use of 3D printing grows, potential applications into large scale processes are emerging. The combined methods of computational design and robotic fabrication have demonstrated potential to expand architectur- al design. However, factors such as material use, energy demands, du- rability, GHG emissions and waste production must be recognized as the priorities over the entire life of any architectural project. Given the recent developments at architecture scale, this study aims to investi- gate the environmental consequences and opportunities of digital fab- rication in construction. This paper presents two case studies of classic building elements digitally fabricated. In each case study, the projects were assessed according to the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) frame- work and compared with conventional construction with similar func- tion. The analysis highlighted the importance of material-efficient de- sign to achieve high environmental benefits in digitally fabricated architecture. The knowledge established in this research should be di- rected to the development of guidelines that help designers to make more sustainable choices in the implementation of digital fabrication in architecture and construction.
keywords	Digital fabrication; LCA; sustainability; environment
series	CAADRIA
email
last changed	2022/06/07 07:54

_id	ijac201614105
id	ijac201614105
authors	Ahlquist, Sean
year	2016
title	Sensory material architectures: Concepts and methodologies for spatial tectonics and tactile responsivity in knitted textile hybrid structures
source	International Journal of Architectural Computing vol. 14 - no. 1, 63-82
summary	As the knowledge of material computation advances, continuing the seamless integration of design and fabrication, questions beyond materialization can be addressed with a focus on sensing, feedback, and engagement as critical factors of design exploration. This article will discuss a series of prototypes, design methodologies, and technologies that articulate a textile’s micro-architecture, at the scale of fibers and stitches, to instrumentalize simultaneous structural, spatial, and sensory-responsive qualities. The progression of research displays an ever-deepening instrumentalization of fiber structure and its implications to form definition and responsivity, in creating form- and bending-active structures. The research results in a more refined definition of material behavior as the innate phenomena which emerge at the moment of textile fabrication. Ultimately, the architecture, in its materiality and physical, visual, and auditory responsivity, is designed to address specific challenges for children in filtering multiple sensory inputs, an underlying factor of autism spectrum disorder.
keywords	CNC Knitting, Form-active, Bending-active, Textile hybrid, Mutli-sensory
series	journal
last changed	2016/06/13 08:34

_id	ascaad2016_048
id	ascaad2016_048
authors	Al Shiekh, Bassam
year	2016
title	Arabic Calligraphy and Parametric Architecture - Translation from a calligraphic force to an architectural form
source	Parametricism Vs. Materialism: Evolution of Digital Technologies for Development [8th ASCAAD Conference Proceedings ISBN 978-0-9955691-0-2] London (United Kingdom) 7-8 November 2016, pp. 469-482
summary	This paper describes an on-going research that unites two distinct and seemingly unrelated interests. One is Arabic calligraphy and the other is parametric architecture. The effort is to integrate these interests and, in doing so, balance cultural issues with technological ones, traditional with contemporary and spiritual with material. Moreover, this paper is inspired by Arabic calligraphy and its influence on Zaha Hadid’s designs; it is invigorated by parametric systems and their capacity as a source of architectural forms. This paper will observe the rising importance of computation technologies to architecture, which has always been a form of negotiation between ‘function and fiction’ and ‘force and form’. The paper proposes a Parametric Calligraphic Machine that simultaneously produces, connects and separates calligraphic surfaces, calligraphic images and calligraphic reality. Therefore, the goal is to examine this hypothesis in order to produce a set of techniques, tools and methods that inform the three-dimensional design process of Arabic calligraphy’s contemporary possibilities by addressing a process description rather than a state description of creating calligraphic images and calligraphic surfaces. The theoretical approach highlights issues pertaining to calligraphy, spatiality, translation, generative systems, parametric design, visual structure, force and form.
series	ASCAAD
email
last changed	2017/05/25 13:33

_id	ascaad2016_001
id	ascaad2016_001
authors	Al-Attili, Aghlab; Anastasia Karandinou and Ben Daley
year	2016
title	Parametricism vs Materialism - Evolution of digital technologies for development
source	Parametricism Vs. Materialism: Evolution of Digital Technologies for Development [8th ASCAAD Conference Proceedings ISBN 978-0-9955691-0-2] London (United Kingdom) 7-8 November 2016, 597 p.
summary	We build on previous technological developments in CAAD by looking into parametric design exploration and the development of the concept of parametricism. We use the phenomenological backdrop to account for our physical experiences and encounters as well as our mental ones; both evident in the link between parametric design as a process and an outcome. In specific, we previously examined two particular metaphors. The first metaphor addressed aspects of virtual environments that resemble our physical world; In other words, computer model as physical model and digital world as material world. In this volume, we extend the exploration into aspects of virtual environments and their resemblance to physical environments by looking at ‘performance’ aspects: the way in which environments are sensed, measured, tracked and visualised. Moreover, we reflect on matters and materiality in both virtual and physical space philosophically, theoretically, practically and reflectively. The second metaphor looked into the modes and means of interaction between our bodies and such virtual environment. Here we extend the investigation to look at the ways in which measures of environmental performance influence human interaction in real environments. The exploration takes us further to look into the area of design fabrication of the built environment, and methods in which developed processes meet environmental performance requirements, and the innovative outcomes that lead to disruptive technologies getting introduced into design and we revisit parametric design under this focus area.
series	ASCAAD
type	normal paper
email
last changed	2024/02/13 14:28

_id	ascaad2016_052
id	ascaad2016_052
authors	Al-Badry, Sally; Cesar Cheng, Sebastian Lundberg and Georgios Berdos
year	2016
title	Living on the Edge - Reinventing the amphibiotic habitat of the Mesopotamian Marshlands
source	Parametricism Vs. Materialism: Evolution of Digital Technologies for Development [8th ASCAAD Conference Proceedings ISBN 978-0-9955691-0-2] London (United Kingdom) 7-8 November 2016, pp. 513-526
summary	The Mesopotamian Marshlands form one of the first landscapes where people started to transform and manipulate the natural environment in order to sustain human habitation. For thousands of years, people have transformed natural ecosystems into agricultural fields, residential clusters and other agglomerated environments to sustain long-term settlement. In this way, the development of human society has been intricately linked to the extraction, processing and consumption of natural resources. The Mesopotamian Marshlands, located in one of the hottest and most arid areas on the planet, formed a unique wetlands ecosystem, which apart from millions of people, sustained a very high number of wildlife and endemic species. Several historical, political, social and climatic changes, which densely occurred during the past century, completely destroyed the unique civilisation of the area, made all the wild flora and fauna disappear and forced hundreds of thousands of people to migrate. During the last decade, many efforts have been made to restore the marshlands. However, these efforts are lacking a comprehensive design strategy, coherent goals and deep understanding of the complex current geopolitical situation, making the restoration process an extremely difficult task. This work aims at providing strategies for recovering the Mesopotamian Marshlands, organising productive functions in order to sustain the local population and design a new inhabitation model, using advanced computational tools while taking into account the extreme climatic conditions and several unique cultural aspects. Part of the aim of this work is to advance the use of computation and explore the opportunities that digital tools afford in helping find solutions to complex design problems where various design variables need to be coordinated to satisfy the design goals. Today, advanced computation enables designers to use population consumption demands, ecological processes and environmental inputs as design parameters to develop more robust and resilient regional planning strategies. This work has the double aim of first, presenting a framework for re-inhabiting the Marshlands of Mesopotamia. Second, the work suggests a design methodology based on computer-aided design for developing and organising productive functions and patterns of human occupation in wetland environments.
series	ASCAAD
email
last changed	2017/05/25 13:34

_id	ascaad2016_003
id	ascaad2016_003
authors	Al-Jokhadar, Amer; Wassim Jabi
year	2016
title	Humanising the Computational Design Process - Integrating Parametric Models with Qualitative Dimensions
source	Parametricism Vs. Materialism: Evolution of Digital Technologies for Development [8th ASCAAD Conference Proceedings ISBN 978-0-9955691-0-2] London (United Kingdom) 7-8 November 2016, pp. 9-18
summary	Parametric design is a computational-based approach used for understanding the logic and the language embedded in the design process algorithmically and mathematically. Currently, the main focus of computational models, such as shape grammar and space syntax, is primarily limited to formal and spatial requirements of the design problem. Yet, qualitative factors, such as social, cultural and contextual aspects, are also important dimensions in solving architectural design problems. In this paper, an overview of the advantages and implications of the current methods is presented. It also puts forward a ‘structured analytical system’ that combines the formal and geometric properties of the design, with descriptions that reflect the spatial, social and environmental patterns. This syntactic-discursive model is applied for encoding vernacular courtyard houses in the hot-arid regions of the Middle East and North Africa, and utilising the potentials of these cases in reflecting the lifestyle and the cultural values of the society, such as privacy, human-spatial behaviour, the social life inside the house, the hierarchy of spaces, the segregation and seclusion of family members from visitors and the orientation of spaces. The output of this analytical phase prepares the groundwork for the development of socio-spatial grammar for contemporary tall residential buildings that gives the designer the ability to reveal logical spatial topologies based on socio-environmental restrictions, and to produce alternatives that have an identity while also respecting the context, place and needs of users.
series	ASCAAD
email
last changed	2017/05/25 13:13

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