authors |
Kolarevic, Branko Radomir |
year |
1993 |
title |
Geometric Relations as a Framework For Design Conceptualization |
source |
Harvard University, Graduate School of Design |
summary |
This study introduces geometric relations as a framework for design conceptualiza-tion-its key premise is that nothing is more fundamental in design than formation and discovery of relationships. The study attempts to establish a formal model for the development of a dynamic computer based graphic environment for design conceptualization that can recognize, record and maintain geometric design relations, merge "depictive" and "propositional", explicit and implicit in design, and provide a qualitatively different way to explore shape, dimension, and geometric organization. The study presents an approach to this task of formalization, and explores some of the fundamental issues pertinent to the subject, such as computability and applicability to the task of designing.Specifically, the study explores a relational description of shapes based on the concept of regulating or construction lines as an explicit formulation of a strategy to form generation and creative discovery, and proposes a lexicon of geometric relations to serve as a basis for composition. It hypothesizes that the construction lines can become much more useful and interesting when they are used not just as a rigid skeleton, but to regulate the behavior of a drawing and to maintain its essential structure as its parts are manipulated. As a consequence, designers could structure the behavior of the object being designed under future transformations; drawings could become seman-tically charged and could be manipulated in a semantically sophisticated fashion.The first chapter places the issue in the broader context by arguing that designers form implicit relational models of their designs. This contention is supported by introducing some of the relevant literature on mental imagery. Second chapter introduces design relations and in particular geometric relations, as a focal point of this study. A dynamic computer -based graphic context for design conceptualization is presented and evalu-ated in the next two chapters and conclusions are drawn. In the third chapter, the model's computability is demonstrated and evaluated through ReDRAW, a limited implementation of a relations based graphic system. In the fourth chapter, the model's applicability in design conceptualization is discussed and supported by examples. |
series |
thesis:PhD |
email |
|
more |
http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/academic/asp/ddes/thesis_titles.html |
references |
Content-type: text/plain
|
last changed |
2003/02/12 22:37 |
|