Showing papers in "International Journal of Architectural Computing in 2016"
TL;DR: Hybrid Virtual Environment 3D is a system that allows architectural co-design inside Virtual Reality by a new model of interaction through a 3D cursor that augments the concept of the cursor to better interact with three-dimensional virtual spaces, rethinking it as a drawing/control plane and viewpoints inside the virtual world.
Abstract: Hybrid Virtual Environment 3D (Hyve-3D) is a system that allows architectural co-design inside Virtual Reality by a new model of interaction through a 3D cursor. It augments the concept of the curs...
53 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present techniques and technologies for significantly upscaling hygroscopically actuated timber-based systems for use as self-constructing building surfaces.
Abstract: The implementation of active and responsive materials in architecture and construction allows for the replacement of digitally controlled mechanisms with material-based systems that can be designed and programmed with the capacity to compute and execute a behavioral response. The programming of such systems with increasingly specific response requires a material-driven computational design and fabrication strategy. This research presents techniques and technologies for significantly upscaling hygroscopically actuated timber-based systems for use as self-constructing building surfaces. The timber’s integrated hygroscopic characteristics combined with computational design techniques and existing digital fabrication methods allow for a designed processing and reassembly of discrete wood elements into large-scale multi element bilayer surfaces. This material assembly methodology enables the design and control of the encoded direction and magnitude of humidity-actuated responsive curvature at an expanded scale...
42 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze the increasing use of information and communications technology and sensing technologies in cities by examining this new way of city governing from a critical perspective, and discuss the advantages and the current shortcomings of smart city.
Abstract: Taking advantage of information and communications technology tools and techniques for city administration, whether it is for urban planning activities, for transport solutions or many other purposes, is not a new concept. However, in order for a city to be classified as ‘smart’, a synthesis of intelligence that transcends mere utilisation is essential. This article analyses the increasing use of information and communications technology and sensing technologies in cities by examining this new way of city governing from a critical perspective. Existing projects and initiatives were investigated to find out how, and to what extent, these tools are being employed by cities. The advantages and the current shortcomings of smart city are also discussed in order to understand the viability of using these tools.
38 citations
TL;DR: A dual-coding system for protocol analysis is applied to the analysis of the results of a design experimental undertaken by a set of Australian and Swedish architects working individually in a parametric environment and contributes to a new insight into the role of language in design.
Abstract: This article develops a new research framework and method combining cognitive and linguistic approaches to investigate parametric design. At the core of this new approach is a dual-coding system for protocol analysis, which can formally capture both cognitive and linguistic characteristics of the design process. In this article, the method is applied to the analysis of the results of a design experimental undertaken by a set of Australian and Swedish architects working individually in a parametric environment. The results of the experiment demonstrate the effectiveness of the dual-coding system and, with the support of linkography, facilitate the in-depth exploration of design cognition and its relationship to spatial language. This method directly contributes to a new insight into the role of language in design.
14 citations
TL;DR: It is concluded that parametric-associative modelling and genetic programming methods of generative design may be combined with an appropriate balance of automation and human intervention to obtain ‘optimal’ design freedom, and steps towards finding that balance are suggested.
Abstract: Generative processes and generative design approaches are topics of continuing interest and debate within the realms of architectural design and related fields. While they are often held up as giving designers the opportunity (the freedom) to explore far greater numbers of options/alternatives than would otherwise be possible, questions also arise regarding the limitations of such approaches on the design spaces explored, in comparison with more conventional, human-centric design processes. This article addresses the controversy with a specific focus on parametric-associative modelling and genetic programming methods of generative design. These represent two established contenders within the pool of procedural design approaches gaining increasingly wide acceptance in architectural computational research, education and practice. The two methods are compared and contrasted to highlight important differences in freedoms and limitations they afford, with respect to each other and to ‘manual’ design. We conclude that these methods may be combined with an appropriate balance of automation and human intervention to obtain ‘optimal’ design freedom, and we suggest steps towards finding that balance.
13 citations
TL;DR: The role of narratives in these new epic games as the main driver behind their social appeal and commercial success is discussed, and a number of questions are posed in the context of architecture and the possible fusion of both architecture and narrative.
Abstract: Contemporary video games such as Mass Effect or Assassin’s Creed are emerging as a new form of media departing from traditional games purely seen as problem-solving exercises. They represent a new ...
12 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a focus on sensing, feedback, and feedback is proposed to address questions beyond materialization in the context of design and fabrication, where the knowledge of material computation advances, continuing the seamless integration of fabrication and design.
Abstract: 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...
10 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the impact of using a parametric design tool on designers' behavior in terms of using design patterns in the early conceptual development stage of a design process.
Abstract: This article presents the results from exploring the impact of using a parametric design tool on designers’ behavior in terms of using design patterns in the early conceptual development stage of d...
10 citations
TL;DR: New approach and new development of tool Urban Redesign Terf is focused on, as full immersion could offer better notion of different proposals of urban design and increase level of freedom in design/planning process.
Abstract: Nowadays, urban planning and urban design are facing big changes in the use of different digital tools. Reaching out and engaging citizens and other stakeholders in urban design process are significant for good practice. Main problem discussed in this article is the lack of suitable tools/interfaces for instant collaboration between government, profession, and public. Article focuses on immersive environments, as full immersion could offer better notion of different proposals of urban design. As a case study, Immersive Terf is chosen; more exactly, article focuses on new approach and new development of tool Urban Redesign Terf. Deep immersive collaboration on design could free participant’s mind and increase level of freedom in design/planning process. Immersive environments have already been used in building information modeling (BIM) managment, but innovation part, presented here, are technological: significant changes in the software and walk-through big models, which is the base for urban design and u...
9 citations
TL;DR: The main findings of this study highlight that the combination of Transit-Oriented Development and algorithmic–parametric tools has the potential to significantly contribute to a process of responsible planning and, ultimately, to mitigate global warming.
Abstract: This article focuses on the use of computational tools to provide dynamic assessment and optimized arrangements while planning and discussing interventions in urban areas. The objective is to addre...
9 citations
TL;DR: The major system development goal was to provide intuitive three-dimensional-based visual information, thereby realizing an integrated space and asset management system that does not require expert knowledge of any specific field, such as architecture.
Abstract: Large-scale airports such as Incheon International Airport have large-scale terminals, annex buildings, and numerous open spaces. An integrated space management system is required to manage these buildings and spaces efficiently. Thus, Incheon International Airport Corporation developed a three-dimensional computer-aided design–based integrated space management system. The major system development goal was to provide intuitive three-dimensional-based visual information, thereby realizing an integrated space and asset management system that does not require expert knowledge of any specific field, such as architecture. This article discusses the construction of the system and the problems that had to be resolved to achieve this goal.
TL;DR: 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 are explored.
Abstract: 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 th...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore hybrid digital/physical workflows in the building trades, a high-skill domain where human dexterity and craft can be augmented by the precision and repeatability of digital tools.
Abstract: This article explores hybrid digital/physical workflows in the building trades, a high-skill domain where human dexterity and craft can be augmented by the precision and repeatability of digital de...
TL;DR: In this paper, the relationship between theme park visitor traffics and service facility location along with their capacities is analyzed. But the focus of this paper is to find the relationships among theme park visitors and service facilities.
Abstract: The goal of the article is to find the relationships between theme park visitor traffics and service facility location along with their capacities. To do that, we analyzed four Disneylands situated...
TL;DR: How ubiquitous computing has been leveraged in research, and the position on how these systems are impacting the design of retail environments are illustrated, illustrated by several examples of User Experience research projects, informing the experience design of Retail environments.
Abstract: Ubiquitous computing systems are changing the way retail environments are being designed. With increasing frequency, User Experience designers leveraging ubiquitous computing systems that observe a...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a research on real-time shape exploration employing analogue and digital form-finding and conclude with a proposal for a teaching methodology that led to an intensive student learning process.
Abstract: The article presents a research on real-time shape exploration employing analogue and digital form-finding and concludes with a proposal for a teaching methodology that led to an intensive student ...
TL;DR: In this article, a horticultural interaction game for motivating or invoking the communication between elderly and their family members was developed based on the framework of behavior setting and semi-fixed features, and three groups of games, physical games, virtual games, and spatial interaction games, were analyzed and 14 cases were studied and evaluated for the features required.
Abstract: Family support is the key to the well-being problems of elderly. Unlike health problem, mental problem often depends on the social network of elderly. How to enhance elderly well-being problems will become how to increase the interaction between elderly and their family. Horticultural interaction proves to be an effective but smooth impact on improving well-being problems of elderly. By designing a horticultural interaction game for motivating or invoking the communication between elderly and their family members, the prototype is developed based on the framework of behavior setting and semi-fixed features. Three groups of games, physical games, virtual games, and spatial interaction games, are analyzed and 14 cases are studied and evaluated for the features required. Particularly, spatial interaction games with both physical and virtual games are brought into scope, and HiGame (Horticultural Interaction Game, hi game) is developed. Five scenarios using sensor network and mobile interface are unleashed an...
TL;DR: The authors have developed Educational Library for Fluid as an educational-use environment for computational fluid dynamics programming and ran the workshop where the students majoring in computer-aided architectural design tried to design computational fluid Dynamics tools with Educational Library For Fluid.
Abstract: In the current computer-aided architectural design education, students do not necessarily need to be taught to use more digital tools, but need to be introduced to the possibilities of designing their own digital tools. Designing the original tools with the assistance of educational-use environment for computational fluid dynamics programming improves the capability of the students to estimate the flows around architectures based on the mathematical background and the actual program. The authors have developed Educational Library for Fluid as an educational-use environment for computational fluid dynamics programming and ran the workshop where the students majoring in computer-aided architectural design tried to design computational fluid dynamics tools with Educational Library for Fluid. In this article, the details of Educational Library for Fluid and the results of the workshop are being reported. In addition, the key points of computational fluid dynamics education that the authors learned through the...
TL;DR: This article considers how computational simulation can be used to amplify imagination and make its effects sharable, persuasive and activist and introduces the concept of living models as a device that can express the futuring potential of such simulations.
Abstract: This article considers how computational simulation can be used to amplify imagination and make its effects sharable, persuasive and activist. It argues that this is not only possible but important for the future of design and introduces the concept of living models as a device that can express the futuring potential of such simulations. Developing this argument, the article explores whether, by postponing top-down rationalisms in favour of a ‘methodological naivete’, designers can gain the capacity to uncover and engage with the unusual participants of the complex dynamic assemblages they aim to change. When designers collaborate with the agencies of the living models they deploy, the outcomes prove useful for the exploration of alternative values and worldviews. Explorations of this kind are significant because human designs need to improve their integrations with existing complex systems and are innovative in their ambition to see creative agency in non-human actors. In a practical demonstration of suc...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors acknowledge that primarily the real-time virtual engine is deployed as a visualization tool for architectural education, and acknowledge that it has experienced a degree of popularity in contemporary architectural education.
Abstract: Real-time virtual engines have experienced a degree of popularity in contemporary architectural education. Acknowledging that primarily the real-time virtual engine is deployed as a visualization t...
TL;DR: The implementation of an integrated environment for three-dimensional computer-aided design and environmental impact modestly relates to geometrical constraints, and the use of probabilistic risk values is more central to its methodology.
Abstract: The pairing of computer-aided design and geographical information system data creates an opportunity to connect an architectural design process with a robust analysis of its environmental constraints. Yet, the geographical information system data may be too overwhelmingly complex to be fully used in computer-aided design without computer-assisted methods of filtering relevant information. This article reports on the implementation of an integrated environment for three-dimensional computer-aided design and environmental impact. The project focused on a two-way data exchange between geographical information system and computer-aided design in building design. While the two different technologies may rely on separate representational models, in combination they can provide a more complete view of the natural and built environment. The challenge in integration is that of bridging the differences in analytical methods and database formats. Our approach is rooted in part in constraint-based design methods, well established in computer-aided design (e.g. Sketchpad, Generative Components, and computer-aided three-dimensional interactive application). Within such computer-aided design systems, geometrical transformations may be intentionally constrained to help enforce a set of design determinants. Although this current implementation modestly relates to geometrical constraints, the use of probabilistic risk values is more central to its methodology.
TL;DR: In this paper, a fabrication procedure for the development of tensile mesh systems is presented, aiming to introduce an ongoing research aiming at introducing a fabrication process for tensile meshes, and the purpose of current methodology is to establish an integrated...
Abstract: This article presents an ongoing research, aiming to introduce a fabrication procedure for the development of tensile mesh systems. The purpose of current methodology is to establish an integrated ...
TL;DR: An innovative tool developed at the Technical University of Crete is described, through which an urban designer can work on the music transcription of a specific urban environment applying music compositional rules and filters in order to identify discordant entities, highlight imbalanced parts, and make design corrections.
Abstract: The more complex our cities become, the more difficult it is for designers to use traditional tools for understanding and analyzing the inner essence of an eco-system such as the contemporary urban environment. Even many of the recently crafted digital tools fail to address the necessity for a more holistic design approach which captures the virtual and the physical, the immaterial and the material. Handling of massive chunks of information and classification and assessment of diverse data are nowadays more crucial than ever before. We see a significant potential in combining the fields of composition in music and architecture through the use of information technology. Merging the two fields has the intense potential to release new, innovative tools for urban designers. This article describes an innovative tool developed at the Technical University of Crete, through which an urban designer can work on the music transcription of a specific urban environment applying music compositional rules and filters in...
TL;DR: The inherent properties of such a space are described and it is proposed as a novel spatio-temporal medium for architecture that suggests an enriched notion of space for exploration and experimentation, through an example of a potential application.
Abstract: Virtual and augmented realities open a new world of great potential for spatial research and experimentation by allowing new forms of unbuilt sensible architectural space. This article starts with ...
TL;DR: A method of generating two-dimensional schematic diagrams from three-dimensional models of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems on computer-aided design software to represent this information in a more traditional, user-friendly format is proposed.
Abstract: In this article, we propose a method of generating two-dimensional schematic diagrams from three-dimensional models of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems on computer-aided design software to represent this information in a more traditional, user-friendly format. It can be difficult to grasp the relationships between various mechanical, electrical, and plumbing elements in building information models because they are represented in a visually complex, three-dimensional manner. On the other hand, the relationships between building elements can be easily understood when using traditional schematic diagrams. First, the network of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems and a section view are extracted separately from three-dimensional models. Next, these extracted files are displayed as schematic diagrams on computer-aided design software. The expressions of traditional drawings were referenced to generate new diagrams. After schematic diagrams were created, they were evaluated by staff members...
TL;DR: A method for gamifying the design and assembly of computationally integrated structures built out of discrete identical blocks used in the interactive installation Sensitive Assembly, which extends the notion of real-time feedback from the digital into the physical and uses machine-learning techniques to predict future structural behaviour.
Abstract: The article describes a method for gamifying the design and assembly of computationally integrated structures built out of discrete identical blocks. As a case study, the interactive installation Sensitive Assembly was designed and built at the Digital Design Unit (Prof. Dr Oliver Tessmann) at the Technische Universitat of Darmstadt and exhibited during the digital art festival NODE 2015 in Frankfurt in 2015. Sensitive Assembly invites people to play a Jenga-like game: starting from a solid wall, players are asked to remove and replace the installation's building blocks to create windows to a nurturing light while challenging its stability. A computational system that senses the current state of the wall guides the physical interaction and predicts an approaching collapse or a new light beam breaking through. The installation extends the notion of real-time feedback from the digital into the physical and uses machine-learning techniques to predict future structural behaviour.
TL;DR: This article implemented a real responsive interface – the Spark Wall system, which use 160 actuator modules as the authors' responsive feedback interface and depth camera as sensing input and built up multi-modal interface for different operating purposes allowing the user to control responsive environment with their behaviour.
Abstract: Responsive environment uses human–computer interface to improve how humans experience their surroundings. Many research aimed at different kinds of interactive environment modules with new digital tectonics or computation components. However, those new environments sometimes could be manipulated by components which are less user-friendly and complex than traditional counterparts. In this article, we implemented a real responsive interface – the Spark Wall system, which use 160 actuator modules as our responsive feedback interface and depth camera as sensing input. We built up multi-modal interface for different operating purposes allowing the user to control responsive environment with their behaviour. The user could change his or her body posture to change the pattern of the wall and moreover define touch-input area on any surface. From the user’s perspective, a responsive environment should be a simple system with understandable control modes. A responsive artefact should also be able to dynamically cor...
TL;DR: 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 as mentioned in this paper, although the “intelligence...
Abstract: 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...