Showing papers on "Design paradigm published in 2014"

Information-Processing Theories of Biologically Inspired Design

Abstract: Starting from in situ studies, we develop an information-processing theory of biologically inspired design We compare our theory with two popular theories of biologically inspired design: Biomimicry 38 Institute’s Design Spiral and Vincent et al’s BioTRIZ While Design Spiral and BioTRIZ are normative and prescriptive, our information-processing theory provides a descriptive and explanatory account of the design paradigm We examine if and how the process of biologically inspired design is different from that of other design paradigms beyond the differences between biological and technological systems We posit that biologically inspired design appears to be a distinct design paradigm in part because it entails solution-based analogies in addition to the problem-driven analogies typical of other design paradigms

Design Strategies in Different Narrative Frames

Abstract: Introduction During its evolution, design—both as a discipline and as a practice—has expanded its sphere of influence and its typical object of intervention, acknowledged until 20 years ago above all as the industrial product. In recent years, because of causes linked to the evolution of organized production systems and social and cultural consumption market dynamics, the design core moved progressively from tangible objects—where design was responsible for the technological aspects of the product to fix the use value—to intangible offerings—where the value for users became a variable of other additional factors. These intangible offerings not only included the use of the product but also aspects linked to the purchase experience, product access dynamics, product availability, and connections with other services and offerings. The productservice system became a consolidated approach in science and project practice, where integration between tangible and intangible components of the offering is becoming an important area for design.1 In designing a product-service system, design includes not only the identification and organization of each component but also the links and connections between the tangible and intangible parts that create value for users.2 The broadening of the design spectrum went beyond the systemic composite concept of offering. Accordingly, design became a thinking form—design thinking3—an approach and a series of tools serving changes in different systems, including economic, social, and environmental systems. For many decades, the discipline of design considered the user to be the primary reference of its action. A rich literature linking user-centered design and ergonomics emphasized user centrality for design action,4 until more recent theories started regarding user involvement in the various design phases.5 The basic concept of the user-centered design paradigm seems to be sound when design creates products and product-service systems for existing markets and known consumers, which take into account, a priori, defined cognitive and cultural patterns and needs, purchase models, logics, and use contexts. However, this favorable condition of 1 Stephen L. Vargo and Robert F. Lush, “Evolving to a New Dominant Logic for Marketing,” Journal of Marketing 68 (2004): 1–17; Susan M. Goldstein, Robert Johnston, JoAnn Duffy, and Jay Rao, “The Service Concept: The Missing Link in Service Design Research?” Journal of Operations Management 20, no. 2 (2002): 121–34; Ezio Manzini and Carlo Vezzoli, “A Strategic Design Approach to Develop Sustainable Product Service Systems: Examples Taken from the ‘Environmentally Friendly Innovation’ Italian Prize,” Journal of Cleaner Production 11 (2003): 851–57; Rajkumar Roy and David Baxter, “The Product–Service System,” Journal of Engineering Design 20 (2009): 327–28; Ezio Manzini, Carlo Vezzoli, and Garrette Clark, “Product–Service Systems. Using an Existing Concept as a New Approach to Sustainability,” Journal of Design Research 1 (2001): 12-18. 2 Roy and Baxter, “The Product–Service System,” 327–28; Manzini, Vezzoli, and Clark, “Product-Service Systems;” Francesco Zurlo, Le Strategie del Design. Disegnare il Valore Oltre il Prodotto (Milano: Il Libraccio, 2012). 3 Roger Martin, The Design of Business (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2009); Tim Brown, Change by Design. How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation (New York: Harper Collins, 2009). 4 Donald Norman, “Human-Centered Design Considered Harmful,” Interaction 12 (2005): 14-19; Donald Norman, The Psychology of Everyday Things (New York: Basic Books, 2002); Jodi Forlizzi, John Zimmerman, and Shelley Evenson, “Interaction Design Research in HCI, a Research Through Design Approach,”

Slow Tech: a quest for good, clean and fair ICT

Abstract: – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the term Slow Tech as a way of describing information and communication technology (ICT) that is good, clean and fair. These are technologies that are human centred, environmentally sustainable and socially desirable. , – The paper's approach is based on a qualitative discourse that justifies the introduction of Slow Tech as a new design paradigm. , – The limits of the human body, and the need to take into account human wellbeing, the limits of the planet and stakeholders' interests in decision making, all suggest the need for a new paradigm, Slow Tech, in the design of ICT and ICT systems. Three scenarios are described as case studies. , – In order to prepare the next generation of researchers and computer professionals, many different actions need to be taken. Universities and colleges need to redesign education programmes for computer scientists and engineers by introducing subjects related to the social and ethical implications of computing (currently, only few countries, like the UK, have already done this), and computer professionals' associations need to introduce a code of ethics or ethical analysis into their members' career development. As a result, future computer professionals who are familiar with the Slow Tech approach will be able to collaborate much more easily across the kind of cross disciplinary teams suited to design human centred, sustainable and desirable technologies. , – Rather than simply focusing on the role of computer professionals, all members of society are called to play a new role in the design of future ICT scenarios. Starting a societal dialogue that involves computer professionals, users, researchers, designers, ICT industrialists, and policy makers is very much needed. , – The value of this paper is in its call for reflection followed by action. Based on an holistic approach to the design of new ICT systems, the paper advocates a new starting point for systems design: it should be based on a long-term view of the desirability and social importance of technologies, their environmental impact and sustainability, and the fairness and equity of the conditions of workers involved in the computing manufacturing processes.

Performance-based seismic design of integral abutment bridges

Abstract: Integral abutment bridges (IAB) are experiencing increasing diffusion in the short to mid-range lengths, where they offer some advantages over traditional girder bridges with non-monolithic connection at the abutments. One challenging problem with their analysis and design is that consideration of the interaction between foundation soil, structure and backfill is unavoidable, also for the deck design. Further, the end of the construction is only one of the conditions that need to be verified during design. Cyclic deformations, such as those occurring during ground shaking, typically lead to an increase in stresses in the abutments and connections, due to progressive compaction (ratcheting) of the backfill soil. This problem is magnified when the bridge is comprised between two embankments, whose response may amplify the input motion and drive the deformation of the bridge. Performance-based design aims at superseding current design procedures by explicitly checking that the target performances set out are achieved, and not overly exceeded. Such a design paradigm naturally calls, on the one hand, for improved accuracy in response determination and more refined analyses, and, on the other, for taking into account the uncertainties entering into the problem by means of an explicitly probabilistic approach. With this objective in mind, the paper presents an inelastic dynamic model for the seismic analysis and design of IABs. The model, that features a balanced compromise between the setup and evaluation effort on one hand, and accuracy on the other, has been developed for implementation in typical commercial analysis packages. It builds on 1D site-response analysis and on inelastic Winkler-like modeling, to reproduce the main physical aspects of the seismic response of IABs. One example application to a highway overpass in Italy illustrates the model and the relevance of a fully probabilistic approach to performance-based design. The application offers also important insight into the choice of an efficient intensity measure for this type of structure.

DeafSpace and the principles of universal design

Abstract: Purpose: Recent debates about the epistemological origins of Universal Design (UD) have questioned how far universalist design approaches can address the particularities and diversities of the human form through a series of standardised, technical responses. This article contributes to these debates by discussing an emergent architectural paradigm known as DeafSpace, which articulates a set of design principles originating from the d/Deaf community in the US. Method: Commentary. Results: DeafSpace has emerged as a design paradigm rooted in an expression of d/Deaf cultural identity based around sign language, rather than as a response designed to compensate for, or minimise, impairment. It distinguishes itself from UD by articulating a more user-centred design process, but its principles are arguably rooted in notions of d/Deaf identity based around consensus and homogeneity, with less attention paid to the socio-political contexts which shape diverse experiences of d/Deafness and the exclusion(s) ...

Changing Paradigm – Changing Experience?

Abstract: With the introduction of MS Windows 8, Modern UI / Metro Design was established as a new design paradigm for interaction In this paper, we evaluate the usability of Windows 8 in comparison with Windows 7 with respect to effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction Our test was conducted on three sample rates with differing experience on MS Windows systems The findings concerning each of the three dimensions are presented as well as results for the overall usability

Constructive Visualization : A token-based paradigm allowing to assemble dynamic visual representation for non-experts

Abstract: During the past two decades, information visualisation (InfoVis) research has created new techniques and methods to support data- intensive analyses in science, industry and government. These have enabled a wide range of analyses tasks to be executed, with tasks varying in terms of the type and volume of data involved. However, the majority of this research has focused on static datasets, and the analysis and visualisation tasks tend to be carried out by trained expert users. In more recent years, social changes and technological advances have meant that data have become more and more dynamic, and are consumed by a wider audience. Examples of such dynamic data streams include e-mails, status updates, RSS 1 feeds, versioning systems, social networks and others. These new types of data are used by populations that are not specifically trained in information visualization. Some of these people might consist of casual users, while others might consist of people deeply involved with the data, but in both cases, they would not have received formal training in information visualization. For simplicity, throughout this dissertation, I refer to the people (casual users, novices, data experts) who have not been trained in information visualisation as non-experts.These social and technological changes have given rise to multiple challenges because most existing visualisation models and techniques are intended for experts, and assume static datasets. Few studies have been conducted that explore these challenges. In this dissertation, with my collaborators, I address the question: Can we empower non-experts in their use of visualisation by enabling them to contribute to data stream analysis as well as to create their own visualizations?The first step to answering this question is to determine whether people who are not trained in information visualisation and the data sciences can conduct useful dynamic analysis tasks using a visualisation system that is adapted to support their tasks. In the first part of this dissertation I focus on several scenarios and systems where different sized crowds of InfoVis non-experts users (20 to 300 and 2 000 to 700 000 people) use dynamic information visualisation to analyse dynamic data.Another important issue is the lack of generic design principles for the visual encoding of dynamic visualization. In this dissertation I design, define and explore a design space to represent dynamic data for non-experts. This design space is structured by visual tokens representing data items that provide the constructive material for the assembly over time of different visualizations, from classic represen- tations to new ones. To date, research on visual encoding has been focused on static datasets for specific tasks, leaving generic dynamic approaches unexplored and unexploited.In this thesis, I propose construction as a design paradigm for non-experts to author simple and dynamic visualizations. This paradigm is inspired by well-established developmental psychological theory as well as past and existing practices of visualisation authoring with tangible elements. I describe the simple conceptual components and processes underlying this paradigm, making it easier for the human computer interaction community to study and support this process for a wide range of visualizations. Finally, I use this paradigm and tangible tokens to study if and how non-experts are able to create, discuss and update their own visualizations. This study allows us to refine our previous model and provide a first exploration into how non-experts perform a visual mapping without software. In summary, this thesis contributes to the understanding of dynamic visualisation for non-expert users.

Human Factors of a Global Society. A System of Systems Perspective

Abstract: During the last 60 years the discipline of human factors (HF) has evolved alongside progress in engineering, technology, and business. Contemporary HF is clearly shifting towards addressing the human-centered design paradigm for much larger and complex societal systems, the effectiveness of which is affected by recent advances in engineering, scien

Use the Difficulty through Schwierigkeit : Antiusability as Value-driven Design Research-in-Progress

Abstract: In the style of a polemic discursive essay, Antiusability (also known as Schwierigkeit) is introduced as a radical design paradigm to reawaken dedicated awareness of the usersystem interface through challenge. A philosophical work in flux, it is described as a kind of science (or logic) of difficulty with an underpinning that promotes the generic greater good in usability per se.

INFORMER: an integrated framework for early-stage memory robustness analysis

Abstract: With the growing importance of parametric (process and environmental) variations in advanced technologies, it has become a serious challenge to design reliable, fast and low-power embedded memories. Adopting a variation-aware design paradigm requires a holistic perspective of memory-wide metrics such as yield, power and performance. However, accurate estimation of such metrics is largely dependent on circuit implementation styles, technology parameters and architecture-level specifics. In this paper, we propose a fully automated tool - INFORMER - that helps high-level designers estimate memory reliability metrics rapidly and accurately. The tool relies on accurate circuit-level simulations of failure mechanisms such as soft-errors and parametric failures. The statistics obtained can then help couple low-level metrics with higher-level design choices. A new technique for rapid estimation of low-probability failure events is also proposed. We present three use-cases of our prototype tool to demonstrate its diverse capabilities in autonomously guiding large SRAM based robust memory designs.

Towards pattern-based reuse in safety-critical systems

Abstract: Challenges such as time-to-market, reduced costs for change and maintenance have radically influenced development of today's safety-critical systems. Many domains have already adopted their system's engineering to support modular and component-based architectures. With the component-based design paradigm, the system engineering is utilized allowing to distribute development among different development teams, however, with the price that there is no full trust in independently developed parts, which makes their reuse challenging. Until now, many approaches that address reuse, on conceptual or detailed level, have been proposed. A very important aspect addressed here is to document the information flow between system parts in detail, i.e. from higher abstraction levels down to the implementation details, in order to put more trust into independently developed parts of the system.In this paper, we describe a compact pattern system with the aim to establish a link between high level concepts for reuse and detailed description of the behavior of system parts. The main goal is to document these details up to the higher levels of abstraction in more systematic way.

Basic Concepts on On-Chip Networks

Abstract: As the number of cores integrated into a System-on-Chip increases, the role played by the communication system becomes more and more important. The Network-on-Chip design paradigm is today recognised as the most viable communication infrastructure to deal with the scalability issues which characterise the ultra-deep sub-micron silicon era. In this chapter, some of the most important concepts in the context of on-chip networks will be reviewed. Basic concepts including, network topologies, switching techniques, and routing algorithms will be recalled. Such topics represent the conceptual bases exploited by the strategies, the mechanisms, and the methodologies discussed in the subsequent chapters.

Multi-domain simulation as a foundation for the engineering of smart systems: Challenges and the SMAC vision

Abstract: Technology and market evolutions in smart-systems call for a new design paradigm which is focused on the integration of the development processes in the various engineering disciplines through timely exchange of models, tuned to the specific needs of the different users. According to the vision of the SMAC consortium, these models should be generated automatically through appropriate abstraction flows. The present paper reviews the challenges related to the design of smart-systems and in particular multi-domain simulation and presents the solutions being experimented in the project.

Proto-TAI: Quick Design Prototyping Using Tangible Assisted Interfaces

Abstract: In the real world, we use our innate manual dexterity to create and manipulate 3D objects. Conventional virtual design tools largely neglect this skill by imposing non-intuitive 2D control mechanisms for interacting with 3D design models. Their usage is thus cumbersome, time consuming and requires training. We propose a novel design paradigm that combines users’ manual dexterity with the physical affordances of non-instrumented and ordinary objects to support virtual 3D design constructions. We demonstrate this paradigm through Proto-TAI, a quick prototyping application where 2D shapes are assembled into 3D representations of ideated design concepts. Here, users can create 2D shapes in a pen-based sketch medium and use expressive handheld movements of a planar proxy to configure the shapes in 3D space. The proxy provides a metaphorical means for possessing and controlling the shapes. Here, a depth sensor and computer vision algorithms track the proxy’s spatial movement. The 3D design prototype constructed in our system can be fabricated using a laser cutter and physically assembled on-the-fly. Our system has vast implications in many design and assembly contexts, and we demonstrate its usability and efficacy through user studies and evaluations.Copyright © 2014 by ASME

System-by-design paradigm as applied to the synthesis of innovative field manipulation devices including task-oriented metamaterials

Abstract: The System-by-Design (SbD) paradigm is adopted in this work in order to synthesize innovative microwave devices comprising task-oriented engineered materials. More in detail, the synthesis problem is formulated in the SbD framework in terms of the combination of a set of elementary functional blocks, each one devoted to the analysis/synthesis of a specific portion of the target device (e.g., the electromagnetic characterization of the material, the simulation of the device comprising the engineered material, the configuration of the material unit cell). The design blocks are then combined in an overall SbD loop to yield an integrated design procedure which is able to fully exploit the degrees of freedom available in the design to satisfy the physical/performance applicative constraints with the minimum costs, andmaximum efficiency and scalability. Representative numerical examples will be reported in the presentation concerning the design of different wave manipulating devices within the proposed SbD approach.

Artificial immune systems in the context of autonomic computing: integrating design paradigms

Abstract: We describe a design paradigm for developing autonomic computing systems based on an analogy with the natural immune system, and show how current approaches to designing autonomic systems could be enriched by considering alternative design processes based on cognitive immune networks.

Advances in life-cycle civil engineering

Abstract: Civil engineering is currently facing a profound transition towards a life-cycle-oriented design paradigm integrating continuous advances in the fields of modelling, analysis, design, inspection, m...

Optimized synthesis of wave-manipulating devices within the system-by-design paradigm

Abstract: An innovative approach to the synthesis of wave manipulating devices is proposed in this work within the framework of the System-by-Design (SbD) paradigm. The approach is based on the decomposition of the overall synthesis problem in terms of the combination of a set of functional blocks, each one performing a “simple” task. The design blocks (each one aimed at the analysis or synthesis of a specific sub-part of the wave manipulating device of interest) are then combined in a SbD loop to yield the final design procedure. Representative numerical examples are reported concerning the design of different wave manipulating devices to assess the features and potentialities of the proposed SbD approach.

A design paradigm for the development of advanced operating rooms

Abstract: The paper presents an unusual design paradigm for the development of advanced operating rooms and its implementation. The aim of this approach is moving forward the state of art in operating room design and management. First, the used paradigm to implement the mentioned design methodology is described comparing the operating room context environment with a music perspective. This approach has inspired the development of independent systems which are linked together thanks to a communication common framework called OPERA. Secondly, the OPERA system consisting of heterogeneous set of novel robotic devices and innovative information technology techniques are described. The OPERA hardware and software subsystems modules perform their peculiar activities as a whole like orchestral musicians performing an opera. In particular robotic subsystems (developed by The BioRobotics Institute of Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy), surgical workflow model (designed by EndoCAS, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy) and a system able to control and synchronize the activities of each single subsystem during the surgical process (developed by I+ s.r.l., Florence, Italy) are presented here.

Gamification of System-on-Chip design

Abstract: This paper presents drastic new concepts for SoC design tools. The motivation is ever increasing productivity gap that is caused by complexity of the design process with current methods. Plain code, schematic block diagrams and various graph-tree-table descriptions have been there for tens of years. Unfortunately, designers have problems in understanding the big picture of the design and quickly finding the interesting points. As an example, capturing register/memory definitions are simply getting impossible when different operation points of the system change them at runtime. We envision gamification as a new SoC design paradigm. It includes 3D visualization and semantic zoom to capture the design content, and gameplay for the design process. As the result, SoC design becomes engaging and users can easier focus on making the essential design decisions. A demo game is under construction and will be presented in forthcoming publications.

Open Source Architecture for "Nuovo CEP"

Abstract: The Open Source Architecture (OSArc) is a new collaborative way to design common and shared areas at an architectural level, but also at an urban and technological level, etc.. It allows you to participate in the design phase both practically, with your technical contributions, and actively, with constructive criticism and intelligent and innovative suggestions. We thought of using this new "design paradigm" to make the Nuovo CEP project feasible and economically sustainable through the cooperation of both professionals and non-professionals (i.e. inhabitants, students, etc.). Nuovo CEP is a project, which aims to redevelop a suburban neighbourhood and transform it into a mini smart solar city . The OSArc for Nuovo CEP is realized by means of a wiki website where all interested users can register and insert their contributions together with others members of the community. In this paper, we are going to explain the Nuovo CEP project and its objectives, which will be a guideline and an inspiring source for users' contributions. Then we will explain the wiki website structure used to implement the platform for the OSArc that is the object proposed by this paper.

Feature Analysis for the Design of Artifacts with Growing Practical Values and Spiritual Values

Abstract: Value Growth Design is a design based on a new design paradigm, Timeaxis Design, which incorporates the viewpoint of the time axis into the theory and methodology of design. Value Growth Design enables an object to increase in its practical value, such as its usability, and in its spiritual value, such as affection, the more it is used. This is antithetical to value decay design, seen in artifacts of mass production and mass consumption, which show a decrease in value over time. If such artifacts were able to adapt to the change of environment and the change of value based on the theory of Timeaxis Design, it is expected that their practical values and spiritual values would increase. This can enable artifacts to become appealing to human Kansei and allow users to possess a single artifact over a long range of time with strong affection. However, there are only few studies which have considered the application of Value Growth Design to actual design. Thus, in this research, a case study of existing value growing cases is carried out, followed by a cluster analysis and a discussion of the results which produce nine factors of value growth.

Effectively Addressing the Risks to the Infrastructure Presented by Extreme Hazards: The Need for a Shift in the Design Paradigm

Abstract: The risk of extreme damage to critical facilities by attacks from terrorists or disgruntled employees combined with process risks is becoming a major factor in the design. The approach suggested by extant practices and guides with this regard has evolved into a pseudo-design methodology involving missing columns and "tie force" designs and detailing. Very different design concepts are needed to analyze structures that are highly damaged or have failed completely. The new design paradigm focuses on component design of critical building elements using a threat dependent, performance-based methodology using high-fidelity physics-based (HFPB) finite element codes that capture actual material and component response. One of these is LS-DYNA developed by Livermore Software Technology Center. To counter the difficulty, expense and high degree of skills needed for use of HFPB codes one approach is to develop and use a library of fast running models (FRMs), which interrogate a database of virtual HFPB response data for given components and loading. These FRMs can be rapidly and easily run on desktop computers and can provide access to a domain of solutions far outside the capability of simplified engineering tools for a range of loading scenarios, such as air blast loading from high-explosive detonations, vapor cloud explosions, and primary and secondary fragmentation. Component design using HFB codes and FRMs for speed and economy of analysis will provide a far more meaningful analysis for blast effects, including disproportionate collapse than simplified methods advocated in the unified facilities criteria (UFC) and similar design guidance documents.

Formal Specification and Verification of Mobile Agent Systems

Abstract: Mobile agent systems offer efficiency and flexibility as a design paradigm. These two characteristics allow to these systems to be an adequate solution for many problems. These systems are used in many critical domains. This expansion, in use, obliges designers to insure the reliability and correctness of such systems. Formal methods can be used to verify thecorrectness of these systems. This paper presents a formal specification and verification of mobile agent systems using the High Order π-calculus. The verification exploits the twotools UPPAAL and SPIN.

Use the Difficulty through Schwierigkeit: Antiusability as Value-driven Design

Abstract: In the style of a polemic discursive essay, Antiusability (also known as Schwierigkeit) is introduced as a radical design paradigm to reawaken dedicated awareness of the user-system interface through challenge. A philosophical work in flux, it is described as a kind of science (or logic) of difficulty with an underpinning that promotes the generic greater good in usability per se.

A Parallel Connection-Simulation Paradigm of Intelligent Robot - Based on Integrated Control of Language, Music and Motion Rhythm by Human Brain

Abstract: In light of the integrated control of language, music and motion rhythm by human brain, the paper proposes a preliminary scheme to overcome a long-standing obstacle in the design paradigm of contemporary intelligent robot, i.e., by employing a set of simulated rhythm sensing systems and without changing the hard drive capacity, it offers a solution to the contradiction between synchronization of perception, planning and execution and excessive calculation task, thus fulfilling the long dream of "bottleneck breaking through"

Methodical Approximate Hardware Design and Reuse

Abstract: Design and reuse of approximate hardware components— digital circuits that may produce inaccurate results—can potentially lead to significant performance and energy improvements. Many emerging error-resilient applications can exploit such designs provided approximation is applied in a controlled manner. This paper provides the design abstractions and semantics for methodical, modular, and controlled approximate hardware design and reuse. With these abstractions, critical parts of the circuit still carry the strict semantics of traditional hardware design, while flexibility is provided. We discuss these abstractions in the context of synthesizable register transfer level (RTL) design with Verilog. Our framework governs the application of approximation during the synthesis process without involving the designers in the details of approximate synthesis and optimization. Through high-level annotations, our design paradigm provides high-level control over where and to what degree approximation is applied. We believe that our work forms a foundation for practical approximate hardware design and reuse.

Designing a responsive material system with physical computing

Abstract: This paper focuses on an investigation to explore architectural design potentials with a responsive material system and physical computing. Contemporary architects and designers are seeking to integrate physical computing in responsive architectural designs; however, they have largely borrowed from engineering technology's mechanical devices and components. There is the opportunity to investigate an unexplored design approach to exploit the responsive capacity of material properties as alternatives to the current focus on mechanical components and discrete sensing devices. This opportunity creates a different design paradigm for responsive architecture that investigates the potential to integrate physical computing with responsive materials as one integrated material system. Instead of adopting highly intricate and expensive materials, this approach is explored through accessible and off-the-shelf materials to form a responsive material system, called Lumina. Lumina is implemented as an architectural installation called Cloud that serves as a morphing architectural skin. Cloud is a proof of concept to embody a responsive material system with physical computing to create a reciprocal and luminous architectural intervention for a selected dark corridor. It represents a different design paradigm for responsive architecture through alternative exploitation of contemporary materials and parametric design tools. © 2014, The Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA), Hong Kong.