1. The document discusses the history and challenges of using computation as a design methodology rather than just a tool. It describes early academic research projects at UEL that applied computational approaches like L-systems and neural networks to spatial design problems.
2. It notes that while computation is often seen just as a problem-solving tool in industry, the Aedas|R&D group worked to develop computational design methods and apply them to industrial projects. However, early attempts to directly transfer complex academic models failed because they did not integrate with design workflows.
3. The author argues that computation is not just about tools but simulating any condition through representation and organization of states. Lightweight simulations that visualize their "intentions
Innovating Humane Habitats in a Digital Era for a Sustainable Future.Digital Technology in Architectural Education and Profession .The significance of virtual Architecture is its emergence with the ability of computer-imaging technology to accurately simulate three-dimensional reality. The technique of simulating three-dimensional reality is known as virtual reality.
Parametric design:
Enables the exploration of alternative designs within a single representation using parameters and associative relationships to control geometric and constructive aspects of the design.
New developments in computational design as well as in digital fabrication are currently leading to a rethinking of architectural design, material science, engineering and fabrication.
FUTURISTIC TECHNOLOGY IN ARCHITECTURE & PLANNING - AUGMENTED AND VIRTUAL REAL...ijscai
Speed has become a way of life. We are asymptotically piling data. Speed can be achieved with new design
processes, techniques, and Technology. Innovations AR and VR are just some of the many forms of
technologies that will play a key role in shaping the Architecture and Planning of tomorrow, making it
future-ready and ushering in a new age of innovation. AR and VR in Architecture & Planning were
introduced as assisting tools and has helped generate multiple design options, expanded possibilities of
visualization, and provided us with more enhanced, detailed, and specific experience in real-time; enabling
us to see the resultsof work on hand well before the commencement of the project. These tools are further
developed for city development decisions, helping citizens interact with local authorities, access public
services, and plan their commute. After reviewing multiple research papers, it had been observed that each
one is moving forward with the changes brought by it, without entirely understanding its role. This paper
provides a summary of theappliance of AR & VR in architecture and planning.
Benefits of parametric design in architectureSameerShaik43
Parametric design in architecture is an incredible idea that involves a process of algorithmic thinking. This paradigm helps in unveiling the expressions of parameters while establishing the rules. It enables us to build a relationship between the intended design and its relative response.
https://www.tycoonstory.com/technology/benefits-of-parametric-design-in-architecture/
This research started out in 2011 when the total supply of office space in the Netherlands was 48.2 million m² lettable floor area (LFA). Of these offices, 6.8 million m² LFA was left vacant in Q4 2011, meaning there was 14.1% office vacancy.
Office vacancy occurs due to a mismatch in demand and supply, both quantitative (the market) as qualitative (building and location characteristics). The economic crisis led to a decrease of office jobs, leading to a declined demand for office space. Simultaneously, ‘the new way of working’ ensures that companies can cope with less office space than before. The ageing population in the Netherlands causes the working population to decrease, also bringing down the demand.
Currently there are still new buildings being developed. These buildings usually meet the qualitative demands of office user organizations, causing the lower end of the office market to become vacant. Although there are experts who believe the market will improve, others are more sceptical. They state that there is a structural surplus in the office market, and that vacancy will persist in the lower end of the office market. There are several possibilities of how to cope with vacancy, one of which is conversion. However, actions usually take place on building level and not on urban level. There are many cases where actions on building level aren’t sufficient but action needs to be taken on urban scale. Knowledge on the impact of the area on office vacancy should be further developed, as should the urban strategies of regenerating an office area. To deal with office vacancy is an assignment with urban dimensions.
Aim
The aim of this research is twofold. The aim is (1) to find common location characteristics increasing the risk of the occurrence of structural office vacancy, and (2) to design an urban strategy for an office district with high office vacancy in Utrecht. This graduation project has focussed on the following three aspects in particular; (1) validating previous research results in a different context, (2) specifying these results with different research methods and (3) developing a regeneration strategy on urban area level for an office district.
The structure of the research is to first identify which location characteristics are increasing risk on structural office vacancy in office districts. With that knowledge, the next question is how to eliminate these found factors and define an urban strategy to revitalize an area with high vacancy rates. This results in the following main research question: “Which and to what extent do location characteristics increase the risk of the occurrence of structural office vacancy in Utrecht, and what kind of urban strategies are needed to regenerate the Merwede quarter, an area with high structural office vacancy?”
This paper examines the concept of Augmented reality and its various applications in civil engineering. The concept envisages reducing, or rather eliminating errors that creep in during construction process due to human and other technical errors. The concept of AR helps in recreating the architectural and structural drawings in actual scale on the field. This uses the techniques of holographic projections and other mobile applications to create a 3D image of the drawing. The Concept is to create an image of the structure as envisaged on the basis of calculations and compare it in real time with the actual construction, which can help in identifying errors quickly and efficiently.
Innovating Humane Habitats in a Digital Era for a Sustainable Future.Digital Technology in Architectural Education and Profession .The significance of virtual Architecture is its emergence with the ability of computer-imaging technology to accurately simulate three-dimensional reality. The technique of simulating three-dimensional reality is known as virtual reality.
Parametric design:
Enables the exploration of alternative designs within a single representation using parameters and associative relationships to control geometric and constructive aspects of the design.
New developments in computational design as well as in digital fabrication are currently leading to a rethinking of architectural design, material science, engineering and fabrication.
FUTURISTIC TECHNOLOGY IN ARCHITECTURE & PLANNING - AUGMENTED AND VIRTUAL REAL...ijscai
Speed has become a way of life. We are asymptotically piling data. Speed can be achieved with new design
processes, techniques, and Technology. Innovations AR and VR are just some of the many forms of
technologies that will play a key role in shaping the Architecture and Planning of tomorrow, making it
future-ready and ushering in a new age of innovation. AR and VR in Architecture & Planning were
introduced as assisting tools and has helped generate multiple design options, expanded possibilities of
visualization, and provided us with more enhanced, detailed, and specific experience in real-time; enabling
us to see the resultsof work on hand well before the commencement of the project. These tools are further
developed for city development decisions, helping citizens interact with local authorities, access public
services, and plan their commute. After reviewing multiple research papers, it had been observed that each
one is moving forward with the changes brought by it, without entirely understanding its role. This paper
provides a summary of theappliance of AR & VR in architecture and planning.
Benefits of parametric design in architectureSameerShaik43
Parametric design in architecture is an incredible idea that involves a process of algorithmic thinking. This paradigm helps in unveiling the expressions of parameters while establishing the rules. It enables us to build a relationship between the intended design and its relative response.
https://www.tycoonstory.com/technology/benefits-of-parametric-design-in-architecture/
This research started out in 2011 when the total supply of office space in the Netherlands was 48.2 million m² lettable floor area (LFA). Of these offices, 6.8 million m² LFA was left vacant in Q4 2011, meaning there was 14.1% office vacancy.
Office vacancy occurs due to a mismatch in demand and supply, both quantitative (the market) as qualitative (building and location characteristics). The economic crisis led to a decrease of office jobs, leading to a declined demand for office space. Simultaneously, ‘the new way of working’ ensures that companies can cope with less office space than before. The ageing population in the Netherlands causes the working population to decrease, also bringing down the demand.
Currently there are still new buildings being developed. These buildings usually meet the qualitative demands of office user organizations, causing the lower end of the office market to become vacant. Although there are experts who believe the market will improve, others are more sceptical. They state that there is a structural surplus in the office market, and that vacancy will persist in the lower end of the office market. There are several possibilities of how to cope with vacancy, one of which is conversion. However, actions usually take place on building level and not on urban level. There are many cases where actions on building level aren’t sufficient but action needs to be taken on urban scale. Knowledge on the impact of the area on office vacancy should be further developed, as should the urban strategies of regenerating an office area. To deal with office vacancy is an assignment with urban dimensions.
Aim
The aim of this research is twofold. The aim is (1) to find common location characteristics increasing the risk of the occurrence of structural office vacancy, and (2) to design an urban strategy for an office district with high office vacancy in Utrecht. This graduation project has focussed on the following three aspects in particular; (1) validating previous research results in a different context, (2) specifying these results with different research methods and (3) developing a regeneration strategy on urban area level for an office district.
The structure of the research is to first identify which location characteristics are increasing risk on structural office vacancy in office districts. With that knowledge, the next question is how to eliminate these found factors and define an urban strategy to revitalize an area with high vacancy rates. This results in the following main research question: “Which and to what extent do location characteristics increase the risk of the occurrence of structural office vacancy in Utrecht, and what kind of urban strategies are needed to regenerate the Merwede quarter, an area with high structural office vacancy?”
This paper examines the concept of Augmented reality and its various applications in civil engineering. The concept envisages reducing, or rather eliminating errors that creep in during construction process due to human and other technical errors. The concept of AR helps in recreating the architectural and structural drawings in actual scale on the field. This uses the techniques of holographic projections and other mobile applications to create a 3D image of the drawing. The Concept is to create an image of the structure as envisaged on the basis of calculations and compare it in real time with the actual construction, which can help in identifying errors quickly and efficiently.
Implementation of a Simulation Model Using the Systems Dynamics: Case Study f...IJERA Editor
With computer technology reaching the construction industry, much has changed in the way that these are
idealized and designed. Currently, with the increasing availability of tools for the development of the models and
parametric models intended for digital manufacturing, the insertion of these characteristics as design tool allows
the designer to test solutions on various factors that permeate the design process, especially as regards the
constructive points. The experience of the parameterisation dynamics and the dynamics of digital manufacturing
from the design of the project allows the development of complex geometries, since the control their properties
the analyses of structural variables of environmental comfort and aesthetics. The growth of the complexity of the
projects and the capacity of computing resources, has arisen the need to use a more systemic approach, as well as
have emerged the simulation programs based on dynamic systems, a digital simulation methodology in order to
understand complex forms, which is part of the concept of systemic thought for the resolution of problems. The
objective is in this Article is to identify and analyse the aspects of potential simulation based on dynamic
systems and demonstrate a practical case drawn up in Dynamo software.
Envision of an Integrated Information System for Projectdriven Production in ...Ricardo Magno Antunes
Construction frequently appears at the bottom of productivity charts with decreasing indexes of productivity over the years. Lack of innovation and delayed adoption, informal processes or insufficient rigor and consistency in process execution, insufficient knowledge transfer from project to project, weak project monitoring, little crossfunctional cooperation, little collaboration with suppliers, conservative company culture, and a shortage of young talent and people development are usual issues. Whereas work has been carried out on information technology and automation in construction their application is isolated without an interconnected information flow. This paper suggests a framework to address production issues on construction by implementing an integrated automatic supervisory control and data acquisition for management and operations. The system is divided into planning, monitoring, controlling, and executing groups clustering technologies to track both the project product and production. This research stands on the four pillars of manufacturing knowledge and lean production (production processes, production management, equipment/tool design, and automated systems and control). The framework offers benefits such as increased information flow, detection and prevention of overburdening equipment or labor (Muri - 無 理 ) and production unevenness (Mura - 斑), reduction of waste (Muda - 無駄), evidential and continuous process standardization and improvement, reuse and abstraction of project information across endeavors
Knowledge management in software architectureJon Cohn
Architectural knowledge has played a role in discussions on design, reuse, and evolution for over a decade. Over the past few years, the term has significantly increased in popularity and attempts are being made to properly define what constitutes ‘architectural knowledge’.
Presentation slides for the GH User Meetup on 18th of April 2016. Main takeaway: Parametric models can go beyond aesthetic and technical exploration: they can embody a narrative and subsequently be the base of collaborative decision making.
Cognification is the application of knowledge to boost the performance and impact of a process. We believe cognification could be a revolution in the way software is built.
The Changing Role of Software Architecting in the Digital Age Uwe Zdun
The Internet scale of systems, the increasing rate of technology evolution,
and the broad adoption of lean and agile practices have triggered a profound
change in not only application and infrastructure architectures but also the
software architect's roles and responsibilities. This talk reviews the field's
state of the art and identifies key aspects with regard to the changing role
of software architectecting in the digital age. Both the role of the architect
and the architecture evolve, as well as the notion of architectural decision making.
We will discuss the implications for the interplay of architecting processes
and the artifacts created during and related to architecting.
An introduction to the 3D digital city model data management solution CityGRID. From Met GeoInfo, this true 3D RDBMS software provides tools for creation, management and visualisation of 3D city models.
Agile and Modeling / MDE : friends or foes? (Agile Tour Nantes 2010)Jordi Cabot
n the talk I explore the relationships between software modeling and agile practices. For many agilists, the perception is that modeling is a useless activity that should not be part of the core agile practices. But, Is this really the case? Can agile benefit from modeling? Can modeling benefit from agile? Can modeling help companies understand the human and social aspects of agile methods and improve their chances of success when adopting them?
Implementation of a Simulation Model Using the Systems Dynamics: Case Study f...IJERA Editor
With computer technology reaching the construction industry, much has changed in the way that these are
idealized and designed. Currently, with the increasing availability of tools for the development of the models and
parametric models intended for digital manufacturing, the insertion of these characteristics as design tool allows
the designer to test solutions on various factors that permeate the design process, especially as regards the
constructive points. The experience of the parameterisation dynamics and the dynamics of digital manufacturing
from the design of the project allows the development of complex geometries, since the control their properties
the analyses of structural variables of environmental comfort and aesthetics. The growth of the complexity of the
projects and the capacity of computing resources, has arisen the need to use a more systemic approach, as well as
have emerged the simulation programs based on dynamic systems, a digital simulation methodology in order to
understand complex forms, which is part of the concept of systemic thought for the resolution of problems. The
objective is in this Article is to identify and analyse the aspects of potential simulation based on dynamic
systems and demonstrate a practical case drawn up in Dynamo software.
Envision of an Integrated Information System for Projectdriven Production in ...Ricardo Magno Antunes
Construction frequently appears at the bottom of productivity charts with decreasing indexes of productivity over the years. Lack of innovation and delayed adoption, informal processes or insufficient rigor and consistency in process execution, insufficient knowledge transfer from project to project, weak project monitoring, little crossfunctional cooperation, little collaboration with suppliers, conservative company culture, and a shortage of young talent and people development are usual issues. Whereas work has been carried out on information technology and automation in construction their application is isolated without an interconnected information flow. This paper suggests a framework to address production issues on construction by implementing an integrated automatic supervisory control and data acquisition for management and operations. The system is divided into planning, monitoring, controlling, and executing groups clustering technologies to track both the project product and production. This research stands on the four pillars of manufacturing knowledge and lean production (production processes, production management, equipment/tool design, and automated systems and control). The framework offers benefits such as increased information flow, detection and prevention of overburdening equipment or labor (Muri - 無 理 ) and production unevenness (Mura - 斑), reduction of waste (Muda - 無駄), evidential and continuous process standardization and improvement, reuse and abstraction of project information across endeavors
Knowledge management in software architectureJon Cohn
Architectural knowledge has played a role in discussions on design, reuse, and evolution for over a decade. Over the past few years, the term has significantly increased in popularity and attempts are being made to properly define what constitutes ‘architectural knowledge’.
Presentation slides for the GH User Meetup on 18th of April 2016. Main takeaway: Parametric models can go beyond aesthetic and technical exploration: they can embody a narrative and subsequently be the base of collaborative decision making.
Cognification is the application of knowledge to boost the performance and impact of a process. We believe cognification could be a revolution in the way software is built.
The Changing Role of Software Architecting in the Digital Age Uwe Zdun
The Internet scale of systems, the increasing rate of technology evolution,
and the broad adoption of lean and agile practices have triggered a profound
change in not only application and infrastructure architectures but also the
software architect's roles and responsibilities. This talk reviews the field's
state of the art and identifies key aspects with regard to the changing role
of software architectecting in the digital age. Both the role of the architect
and the architecture evolve, as well as the notion of architectural decision making.
We will discuss the implications for the interplay of architecting processes
and the artifacts created during and related to architecting.
An introduction to the 3D digital city model data management solution CityGRID. From Met GeoInfo, this true 3D RDBMS software provides tools for creation, management and visualisation of 3D city models.
Agile and Modeling / MDE : friends or foes? (Agile Tour Nantes 2010)Jordi Cabot
n the talk I explore the relationships between software modeling and agile practices. For many agilists, the perception is that modeling is a useless activity that should not be part of the core agile practices. But, Is this really the case? Can agile benefit from modeling? Can modeling benefit from agile? Can modeling help companies understand the human and social aspects of agile methods and improve their chances of success when adopting them?
FUTURISTIC TECHNOLOGY IN ARCHITECTURE & PLANNING - AUGMENTED AND VIRTUAL REAL...ijscai
Speed has become a way of life. We are asymptotically piling data. Speed can be achieved with new design
processes, techniques, and Technology. Innovations AR and VR are just some of the many forms of
technologies that will play a key role in shaping the Architecture and Planning of tomorrow, making it
future-ready and ushering in a new age of innovation. AR and VR in Architecture & Planning were
introduced as assisting tools and has helped generate multiple design options, expanded possibilities of
visualization, and provided us with more enhanced, detailed, and specific experience in real-time; enabling
us to see the resultsof work on hand well before the commencement of the project. These tools are further
developed for city development decisions, helping citizens interact with local authorities, access public
services, and plan their commute. After reviewing multiple research papers, it had been observed that each
one is moving forward with the changes brought by it, without entirely understanding its role. This paper
provides a summary of theappliance of AR & VR in architecture and planning.
FUTURISTIC TECHNOLOGY IN ARCHITECTURE & PLANNING - AUGMENTED AND VIRTUAL REAL...ijscai
Speed has become a way of life. We are asymptotically piling data. Speed can be achieved with new design
processes, techniques, and Technology. Innovations AR and VR are just some of the many forms of
technologies that will play a key role in shaping the Architecture and Planning of tomorrow, making it
future-ready and ushering in a new age of innovation. AR and VR in Architecture & Planning were
introduced as assisting tools and has helped generate multiple design options, expanded possibilities of
visualization, and provided us with more enhanced, detailed, and specific experience in real-time; enabling
us to see the resultsof work on hand well before the commencement of the project. These tools are further
developed for city development decisions, helping citizens interact with local authorities, access public
services, and plan their commute. After reviewing multiple research papers, it had been observed that each
one is moving forward with the changes brought by it, without entirely understanding its role. This paper
provides a summary of theappliance of AR & VR in architecture and planning.
DEVELOPING A CONVERGENCE METHODOLOGY BETWEEN ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY AND FASHI...ijejournal
This study proposed a convergence design process comprising the creativity of fashion design and the technology of engineering for fashion design education. It incorporated the concept of the convergence tendency in modern industry. The primary study combined an engineering design process that promoted engineering thinking and a fashion design process that promoted creative thinking to create a practice model that was developed and tested in a 10-week workshop. The result showed the need for refining the practice model to encourage in-depth cooperation. Therefore, a second practice model composed of an interaction design process and a fashion design method was investigated to promote students’ interconnected thinking and force iterative processing. To verify the usability of the refined practice model, a second workshop using the latest model was conducted over 15 weeks. A tendency for convergence, where knowledge and techniques were shared among designers and engineers to address problems, was observed. The functionality of the four prototypes that were developed based on the idea of setting and solving a design issue was also embodied. It is expected that the processes and results can be utilized as a basis for the development of design methodologies and education programs in various design areas, including fashion, in this era of converged industries.
User Centered Design Patterns and Related Issues – A ReviewWaqas Tariq
A design pattern describes possible good solutions to common problems within certain context. This is done by describing the invariant qualities of all those solutions where good patterns improve with time and widespread use. In this research paper some existing user centered design patterns and their issues are discussed. We have studied many user centered design patterns; however most of them do not provide diagrammatic solutions which can be implementable. It is observed that there is a need of a design pattern which can address issues specifically related to Open Source Software (OSS) users.
Design After the Rise of AI-Driven ServicesJoana Cerejo
Technology is playing a significant role in shaping the future of design. We are moving fast into a digital era where Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Big Data, the Internet of Things, Blockchain, Spatial Computing, and several other technologies are becoming part of the designers’ lexicon. The designers’ roles are evolving, and the touchpoints they need to consider are growing in complexity. Integrating AI developments with User-centered Design and User Experience Design is becoming a challenging task.
You could be a professional graphic designer and still make mistakes. There is always the possibility of human error. On the other hand if you’re not a designer, the chances of making some common graphic design mistakes are even higher. Because you don’t know what you don’t know. That’s where this blog comes in. To make your job easier and help you create better designs, we have put together a list of common graphic design mistakes that you need to avoid.
Expert Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Drafting ServicesResDraft
Whether you’re looking to create a guest house, a rental unit, or a private retreat, our experienced team will design a space that complements your existing home and maximizes your investment. We provide personalized, comprehensive expert accessory dwelling unit (ADU)drafting solutions tailored to your needs, ensuring a seamless process from concept to completion.
Dive into the innovative world of smart garages with our insightful presentation, "Exploring the Future of Smart Garages." This comprehensive guide covers the latest advancements in garage technology, including automated systems, smart security features, energy efficiency solutions, and seamless integration with smart home ecosystems. Learn how these technologies are transforming traditional garages into high-tech, efficient spaces that enhance convenience, safety, and sustainability.
Ideal for homeowners, tech enthusiasts, and industry professionals, this presentation provides valuable insights into the trends, benefits, and future developments in smart garage technology. Stay ahead of the curve with our expert analysis and practical tips on implementing smart garage solutions.
7 Alternatives to Bullet Points in PowerPointAlvis Oh
So you tried all the ways to beautify your bullet points on your pitch deck but it just got way uglier. These points are supposed to be memorable and leave a lasting impression on your audience. With these tips, you'll no longer have to spend so much time thinking how you should present your pointers.
Transforming Brand Perception and Boosting Profitabilityaaryangarg12
In today's digital era, the dynamics of brand perception, consumer behavior, and profitability have been profoundly reshaped by the synergy of branding, social media, and website design. This research paper investigates the transformative power of these elements in influencing how individuals perceive brands and products and how this transformation can be harnessed to drive sales and profitability for businesses.
Through an exploration of brand psychology and consumer behavior, this study sheds light on the intricate ways in which effective branding strategies, strategic social media engagement, and user-centric website design contribute to altering consumers' perceptions. We delve into the principles that underlie successful brand transformations, examining how visual identity, messaging, and storytelling can captivate and resonate with target audiences.
Methodologically, this research employs a comprehensive approach, combining qualitative and quantitative analyses. Real-world case studies illustrate the impact of branding, social media campaigns, and website redesigns on consumer perception, sales figures, and profitability. We assess the various metrics, including brand awareness, customer engagement, conversion rates, and revenue growth, to measure the effectiveness of these strategies.
The results underscore the pivotal role of cohesive branding, social media influence, and website usability in shaping positive brand perceptions, influencing consumer decisions, and ultimately bolstering sales and profitability. This paper provides actionable insights and strategic recommendations for businesses seeking to leverage branding, social media, and website design as potent tools to enhance their market position and financial success.
Book Formatting: Quality Control Checks for DesignersConfidence Ago
This presentation was made to help designers who work in publishing houses or format books for printing ensure quality.
Quality control is vital to every industry. This is why every department in a company need create a method they use in ensuring quality. This, perhaps, will not only improve the quality of products and bring errors to the barest minimum, but take it to a near perfect finish.
It is beyond a moot point that a good book will somewhat be judged by its cover, but the content of the book remains king. No matter how beautiful the cover, if the quality of writing or presentation is off, that will be a reason for readers not to come back to the book or recommend it.
So, this presentation points designers to some important things that may be missed by an editor that they could eventually discover and call the attention of the editor.
Can AI do good? at 'offtheCanvas' India HCI preludeAlan Dix
Invited talk at 'offtheCanvas' IndiaHCI prelude, 29th June 2024.
https://www.alandix.com/academic/talks/offtheCanvas-IndiaHCI2024/
The world is being changed fundamentally by AI and we are constantly faced with newspaper headlines about its harmful effects. However, there is also the potential to both ameliorate theses harms and use the new abilities of AI to transform society for the good. Can you make the difference?
Can AI do good? at 'offtheCanvas' India HCI prelude
Derix 2010: mediating spatial phenomena through computational heuristics
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Christian Derix
Aedas|R&D
United Kingdom
| 412
:author
:organization
:country
Mediating Spatial Phenomena
through Computational Heuristics
1 From Theory and Practice
A decade ago, a group of people was researching and studying at the University of East London for their
MSc Computing & Design that focused on the production of spatial organization and perception through
the medium of computation. Computing was regarded as an instrument for perceiving, representing,
and generating spatial phenomena, and thus challenged traditional production of architecture. Projects
were linked to design briefs because the master’s program was coupled with a diploma design studio.
Projects were to balance computing with design requirements as the Royal Institute of British Architects
(RIBA) were examining students as well as a representative of the academic field of design computation
(then John Frazer). A series of computational approaches were investigated for spatial properties of
architectural design for the first time such as L-systems and genetic programming (Coates et al., 1999),
swarms (Miranda, 2000) or neural networks (Derix et al., 2001). Theories were applied to explain the use
of computation within a scientific context with logical consequence on spatial and social phenomena
such as Maturana’s autopoiesis, Luhmann’s theory of social systems, or van Foerster’s second order
cybernetics. The reading of spatial theories was encouraged to inform the design of algorithms like
Perec, Hillier, Arnheim, or Norberg-Schulz. The course became a template for many university programs
such as UCL’s MSc Virtual Environment or the AA’s DRL. The projects were largely seen as academic
research with little relevance to the industry.
1.1 Tools vs Paradigms
From 2004, some members from UEL’s Computing & Design program formed the Aedas|R&D
Computational Design and Research group (CDR) to apply these academic approaches to industrial
briefs and open up the industry itself (‘educating the client’) to the potentials of generating spatial
organizations through computing.(1) The notion of space as a component of architecture was hardly
relevant as a driver for design over the last 15 years in the global industry. Especially, computation
is seen as a ‘problem-solving’ tool to support structural, geometric, climatic, or statistical aspects
of traditional workstages, not questioning the stages through the new medium per se. Architects use
computing as a way to erase differences with engineers, not to enhance their own knowledge of the
key aspects of architecture: occupation and space.
This is not surprising as academia deals with computation in an either completely mystified or demystified way, reinforcing the existing roles within design disciplines. The former sells computation as
artistic expressions of the new paradigm of complexity but offering only geometry via existing software
(for example ‘morphogenesis’ by Generative Components or Grasshopper) and pseudo-philosophy. The
latter develops serious scientific simulations for discrete aspects of design through research funding
that often produce opaque mathematical models, inadequate for design practice. The former being
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regarded by industry as a marketing tool, the latter as interesting research,
supporting distinct design stages – none as an applicable design methodology
or paradigm.
2 Losing the Jargon
First attempts to implement academic holistic models representing appropriate
simulations of cybernetic systems failed as they did not synchronize with existing
design workflows and shut out other designers and stakeholders. Such allinclusive models are still currency and in fact, it seems the trend is increasing
to build simulations that integrate as many scales, parameters and stakeholder
participations as possible. This Feature Creep is driven by industry-philosophy
such as ‘life cycle design’ or ‘building information models’ and tends to look at
a project from an observer point of view rather than the designer’s (top-down
rather than bottom-up).
As a reaction to this separation into simulation and (not with) design,
developments became increasingly bespoke to design stages, acting as
automation of design mechanism. This initially allowed for active participation
and synchronization in design stages but also submitted computation to the role
of tools, not methodology (Miranda and Derix, 2009). Consequently, the language
of communication about computational developments changed to professional
terms, losing the theoretic terminology applied in academia. This was reflected in
the teaching at the master’s at UEL where theory became subordinate to crafting:
learning to read and write code and techniques before learning to philosophize. The
change of curriculum at UEL bore immediate fruits as students had un-mitigated
access to theories of computation by understanding how to craft notions of
complexity themselves from scratch before mapping them into abstract paradigms.
3 Emerging Performances
The distinction into tools and methodology appears important to convey the
problem of function that is usually attributed to tools. Tools could be perceived as
automation of mechanism with fixed functions. While tools could be used for other
purposes, they have been designed with a specific purpose in mind. Computation
on the other hand doesn’t serve a specific function but as a universal machine
could simulate any mental tool if its function is abstracted adequately through a
computable representation. Computation is about the design of representations
and their dynamic organization. It doesn’t have properties that extend anything
else other than itself (binary representation and states). As such, a designer
could simulate any condition via computation if he knows how to create adequate
representations and organize their states, including spatial phenomena.
Initially, this might sound plausible and many seminal works about the nature
of artificial design (Simon, 1969) and the complexity of design representation
exist (Rittel & Webber, 1973). But attempts of knowledge transfer from sophisticated
academic research into design computation (as opposed to technology!) to the
design industry have so far left few traces. Software used in the architectural and
urban design industries are based on automation and technological support,
not design methodology. Further, that type of software is often not developed by
academics but by practitioners themselves.
Mediating Spatial Phenomena | panel
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| 412
Two areas traditionally identified by academia for design computation are layout automation and urban
simulation, as it appears to represent the ‘right problem to solve’ by computation, i.e. a combinatorial set of
statistical quantities and some abstractable geometry. But as Liggett concludes in his survey about layout
automation, no development has been successfully integrated by architectural practice (Liggett, 2000). That
still holds true no matter if the publication is already 10 years old. Equally, urban simulations have found
their application so far only at planning levels for land-use evaluation, demographics or transport, not at
urban morphology levels where designers search spatial solutions.
This appears to stem from two conditions: a lack of understanding ontological representations
made by designers and a technological ambition to create holistic simulations. The objects to be
represented in all layout simulations described by Liggett - for example HeGeL, LOOS or Wright - are
driven by computational techniques of close-packing and providing full convergence of solutions before
allowing the user to inspect the results. Although HeGeL already employs heuristics as evaluation
criteria, it still overlooks the nature of layout generation as a multi-stage and dynamic heuristics
process, meaning that no single system, no matter how complex, can satisfy the design search space
for layouts. Layout design happens through many representations for topologies, approximations of
shapes for rooms, grouping of activities, organizational hierarchies, operational arrangements, design
intentions and intuitive adaptation for under-constrained components like circulation through nongeneric heuristics. Even social dynamics for communication, micro-climate, and cognitive qualities
are starting to inform the constraint space. Technological ambition sidelines the designer into a seedwatch-evaluate role who feels his intentions and heuristics are not participating in the search. This
is particularly dangerous for urban design where current urban simulation developments bundle so
many scales and performances based on the ambition to create city information models (CIM) on the
template of building information models (BIM) that complete black-boxes result where the designer
adapts to the software, not the other way around.
Wicked problems (Rittel & Webber, 1973) like layout or urban design require the experience of designers
to negotiate the many explicit and implicit aspects that can be represented through computation.
Particularly, when design aspects are not discursive and the amount of data is large, the key organizing
principle of designers and design teams are their learned heuristics, not performance indicators and
data sets. While computation shouldn’t imitate analogue heuristics, it can express its own search
mechanism via visualization of processing steps. If a designer can interfere with computational
heuristics and observe the search struggle, the opportunity for identification between designers’
analogue and computational heuristics are given. This type of empathetic coupling (or ‘structural
coupling’ as Maturana calls it in his autopoietic theory) enables the validation for wicked problems
when no explicit goals are set. It constructs narratives communicated between designers that eventually
produce generalized abstract approaches to design tasks. For computational designers, such abstract
search mechanisms are meta-heuristics. Meta-heuristics can not be applied immediately but need to
be adapted through implementation into design contexts. In other words, meta-heuristic algorithms
are not to be taken literally and have no inherent automatic aesthetic but produce meaning when
situated.(2) Layout or urban design is composed of many design scales and aspects that designers have
developed many heuristics for. Each aspect is complex in itself and thus a multitude of computational
simulations need to be negotiated by a designer and evaluation spread across a series of applications.
One of the key problems with layout design represents the non-quantitative nature of circulation.
Designers don’t necessarily want close-packed topological diagrams as they know that the layout will
change many times over and no specific cost-function or geometry can be given to circulation.(3) Few explicit
performance criteria exist for circulation other than the regulatory maxima for area and fire routes, while
inherent performances to do with spatial, social, and cognitive properties rest within the forming intentions
of the designer. Circulation emerges from a series of negotiated implicit and explicit design searches.
Where lightweight computational simulations exist that can be assembled into integrated hybrid workflows,
design intentions for implicit architectural properties can gradually emerge through the empathetic
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Figure 1. Four of the layout
applications developed
by CDR. From left: bubble
diagrams with graph
grammars, semi-automatic
agent & graph-based
hybrid, attract-repel
based volumetric and
evolutionary 3D packing.
coupling of heuristics. The lightweight applications must be limited in functionality
(parsimonious) and visualize in real-time the ‘intentions’ of the simulation as
it searches, to render its heuristics transparent. Like many analogue precedents,
models need to be interactive and responsive during run-time. Frei Otto’s models
as well as interactive workshops in urban design (‘charrettes’) show how to learn
from autonomous processes: the models represent independent organizations and
can not be linearly affected but only ‘nudged’. It’s a kind of dynamic ‘stygmergic’ (4)
system where designers’ interferences are absorbed visually, allowing all participating
stakeholders to understand the organizing principles of the autonomous system.
Knowledge can be extracted via the interaction between designer and model, or
the model and its context. Models generate diagrammatic ‘states’ as outputs, not
optimized results.
As the organizing logic is of simulations distributed across the constituent
parts that produce consensual states as outputs, it becomes difficult to attach the
often desired explicit ‘performances criteria’. While some basic measures can be
extracted, many desirable states must emerge as a validation of the assumptions
that a computational representation and its processes is built around. For most
architectural design aspects, many desired performances must emerge, not be
hard-coded as sum measures of some parts.
A common reaction to the above arguments is that this is ‘old hat’ by now.
But one can hardly see this approach practiced as it requires constant learning
of dedicated teams that can construct frameworks of computational heuristics
within live design contexts (hence industry has an edge over academia in this
field of research). Only when these new design heuristics based on computation
have been learned and generalized into frameworks through many repetitions
and on complex building types (another issue with computational design
education are overly simple building types) can new workflows emerge that noncomputational designers trust and couple with.
4 Hybrid Paradigm: Value of Spatial Phenomena
Clearly, technology advances play a crucial role in the realization of such
computational approaches. Real-time processing, run-time interaction, and
accessible APIs and SDKs, as well as publicly available GPL libraries support this
computational design development. But it remains in the hands of experienced
designers to responsibly use this technological power and resist the common
temptation to increase the complexity of models.
After the experience with academic and bespoke parametric models, the CDR
used two projects in 2007 – the Ground Zero Memorial Museum and Smart
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| 412
Figure 2. Four spatial analysis
applications from the Ground
Zero Memorial Museum project.
From left: dynamic path
based view-sheds, sections
from Visual Graph Analysis,
polyhedral isovist geometry
and visual integration with
gravitational mapping.
Solutions for Spatial Planning – to start building an open framework for heuristic design simulations in
Java and OpenGL. The projects aimed at the development of an assembly of applets that would investigate
the design and representation of various spatial phenomena for architectural and urban design and the
alignment with designers’ heuristics. It allowed for example the long overdue extension of Space Syntax’s
2-dimensional analytical methods into interactive real-time and dynamic – i.e. time-based - spatial
simulations that architects and planners can choose to simply analyze designs with or create generative
design procedures from. Currently, the framework consists of a long list of algorithms, meta-heuristics, and
data structures that allow the group to design intuitively through computation and create new heuristics.
Having arrived at a minimal maturity and being able to demonstrate to clients this new design paradigm
of artificial heuristics through computation, a careful return to the initial debate about the representation
and generation of spatial phenomena might be possible. Particularly, the debate about the ‘value of design’
being led in the industry presently allows an entry for computational approximation of spatial phenomena.
In a negative economic climate, companies struggle to create a competitive edge through ‘unique selling
propositions’ (USP) paired with a wariness of complicated building structures as the only visible outcome
from computation so far. A shift to hitherto implicit design values is demanded that are located within
social, cultural, environmental, behavioral and cognitive conditions.
Dusting off the old arguments with new methodological insights appears to gain momentum. Theories
and observations of spatial organization and perception from George Perec (Perec, 1974) to Rudolf Arnheim
(Arnheim, 1977) can support the design of computational heuristics and their emerging evaluation criteria.
It requires also the inclusion of previously ignored design partners like cost-consultants or developer
agents who can provide insights into tacit evaluation mechanisms and who must adjust their models to
more contextual conditions. The value of objects (solids) in a design is ever more moving towards the
original notion of ecology (Maruyama, 1963) that can now be simulated in design searches via computation
as the behavior – organizationally not statistically – of the system can be visualized and interacted with.
Visualized relationships and organizational dynamics that objects (dynamically) belong to determine
their value as much as performance values and material cost. Spatial value can be approximated
in relation to non-discursive dynamics like occupational potential and cognitive performance. These
relations can partially be made explicit through design intentions that emerge through the coupling of
designers’ and computational heuristics. Circulation can be understood to have more value than just
egress times, flow capacities and area. It emerges from the mediation of multiple simulated conditions.
Naturally, it is very difficult to avoid tautologies in the set up of the models and instill truly emergent
properties. Many researchers have attempted to create ‘objective’ representations like the members of
the Cambridge school - Haggert & Chorley, March & Steadman, etc. (Keller, 2006) - and some artists have
shown how slippery the slope can be for assumed values of spatial properties - Bense (Bense, 1960) or
Klein (Noever, 2004). Now, with recent developments, architects are finally in the position to allow for better
arguments to use computation that sits as a spatial design paradigm between the scientific(5), problemsolving and the purely artistic. ‘Good design skills’ are not dependent on computing knowledge. But they
facilitate deeper understanding of spatial conditions and how to form new design search strategies. The
negotiating of artificial and analogue heuristics enables designers to find new expressions for sensitive
spatial designs that will probably embody very simple geometries but subtle perceptive intricacies.
“Space between things turns out not to look simply empty” (Arnheim, 1977)
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References
Alexander, C. (1967). Notes on the synthesis of form. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
Arnheim, R. (1977). Dynamics of architectural form. Berkley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Bense, M. (1969). Programmierung des Schoenen. Aesthetica IV. Baden Baden: Agis Verlag.
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York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Coates, P., Jackson, H., & Broughton, T. (1999). Exploring three-dimensional design worlds using Lindenmeyer
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Morgan Kaufmann.
Derix, C., Coates, P., Simon, C., & Appels, T. (2001). Dust, plates and blobs. In Proceedings of Generative Arts
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Maturana, H. & Varela, F. (1987). The tree of knowledge. Munich: Goldmann.
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Endnotes
(1) The Computational Design and Research group consists of Pablo Miranda, Åsmund Gamlesæter, Lucy
Helme and Christian Derix.
(2) There is a mis-perception that algorithms, especially heuristic algorithms like evolutionary algorithms,
should produce complex-looking or organic outputs. After a lecture at the Hyperbody at TU Delft, a student
asked the question: “Why don’t your designs look more funky when you are using so much computation?”
(3) And they feel that their experience – heuristics and intentions – is overridden if they cannot identify with
the visualized process and result. A demonstration of Eleczkurtaj’s excellent layout simulation (Elezkurtaj
and Frank, 2002) at Aedas architects in 2005 resulted in a categorical rejection as architects voiced the here
mentioned reasons. The CDR has as a consequence built series of simulations dealing with distinct aspects of
layout generation that the architects can assemble themselves according to brief and intentions.
(4) Stigmergy represents a kind of indirect communication system via an external environment
(Bonabeau et al, 1999)
(5) Christopher Alexander’s skepticism is representative that informed Notes on the Synthesis of Form where
he states: “Though design is by nature imaginative and intuitive, and we could easily trust it if the designers’
intuition were reliable, as it is it inspires very little confidence.” (Alexander, 1967).
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