Computer-aided Architectural Design Systems Research Articles

A Study on the Distributed Collaborative Architectural Design System

The computing resources of an organization or project team were often spread across many different platforms and in different locations. Recently, there has been a growing interest in distributed CAAD (Computer-Aided Architectural Design) integration due to the needs of direct collaboration among project participants. The potential for the integration of information is expected to have a tremendous impact on architecture and the construction industry. The aim of this research is to provide a new paradigm for a CAAD system by combining research on integrated CAAD applications with recent collaboration technologies. To accomplish this research objective, the proposed system has been designed and a prototype implemented to produce enough guidelines to foster interest in the development of future CAAD systems on the Internet. To this end, two different scopes of implementation are evaluated: first, global architecture and the functionality of a distributed CAAD system; and, second, the association of an architectural application to the system.

Location Modeling for Ubiquitous Computing Based on the Spatial Information Management Technology

Location modeling, a basis of location-aware applications, is a critical area of research in ubiquitous computing and related applications. In particular, location is a key element of contexts in architectural space. It should be defined through the comprehension of the physical environment, as the locations of users or objects are not merely numerical coordinates; they refer to situations related to the physical contexts of the users or objects. In other words, a location model for architectural space should be based on the simplification of the physical environment, the consideration of various changes, and the particular relationships among spatial data. These issues have been studied experimentally in the fields of CAAD (Computer Aided Architectural Design) research, and the results can be applied to a ubiquitous computing system. This paper draws upon CAAD theory to propose a location model and utilization method for ubiquitous computing in architectural space. At the end of the paper we present the CAAD system ″Vitruius″, designed to define architectural spaces appropriately and manage them easily for the ubiquitous computing environment.

ARCH: DMUVR – A Working Prototype of a Distributed Collaborative Design System

This paper outlines a working prototype which suggests a distributed Computer-Aided Architectural Design (CAAD) system to promote a new model of collaborative design. Recently, there has been a growing interest in distributed CAAD integration due to the needs of direct collaboration among project participants. The potential for the integration of information is expected to have a tremendous impact on architecture and the construction industry. The aim of this research is to provide a new paradigm for a CAAD system by combining research on integrated CAAD applications with recent collaboration technologies. The proposed system has been designed and a prototype implemented to produce enough guidelines to foster interest in the development of future CAAD systems on the Internet. To this end, two different scopes of implementation are evaluated: first, global architecture and the functionality of a distributed CAAD system; and, second, the association of an architectural application to the system.

Towards automation in architectural photogrammetry: CAD-based 3D-feature extraction

Improvements and new developments in the fields of sensor and computer technology have had a major influence on photogrammetry and today a large variety of cameras and photogrammetric systems is available. The application of the CAD-based 3D-feature extraction routine within a system for digital photogrammetry and architectural design (DIPAD) is described. This system enables the operator to perform the whole reconstruction of the three-dimensional object without any manual measurement. His task is only to interpret the scene qualitatively while selecting the features to be measured, whereas the quantitative measurement and calculations are performed by the computer. An automatic data transfer of the photogrammetrically generated three-dimensional object description to a CAAD (computer aided architectural design) system provides new capabilities for architects and conservationists.

A study of human performance in computer‐aided architectural design

This paper describes the development and application of a cognitively‐based performance methodology for assessing human performance on computer‐aided architectural design (CAAD) tasks. Two CAAD tasks were employed that were hypothesized to be different in terms of the underlying cognitive processes required for these tasks to be performed. Methods of manipulating task complexity within each of these tasks were then developed. Six architectural graduate students were trained on a commercially available CAAD system. Each student performed the two experimental design tasks at one of three levels of complexity. The data collected included protocols, video recordings of the computer screen, and an interactive script (time‐stamped record of every command input and the computers textual response). Performance measures and methods of analysis were developed which reflected the cognitive processes used by the human during design (including problem‐solving techniques, planning times, heuristics employed, etc.) and ...

Architecture without numbers — CAAD based on a 3D modelling system

The paper describes an advanced demonstration system which brings together a number of recent developments in CAAD (computer-aided architectural design). This demonstration system illustrates how an important new form of input device, a 3D modelling systemm can be linked with building performance software and ‘indicative’ computer output graphics. The 3D modelling system uses electronically interrogable building elements. The user assembles these elements on a baseboard, providing a tangible model of the design. The model is then interrogated by the CAD system, which recovers the geometry data describing the topology of the model. The user changes the design by reassembling the model elements. A particular aspect of this demonstration is that the user has the option to generate building design data and assimilated building performance data without the need to handle this data in numeric form. It is likely that many of the features present in this demonstration system will be evident in future ‘production’ CAAD systems.

The organisational implications of CAAD

Two case-studies of computer-aided architectural design systems form the basis of an SERC/CASE funded research programme (1). The results indicate the process by which computer methods are identified and developed by organisations, how the technology is adapted to changing circumstance and how this experience can inform the deployment of newer computing technologies currently emerging.

3D input for CAAD systems

It is often acknowledged that the main advantage of computer aided architectural design (CAAD) systems is that they can be used by architects to quickly and accurately evaluate alternative design solutions using a variety of performance measures which would be too time consuming to apply by hand calculation. To gain the full advantage of interactive CAAD requires the architect to use a computer terminal with graphic capabilities so that he can create and modify his design geometry in a form which can also be directly interpreted by the evaluate routines within the CAAD system. However, it is suggested that it is often difficult for the user of such conventional, graphic, CAAD systems to conceptualise the building being designed by only inspecting and manipulating drawings displayed on the terminal screen. This problem may be accentuated when building users who are not professional architects wish to use a CAAD system so as to participate in the design process. A computerised building block system (BBS) is proposed with which the designer can physically build a model of his design as he would if he was using ‘Lego’ ∗ ∗ Registered trade name of British Lego Limited. blocks. Such a physical representation may allow him to evaluate many of the visual and spatial qualities of his design in a more direct way than could be achieved using computer graphics. However, because the electronic system can ‘read’ the arrangement of blocks and input this information into a computer, the user's design can be evaluated with the same performance measures that are used in existing CAAD systems.