International Journal of Architectural Computing

The pairing of computer-aided design and geographical information system data creates an opportunity to connect an architectural design process with a robust analysis of its environmental constraints. Yet, the geographical information system data may be too overwhelmingly complex to be fully used in computer-aided design without computer-assisted methods of filtering relevant information. This article reports on the implementation of an integrated environment for three-dimensional computer-aided design and environmental impact. The project focused on a two-way data exchange between geographical information system and computer-aided design in building design. While the two different technologies may rely on separate representational models, in combination they can provide a more complete view of the natural and built environment. The challenge in integration is that of bridging the differences in analytical methods and database formats. Our approach is rooted in part in constraint-based design methods, well established in computer-aided design (e.g. Sketchpad, Generative Components, and computer-aided three-dimensional interactive application). Within such computer-aided design systems, geometrical transformations may be intentionally constrained to help enforce a set of design determinants. Although this current implementation modestly relates to geometrical constraints, the use of probabilistic risk values is more central to its methodology.

The article presents a research on real-time shape exploration employing analogue and digital form-finding and concludes with a proposal for a teaching methodology that led to an intensive student workshop which took place at the Institute of Architecture and Media at Graz University of Technology. The aim was to experiment with analogue and digital tools in parallel, counter-informing the design process. The experiments involved physical form-finding following the tradition of Frei Otto at the Institute of Lightweight Structures in Stuttgart as well as computational form-finding employing mainly dynamic relaxation techniques of spring-particle systems. The combination of techniques and methodologies eventually led to a feedback loop across different media that explored both qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the projects at hand. By establishing feedback between digital media and physical prototypes, the creative process is immediately informed by the material characteristics and properties which in turn give rise to a real-time exploration of form. Simulations of physical forces for architectural form generation are increasingly gaining ground in architectural education as there is a broad selection of computational tools readily available that allow quick experiments to be conducted.

This article presents an ongoing research, aiming to introduce a fabrication procedure for the development of tensile mesh systems. The purpose of current methodology is to establish an integrated approach that combines digital form-finding and robotic manufacturing processes by extracting data and information derived through elastic material behavior for physical implementation. This aspires to extend the capacity of robotically driven mechanisms to the fabrication of complex tensile structures and, at the same time, to reduce the defects that might occur due to the deformation of the elastic material. In this article, emphasis is given to the development of a custom-made end-effector tool, which is responsible to add elastic threads and create connections in the form of nodes. Based on additive fabrication logic, this process suggests the development of physical prototypes through a design optimization and tool-path verification.

The more complex our cities become, the more difficult it is for designers to use traditional tools for understanding and analyzing the inner essence of an eco-system such as the contemporary urban environment. Even many of the recently crafted digital tools fail to address the necessity for a more holistic design approach which captures the virtual and the physical, the immaterial and the material. Handling of massive chunks of information and classification and assessment of diverse data are nowadays more crucial than ever before. We see a significant potential in combining the fields of composition in music and architecture through the use of information technology. Merging the two fields has the intense potential to release new, innovative tools for urban designers. This article describes an innovative tool developed at the Technical University of Crete, through which an urban designer can work on the music transcription of a specific urban environment applying music compositional rules and filters in order to identify discordant entities, highlight imbalanced parts, and make design corrections. Our cities can be tuned.

Taking advantage of information and communications technology tools and techniques for city administration, whether it is for urban planning activities, for transport solutions or many other purposes, is not a new concept. However, in order for a city to be classified as ‘smart’, a synthesis of intelligence that transcends mere utilisation is essential. This article analyses the increasing use of information and communications technology and sensing technologies in cities by examining this new way of city governing from a critical perspective. Existing projects and initiatives were investigated to find out how, and to what extent, these tools are being employed by cities. The advantages and the current shortcomings of smart city are also discussed in order to understand the viability of using these tools.

Ubiquitous computing systems are changing the way retail environments are being designed. With increasing frequency, User Experience designers leveraging ubiquitous computing systems that observe and respond to user behaviors are assuming roles once held exclusively by architects. As these systems continue their growth, designers of environments will need to acknowledge the underlying role of experience designer and embrace User Experience methodologies. We will discuss how ubiquitous computing has been leveraged in our research, and our position on how these systems are impacting the design of retail environments, illustrated by several examples of User Experience research projects, informing the experience design of retail environments.

Virtual and augmented realities open a new world of great potential for spatial research and experimentation by allowing new forms of unbuilt sensible architectural space. This article starts with a sketch of the current context in virtual reality and continues by outlining the development and structure of the research ‘project Anywhere’. The project is an easily deployable, wireless, multi-user, augmented reality app system that offers full body immersion through body, head and hands tracking. It can host multiple concurrent users, able to move freely in the virtual space, by moving in the real and also perform actions through a gesture interface to affect their shared environment. In conclusion, we describe the inherent properties of such a space, which we propose as a novel spatio-temporal medium for architecture that suggests an enriched notion of space for exploration and experimentation, through an example of a potential application.

This article explores hybrid digital/physical workflows in the building trades, a high-skill domain where human dexterity and craft can be augmented by the precision and repeatability of digital design and fabrication tools. In particular, the article highlights two projects where historic construction techniques were extended through live motion capture of human gesture, information-rich visualization projected in the space of fabrication and custom robotic tooling to generate free-form running moulds. The first case study explores decorative plastering techniques and an augmented workflow where designers and craftspeople can quickly explore patterns through freehand sketch, test ideas with shaded previews and seamlessly produce physical parts using robotic collaborators. The second case study reimagines a roman vaulting technique that used terracotta bottles as part of an interlocking masonry system. Motion capture is used to place building elements precisely in material arrays with real-time visual feedback guiding the hand-held placement of each bottle. These case studies serve to underscore the emerging importance of reality capture in the design and construction of the built environment. Increasingly, the algorithmic power of computational tools and the nuances of human skill can be combined in hybrid design and fabrication workflows.