Proceedings of ACADIA 1998, 1998

Integrating computers in architectural design means to negotiate between centuries-old analog design methods and the new digital systems of production. Analog systems of architectural production use tracing paper, vellum, graphite and ink, clipboard, clay, balsa wood, plastic, metal, etc. Analog systems have also been termed “handmade”, “manual”, “material” or “physical”. Digital systems of architectural production use scanning, image manipulation, visualization, solid modeling, computer aided drafting, animation, rendering, etc. Digital systems have also been called “electronic”, “computer-aided”, “virtual”, etc.The difficulty lies in the underdeveloped state of the necessary methods, techniques, and theories to relate traditional and new media. Recent investigations on the use of multiple iterations between manual and electronic systems to advance architectural work show promising results. However, these experiments have not been sufficiently codified, cross-referenced and third party tested to conform a reliable knowledge base. This paper addresses this shortcoming by bringing together reported experiences from diverse researchers over the past decade. This summary is informed by more than three years of continuous investigation in the impacts of analog-digital conversations in the design process. The goal is to establish a state-of-the-art common foundation that permits instructors, researchers and practitioners to refer to, utilize, test, criticize and develop. An appendix is included providing support for the paper’s arguments. Interactions avec les médias et processus de design: Établissement d’une base de connaissancesL’intégration des ordinateurs dans le processus de conception architecturale nécessite un dialogue entre les anciennes méthodes analogues, utilisées depuis des siècles, et les méthodes digitales modernes. Les difficultés se situent au niveau de l’état sous-développé des méthodes et théories pour relier les nouvelleset les anciennes techniques. Des recherches récentes sur l’utilisation d’itérations multiples entre systèmes manuels et électroniques pour avancer le travail de l’architecte ont produit de résultats intéressants.Cependant, ces résultats n’ont pas été suffisamment codifiés, référés, et testés pour former une base de connaissances fiable. Ce papier vise à combler ce manque en réunissant des témoignages sur diverses recherches effectuées au cours du décennie dernier. Ce reportage résulte de plus de trois ans d’investigations continuelles concernant l’impact du dialogue analogue-digital sur le processus de la conception architecturale. Le but est d’établir une base commune que les enseignants, les chercheurs et les étudiants peuvent utiliser, vérifier, critiquer et développer d’avantage. Une appendice contient les preuves à l’appui des arguments des auteurs.

Automation in Construction, 2002

First-hand experiences in several design projects that were based on media richness and collaboration are described in this article. Although complex design processes are merely considered as socio-technical systems, they are deeply involved with natural systems. My collaborative research in the field of performance-oriented design combines digital and physical conceptual sketches, simulations and prototyping. GIGA-mapping-is applied to organise the data. The design process uses the most suitable tools, for the subtasks at hand, and the use of media is mixed according to particular requirements. These tools include digital and physical GIGA-mapping, parametric computer aided design (CAD), digital simulation of analyses, as well as sampling and 1:1 prototyping. Also discussed in this article are the methodologies used in several design projects to strategize these tools and the developments and trends in the tools employed. The paper argues that the digital tools tend to produce similar results through given pre-sets that often do not correspond to real needs. Thus, there is a significant need for mixed methods including prototyping in the creative design process. Media mixing and cooperation across disciplines is unavoidable in the holistic approach to contemporary design. This includes the consideration of diverse biotic and abiotic agents. I argue that physical and digital GIGA-mapping is a crucial tool to use in coping with this complexity. Furthermore, I propose the integration of physical and digital outputs in one GIGA-map and the participation and co-design of biotic and abiotic agents into one rich design research space, which is resulting in an ever-evolving research-design process-result time-based design.

Proceedings of the Design Communication Biannual Conference, 2012

In the design process, the choice of media itself is an influence on the product of the thinking. The bold gestures of the felt tip pen can yield great mystery in the ambiguity and contrast of tone. The fine line pen yields a precision and attention to great detail, and is a slowing effect to the thought process when covering areas of tone and pattern. The graphite pencil yields expressive subtleties in light, shade, and shadow. Watercolor works with graphite in a fluid, loose, expressive pass, and a great attention to layers and drying. Pixel painting demands a level of precision and realism along with a collage mentality. Different methods yield different results, and perhaps yield different insights into design thinking. When designers are challenged with problems that require intense thought, problem solving, and visioning, they are often drawn to their favored methods of design communication to formulate ideas and ground them in a rich media specific tradition, whether traditional, digital, or hybrid. They are also often challenged with a short timeline, whether pressed with a limited number of billable hours, or other time constraints. In a diverse, digital world with a vast network of design communication and illustration professionals, eager to win commissions, visioning has become a line item for some professional practices, outsourcing delineation, illustration, and even conceptual design. The author regularly receives emails from twelve time zones away advertising these services for a fraction of what is typically charged domestically. Visualization and representation is still an integral part of design education in the environmental design professions, with drawing conventions and skills steeped in history, valued by educators and professionals alike. Further, the ability to generate images quickly in minutes, as opposed to hours or weeks, is both remaining and recovering its value to emerging and practicing designers.

IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 2002

DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers. Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal. If the publication is distributed under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the "Taverne" license above, please follow below link for the End User Agreement:

2001

Designers depend on representations to externalize their design thoughts. External representations are usually in the form of sketches (referred to as traditional media) in architectural design during the conceptual design. There are also attempts to integrate the use of digital representations into the conceptual design in order to construct a digital design medium. This thesis aims at gaining an insight on designers' cognitive processes while sketching in digital versus traditional media. The analysis of cognitive processes of designers based on their protocols is necessary to reveal their design behaviour in both media. An experiment was designed employing six interior architects (at Bilkent University) solving an interior space planning problem by changing the design media they work with. In order to encode the design behaviour, a coding scheme was utilized so that inspecting both the design activity and the responses to media transition was possible in terms of primitive cognitive actions of designers. The analyses of the coding scheme constituents, which are namely segmentation and cognitive action categories enabled a comparative study demostrating the effect of the use of different media in conceptual design phase. The results depicted that traditional media had advantages over the digital media such as supporting perception of visual-spatial features, and organizational relations of the design, production of alternative solutions and better conception of the design problem. These results also emerged implications for the computer aid in architectural design to support the conceptual phase of the design process.

Automation in Construction, 2000

Work on media for design which are responsive to the cognitive processes of the human designer are introduced as a paradigm for research and development. Design media are intended to support the cognitive nature of design and, particularly, the exploitation of design knowledge in computational environments. Basic theoretical assumptions are presented which underlie the development of design media. A central assumption is that designers share common forms of design knowledge which can be formalized, represented, and employed in computational environments. Generic knowledge is proposed as one such seminal form of design knowledge. We then develop a cognitive model which relates to the internal mental representations, strategies and mechanisms of generic design. The paper emphasizes the theoretical foundations of design media. This theoretical discussion is then exemplified through case studies presenting current research for the support of visual cognition in design. We introduce an approach to design schema as a visual form of generic design knowledge. Secondly we present a conceptual framework for the support of schema emergence in visual reasoning in design media. Finally, some implications of schema emergence in design collaboration are presented and discussed. q

… on Education in Computer Aided Architectural …, 2004

Exploring design ideas, through two dimensional and three dimensional forms, is the basis of design exploration and visual design thinking during the design process. Imagining how drawings and models (be it manual or digital) will be presented in reality is the essence of visual design thinking. By the beginning of the 20th Century, architecture has become more three dimensional in design exploration and in representation. This transition to three dimensions makes the processes of visual design thinking more related to digital media. The nature of media, utilized by architects, affects design-exploration processes. The research investigates both the processes of visual design thinking and the interrelation between visual design thinking and digital media, in order to shed more light on how digital media should be introduced to students of architecture.

The unfolding of research is that design is a creative activity of problem-solving, directed to achieve what architecture should provide man with. The first part of the research investigates Design-Idea Exploration in the initial phases of design process, in terms of exploring the links between Design-Idea Emergence and Design-Solution Direction. The second part of the research presents a use of digital media in Design-Idea Exploration of three dimensional shapes throughout the initial phases of design process. The research has concluded the links between Design Ideas Emergence and Design Solution Directions, and presented the features of the program, which distinguish it from other standard modeling software.

Aubea 2003 Working Together Proceedings of the 28th Annual Conference of the Australasian Universities Building Educators Association, 2003

Ham, Jeremy 2003, Media use in the design studio: a case study of second year architecture, ABSTRACT This paper outlines a case srudy of media use wi.thin a second year design s:n.tdio :t.l Dezkin University in Victoria. Australia. The ~ase study involves an active cohort of students working on four design projects, each staged to address specific aspects of tectonics and concepnw design. The research is based on three questio:on.aircs, a focus group discussion and analysis of assessment and digital folios to explore the way studentS use digital, analogue and hybrid media within their design projects. Relationships are drawn benveen media use wi.thin projects and student perceptions of the benefits of using particular media wilhin projects of a conceptual or tectooic n.:tture.