Chiron Mottram

Augmented reality meeting table: a novel multi-user interface for architectural design

Immersive virtual environments have received widespread attention as providing possible replacements for the media and systems that designers traditionally use, as well as, more generally, in providing support for collaborative work. Relatively little attention has been given to date however to the problem of how to merge immersive virtual environments into real world work settings, and so to add to the media at the disposal of the designer and the design team, rather than to replace it. In this paper we report on a research project in which optical see-through augmented reality displays have been developed together with prototype decision support software for architectural and urban design. We suggest that a critical characteristic of multi user augmented reality is its ability to generate visualisations from a first person perspective in which the scale of rendition of the design model follows many of the conventions that designers are used to. Different scales of model appear to allow designers to focus on different aspects of the design under consideration. Augmenting the scene with simulations of pedestrian movement appears to assist both in scale recognition, and in moving from a first person to a third person understanding of the design. This research project is funded by the European Commission IST program (IST-2000-28559).

An Ecological Approach to Generative Design

In this paper we explore the use of an animat model to construct geometry. The model uses agents guided by direct (or active) visual perception of their environment to replicate human behaviour within a notional plan of an open space. The environment reacts to these agents by placing walls in order to affect their usage of the space, and thus the structure may be evolved to fit the social function of the agents within it. Here, we start with the most basic social function, to design a building that disperses agents programmed with an exploratory task across its floorplan by using an evolutionary algorithm. We investigate the effect of evolution on the generated configuration using space syntax tools. We show how the introduction of a simple rule, the desire to leave, can result in the evolution of commonly observed features — first a central axis and then a ‘foyer’.We discover that ‘intelligibility’ of the space, which might imply reduced cognitive load, may increase as the system is allowed to evolve. Finally, we consider the implications of the ecological approach for the design process.

Interactive space generation through play: exploring the role of simulation on the design table

In this paper we report on recent developments in the use of simulation as an aspect of design decision support for architecture and planning. This research is based on ARTHUR (Augmented Round Table for Architecture and Urban Planning). Although real time simulation has been incorporated in design support systems, little attention has been given to the simulation of pedestrian movement in collaborative AR based systems. Here we report on user evaluation tests of the ARTHUR system, which are focused on the effect of real time pedestrian simulation on the way pairs of designers work together. These tests suggest that the integration of simulated pedestrian movement on the design table plays a critical role in exploring possible design solutions and encourages different and new ways of thinking about design problems. Donald Schons concept of the reflection-in-action provide a useful framework for interpreting these results.