Paul Richens

Raster Analysis of Urban Form

A new paradigm for investigating the environment consequences of urban texture is proposed. Using raster-based models and software algorithms derived from image processing the authors develop efficient methods of measuring geometric parameters and predicting radiation exchange. The possibilities of generating synthetic urban textures and of integrating cellular automata are explored. Results suggest the possibility of a raster-based urban model to inform planning and design.

Urban Texture Analysis with Image Processing Techniques

A new paradigm for investigating the environmental consequences of urban texture is proposed. Using raster-based models and software algorithms derived from image processing, efficient methods of measuring geometric parameters and predicting radiation exchange are developed. The possibilities of generating synthetic urban textures, and integrating cellular automata, are explored. Results suggest the possibility of a raster-based urban model to inform planning and design.

Computer Simulation in Daylight Design: a comparison

Four of the leading computer lighting simulation programs are compared with physical modelling techniques as a means of predicting daylighting of interior spaces. Lightscape (v3-l.l), RadioRay (v2.0), Microstation/J (v7.1Beta) and ADELINE (v2.0NT) are compared with a physical model under two types of artificial sky. The analysis covers three main aspects of operation; physical accuracy of the output, visual quality of the renderings and user interface of the software. With the exception of RadioRay, the software investigated calculates daylight factors within an average of30% of those produced by a physical model. This is within an estimated experimental error of between 25% and 40% depending on location in the room. The visual quality of the output is variable with ADELINE producing the most compelling results. This paper continues to suggest where improvements to the existing technology may lie particularly in reference to interface design.

Design participation through the Internet: a case study

Cambridge University and Microsoft are planning a shared computer research and teaching laboratory on a green-field site to the west of the city. The clients wished to use internet based communication between themselves and their architects, including email, a web site and virtual reality. We explain how this is to be achieved, and describe experiences during the first half of a two-year project. Particularly successful has been the use of games software (QuakeII) for 3D presentation of the emerging building design.

Generation of variational standard plant room solutions

We have used the object-based CAD programming to take advantage of standardisation to handle the selection, sizing, layout and (potentially) pipe routing for Low-Pressure Hot Water (LPHW) plant rooms in buildings. Our approach combines automation and interactivity. From a simple specification of the plant room geometry (an orthogonal polygon with known obstructions, openings and external walls), and the heating load in kW, our software proceeds through a number of steps. First, the number and size of standard modular boilers, pumps, etc., are determined from the heat load. Then, a compatible optimising 3D variational solution is generated, using Constraint Logic Programming. To do this, we firstly enumerate a satisfactory topological solution, and then refine it to form a compatible geometrical solution. The final step generates pipe routes, using optimisation techniques to minimise the length of pipes and the number of bends. The solution obtained can be modified or improved by the designer, for which we have interactivity. Modifying the topology of the solution or the geometry of the plant room is done directly through the graphic interface, e.g. modifying a boiler position is done by dragging; the system automatically updates the 3D model including the pipe routing while maintaining all the design rules. The solutions generated by our prototype have been tested against conventional solutions in a benchmarking exercise. Advantages have been underlined and suggestions for further development have been made.

The Piranesi system for interactive rendering

Photorealistic rendering requires special skills to achieve, but the result is not necessarily ideal for architectural communication. The Piranesi software provides an alternative way of producing a much wider range of images from the same geometrical model. Piranesi appears to be a 2d paint program for editing raster images, but its input includes a z-buffer. This allows painting and and pasting to reflect the perspective of the image, and many other depthrelated effects. The result is a new, and enjoyable, way of producing architectural images.

Interactive computer rendering

Interactive Rendering combines the geometrical precision of classical computer graphics with the representational freedom of a paint program. It is more sympathetic to the ways in which designers use images, and overcomes many of the frustrations experienced in rendering from CAD models. The scene is generated in a standard viewing application, but saved as a specially enhanced raster image. The extra information allows the Interactive Renderer to apply brushed-on rendering effects which are sensitive to the perspective of the image. Effects can be applied locally or overall, and may be overlaid, blended and erased to create complex combinations. A huge range of treatments are obtainable, both photorealistic and not.

Does knowledge really help? CAD research at the Martin Centre☆

Abstract The Martin Centre CADLAB has recently been established to investigate software techniques that could be of practical importance to architects within the next five years. In common with most CAD researchers, we are interested in the earlier, conceptual, stages of design, where commercial CAD systems have had little impact. Our approach is not Knowledge-Based, but rather focuses on using the computer as a medium for design and communication. This leads to a concentration on apparently superficial aspects such as visual appearance, the dynamics of interaction, immediate feedback, plasticity. We try to avoid building-in theoretical attitudes, and to reduce the semantic content of our systems to a low level on the basis that flexibility and intelligence are inversely related; and that flexibility is more important. The CADLAB became operational in January 1992. This article discusses first-year work in three areas — building models, experiencing architecture, and making drawings.

Mindstage: Towards a Functional Virtual Architecture

Mindstage is a multi-user real-time 3D environment in which is embedded a lecture on film design by Christopher Hobbs. The spatial design follows the structure of the lecture, and is richly illustrated with stills and film clips. The environment, implemented in Virtools, proved to be a visually intriguing combination of architectural, filmic and virtual space, though it was found that co-presence induced some problems with the concept of time.

Performance Based Interactive Analysis

This paper re-approaches structural engineering through an interactive perspective by introducing a series of tools that combine parametric design with structural analysis, thus achieving a synergy between the architectural shape and its structural performance. Furthermore, this paper demonstrates how the design can be realised into an efficient structural form by applying novel techniques of form-finding through the exploitation of the generated analytical output. The combination of these tools and their parametric control contributes to a new design approach that outrides the generation of single solutions and enables a deeper exploration of the design parameters leading to multiple performance- based outcomes. This paper describes the integration between a Parametric Design software, McNeal’s Grasshopper 3D and a Finite Element Analysis software, Autodesk’s Robot Structural Analysis. The generated synergy between form and structure is demonstrated through a series of case studies through which the interactive control of the parameters the enables the designer to iterate between a range of form-found solutions.