simulation

All of the articles for this week's reading were intriguing, but the description of the Masdar Headquarters in Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City was, for those of us who rightly believe that global warming is a real threat, truly uplifting news. The eight-story building, which includes eleven steel-and-glass-enclosed cones, is beautiful in an aesthetic sense. However, the real beauty of the building lies in its function. It will be the first large-scale, mixed-use, positive-energy building, producing more energy than it consumes (Minutillo, 2008). Some aspects of it were inspired by structures which have been in the Middle East for hundreds of years, traditional Arabic wind towers. They are intended to assist with light and ventilation. But designing a structure such as this required technology which is very new. Four programs were used to develop and test the design: Ecotect was used for simple building orientation and shading studies, EQUEST helped to optimize the building envelope and mechanical and electrical systems, CFD simulated the interaction of fluids and gases within complex systems and FloVENT was used to predict 3D airflow, heat transfer, and contamination distribution in and around buildings (Minutillo, 2008). The harsh environment of the Middle East makes computer programs very helpful in the design of two buildings planned for Saudi Arabia, the King Abdulaziz Center for Knowledge and Culture and the Al-Birr Foundation Headquarters. In addition to helping architects plan for limiting energy consumption, they also help to design buildings which are able to withstand sand and stones being blown by the harsh winds.

The longest and tallest spanning arch bridge in the world and several art museums in the United States have something in common: computer programs were used to plan revolutionary lighting plans. Architects for the Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Crossing in Dubai used cultural inspiration when planning lighting which would vary according to the phases of the moon. The complicated structure would have been enough of a challenge to light with the twelve lanes of traffic, light rails and pedestrian paths on two separate spans. Changing the lighting patterns five times a month added to the difficulty (Minutillo, 2008). The designers used AGi32, a lighting program introduced to UNCG students in their third year, to be sure of the anticipated results.

The commonality of the lighting plans for the US museums described in the article by Joann Gonchar was taking advantage of natural light. There were multiple advantages for this approach: sustainability, perfect color rendering and the experiential dimension of a dynamic light source. There were multiple challenges, also. Sometimes a natural light source can be too dynamic. Accommodations need to be made for seasonal changes. Artwork has to be protected from too much light. These museums used a wide variety of architectural designs to allow sunlight inside: skylight system, motorized exterior blinds, photo censors, covered courtyard, frosted-glass fins, fabric baffles and aluminum louvers. The method for developing the design was the same. Simulations of the lighting effects in each of the buildings was extensive. Computer programs can take into account the geographical location, the time of the year or day, building orientation, and so on. Before construction begins, the designers of the buildings know how the lighting will work.

Computers are not only changing how architecture is being designed now, they are also changing how iconic buildings from the past are being seen and understood. In “Space, Time and Architecture” the classic text for design students, Sigfried Giedion describes how Frank Lloyd Wright designed many of his houses around the central axis of the fireplace. "In organizing his plans," Giedion wrote, "Wright goes back to the seventeenth century in the use of the large chimney in the center of the house as starting point for the whole layout. He spreads out the different rooms from this massive kernel." This description of Wright's spacial organization has been challenged with the use of 3D modeling. Bernard Hoesli published a book titled “Transparenz” which uses computer models to show spacial relationships which, until now, were nearly invisible. The ability to hide or highlight various structural elements with a simple keystroke makes it easier to produce a more thorough analysis. Hoesli gives a detailed account of a totally different perspective of how the spaces in Wright's Martin House relate to one another (Maddalina, 1999). Biology and astronomy changed substantially when the microscope and telescope allowed scientists views previously unattainable to the human eye. Computers could possibly do the same for architecture.

Model Behavior: Anticipating Great Design
http://continuingeducation.construction.com/article.php?L=5&C=471
Let the (Indirect) Sun Shine In
http://continuingeducation.construction.com/article.php?L=5&C=406
Computer Visualization as a Tool for Critical Analysis by Mark Maddalina
http://www.architectureweek.com/2000/0705/tools_4-1.html

3d animation

In her description of Four Imaginary Walls, an interactive computer installation, Ann Spalter gives a wonderful explanation of the 3D world. It can behave in predictable ways, include familiar objects and may even appear to be a place that one can recognize, but it is not the real world. It only exists within a machine. However, she also demonstrates the thin line between the virtual world and the real world with the description of how computer programs contributed to the financial crash of 1987. They had been programmed to respond to Wall Street's behavior and did exactly that, replicating through a machine the human reactions which had stimulated the crash of the stock market 60 years earlier. (Spalter pg. 324). Unlike Hal in 2001, A Space Odyssey, computers had not become independent thinkers, but humans were still unable to control the effects caused by computers.

In the rest of the chapter, Spalter describes how 3d animation works. Some of the more basic concepts were familiar to me, such as persistence of vision and visual closure; others, such as linear interpolation and easing, were new information. Linear interpolation and easing explain how a computer can produce the images between key frames, the extremes in an objects motion, with mathematical computations (Spalter pg. 329). This was interesting enough when applied to movement in animation, but the possibilities if offers when applying it to morphing is even more intriguing. The first image that came to mind when reading about morphing was the Michael Jackson video Black or White. Of course I had to go to YouTube and watch it over and over trying to see exactly how the transitions were done. While on YouTube searching for the video I ran across countless videos showing the changes in Michael Jackson's face during his lifetime. There was an obvious difference in the quality of the morphing in various videos, which reminded me of a statement I recently read but unfortunately cannot remember the source so I cannot give the author credit. Computer generated drawings are no more designed by the computer than a novel written on a word processor is written by a computer. The computer is only a tool. Another part of the morphing discussion that caught my interest was the work of Joseph Santarromona. Beginning with his own face, he did imaging of it morphing into iconic faces: Marilyn Monroe, Ferdinand Marcos, the unabomber, Homer Simpson, Ronald MacDonald, etc. Next he used faces of his friends. The negative emotional response, even from fellow artists and photographers, was surprising. As Santarromona was a Filipino growing up in an area in the Midwest with a strong Ku Klux Klan presence, the difficulties of one's identity is a strong focus of his work. He is aware of the effect of the media (Spalter pg. 339). Perhaps his work with morphing could be helpful in a psychological study on the issue.

Spalter pointed out some of the important differences in 2D and 3D imaging. Spacial cues are generated automatically in 3D. Motion implies space. In 2D the artist has to create the implication of depth. An infinite amount of points of view are a part of 3D: the 2D artist has to generate a new drawing for each point of view. From my biased viewpoint, 3D has so many advantages for the interior designer. The automatic perception of perspective, the ability to produce countless drawings from one model and the ability to show a space with different lighting are all important reasons. Even if I were as talented as many of my classmates are with 2D perspective drawing, I do not think that my opinion would change!

Animation creates so many possibilities. One of my favorites is object interaction – special programing which allows objects to respond to one another. Instead of one object moving through other, as a ghost in a cartoon, programming can allow objects to be aware of properties of other objects. A trampoline will cause someone to bounce; a hard floor will not. Another is artificial intelligence. It is used to produce 3d objects that display specific behaviors: fish schooling, fabric draping, etc.

My favorite demonstration on a concept in this chapter was the cartoon which demonstrated the difference in inverse and forward kinematics, when 3d models meet. In forward kinematics the end position and final rotation of an object are not known. In inverse kinematics the desired final position and rotation are achieved. The audience for this humor is rather limited; it made me wonder if there is a comic strip for 3D animators as xkcd is for math and science sorts.

This is past my alloted word count and I haven't touched on the second chapter. I'll just say her comment that WWW could be an abbreviation for wild, wild west is very appropriate.

"2D and 3D Animation and Video" by Anne Spalter, Addison Wesley Longman Inc. 1999, pp 323-358 (pages 358-365 have additional information which are not required to be read)

"The World Wide Web" from The Computer in the Visual Arts by Anne Spalter, Addison Wesley Longman Inc. 1999, pp 415-437.

research project proposal

Significance of Issues

The speed at which new technologies for 3D imaging are developing pose a challenge for those in the design field. Being competent with a particular set of tools will only allow a designer to be productive and marketable for a limited amount of time. In order for designers to be up to date with their skills, it is necessary for them to know the best way to become literate in the latest tools of their trade. After graduation, the luxury of classes with knowledgeable professors guiding the learning process will no longer be available. Being informed of the most efficient learning processes will be invaluable.

Scope of Limitations/ Research Methodology

The scope of this research will focus on my attempt to master Revit. As a design professional I used pencils and paper to design and produce construction drawings for ten years. As an employee of Bernhardt, a furniture manufacturer with a staff of six designers who created galleries for furniture display, I was taught Versacad by a drafter who was a recent college graduate. Two years later I left the company and was employed as the only designer for a smaller manufacturer who used Autocad. The education received for Autocad was three hours of instruction and occasional phone calls to the company engineer. This was sufficient for the limited drafting done there for the next 17 years. As a student in UNCG's interior architecture program, I took an Autocad class last summer and was surprised by the gaps in my knowledge. Knowing that many architectural firms no longer use Autocad and being informed of the many advantages of Revit, learning it seems prudent. As I am close to graduation, there is no time to schedule a class to learn it. This awareness of how I am behind on the latest technology is what inspired the idea for this project.

In the article "Once and Future Graphics Pioneer Part II" by B.J. Novitski, he discussed how architecture students at Cornell seemed to master software programs more efficiently if they were learning them in conjunction with a studio class which required the software for the design process and for presentation. My plan will be to learn Revit while designing the project for the IAR-412 class. I will research tutorials, publications and any other resources which are available and evaluate various aspects of each. A log of time spent with learning tools, practice and actual work on the studio project will be kept. An attempt will be made to avoid making use of the instructors in the department, but if their assistance is required, that also will be documented.

Expectations

The results of this project should be a through analysis of the tools available to assist while learning Revit. The evaluation should include specifics on what tools worked well for particular aspects of the program, what the limitations were and what suggestions might be made for improvements. Becoming competent with the basic functions of Revit will be a delightful bonus.

rendering

The reading from Anne Spalter's book was quite enlighting. Many of the tools she described were familiar to me, but the understanding of how they actually work was not. Knowing such things as how different types of mapping respond to light or that ray tracing is so time consuming because of the amazing complexity of the operation will be helpful in the future. I also was unaware of the differnt types of lighting models and their respective strengths and weaknesses. Knowing just how many options there are available makes it difficult to know which direction to choose when furthering my education in 3D technology. However, it is comforting to know that every time I learn a program or something new about a program I already use, it will make it easier to become competent on others. After all, the technology is changing so quicklly that being adaptive is a requirement of working with 3D graphics.

In spite of 3D rendering being a new part of life for me, it is rather easy to take for granted the programs we designers use to transfer the images from our brains to our computers. The readings in this course are connecting names and personalities to the work that has been done to provide the amazing tools at our disposal. Donald Greenberg has been directing the Program of Computer Graphics at Cornell University since 1974. Because the PCG is independent of any one academic department, its students and faculty enjoy an unusual opportunity for multidisciplinary research. The very diverse group includes individuals from the fields of architecture, computer science, engineering, art, perception psychology and theater arts. This mix results in a rich research environment that values human perception and the aesthetics of light as much as physics and precision computation (Novitski, 2000).The focus of the work is primarily in three areas: improving the user interfaces for architectural applications to make them more suitable for designers, simulating the behavior of light in space and understanding the human visual perception system to refine the rendering algorithms and developing methods for improving image capture and the quality of image-based rendering.

Considering that Autodesk provides some of their funding, it seems likely that PCG was responsible for a development in the first category which I learned about in our last class, the improved manipulation of objects in 3D space with 3DS Max. Relatively simple improvements of that nature could save designers a lot of time. But Greenberg and his cohorts are working on something that could have a more profound effect on computer design, a device that is a transparent digitizing surface which uses a pen and a high res rear-projection display. He feels that the pen is more suited for the way designers work than the current mouse and monitor system. But unlike the traditional pen and paper approach, it utilizes the advantages of digital systems, including the ability to allow multiple designers to work together online (Novitski, 2000).

The work PCG is doing in the next category involves the physics of light at the wavelength level. No other architectural research lab in the world is studying light at this level of precision. Complex algorithms translate the effects of light in the real world to the one we see on our computer screens. In order to keep the programs as fast as possible, perceptual psychologists are used to determine what the human eye actually perceives, so that unnecessary information does not interfere with efficiency. They are combining the advantages of ray-tracing and radiosity in a simulation method which works fast enough for real-time animation.

Another goal being pursued is the improvement of image capture and rendering. There are many problems with existing programs, such as distortions or blank spots. The work involves finding the sources of errors in these existing programs and adjusting algorithms accordingly. Part of the process is comparing image-based renderings of scenes with physically accurate images.

In addition to the improvements in the actual technology, Cornell is improving the way that students learn. Incorporating the software programs into the studios increases the students' motivation to master the program. Tools which provided better visualization of their designs helped the students to proceed quicker in the design process. Learning the program while designing also taught them to model and render within the context of design thinking. Cornell students are getting an education using technologies they can expect to work with a few years from now rather than on today's technologies, many of which will be obsolete by then. Greenberg says, "We have always emphasized the teaching of concepts so that the students can ride the technological wave and never be outdated" (Novitski, 2000).

"Rendering 3D worlds - 3D Geometric Graphics II" by Anne Spalter, Addison Wesley Longman Inc. 1999, pp 257-293.

"Once and Future Graphics Pioneer", B.J. Novitski
http://www.architectureweek.com/2000/0913/tools_1-1.html

"Once and Future Graphics Pioneer Part II", B.J. Novitski
http://www.architectureweek.com/2000/0920/tools_1-1.html

center for design innovation

Last Wednesday our class visited the Center for Design Innovation in Winston-Salem. It is a multi-campus research center within the University of North Carolina system. Their goal is to catalyze economic transformation of the Piedmont Triad region, through design-focused activity based on advanced digital technologies. Carol Strohecker, the director, began our tour with the 3D printers. This was particularly interesting to those of us focusing on product design. Next Nickolay Hristov demonstrated the work he had been doing with digital imaging and research on bats. Information acquired from videos of bats in flight were translated to 3D imaging to learn about flight mechanics.

modeling

A year ago I enrolled in the Interior Architecture program and was exposed to 3D drawing programs for the first time: Sketchup, 3ds Max, AGI and the 3D portion of AutoCad. While learning to use the programs I was not attempting to discern how they worked, just what was needed to manipulate them. Reading these articles did not provide information regarding any specific programs, but a very general understanding of how various programs work. I think that this knowledge will make it easier to navigate these types of programs more easily in the future and gives me the vocabulary to communicate what I am attempting to accomplish. In AutoCad one of my favorite ways to create objects was to add and subtract shapes. Now I know that they are Boolean operations (Spalter, 7.4.3). Simple object representations from 2D, such as polygons, of course I knew. Understanding other terms such as polygonal mesh, polyhedrons and NURBS based models may assist me in finding more efficient ways of modeling (Spalter, 7.4.2).

Kalay discussed the different types of models (wire frame, surface and solid) and the three different approaches (spacial occupancy enumeration model used for medical imaging, the CSG or constructive solid geometry model used in engineering and the B-rep of boundary representation model used in architecture) of 3D imaging developed thus far (Kalay, 8.3). His comparison of the various ways of making a computer visualize complex objects and why different approaches worked for various industries was quite enlightening. For instance, Spalter commented on how unfortunate it is that moving an object in 3D space is difficult with the existing drawing programs which use 2D tools such as a mouse and a 2D screen (Spalter, 7.5.2). But when I have seen my son playing the computer game Homeworld, which has an easy, intuitive way of moving an aircraft in 3D space, I wondered why the same technology could not translate to drawing programs. Now I know that it could be using an entirely different system which would not translate.

There are many ways that 3D modeling is helpful in interior architecture. The most obvious is how perspectives of an object or space can be viewed from any angle with one only one drawing (Spalter, 7.1). Not only does it help the designer while making decisions on his or her design, it is an invaluable tool for communicating with a client. Seeing not just the shape in a 3D view, but seeing the texture of different materials is yet another way that it assists designers.

There are several obstacles which need to be overcome to improve 3D modeling. The lack of standardization which 2D programs already have is problematic (Spalter, 7.3). There is such a bigger challenge with 3D because the added dimension requires the programs to describe the effects of light on surfaces (Spalter, 7.2). Voxel based modeling could improve 3D, but before it can happen personal computers need more memory, faster algorithms and better input and output devices (Spalter, 7.3).

Contemplating the future of 3D imaging is quite exciting. Simply incorporating technology which is already developed, such as fractals, in inexpensive commonly used modeling programs would be incredibly helpful. However, entirely new ways of modeling which require less time to master the software programs would be even better. Robert Zeleznik's Sketch, a program which uses drawing instead of clicking on menus, would be a great model for a new direction. The motivation for his program was not to interrupt the creative process with the struggle to work the program (Spalter, 7.5.2). I am just happy that I am beginning to find more of a comfort level with this new way of designing. Considering how intimidating the whole idea of using a computer for anything more complicated than 2D drafting or word processing was a year ago, it is amazing that I have such a strong desire to focus on mastering computer skills this semester. I want to be an active participant in the future of 3D computer imaging.

"Building 3D Worlds – 3D Geometric Graphics I" from The Computer in The Visual Arts by Anne Spalter, Addison Wesley Longman Inc. 1999, pp 212-253. and
On Geometric Modeling: Excerpt from “Modeling”. Architecture’s New Media by Yehuda Kalay, The MIT Press, 2004, pp 141-147.