Program of Computer Graphics and Department of Architecture,
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Last update October 2002
1998 to present Computer
Graphics
Program of Computer Graphics
I
am developing interactive, collaborative sketching and modeling
environments
for conceptual architectural and industrial design.
My
research focus is on three-dimensional, gesture and primitive-based,
interactive
modeling, user interfaces for design and collaboration,
and
shared virtual spaces. I use geometric-modeling, NPR,
image-based
modeling, and real-time rendering techniques, in order
to
implement and test these prototypical environments.
I
am currently completing an experimental collaborative system
for
2D and 3D interactive sketching that takes advantage of the
designer’s
drawing skills and artistic preferences. The system is
implemented
in Java and OpenGL, and uses gestural interfaces,
computer
assisted geometrical design (CAGD) and ‘non-photorealistic’
rendering
(NPR) techniques.
These
prototypes have been used and tested in the design
studios I have
taught over the years at
Architecture, and some of the ideas have found their way
into
Autodesk’s Architectural Studio (see below).
2000 to present Architectural History
History
of Architecture and Urbanism
Department of Architecture
My research is focused on the impact of
graphical representations
and media on architectural design. Based on
historical case
studies, I am investigating the use of tools and media, as well as
representational methods (e.g. sketches,
drawings, and plastic/digital
models), as mediating agents in the course of the design process.
Michelangelo, Antonio da
Sangallo the Younger, Thomas Jefferson and
Benjamin Latrobe, Frank Gehry, and Greg Lynn, are
some of the architects
for which I have investigated, and compared, the
use of tools and media
in their design practices. I am particularly
interested in how these
architects conceptualize(d), develop(ed), and refine(d) their architectural
ideas,
the
methods with which they visualize(d) and present(ed) their projects, and
how they carried their designs through to
material construction.
In my current research, I am looking at a variety
of graphic
technologies applied to the conceptual and
production phases
of the design process. I am primarily interested
in their role
as
mediating agents for the evolution of design concepts, and the
cognitive constraints they impose on designers. This research is
related to my work at the Program of Computer Graphics and
the
Department of Psychology at Cornell University.
As a teacher, I am interested in the development
of the academic
and
professional education of Architects, particularly in pedagogical
models that emphasize studio-based education. In
my design studios, I
experiment with educational approaches that
integrate a variety of disciplines
within the studio project. I am following models proposed by Johannes
Itten
and
Josef Albers within the context of the historic Bauhaus, and their
later
attempts to transplant these models to the
and
elsewhere.
1999 to 2002 Design Strategist and
Application Designer
with Autodesk.
I am part of the core design team for Architectural Studio,
an interactive design environment for
architects.
Autodesk, Ithaca, NY & San Raphael, CA.
Architectural Studio was conceived as a
conceptual and collaborative
design environment that allows professionals to
take advantage
of digital technology in their daily practice.
Architectural Studio
provides interfaces based on familiar metaphors
and interaction models,
thus lowering the technological barrier that prevents
many professional
designers to work with digital tools.
Designers can sketch, draw, and model in two-
and/or three-dimensional
space with digital pencils, markers, and
parametric solids. Moreover,
Architectural Studio allows for the aggregation
of a great variety of different
graphical and non-graphical representations. The
application also enables
designers to collaborate in real-time across
intranets and the Internet.
Architectural Studio has been recently released
in its third version, and
is being gradually adopted in the profession as
well as by
educational institutions. For results in
education, see my design studios
at
Cornell University (for a collaborative studio with Richard Meier,
Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) and Skidmore, Owings
& Merrill (SOM),
see
Fall
2001). For the most recent use of Architectural Studio,
Fall 2002, see Studio
1504 at the GSD, Harvard University.
New work with Architectural Studio is upcoming at
State University as well.
1996 – 1998 SketchPad+
A program for architectural modeling on a
pen-based display.
Program of Computer Graphics
Cornell University,
1995 – 1996 Alter
Ego - Learning via a Dialog with the computer
Participated, with Maia
Engeli, in the design of a software agent
environment for computer-based teaching and
distance learning
CAAD, Department of Architecture, ETH
1993 – 1996 CASDET
An interactive educational software designed to
assist architecture
students in learning basic principles of building
structures.
The software allows students to construct 2D
structural
models interactively, to freely apply and
configure supports and loads
on their model, and to analyze the system’s
dynamic behavior under the given
load configurations.
The system uses a non-deterministic approach for
the evaluation
of the structure’s stability and standard methods
to evaluate
the stress distribution.
I published part of this work in my paper on
'Structural Design Education with Computers'
(ACADIA'95, Seattle – 1995)
CAAD, Institute for Building Structures
Department of Architecture, ETH