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Article
Publication date: 13 July 2021

Sherif Abdelmohsen and Passaint Massoud

Material-based computation has been recently introduced in architectural education, where parameters and rules related to materials are integrated into algorithmic thinking. The…

Abstract

Purpose

Material-based computation has been recently introduced in architectural education, where parameters and rules related to materials are integrated into algorithmic thinking. The authors aim to identify affordances of material-based computation in terms of supporting the understanding of parametric design, informing the process of parametric form finding in an educational setup and augmenting student learning outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors propose a material-informed holistic systems design framework for parametric form finding. The authors develop a pedagogical approach that employs material-based computation focusing on the interplay between the physical and the digital in a parametrically driven façade design exercise. The approach comprises two phases: (1) enabling physical exploration with different materials to arrive at the design logic of a panel prototype and (2) deducing embedded and controlled parameters, based on the interplay of materials and deriving strategies for pattern propagation of the panel on a façade composition using variation and complexity.

Findings

The results confirmed the initial hypothesis, where the more explicit the material exploration and identification of physical rules and relations, the more nuanced the parametrically driven process, where students expressed a clear goal oriented generative logic and utilized parametric design to inform form finding as a bottom-up approach.

Originality/value

Most precedent approaches developed to teach parametric design concepts in architectural education have focused on universal strategies that often result in fixating students on following standard blindly followed scripts and procedures, thus defying the purpose of a bottom-up form finding framework. The approach expands the pedagogical strategies employed to address parametric design as a form finding process.

Details

Open House International, vol. 46 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0168-2601

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 August 2019

Anand Amrit and Leifur Leifsson

The purpose of this work is to apply and compare surrogate-assisted and multi-fidelity, multi-objective optimization (MOO) algorithms to simulation-based aerodynamic design

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this work is to apply and compare surrogate-assisted and multi-fidelity, multi-objective optimization (MOO) algorithms to simulation-based aerodynamic design exploration.

Design/methodology/approach

The three algorithms for multi-objective aerodynamic optimization compared in this work are the combination of evolutionary algorithms, design space reduction and surrogate models, the multi-fidelity point-by-point Pareto set identification and the multi-fidelity sequential domain patching (SDP) Pareto set identification. The algorithms are applied to three cases, namely, an analytical test case, the design of transonic airfoil shapes and the design of subsonic wing shapes, and are evaluated based on the resulting best possible trade-offs and the computational overhead.

Findings

The results show that all three algorithms yield comparable best possible trade-offs for all the test cases. For the aerodynamic test cases, the multi-fidelity Pareto set identification algorithms outperform the surrogate-assisted evolutionary algorithm by up to 50 per cent in terms of cost. Furthermore, the point-by-point algorithm is around 27 per cent more efficient than the SDP algorithm.

Originality/value

The novelty of this work includes the first applications of the SDP algorithm to multi-fidelity aerodynamic design exploration, the first comparison of these multi-fidelity MOO algorithms and new results of a complex simulation-based multi-objective aerodynamic design of subsonic wing shapes involving two conflicting criteria, several nonlinear constraints and over ten design variables.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 12 January 2021

Steven Gross, Katharina Stelzl, Thomas Grisold, Jan Mendling, Maximilian Röglinger and Jan vom Brocke

Process redesign refers to the intentional change of business processes. While process redesign methods provide structure to redesign projects, they provide limited support during…

9587

Abstract

Purpose

Process redesign refers to the intentional change of business processes. While process redesign methods provide structure to redesign projects, they provide limited support during the actual creation of to-be processes. More specifically, existing approaches hardly develop an ontological perspective on what can be changed from a process design point of view, and they provide limited procedural guidance on how to derive possible process design alternatives. This paper aims to provide structured guidance during the to-be process creation.

Design/methodology/approach

Using design space exploration as a theoretical lens, the authors develop a conceptual model of the design space for business processes, which facilitates the systematic exploration of design alternatives along different dimensions. The authors utilized an established method for taxonomy development for constructing the conceptual model. First, the authors derived design dimensions for business processes and underlying characteristics through a literature review. Second, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews with professional process experts. Third, the authors evaluated their artifact through three real-world applications.

Findings

The authors identified 19 business process design dimensions that are grouped into different layers and specified by underlying characteristics. Guiding questions and illustrative real-world examples help to deploy these design dimensions in practice. Taken together, the design dimensions form the “Business Process Design Space” (BPD-Space).

Research limitations/implications

Practitioners can use the BPD-Space to explore, question and rethink business processes in various respects.

Originality/value

The BPD-Space complements existing approaches by explicating process design dimensions. It abstracts from specific process flows and representations of processes and supports an unconstrained exploration of various alternative process designs.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 27 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 March 2008

Philippe Silberzahn and Christophe Midler

The purpose of this study is to examine how firms deal with a situation of true uncertainty about their potential markets and technologies. Specifically, it asks how firms can…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine how firms deal with a situation of true uncertainty about their potential markets and technologies. Specifically, it asks how firms can create products when the corresponding market does not exist.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on a longitudinal study of a high‐tech firm, combined with analysis of existing theory in product design and entrepreneurship.

Findings

Markets and products are usually a defining choice made early on by firms in their strategic process. Such a choice guides their development by providing a “stable concept” to which decisions can be related. When markets do not exist yet, however, this approach is not effective. Early choice of products and markets limits firms' flexibility by constraining their ability and willingness to adapt, while fundamental new technical and market information is likely to emerge during the project that will prove the initial assumptions wrong. The paper shows an alternative approach where products and markets actually result from a generic process of products and markets exploration driven by the firm. It is suggested that this approach forms a robust design in that it allows the firm to deal with the uncertainty by simultaneously developing its products and exploring markets, while preserving the flexibility to adapt to the changing environment.

Practical implications

The practical implication of this paper is to suggest an alternative approach to deliberate planning in high‐tech ventures. With this approach, rather than markets and products, strategy defines a market and technology exploration process.

Originality/value

The paper is original in three ways. It links the product design and market exploration processes in high‐tech firm development; it is based on an in‐depth longitudinal study; and it results from an academic‐practitioner collaborative work.

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 November 2012

Caroline M. Clevenger and John R. Haymaker

Advanced design strategies supported by iterative engineering performance calculations expand the number of alternatives designers can analyze by orders of magnitude. Yet, in the…

Abstract

Purpose

Advanced design strategies supported by iterative engineering performance calculations expand the number of alternatives designers can analyze by orders of magnitude. Yet, in the face of vast, under‐constrained design challenges with wide ranging and sometimes ill‐defined implications related to sustainability, it is not possible to replace building design with automated search. The purpose of this paper is to assist designers in their selection of strategies that have been shown to be effective in promoting sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper applies and extends the design exploration assessment methodology (DEAM) to compare the value of distinct design strategies. The authors use DEAM to demonstrate that designers face non‐trivially distinct challenges, even in the well‐defined arena of design for energy efficiency. They next evaluate and compare the effectiveness of strategies such as point‐analysis, screening, trend analysis, and optimization. They identify associated process costs, and extend DEAM to assess the relative value of information that each strategy provides for a given challenge.

Findings

Findings empirically rank six strategies for two challenges and demonstrate the relatively high value of trend analysis for energy‐efficient design.

Originality/value

The implication of the findings is that advanced computer analysis strategies should be pursued to support high performance, energy‐efficient design. Such conclusions motivate future research to assess the value of various strategies in the context of the broad and qualitative fields of sustainable design and development.

Details

Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, vol. 1 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6099

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2005

Anu Gupta and Chandra Shekhar

The objective is to explore various adder architectures using different logic‐design styles and transistor‐sizes for different operand sizes. The scope of this work is the…

Abstract

Purpose

The objective is to explore various adder architectures using different logic‐design styles and transistor‐sizes for different operand sizes. The scope of this work is the development of tools, which can be used to predict an optimum adder design for a given application based on the speed and energy‐consumption constraints.

Design/methodology/approach

The work has been carried out in two parts. In the first part, simulation results were generated using five different architectures; each designed using four logic design styles for three different transistor sizes. The designs were simulated to generate the values of worst‐case propagation delay and energy consumption per addition. This information is used for validating the delay and energy consumption per addition in the second part.

Findings

Optimum adder design under varying condition can be found out using this work.

Research limitations/implications

The predictive model does not consider the variation in load capacitance of each cell.

Practical implications

At present, a prime requirement in application specific integrated circuit design is reduction in design cycle time. As a result, there is minimum scope for exploration of arithmetic units in order to choose the best‐suited design. This work will help the designers to choose an optimum adder design for a given set of requirements.

Originality/value

In this work, four degrees of freedom are taken in adder design space, which are not taken before. Here, the adder design space has been explored, studied, and analyzed in this study under so many varying conditions.

Details

Microelectronics International, vol. 22 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1356-5362

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2007

Orestes Chouchoulas and Alan Day

Although the idea of linking a shape grammar to a genetic algorithm is not new, this paper proposes a novel way of combining these two elements in order to provide a tool that can…

Abstract

Although the idea of linking a shape grammar to a genetic algorithm is not new, this paper proposes a novel way of combining these two elements in order to provide a tool that can be used for design exploration. Using a shape grammar for design generation provides a way of creating a range of potential solutions to a design problem which fit with the designer's stylistic agenda. A genetic algorithm can then be used to take these designs and develop them into a much richer set of solutions which can still be recognised as part of the same family. By setting quantifiable targets for design performance, the genetic algorithm can evolve new designs which exhibit the best features of previous generations. The designer is then presented with a wide range of high scoring solutions and can choose which of these to take forward and develop in the conventional manner. The novelty of the proposed approach is in the use of a shape code, which describes the steps that the shape grammar has taken to create each design. The genetic algorithm works on this shape code by applying crossover and mutation in order to create a range of designs that can be tested. The fittest are then selected in order to provide the genetic material for the next generation. A prototype version of such a program, called Shape Evolution, has been developed. In order to test Shape Evolution it has been used to design a range of apartment buildings which are required to meet certain performance criteria.

Details

Open House International, vol. 32 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0168-2601

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 March 2023

Ekta Shokeen, David Weintrop, Anthony James Pellicone, Peter Francis Moon, Diane Ketelhut, Michel Cukier and Jandelyn Dawn Plane

The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of perplexity in young players’ experiences within an educational videogame and how reflective thinking can help them to get…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of perplexity in young players’ experiences within an educational videogame and how reflective thinking can help them to get out of perplexing scenarios.

Design/methodology/approach

We used a constructivist grounded theory approach and the lenses of Dewey’s conceptualization of perplexity and reflective thinking to examine young players’ in-game experiences.

Findings

We find that perplexity in gameplay is an experience that occurs when players encounter uncertainty about where to go or what to do next in the game. Findings reveal that while playing an educational game players engaged in two forms of perplexity – exploration-based and puzzle-based. Additionally, we unpack how players overcome these perplexing scenarios by reflecting on the information provided in the game.

Research limitations/implications

While in a state of perplexity, reflecting on the in-game information aids players to think and make meaning, thus supporting learning. We provide suggestions for how to better utilize perplexity as an in-game design mechanism to encourage young players to reflect on in-game information.

Originality/value

This empirical study is original in its context of studying the phenomenon of perplexity in videogames and young players’ in-game reflection experiences.

Details

Information and Learning Sciences, vol. 124 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-5348

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 August 2018

Lorenzo Fiorineschi

Learning systematic conceptual design approaches could be difficult for students who are asked to adapt their intuitive design rationale to more abstract and divergent thinking…

Abstract

Purpose

Learning systematic conceptual design approaches could be difficult for students who are asked to adapt their intuitive design rationale to more abstract and divergent thinking styles. The purpose of this study is to propose a conceptual design approach with a well-defined reference framework and procedure to help students to gradually move toward concreteness and to explore the design space.

Design/methodology/approach

The so-called problem–solution network approach has been taken as a reference and upgraded with a specific framework to manage abstraction levels. A first didactical application of the proposal is described, and specific feedbacks from students have been collected by means of an anonymous survey.

Findings

Despite the limited course time allotted for the argument, students’ feedbacks revealed that the proposed abstraction framework is useful to learn systematic conceptual design and to support the understanding of creative design thinking.

Research limitations/implications

The proposal has been applied on a single class of MS engineering students in a course where only a part of the available time was allotted to conceptual design activities. However, the received positive feedbacks are encouraging and allow pushing toward more comprehensive applications and investigations.

Originality/value

The proposal shown in this paper uses acknowledged concepts of abstraction and function to propose a new integrated framework to manage abstraction levels in problem solving activities. The framework has been implemented in a very recent conceptual design approach based on problem–solution co-evolution, which has been proposed to overcome the flaws ascribed to classical function-based methods.

Details

Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, vol. 16 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1726-0531

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 April 2018

Manuel Muehlbauer

Urban typogenetics investigates the use of machine intelligence for the evaluation of performance measures as a decision support system (DSS) with a focus on urban aesthetics…

Abstract

Purpose

Urban typogenetics investigates the use of machine intelligence for the evaluation of performance measures as a decision support system (DSS) with a focus on urban aesthetics evaluation. This framework allows designers to address performance measures, urban measures and aesthetic criteria in an adaptive, interactive generative design approach. The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of the structure and the nature of the framework and the application of human-in-the-loop design systems to urban design.

Design/methodology/approach

Significant literature reviewed lead to the identification of an application potential in the decision-making process. This potential is situated around the use of AI for the evaluation of subjective performance criteria in a DSS. Recognising that the key decisions about urban aesthetics are based on the individual evaluation of the designer, an HITL approach for computational design software to support creative decisions is presented in this paper.

Findings

Urban typogenetics for interactive generative urban design allows the exploration of complex design spaces by using a human-in-the-loop design system in the context of urban aesthetics. Hybrid aesthetic evaluation allows the designer to analyse morphological features and urban aesthetics during exploratory search and reveal hidden aspects of the urban context by visualisation of the results of the aesthetic evaluation. Integrating performance measures and urban aesthetics in urban typogenetics addresses major criteria of urban design at the beginning of the creative process.

Originality/value

The use of a broad interactive approach to typogenetic design in an application to urban scenarios is a novel conceptual approach to the design of urban configurations. The suggested adaptive mechanism would allow the user of a typogenetic tool to subjectively evaluate solutions by sight and reason about aesthetic, social and cultural implication of the reviewed design solutions.

Details

Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6099

Keywords

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