THE RIGHT TOOL AT THE RIGHT TIME

Many architects can recall a favorite design instructor who could glance at their drawings then pull down the perfect reference book to help in further developing an idea. If humans can infer design intent from sketches, maybe computers can too.

So reasoned Ellen Yi-Luen Do, now a professor at the University of Washington. For her dissertation for a Ph.D. from the Georgia Institute of Technology, she investigated whether a computer could be as insightful as that helpful instructor.

GREEN CAD & 3D DESIGN SURVEY

Environmentally conscious, "green" design has gained a respectable following among those already inclined to see the world through emerald lenses. Everyone else is waiting to see if it's worth the trouble.

One barrier has been a lack of truly usable building energy simulation tools. To build these, software developers need to understand the design process through the eyes of nonengineers. However, a new survey uncovers subtleties in how design software is applied in practice.

HAND-CRAFTED DIGITAL MODELS

From Brazil comes good news for anyone who has ever felt like they have one hand tied behind their back when manipulating 3D forms with a 2D drawing instrument.

University of Brasilia architecture professor Edison Pratini has been developing the "3D SketchMaker," which relies on natural, expressive hand gestures for creating 3D computer models. This process makes form-giving easier and removes the discontinuity between conceiving a form and translating it into a digital model.

DESIGN BY PHYSICS: INNOVATIVE SPACE PLANNING TOOL

In the Department of Architecture at Texas A&M University in College Station, Scott Arvin, working with professor Donald House, has developed a system for "physically based space planning." Arvin's computer prototype accepts building program parameters (square footages, adjacency and separation requirements) and constructs viable floor plans.

TODAY'S RESEARCH, TOMORROW'S SOFTWARE

There is a crystal ball that can show us the future of architectural software. It depends not on gimmickry but on the fact that tomorrow's technology goes through years, sometimes decades, of development before it becomes commercially available.

COMPUTER VISUALIZATION AS A TOOL FOR CRITICAL ANALYSIS

For decades, critics have analyzed Frank Lloyd Wright's Darwin D. Martin House based on direct observation and 2D architectural drawings. But their conclusions lack the insight made visible by 3D computer visualizations. This study uses CAD techniques more commonly applied to design and presentation and re-evaluates both the house and the critical statements traditionally accepted about Wright's design.