Human Activity Modelling Performed by Means of Use Process Ontologies

Quality, according to Pirsig’s universal statements, does not belong to the object itself, nor to the subject itself, but to both and to their interactions. In architecture it is terribly true as we have a Building Object and Users that interact with it.The problem we approach here, renouncing at the impossible task of modelling the actor’s ...

A Methodology for Computational Architectural Design Based on Biological Principles

Biomimicry, where nature is emulated as a basis for design, is a growing area of research in the fields of architecture and engineering. The widespread and practical application of biomimicry as a design approach remains however largely unrealized. A growing body of international research identifies various obstacles to the employment of...

[Architectural] Reasoning over BIM/CAD Database

Design activity is pervasive as it is increasingly expanding into all sectors and every day it is increasingly difficult to anticipate the often unpredictable changes resulting from new inventions and changes in technology, tools, methods and social customs using current design systems, and at the same time we need to preserve and store...

Even ‘Clouds’ Can Burn

Architecture, nowadays, is an even more demanding activity in which complexity is the keyword: complex forms, complex functions and complex structures require sophisticated facilities and components, for example, ‘The Cloud’ of D. and M. Fuksas in Rome. These complexities can give rise to numerous risks, among which fire is frequently a central...

A Context-Knowledge Model for Architectural Design: A holistic approach by means of artificial intelligence techniques

From the earliest stages of the Architectural Design Process, designers have to take a lot of design decisions mostly based on “Context”. The present research is aimed at developing a Context Knowledge Model to improve the representation of ‘Context’ for architectural design. ‘Context’ has been analysed and formalized by means of Ontologies...