Computer Aided Architecture: origins and development

Alberto Sdegno

Abstract


The essay deals with the birth of CAD (Computer Aided Design) in relation to topics of architecture (Computer Aided Architectural Design). The clo- se link between the themes of CAAD and futu- re BIM (Building Information Modeling) can cla- rify the conditions that have made possible the spread of BIM as a reference standard. We shall both consider research by Charles Eastman in the 1970s, and describe relevant considerations con- cerning the history of computer graphics and the architectural design, by Ivan Sutherland, Steven Coons, Nicholas Negroponte, Christopher Alexan- der, Douglas Engelbart, William Mitchell, Warren Chalk, Mario Carpo, Jean Nouvel. There are many systems that have anticipated the BIM, such as the Building Description System (BDS), the General Space Planner (GSP), the CO- PLANNER, the URBAN5, the Building Optimiza- tion Program (BOP), the BUILD. 


Keywords


architecture, modeling, BIM, CAAD, drawing

References


Alexander, Christopher (1964), Notes on the Synthesis of Form, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. 1964.

Angelidakis, Andreas, Pizzigoni, Vittorio, Scelsi, Valter (2015), Super Supertsudio, SilvanaEditoriale, Cinisello Balsamo.

Bardini, Thierry (2000), Bootstrapping. Douglas Engelbart, Coevolution, and the Origins of Personal Computing, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.

Baudrillard, Jean, Nouvel, Jean (2003), Architettura e nulla. Oggetti singolari, Electa, Milano.

Blau, Eve, Kaufman, Edward (eds.) (1989), Architecture and its Image. Four Centuries of Architectural Representation. Works from the Collection of the Canadian Center for Architecture, Centre Canadien d’Architecture, Montreal.

Campion, David (1968), Computers in Architectural Design, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam-London-New York.

Cardoso Llach, Daniel (2015), Builders of the Vision. Software and the Imagination of Design, Routledge, New York.

Carpo, Mario (2011), The Alphabet and the Algorithm, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.-London.

Chalk, Warren (1965), Architecture as Consumer Product, in ARENA. ARCHITECTURAL ASSOCIATION JOURNAL, November, ora in: http://archigram.westminster.ac.uk/essay.php?id=281.

Coons, Steven A. (1963), An Outline of the Requirements for a Computer-Aided Design System, in Spring Joint Computer Conference, Vol. 23, AFIPS Conference Proceedings, Santa Monica, CA, pp. 299-304.

Eastman, Charles M., and others (1974), An Outline of the Building Description System, Research Report No. 50, Carnegie-Mellon Univ., Pittsburgs, Pa. Inst. Of Physical Planning, September.

Eastman, Charles M. (1999), Building Product Models: Computer Environments, Supporting Design and Construction, CRC press, Boca Raton, FL.

Eastman, Charles, Teicholz, Paul, Sacks, Rafael, Liston, Kathleen (2008), BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers, and Contractors, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey.

Engelbart, Douglas C. (1962), Augmented Human Intellect: A Conceptual Framework, Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, California, October, Contract AF49(638)-1024. SRI Project No. 3578.

Harper G. Neil (ed.) (1968), Computer Applications in Architecture and Engineering, McGraw-Hill, New York.

Harper, G.Neil (1968), BOP-An Approach to Building Optmization, in Proceedings of the 1968 23rd ACM National Conference, ACM ‘68, New York, NY, pp. 575-583.

Licklider, Joseph C.R. (1960), Man-Computer Symbiosis, in IRE TRANSACTIONS ON HUMAN FACTORS IN ELECTRONICS, vol. HFE-1, March, pp. 4-11.

Mitchell, William J. (ed.) (1972), Environmental Design: Research and Practice, proceedings of the EDRA 3/ar 8 conference, University of California at Los Angeles, January.

Mitchell, William J. (1977), Computer-Aided Architectural Design, Petrocelli-Charter, New York 1977.

Mitchell, William J. (1990), The Logic of Architecture. Design, Computation, and Cognition, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.-London.

Negroponte, Nicholas (1972), The Architecture Machine, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.-London.

Negroponte, Nicholas (1975), Soft Architecture Machines, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.-London.

Sdegno, Alberto (1996), Computer Aided Deconstruction, in ARCHITETTURA INTERSEZIONI, 4, dicembre, pp. 123-125.

Sdegno, Alberto (2001), e-architecture. L’architettura nell’epoca del computer, in CASABELLA, 691, luglio-agosto, pp. 58-67.

Sdegno, Alberto (2009), Breve storia della rappresentazione numerica, in R. Migliari, Geometria descrittiva, Volume I – Metodi e costruzioni, CittàStudi-De Agostini, Novara, pp. 245-252.

Sdegno, Alberto (2012), Sulle origini della teoria del disegno digitale. In memoria di Steven A. Coons (1912-1979), in L. Carlevaris, M. Filippa (a cura di), Elogio della teoria: identità delle discipline della rappresentazione e del rilievo, Gangemi, Roma, pp. 333-341.

Sdegno, Alberto (2013), Sketchpad: sulla nascita del disegno digitale, in DISEGNARE IDEE IMMAGINI, 46, XXIII, pp. 74-81.

Souder, James J., Clark, Welden E., Elkind, Jerome I., Brown, Madison B. (1964), Planning for Hospitals. A System Approach Using Computer-Aided Techniques, American Hospital Association, Chicago.

Sutherland, Ivan E. (1963), Sketchpad. A Man-Machine Graphical Communication System, Ph.D. Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Tecnology, Cambridge, Mass. January.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2016

DISEGNARECON
ISSN 1828 5961
Registration at L'Aquila Law Court no 3/15 on 29th June, 2015.
Indexed in SCOPUS. Diamond Open Access. All papers are subjected to double blind peer review system by qualified reviewers.

Journal founded by Roberto Mingucci