Automation, a mixture of algorithms, robots, software, and avatars, is transforming all types of jobs and industries. This book responds to one critical question for the design and construction industry: “how are architects, engineers, and contractors using information technology to further automate their practices?” Addressing the use of new digital technologies, particularly parametric automation for design and construction in the building industry, this book looks at how technologically advanced architectural and engineering practices are semi-automating their design processes by using sophisticated algorithms to transform their workflows. The book also documents a set of firms that are further advancing automation by using pre-fabrication, modularization, and custom designs via robotics.

This book highlights computationally enabled and digitally fabricated strategies used in the design of a series of full-size wooden structures. It introduces theoretical foundations and then focuses on the possibilities that have emerged as a result of the material-aware processes. The case studies expound wood as one of the most suitable materials to experience the seamless framework introduced with the digital design-to-construction chain. Two main aspects of the pavilions constructed, developed in various international academic groups, are considered. On one hand the case studies explore tolerances of raw and engineered material intertwined with machine processing; they also address material enhancement through strip applications in timber construction. In addition, the structures are examined in the light of an extensible designing path, which acts as an interoperable procedure, bridging the virtual and the real.

This book explores various digital representation strategies that could change the future of wooden architectures by blending tradition and innovation. Composed of 61 chapters, written by 153 authors hailing from 5 continents, 24 countries and 69 research centers, it addresses advanced digital modeling, with a particular focus on solutions involving generative models and dynamic value, inherent to the relation between knowing how to draw and how to build. Thanks to the potential of computing, areas like parametric design and digital manufacturing are opening exciting new avenues for the future of construction. The book’s chapters are divided into five sections that connect digital wood design to integrated approaches and generative design; to model synthesis and morphological comprehension; to lessons learned from nature and material explorations; to constructive wisdom and implementation-related challenges; and to parametric transfigurations and morphological optimizations.

Through expanded intelligence, the use of robotics has fundamentally transformed a variety of fields, including manufacturing, aerospace, medicine, social services, and agriculture. Continued research on robotic design is critical to solving various dynamic obstacles individuals, enterprises, and humanity at large face on a daily basis. Robotic Systems: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications is a vital reference source that delves into the current issues, methodologies, and trends relating to advanced robotic technology in the modern world. Highlighting a range of topics such as mechatronics, cybernetics, and human-computer interaction, this multi-volume book is ideally designed for robotics engineers, mechanical engineers, robotics technicians, operators, software engineers, designers, programmers, industry professionals, researchers, students, academicians, and computer practitioners seeking current research on developing innovative ideas for intelligent and autonomous robotics systems.

Visual computing and descriptive geometry are multidisciplinary fields addressing the handling of images, 3D models, and other computer graphics. These ideas are experiencing a revival due to emergent technologies and applications available to developers. Based in traditional forms of design and architecture, these fields are currently experiencing a bounty of new research based on old principles. The Handbook of Research on Visual Computing and Emerging Geometrical Design Tools seeks to add to this knowledge base by considering these technologies from a designer’s perspective rather than reiterating the principles of computer science. It combines aspects of geometry and representation with emerging tools for CAD, generation, and visualization while addressing the digital heritage of such fields. This book is an invaluable resource for developers, students of both graphic and computer-generated design, researchers, and designers.

TRANSFORMING ISSUES IN HOUSING DESIGN A practical and complete resource for students, researchers, and practitioners of housing design Transforming Issues in Housing Design delivers a comprehensive vision for the design, philosophy, psychology, efficiency, and constitution of housing. This collection of articles explores many of the most pressing and relevant issues related to the ongoing transformation of housing design. Twenty-two contributed chapters discuss the past and current state of housing design, how it evolved to become what it is today, and, finally, how it may unfold in the future. A team of global experts presents the most up-to-date research and a diverse and illuminating collection of examples to highlight housing design around the world. Readers will also find: A thorough introduction to modern housing design and how it relieves and contributes to various social and economic problems Insightful explorations of the built environment, interior architecture, urban design, sustainable living, space planning, and more Practical discussions of a theoretical framework to make sense of housing design concepts Complete treatments of concepts, research, and built projects from a diverse range of communities and cultures Perfect for architects and students of urban studies, interior design, and architecture, Transforming Issues in Housing Design will also benefit those who design, research, and teach housing.

Design Computing will help you understand the rapidly evolving relationship between computing, designers, and the many different environments they create or work in. The book introduces the topic of design computing, and covers the basics of hardware and software, so you don’t need to be an expert. Topics include the fundamentals of digital representation, programming and interfaces for design; the shifting landscape of opportunity and expectation in practice and pedagogy; placing sensors in buildings to measure performance; and the challenge of applying information effectively in design. The book also includes additional reading for those who wish to dig deeper into the subject. Design Computing will provide you with a greater awareness of the issues that permeate the field, opportunities for you to investigate, and perhaps motivation to push the boundaries.

This book explores the link between the Food-Water-Energy nexus and sustainability, and the extraordinary value that small tweaks to this nexus can achieve for more resilient cities and communities. Using data from Urban Living Labs in six participating cities (Eindhoven, Gdańsk, Miami, Southend-on-Sea, Taipei, and Uppsala) to co-define context-specific challenges, the results from each city are collated into an Integrated Decision Support System to guide and improve robust decision-making on future urban development. The book presents contributions from CRUNCH, a transdisciplinary team of scholars and practitioners whose expertise spans urban climate modelling; food, water, and energy management; the design of resilient public space; collecting better urban data; and the development of smart city technology. Whilst previous works on the Food-Water-Energy nexus have focused on large, transnational cases, this book explores local ways to use the Food-Water-Energy nexus to improve urban resilience. It suggests tangible ways in which the cities and communities around us can become both more efficient and more climate resilient through small changes to their existing infrastructure. Over half of the world’s population lives in urban areas, and this is expected to increase to 68% by 2050. We urgently need to make our cities more resilient. This book provides a planning tool for decision-making and concludes with policy recommendations, making it relevant to a range of audiences including urbanists, environmentalists, architects, urban designers, and city planners, as well as students and scholars interested in alternative approaches to sustainability and resilience. Chapter 2 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Critical appraisal of architectural design and management in the digital age through international perspectives Architectural Design and Management in the Digital Age delivers an evaluation of digitalisation in the evolving processes of architecture, providing a holistic treatment of the subject in terms of technologies, human context, emerging concepts, and the management of digital projects. This book includes analysis of: the advantages of digital technology in appropriate circumstances but also to appreciate that alternative methods may continue to provide considerable benefits for other situations. the implications of the digital world for creativity and architectural quality, the diversity of people who could be involved, and reaching the disadvantaged and disenfranchised. the role of the architect and other professionals within design and management processes. how emphasis on data management is creating diverging practices, which involve new concepts and definitions that require interpretation, especially with regard to experiences of design processes in different countries. Providing fresh reflections on a myriad of timely topics, Architectural Design and Management in the Digital Age: International Perspectives is an essential resource for researchers, academics, and advanced students in architecture, design management, and construction, along with professionals in those disciplines.