Democratizing the Designer's Toolbox: Adopting free, open-source, and platform-agnostic tools into computational design teaching
Z. Akbar, G. Ron, and T. Wortmann. Proceedings of the 41st International Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) Volume 1, 1, page 41-50. https://ecaade2023.tugraz.at/, Education and research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe, eCAADe, (September 2023)
DOI: 10.52842/conf.ecaade.2023.1.041
Abstract
This paper proposes a computational design education approach where students learn to
develop their own geometric and logical workflows beyond specific software and
platforms. The course’s objectives are to familiarize architecture students with
computational geometry, foster computational thinking that stays relevant over time, and
promote democratized design tools through computation. Over a semester, we taught
students to work directly on coordinates or numerical representations by utilizing 3-
Dimensional (3D) computer graphics programming rather than learning 3D modeling
software that rapidly goes out of style. This paper outlines our teaching methods to
introduce the technology stack, design algorithm development, open-source or free tools
implementation, and user experience – interface design. This paper also reviews the
students’ final projects to deliver interactive web-browser applications for architectural
design of varied scales and compares them according to four evaluation parameters. The
paper culminates with the project's critical assessment and students' feedback to evaluate
our approach and suggest an outlook for future development.
%0 Conference Paper
%1 Akbar_2023
%A Akbar, Zuardin
%A Ron, Gili
%A Wortmann, Thomas
%B Proceedings of the 41st International Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) Volume 1
%C https://ecaade2023.tugraz.at/
%D 2023
%E Dokonal, Wolfgang
%E Hirschberg, Urs
%E Wurzer, Gabriel
%I eCAADe
%K from:zuardinakbar myown peer programming
%N 41
%P 41-50
%R 10.52842/conf.ecaade.2023.1.041
%T Democratizing the Designer's Toolbox: Adopting free, open-source, and platform-agnostic tools into computational design teaching
%U https://doi.org/10.52842%2Fconf.ecaade.2023.1.041
%V 1
%X This paper proposes a computational design education approach where students learn to
develop their own geometric and logical workflows beyond specific software and
platforms. The course’s objectives are to familiarize architecture students with
computational geometry, foster computational thinking that stays relevant over time, and
promote democratized design tools through computation. Over a semester, we taught
students to work directly on coordinates or numerical representations by utilizing 3-
Dimensional (3D) computer graphics programming rather than learning 3D modeling
software that rapidly goes out of style. This paper outlines our teaching methods to
introduce the technology stack, design algorithm development, open-source or free tools
implementation, and user experience – interface design. This paper also reviews the
students’ final projects to deliver interactive web-browser applications for architectural
design of varied scales and compares them according to four evaluation parameters. The
paper culminates with the project's critical assessment and students' feedback to evaluate
our approach and suggest an outlook for future development.
@inproceedings{Akbar_2023,
abstract = {This paper proposes a computational design education approach where students learn to
develop their own geometric and logical workflows beyond specific software and
platforms. The course’s objectives are to familiarize architecture students with
computational geometry, foster computational thinking that stays relevant over time, and
promote democratized design tools through computation. Over a semester, we taught
students to work directly on coordinates or numerical representations by utilizing 3-
Dimensional (3D) computer graphics programming rather than learning 3D modeling
software that rapidly goes out of style. This paper outlines our teaching methods to
introduce the technology stack, design algorithm development, open-source or free tools
implementation, and user experience – interface design. This paper also reviews the
students’ final projects to deliver interactive web-browser applications for architectural
design of varied scales and compares them according to four evaluation parameters. The
paper culminates with the project's critical assessment and students' feedback to evaluate
our approach and suggest an outlook for future development. },
added-at = {2023-09-27T13:31:24.000+0200},
address = {https://ecaade2023.tugraz.at/},
author = {Akbar, Zuardin and Ron, Gili and Wortmann, Thomas},
biburl = {https://puma.ub.uni-stuttgart.de/bibtex/29e1fb41fb9309456cd8f704cd060f1e1/zuardinakbar},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 41st International Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe ({eCAADe}) [Volume 1]},
doi = {10.52842/conf.ecaade.2023.1.041},
editor = {Dokonal, Wolfgang and Hirschberg, Urs and Wurzer, Gabriel},
eventdate = {20-22 September 2023},
interhash = {1ad0c0fd9aa232b6761105a36ab05437},
intrahash = {9e1fb41fb9309456cd8f704cd060f1e1},
keywords = {from:zuardinakbar myown peer programming},
language = {English},
month = {September},
number = 41,
organization = {Education and research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe},
pages = {41-50},
preprinturl = {https://papers.cumincad.org/data/works/att/ecaade2023_311.pdf},
publisher = {eCAADe},
timestamp = {2023-09-27T13:31:24.000+0200},
title = {Democratizing the Designer's Toolbox: Adopting free, open-source, and platform-agnostic tools into computational design teaching},
url = {https://doi.org/10.52842%2Fconf.ecaade.2023.1.041},
venue = {Graz, Austria},
volume = 1,
year = 2023
}