eCAADe 2015

Mateus, D., Sousa, M., Klerk, R. de, Gama, S., Jorge, J., Duarte, J. P. (2015). From Τέκτων to Τέχνη: going back to the classical roots of Architecture. In Real Time – Proceedings of the 33rd eCAADe Conference – Volume 1 (pp. 107–116). Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria.

Abstract The Architects of Classical Greece conceived and communicated their ideas to the builders at the construction site, using physical models at real scale (Hewitt, M.:1985). It was in this way that the details of the Greek temples were conceived and produced, such as the molding of capitals and cornices, as well as pieces of ornamental sculpture. In those times, designing and constructing buildings were interconnected, forming a single activity. With the advancement of knowledge and technology, the process of design and production of buildings has become fragmented, giving rise to different activities and professions such as architect, engineer and builder (Duarte, J.P.:2004). With the Tecton (from the Greek Τέκτων to build) and Technos (from the Greek Τέχνη: literally craft or art) projects we intend to approach anew the activities of design and production of buildings. We intend to develop tools that empower architects, at first, to project /design and on a second level to communicate the ideated design to production. In the Tecton research project, we explore a design mode inspired by the Greeks, but using 3D virtual models instead of physical models. The intention is to apply modern Human-Computer Interaction techniques, which we call Immersive Modeling, to Architectural and Urban design. We propose a Virtual Reality Immersive Environment (VR), where Architects and Designers alike can switch between the creator and user points-of-view, designing buildings and urban spaces while also being able to use and experience them at full-scale in the virtual setting. A requirements analysis was carried out to gather the information necessary for the implementation of such tools. Namely, we surveyed the target users along different vectors, either through online surveys conducted to architectural offices, or live interviews and user and task analysis oriented to selected case studies. This user information was complemented by a technical review of modeling applications, both 2D and 3D. The data thus gathered allowed us to determine the most relevant modeling and editing operators accounting for the designer workflow, as well as which interaction metaphors and user scenarios are likely to be more effective in immersive design environments. These tools aim to provide better real time interactions between the designer and the computer in the conceptual phase of the project, thus reducing the time required for the design activities and stimulating creative work to allow more in-depth explorations of the design space. This is achieved through three-dimensional activities in architectural and urban design using two-hand gestures and body posture captured in real-time. Thus, we aim to go beyond traditional CAD systems on desktop computers, whose limited interaction capabilities hinder the natural flow of creativity. Our approach comprises four modules, which complement to address different needs: “WorldBuilder”, “AirSketching”, “VirtualExplorer” and “CityWave”. “WorldBuilder” allows 3D modeling of basic solids such as cubes, spheres, parallelepipeds, cylinders and cones, through bi-manual gestures in a virtual reality immersive environment. It is also possible to overlap the solids, developing more complex models. “AirSketching” serves to sketch initial ideas in 3D, by means of a device used by a hand that is recognized by the system as a virtual pen. “VirtualExplorer” is a navigation control interface in virtual environments, based on the recognition of the user’s body movements when they perform steps in the same place. It allows designers to explore and review the models they created walking along or inside them and visualizing at full-scale from different perspectives. “CityWave” uses a stereoscopic table enabled with multi-touch gestures to ideate Urban Models ideation in a natural way, using handwaving above the table combined with multitouch. From Tecton we want to evolve to Technos. As the Greek architects communicated their intentions to builders through rigorous and detailed three-dimensional physical models (Hewitt, M.:1985), in Technos we propose to develop 3D Design in VR, to go beyond the initial conceptual process of architecture and urbanism projects. Our vision is to develop rigorous and detailed three-dimensional virtual models, that then can be used as construction models to serve both as communication and reference elements for constructing buildings and urban spaces. It is also worth to mention that throughout the History of Architecture, the tools and instruments used by architects and urban planners influenced their creative activity and the buildings and cities they created. We believe that the Tecton and the Technos projects can thus arrive at new instruments for architectural design and urban planning, moving towards new approaches to architecture and urbanism.

Keywords Human-Computer Interaction; Virtual Reality Immersive Environment; Immersive Modeling; Real Time Design; Construction Models

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