Die Entwicklung der Computergraphik und ihr Einsatz bei der digitalen Architekturrekonstruktion

Die digitale 3D-Rekonstruktion von Architektur- und Archäologieobjekten ist eng mit der anwendung der Methoden und Systeme der Computer Graphik verknüpft. Dieser Artikel stellt solche Verbindungen seit den Anfängen der Computergraphik in den 1950er Jahren bis etwa zur Jahrtausendwende dar. Die Entwicklungen von Methoden zur Gewinnung von 3D-Daten, i.e. 3D-Scannverfahren und Photogrammetrie, werden ergänzend kurz betrachtet.The digital 3D reconstruction of architectural and archeological objects is closely related to the application of computer graphics methods and systems. In this article we trace these relations since the beginnings of computer graphics after 1950 up to about the turn of the millennium. In addition, the development of methods for the production of 3D data from real objects, i.e. 3D scanning and photogrammetry, is briefly touched upon

Shape Retrieval Methods for Architectural 3D Models

This thesis introduces new methods for content-based retrieval of architecture-related 3D models. We thereby consider two different overall types of architectural 3D models. The first type consists of context objects that are used for detailed design and decoration of 3D building model drafts. This includes e.g. furnishing for interior design or barriers and fences for forming the exterior environment. The second type consists of actual building models. To enable efficient content-based retrieval for both model types that is tailored to the user requirements of the architectural domain, type-specific algorithms must be developed. On the one hand, context objects like furnishing that provide similar functions (e.g. seating furniture) often share a similar shape. Nevertheless they might be considered to belong to different object classes from an architectural point of view (e.g. armchair, elbow chair, swivel chair). The differentiation is due to small geometric details and is sometimes only obvious to an expert from the domain. Building models on the other hand are often distinguished according to the underlying floor- and room plans. Topological floor plan properties for example serve as a starting point for telling apart residential and commercial buildings. The first contribution of this thesis is a new meta descriptor for 3D retrieval that combines different types of local shape descriptors using a supervised learning approach. The approach enables the differentiation of object classes according to small geometric details and at the same time integrates expert knowledge from the field of architecture. We evaluate our approach using a database containing arbitrary 3D models as well as on one that only consists of models from the architectural domain. We then further extend our approach by adding a sophisticated shape descriptor localization strategy. Additionally, we exploit knowledge about the spatial relationship of object components to further enhance the retrieval performance. In the second part of the thesis we introduce attributed room connectivity graphs (RCGs) as a means to characterize a 3D building model according to the structure of its underlying floor plans. We first describe how RCGs are inferred from a given building model and discuss how substructures of this graph can be queried efficiently. We then introduce a new descriptor denoted as Bag-of-Attributed-Subgraphs that transforms attributed graphs into a vector-based representation using subgraph embeddings. We finally evaluate the retrieval performance of this new method on a database consisting of building models with different floor plan types. All methods presented in this thesis are aimed at an as automated as possible workflow for indexing and retrieval such that only minimum human interaction is required. Accordingly, only polygon soups are required as inputs which do not need to be manually repaired or structured. Human effort is only needed for offline groundtruth generation to enable supervised learning and for providing information about the orientation of building models and the unit of measurement used for modeling

Documenting architectural practice

This study is a situated socio-technical examination of the culture of architecture, wherein the decisions and negotiations of actors in everyday practice effect artifact creation, management, and preservation. My argument is that all participants in architectural practice are making archival decisions when they actively select what to make, what to discard, and what to keep. As a historical narrative, the study addresses continuity of architectural documentation by examining how everyday practices, and the resulting artifacts, have changed over time. Working from a critical constructivist framework and employing an interpretivist methodology, I adopted mixed methods to provide a rich understanding of the history of architectural and archival practices in which to situate my analysis and address the following question: How might architectural artifacts be preserved in ways that illuminate the complexity of practice and the multiple layers of assumptions and values that inform the co-construction of the built environment? The story I want to tell about architecture requires investigation through three methods, each addressing one of the primary concerns of my research. The historical examination of computer technologies for architecture situates my understanding of the artifacts of practice within the context of debate about the value of specific tools for architecture and discussions about role of the architect within the industry. A reflective analysis of learning architectural technology describes my work to understand two specific tools used in architecture, AutoCAD and Revit. I introduce how complexity and uncertainty are woven throughout architectural practice, problematize the attribution of architecture to solo creators, and establish a framework for how to study complex workplaces, in particularly situated action in an architectural firm. Employing Howard Davis’ concept of “building culture” as a frame for considering the larger context within which people do architectural work, I describe historical cases of technological change and how information (as concept) is used in doing architecture. I examine an in-depth case study that provides an enhanced understanding of what contemporary architectural practice looks like and how artifacts are an integral part of the doing of architecture. Drawing on results of my research, I develop an “architectural information system” concept and address building social and technical infrastructure to document and preserve architectural artifacts.Informatio

Drawing Futures

Drawing Futures brings together international designers and artists for speculations in contemporary drawing for art and architecture. Despite numerous developments in technological manufacture and computational design that provide new grounds for designers, the act of drawing still plays a central role as a vehicle for speculation. There is a rich and long history of drawing tied to innovations in technology as well as to revolutions in our philosophical understanding of the world. In reflection of a society now underpinned by computational networks and interfaces allowing hitherto unprecedented views of the world, the changing status of the drawing and its representation as a political act demands a platform for reflection and innovation. Drawing Futures will present a compendium of projects, writings and interviews that critically reassess the act of drawing and where its future may lie. Drawing Futures focuses on the discussion of how the field of drawing may expand synchronously alongside technological and computational developments. The book coincides with an international conference of the same name, taking place at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, in November 2016. Bringing together practitioners from many creative fields, the book discusses how drawing is changing in relation to new technologies for the production and dissemination of ideas