The Structural Origins of Form:: A Digital Approach to Investigate form

The origins of modern form in architecture engages many significant issues such as philosophical and ideological discourse, social/cultural issues, symbolic intents, construction tectonics, and structural logic. Although all these issues can be equally significant in many situations the following paper will focus on the "structural logic of form” and will introduce a method to investigate and analyze form in relation to structures using advanced media. Specifically this paper will focus on introducing an alternative teaching tool, which aims to increase students' understanding of the structures and enhancing their interest in the expression of form through creative and innovative use of structures. The paper will present a small aspect of a much broader project, which is supported by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, a program of the U.S. Department of Education involving faculty at various Institutions. The funding is used to develop a teaching tool that utilizes a wide range of digital and graphic technology including detailed and realistic three-dimensional computer generated models and animations to communicate the basic structural principles in relation to form development. The strong visual approach used in the development of this tool, also provides an intuitive understanding supported by experiencing the structural behavior and engaging the students with the consequences of architectural form selection. Typically, studying the variation of forces and moments in a structural member is a critical component of teaching structures. In most traditional teaching methods, this is achieved through numerical exercises, which involve longhand calculations of the internal forces and moments, followed by plotting shear and moment diagrams that indicate the critical stress areas and values. The final stage of this exercise is the design of the structural member. Although this is a very important exercise in analyzing structural behavior, most often it does not go beyond a quantitative exercise, does not foster an intuitive understanding of structures and remains detached from any exploration of form. However, this exercise could be significantly improved if the relationship of the structural forces, moment diagram, and deflection mechanism of a structure or structural member were to be explored simultaneously in relationship to form generation. This teaching tool provides an option to view the loading, deflection mechanism and dynamic behavior of structures under the application of loads. Visualizing the structural deformation at key locations such as mid-spans, connections to other members, and anchorage to the foundation can demonstrate how the form can be a direct derivation of the structural logic. The paper will present progress in development of this teaching tool through analysis of several structural principles used in the work of Santiago Calatrava and Norman Foster

Teaching Statics and Strength of Materials Using Digital Technology

Developing innovative approaches to education is not unique to architecture, but as the technical component of a creative degree program, developing innovative approaches to the teaching of structures within the architecture curriculum is not only desirable, but absolutely necessary. The fundamental problem is that although understanding structure lies at the core of the education of the architect, architecture faculty and students struggle with a traditional engineering-based approach to structures instruction, which is increasingly proving to be ineffective in the classroom

Exploring the Role of Higher Education in Responsible Deployment of Artificial Intelligence

Higher education is the key driver for the teaching, research, and development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), as it bears responsibility for preparing engineers, scientists, technologists, and corporate leaders who shape and fuel its revolutionary advances. With AI and automation technologies relying on more advanced levels of training, and universities serving as the prime site for their development, faculty views on the implications of this technology are critically important. The purpose of this case study was to gain insights into how academics and disciplinary experts perceive their roles and responsibilities in the teaching, development, and deployment of AI. Using FIU as a case study provided a base for a contextual understanding of the complex issues surrounding AI from the perspective of key actors at a large public university. In conducting the study, 16 faculty from a range of disciplines were interviewed. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. The data from the interviews were examined to identify the connectedness of ideas and develop themes to classify distinct concepts. The study found that while participants were optimistic about the transformative possibilities of AI for improving human life, they were concerned about its implications. They stressed the intensification of many social challenges by AI, including gender and racial bias in class, gender and race in automated decision-making systems, its negative impact on social media, the use of AI for manipulation of the public, and deceptive practices of internet corporations. The participants also discussed the economic impacts of AI on job markets, particularly the potential for massive job loss, as well as the role of government and higher education in mitigating the adverse impacts of AI through education and appropriate research policies. The findings of this study provide insights into the challenges of a changing society because of AI and how higher education can mitigate its impact. These findings provide a basis for improving organizational policies and practices in response to the imminent technological changes. They also inform educational and research policy formulation to promote social change

Digital Gaming and Sustainable Design

The American building industry is one of the major consumers of energy. Buildings use 39% of the total energy consumed in the United States, significantly impacting national energy demand and contributing to global warming. The vast majority of architectural practice in US leads to construction of buildings with a little concern to sustainability leading to environmental degradation. Although the bulk of architecture practice continues to produce unsustainable buildings, there is growing stream of exemplary models of sustainable design. Examining the success of such practices leads into two a two-folded finding; first that achieving sustainable design is closely linked to "integrated Design”1 - a type of practice in which various disciplines involved in building design work together to achieve efficiency and other synergetic benefits. Second is that the advances in computing and simulation algorithms are paving the way to achieve "integrated design”. These technologies are enabling the designers to collaborate, visualize, foresee, and modify building performance with relatively high accuracy. They are increasing used to analyze complex systems to achieve streamlined structures, reduce dependence on mechanical systems, produce more effective construction processes, and reduce waste

Digital Gaming and Sustainable Design

The American building industry is one of the major consumers of energy. Buildings use 39% of thetotal energy consumed in the United States, significantly impacting national energy demand andcontributing to global warming. The vast majority of architectural practice in US leads to construction of buildings with a little concern to sustainability leading to environmental degradation. Although the bulk of architecture practice continues to produce unsustainable buildings, there is growing stream of exemplary models of sustainable design. Examining the success of suchpractices leads into two a two-folded finding; first that achieving sustainable design is closelylinked to "integrated Design”1 - a type of practice in which various disciplines involved in building design work together to achieve efficiency and other synergetic benefits. Second is that theadvances in computing and simulation algorithms are paving the way to achieve "integrateddesign”. These technologies are enabling the designers to collaborate, visualize, foresee, andmodify building performance with relatively high accuracy. They are increasing used to analyze complex systems to achieve streamlined structures, reduce dependence on mechanical systems, produce more effective construction processes, and reduce waste.If such practices were to become widespread, the architectural education needs to be restructured.The traditional American architectural curriculum that is based on a schism between"design” and "technology” is inherently in conflict with the principal of integration. Though largescalereform of architectural curricula is a complex, ongoing, and difficult debate; producing teaching tools that can simulate integrated design can impact and promote an understanding of sustainable practice in architecture. The proposed paper will present the progress of a multi-disciplinary team of faculty who arecollectively working on the completion, implementation and evaluation of a simulation softwarepackage in an interactive game format. The project teaches the concepts of "integrated design ”through immersing students in a virtual world that imitates the complexity of the real world of decision-making and material choices in design. The project accomplishes this by harnessingthe capabilities of simulation and dynamic modeling programs as well as powerful game engineswhile creating compelling and rewarding reasons for student's engagement in the learning process. The project is funded by the US Department of Education for the period of 2007-2010

The Robotics Academy: An Immersive Learning Game for Training Industrial Roboticists

Emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, digital fabrication, spatial computing, and immersive media such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), are changing the employment landscape across a broad range of industries. It is anticipated that these technologies will enhance research and innovation, increase productivity, and spur new types of occupations and entrepreneurship. In the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) fields, automated building design with advanced software facilitating mass customization will change how buildings are designed. Robotics and automation, particularly in prefabrication and large-scale 3D printing of buildings is expected to change how buildings are built. Automation technology will also transform how work is managed and conducted in the AEC sector. Therefore, it is imperative to prepare students for future changes brought by automation. The Robotics Academy project is a cloud-based training platform designed to support AEC students in learning industrial robotics. This platform uses advances in cloud computing, VR, and learning games to create a personalized and engaging experience for developing programming and robotics operations skills. The Robotics Academy\u27s immersive learning environment aims to offer a solution for teaching robotics in a safe simulated workspace that delivers creative training while minimizing risk. This virtual modality also allows the students to acquire knowledge remotely and without relying on accessing a robotics lab. This paper outlines the process of designing the Robotics Academy\u27s pedagogical approach, its curriculum development, and its delivery method as a VR application. The paper will also describe plans for its future development as a fully customizable and immersive learning game for training students for future jobs in industrial robotics

Les experts judiciaires face à la parole de l'enfant maltraité. Le cas des médecins légistes de la fin du XIXe siècle

Quelle valeur accordait-on à la parole de l'enfant, vers la fin du XIXe siècle, dans les procédures judiciaires concernant les enfants maltraités ou violentés ? La réponse à cette question permet de mieux comprendre l'attitude des experts et les limites de l'action engagée en faveur de l'enfance victime de violences à cette époque. La fin du XIXe siècle est marquée par les deux lois successives du 24 juillet 1889 et du 19 avril 1898 sur les enfants maltraités. Ces lois ont un caractère essent..

Situated Learning Through Robotics Processes

Technological advances in robotics, digital fabrication, and sensor technologies are changing the landscape of innovation, design, and production. However, integration of these technologies in architecture programs is a challenging task. It requires extensive knowledge of the robotic arm operations, complex computer applications, and developing interdisciplinary skills for producing the end of arm tooling, which makes architectural experimentation and production possible. The following paper describes an informal approach to an interdisciplinary collaboration experiment for initiating operations of a new robotics lab. Leveraging the inaugural event of the lab, students and faculty were invited to design, construct, and participate in exhibiting four projects at the event. The paper explains each project, how student and faculty interacted and learned advanced fabrication techniques, and how their experience contributed to the overall establishment of the lab

Matter as Energy What Architects Need to Know

Current advances in technology and cyberspacecapacity coupled with emerging research in science education arecreating new opportunities to enhance architectural education inthe science and technology areas and prepare students foreffective collaboration with other stakeholders in the buildingindustry. The project described in this paper addresses the needfor the improvement of science and technology education andproposes that using advances in digital technology to engagestudents in interactive learning is a necessary step. One of themost promising and youngest applications of computertechnology has been in developing in educational games. Usingnew technologies to re-think the education of the architect in therelation to matter as energy reinforces the role of architecture inscience, technology and mathematics