Umeå University's logo

This study examines the current state of computer-aided design (CAD) in architectural education, revisiting early 2000s debates on digital design integration in Bachelor of Architecture programmes. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study analyzes curricula from 50 European architecture schools and reviews foundational scholarship on CAD education. The study examines how, when, and what aspects of digital design are taught, considering rapid advances in AI and the growing emphasis on sustainable design. Two main methods of CAD integration are identified: through dedicated courses and integrated into existing courses, with schools split between these approaches. Most dedicated digital design courses occur in the first years, suggesting a shift toward early integration. However, CAD remains largely framed as a representational tool since it is frequently embedded in drawing courses. Despite growing scholarly interest in early integration of advanced topics such as parametric design, current curricula primarily emphasize general digital design methodologies.

The study proposes a low-tech, low-carbon formwork alternative for constructing fiberreinforced ice shell structures in Swedish Artic environments where leveraging local materials like ice and wood fibers can offer significant potential for innovation. A case study analysis of existing ice structures in cold climates identified formwork strategies, qualitatively assessing reusability, material sustainability, and logistical feasibility revealing a gap for low-cost and low-tech methods for building ice-composite buildings. Insights from this analysis informed the parametric design of a modular, reusable formwork, structurally evaluated using Finite Element Modeling (FEM). A wooden frame and fabric membrane were then fabricated and tested for casting fiber-reinforced ice blocks. The proposed method seeks to offer a scalable, affordable alternative for temporary shelter construction during crisis situations in remote cold regions.

Building envelopes are primarily responsible for buildings' energy consumption and environmental performance. Kinetic building shadings have emerged as an alternative for improved environmental performance in the past years, dynamically adjusting to changing outdoor conditions. Elastic kinetic systems rely on the flexible nature of their components to achieve motion and can be used in kinetic building shades. Unlike their rigid counterparts, these mechanisms can reduce the part count in kinetic systems (and, thereby, their mechanical complexity) and potentially adapt to synclastic and anticlastic surfaces. This manuscript reviews elastic kinetic systems used in building envelope design, that is, building envelope systems that rely on materials’ elastic properties to their advantage to achieve motion. The first section of the review includes an overview of biomimetics for kinetic building envelope design drawing parallels between plant kinematics and elastic kinetics in regard to material strategies and actuation. The second section of the review analyzes thirteen case studies regarding the level of development, materials used, and actuation strategies. The study showed that polymer-based composites are mainly used to construct elastic kinetics and that other low-carbon materials could be explored in future research. From the case study analysis, a taxonomy was developed to classify their actuation strategies (manual, pneumatic or mechanical, actuation with smart materials) and elastic mechanisms (linear and surface elements which can be compliant or bistable). An area for future work might consider abstracting actuation mechanisms from fast motile plants to offer insights for combining passive actuators with multi-stable elastic kinetics for fast adaptation in kinetic building envelopes.

There is an critical need in kinetic envelope design to propose sustainable solutions that can adjust to changing outdoor conditions. Bistable composite laminates are compliant systems appealing for kinetic building envelopes because they present two stable equilibrium states and transition between them with little input energy. This study characterizes the behavior of bistable laminates for kinetic screens by developing an FEA model and conducting experimental testing to validate the model and compare both data sets. The FEA model predicts the laminates’ cured states, snap-through movement, and required actuation force. The FEA model can accurately predict the cured states of the laminates. Regarding the movement of the laminate and actuation force, the simulation results mostly correlate quantitatively with the experimental data and differ qualitatively. However, the FEA model can accurately predict the critical force required to snap through the laminates, which ranges between 2.5 and 4 N.

Purpose: Algorithmic and computational thinking are necessary skills for designers in an increasingly digital world. Parametric design, a method to construct designs based on algorithmic logic and rules, has become widely used in architecture practice and incorporated in the curricula of architecture schools. However, there are few studies proposing strategies for teaching parametric design into architecture students, tackling software literacy while promoting the development of algorithmic thinking.

Design/methodology/approach: A descriptive study and a prescriptive study are conducted. The descriptive study reviews the literature on parametric design education. The prescriptive study is centered on proposing the incomplete recipe as instructional material and a new approach to teaching parametric design.

Findings: The literature on parametric design education has mostly focused on curricular discussions, descriptions of case studies or studio-long approaches; day-to-day instructional methods, however, are rarely discussed. A pedagogical strategy to teach parametric design is introduced: the incomplete recipe. The instructional method proposed provides students with incomplete recipes for parametric scripts that are increasingly pared down as the students become expert users.

Originality/value: The article contributes to the existing literature by proposing the incomplete recipe as a strategy for teaching parametric design. The recipe as a pedagogical tool provides a means for both software skill acquisition and the development of algorithmic thinking.

In recent years, researchers have focused on improving the design of building envelopes to enhance their environmental performance using kinetic systems, such as kinetic shading screens. Research has shown that these systems can effectively control and improve daylight illuminance in a room (Fiorito et al. in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 55:863–884, 2016). However, finding their best configuration for given conditions is challenging because it depends on a variety of factors such as room size, orientation, and use, as well as the design parameters of the screen itself. This chapter describes research that compares two different approaches to the problem considering daylight performance and design variety. Focusing on a case study, it uses a simulation model to calculate the performance of configurations on four days of the year—equinoxes and solstices. The first approach is to create a catalog through brute-force enumeration from a limited space of possible design configurations and then select the best for every hour of the day. The second approach is to consider a larger design space, but sample possibilities using a smaller set of master variables that algorithmically control the states of multiple flaps. The performances of configurations identified by both approaches are compared, and then the benefits and challenges of each are discussed. The study concludes that the second approach (algorithmic sampling) can search a wider and more diverse space of solutions and find configurations with better performance. In addition, although it takes more time, it is more efficient, considering the size space being browsed.

In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in kinetic systems made with smart materials that can adapt to changing environmental conditions. This paper describes design research to develop and improve the design of a holder unit that is the basic component of a kinetic bistable shading system. The holder comprises four bistable flaps and linear actuators with shape memory alloy (SMA) springs. The linear actuators force the bistable flaps to snap into their opened and closed positions. Two experimental studies were conducted: (1) a study to find an adequate SMA and biasing springs combination for a linear actuator; and (2) a shape optimization study. The first study aimed to find an adequate configuration for the linear actuator, which has both SMA and biasing springs. In the study, data obtained by image analysis were analyzed statistically to understand which combination of SMA and biasing springs resulted in the largest displacement. The second study used topology optimization to obtain a 25% reduction in the total volume of the holder unit compared to the initial design, resulting in a lighter kinetic structure. The paper describes the two studies conducted, highlighting the resulting improvements in the holder unit for the kinetic screen.

Kinetic building envelopes can significantly improve energy efficiency by adapting to changing outdoor conditions. A challenge for the widespread implementation of kinetic envelopes is related to the complexity and cost of conventional mechanical actuation. Current trends in kinetic building design have proposed embedding smart materials for actuation within kinetic shades and simplifying the shape-morphing mechanisms. This paper reports on a study that aims to characterize magneto-active elastomers (MAEs) as actuators for bistable kinetic shadings. In particular, this study seeks to determine adequate bistable and MAE configurations and their potential to deform a bistable kinetic shading setup. The studies characterize the force and displacement of two types of MAEs materials fabricated by embedding magnetic fillers into different soft polymeric matrices- polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel. In addition, we compared the actuation capabilities of both MAE-PDMS and MAE-PVA and studied the effect of changing the boundary condition of bistable laminates. The results suggest that MAE materials can actuate bistable composites remotely. The boundary condition study found that clamping 25% of the laminates' height reduced the magnetic field required for actuation by 29% and thus might be a suitable design strategy. This study adds magnetic actuation to the growing body of work on kinetic envelopes and smart materials, contributing to a deeper understanding of the required application conditions of MAEs.

Kinetic façade systems can adjust to different environmental conditions, thereby improving daylight performance in buildings. Bistable laminates present large deflections and can maintain their state without continuous energy supply, appealing features for kinetic applications. Nevertheless, these engineered materials have yet to be studied for their potential for improving daylight performance in buildings. This study sought to test the daylight performance of a kinetic bistable screen using a case study approach that combines experimental testing and building performance simulation. This paper details research to design and fabricate the shading screen and the experimental testing of the screens' daylight performance. First, we focus on the design of a holder mechanism, which relies on a string system and shape memory alloys that actuate bistable flaps. Second, we experimentally collect data on daylight performance and compare it to simulation data to validate a daylight model. Results show that the designed bistable screen can increase the hours of adequate daylight throughout the year versus baseline cases, particularly when oriented south and east. The study suggests that bistable kinetic screens can help improve daylight performance in buildings.

Bistable laminates are composite structures that exhibit more than one static configuration, showing a "snap-through" behaviour that results from residual stresses generated during the curing process. This study focuses on finding adequate fibre and laminate arrangements for bistable laminates used in functional kinetic shadings. We present a study with a mixed-methods approach, combining experimental prototyping and performance simulation studies. We fabricated and analysed the geometry of a series of prototypes, conducting daylight studies to assess the performance of different laminates and fibre arrangements and showing how specific fibre arrangements can help control daylight throughout the day. We concluded that controlling fibre arrangements of bistable laminates could increase the functionality of bistable kinetic shadings in terms of daylight control, leading to more differentiated shapes between their two stable states, which corresponds to the open and closed positions of the shadings. Increasing such a difference increases the range of system configurations and, therefore, the ability to respond to various external lighting conditions and internal user requirements.