A Locus for Knowledge-Based Systems in CAAD Education

This paper outlines a possible locus for knowledge-based systems in computer-aided architectural design education. It commences with a review of computer-aided architectural design and knowledge-based systems. It then proposes their use at various stages in CAAD education. Introduction There are a number of paradigms to consider in computer-aided architectural design education. We could think of CAAD education as a means to equip student architects with the ideas and skills needed to use CAAD systems in their work after they graduate. We could think of CAAD education as a means of specialising architecture students to control the development of CAAD systems and even to contribute to the development of such systems themselves. We could think of CAAD education as a means of providing architecture students with commercial-quality facilities to expedite the production aspects of their design processes. We could think of CAAD education as a means of providing a laboratory for architecture students to explore a new design medium. We could think of other paradigms but these four cover the major issues. In this paper, we briefly examine the potential role of knowledge-based systems in each of these paradigms. The next section provides an overview of computer-aided architectural design. The following reviews knowledge-based systems. The final section examines the locus of knowledge-based systems in CAAD education.