Perception Aspects in Underground Spaces using ... - TOI - TU Delft

the information but also the desired relevancy among all the pieces of information given.Presently, to determine the existence of such a relevancy is more or less a matter of architecturalsubjective judgement, rather than a systematic non-subjective decision-making based on existingdesign information. In this respect, the invocation of certain design tools dealing with such fuzzyinformation is essential for enhanced design decisions.According to Sariyildiz (2001), the ICT applications in the building sector can be categorized as atool, medium and in the near future, a partner. In the design environment, computers were firstput into a practice as a tool or an instrument used to produce drawings or represent ideas throughanimation and simulation of virtual environments. As a tool they were mainly used for 3Dmodeling, Computer Aided Drafting as a replacement of a drawing table, presentations, etc.During the last decade, computers have taken another role as a medium, mainly due to thewidespread use of the Internet and the development of the Web (Schmitt 1996). This stimulatedcommunication between different parties but the task assigned to computers has more or lessremained the same. As a medium they are used for communication, interactive visualization(such as virtual reality and cyber-space), collaborative and concurrent engineering, cooperativeengineering, CSCW (Computer Supported Collaborative Work), CAD-CAM (Computer AidedDesign Manufacturing), CAE (Computer Aided Engineering), EEM (Enterprise EngineeringManagement), etc.In the very near future, yet another shift can be expected when it comes to the computer's role inthe design and building process as a partner (Schmitt, 1999). With present advances of ICT,especially the latest developments of Artificial Intelligence and knowledge technology,increasingly computers will take the role of partner. As a partner they can be used for knowledgeintegration and advanced modeling (with employment of ANN-Artificial Neural Networks, fuzzylogic, intelligent agents, genetic algorithms, grammars, etc.), IDSS (Intelligent Decision SupportSystems), intelligent management, etc.This research belongs to the category of applying ICT as a partner. In the near future, it can beexpected that such developments will become more common in the building sector.2.5. Architects and the end usersArchitectural design process is becoming more complex, not only in its dimensionality and scopewith various partners involved but also in the related infrastructure and communication. Inbuilding processes, various partners are involved, such as governmental institutions, urbanplanners, architects, constructors, technical advisors and users where each one of them has certainrequirements or knowledge expertise. Among all partners involved, the communication with theusers is the least proficient. The distance between a designer and an end user became greater overtime. This is not so difficult to understand, since there is a greater number of buildings designedfor more end-users than ever before, for example, huge apartment complexes, hospitals, theaters,stations and mobility hubs. The complexity of building increases and the related buildinginformation exponentially grows. In that respect, it is difficult for an architect to consider theneeds of end users since the contact with the end user is almost nil. Still, this fact should not bejustification of the 'negligence' of user aspects during design process. In a sense the approachlacks a systematic nature and is highly subjective. It is possible to expand the knowledge on user- 15 -