The illuminated design environment : a 3-D tangible interface for landscape analysis

Abstract

This thesis outlines the reasons for the visual emphasis in current computer aided design interfaces. It describes the potential advantages of computer interfaces that allow a greater degree of physical interaction and it describes previous work that has attempted this goal. It describes the implementation of the Illuminated Design Environment as a platform that combines the advantages of physical and digital representation for the purposes of physical form design. The representational needs for the domain of landscape design are discussed and the implementation of Illuminating Clay, a tangible interface for landscape analysis, is described. The system is evaluated in the context of a landscape design class held at the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning, 2002. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the wider impact if the approach taken on the field of landscape design and computer aided design in general.