Computational design exploration of a segmented concrete shell building floor system (2023)
Journal Article
Costa, E., Oval, R., Shepherd, P., & Orr, J. (in press). Computational design exploration of a segmented concrete shell building floor system. Proceedings of the ICE - Structures and Buildings, https://doi.org/10.1680/jstbu.22.00156

The construction industry is responsible for nearly half of the UK's carbon emissions, and the use of an extremely large volume of concrete, the world's most widely used man-made material, accounts for more than 7% of global CO2 emissions. The scale... Read More about Computational design exploration of a segmented concrete shell building floor system.

A prototype low-carbon segmented concrete shell building floor system (2023)
Journal Article
Oval, R., Nuh, M., Costa, E., Madyan, O. A., Orr, J., & Shepherd, P. (2023). A prototype low-carbon segmented concrete shell building floor system. Structures, 49, 124-138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.istruc.2023.01.063

Concrete shell structures offer a mechanically efficient solution as a building floor system to reduce the environmental impact of our buildings. Although the curved geometry of shells can be an obstacle to their fabrication and implementation, digit... Read More about A prototype low-carbon segmented concrete shell building floor system.

Facilitating ambient intelligence of acoustic atmospheres (2022)
Exhibition / Performance
Barakat, M., Meraz, F., & Nicoletti, E. (2022). Facilitating ambient intelligence of acoustic atmospheres. [RapidPrototyping, Microcontrollers, 3D printing, Digital Fabrication]. Exhibited at RBlock - Frenchay Campus / ABE. 28 April 2022 - 29 April 2022. (Unpublished)

“There is no such thing as an empty space or an empty time. There is always something to see, something to hear. In fact, try as we may to make a silence, we cannot. ” – John Cage, ‘Silence’ The project intends to understand how sounds alter people’... Read More about Facilitating ambient intelligence of acoustic atmospheres.

Embedded intelligent empathy: A systematic review towards a conceptual framework (2022)
Conference Proceeding
Lavaf-Pour, Y., Barakat, M., & Chatzimichali, A. (2022). Embedded intelligent empathy: A systematic review towards a conceptual framework. In Computer-Aided Architectural Design. Design Imperatives: The Future is Now (36-48). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1280-1_3

This paper is part of a feasibility project aiming to expand computational design processes to include design empathy. The project is in response to recent valid criticism of computational design overlooking the empathy of the designer. Computational... Read More about Embedded intelligent empathy: A systematic review towards a conceptual framework.

Complex urban futures: Design science for flux territories (2021)
Book Chapter
Sengupta, U., Cheung, E., Solomou, S., Zigure, S., Tantoush, M., Bassanino, M., & Hyde, R. (2021). Complex urban futures: Design science for flux territories. In Design Studio Vol. 2 Intelligent Control: Disruptive Technologies. In print and electronic format: RIBA Publishing

Book description: How should we train? What should we learn? What is our value? Disruptive technologies have increased speculation about what it means to be an architect. Innovations simultaneously offer great promise and potential risk to design pr... Read More about Complex urban futures: Design science for flux territories.

Fabrication-aware parametric design of segmented concrete shells (2021)
Conference Proceeding
Costa, E., Oval, R., Shepherd, P., & Orr, J. (2021). Fabrication-aware parametric design of segmented concrete shells. In Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2020/21 and the 7th International Conference on Spatial Structures: Inspiring the Next Generation (1879-1888). https://doi.org/10.15126/900337

Research is underway to explore the potential of using structurally efficient non-prismatic geometries to substantially reduce the amount of concrete in building elements, thus reducing their carbon footprint. In particular, the benefits of using thi... Read More about Fabrication-aware parametric design of segmented concrete shells.

Embedded intelligent empathy: A systematic review towards a conceptual framework (2021)
Presentation / Conference
Lavaf Pour, Y., Baraket, M., & Chatzimichali, A. (2021, July). Embedded intelligent empathy: A systematic review towards a conceptual framework. Paper presented at CAAD Futures, University of Southern California

This paper is part of a feasibility project aiming to expand computational design processes to include design empathy. The project is in response to recent valid criticism of computational design overlooking the empathy of the designer. Computational... Read More about Embedded intelligent empathy: A systematic review towards a conceptual framework.

Hive (2021)
Exhibition / Performance
Farzadnia, F. Hive. [Modular kinetic architecture]. Exhibited at Online at the Annual Fifteen show. 19 February 2021 - 5 March 2021. (Unpublished)

Hive is a modular kinetic architecture inspired by bee colony behaviour. Certain types of Mexican honeybees produce a wavelike cascade by ‘shimmering’ when they feel threatened. When a wasp or another big insect come too close to the hive, the honeyb... Read More about Hive.

Automating concrete construction: Sustainable social housing in Colombia (2020)
Conference Proceeding
Costa, E., Shepherd, P., Velasco, R., & Hudson, R. (2020). Automating concrete construction: Sustainable social housing in Colombia. In Proceedings of the XXIV International Conference of the Iberoamerican Society of Digital Graphics (254-259). https://doi.org/10.5151/sigradi2020-35

The construction industry is a major source of carbon, and the main culprit is concrete. In addition, productivity for the construction sector is poor, and concrete construction in particular is labour intensive, slow, and costly. This paper introduc... Read More about Automating concrete construction: Sustainable social housing in Colombia.

Robotic apprentices: Leveraging augmented reality for robot training in manufacturing automation (2020)
Conference Proceeding
Costa, E., Duarte, J., & Bilén, S. G. (2020). Robotic apprentices: Leveraging augmented reality for robot training in manufacturing automation. In Proceedings of the XXIV International Conference of the Iberoamerican Society of Digital Graphics (608-616). https://doi.org/10.5151/sigradi2020-84

In the scope of Industry 4.0, a framework is proposed to leverage the potential of articulating Augmented Reality and Robotic Manufacturing in the construction industry. The objective of such framework is to enable robots to learn how to perform task... Read More about Robotic apprentices: Leveraging augmented reality for robot training in manufacturing automation.

Automating concrete construction: Digital design of non-prismatic reinforced concrete beams (2020)
Book Chapter
Costa, E., Shepherd, P., Orr, J., Ibell, T., & Oval, R. (2020). Automating concrete construction: Digital design of non-prismatic reinforced concrete beams. In Second RILEM International Conference on Concrete and Digital Fabrication (863-872). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49916-7_84

The construction industry is responsible for nearly half of the UK’s carbon emissions, mainly due to the large amount of concrete used. Traditional formwork methods for concrete result in prismatic building elements with a constant cross-section, but... Read More about Automating concrete construction: Digital design of non-prismatic reinforced concrete beams.

Enabling parametric design space exploration by non-designers (2020)
Journal Article
Castro e Costa, E., Jorge, J., Knochel, A. D., & Duarte, J. P. (2020). Enabling parametric design space exploration by non-designers. AI EDAM, 34(2), 160-175. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0890060420000177

In mass customization, software configurators enable novice end-users to design customized products and services according to their needs and preferences. However, traditional configurators hardly provide an engaging experience while avoiding the bur... Read More about Enabling parametric design space exploration by non-designers.

Simulating Personal Rapid Transportation: A game to determine the advantages of a Connected Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) system over the current Taxi system (2019)
Presentation / Conference
Zigure, S. (2019, November). Simulating Personal Rapid Transportation: A game to determine the advantages of a Connected Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) system over the current Taxi system. Presented at Games for Cities. Lisbon: AESOP 18th Meeting TG Planning & Complexity, Lisbon, Portugal

Implementing the Santa Marta Urban Grammar - A pedagogical tool for design computing in architecture (2019)
Conference Proceeding
Costa, E., Verniz, D., Varasteh, S., Miller, M., & Duarte, J. (2019). Implementing the Santa Marta Urban Grammar - A pedagogical tool for design computing in architecture. In Architecture in the Age of the 4th Industrial Revolution: Proceedings of the 37th eCAADe and 23rd SIGraDi Conference (349-358)

We present a tool intended to enable non-expert users to apply and manipulate a shape grammar, SMUG, which encodes the urban design of informal settlements such as favelas. Such tool, the Interpreter, was developed considering that students would be... Read More about Implementing the Santa Marta Urban Grammar - A pedagogical tool for design computing in architecture.

Comparing digital tools for implementing a generative system for the design of customized tableware (2019)
Journal Article
Castro e Costa, E., Jorge, J., & Duarte, J. (2019). Comparing digital tools for implementing a generative system for the design of customized tableware. Computer-Aided Design and Applications, 16(5), 803-821. https://doi.org/10.14733/cadaps.2019.803-821

In typical mass customization design processes, designers encode design processes into configurators that are subsequently used by end-users to customize products. Using the case study of ceramic tableware, we explore how to extend the role of design... Read More about Comparing digital tools for implementing a generative system for the design of customized tableware.

Managing complexity in mass customization through design space subdivision (2018)
Thesis
Castro e Costa, E. Managing complexity in mass customization through design space subdivision. (Thesis). Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved from https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/9323871

Although design is traditionally the métier of designers, nowadays participation in the design process is increasingly shared with end-users. Such transfer of design responsibility happens in various creative fields such as architecture and product d... Read More about Managing complexity in mass customization through design space subdivision.

A review of additive manufacturing for ceramic production (2017)
Journal Article
Costa, E. C. E., Duarte, J. P., & Bártolo, P. (2017). A review of additive manufacturing for ceramic production. Rapid Prototyping Journal, 23(5), 954-963. https://doi.org/10.1108/rpj-09-2015-0128

Purpose - In this paper, the authors aim to address the potential of mass personalization for ceramic tableware objects. They argue that additive manufacturing (AM) is the most adequate approach to the production of such objects. Design/methodology/a... Read More about A review of additive manufacturing for ceramic production.

Graphical representation of sonic urban morphologies simulation interface for the design process (2017)
Presentation / Conference
Barakat, M. A. (2017, April). Graphical representation of sonic urban morphologies simulation interface for the design process. Paper presented at eCAADE RIS, Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University

Although the interdisciplinary field of Soundscape was originally intended as a paradigm-shift for urban design, the process of designing the aural spatial signature of urban open spaces has not yet been made readily accessible to the designer in mod... Read More about Graphical representation of sonic urban morphologies simulation interface for the design process.

Aural spatial mapping tool: Constraining the signal sphere of influence validation (WIP) (2016)
Presentation / Conference
Barakat, M. (2016, July). Aural spatial mapping tool: Constraining the signal sphere of influence validation (WIP). Paper presented at SummerSim 16, Montreal, Canada

This paper is part of an on-going investigation with the primary objective of developing a computational modeling tool for urban design that generates qualitative aural spatial patterns. The architect is the target user of this computational tool.... Read More about Aural spatial mapping tool: Constraining the signal sphere of influence validation (WIP).

An architectural approach to the Soundwalk method (2016)
Presentation / Conference
Barakat, M. (2016, July). An architectural approach to the Soundwalk method. Paper presented at Sonic Environments, Brisbane, Australia

A series of on-site surveys are conducted to observe possible qualitative aural pattern formations by using spatial measurements as fundamental parameters. The method assimilates the Soundwalk technique and the Relative Approach from the fields of so... Read More about An architectural approach to the Soundwalk method.