Papers by Mina 'Vina' Rahimian
Algorithmic Tectonics is a course on creative computing in architecture and design. By learning t... more Algorithmic Tectonics is a course on creative computing in architecture and design. By learning to create computational design artifacts (such as experimental software, responsive objects and robotic fabrication applications) participants explore computation as a territory for speculative, critical and poetic thinking about design (rather than merely as an instrument of production or representation). Departing from the conventional approach of programming courses based on lectures and problem-sets, the course introduces each topic in a project-oriented fashion through design questions. Organized in three modules, design, visualize and make, the class prompts students to develop an appreciation for current developments in computational design, and to create their own projects with an incremental degree of sophistication: from simple interactive computer graphics to architectural robotics applications. This book reports on the course as taught for the first time at Penn State in the Spring of 2015. It is not a conclusive work but rather snapshots of an ongoing process. Together, the assignments, projects, and their descriptions, reflect a fledgling imaginary of design that continues to evolve around software and other technological infrastruc-tures. In combination with the online code repositories and blogs that accompanied the course, this book may be useful for others confronting questions about pedagogies of computing in design.
Affordable, sustainable, well-designed housing is a rising concern. While we have amassed signifi... more Affordable, sustainable, well-designed housing is a rising concern. While we have amassed significant knowledge into methods for realizing comfortable, healthy, sustainable housing, through design/build programs in post-professional education throughout North America, more information is needed on the long-term performance of projects. It is through the acquisition and evaluation of housing performance data that we can close the loop and move beyond " one-off " construction towards meaningful change in addressing responsible affordable housing. The necessity for a reiterative loop in housing research that considers project evaluation is widely acknowledged. Goals of the iterative process are to synthesize information from previous projects to yield new knowledge, disseminate findings to improve home performance, and implement new information into future design/build projects. But the methods for evaluation and, more importantly , dissemination of knowledge are only beginning to emerge, if at all. Dialog around these topics is necessary to improve the delivery and efficacy of affordable housing and design/build as research, pedagogy and practice. This paper will present emerging protocols for project innovation, evaluation, and iterative learning being developed by a multidisciplinary team of faculty, graduate and undergraduate students involved in the Energy Efficient Housing Research group at Penn State. The research group is dedicated to the investigation of the entire " life-cycle " of housing – design & construction methods through performance evaluation and optimization – in order to inform more responsible housing solutions for more resource conscious living. In our research, responsible housing means well-designed energy-efficient housing that is affordable over the entire life cycle of the home. Affordability addresses both the initial costs of providing housing and the long-term energy-related expenses carried forth by the resident. One of the foci of the research group is the establishment of tools and methodologies for evaluation that contribute to reflective learning and improving the design of subsequent projects. The work that will be
Algorithmic Tectonics is a course on creative computing in architecture and design. By learning t... more Algorithmic Tectonics is a course on creative computing in architecture and design. By learning to create computational design artifacts (such as experimental software, responsive objects and robotic fabrication applications) participants explore computation as a territory for speculative, critical and poetic thinking about design (rather than merely as an instrument of production or representation). Departing from the conventional approach of programming courses based on lectures and problem-sets, the course introduces each topic in a project-oriented fashion through design questions. Organized in three modules, design, visualize and make, the class prompts students to develop an appreciation for current developments in computational design, and to create their own projects with an incremental degree of sophistication: from simple interactive computer graphics to architectural robotics applications. This book reports on the course as taught for the first time at Penn State in the Spring of 2015. It is not a conclusive work but rather snapshots of an ongoing process. Together, the assignments, projects, and their descriptions, reflect a fledgling imaginary of design that continues to evolve around software and other technological infrastruc-tures. In combination with the online code repositories and blogs that accompanied the course, this book may be useful for others confronting questions about pedagogies of computing in design.
Research on delivering high quality energy-related information on users’ activities and consumpti... more Research on delivering high quality energy-related information on users’ activities and consumption rates signify the effectiveness of such information for inspiring and motivating users to change their behavior towards more energy saving ones. However the issue of making these behavior changes durable and integrated to one’s lifestyle is still remaining a topic for further investigation. This paper attempts to encourage new ways of thinking about users’ engagement in the energy management system of their community-based microgrid by combining computational means of feedback delivery with an incentive program which requires users’ self-organized collaboration and participation in the shared-energy community endeavor.
Energy production is typically a regional enterprise, with the majority of energy produced far fr... more Energy production is typically a regional enterprise, with the majority of energy produced far from the main areas of demand causing tremendous problems in terms of lack of resiliency and flexibility in handling the ever changing demands at the user’s end. On the other hand, microgrids as local energy infrastructures have offered resiliency by allowing neighborhoods to exercise greater control over the production of the energy they consume. As a system, the flexibility and resiliency that embodies the microgrid has to reside across all of its components and functions. Although microgrids integrate various techniques of automation, optimization, pervasive control and computation in its system, but equally important is addressing the human factors. Users, as an undeniable part of microgrid’s operational system, are thus required to act with respect to being resilient and flexible. By making all the information of every grid component accessible to the demand side via energy metering systems and feedback loops, microgrids play an important role in filling the gap of energy illiteracy, increasing user’s awareness and understanding about how energy is consumed in their homes and thus helping them to make informed energy consumption decisions.
Research on delivering high quality energy-related information on user’s activities and consumption rates signify the effectiveness of such information for inspiring and motivating users to change their behavior towards more energy saving ones but however the issue of making these behavior changes durable and integrated to one’s lifestyle, is still remaining a topic for further investigation. Accordingly this research attempts to encourage new ways of thinking about user’s engagement in the resiliency of their microgrid in terms of a collective process by combining computational means of feedback delivery with a collaboration incentive structure, requiring user’s self-organized participation in a shared-energy community endeavor.
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Papers by Mina 'Vina' Rahimian
Research on delivering high quality energy-related information on user’s activities and consumption rates signify the effectiveness of such information for inspiring and motivating users to change their behavior towards more energy saving ones but however the issue of making these behavior changes durable and integrated to one’s lifestyle, is still remaining a topic for further investigation. Accordingly this research attempts to encourage new ways of thinking about user’s engagement in the resiliency of their microgrid in terms of a collective process by combining computational means of feedback delivery with a collaboration incentive structure, requiring user’s self-organized participation in a shared-energy community endeavor.
Research on delivering high quality energy-related information on user’s activities and consumption rates signify the effectiveness of such information for inspiring and motivating users to change their behavior towards more energy saving ones but however the issue of making these behavior changes durable and integrated to one’s lifestyle, is still remaining a topic for further investigation. Accordingly this research attempts to encourage new ways of thinking about user’s engagement in the resiliency of their microgrid in terms of a collective process by combining computational means of feedback delivery with a collaboration incentive structure, requiring user’s self-organized participation in a shared-energy community endeavor.