Hybrid Workstations: Establishing Interactive and Responsive User-Interfaces for Daylight Applications

Abstract

The research project presented in this paper explores the benefits of utilizing a hybrid workstation in a daylight design application. The prototype developed for this work links a physical design object with digital modeling and simulation tools. The aim of the work is to integrate physical and material properties of kinetic design objects in the digital workflow. Additionally, the hybrid system utilizes smart hand-held devices to provide designers with a user-friendly interface to control modeling parameters. The developed workstation provides real-time interactive features and live responses to visualize and evaluate design options in both the digital and physical environments. The proposed work demonstrates unique possibilities for daylight applications, which will assist designers in making informed decisions regarding both the aesthetics and the performance of a kinetic architectural system.