KotaView: Simulating Korean Traditional Architecture Interactively and Intelligently on the Web
Jin Won Choi , Yonsei University, Korea
Jie Eun Hwang , Yonsei University, Korea
http://archmedia.yonsei.ac.kr

Demonstration: Demo Track 3: Virtual Cities and Architectures

Traditional architecture is an important topic to be learned by architecture students as well as ordinary people. It is especially true because locality issues, such as how to find cultural local identities, are critical in this global era. Most Koreans also believe that they didn’t have much time to explore and deeply understand their ancestors’ works during the last decades. In fact, it is noticed that the information of Korean traditional architecture have not been fully explored in a systematical or computational manner, and also are not shared efficiently that is, we believe, an essential part or at least the first step to understand traditional architecture.

This study thus selects the Internet as an educational environment, and explores a way of structuring construction knowledge and building information of Korean traditional architecture, and sharing it via the Internet.

The most popular approach to present visual information on the Internet is to use still images and animation clips. We take a different, yet innovative approach. In order to simulate traditional buildings in advanced and intelligent ways, we apply a computer technique, called data modeling. We develop a robust data model to effectively represent the building. For data modeling, we select a well-known temple building, Buseoksa Muryangsujun as a prototype. The Buddhist temple building is one of the oldest wooden structures in Korea. We first build an accurate three-dimensional model of the building. Several designers, who have good skills in computer modeling, collaborate with experts who have concrete knowledge on traditional architecture. Thus, we guarantee that the model is accurate enough to be used as an educational material.

And then we analyze its building components and their connectivity by focusing on the capital order system, called Gongpo, that could be understood as a Korean version of the Greek orders.

And we suggest a user interface model connected with the database based on the data modeling. The interface provides several components and functionality such as viewing each architectural component, simulating the components’ connectivity interactively, and retrieving architectural information from the database.

The result of the study shows a diagram of the wooden construction data model and some shape grammars to explain components' connectivity, and a user interface model. This is currently being integrated into Kota-View(KOrean Traditional Architecture Viewer) system based on a web-based solid modeler, called WebMod.

At the end of the paper we also discuss about developing a generative design system that could generate a new building following traditional construction and aesthetic rules.

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