COMPUTER SUPPORT OF ARCHITECTURAL SKETCH DESIGN - A MATTER OF SIMPLICITY

Computer support of architectural sketch design Persistently remains a topic of research, rather than a reality of practice. The inherent co mplexity of creative design may be one reason; the alienation of desig ners by technology another. The author suggests that to avoid alienati on we should develop small, affordable systems, as simple and natural to use as ordinary word processors. An attempt in that direction is th e MacAlex system, currently under development as part of a project wit h the aim of investigating how formalized Alexander patterns could be utilized in knowledge-based computer support of sketch design. The pap er is a description of an initial user-interface design for MacAlex an d its implementation as an empty-shell prototype. On that background, conditions are listed under which 'perceived simplicity' of sketch des ign systems would seem reconcilable with their nontrivial functionalit y.