In this paper we present and assess tools for visualizing architectonic modifications of existing housing in co-design projects with inhabitants. These tools should enable inhabitants to explore and understand design variations of alterations of their houses. This contribution is part of ongoing research on the use of artificial realities for supporting the transformations of existing housing in architectonically responsible ways. Such transformations may be needed after the delivery of housing, say after five years or later, due to changed regulation, the need of updates or changed living conditions of inhabitants. For arriving at architectonically responsible transformations we use shape grammar system for defining possible modifications of the housing. For empowering inhabitants to understand and explore these modifications to their housing we develop a transformation grammar tool -MyChangesto visualize the modifications by three visualization modes, from fully-immersive to non-immersive. Interviews and tests with real inhabitants were performed and preliminary conclusions show that a tool like the MyChanges would have a good acceptance among inhabitants.

Citizens are the daily users of urban spaces and their facilities. It is important that they collaborate with local authorities for effective management, development, and maintenance of the cities they live in. Public participation although important is still developing in several European cities because its implementation poses difficulties. In this paper we argue that using digital technologies via a participatory digital tool, can empower citizens towards more engagement and collaboration on the city development. Despite the existence of several participation tools, we identified the lack of a tool that allows citizens to collaborate more actively in local development in a simple way. In this paper we introduce Get Together, a tool designed to improve collaboration between citizens and local authorities, that proposes a user experience that enables citizens to create design solutions, promote debate and perform a vote on the preferred solution, while having technical advice from municipal officials' specialists.

In architecture, the individual needs and preferences of the end users need to be achieved in order to ensure a successful design. Standardized houses have been for long the reason for inhabitants' lack of satisfaction. The participation of inhabitants in the design process of their own houses is a crucial aspect to address housing customization, however there is a lack of effective tools to help inhabitants co-design their houses. Generative design solutions seem to be an effective way to address mass customization problem. In this paper we present a literature review on computer aided design systems that allow inhabitants to design, or partially design, their own houses. Existing solutions are classified in several categories (as generation process, target users, type of outcome, type of interaction, availability) regarding to what they accomplish and then analysed.

No abstract