00732264

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/1549-01

http://scholar.google.com...vans&publication_year=1996

Bridge aesthetics, an area of great interest to engineers, is recognized as a difficult area to research because of its subjective nature and ill-defined concepts. An innovative computational decision support tool for use in bridge aesthetics is described. The system contains a knowledge base created by using an extensive literature survey and by completing in-depth knowledge elicitation from leading bridge designers in the United Kingdom and with the support of the Department of Transport. To further validate the knowledge base, the rules elicited from the designers were tested against public opinion through a series of questionnaires. This procedure enabled the construction of a knowledge base that supports many aspects of aesthetics for small- to medium-sized span road bridges. This limited domain was chosen because this form of bridge is currently the most commonly constructed in Britain, yet generally receives little attention in terms of aesthetics because of time and economic constraints. The knowledge base has been incorporated into a system aimed at providing interactive advice on comparative bridge design. The system was developed in Visual C++ to run on a personal computer and to operate in a Windows environment. It is currently undergoing prolonged evaluation in practicing bridge design offices. To date, this evaluation has shown that engineers like the system and would find it useful. Therefore, commercial exploitation is currently being explored. The comments received during the evaluation are also being used to further tailor the system to suit practicing engineers' needs.

This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1549, Transportation Aesthetics.

English

p. 1-11

1996

Transportation Research Record

0309059194

Figures (9) ; References (16) ; Tables (3)

Aesthetics; Bridge design; Bridges; Decision making; Expert systems; Performance evaluations; Personal computers; Public opinion; Structural design; User interfaces (Computer science)

Interactive computing

United Kingdom

Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; Society; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls

TRIS, TRB

Feb 3 1997 12:00AM

• AESTHETIC DESIGN FOR AKASHI KAIKYO BRIDGE
• AESTHETIC DESIGN OF HANEDA SKY ARCH
• AESTHETIC DESIGN OF ODAWARA PORT BRIDGE
• AESTHETIC GUIDELINES FOR OLDER BRIDGES
• AESTHETICS AND OTHER COMMUNITY VALUES IN THE DESIGN OF ROADS
• APPLICATION OF AESTHETIC PRINCIPLES TO ROAD PLANTING IN CHINA
• BRITISH METHODS FOR IMPROVING SENSITIVITY OF BRIDGE DESIGNERS TO GOOD BRIDGE APPEARANCE
• FUSION OF CREATIVITY IN RAIL TRANSIT STATIONS: A RETROSPECTIVE AND CRITIQUE
• GLENWOOD CANYON TUNNEL AESTHETIC DESIGN
• OBJECTIVITY AND THE AESTHETIC DESIGN PROCESS
• PARIS-LEXINGTON ROAD: INTEGRATION OF INTRINSIC QUALITIES, CIVICS OF DESIGN, AND COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
• PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AS COLLABORATIVE ART: METROLINK, ST. LOUIS
• SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND AESTHETICS: THREE ASPECTS OF DESIGN EXCELLENCE
• VISUAL AND ECOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY MODEL FOR TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AND DESIGN
• WASHINGTON, A CITY OF BEAUTIFUL BRIDGES: PARADIGMS TO EMULATE