Tane Jachob Moleta

Victoria University of Wellington · School of Architecture

Our eyes consume the visual field around us, and the brain processes that information as sight and visual content. By incorporating eye-tracking into the design process, we can in some way reverse that process and begin to rethink the role our eye-brain interaction plays instead of as a method of active external input rather than internal processin...

This paper explores the role of real-time-virtual-engines (RTVE) in contemporary architectural education. The research is a response to the increasing footprint virtual reality (VR) has begun to forge in the studios of architecture programmes. This paper stipulates that the use of RTVE in architecture is unique to CAAD research given the student mo...

This paper provides an original empirical study examining the engagement of artists, curators and virtual tools. The case focusses on a collaborative project called "In the Forest with the Trees we Made". Since the publishing of the project, many compelling findings have been made in reference to both CAAD design and contemporary curatorial and cre...

This project was exhibited as a component of Ars Electronica 2020 'Kepplers Garden'. Weblink can be found here: https://www.ars.nz/an-architecture-of-the-sea/ A history lies beneath the waves. An archive of achievements, disasters, hopes, dreams and heroic acts. In this stillness, resting, waiting, darkness, unexplored realms. Society has called...

The paper explores the analogies between Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Feng-Shui by undertaking an analysis of natural ventilation in Jiangmen city, Southern China. Feng-Shui has been used to inform the orientation, layout, and design of buildings in China for thousands of years. The research questions if these concepts are still valid for...

This paper presents the trilogy of virtual classifications, the speculative environment, the virtual inhabitant and the virtual built-form. These combine, generating a new realm of design within immersive architectural space, all to be designed relative to each other, this paper focuses on the speculative environment portion. This challenged comput...

Architects work with data daily. Spatial metrics, building codes and client requirements form the main considerations for many designers, yet new layers of data are impacting the way cities and inhabitants interact with each. This data can be used to more effectively analyse and predict patterns and behaviors to produce environments better suited t...

In its ambitions, the paper aims to propose a proof of concept for a Virtual, Augmented and Mixed (VAM) environment that digitally overlays a multifaith space in order to optimize their use, essentially transforming itself to the spiritual needs of the user. In order to do so, a mixed reality experience was developed by investigating and interpreti...

Technology inevitably evolves and develops rapidly in the modern era, industries and professions continue to strive in integrating, adapting and utilising these advancements to improve, optimise and improve the process of design to manufacture to the user experience. One such system that fits into this category is the advent of Virtual Reality and...

This paper describes the method of establishing a tool, interconnecting a selection of hardware and computational software to design architecture, through the manipulation of forms using brain activities inside a Virtual Reality (VR) environment. This is achieved through the use of electroencephalography (EEG), detecting brain activities and live s...

This paper explores the ideas and mechanics through a case study which generated a reimagined means of inhabiting a speculative immersive environment. Currently, many users reside within virtual environments for their own leisure, work, or any other reason desired from short amounts of time to extreme lengths. This paper shows the generation direct...

The paper discusses, examines and evaluates the 'five-dimensional' qualities of virtual reality environments to create an authentic, immersive virtual reality experience. Investigated within the paper are the methodologies, tangible and intangible components, architect's role, existing immersive virtual reality environments, and resulting critical...

A key but overlooked factor in user-oriented design system is participation. Many researchers have looked into system usability, design simplification or realistic visualization to provide an immersive experience for users to engage the design. This paper explores how digital interventions operate within the process of collaborative design for urba...

This paper begins to look at how human data can be collected via Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality alongside Eye Tracking data for design Verification. This paper presents preliminary testing and results from participants to demonstrate a data pipeline methodology and data processing to begin to understand and verify the impact of certain design...

This paper aims to study the potential impact of Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Realities (VAM) technologies on the built environment and to understand how immersive environments can be used to enhance the human experience within the built environment. In order to investigate and test how these technologies may improve our experience of the city, an...

The products architects use to design, document and manage the building process have historically relied on off the shelf products from international corporations. These ‘one fit for all’ applications have often been criticised for forcing the hand of the designer, and ultimately, influencing the final output. This body of research outlines a numbe...

The politics embodied within modern architecture is defined by the general public's unawareness of the period’s architectural and historical origins. Following such criticisms of modern architecture within the contemporary urban landscape; in order to make decisions about the fate of buildings from this era, it is important to present a range of in...

The politics embodied within modern architecture is defined by the general public's unawareness of the period’s architectural and historical origins. Following such criticisms of modern architecture within the contemporary urban landscape; in order to make decisions about the fate of buildings from this era, it is important to present a range of in...

The politics embodied within Modern architectural heritage is defined by unawareness of the period’s architectural and historical origins. As a result, the public overlooks technical and aesthetic innovations associated with Modernism, along with the times of social change these advances represent. Instead, the deterioration of these buildings, cau...

With the increasing use of virtual reality as a visualisation tool, questions are opening up about the scope of its usefulness within the architectural profession. This study explores the extent to which using virtual reality as an interactive design tool is effective for manipulating and understanding spatial geometries. In order to analyse the te...

How will immersive technology change the way you create and collaborate? Hear from leading innovators, experience live demos, and get involved in hands-on workshops. This programme of events is brought to you by Te Papa and Victoria University of Wellington.

Fluctuating economies and changing family demographics have increased the complexity in meeting the spatial needs for contemporary housing. Digital systems that allow flexibility are growing in demand but its rate of development is not catching up with the rapid changes. This paper explores how digital interventions can limit or help the process of...

Fluctuating economies and changing family demographics have increased the complexity in meeting the spatial needs for contemporary housing. Digital systems that allow flexibility are growing in demand but its rate of development is not catching up with the rapid changes. This paper explores how digital interventions can limit or help the process of...

This paper proposes virtual spaces designed in Game Engines promote a form of inhabitant hyperactivity. Allowing quick navigation between distant spaces the Game Engine fosters an appreciation of movement over pause, which may be to the detriment of architectural visualisation. This paper presents a series of three case studies that explore the not...

DigitalFields* is a project that explores the relationship between the public, the natural environment and contemporary technology. The project focuses on encouraging people to spend time in existing green spaces, asking us to take note of what is around us and available for interaction. It aims to utilise modern technology as an interface for eng...

Digital Biophilia v0.2b encourages you to stop and play. With live sensors at the ready to capture your data as you pass by, this is the first interactive exhibition we've been lucky to host. Architecture has traditionally been an analog process. An art form requiring the integration of both artistic, creative skill and a scientific, spatial aware...

Creating exchanges with both passersby and visitors,Tane Moleta (Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Digital Design, Victoria University), Dr. Mizuho Nishioka demonstrated ways to engage with nature through new technology. Works discussed the boundary between nature, technology and the systems of representation and simulation. The installation took its n...

The adoption of computational processes in architecture has transformed the way we think, design and make, thereby enhancing our understanding, skills and performance in architectural design and research. This special issue of Automation in Construction presents original contributions selected from the 20thInternational Conference of The Associatio...

This paper explores the use of atmosphere within a digital space to evoke complex emotional response from virtual inhabitants of the space. Within architectural representation a shift to architectural visualisations in digital mediums have lost the prominence of the sensual communication of atmosphere and emotion in the abstract component of space....

Real-time virtual engines have experienced a degree of popularity in contemporary architectural education. Acknowledging that primarily the real-time virtual engine is deployed as a visualization tool, this article notes that the capacity to extend beyond the sensation of experiencing form and space exists through the deployment of the game mechani...

Through the lens of participatory mass housing the paper explores the conference theme of simplicity and complexity. A suitable home is a deep rooted desire in the heart of people, and everyone has their own vision of what is a suitable home. Yet the multi-faceted social needs of housing and how they are being designed and developed in mass housing...

This paper explores the conference theme of design decision support system within the context of participatory housing in urban cities. An alternative to the standard one-fits-all formal housing typology is introduced. The authors believe that by utilizing a Computer Aided Participatory Housing Design System (CAPHDS) to incorporate the end-users (o...

This research explores the notion of 'dream home' within the context of paiiicipatory housing in high-density urban environments. An alternative to the standard one-fits-all fo1mal housing typology is proposed by utilizing a Computer Aided Participatory Housing Design System (CAPHDS) to incorporate the 'end users' (occupants) to achieve an infonnal...

of museums as cultural heritage institutions that seek innovative ways for converting and tapping into the realm of mass and social media. In parallel with the New Museology movement having been discussed since 1970s critiques of traditional curatorial practices argue that ordinary objects are more informative of the novel The Museum of Innocence b...

Cultural heritage is traditionally mediated through institutional bodies that are authorised to broadcast heritage information, whereas new media technologies such as social media platforms continue to enforce individual storytelling and information sharing. Therefore GLAMs (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) have to cope with a shift of p...

This research aims to demonstrate the use of commonplace technologies within an architectural system to produce unique real-time user experiences, within the context of a design-led thesis. The result is a personalised real time way finding system, incorporating embodied physical architectural elements and virtual simulation projections with a supp...

Real Time Strategy games enjoy worldwide popularity. Success in this genre of games requires a high degree of skill in spatial and temporal organisation. These skills are typically built upon a foundation characteristic of an iterative workflow. An iterative workflow is also a desirable behaviour in the design studio of architecture students allowi...

The general field this presentation will address is the integration of game mechanics within the design studio. The CAAD community has invested considerable energy into the insertion of games within education to teach specific skills or develop design behaviours. Building on some of this research we report on three years of studio teaching in under...

An algorithm is a process of addressing a problem in a finite number of steps. In the context of architectural design, algorith-mic thinking means taking on an interpretive role to understand the results in relation to design criteria, knowing how to modify the code to explore new options, and speculating on further design potentials. The applicati...

This research aims to demonstrate if a holistic approach to generative architectural design is feasible using algorithms and techniques now common in architecture studios. By formalising and simplifying the intersections between discrete processes a complex “open box” design structure is developed that produces responsive, novel conceptual designs...

This project addresses construction project management and the 3D visualization of construction sequence, with a focus on the use of augmented reality on mobile devices. The potential of linking construction sequencing charts and critical paths to Building Information Models is well established. So called ‘4D BIM’ applications such as Innovaya enab...

A design project that explores how augmented reality may be incorporated within architecture to embed hybrid 'info-tectonic' detail, across a range of scales is documented. The context in which the project is undertaken is the legacy of South Indian temple design. This opens up a complimentary field of research within a cultural context, to locate...

The recent enthusiasm in popular culture for massively multiplayer online environments has proven that eclectic online communities have the potential to develop powerful problem solving capacities, through the enactment of a collective intelligence. Foreseeing a radical change in the identity of the architect, becoming but the designer of open syst...