November_1970 — Page 8

drawing. It will produce costs, lists of required quantities and a host of alternative information, all relevant to the proposed design, during the process of the drawing.

What the light pen does is to identify the individual symbols as they are picked out by the architect doing the design, and 'stretch' the symbol to provide a line of given value. Thereafter all the information flows automatically from the concep- tion initiated on the screen by the architect.

The Association say they are only at the begin- ning of what could be a major breakthrough in

Light pen in use. Computer automatically tests the design for satisfac- tory performance as it is being drawn

architectural and constructional practice. Operating initially on the design of two-storey housing, they visualise that the system will permit a computer to give immediate answers on site possibilities in terms of cost, quantities and other aspects to a series of possible plans drawn on the screen, and so determine in a very brief time aspects of planning which now occupy an immense amount of time and labour,

Mr. H. E. Buteux, chief technical officer of the Housing Association said recently: 'About half our architects' time at present is spent on the tedious routine of updating and modifying existing house plans, incorporating new standards and adapting to special sites. The computer application will cut out all this donkey work and at the same time allow the architect's judgement to be incorporated on the information fed into the computer.'

British system for Japan housing

A British industrialised building system, which is capable of providing extendable and re-locatable buildings at a speed of up to 4,000 sq. ft. per day, will shortly be employed in the erection of detached houses in Japan.

Developed by Terrapin, the system is based on factory-finished folding pack building units, which leave the maker's factory complete with roof, floor, side walls, decoration and glazing, ready for im- mediate erection.

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Far East BUILDER, November 1970