Highlighting the affordances of designs - Mutual realities and vicarious environments

Computer-aided evaluation of predicted design performance is an enduring theme within CAAD research and practice. However, most evaluative systems address aspects of design that are readily amenable to formal or quantitative treatments. Analyses of how people use and interact with designs rarely progress beyond a narrow functionalism, in which 'the user' figures as a type with poorly defined needs and characteristics. This paper outlines a theory of actor-environment interaction based on Gibson's notion of affordance as a precursor to exploring how computers can be used to highlight die affordances of designs. Two simple prototypes are described, The main conclusion is that while computers are unlikely to be able to detect affordances, they can generate and present information in ways that will enable human designers to appreciate more fully the possible implications of their designs for a broader range of potential occupants.