TURNING TODAY'S RESEARCH INTO TOMORROW'S SOFTWARE

Over the past four weeks, a series of articles in ArchitectureWeek has looked at four examples of university research projects that may some day become commonplace design tools for architects. Each of the four demonstrates a narrowly focused capability that is desirable but missing from current practice.

ENERGY SOFTWARE TO LINK DESIGN AND SCIENCE

For decades, research scientists have been developing extremely sophisticated analysis tools to study the energy performance of buildings. These tools have been effectively unusable among architects, however, because the interface is cumbersome, the output is largely numeric, and the input requires mechanical engineering data normally associated with the end of the architectural design process.

GREEN CAD AND 3D DESIGN SURVEY

Environmentally conscious, "green" design has gained a respectable following among those already inclined to see the world through emerald lenses. Everyone else is waiting to see if it's worth the trouble.

One barrier has been a lack of truly usable building energy simulation tools. To build these, software developers need to understand the design process through the eyes of nonengineers. However, a new survey uncovers subtleties in how design software is applied in practice.

COMPUTER VISUALIZATION AS A TOOL FOR CRITICAL ANALYSIS

For decades, critics have analyzed Frank Lloyd Wright's Darwin D. Martin House based on direct observation and 2D architectural drawings. But their conclusions lack the insight made visible by 3D computer visualizations. This study uses CAD techniques more commonly applied to design and presentation and re-evaluates both the house and the critical statements traditionally accepted about Wright's design.