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The goal of the Bauhaus University is to complement an education in engineering science with teaching in art—not just art or technology, but the unity of art and technology. To help achieve this goal, two new faculty were added to the Architecture and Civil Engineering programs—the Faculty of Design in 1993 and the Faculty of Media in 1996.

Computer media and technology play a vital role in the artistic-technological orientation of the university. Of particular importance is the issue of "digital convergence" between the process of digitization and the imprint it leaves on the culture and disciplines it encompasses. The Weimar Bauhaus program embraces both classical/physical and virtual/digital architects.

The Weimar program considers the potential of an architectural education beyond traditional practice. Professor Dirk Donath, Chair of CAAD and Architecture (InfAR), describes "building" in the Weimar program as including both real/physical architecture and virtual architecture. Physical architecture includes the theory, design, and construction of the built environment. Virtual architecture includes interaction environments, visualized networks, or communication structures.

Donath believes that there may be many design languages that are suitable for building virtual worlds. One of his interests is to seek a design language suitable for online activities.

In this regard, the point of view that an architect brings to the design of computer programs is instrumental in the development of the field of design computing. The concepts of spatial design, sequence, and organization so important to an architect are also essential to the design of virtual architecture.

Architecture students in the program are excited about the potential of the computing as a design language, comparable to the languages of drawing and modeling. One student expressed his interest in learning computer languages as the desire to not be restricted by the limitations of commercial software.

The work in virtual architecture at Weimar, however, raises many important issues about the reality of computing for the practicing architect. Is it possible to be proficient in both computing and design?

This depends on whether the primary final design product is the "software" or a "physical" building. So far, the demands of becoming proficient in either the design of software or the design of buildings indicate that it is extremely rare to be adept at both.

There are three related, but distinct, approaches to design computing in architecture. One focuses on the use of existing software and examines the impact of computing vs. traditional media on architectural design. This is the realm of most practicing architects.

A second approach focuses on the development of software that will aid/enable the design of architecture. Recognizing the importance of an architectural education for those who design software can contribute tremendously to the promise of design computing becoming more relevant to the practice of architecture.

And in a third approach, an architectural education is the underpinning for the design of computer programs that may have nothing to do with the physical world of buildings. This arena opens up new opportunities for applying knowledge about physical architecture to the realm of virtual architecture, even though the result may be a form that does not look like its physical counterpart—or a building—but is still a recognizable and navigable space.

Donath maintains that "blindly imitating physical forms without questioning their meaning and function gets in the way of developing a functionally sustainable virtual environment." Certainly it limits the possibilities for new development and the potential of design computing as a field of inquiry.

However, the reverse of this equation is also true. Blindly imitating digital forms without question can inhibit the development of a functionally sustainable physical environment. The potential of the Weimar Bauhaus is that it presents an opportunity to examine this intertwined issue of technology and design. Only time will tell whether the promise becomes reality.

Darlene A. Brady is a registered architect and contributing editor to ArchitectureWeek. She is author of the forthcoming book Architectonic Color: Its Virtual And Physical Reality.

The virtual reality laboratory in the department of Computer Science in Architecture (InfAR), Bauhaus University. Photo: InfAR From the Pattern Language design studio. Image: Loris Negro Interpretation of a Diener & Diener Building, from the Virtual Reality-Aided Design studio. Image: Stefan Schoebel Visualization of the Weimar Goethe Parc, using InfAR's Virtual Environment software. Image: InfAR Model of a virtual living area. Image: Peter Schueszler   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.