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PARISIAN MEDIA MERGE
About 20 years ago, when computers shrank in size and software began to produce vector drawings on large plotters, schools of architecture faced a dilemma. What to do with this technology? Even when schools started offering courses about computers, most design studio instructors sneered at the gadgetry. They didn't trust it, and the drawings were awful! — Published 2002.0327
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VECTORWORKS LANDSCAPE TOOLS
Last year, Nemetschek North America, maker of VectorWorks Architect, came out with a companion system, VectorWorks Landmark. I have incorporated this into my teaching at the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at Pennsylvania State University with great success. — Published 2002.0306
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BETTER FASTER SPECIFICATIONS
When it comes to developing project specifications in this new technology world of ours, you will find a mixed bag of choices. The choices mirror the myriad ways architects have traditionally approached writing project specifications. — Published 2002.0220
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ANIMATING WATERCOLOR
When choosing a presentation medium for design ideas, architects are often torn between divergent options: should they show off their technical abilities with a sleek animation? Or should they demonstrate the preliminary nature of the design by portraying it in an imprecise watercolor painting? — Published 2002.0206
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DEVELOPING 3D MODELS FROM PHOTOS
When is a picture worth much more than 1000 words? When it can be converted directly into a 3D model. Models of historic buildings and cultural relics enable architects and archaeologists to study their subject in closer detail than might otherwise be possible. — Published 2002.0123
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MODELING GREEN ENVIRONMENTS
Although computer-aided drafting software has indisputably changed the way architects and engineers draw, even more dramatic is the way high-end computer simulations have changed engineering design.
One firm that has taken advantage of new software systems is Genesys, a British consultancy specializing in sustainable-building simulation. The firm uses many forms of computer modeling, which is essential for low-energy, environmentally sensitive architectural design. — Published 2002.0109
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MORE TIME DESIGNING
On a superficial level, what architects do is create drawings of buildings to communicate to others how to build those buildings. But construction drawings are simply the most tangible evidence of architects' intangible contribution to society: the art and science of design. — Published 2001.1219
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LIGHTING THE SCENE IN NORWAY
In Norway, the Land of the Northern Lights, a small computer graphics company is wowing clients with dazzling visualizations and photographic lighting simulations. Since its inception, the company has relied primarily on the Lightscape rendering system.
The visualization firm, curiously named Placebo Effects, is partly owned by the large company Dark-Gruppen, whose divisions provide a range of design consulting services. Placebo Effects provides computer graphics services to Dark-Architects and others in the Norwegian design and architecture community. — Published 2001.1205
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ADT AT C7A
In 1987, Cambridge Seven Associates (C7A) started using computers to streamline their production drawing cycle and thus provide more time to invest in the quality of their designs. CAD as a production and 2D design tool allowed them to investigate in more detail how their designs were put together. But as in many architecture firms, CAD as a 3D design tool was slower to arrive and is only now being used in the early stages of their work. — Published 2001.1114
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ACADIA REFLECTS ON 20 YEARS
Every October, a group of architecture professors, students, and practitioners from around the world meets to reflect on the directions the profession is going with computer technologies.
These thinkers gather to decipher the effect of digital media on education and practice and to explore new options through their research. This year they met at the State University of New York at Buffalo, under the leadership of Wassim Jabi, who also edited the published proceedings, Re-inventing the Discourse. — Published 2001.1031
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