 |
IMAGE AND INTENTION WITH LIGHTWAVE AND PIRANESI
When Charles Gaushell, AIA first used DataCAD in 1989 to develop a 3D model of the Memphis, Tennessee Ronald McDonald House, he learned how powerful the computer could be as a design tool. Because the CAD program was easy to use and enhanced the ability to envision the final project, he also realized that 3D modeling can be an important presentation tool. — Published 2001.0207
 |
 |
DIGITAL DESIGN GROWS IN EDUCATION
Does the computer education received by today's architecture students provide them with the skills sought by employers?
Architects and educators have long disagreed about which skills should be taught in architecture schools and which, if any, are best taught later, during apprenticeships. — Published 2001.0124
|
 |
AN ARCHITECTURAL PERSPECTIVIST GOES DIGITAL
Using digital media to simulate traditional watercolor and charcoal rendering techniques puts new creative flexibility in the hands of master illustrator Robert Frank.
Located in San Francisco, Robert Frank has been an architectural illustrator since 1986. He is president emeritus of the American Society of Architectural Perspectivists and teaches digital imaging at the San Francisco Academy of Art College. — Published 2001.0110
|
 |
VISUALIZING HOW BUILDINGS BREATHE
The constant movement of air through the spaces of a building affects its thermal environment and, thus, its energy performance, yet this invisible "breathing" has been difficult to understand or predict using traditional tools.
Now, computer-based air flow modeling techniques are more available to architects to help visualize and fine-tune their designs to improve natural ventilation and related energy performance. — Published 2001.0103
|
 |
GRAPHISOFT PRIZE 2000
"...The Ministry of Truth was startlingly different from any other object in sight. It was an enormous pyramidal structure of glittering white concrete, soaring up, terrace after terrace, 300 meters into the air."
Anyone reading this chilling description of the building that housed the government's propaganda machine in George Orwell's novel 1984 will instantly form a mental picture of the edifice. Now some designers have gone beyond this imagining and actually built computer models of it. — Published 2000.1220
|
 |
COMPUTER-ENABLED PRACTICE FOR DISABLED ARCHITECTS
When Joseph Del Vecchio graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in the mid-1980s, he was blocked from pursuing a routine architectural internship.
Even if he'd found a local office permitting entry to his wheelchair, he would have been unable to reach over the large drafting boards that were routinely assigned to apprentices in those days. In addition, seemingly simple tasks, like getting in a car and driving to a meeting, were tiring and time-consuming. — Published 2000.1206
|
 |
BECOMING AN INFORMATION ARCHITECT
With the ever-increasing quantity of information that architectural project managers must handle, electronic piles of spreadsheets and word-processing documents are only compounding the problems of project management.
Tools built on easy-to-use database software can provide an effective solution, but in my experience, few firms take advantage of them. Architects should be designing their own information management systems, which have the potential to take over a surprising number of nongraphical tasks in a professional office. — Published 2000.1115
|
 |
STAR TEAM EXPERIMENTS WITH BRICSNET
As we enter the 21st century, a unique consortium of architecture, engineering, and construction firms has formed to explore attitudes and practices in the building industry, with specific attention to implementing the efficient use of new computer technologies.
The STAR (Strategic Alliance Roundtable) Team mission is "improving the project delivery process by leveraging teamwork and technology." They aim to create a design-and-construction industry brain trust that shares insights and experience. — Published 2000.1108
|
 |
NEW MEDIA, CONTINUING DEBATE
From its beginnings, the Bauhaus was the site of a debate over the relative influence of art and technology in design. This summer, 80 years after its founding, the school witnessed a new twist on the debate. Only this time the technology in question was digital. — Published 2000.1018
|
 |
MANUFACTURING FREEFORM ARCHITECTURE
Still mired in decades-old technologies, most architects are missing one of the greatest opportunities of the computer revolution. Even if they use computer-aided drafting software, these architects are following an old pattern of creating paper drawings for the later interpretation—or misinterpretation—by builders with conventional tools. Why shouldn't the architect's computer do the construction too? — Published 2000.0927
|
Digital Design Tools page: [
