Questions Answered

This past week or so has included several wonderful opportunities to hear and network with people in the design field. We had a visit from Mary Jane Grigsby (President of NCIDQ), heard a presentation from Nick Christopher (an Architectural Designer at Gensler in LA), a presentation from Debbie Nestvogal (an Interior Designer at CJMW), a visit from Paula Carr (a Senior Associate at tvsdesign), and we took a trip to Durham where we toured the Freelon Group Architect firm as well as the Durham County Public Library, which they designed. All these opportunities were extremely informative for me in reference to several aspects. Mrs. Carr talked to us about the ways they went about process work in their firm; how they presented their work, and how they worked with clients. The most apparent point in her presentation was that tvsdesign was basically formed like our studios are now. That was pretty reassuring to me. Another thing I found interesting and that really blew my mind was that they sent off their renderings to China for someone to set up and complete. That is still astounding me today. The trip to Durham was great as well. We were able to hear from several associates about pertinent portfolio information, how they work together, see the different areas in the firm, and see projects they were working on. The other opportunities of the week were just as intriguing and helpful as these two were. Mrs. Grigsby’s talk was enlightening as well. She was able to give us information on taking the NCIDQ test after we graduate. The great thing about this is that I don’t have to wait three years to take it after graduating. We are able to take the first part of the test right after graduation! It was a bit daunting to think that in a little over a year’s time is when this will happen. On the other hand, it’s so exciting!        

Response to Parametric Modeling

Parametric modeling makes digital modeling easier and more efficient for the user. This is a new approach that is surfacing in the design world. It assigns real-world behaviors and attributes to the model. For example, if the pitch of the roof is changed, the user does not need to be concerned about having to go in and change the height of the walls. Parametric modeling programs do that for you. It revises everywhere so you don’t have to. Parametric modeling also provides a schedule for the project, keeping each component of the model in a category: doors, windows, etc. If these parts are changed in the graphic model, they change on the list. Even if they are changed in the list, they are changed in the model. This program updates the changes you make for you. Not having to do steps twice makes modeling so much easier and less time consuming.
     

Having this assignment to complete has really helped me see how simple parametric programs (such as Revit) can be. This program has the potential to really help me in the future. Revit is so user friendly. Want to draw a wall? Draw a wall. It’s that simple. For me, it was straightforward because I drew the wall exactly as I thought I would draw it: by selecting the wall tool and drawing it in its desired location. There are some setbacks to BIMs, and those have to be dealt with. You have to make sure that when deleting a line or point, it doesn’t delete other important things that might be attached to it, like a wall. Some would say transitioning from a 2D program like CAD to a 3D program (Revit) would be difficult. I have used CAD and although it’s somewhat user friendly, Revit is much more so. The article mentions this great feature: “a change anywhere is a change everywhere.” This means that I don’t have to double check the cross references because it does that for me already. I enjoy that Revit has no layers. No layers means more time in my book. You will not have to consistently check to see if you are on the correct layer. The fact that you can go back and forth quite effortlessly from 2D to 3D is fantastic; which basically means having an ‘intelligent connection’ between every aspect. This allows you to see a perspective version of the project, as it would look from all angles. This is really a great feature.

So, pulling from my previous Revit experience as well as the tutorial I have worked on and completed, I cannot find any annoyances of the program as of yet. This opinion might change in the future, but I am going out on a limb and saying that I enjoy Revit now and therefore intend on using it extensively in the future. Having heard that Revit is being used in big time Architect firms, it is safe to say I would like to continue to learn and grow in this program for future endeavors.

Summary of Computing in Architectural Design

This article gave a brief informational history of computing in Architecture. It was interesting to see how far it has come to help in design. Towards the beginning in the 1970s, computing took on two categories. One was specifically for mechanical engineering and the other exclusively for the construction industry. This was the first generation. After these programs were initiated, a tidal wave occurred in programming. There were constantly people dreaming up and implementing new and better advances. Industries began to see immediate advantages of having this illustrative software for their designers. They were able to see new things graphically that before people would have to hand draw. This way, it was accurate. These programs were beginning to be used not only now for visualizing the design in an illustrative form but to actually solve building issues before construction even began. This first generation used more architectural ideas instead of computer science to iterate ideas. This was supposed to help the software, but it would need a few more years to mature to become truly user friendly.

These first generation programs needed large powerful computers along with expensive displays in order to actually use the software how it was meant to be. Enter personal computers! After these were introduced in the industry, it became easier, not to mention cheaper to use these programs for large firms. Thus began the second generation of CAD systems. It was initially written for Apple but other companies quickly jumped on the personal computer bandwagon. They brought with them faster, more powerful processors, better display resolutions, and ink jet printers. This furthermore allowed the programs to not only be used for architectural drafting, but for basic photo realistic renderings. They hit the scene and they hit big. Clients would not have long to wait anymore to see their projects come to life. This was a big step forward in my book for computer modeling programs. Though computer model was making a big leap forward with rendering, they fell backwards in the technical aspect. Instead of having analytical capabilities that were vital in the first generation, that was exchanged for polygons, solids, and NURBS. This all changed in the third generation.

People knew that this was not an option. These programs should have both the rendering and drafting capabilities. At various Universities, they set about making this come into fruition. They all tried fusing the non-informational solid shapes into units that would have sets of rules and qualities to distinguish them from others. They came to find out the following: “…recent advances in object-orient programming (OOP), artificial intelligence (AI), and database management systems (DBMS) are the underpinnings of the third generation CAD systems.” As of now, we are still in the third generation era. There is a continuation to make these programs better but it is difficult to pair ‘comprehensive building-specific data and knowledge bases” with that of “nongeometric attributes into an effective design support system.”  

     Computing helps not only in the architectural field. The brobdingnagian aspects of its existence is in the ability to communicate. No longer do people have to be in the same room or even the same city to talk and see ideas. They could even be a part of a meeting from their own home if they would like. In more advanced computing, the computer or program has the ability to do specific tasks for the user. The example given in the article is to tell the computer, "design a staircase between these floors" and it would. That blows my mind that we have come so far. Taking this one step further and looking outside of using computers in design is utilizing one day to day. Computers are used in security systems, automatic doors, cell phones, car systems, etc. There are little computers everywhere doing big jobs and most of those jobs never even cross our mind. Our cars have a plethora of computers running every second. All we do is turn the key and put it in drive. That is what makes it so interesting. I believe what hit me the most in this article is the fact that technology has become so ingrained in our culture. This just astounds me. Knowing where computing has come from has shown me that this shouldn't be taken for granted but to be used with tremendous gratitude. Computing is such an important and vital role in our culture today. It has come so far, but I bet it will go farther. It will be fun seeing what comes next in the computing world of design tool as well as a help in life and being a part of the process is a truly great opportunity.