The New Digital Tools

THE NEW DIGITAL TOOLS M

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Maximilian Taylor 110262132

THE NEW DIGITAL TOOLS Newcastle University BA Architecture 2014/2015 ARC3060

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CONTENTS

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Introduction

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Tradition

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Inception

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Innovation

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Evolution

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Conclusion

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List of Illustrations

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Bibliography

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INTRODUCTION

architects can help to improve the architect’s involvement in the design process and ensure

The advent of the computer heralded a new

that the continual information revolution only

era of design, manufacturing and construction,

serves to benefit the profession and its

with the ability for machines to be computer

products.

controlled to a sub millimetre degree of precision. This led to the development of new,

With current methods of computer

digital tools and automation methods that

interaction and digital tools, the architect is

have since fully replaced traditional

restrained by technical skill and software

techniques. Since 1990 the introduction of the

limitations. However through hand designing

use of the computer within architectural

the bounds are limitless, with any construct of

design practice has significantly affected the

the imagination able to be translated

way in which architecture is conceived,

analogously to the page.

designed, constructed and taught.

Technology has now advanced to the stage Much has been documented about how digital

that digital tools can emulate the tactile, haptic

tools in architecture have been developed,

experience of hand design so that architects

and there have been many critics of its

can have a direct relationship with the digital

suitability and effectiveness within

realm, reducing the limiting factors of

architectural design, however there is little to

technical knowledge and software constraints.

document the new innovation in digital design

Where currently, digital computer work is

methods and theoretical developments in

often restricted to specific individuals with

future technologies that look to create

training and experience, these tools would

another shift in the paradigm of digital

allow individuals at every level of the process

architecture.

to contribute to the design while being able to retain the benefits of computer capabilities.

The report titled ‘The Future for Architects?’ suggests that the architecture profession

Following a brief overview of the use of

needs to work to be at the forefront of

traditional tools and methods in architecture,

modern technologies, tools and techniques in

the effect that the computer has had on the

order to keep the role of the architect both

architect’s perspective towards design will be

relevant and valuable in a rapidly changing

examined, evaluating how the digital

environment where typical architectural skills

revolution has distanced the architect from

are being outsourced to other individuals in

the embodied act of design.

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the construction and design industry. It is important for architects to embrace these

An investigation into the new digital tools

new digital tools in order to secure their

being developed today will then assess how

future position. By enthusiastically accepting

rather than removing the creator from the

the possibilities of modern and future

craft of making and designing, these are

technologies, and adapting their integration

increasingly able to bring back the experiential

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quality of traditional tools and methods, while

Claire Jamieson, ‘The Future for Architects?’

(Building Futures, 2011) http://www.buildingfutures.org.uk/assets/downloads /The_Future_for_Architects_Full_Report_2.pdf [accessed 16/10/14] 1

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retaining the convenience and adaptability of digitisation.

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This dissertation will go on to explore the

which the computer is used to facilitate the

emergent and theoretical technologies that

design process.

are relevant to the design process, hypothesising as to how they might influence the development of future tools and techniques, and how the relationship between human and computer can be expected to change.

Ultimately this study will assess how this rapid and changing digital revolution has affected the process of architectural design, and whether by harnessing this change the architect can safeguard their position as a key player in the overall construction industry Owing to the technical and constantly evolving nature of this field, it is important to make clear some definitions before continuing.

The term ‘digital architecture’ can refer to a number of different meanings, and its use is often inconsistent. Most classify it into either of two definitions: any design made with the assistance of a computer, or as this becomes almost universally standard, architecture of an experimental nature outside of the mainstream sphere and pushing the envelope of computer design.2 For the purpose of this dissertation, the former definition will be used, with digital architecture referring to any design produced through the use of a computer.

The umbrella term of computer-aided design (CAD) is used to refer to a broad range of digital technologies and computer programs, both dealing with two-dimensional and threedimensional virtual entities. Here, the term will be used to encompass any method by

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2 Antoine Picon, Digital Culture in Architecture: An Introduction for the Design Professions (Basel: Birkhäuser 2010), p. 60.

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tradition |tr!ˈdɪʃ(!)n| noun 1. [ mass noun ] the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way • [ in sing. ] an artistic or literary method or style established by an artist, writer, or movement, and subsequently followed by others

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For milennia the act of drawing has been

led to its use as a sophisticated drawing

practiced by man as a way of recording the

implement. The pencil was initially a stick of

world around us or expressing a thought or

raw graphite wrapped in sheepskin or string.

idea. This process has been developed and

The woodcase pencil was invented in 1560,

refined through advancements in the

which allowed a finer method of handling and

understanding of geometric rules and human

control.3 Today, mechanical pencils that allow

visuality, as well as the iterative modification

a consistent lineweight are commonly used.

of the drawing tools used over the ages.

Here, one can potentially draw an analogy between the development of the pencil from a

Traditionally, drawing has always been the

rough marking device to a precise line drawing

architect’s primary device for communicating

tool, and the transition from hand drawn

designs to engineers, builders, clients and

schemes to the clear-cut vectors produced by

peers through an established convention of

the computer.

drawing rules. Many specific tools have been developed to make this process quicker and

While draftsmen had been using

easier, culminating in the creation of the now

approximations of perspective for thousands

ubiquitous computer aided design (CAD)

of years, the representational drawing device

software, and other computer based tools.

of mathematically correct linear perspective was first demonstrated during the Renaissance

Before exploring the most recent

by the architect Filippo Brunelleschi.4 This

developments in digital architecture, it is

development dramatically changed how artists

important to be aware of the tools and

and architects understood how to construct

methods used historically by architects in the

convincing three-dimensional forms.

design process. The traditional drawing techniques that now seem plainly obvious and rudimentary, such as convincing perspective, are the result of centuries of evolution in the understanding of how man sees and interacts with the world, and how this can be translated through two-dimensional media. These discoveries created the foundations for the development of the sophisticated software tools that allow such detail and accuracy in modern design, and are ubiquitous within the architecture profession today. It is also useful to examine what specific tools and processes were developed for traditional drawing techniques, and how they changed the way drawing was understood and carried out, in

Fig. 1 – Brunelleschi’s demonstration of linear perspective.

order to compare this with new and future

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developments in digital design tools.

Looking at the simplest and most enduring drawing tool, the pencil, even here there is a history of development and refinement that

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Rocket City Space Pioneers, Who Invented the Pencil? <http://www.rocketcityspacepioneers.com/space/who -invented-the-pencil> [accessed 23/10/14] 4 Saylor Foundation, How Brunelleschi ‘Discovered’ Linear Perspective <http://www.saylor.org/site/wpcontent/uploads/2011/10/ARTH-206BrunLinPerDisc.pdf> [accessed 20/10/14] 3

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Now designers had a mathematical system to help them create drawings of geometric forms with convincing accuracy and depth, and this helped to move the practice of drawing forward. The same rules of linear perspective are still taught today, and the principles that Brunelleschi demonstrated 400 years ago are used in modern computer modelling software to produce accurate manifestations of threedimensional objects on screen.

This measured, mathematical approach to constructing drawings necessitated the development of precise and accurate tools that would aid draftsmen in creating complex, and reproducible designs.

After the use of the drawing board and Tsquare became commonplace in the early 18th century, the 19th century saw the development of more advanced drafting tools for specific purposes, spurred on by the Industrial Revolution and the increasing desire to make

Fig. 2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A US patent filing for an ellipsograph design.

construction and manufacturing a more efficient, higher output process. Particular geometric drawing challenges, such as constructing classical Ionic column capitals and ellipses, were addressed by the use of helicographs, ellipsographs and volutors.5 These mechanical drawing aids removed the need for complex geometric calculations to be carried out and allowed the drafter to reliably produce consistent forms. While at the time this was certainly seen as an advancement and improvement over the manual method, undoubtedly there would have been critics that claimed that the traditional techniques were being lost and eroded, much in the same way that digital architecture is being challenged today.

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5 National Building Museum, Tools of the Imagination <http://www.nbm.org/exhibitionscollections/exhibitions/tools-of-the-imagination.html> [accessed 24/10/14]

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In order to assess the validity and usefulness of new tools and processes it is important to discuss what it is about the manual practice of drawing and designing by hand that makes it beneficial to the design process.

The physiological process that allows humans to coordinate the movement of a pencil across a page is proprioception. The proprioceptive system enables the body to respond to incoming sensory stimuli of external forces and vary muscle contraction accordingly. This is achieved by making use of

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joint position. This process is what makes

before the arrival of the computer threatened to disrupt it.

traditional design an embodied act that grounds the architect in the work that they are producing. In this way there is a direct relationship between the hand, the eye and the mind of the designer: the line that is envisaged by the architect, the act of moving the hand across the page and the line that is seen to be drawn. When traditional, manual drafting is carried out at a set scale, it allows the architect to project themselves into the drawing and embody the design, therefore being able to fully understand the implications that their changes make on the scheme as a whole.7 Physical, tactile hand modelling is another way that traditionally architects have engaged their whole body in the act of designing. When handling tangible, existent models and materials, the designer has a constant awareness of the object they are observing, rotating and manipulating. They are able to unconsciously project themselves into the spaces presented, and put them in direct relation with their own body, being immediately and innately aware of the modelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s size and scale in relation to their own.

Proprioception as a phenomenon is one that has been largely disregarded as digital technologies have been taken up by the architecture industry, and as such new discussions have arisen concerning its value and whether it is wise to try and protect it as the digital age progresses. Indeed, it is fair to assume that many will not have been aware of this idea (or seen any need to dwell on it)

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SPD Australia, The Proprioceptive System <http://www.spdaustralia.com.au/the-proprioceptivesystem/> [accessed 24/10/14] 7 Paul Emmons, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Size Matters: Virtual Scale and Bodily Imagination In Architectural Drawingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; < http://designspeculum.com/POD/emmons%202.pdf> [accessed 13/08/14] (p. 6).

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inception |ɪnˈsɛpʃ(!)n| noun [ in sing. ] the establishment or starting point of an institution or activity !

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In moving from hand drawings to

clerical and administrative tasks.11 Architects

CAD, ‘man the measure’ is replaced

were reluctant to abandon their own design

with ‘man the measurer’.8

methods and processes they had developed and applied over years of training and

Antoine Picon suggests that it was the ‘rise of

professional practice, and computers were not

an information based society at the turn of the

expected to eclipse the traditional methods of

nineteenth and twentieth centuries’ that led to

hand sketching, physical model making and

the current standard of CAD use in

manual drafting that had been used

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architectural design. Picon claims that it was

successfully for centuries. Early experiments

not simply the invention of the computer that

of applying computers to architectural design

brought about the paradigm shift to digital

were seen as trivial exercises that had no real

architecture, but rather that this was merely

benefit to the design process.12

the catalyst for the inevitable eventuality of increased automation in the architecture

One of the first ‘pioneers’ of digital

profession that began with the Industrial

architecture was the American architect Frank

Revolution and continued with the

Gehry, who since the founding of his practice

development of mass production methods and

believed that drawings had the capacity to

increased globalisation throughout the 20th

distract his attention from the building itself.

century.10

He thought drawings that emphasised the drawing over the building were merely

With this in mind, it is wise not to discount

superficial and trivial.13 This primary focus on

the role of the computer in advancing the

the building, separate from its representation,

practice of architecture, but rather to view its

enabled Gehry to see the potential of

arrival as simply another step in a long process

computers in assisting him construct his “Fish”

of development and evolution. However it is

structure in Barcelona, and realise his radical

also prudent to be vigilant towards how digital

design for the Walt Disney Concert Hall in

technology manifests itself in the design

Los Angeles. Where before his complex

process, and this is where architects must

three-dimensional forms were made more

ensure that they dictate the future course that

confusing when translated to two-dimensional

the computer will lead the industry, or else

plans and sections, with CAD Gehry had

risk allowing the computer to dictate the

found a way to describe his innovative new

future role and relevance of the architect.

designs.14

Initially, the adoption of computers for architectural design was met with scepticism.

Although computer-aided design and manufacturing was widespread in other related industries, such as aircraft and automobile production, as early as 1970, their use in architectural practice was limited to

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Chris Abel, Architecture, Technology and Process (London: Architectural Press, 2004), p. 77.

12 Nick Dunn, Digital Fabrication in Architecture’ (London: Laurence King, 2012), p. 14.

13 Bruce Lindsey, Digital Gehry: Material Resistance/Digital Construction (Basel: Birkhäuser, 2001), p. 22.

14 Ibid., p. 38.

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Emmons, p. 6.

Picon, p. 9.

10 Ibid.

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Paul Emmons has written comprehensively about his belief that the most dangerous aspect of CAD that threatens effective architectural design is the lack of a fixed, consistent scale when in the virtual realm. He claims that this goes beyond merely the technical issue of being presented with an essentially unknown scale, suggesting that it fundamentally affects the way architecture is conceived.17 In the computer, images are represented at a 1:1 scale that can be infinitely zoomed and resized. This allows virtual drawings or models to both be made so small Fig. 2 – Barcelona Vila Olimpica 'Fish' CAD models.

as to be insignificant, yet also enlarged so that once trivial details become an unnecessary

The rapid uptake of CAD software and digital

focus of concern. With this new possibility it

design processes in architecture over the past

is argued that the architect loses the ability to

20 years has led many to question the effect

put what is shown on screen into a

that this sudden shift in the way we conceive,

perceivable relation with his or her own body.

design and develop architecture has had on

In this way the architect is at risk of losing

the overall quality of the resulting spaces and

sight of the overall design, and is more likely

buildings. Many have expressed a concern

to see the image as an object than project

over the apparent abandonment of the

themselves into the image ‘through an

traditional, manual methods described in the previous chapter, or those, like architect and

imaginative inhabitation’18

writer Juhani Pallasmaa, have made their

Additionally, while the physical acts of drawing

contempt towards the involvement of the

and modelling are intuitive actions, the use of

computer clear.15 Others take a more

CAD programs requires abstract thinking

cautious approach, being uncertain as to how

where the user must operate within the rules

the industry will be altered in the long-term,

and constraints laid out by the software to

with Picon himself commenting that ‘confronted

achieve their desired aim. The act of then

with a series of technological innovations, the only

outputting their work onto paper requires the

certitude we have is that the change they are

designer to assign a set scale – an unintuitive

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bringing is profound.’ While there is no doubt

numerical value that must be learned – to an

in claiming that it has expedited the process

object that has been created in infinite space.19

and dramatically changed the way architects

It is at this point where Emmons claims that

work, it cannot be so immediately accepted to

the computer’s shortcomings are most

have decisively improved the way architects

apparent, stating emphatically, ‘it is at this

conceive and design buildings.

moment that many computer-generated drawings reveal their scalar limitation and fail to allow the imagination to focus on particular sets of issues.’20

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Juhani Pallasmaa, The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses (London: Wiley, 2012), p. 13.

16 Picon, p. 8.

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Emmons, p. 1.

Ibid., p. 6.

19 Ibid.

20 Ibid.

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The computer has automated almost every

Pallasmaa claims that this turns the once

aspect of the design process, even relieving

physical and embodied act of design into a

the architect from the need to engage in the

series of separate tasks and functions, rather

mental rotation of spaces. The processes of

than a sustained and focused process. Bryan

spatial-geometric thinking and visual

Lawson continues this theme to suggest that it

imagination are now instantly available through

is the computer that is dictating the design

simulations in three-dimensional modelling

direction that is taken, and that where the

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programs. Branko Mitrović states how as

architect previously approached design with a

digital technology has been introduced into

repetoire of theorectical and experiential

architectural practice, what has followed is an

knowledge, honed by years of traditional

‘increased interest in formal-aesthetic properties

techniques, they are now being led blind by

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of architectural works.’ It is possible to

the computer through the design process:

attribute this shift to the fact that in digital architecture, the architect is not limited by

What is of concern is that the

their own visual imagination or spatial-

computer system, rather than a person

geometric thinking capacity, and is free to

with a philosophical position about

explore advanced forms with each

architecture, is setting the design

modification being immediately and accurately

agenda.25

presented to them. However, Pallasmaa challenges the benefits of this convenience,

Lawson’s research into the effect that CAD

and expresses the potential detriment that

has had on creativity in architecture has led

this approach has:

him to claim that the introduction of the computer has done little to support creativity,

Computer imaging tends to flatten our

and in some ways can affect it negatively.26 He

magnificent, multi-sensory,

goes further to suggest that with the

simultaneous and synchronic capacities

advancements being made in digital

of imagination by turning the design

architecture, it is now possible for architects

process into a passive visual

to propose design schemes that appear

manipulation, a retinal journey.

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commendable due to convincing digital representations, yet the architecture

To expand on this point and continue what

presented is fundamentally weak and flawed.27

was mentioned in the previous chapter, the haptic experience that an architect receives

In digital architecture, not only the resulting

when drawing by hand helps them to better

images but also the physical process of design

understand their designs intuitively, however

has become digitised. Where before every

when using a computer the direct association

tool had its own distinct weight and feel, now

between the idea created in the mind and the

the nuanced act of mark making has become a

translation to paper is disconnected.

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Branko Mitrović, Visuality For Architects (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2013), p.

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22 Ibid., p. 6.

23 Pallasmaa, p. 14.

24 Jared Banks, Architects are Really Just Asking for Haptic Feedback <http://www.shoegnome.com/2013/07/31/architects21

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binary function. Every click and keypress is the

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! are-really-just-asking-for-haptic-feedback/> [accessed 4/11/14] 25 Bryan Lawson, ‘CAD and Creativity: Does the Computer Really Help?’, Leonardo, 35, pp. 327-331 <http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/1427/1/lawson.b1.pdf > (p. 330).

26 Ibid., p. 327.

27 Ibid., p. 329.

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! same, there is no ‘hard click’ or ‘soft click’.28 Our advanced and infinitely adaptable proprioceptive system has been restricted to a mere handful of repetetive, perfunctory operations.

While it is valid to question whether the computer has helped or hindered modern architectural design, it is clear that it has ushered in a new age of architecture that explores new boundaries in form making and building performance, allowing shapes and structures that would not previously been possible to be realised. The ease and speed with which designs can be edited, developed, and communicated with third parties or other designers has also accelerated the construction industry, and it is for these reasons and numerous others that it is only possible to accept that it is here to stay.

A way to address the accusation that contemporary architects are merely designing ‘CAD buildings’, limited by the software capabilities and the technical skill of the operator, is to broaden the conventional methods by which designers interact with virtual space. By allowing computer technology to be harnessed in a way that does not remove the craftsman from the craft, it can be used to serve creativity and originality, rather than to control it.

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28 Banks, Architects are Really Just Asking for Haptic Feedback.

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innovation |ɪn!ˈveɪʃ(!)n| noun [ mass noun ] the action or process of innovating.

• [ count noun ] a new method, idea, product, etc.

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Having now discussed both the value of the haptic experience in the act of hand drawing and designing, and the removal from this after the advent of computer based systems in architectural design, it is possible to consider how new technologies are able to combine these two elements and generate new digital tools that make full use of the capabilities of computer design, while allowing a direct and intuitive way for the architect to interact with the virtual realm.

Fig. 3 – Complicated and unintuitive inputs in a modern CAD program.

This effect is similar to the phenomenon After Douglas Engelbart invented the mouse

discussed in the previous chapter, in which the

in 196429, it quickly became, and still is, the

‘infinite’ scale allowed in computer-aided

standard way for humans to interact with a

design programs reduces the architect’s ability

computer interface. While highly functional

to project themselves into the image,

and accurate for imprecise tasks, the mouse is

diminishing the direct relationship between

a poor tool when used for creative

the architect and the design.

applications where the tracking of subtle nuances in movement is desirable and

Recent advancements in design tools that will

necessary.

be discussed in this chapter have enabled architects to reclaim the physical approach to

Much of the software created for design

design that has largely been lost over the past

purposes has been developed in a way that

two decades. While the following overview is

necessitates that the user translates their

by no means exhaustive, it provides a

inputs into a digital method of pointing and

snapshot of the current field of digital tools

clicking. This restricted system serves as a

that go some way to address the concerns

substitute for manually drawing the shapes and

raised.

lines in a drawing or physically manipulating the objects that are represented on the

3D printing could be considered the most

screen. The series of inputs required to create

removed of all digital tools, with little or no

a desired effect and the manner in which they

human involvement in the ‘crafting’ of the

are applied must be learned.

model. All that is required is to upload the virtual model and press print. However where

This unintuitive process creates a distancing of

before a virtual model could only exist in the

the creator from their creations, where tasks

digital realm, on a screen, it can now be

that are easily and instinctively achieved with

printed out at a fixed scale, physically held and

traditional tools, such as drawing a smooth

rotated, and then altered and adjusted as

curve, are replaced with often cumbersome

necessary back in the virtual model. The

strings of inputs.

process is becoming increasingly quicker,

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Computing History, The History of the Computer Mouse <http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/613/thehistory-of-the-computer-mouse> [accessed 12/11/14] 29

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easier and more precise with the advancing development of 3D printing technologies. This therefore now enables models that for the last 20 years have only been able to exist digitally, to be printed out at every stage of the 20

! development and be physically analysed and

custom shapes and elements by hand that

critiqued, leading to better designs overall and

would otherwise be overly complicated to

better buildings as a result.

model in the computer, and have them imported into the virtual model to be placed where needed. This availability would do much to dissolve the barrier between computer and user imposed by the need to learn specific program functions, and open up digital technology to even the most technically illiterate.

By combining this approach with 3D printing technologies, the future architect will be able to move seamlessly between the physical and the virtual throughout the design process,

Fig. 5 – A 3D printed architectural model.

In taking this idea and reversing it, researchers

making use of all the benefits of the two approaches, while not being restricted by either of their limitations.

have developed a method of synthesising a virtual model with the idea that one could build a physical model in the real world, and then digitally ‘scan’ the model threedimensionally and transfer it to the computer to take advantage of digital techniques and processes. While this approach to ‘tracing’ physical models and converting into virtual objects has been used since the arrival of digital methods in architecture, new research has developed an advanced method described as ‘scalable real-time volumetric surface reconstruction’.30 This technology has the potential to enable a designer to pass a depth-

Fig. 6 – An example of a car interior ‘scanned’ into a virtual model.

sensitive camera around a physical model and have it fully translated into an editable virtual

Building on this, Microsoft Research’s

facsimile.

‘StereoBlocks’ project has taken this idea a step further, allowing an individual to

The value in these tools is in enabling the

construct digital 3D models by building them

architect to rapidly prototype a model in

up from physical objects.31 To make a simple

physical materials, and then have it developed

analogy of this, the approach can be likened to

and refined digitally as the design progresses.

piecing together a Lego model and having it

Further to this, a designer could create

directly converted to the computer in real-

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Microsoft Research, Scalable Real-Time Volumetric Surface Reconstruction <http://research.microsoft.com/enus/projects/scalablefusion/> [accessed 12/10/14]

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Microsoft Research, StereoBlocks <http://research.microsoft.com/enus/um/people/benko/publications/2011/stereoblocks_ wip_chi201.pdf> [accessed 12/10/14]

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3D screens or stereoscopic glasses and

propagation. That is, roughly saying, the

headsets would also allow alterations to be

ultrasound “pushes” the object.’38 In this case,

made with the same physical relationship to

‘the object’ would be an individual’s hand, and

the work as a pen and paper.

the result is that they will experience a very real exertion of pressure relative to the item

Tools that would enhance the tactile

they are virtually ‘touching’, giving the

experiences of using devices such as those

sensation of a physical, tangible entity.

mentioned above are ones that would simulate haptic feedback, or otherwise

Another particularly innovative tool that is

artificially engage our proprioceptive senses to

currently being developed, dubbed ‘Gravity’,

improve the manipulation of virtual 3D

allows a user to draw directly in a virtual 3D

objects. ‘Touchable holography’ is a

space using a stereoscopic eyepiece and a

technology that is addressing this area, and

specially adapted pen and tablet. The user can

employs a radical new method of an ‘Airborne

draw naturally and intuitively in two

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Ultrasound Tactile Display’ to provide tactile

dimensions, and is able to move through the

sensation to objects displayed holographically.

third dimension of the drawing using a

The developers explain this method as making

scrolling device in order to make edits at

use of the ‘non linear phenomenon of ultrasound;

every point in three-dimensional space.39

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acoustic radiation pressure.’ and go on to

Combining this technology with the previously

describe how it functions as such: ‘When an

mentioned idea of architectural drawings

object interrupts the propagation of ultrasound, a

displayed three-dimensionally, architects could

pressure field is exerted on the surface of the

use the benefits of computers to their full

object. […] The acoustic radiation pressure acts

advantage, while not necessitating any prior

in the same direction of the ultrasound

knowledge or training, and bypassing clumsy input tools such as the computer mouse.

Fig. 8!– Conceptual image of the proposed ‘Gravity’ 3D sketching device.!

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36 Shinoda Lab, Touchable Holography <http://www.alab.t.utokyo.ac.jp/~siggraph/09/TouchableHolography/SIGG RAPH09TouchableHolography.pdf> [accessed 03/01/15] 37 Ibid.

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Ibid.

Gravity: Sketch in 3D space using augmented reality <http://gravitysketch.com> [accessed 15/11/14] 38

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A new tool that seeks to achieve the same

allow a user to control an on-screen cursor

aim, yet with the output being real and

using a pen device on a surface that is mapped

tangible, is the 3D printing pen. Devices such

to their monitor. This enables their

as the ‘3Doodler’ and ‘Lix Pen’ work by

movements across the surface to be

extruding a heated plastic filament through a

translated in accurate 1:1 motion, with an

pen-like nozzle that rapidly cools into a solid

experience analogous to drawing with a pen

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and stable structure. In this way, the user

or pencil. Several graphics tablets available

can freely ‘draw’ in physical three-dimensional

today now make use of surfaces that mimic

space, linking the plastic strands together to

the tactile feel of a pencil on paper, and

build more complex structures. Here,

advanced pen input tools with ever increasing

technology is being applied in a way that

pressure sensitivities and angle tracking

allows for sketch models to be produced

abilities.41 These additions enable them to

more quickly, easily and accurately than was

behave more and more like authentic pens

previously possible with traditional methods.

and paintbrushes, and pick up on the subtleties that would be afforded by the real thing. This fascinating phenomenon of our desire to employ new technologies in imitating traditional tools exemplifies how universally ingrained these methods are into the way we approach design.

While several of the novel tools and techniques mentioned in this chapter may well be discarded as gimmicks and have little to no

Fig. 9 – ‘Lix’ 3D printing pen.

When these technologies are merged with a collective focus, it is then that we see the potential for the fantasy of a fully inhabitable

impact on the way architects design, the ideas presented are nonetheless valuable if only to drive useful innovation in practical methods and processes.

virtual realm to be realised. One that engages senses beyond the visual and allows virtual objects to be physically felt and handled.

Looking at many digital tools that are available today or currently being developed, it is clear to see that as technology progresses, the capacity for digital tools to more closely emulate their traditional counterparts also increases. An example of how this is evidenced is in one of the first digital tools to be developed. Graphics tablets have been available since the early stages of CAD, and

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40 3Doodler <http://the3doodler.com> [accessed 22/12/14] Lix Pen <http://lixpen.com> [accessed 22/12/14]

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Wacom Intuos5 Graphics Tablet <http://intuos.wacom.com> [accessed 22/12/14] 41

24

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evolution |ˌiːv!ˈluːʃ(!)n, ˈɛv-| noun [ mass noun ] the gradual development of something !

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‘Beyond tactile screens and digital

In the case of a fully integrated and networked

gloves, architectural space itself will

digital future, the tools used in developing

become one day an integral part of

architecture may be unrecognisable from

the interface between the physical and

traditional tools, with their development being

the virtual. At an urban level, the

born entirely from the concern of

public spaces of tomorrow will be

manipulating virtual objects. This will open up

places where two realities are

new ways for tactile design experiences to be

intertwined, allowing an even greater

achieved, or even allow architects to engage in

array of interactions than today.’42

design while making use of senses beyond sight and touch.

As we have established that digital architecture is now a mainstay of the

One phenomenological area of architecture

architecture industry, and have examined the

that is often overlooked in the design process

digital tools that are enabling new and intuitive

is the sound quality that a space exhibits.

interactions with computers, it is relevant to

Pallasmaa gives great credit to the importance

discuss the possible directions that future

of how a space sounds,44 yet aside from

applications of technology may lead the

acoustically significant spaces such as concert

architectural design process.

halls, this is often largely unknown to the architect until the building is complete. As the

As architecture becomes wholly integrated

current generation of architects embrace the

into modern digital culture, the idea of the

opportunities afforded by computers to

computer as a distinct tool in itself will be lost,

control how a building behaves, it is only

instead becoming something that is invariably

reasonable to assume that understanding how

present within every device that an architect

a space performs acoustically is information

has at their disposal. Indeed, this can already

that will be readily accessible even when a

be seen to be increasingly true in many

design is at its most rudimentary. Much in the

aspects of life today. However, while a

way that current developments in digital

modern car might make use of hundreds of

architecture has led to a more visual, form-

different sensors to both react to and inform

driven architectural paradigm, perhaps the

the driver, buildings are still relatively dumb by

introduction of aural design tools will drive a

comparison. The integration of digital

new era of acoustically focused architecture,

technology into the built environment has

with forms being generated based on the

been slow, but it is foolish not to assume that

acoustic properties they add to a space.

43

this will change in the near future.

Architecture will evolve to play an important

Indeed, with architecture being perpetually

role in how people experience the ways digital

married to the built environment, the realities

technology affects the spaces in which they

of physical materials will always be relevant. It

live and work.

is here that a tool that would enable architects to ‘sketch’ materials and physically touch a digital approximation of what they are

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Picon, p. 56.

Vegas Seven, UNLV Exhibit Explores Past, Present and Future of Architectural Design <http://vegasseven.com/2015/01/07/unlv-exhibitexplores-past-present-future-architectural-design> [02/01/15] 42 43

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trying to create could open up new avenues for creativity and innovation.45 In the same

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Pallasmaa, p. 53.

Banks, Architects are Really Just Asking for Haptic Feedback.

44 45

26

! way that the screen, a ‘dynamic visual

future will have no need to imagine any part of

medium’, is able to display almost any image, a

their design. They will instead be able to

true ‘dynamic physical medium’ would be able

virtually inhabit it in every sense - to see, feel

to tangibly represent almost any object or

and hear every step of the design process. No

46

surface. This would allow architects to

longer will there be a question how can we

design and test potential material textures and

develop a way for us to better interact with

façade treatments (as well as countless other

the computer, but rather how can the

possible applications) with a high level of

computer better interact with us.

precision, and be able to understand what a particular material might look and feel like

Chris Yessios explores this idea of equal

from the earliest stages of the design process.

partnerships between humans and machines

This idea is not so far fetched with the current

by imagining a future where the relationship

research advancements in electroactive

between computer and user is ‘not one of

polymers and shape memory alloys – materials

master and slave, but rather of two associates

that are able to dynamically distort and

that have a potential and a desire for self-

transform. However whether or not they will

improvement.’48 This concept is closely

be employed in this way remains to be seen.

related to the idea of artificial intelligence, something that has been theorised about since

Furthermore, it is also not unreasonable to

the very foundations of the computer in the

speculate that the conventional design

1950s. The application of artificial intelligence

representation and communication methods

in architecture design is already something

of two dimensional drawings and images will

that has been tested in the past, although

be abandoned, with schemes being displayed

never accepted by the design communities.49

in their digital format at every stage of the

Artificial creativity is the new challenge for the

process. With this view, it has been suggested

computer to meet: computers that are able to

that by embracing the tools that allow

perform an activity that would be considered

architects and other building professionals to

creative if done by a human being.50 The

consume information exclusively digitally, the

question that will be debated before long is:

architect can reaffirm themselves as the

when artificial intelligence and creativity

‘master builders of information’ – the key

develops to the point that automated design

player in the overall process.

47

becomes a genuinely viable option for architects, will we see a repeat of the current

While we have seen it previously debated that

argument between the merits of CAD and

computer design has disrupted an architect’s

traditional design? Will the future generation

ability to imaginatively inhabit their designs, it

of architects lament the passing of ‘manual’

can be argued that with this new breed of

computer skills and techniques in favour of

digital tools, perhaps the architect of the

radical, automated systems?

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46 Bret Victor, Responses: A Brief Rant on the Future of Interaction Design <http://worrydream.com/ABriefRantOnTheFutureOfI nteractionDesign/responses.html> [accessed 02/01/15] 47 Jon Pittman, ‘Building Information Modeling: Current Challenges and Future Directions’, in Architecture in the Digital Age – Design and Manufacturing, ed. by Branko Kolaveric (New York: Spon Press, 2003), pp. 253-259 (p. 258).

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Chris Yessios, ‘Is There More to Come?’, Ibid., pp.

259-269 (p. 263).

49 Ibid., p. 262 50 Ibid., p. 264!

48

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CONCLUSION

the digital tools currently used in architectural design have been borrowed from the engineering and manufacturing industries, with

There is no denying that digital design

processes ill fitted for effectively meeting the

practices are now the standard. With the

needs of successful architectural design. This

entire process being able to be completed in

has led to the profession playing catch-up with

the virtual realm, there is no suggestion that

the rest of the more ‘digitally literate’

there will be any mass movement back

industries, and in some ways with the wider,

towards traditional methods.

increasingly digitally connected world. The relevance of role of the architect in this fast

However, looking at new innovations in

moving digital landscape has begun to be

technology in the field of computer

questioned.

interaction, it is possible for the tactile and immediate nature of hand drawing and

The body’s physical relationship to

modelling to be brought back into the process

architectural design and the role of the

at every stage – allowing a new age of

proprioceptive system in the process is

architecture to develop with all the

certainly important. Indeed, the significance of

advancements of the information age, yet also

the need for a haptic experience in the

with the handcrafted quality of the most

practice of architectural design should not be

revered and respected architectural

disregarded. It has been demonstrated that

precedents.

through the right application of technology, these aspects can be reintroduced to digital

The current applications of computer-aided

design, while the shortcomings of traditional

design in architecture are leading the

methods are removed. By moving the current

profession increasingly further from the

field of CAD away from its preoccupation

established design practices developed over

with the purely visual, architects are free to

the course of human history. While in many

once again exercise their proprioceptive

ways this is a natural and inevitable

senses in the pursuit of architecture.

progression, it is not one that we should allow to pass ungoverned.

As the profession continues to make advancements in architecture-specific design

If there is one conclusion to draw from this

technologies, the once unrivalled role of the

study, it is that CAD should not be employed

architect will re-emerge. However in order

blindly. Architects and students should be

for this to transpire, the architect must

wary of surrendering complete control of the

assume his position as a vanguard of social,

design process to the computer in its current

cultural and technological developments; being

capacity, and should instead seek to expand

able to lead their craft from the front as the

the opportunities presented by the digital age,

master builders of old did before.

rather than working within them.

It may be a long time before we see any of the The delayed acceptance of digital tools by the

tools and techniques discussed become

architecture industry when compared with

standard in design practice, if ever. However it

other related fields is something that may be

is certain that the way in which we interact

seen to hinder the development of

with computers will continue to develop and

architecture for some time to come. Many of

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28

! continue to affect the process of architectural design.

Only the passage of time and the continued research and development into the fields discussed in this essay will reveal the ultimate direction that the architectural design process will take, and certainly many of the themes and arguments presented here will be repeated when the next advancement looks to disrupt the then established tools and techniques.

Ultimately, when the ability to transition from virtual to physical becomes immediate and complete, the argument of the merits of the two will be irrelevant. They will have become so integrated and intertwined that one feeds off the other in a symbiotic relationship. It is in this direction that the process of architectural design needs to head â&#x20AC;&#x201C; where digital technology and architecture moves forward in a joint relationship, while preventing either one from dominating the other.

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1 – Brunelleschi’s demonstration of linear perspective. https://maitaly.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/0328p_duomo6_b.jpg

Fig. 2 – A US patent filing for an ellipsograph design. http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/US2879596-0.png

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Fig. 3 – Barcelona Vila Olimpica 'Fish' CAD models. https://mafana.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/1-6.jpg

Fig. 4 – Complicated and unintuitive inputs in a modern CAD program. http://api.ning.com/files/6-b*Y7GRm6JJ1Ax3W5O7Ocm570PuF91ySpUENW1CwzFgYisuZN-UNMfCkY05xNWj96wWSlGe0axwemTAICt0CIWRz3oAqx3/9_Ellipsograph_2.png

Fig. 5 – 3D printed architectural model. http://nyobetabeat.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/img_1246.jpg

Fig. 6 – An example of a car interior ‘scanned’ into a virtual model. http://msrvideo.vo.msecnd.net/galleries/198488/1/198488-000003.png

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Fig. 7 – Hand tracking using the Leap Motion controller. http://www.robotshop.com/media/files/images2/leap-motion-3d-motion-gesture-controller-10-large.jpg

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Fig. 8 – Conceptual image of the proposed ‘Gravity’ 3D sketching device. http://37.media.tumblr.com/50d223160f38988f34e973ce6b898bd8/tumblr_n7blac3iPG1qz9v0to3_1280.png

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Fig. 9 – ‘Lix’ 3D printing pen. http://pthumbnails.5min.com/10364447/518222304_c_o.jpg

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