a response to 'computing in architectural design'

It amazes me how far design related technology has come. The idea that anyone can imagine something, design something in their head, and then (once they've learned how) have the ability to translate it to a digital reality is remarkable.

Computers and technology advances have changed the architecture and design professions immensely, in some ways better than others. On the positive side, design programs like AutoCAD work with codes and standards easily, saving lots of time drawing each window, door, or wall if one was drawing by hand. The drawings can also be easily duplicated or edited on the computer, another major time saving device. On the negative side, there was a point when "the emphasis on the unique attributes of buildings was sacrificed for the sake of generality." While there have been some steps taken to overcome this factor, I sometimes feel that hand drawing and hand rendering and modeling is the best and more efficient way to express unique designs. Of course we cannot let computers completely generalize the structural world around us. Isn't the uniqueness and bettering "the now" and "the ordinary" a major issue in the design profession?

Designing and modeling something by hand is usually perceived two ways: better (because the designer is more skilled and dedicated "in real life") or worse (as computers are such a prominent part of the world today, it is almost a mandatory skill to be proficient in). Hand drawing and modeling allows designers to communicate directly from brain to client, eliminating any inability to create exactly what they have perceived through the computer. But as this may be due to the designer's incomprehension of computer aided design, and cannot solely be blamed on the actual program, I feel computer programs are overall beneficial the design today. On the other side, someone who cannot model something by hand may also be considered unskilled. It seems a good designer must be well rounded in both hand and computer aided design skills.

Technology developments today allow us to imagine and create things more advanced than we, or ancient architects, ever thought possible. The technology saves us time and energy, and allows us to see things we may not be able to see when not utilizing these tools. And as technology is always moving forward, the future of architecture and design will only get more in depth, precise, and better than we ever could think possible.

(assignment 1)