IARC Out of the Studio and on the Road: Freelon Group and South Regional Library Visit, Durham, NC

On the first of February my CAD class took a trip to Durham to get better acquainted with the South Regional Library, whose drawings we are working with in Revit.  Freelon group, a local design and architecture firm, making their office our first stop on the trip, designed the Library. While we were there we were taken on a guided tour around the office, meeting with various members of the firm who talked with us about different aspects of how the firm works. They also showed us a few examples of current and past work, including the South Regional Library. The thing that most impressed me was the fact that most everything is done in house. Ranging from computer rendered perspectives to intricate hand crafted scale models, Freelon Group does it all. Freelon Group does a lot of commercial projects, consisting of libraries, museums, etc.  Another quality of Freelon group I appreciate is their emphasis on community-based projects, and how they take a lot of care in remembering the people they are designing for. This was a key element that I felt was missing from Paula Carr’s, of TVS Design, presentation from class a few weeks ago.

While Freelon Group is a smaller, local design firm, TVS Design is a larger firm whose work has international influence and can be found all across the global community. But that’s just what was missing from the presentation, the community.  There was very little talk of how successful the projects were from the client’s perspective. Much discussion was held on concept and form, but it was disconcerting to me how little she talked about the users perspective of the project.  This would seem to me to be very important when doing cross-cultural work. TVS Design is also involved in commercial design, with projects ranging from retail design to air port terminals. Unlike Freelon Group, who takes a more architectural approach to interior design, TVS Deign has a more conceptual approach, using fantastical forms and unique concept work as the basis for their designs. The subject of LEED certification as a design goal was also apparently absent from the conversation.  It also surprised me to hear that TVS also will ship out their renderings to be completed over seas for international projects. Being in design school and completing my own computer renderings, this had never occurred to me as an option within the design process.

I feel I identify more closely with Freelon Group in terms of design values. In terms of style, I hate to set up preconceived notions about what type of design style I have, but if I had to say, it would be a mixture of that of both TVS Design and Freelon Group. My style consists of a bit of whimsy and nuance combined with clean simple lines. My design style also has an emphasis on sustainable design that keeps the project users and community in mind. A design language that is not so obsessed with form as it is with the people it serves. In the end, we as designers are providing a service to both client and community. It is up to us to be sure that we properly account for both groups in all of our work.

Building Information Modeling: Revit v. CAD

The key difference between Revit and any other Building Information Software program I have used in the past is that Revit specializes in change management. This means that when a change is made in one document or view of your project, that change is made through out the set of documents or views. This is made possible through Revit’s parametric change engine that allows the program to understand intelligent relationships between objects. For example, when you draw a wall in CAD it is represented as two parallel lines. Revit understands that those lines represent a wall, and that that wall is connected to that square that represents a roof, and so on. Because Revit works with parametric objects, with distinguishing and separate features, this makes customization very easy. As an example of the difference lets look at how to change the height of an object. In CAD you use the scale tool, which subsequently changes the size of the entire object. In Revit, you simply change the height parameter of the object.

            Another major difference between Revit and CAD is the ability to view your project in multiple dimensions. Unlike CAD, which only allows you to describe your project in two dimensions, Revit actually assembles a three-dimensional model of your project. Thus allowing you to have a more complete understanding of what it is you are constructing.

Building Information Modeling: Parametric Modeling

Parametric modeling:

 Is the act of creating a space or an object using a set of defining parameters or relationships. It is through these established parameters that the object is both given its defining characteristics, and its editable/customizable properties. These relationships can appear within a single object or in between multiple objects.  

"Computing in Architectural Design" summary

“Computing in Architectural Design” by Yehuda Kalay is essentially a history of how computer technology came to exist in the design profession at the level at which it does today. This article highlights some of the key struggles and landmark accomplishments encountered during the development of these technologies.

Kalay begins with a brief history of computation in general. He talks about the use of geometry in architecture to calculate areas, sizes, and volumes as they related to the built environment. Proportion was also of critical importance when Kalay spoke of the Renaissance, the Vitruvian ideal, and the quest for architects to create designs using the most “perfect” geometrically proportional relationships, between building components i.e. the golden section. The development of perspective as a calculated method of drawing was also an important step for architects as a means of communicating their designs. In addition to space planning and effective design communication, Thomas Young developed calculations and computations as tools for predicting structural performance and building safety in 1807.

Kalay also writes that the first computers used in building design were used for engineering analysis, and to study the transfer of forces within a structure. The first software program used to do this was developed at the University of Michigan. The program they developed, abbreviated CAEADS, and was a system that conducted habitability, engineering, and building specification verification analysis. Another example of analysis software, called Building Design Advisor (BDA), was developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for performing energy related building performance computations, which took into account climate data, building material characteristics, etc. One might say this was similar to a primitive version of Ecotect.

It wasn’t until 1963 when computers were used to actually aid in the design process. This began with Ivan Sutherland’s Sketchpad system, which took the designers sketch and made it into a perfect architectural drawing. The idea of computer aided drafting, though a good one, didn’t step out of the laboratory and become practical for professional use until the creation of Macintosh in 1984. Along with the development of the personal computer, software was created to make drafting and modeling on these machines possible. With the appearance of the PC, multiple view ports were also added to these types of software.

As it was mentioned earlier in this essay, perspective-drawing techniques were developed as a calculated means of visual communication. Companies such as Revit, and Graphisoft, among others mentioned in Kalay’s article, have developed computative rendering software for the design profession. These programs, like perspective drawing, added another element of realism, and dimension to developing projects. Reading Kalay’s article helps one to appreciate and respect the power technology gives us as designers to understand our designs, and communicate our ideas.