Week 8- Origins and Early Expectation of Computers Reading

ORIGINS AND EARLY EXPECTATION OF COMPUTERS:
 
Readings:

"The Pioneers of Digital Art" by R. Lewis and J. Luciana, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2002, pp 90-112.
“Computing in Architectural Design” from Architecture’s New Media by Yehuda Kalay, The MIT Press, 2004, pp 63-81.
“20 Things I learned about the browsers and the Web”: http://www.20thingsilearned.com/web-apps/1
Site on the history of computer-aided design: http://mbinfo.mbdesign.net/CAD-History.htm
A historical timeline of computer-aided design: http://accad.osu.edu/~waynec/history/timeline.html
The machine that changed the world: http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/TMTCTW.html

A quick comparison of the various articles brings to mind the fact the different key innovations within digital art are often left out of computer history. Also, it is important to be reminded of the innovation with internet and CAD that have allowed for instant and detailed project team analysis of complex building designs to occur simultaneously throughout the world.  The paths of these innovations are interestingly very interlinked with the American Universities. A lot of the innovation work in computers throughout various times of history has been found to start on the campus. These breakthroughs are often not upheld and celebrated as a model for future students to embrace.

Further development of the internet browser has also brought with it great advantage.  With the access and ease to information it offers (and the great trial with the viruses), it has become an important part of our daily lives. Today, we would be unable to enjoy life without this technology. It is the phenomena of once you have a privilege it is so hard to give it up. With the ability for computers to take on repetitive tasks and/or mathematical computations, AutoCAD has allowed for a more informed platform for design work and it has greatly benefited the designer trying to create more responsible and informed designs.

Question #1- What aspects of the history of computer graphics is relevant to interior design and architecture?

Knowing the background development of technology used in interior design, including computer graphics, allows for a greater depth of knowledge when utilizing and designing with computers. The proliferation and reliance upon the computer is as pronounced in interior design as it is in most other graphic based industries. I think to move forward it is often best to know the past. It can inform the development and also avoid reliving mistakes learned, like the short sided views of Xerox. With this information, I feel better prepared to incorporate new technology as it comes along through having a more informed background. I think it can help with also not feeling overwhelmed when discussing and exploring new areas of computing, like animation. Animation has become so advanced, that when looking at it as a beginner it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Seeing the past allows me to feel encouraged to continue learning and trying new ideas, programs, and designs.  Exploration and design research can help catapult design forward at any moment, by any source. It can only happen, though, when someone is out there trying and doing new things. I feel that this is a universal principle that easily applies to interior design and architecture. It is through innovation that we are continually inspired and challenged as humans in our experiences in our interior environment. The interior environment impacts how we develop and how we view the world and it is subsequently how we can learn to attain a restorative environmental design philosophy.  Technology is a tool that we can use toward that goal.

Question #2- What will the future of computer-aided design/ internet be?

The future of computer-aided design is going to continue to grow with our reliance upon it in our daily lives as designers in both the work place and away. The use of internet will be a similar integration. We are incorporating these in greater measures every year and I think that it is going to be their separate and joined function(s) that will bring us into more advanced and knowledgeable buildings. I also feel that the internet can be the gateway for creating spaces that are more knowledgeable of worldwide design and innovation, and also knowledgeable of worldwide trends.  The internet has brought a limitless supply of information and it will aid in producing more educated and demanding clients. Thus, the importance of maintaining and increasing relevant skills and knowledge, I think, will be one of the major challenges of the future for designers. I see that computer-aided design will also be more interactive and more web-based with global access by customers and global based information incorporated within the building, by the use of case studies for example. The market will continue to trend toward global and environmentally responsible design and the use of computer-aided design and the internet will be the leading portals to this future.

Other thoughts and commentary-

I am always interested to see the way history ends up being both heralded and forgotten. There have been so many people in the history of the computer who are basically unknown and yet were major innovators in their time. Of course, it is the famous and big names that are mostly talked about. I think that the other people who worked so hard and ended up not being famous are the most interesting stories of them all. Ivan Sullivan and Doug Englebart are two of my favorite stories. The other is Babbage and his Analytical Engine. I think their major breakthroughs are not really known to the public, yet they were major innovators. 

 The three emerging effects of computers on environments mentioned in the Kalay reading are interesting. In the first phase of changing the culture of the design profession does continue to occur. With our lives revolving around the computer, its portability and accessibility is another adjustment that we continue to make. We are no longer chained to shared shift work on one computer, but we seem to always need them around us now. The second effect of computers being inhabitable physical environments is in the day to day control they have.  It is normally seen as aiding in comfort and habitability with climate control and safety mechanisms. It can create almost impersonal and automated environments that as designers we have paid little attention to in regards to how all the technology can make spaces feel psychologically.   Thirdly, the use of cyberspace has become a place that interior designers have had little involvement with and can become a new frontier for the profession.  There is more work ahead.

Week 5- Modeling Reading

Week 5 Reading

"Rendering 3D worlds - 3D Geometric Graphics II" by Anne Spalter, Addison Wesley Longman Inc. 1999, pp 257-293.

"Once and Future Graphics Pioneer", B.J. Novitski

http://www.architectureweek.com/2000/0913/tools_1-1.html

"Once and Future Graphics Pioneer Part II", B.J. Novitski

http://www.architectureweek.com/2000/0920/tools_1-1.html

Summary:

                Many of the various terms used in the assigned writing on 3d modeling are not new to me, as I have already been using some of these principles in 3dsMax.  The further explanation of terms that is covered in Spalter’s writings was very helpful in laying a foundation to move forward in learning more advanced modeling and lighting concepts.  One point that is explained is that geometry, being a main computational component for modeling, allows for portraying “three-dimensional bodies in two dimensions (projective systems, like eye and axonometric perspective)”(Madrazo, 2006, p. 73).The environment mapping, another term I looked up online, is used in 3dsMax.  With the advanced computing capacity of new computers, there are subsequently new rendering software improvements that allow for more advanced rendering methods to be used.  A lot of that development has been spawned by the Program of Computer Graphics at Cornell University.  The extent of their computing capabilities is very impressive. It shows that when you have a group of passionate people with the tools they need to ideate, there is a ripple effect that ends up benefiting many others. This use of computers in architecture and design is also affecting the educational system and how teachers teach and what students are expected to know upon graduation.

Contextualized:

                3d rendering software is already being used for interior architecture to show the client what the space would feel like through interior and exterior 3d models that are beautifully rendered. It also is used to help the designer to develop the design as well as be used as an innovation tool through the unique capabilities of the software. The improvement of the equipment and software is going to continue to impact interior designers using modeling and how the design process is explored. Development of easier to use interfaces will help, like the effect SketchUp has had on 3d work. The idea of creating a large digitizing surface which works with a cordless pen and a high-resolution display to be able to sketch comfortably would probably greatly increase the desire to utilize modeling software and this will also impact multiple other software products aimed at a similar audience. “Computer-driven explorations are expanding the way both educators and students think about architecture. Schools embracing the new technology will lead the way to bring about emergent forms of practice” (Snoonian & Cuff, 2001).

Argument:

                The usefulness/ relevance of knowing and using rendering software is most prominent in being able to present realistic images of the future building to clients before the final construction has taken place so that the design can be fully explained to the client. A better level of communication is allowed to occur with renderings that make the design development afterward much more targeted to the correct goals of the client. Misinterpretation of what the designer is trying to convey by using other less photorealistic methods can miss the mark because the client is not trained to the think and see in 3-d like designers are. The cost of miscommunication can be significant and wasteful. Being able to clearly indicate materiality and other details can truly represent the designer’s vision. “These techniques are highly popular in the field of Architecture and are used for presenting a visual of how a building will look post construction; in fact 3d Rendering can give us a clear idea of the texture of wall, flooring etc.”(Gourge, n.d.). The downside for 3d modeling software is that it still takes considerable time and training to obtain photorealistic renderings and can also involve dedicating a high-end computer just for rendering. It can also be a problem when a client is presented a rendering and then demands to see many more views, angles, etc.  Multiple rounds of modifications inevitably follow and a great deal of energy, personnel, and capital can be tied up in this single job function. Management of the client’s expectations and knowing where to spend money on such visual aids is becoming an important part of practice today.

                 I think that with future technology, like the large digital drafting surface, the development of technology will prompt a rapid change in the way that the designer designs.  I think that “the ongoing debate between architects who embrace digital design tools and those who wish drawings were still executed by hand has been growing in scope” and that the increase in technology will actually start to confront this debate and eventually fuse the two together.

References:

Gourge, M. (n.d.). Why Is 3D Rendering an Impeccable Part in the Field of Architecture? EzineArticles. Retrieved February 13, 2011, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-Is-3D-Rendering-an-Impeccable-Part-in-the-Field-of-Architecture?&id=5054950

Madrazo, L. (2006). System of representation: A pedagogical model for design education in the information age. Digital Creativity, 17(2), 73-90.

Snoonian, D., & Cuff, D. (2001). Digital pedagogy: An essay. Architectural Record, 189(9), 200-205.