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Introduction and Theory |Inadequacy of Current Visualization Methods

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Introduction and Theory |Inadequacy of Current Visualization Methods

Figure 1.2.12 - 1.2.14

These figures show how new software has facilitated pro-gression in visualization from 2d virtual spaces to 3d virtual spaces to photo-realistic ren-dered visualizations.

Nevertheless, as technology continues to progress at an exponential rate, more of these seemly quixotic designs become increasingly possible. The advent of Computer Aided Design (CAD) software facilitated more efficient workflows that increased the productivity, quality, and communication of ideas, allowing the production of better tools and materials. Michelle Addington and Daniel Schodek notes in Smart Materials and New Technologies: For the Architecture and Design Professions that “through advancements in CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing) technologies, engineering materials such as aluminum and titanium can now be efficiently and easily employed as building skins, allowing an unprecedented range of building facades and forms.”[12] Sennet’s view is in line with this, stating that:

“Thanks to the revolution in micro computing, […] modern machinery is not static; Though feedback loops machines can learn from their experiences. […] Computer-assisted design has become nearly universal in architectural offices because it is swift and precise. […] The modern material world could not exist without the marvels of CAD. It enables instant modeling of products from screws to automobiles, specifies precisely their engineering, and commands their actual production.”[13]

This once again has enormous potential in not only building design but also building construction, which in itself also benefits building design. As such, architects now have faster ways to design and visualize, as well as a plethora of new materials to choose from. This multidisciplinary progression further illustrates the aforementioned claim of cyclical progression at the beginning of this chapter. CAD software evolved from 2D to 3D. (Fig. 1.2.12 - 13) The addition of this spatial dimension allowed architects to simulate buildings in virtual space, where one can program an environment with complete creative freedom with essentially no physical limitations or cost associations. These virtual spaces have the potential to not only simulate the building form but also its materials and lighting. With this, comes the emergence of modern photorealistic renderings. (Fig. 1.2.14)

Even with these new technologies, however, the majority of commercially produced present-day architectural visualizations are still static images. While modern visualizations have become increasingly photorealistic and more efficient to produce, their static nature still limits the amount of information they can communicate. The problem with this is that the real world is rarely static. Rudolf Arnheim states in The Dynamics of Architectural Form, “A building […] is an experience of the senses of sight and sound of touch and heat and cold and muscular behavior, as well as of the resultant thoughts and strivings.”[14] This means that buildings invoke senses beyond just human sight, and as such, require more than a static frame to portray its full effect. People are inherently dynamic, thus, even in static spaces, once they become

2D floorplans, created within Autodesk AutoCAD.

From mtcarrillo, “Creating Basic Floor Plans From an Architectural Drawing in AutoCAD,” Instructables, accessed December 18, 2019, https://www.instructables.com/id/Creating-Basic-Floor-Plans-from-an-Architectural-D/.

A building model rendered within 3D space on a viewport in Autodesk 3DS Max

By Ronen Bekerman, “Making of MS House at Dusk, Part 2,” October 23, 2009, Ronen Bekerman - 3D Architectural Visualization & Rendering Blog, accessed December 18, 2019, https://www.ronenbekerman.com/making-of-ms-house-at-dusk-part-2/.

The same building model rendered out with Vray

By Bekerman, “Making of MS House at Dusk, Part 2.”