I've followed all of this thread so far, and wish to add a few comments:
1. it has not escaped my notice that this thread was started by a woman
architect. mega-thanks Joan.
2. Anand Bheet offers the best (i.e., most productive) next step as where
the discussion should head.
3. i tend to agree with Mark Darrel rather than Wayde Tardif.
4. a handicapped person, say someone missing a hand or part of an arm, who
wants begin study towards becoming an architect needs CAD immediately.
remember, it's all really an issue of accessibility, and no one should be
deprived of the power to "draw".
5. the following is a text I wrote in 1985 and was featured within the
exhibit catalogue _Drawing Toward Building: Philadelphia Architectural
Graphics 1732-1986_. A cad drawing I generated was the last (1986) drawing
of the exhibit, and it was the only cad drawing in the exhibit.
"It would quickly be seen that the tools that man has made for himself, . .
. and which till now have undergone only slight modifications in a slow
evolution, have been transformed all at once with an amazing rapidity. These
tools in the past were always in man's hands; today they have been entirely
and formidably refashioned and for the time being are out of our grasp. The
human animal stands breathless and panting before the tool that he cannot
take hold of; progress appears to him as hateful as it is praiseworthy . . .
This is a great but critical period, . . . we must create the state of mind
which can understand what is going on . . . we will see that things have
changed: and changed for the better."
The above excerpt, written in 1923 and taken from the opening paragraph of
"Architecture or Revolution," the concluding chapter of Le Corbusier's
_Towards a New Architecture_, almost prophesies the arrival of graphics
computers in the world of architecture and more specifically their arrival
in the world architectural drawing. The graphics computer is indeed a new
drawing tool, one that has not "refashioned" the old tools as much as it has
replaced them. Pencils, triangles and parallel rules are simply no longer
necessary to produce a drawing. However, the heart of the issue is that the
graphics computer has also eliminated the need for manual skill, that is,
the graphic dexterity of the architect/delineator. Until now, an architect's
drawing could be appreciated for both the idea that is manifested and the
dexterity with which the idea is presented. It has always been the
combination of mind and hand that has made architectural drawings very
appealing. The question now is whether a drawing generated with the aid of a
computer can be appreciated in the same way.
The 3-D graphic model of center city, commissioned by the Philadelphia City
Planning Commission, is a prime example where the capabilities of the
machine, in this case Intergraph, far outweigh the capabilities of a
delineator or any number of delineators. The model extends from the Delaware
River to the Schuylkill River, and from Spring Garden Street down to South
Street. On the overall street map are projected, into three dimensions, the
general mass of buildings. Since the nature of a 3-D "drawing" allows one to
view the subject isometrically from any angle and offers the ability to draw
perspectives from any vantage point, the Philadelphia City Planning
Cormnission uses the 3-D model to view and compare the effect of zoning
recommendations as well as study the effect of proposed development in
center city.
In addition to the infinite number of drawings and views that can be
produced through a 3-D graphic model, the computer also offers the chance to
view the city dymanically, directly on the screen monitor, as if the city
were floating and rotating in space, and the ability to set up a series of
selected perspectives to simulate what a person might see walking down a
given street.
6. why do I see that fourteen years after I wrote the above text that the
very issues I (and Corbu) raise are still not resolved or even understood?
For some reason, it appears that many architects are still mentally
handicapped when it comes to working-designing with the aid of a computer.
1. it has not escaped my notice that this thread was started by a woman
architect. mega-thanks Joan.
2. Anand Bheet offers the best (i.e., most productive) next step as where
the discussion should head.
3. i tend to agree with Mark Darrel rather than Wayde Tardif.
4. a handicapped person, say someone missing a hand or part of an arm, who
wants begin study towards becoming an architect needs CAD immediately.
remember, it's all really an issue of accessibility, and no one should be
deprived of the power to "draw".
5. the following is a text I wrote in 1985 and was featured within the
exhibit catalogue _Drawing Toward Building: Philadelphia Architectural
Graphics 1732-1986_. A cad drawing I generated was the last (1986) drawing
of the exhibit, and it was the only cad drawing in the exhibit.
"It would quickly be seen that the tools that man has made for himself, . .
. and which till now have undergone only slight modifications in a slow
evolution, have been transformed all at once with an amazing rapidity. These
tools in the past were always in man's hands; today they have been entirely
and formidably refashioned and for the time being are out of our grasp. The
human animal stands breathless and panting before the tool that he cannot
take hold of; progress appears to him as hateful as it is praiseworthy . . .
This is a great but critical period, . . . we must create the state of mind
which can understand what is going on . . . we will see that things have
changed: and changed for the better."
The above excerpt, written in 1923 and taken from the opening paragraph of
"Architecture or Revolution," the concluding chapter of Le Corbusier's
_Towards a New Architecture_, almost prophesies the arrival of graphics
computers in the world of architecture and more specifically their arrival
in the world architectural drawing. The graphics computer is indeed a new
drawing tool, one that has not "refashioned" the old tools as much as it has
replaced them. Pencils, triangles and parallel rules are simply no longer
necessary to produce a drawing. However, the heart of the issue is that the
graphics computer has also eliminated the need for manual skill, that is,
the graphic dexterity of the architect/delineator. Until now, an architect's
drawing could be appreciated for both the idea that is manifested and the
dexterity with which the idea is presented. It has always been the
combination of mind and hand that has made architectural drawings very
appealing. The question now is whether a drawing generated with the aid of a
computer can be appreciated in the same way.
The 3-D graphic model of center city, commissioned by the Philadelphia City
Planning Commission, is a prime example where the capabilities of the
machine, in this case Intergraph, far outweigh the capabilities of a
delineator or any number of delineators. The model extends from the Delaware
River to the Schuylkill River, and from Spring Garden Street down to South
Street. On the overall street map are projected, into three dimensions, the
general mass of buildings. Since the nature of a 3-D "drawing" allows one to
view the subject isometrically from any angle and offers the ability to draw
perspectives from any vantage point, the Philadelphia City Planning
Cormnission uses the 3-D model to view and compare the effect of zoning
recommendations as well as study the effect of proposed development in
center city.
In addition to the infinite number of drawings and views that can be
produced through a 3-D graphic model, the computer also offers the chance to
view the city dymanically, directly on the screen monitor, as if the city
were floating and rotating in space, and the ability to set up a series of
selected perspectives to simulate what a person might see walking down a
given street.
6. why do I see that fourteen years after I wrote the above text that the
very issues I (and Corbu) raise are still not resolved or even understood?
For some reason, it appears that many architects are still mentally
handicapped when it comes to working-designing with the aid of a computer.