Man VS computer: incorporating digital design into the SOA

    It is evident that architecture around the world is effected by new developments in digital design. Just open any current architecture magazine and you will see renderings of proposed projects so realistic that it could be mistaken for a photograph. digital design is great for showing the end results of a project, but it is not so great at expressing how that idea developed. Digital modeling is being introduced into schools of architecture as early as first year, in some cases. It is important that as students we learn the basics first before entering into the 3D world of digital modeling.
     Learning how to draw a line is the first step for an architecture student. Hand drafting allows you to physical see how thick and dark a line should be, where as on a computer it is imposable to really know until the drawing is printed. Also hand drafting is essential to setting up the underlying geometry in a building. When you run lines longer than is needed it helps set up a grid that other elements can connect to. The background experience that hand drafting gives a student enables them to use the same skills in 2D drafting programs like and Autocad and Bentley Microstation.
    Similar to hand drafting, building models by hand gives you the ability to physically perceive the project in a way that the computer cannot. The scale of a model is easier to distinguish when it is based on units that are physically comparable. A model designed in Rhino is based on vector information which is easily changed and can seem to lose its proportion. When students are hand crafting a model there is a tendency to use certain media to represent different elements of the design. This is especially useful in the beginning stages of design because patterns of materials are created, which can lead to organization. So it is clear that hand drafting and modeling is extremely important to the development process, but as architect students we must stay current with technology in order to survive in such a cut throat profession.
      There is a lot to be said for the roll of digital design in architecture. If we did not have digital modeling capabilities Frank Gehry would have to stop crumpling up pieces of paper to make buildings. Software makes the lives of architects easier, by taking out some of the repetitive steps. It can make our drawings look sexy and appealing to clients, which is helpful in our current time of architectural recession. I believe that only when we fully understand the basics of design can we then explore new technology that will essentially exalt those same basic design principles.