Together, these two texts provide a comprehensive outline of the development of graphic computation. “The Pioneers of Digital Art” covers a broad range of advances in technology that affected the larger art community, while “Computing in Architectural Design” specifically addresses those developments that have had a direct impact on architecture and design. Both articles are arranged similarly, creating a timeline of major milestones in computer aided design developments and relating them to the work produced by artists and architects. With all of the similarities between art and architecture, and the developments in computation that have evolved the concentrations, there still remains a root argument that persists. What is the role of the artist or architect when they use the computer in design and/or production? Can they claim to have created the final product? Does it matter? By showing how CAD has developed in art and architecture, these two articles present the different views of the role of the computer in both disciplines.
In “The Pioneers of Digital Art,” Lewis and Luciana provide a fairly detailed history of the computer and the development of digital graphic tools. They trace the development of computers and computer programs with their beginnings in military applications, and their move to educational environments and private institutions. With each transition, they provide examples of work created by artists at the time. During the seventies, artwork by artists such as Nam June Paik and Myron Krueger was seen as revolutionary by a few, but was mostly ignored by the art world. Because the computer’s history developed from scientific beginnings, there was a tendency by the art community to refuse acceptance of such work. Ultimately though, these first artist/pioneers, became revered for their exploration into a new media, which transformed the way people viewed art. The same hardware and software that artists were using for exploration were also very useful tools for the architect and designer. Vector graphic programs allowed architects to quickly create and edit drawing sets, and 3-d modeling and animation programs allowed designers to visualize their design in a new way that 2-d drawings could not. The computer had a profound effect on changing the face of art, eventually creating new categories, such as ‘corporate art’ and ‘new media.’ The computer has also made viewing art a vastly different experience from seeing pieces in a gallery. This mass availability and image reproduction have really challenged the question of what is art.
In “Computing in Architectural Design,” Kalay asserts at the very beginning that, “Architecture, as a practical form of art, has been in need of computation - and computational aids – since ancient times.” He uses Stonehenge and the pyramids of Egypt as examples of structures that required complex computation in order to build. He then gives a history of the computer in architectural design, starting with engineering analysis, Sketchpad and Negropontes’s URBAN5. Initial investigations into CAD looked to create intelligent software that could “initiate actions” and this early research, was most concentrated in universities. These systems required large computers with a great deal of computing power, and therefore a great deal of expense that most businesses could not afford. CAD did not appear in architectural practice until the 1970’s. These programs still worked off of a mainframe and were really only available to large firms with the financial assets to invest in the technology. With the development of personal computers, came the second wave of CAD, as a drafting tool. In this scenario, the computer was merely a tool for the architect or designer making the decisions. The next wave of CAD resembles the intelligent programs of earlier generations, allowing the computer to take on a more comprehensive role in the design of a building or space. Ultimately though, the profession of architecture has remained fairly similar for many decades. There is no new category of architecture for digitally designed buildings, and with a few exceptions, it can be difficult to tell which buildings are created in digital space by traditional methods and which buildings are designed digitally, utilizing the computer as a design assistant.
The argument for the role of the computer in art and architecture seems to have taken two different routes. Artists, although reticent at first, have embraced the computer as both new tool and new media, exploring what binary language can accomplish in the world of art. Architects and designers, although truly in need of advanced computation, have been a little less willing to give over control to the computer, still insisting that no computer can design like a human. There seems to be a certain desire to relegate the computer to status of drafting, modeling or measuring tool, but very rarely a design tool that can give feedback on informational input. The new BIM systems are the closest to “intelligent” design aids at the moment, but their intelligence comes from tagging elements to create spreadsheets and schedules, not from their ability to create good buildings.
So what does the future of CAD hold? Architecture is the perfect combination of science and art. For all the majesty or beauty of the structures we build, the ultimate measure of success is whether or not they stand. What better medium to utilize the computer? The computer can generate forms, beyond our wildest imagination, and analyze those forms for structural stability. The computer can logically assess a space plan and offer suggestions for efficiency, or delight if so programmed. Certainly the role of the architect/designer should not be replaced with the computer, but the relationship should become more symbiotic, allowing the two types of intelligence to capitalize on their strengths. Perhaps with new developments in TUI (tangible user interface) and “smart” environments, the design process with the computer can move away from the desktop and become more encompassing, allowing the designer to walk among the spaces and create a structure from within.
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