SIMULATION

Readings:
Let the (Indirect) Sun Shine In by Joann Gonchar, AIA
Energy Software to Link Design and Science by B.J. Novitski
Computer Visualization as a Tool for Critical Analysis by Mark Maddalina

Simulation is the most elemental yet most powerful component of digital design. These three articles highlight some of the areas where computer simulations are aiding architects and designers with the design and analysis of buildings. In Let the (Indirect) Sun Shine In, Gonchar describes the use of lighting simulation tools in the design of Broad Contemporary Art Museum (BCAM) in Los Angeles and the Queens Museum of Art (QMA) in New York. The BCAM was a new building that incorporated a saw tooth that incorporated north facing skylights. Computer simulation was used to determine the primary direction of light within the galleries. North-facing skylights can produce diffuse light that can lack uniformity. The illumination vector analysis allowed designers to refine the design of the sunshades to create more uniform daylighting conditions. The QMA was planning an expansion of its existing museum. The design included a large "courtyard" carved out of the building. Designers used Radiance, a lighting simulation program, to study contrast ratios on the museum gallery surfaces. Contrast ratio is important to reduce eye strain. The simulation allowed designers to adjust the "courtyard" skylight's shape and size to obtain the correct contrast ratios within the spaces.

In Energy Software to Link Design and Science, Novitski discusses Building Design Advisor (BDA), a research service that allows architects and designers to link their building designs to various simulation tools. Currently the service offeres links to DOE-2, an energy performance simulation and Delight, a daylight and electric lighting analysis tool. They also plan to link to Radiance, the lighting simulation program used in the QMA study. In order to access these simulation tools, it is necessary to have a digital model of the building, but it is not necessary to be in the final stages of design. BDA will translate the data to work with each simulation program and will create "smart defaults" if any information is missing. BDA is a powerful tool for architects because it brings together in one place, many useful simulation programs, and allows designers to access these programs at any stage of the design process.

In Computer Visualization as a Tool for Critical Analysis, Maddalina discusses how 3D computer visualizations can be used as a tool for analyzing spatial relationships that just isn't possible with 2D drawings. He uses Frank Lloyd Wright's Darwin D. Martin House to demonstrate how a digital model can clarify spatial relationships and help critically analyze the structure. He did this by creating 3D volumes for the spaces of the home, removing the architectural elements that surround them. By studing these volumes in relationship to one another, Maddalina discovered special relationships between the stairway and the different levels of the house, as well as a non central fireplace, historically thought to be Wright's trademark design feature.

Every image or data set created by the computer is in essence a simulation. Theorists such as Baudrillard take a very apocolyptic view of the sheer amount of simulation in modern society, suggesting that humans no longer recognize what is real. However simulation is a tool used in the architectural profession from its earliest beginnings. Othographic projection drawings are the most used simulation drawings, meant to understand proportion and scale without actually constructing the building first. Today, the computer makes possible simulations of many phenomena, previously impossible to determine accurately. I think the main strength of the computer and digital design is its ability to accurately depict possible scenarios and aid designers in making real world decisions.