Essay

Technology does not just affect the way we construct buildings. It also affects the way you as an architect communicate your vision. From the time of drafting building blueprints by hand to our present day drafting carried out in virtual model spaces, your goal as an architect is still the same — to realize your vision and communicate it back to yourself as well as to others.

Yet, I cannot help but question what within the design process is different within an architect’s mindset as they work to develop building blueprints by hand-drafting versus creating those all-too-familiar AutoCAD drawings. First, I would say that because changes seem easier to fix due to all of the AutoCAD X-referencing which can populate one change on one drawing through the entire set, architects today are encouraged to simultaneously experiment and work more quickly (depending upon what stage of the project they are in).

Secondly, I would also estimate that because AutoCAD can be very seamlessly linked to 3-D modeling programs such as 3-D studio Max, it becomes possible to see a more realistic representation of an architectural idea — think high level of light analysis, material analysis, and so on. Additionally, within those 3-D virtual models, it becomes possible to simulate actually walking through or driving by a virtual world model of that vision.

Thus, we have come a long way since those hand-drafted building blueprints. But what can the previous method of creating those building blueprints do for an architectural design vision that today’s digital methods of creating drawings cannot?

I will say from my own experience, that there is a slightly different feeling when I draw with my hand as compared to when I draw with a mouse.

Somehow when drawing by hand there is an inherent freedom which can be lost when using a computer if a designer is not using it as a tool to realize their vision. Since programs like AutoCAD come preset with features such as “snap to endpoints/midpoints” or its semi-resistance to free-form shapes, I think it is important for you as an architect to always remember that the computer is your tool — so do not let it determine the boundaries within which you draw, and within which you think your vision to life through those drawings.

In the end, I think it is important to remember how we as a profession used to do things — and when considering those hand-drafted building blueprints, think about what made them beautiful and inspiring to create. Then let that inform how you work with your present-day tools as an architect today.

Image Credit: © tamburix | Flickr