Sitting at the drawing table is no longer needed to become an Architect.
I’ve seen pictures of Architecture firms around the sixties and seventies, 40 or 50 desks aligned and all these architects drawing plans by hand. These images definitely have some sort of a nostalgic feeling, with proud architects wearing classic round thick glasses and dressing all in black suits being fancy. However things have changed.
Growing up I remember hearing the same thing over and over again when saying that I wanted to become an architect - “oh, it is a very demanding career and of course, you’ll need to know how to draw. Being the son of 2 artists (my father is an Architect and my mother an Industrial Designer) this never concerned me too much, but as you may know, the current scene when becoming an architect or designer is VERY different. Today pretty much all the design activities are done digitally, with powerful softwares that allow us to draw lines or create 3D shapes and most importantly to Ctrl+Z our mistakes! Thank god.
Knowing how to draw was important in the developing of ideas, but knowing how to communicate is key for having a successful project. There’s too many people involved, too many decisions to be made and too much at stake because after all we’re dealing with the place where our clients will live everyday. Every set of plans, every rendering and document is simply communicating what should be done in the construction.
So how should one use technology at its best to communicate, coordinate and execute better?
There’s a lot of technology available, but we have a couple of favorite ones:
1. 3D Scans - In simple words this means that we can go to any existing building and scan the space with a specialized device. This takes under 1 to 2 hours and as a result we get 2 main benefits: a virtual tour that anyone can explore from anywhere (meaning you can share this tour with your General Contractor, Engineers, flooring supplier or even your cousin that watches HGTV every day), and a file with accurate dimensions. From this second one we create the most accurate plans and 3D models in under 48 hours.
2. 3D Renderings - these are computer generated images that show what the project will look like without having to build it. We make this amazing tool available for our clients and project partners, and these renderings become a visual agreement of the final result and project goals.
Once all the design decisions are made, this renderings can be done in a couple of days.
Some designers may fall from their chair when reading this, but using the right technology in the correct sequence can take a design project from lasting a few months to a couple of weeks. Just to give you an idea, since the beginning of last month we’ve successfully delivered half a dozen projects, some of them already in the building phase.
Designing at the speed of technology is what we do and we believe that should be more known and used to the benefit of everyone, but mainly, for the benefit of the clients.