Description
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
In the last few decades, revolutionary developments in the field of
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have significantly
impacted everyday life. The internet, advanced illustration tools and
Computer Aided Design (CAD) software are obvious examples of this
digital revolution that has affected the very process of teaching architectural
design and, in fact, has even transformed the architectural profession itself.
Thus, the development of such digital tools over a relatively short time
and their continuous advancement and refinement had, and continues to
have, an inevitable major impact on many key pedagogical aspects of
architectural education and curricula design.
A fundamental pillar of the contemporary theory of architectural design
education is the approach of combining the traditional method of drafting
with a drawing board and T-square with the new method of using digital
tools in the design process. Most architectural schools developed and
introduced computational courses into their curricula, which resulted in a
dramatic shift in their educational context, i.e., from "traditional methods"
to computational "new methods”, and other various shifts in architectural
design media, design thinking and design theory. Although digital media
has become an essential part of the design studio culture, this transition has
not been clearly addressed because schools of architecture have had
difficulty in appreciating the dramatic impact of this new technology on
their existing and long-established educational infrastructure.
This paper presents a framework to assess the impact of CAD on the
architectural design process and the quality of its product. The framework
focuses on four major aspects of the architectural design process, namely,
the generation of design solutions, communication, the evaluation of design
solutions and decision-making. Furthermore, the following group of
indicators was also investigated: architectural program; site analysis;
conceptual design development; buildability; and design presentation. This
assessment may reveal certain indicators that can help educators and
practitioners to understand the impact of this rapid and radical transition on
the architectural design process and thus help to redirect the future of
architectural education into a more adaptive and qualitative system.
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
The current concept of architectural design education is a blend of the
traditional method of drafting on paper and the modern method of using
CAD in the design process. This paper argues that the transition to the new
digital media has been vague and largely ill-defined, which causes several
serious pedagogical problems. The introduction of these new tools into
design teaching has been combined with a dysfunctional relationship
between the tools and the intended end tasks. Consequently, this
dysfunction has resulted in a separation between architectural design and
the context of the project, specifically its sense of scale and proportion, and
has led to a marked decline in the spatial quality experience and a
disproportionate dependence on illustrative techniques. The inappropriate
use of the digital tools and the heavy reliance on them, the lack of
integration among different digital tools and, more importantly, the absence
of effective coordination between theoretical courses and design projects
has resulted in a relatively poorer overall design quality.
1.3 AIM OF THE STUDY
The main aim of this work is to present a framework to assess the impact of
CAD on the architectural design process and the quality of its product.
1.4 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The objectives of this study is in twofold. First, this study quantitatively
compares students’ preferences and attitudes toward the use of CAD tools
and traditional methods and analyzes these attitudes. Second, this study
assesses the potential impact of these digital tools on the quality and
creativity of architectural design by examining graduation projects.
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTION
i. What motivates the student to use CAD software in the design
process?
ii. What is the importance of the role of CAD in an architectural
curriculum?
iii. What impacts do CAD tools have on the overall quality of
architectural design in all of its stages (conceptual, design
development, presentation)?
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study help the student involved in this work to fully understand how
CAD software enables engineers and architects to design, inspect and
manage engineering projects within an integrated graphical user interface
(GUI) on a personal computer system. Most applications support solid
modeling with boundary representation (B-Rep) and NURBS geometry,
and enable the same to be published in a variety of formats. A geometric
modeling kernel is a software component that provides solid modeling and
surface modeling features to CAD applications.
1.7 APPLICATION OF THE STUDY
In the past, all of the designers and engineers were relying on board
drawings in order to layout their design imagination. However, since we
live in a modern world we can take the help of a computer now and some
tools and systems the output comes neater and quicker.
Probably the best software is CAD and it is really beneficial because it
allows easy storage of copies of drawings, data, blueprints, etc. CAD also
includes mechanics, interior design, engineering, architecture, electronics,
modeling and animation. In addition to this CAD has done lots of new
approaches especially in the area of fashion.
CAD Application in Engineering Projects
CAD is widely used in the area of engineering. It is used for manufacturing,
planning, computer aided analysis. When it comes to material requirements,
CAD inventory control and production planning, you can always use CAD.
It also helps in purchasing, manufacturing, planning and several other
activities. When it comes to manufacturing, it is used for controlling the
whole production by letting processes to start action thanks to exchanged
information.
CAD Application in Modeling Area
In the area of modeling, CAD is used for automotive, aerospace,
shipbuilding, consumer goods, machinery, etc in order to create blueprints
and designs that are going to be used later in the manufacturing of those
structures. Of course the blueprints are 3D designed which helps the
designers to find out any errors easily. In the fields of electronics, CAD is
used for designing different circuit boards and other various applications in
the area of software
Even specialists use it to design different buildings that they have imagined.
CAD gives them the chance to create those buildings in both 2D and 3D
and reproduce the replica as it will look like in real life. Fashion designers
also use the help of CAD because thanks to it they are designing their latest
expressions and making them come true as soon as possible.
CAD and Computer Animation
In the film and media industry computer aided designs have significant role
because thanks to them a production of highly entertaining and graphical
visions can come true. CAD is widely used in the movies for the creation of
special effects and it takes place even in TV commercials.
If you have a company and you also have some great ideas, you can use
CAD in order to construct some of the parts and eventually put them
together and see the final result. This is a great way thanks to which you
can see how a product will be doing when it is released on the market.
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1.7 PROJECT ORGANISATION
The work is organized as follows: chapter one discuses the introductory
part of the work, chapter two presents the literature review of the study,
chapter three describes the methods applied, chapter four discusses the
results of the work, chapter five summarizes the research outcomes and
the recommendations.