Greater possibilities

As well as allowing impressive visuals, CAD software has afforded a new type of architecture. Complex forms, which were not previously possible, can now be modelled in CAD programmes and their form, structure and materials tested. CAD technology is critical for these sort of architectural forms; quite simply, physical models cannot fully explore such ideas sufficiently enough to convince the client and engineers of the possibility of the design.

Specific CAD applications are used for modelling these new architectural forms. VectorWorks is a drawing package that is very useful for creating two-dimensional plan, section and elevation drawings. It also offers a three-dimensional modelling package.

ArchiCAD originated as a three-dimensional modelling package, but now has the functionality to produce two­dimensional drawings as well. It can be used with additional software to create realistic material finishes and fly through views of the scheme.

AutoCAD is universally available and is used by many architects and engineers as their standard drawing software.

Google SketchUp can be used to build and modify three­dimensional models quickly and easily. If used in conjunction with Google Earth, SketchUp allows you to place your models on site using actual coordinates and share them via Google 3D Warehouse.

Rendering packages, such as artlantis or Autodesk 3D Studio Max, work with other drawing programmes to create impressive material and colour finishes to models.

CAD software

Google SketchUp and Google Earth

Google SketchUp is available to download from www. sketchup. com.

It is an easy to use and intuitive piece of software that allows three­dimensional shapes to be formed quickly. Once the form has been created, SketchUp has the functionality to allow apertures to be created in the shape to suggest doors and windows.

Google Earth software allows any location in the world to be viewed as an aerial photograph, though some areas display more detail than others. Google Earth can be used in conjunction with SketchUp, which means that you can draw a form in SketchUp and place that form on a location image generated in Google Earth. This allows you to create images that not only show a structural concept, but also allow it to be viewed in a realistic context.

Modelling

Drawing file formats

Many software programmes support the transfer of data and drawings between one platform and another. If the drawings are saved as neutral file types then they can be accessed across programmes.

• DWG files originated in the AutoCAD software package, but have since become the standard file type to exchange drawing files. The DXF file format is a variant. Most CAD programmes (such as AutoCAD, Autodesk, MicroStation, VectorWorks and ArchiCAD) use the DWG format.

• Drawings can also be saved as JPEG files and transferred from one piece of software to another. JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, which is the name of the committee that created the standard.

• STL is a file format native to stereolithography CAD software.

Fly through

Whether a CAD or physical model is generated to represent, explain and explore an architectural scheme, the advantage it has (over any drawn form) is that it allows many views of a building to be considered.

Many CAD software packages offer the facility to explore a three-dimensional model using ‘fly through’ techniques. This technique describes the capturing of individual views from within the model and editing them to form a series of connected images that render as if one is ‘flying through’ the building or space.

The fly through technique can also be applied to a physical model by photographing it from a variety of angles and then assembling the images to suggest a journey through the proposed scheme that best describes the architectural concept.

Project: Chichester Museum Location Chichester, UK Designer: Khalid Saleh Date: 2007

These images show a sequential series of CAD models for a museum design. The museum’s site is adjacent to an important cathedral precinct and this location informed the concept for the proposal. The spire of the cathedral, for example, was to be visible at various points in the scheme.

The ‘fly through’ CAD images allow the journey through the scheme and the associated views to be understood. The images were created using a range of software. Initially the scheme was drawn in VectorWorks software; it was then imported into SketchUp to create three-dimensional models, and was finally rendered in 3ds Max. The perspective images were edited in Photoshop software.

One of the important aspects of architectural design is the idea that form and shape can be influenced by many different things. Painting, and abstract painting in particular, has the potential to be understood as a three-dimensional form and has been a source of inspiration for many architectural ideas and concepts.

Project: Concept model Architect: Alsop Architects Date: 2006

This is an abstract physical model, it is not to scale but concentrates on relative form and use of materials to describe the idea.

Gerrit Rietveld, for example, created architecture that was connected to the work of artists such as Piet Mondrian, who used colour to suggest form in his paintings.

Modelling

Transforming two dimensions into three

This exercise will look at a two-dimensional image and, through a series stages, will interpret it as a three­dimensional model. This process is representative of the design thinking involved when creating architecture.

1 Start by looking at an abstract painting. Take time to observe and understand it.

2 Now sketch any images or shapes that you can see within it. Quickly draw a range of sketches that represent your different interpretations of the painting.

3 When the sketches are complete, look at them and determine the different shapes or forms within each one.

4 Now make these forms quickly using card or paper and fixing them with tape. Doing so should generate a series of models that connect with your sketches.

5 Select the initial sketch model that holds the most interest. Think about its shape and begin to develop it further, perhaps by using more or different materials, or by altering its size orientation.

6 Create a final piece that responds to your investigations of scale, materials and form.

7 Finally, assemble the initial painting, with your sketches, sketch models and your final piece. Collectively these will represent your personal design process in transforming

a two-dimensional image into a three-dimensional form.

Representational techniques

Project: Glass Booth Location: Conceptual Architect: CJ Lim / Studio 8 Date: 2006

A series of associated plans, elevations and perspective images describe this scheme. The black and red lines help distinguish the architectural form from the figure. The combination of different forms of representation provide a coherent description of the architectural idea.

In architectural design, layout and presentation form a critical part of the design process because the architect relies heavily on the successful representation of their ideas to convince the viewer of the feasibility of their scheme. The architect needs to create graphically seductive images that are both interesting and engaging, and describe the proposed scheme so well that the viewers can envisage themselves in this future space.

Appropriateness of the presentation type to the design concept needs to be carefully considered and balanced. Drawings such as plans, sections and elevations explain a building in a measured and defined form. Other drawings can be more emotive and suggest an environment for, or an experience of, the architecture. Minimal, modern building proposals are often described by minimal drawings that use simple lines and plain backgrounds, and classically embellished building proposals will be described by crafted, decorated drawings. Appropriateness of presentation is determined by the drawing’s relationship to the architectural style.

Layout is also part of the design process. Arranging or organising drawings so that they tell the story of the architecture in a considered and coherent way is vital if the architect is to successfully communicate their design proposal. A ‘set’ of architectural drawings (here this term is used to imply the connection between individual drawings to describe the architecture as coherently as possible) must place the building in its physical and design context.

ISO paper sizes

(plus rounded inch values)

Format A series

Size

mm x mm

in x in

A0

841x 1189

33.1 x 46.8

A1

594 x 841

23.4 x 33.1

A2

420 x 594

16.5 x 23.4

A3

297 x 420

11.7 x 16.5

A4

210×297

8.3 x 11.7

A5

148×210

5.8 x 8.3

A6

105x 148

4.1 x 5.8

Format B series

Size

mm x mm

in x in

A0

1000×1414

39.4 x 55.7

A1

707 x 1000

27.8 x 39.

A2

500 x 707

19.7 x 27.8

A3

353 x 500

13.9 x 19.7

A4

250 x 353

9.8 x 13.9

A5

176 x 250

6.9 x 9.8

A6

125x 176

4.9 x 6.9

Format C series

Size

mm x mm

in x in

A0

917×1297

36.1 x 51.1

A1

648×917

25.5 x 36.1

A2

58 x 648

18.0 x 25.5

A3

324 x 458

12.8 x 18.0

A4

229 x 324

9.0 x 12.8

A5

162×229

6.4 x 9.0

A6

114x 162

4.5 x 6.4

The layout of architectural images will affect the viewer’s interpretation of a design concept. A set of plan, elevation and section drawings can be arranged to create a three-dimensional form of a building proposal, and the way in which these drawings are organised is important; arranged correctly they tell the ‘right’ story.

The plans serve as maps, explaining the relationships between rooms, spaces and routes. The sections, when read in conjunction with the plans, explain the height of and vertical relationships between the building’s spaces.

The elevations explain the relationships between the doors and openings described in the plans. To tell the story of the architecture correctly these drawings should be carefully presented so that their inter-relationships are clearly evident.

Updated: 27th November 2014 — 5:08 am