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Response to Computing in Architectural Design

Computers today are in everything that we use that makes our live more convenient. The days of doing manual labor is rapidly coming to an end with computers taking over those tasks. Computers have infiltrated some of the most mundane aspects of our lives from regulating home temperatures to toasting bread and instead of writing letters and mailing them we e-mail, we no longer wait to get home to call friend, and we have cell phones. These advances in technology continually reduce the need for manual labor in a sense. It is true that computers have made our lives more convenient, not only for personal things but business world as well.

In the case with design there has always been a struggle to design buildings that are produced accurately and in a faster manner. Since design started that has always been a concern with calculating spaces to make the symmetric and in some aspects structurally sound. Early designers used geometric shapes to calculated spaces, by means of the square and circle. These geometric shapes aided in mapping out plans and balancing the space. As time passed on more inventions were used in producing more accurate plans helping to reduce the time spent by a designer calculating heavy mathematical equations. But nothing has help designers fabricate their plans faster are more accurate than the invention of CAD or Computer Aided Design.

CAD over the years have been revamped over and over to develop faster more precise was of designing spaces, computers, automobiles, airplanes, etc… Without the use of CAD designers may take a year developing plans by hand that would be have an excess of human error. Also in correcting these plans drafted by hand would be time consuming as well. CAD has eased the life of designers in professions from, mechanical, armed forces, computer technology, automotive, architecture and so on. With these programs designs are precisely and is quickly fabricated freeing up some time in construction documents to focus more time in construction. The use of CAD also allows the designer to make quick changes to the plan with out starting the plan completely over this also reduce cost for clients. CAD has allowed designers to expedite accurate plans to clients/builders, but it also has it limitations.

Although CAD has convenience design it has limited designers to think out of the box. CAD has a tendency to keep designers using linear forms more that organic shapes. It also has yet developed a way of producing/ learning ways to design a full building. As new versions of CAD are release design large buildings will become simple imputes in the computer with some manipulations.