The Impact Of Digital-Computational Design On The Architectural Design Process

By: by Hauwa Olabisi Yusuf
2011/2012

The motivation for this thesis is based on the recent interest in various Architectural conferences and publications on the effects of the process change caused by digital means. The study is centred on the assumption that computational methods have enhanced creativity and proffered design solutions that could not be achieved by conventional means. The answers to this assumptions and questions have been sought through a thorough exploration of the diverse concepts and tools and processes that enable design computation. It then proceeds to investigate design projects executed by contemporary architects that engage in the use of computation. The findings from the inquiry ascertains the hypothesis and explicates the benefits inherent in the projects investigated. It concludes by highlighting the need to sensitize and raise the awareness of professional and students on the benefits and potentials of design enabled by computation.

Digitization is the main mechanism for much of the revolution been experienced in contemporary design. The success of Computational designs is greatly attributed to the tools available in this technological era. Architectural projects were customarily developed through a chain of linear processes, with design and construction totally estranged thus, resulting in information gaps. The integration of Digital manufacturing into the Architectural design process has helped bridge the separated phases.

The flawless transfer of information between the digital environments and their inherent compatibility preserved the conceptual content on which the design was conceived. This made the explication of the designer’s idea successful. Revit was very helpful in providing all the details necessary for construction of this office tower whose contextual and programmatic orientation was to serve as ‘an incubator of ideas’. The breathing envelope creates diversity, flexibility and controls the building temperature, thus resulting in a sustainable design as the aluminium fins control the amount of sunlight that penetrates the building vertically, while the planters provide shading horizontally and filtering the air that enters the building.