A quick word about rolling back to an earlier version of your work in teamwork.
I just recovered days worth of work, so I’m happy to give this feature a high grade. Basic description below, followed by an idea of how to use this tool in a more intentional way to manage design options.
A meditation on the architectural image: photograph? rendering? You decide.
In the nineties I remember the minor kerfuffle involving an image of the interior of the not-yet-open-to-the-public MOMA in San Francisco by Mario Botta, until it was revealed that the image was not the illicit pre-grand-opening photograph captured by a ninja photographer people thought it was, but rather a digital model rendered with great care. I couldn’t find a specific link to verify my memory, but the images of SFMOMA here certainly fit the “is it real?” meme.
There are exceptions, but almost every photorealistic rendering I look at seems to lack a point other than “hey look at me and my shallow command of texture map and lighting effect.” The technology amazes, but let’s remember why Avatar was not such a good movie, and why Pixar seems incapable of making a bad one, and what architecture is for, and the reason we’ve decided to spend our lifetimes making buildings. Stealing the conceit from the Avatar link above: a CGI image is distracting like incredibly good-looking people are (the stereotypical fashion model) until you realize how vapid and self-centered and boring it is. And like incredibly good-looking people who mange to also be interesting, smart, and compassionate – CGI that *does* jump the gap between documentation and art has an uphill fight to prove its worth.
These are the same issues photography faces as an art form.
There’s a point to be made here that I’ll cite with reference to Robert Bringhurst, the typographer, poet and writer: this visual material is at its best when it self-effacingly serves the (architectural) content.
Referencing what the poet said: a rendering should be window, opening a view through to something vital.
So what’s that point again? I don’t know… perhaps it is to say that just because one can, does not mean one should. Or better: if you can, don’t forget to ask yourself why and to what effect?
Vermeer is still the gold standard.
The pen set concept is a powerful one. Let’s talk about how to use pens, and pen sets, effectively.
Material taxonomy is a big loose end in our standard template. Sigh.
“A great building must begin with the unmeasurable, must go through measurable means when it is being designed and in the end must be unmeasurable.”
Louis I. KahnMetiendo Vivendum – ‘By Measure We Live’
Motto of Sir Edwin Lutyens
An enduring clot of inefficiency in our process involves establishing and managing schedules of partition and wall types in our construction documents. New features of the AC14 label tool might help. Discussion.
Working in all three dimensions – this is the practical underpinning of our practice.
Careful development of the 3D model pays off significantly in 2D drawing production and presentation renderings. Herewith guidelines for model development:
