Design Process in a Digital World

Technology is reshaping every aspect of our world. People from all cultures and economic backgrounds are becoming more attuned and comfortable interacting through machines and devices. Communication through digital outlets such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are the norm. What was once a world consumed by industrialization is now a landscape shaped and molded by an infinite access of information and virtual environments. This potential overload of stimuli risks promoting even shorter attention spans, feeding our appetite for a more virtual world. Is it possible to harness these new norms of digital interaction to shape our design process? Over the years, much discourse has been exchanged on the appropriateness and the extent that technology should play in architectural design. For centuries, buildings were designed through an intensive, iterative exploration of sketches, drawings and physical models. This methodical process of design investigation was reflective of the building process itself. However, since the late 1980’s, manual techniques have given way to a greater reliance on digital technologies in the design studio. Animated debates have spawned across the architectural community, pitting the merits of analogue vs. digital representation against one another. Architects such as Tom Mayne have declared “drawing to be dead” while others have vehemently defended the importance and vitality of drawing by hand. It is the contention of our research that the significance of technological mediums is not merely about the product it helps create, but the design process in which it affords.Our research proposes re-thinking the traditional design studio model by incorporating a methodology that delivers studio curriculum that extends beyond the classroom walls. However, unlike other studios, special emphasis is placed on structuring the process to be more reflective of the high-paced, technology driven world of the students. Typically ranging from 6-8 weeks, students must design, prototype and construct a public environmental installation for a major urban space. Coupled with design and construction, the students participate in fundraising, marketing, material procurement, logistics and transportation needs. Despite the intensity and wide ranging responsibilities, the students of this new generation weaned on digital diets, adjust remarkably well to the demands of the project. It is our belief, through our research and pedagogical explorations, that our design process must evolve to embrace the overflow of information and stimuli so that we may better prepare the digital generation for the complex challenges of tomorrow.

Volume Editors
Sergio Palleroni, Ted Cavanagh & Ursula Hartig

ISBN
978-0-935502-94-7