Digital modeling programs in the Design Process

How many of you out there are using digital programs like Sketch-Up, Revit, Rhino, or 3D Studio in your school curriculum or at your studio practice? How are you using them during as part of your design process? At the beginning/during/end of the design process?

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Permalink Reply by Michael Born on September 30, 2010 at 1:10pm

I use Sketchup on a daily basis in my practice. I'll model a scene/room/city and use Sketchup to output different lineweights, then use Photoshop and Wacom tablet to add value and color.

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Permalink Reply by Scott N. Collard RLA ASLA ASAI on October 2, 2010 at 11:56am

Brian, I use a combination of tools and media. The key question for me is always TIME! I also travel and do a significant part of my work on-site and in front of people. If I am listening, drawing and designing in a group, pencils are least intrusive. I'm not so much concerned about what I'm doing, but how it is being perceived by my clients. Even the least conspicuous tablet (connected to a laptop and a all the cables) can be seen as an intrusion. For me, it's about making the client feel that they have my full and undivided attention. It's about building a relationship and gaining trust. They like having the experience of seeing the drawing happen. Of course, with the right tools, the Wacom tablet can do the same thing. It's really a judgement call.

In my studio, I'm just more comfortable with a pencil or pen . . . I've got to have a tactile sense of connection to the page. I really like the things I can do with my Wacom, but when I'm thinking and designing and playng with a sketch, I need to be able to see it right there! No cables, too! So, for me the sequence goes: Paper/Pen, Scan, Tablet/software. That's the routine, for now, atleast! :) Scott

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Permalink Reply by Brian Lin on October 4, 2010 at 9:40pm

Great comment Scott. We all appreciate to some degree the facility and efficiency of the computer. However, the minor "issues" that end up bottle-necking the design process, like prints not coming out 25 minutes before a charrette starts. I've worked enough years to know when to use hand and when to pull out the Wacom tablet, and being efficient about the balance of the two. But there's nothing like drawing in front of the client; even having the client draw their ideas in the air while you put those visions on paper.

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Permalink Reply by Dave Wells on November 18, 2010 at 12:28pm

Scott,
We have been interested in the Wacom tablet. What is your experience working with it and what software do you use? I personally still like the pen and paper but there are times it would be nice to have something in digital format. Which tablet size and type are you using? Dave

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Permalink Reply by Scott N. Collard RLA ASLA ASAI on November 18, 2010 at 1:37pm

Dave, good to hear from you.

I have the Wacom Cintiq (12" diagonal measured screen); the smaller size makes it portable (I have it here with me in Red Deer, Alberta this week). I use both Sketch Up and Photoshop on the unit as the primary software programs. As I often am involved in the conceptual level, I typically begin with a freehand sketch (pencil and paper). A quick scan can give me an image I can render quickly. Once comments are made, I can confirm the requested changes by drawing over the original scanned image. I must admit that the tablet's slick surface and the tablet's pen tip doesn't give me the sense of tactile connection I've come to expect, so it's not my preferred sketching media. I must admit, however, that I'm a big fan of the pen (vs. the mouse) when working in either Photoshop or Sketch Up.

Hope you're well. Have a great Thanksgiving and let me know if you have any questions. Scott

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Permalink Reply by waibun on October 17, 2010 at 3:47pm

I use the appropriate tool at the right time. I have favorites but no loyalties to drawing or any software. Which ever I pick out of the tool box needs to be the fastest tool/software - to get the best results - for the immediate task at hand. At work, this is our general workflow: Writing to quickly get ideas on to the table. Sketchup to mass or confirm general numeric requirements. Drawing to start developing ideas. Sketchup to refine ideas make initial presentation to clients. REVIT to start modeling the building. This model can then go to:
1. contractors to start generating pricing packages
2. generating elevations and plans and sections
3. environmental analysis such as daylighting, shadow studies
4. 3dStudio for renderings and animations
After images are generated from 3dStudio they are brought into Photoshop to add life and any changes to the design. Or After Effects and Premiere for compositing and transitioning between animations.

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Permalink Reply by Daisy Lyndon on October 18, 2010 at 10:08am

I went into architecture because I loved how architects use their hands to create buildings. Now that I am in grad school getting my M.Arch it seems that digital modeling has taken over. I love to draw, but I'm not very good at it. My professor wants to me to do the two week training in Las Vegas to strengthen my hand drawing skills, but the cost is a little much I am a struggling student as it is. I am actually doing my thesis on how BIM or digitial modeling is an effective form of communication. While I don't like digital modeling I am trying to accept it. I am taking advanced Revit to force myself to learn because it will help me get a job.

Would anyone like to be part of my research? I am going to conduct interviews or surveys this term and I would love it if I could get your input.

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Permalink Reply by Scott N. Collard RLA ASLA ASAI on October 18, 2010 at 11:51am

You've got an important decison to make, Daisy. But the choices may not be the ones that are immediately apparent. Your choice is between which one will give you the "job" you want and which one will give you the career you desire? There's a difference between job security and career security. It doesn't matter whether or not you're good at drawing, that will come with time and practice. Neither does it really matter what your professor wants you to do. What do you want to do? If you can answer this question the choices will be easier to make. Do you see the point? Scott

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Permalink Reply by waibun on October 19, 2010 at 2:21pm

Hi Daisy,
Sometimes you need to take care of yourself first (ie pay your bills) before you can pursue your ideals. When I am hiring staff, Revit experience is a must and applicants with Revit experience will be put on top of the stack. There are opportunities to draw after you land that job.

Waibun

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Permalink Reply by Brian Lin on October 19, 2010 at 10:31pm

Daisy,
Indeed, as a means to an end, digital modeling is a must for anyone getting into the profession. But by everyone having the ability to model using BIM, that doesn't really set anyone apart from the waves of applicants applying for jobs every year. Last year, everyone I interviewed had a basic knowledge of Revit/Rhino/3D Studio. Only ONE person out of the 30 people I interviewed could draw by hand and could do BIM. She wasn't a "skilled" illustrator, but at least it revealed to me how she thought creatively. She was able to craft a story from the birth of a design idea through sketches to the completed digital renderings at the end of her presentation. When it came time to hire, it was her ability to communicate using both mediums that sold me.

It is sometimes difficult to see the gestural qualities and excitement of an idea when it's modeled in BIM. When you get that first job out of design school and go in with both digital and hand skills, you will find opportunities to develop both to the level where they balance each other to a symbiotic level. The designers that "only do hand" or "only do digital" end of getting pigeon-holed, period. Of course, there is the traditional progression of the design process which starts with a design hand sketch and manifests into a BIM model which the working drawings are extracted from, but this doesn't mean that the creative process of drawing by hand doesn't happen along the way, because it does. There will be a time when drawing by hand is more efficient; then there will be times when digital tools are more appropriate; and then there will be times when you use both. I've been practicing for almost 20 years and I'm just now getting to that "symbiotic" relationship with my hand drawing and digital skills.

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Permalink Reply by Matthew K. Durkovich on November 18, 2010 at 9:29am

I use Sketchup from the beginning, but only after our hand drawn plans (Landscape Architecture) have been thought through and revised a million times. For us it's a matter of effeciency. We can generate a lot of stuff from one model that will help analyze many of our questions, but we rely heavily on hand graphics as well.

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Permalink Reply by Jessica Barnes on December 22, 2010 at 8:34pm

This is my first post to the beloose site! Hello everyone! I attended Mike's workshop in August of this year in San Francisco. Undoubtedly changed my approach to life and definitely helped in the drawing department. Practice makes perfect and I still need more drawing practice, but the single most beneficial take away from Mike's workshop was his lesson on our attitude towards drawing. Staring at a blank page can be scary and intimidating, and Mike taught me to be confident in my abilities and to overcome the blank page obstacle. Just starting can be a huge battle sometimes, so for anyone like Daisy who is considering the workshop, I cannot recommend it enough. You learn so much more than drawing skills and the lessons cross many facets of your life.

A little on my background: I am currently getting my MDes at Illinois Institute of Technology's Institute of Design. As a student who does not have an undergraduate degree in design, I am in the "Foundation" program which is essentially a very intense year of design boot camp. In my Product Design course, my instructor Martin Thaler places a heavy emphasis on hand drawings. However, we were introduced to Sketch Up by our other instructor Jereme Dunn, and I have used it in a number of ways.

For a "line-plane-volume" project, I first drew different configurations in my sketchbook of the LPV components. I then used Sketch-Up to further explore the different configurations. I used the SU explorations to built sketch models out of foam core. Final model was built from there out of foam core. Pictures below!I also used sketch up for a Pedestal File project. I first began with hand sketches, made a sketch model from foam core, and then did further exploration in Sketch Up to determine my final design. I use SU mainly for exploration and to hammer out the details. Being able to fully rotate your computer model AND make minor modifications to your designs really helps me make design decisions. So it looks like I tend to use SU in the middle and sometimes closer to the end of my design process. I attached a copy of my Ped presentation. As Mike would say, "it's not finished yet," but critiques are welcome and encouraged!