Wednesday, July 04, 2007

More on Rafael Viñoly Architects...

2. THE INSTRUMENTS AND TOOLS OF ARCHITECTURE. Architectural work can be broken down into a series of basic actions that interact as they are endlessly repeated: we see, draw, and calculate; we mock up our proposals and coordinate our design and production processes. For each action there is a series of tools, physical and intellectual, through which the design is.... Whether the tool is a pencil, a camera, a 3-D modeling program, or a flow chart, it not only serves us but, at a profound level, determines the character of our work. This class focuses on the understanding and knowledge of these tools and the techniques through which we can master them.
Commentary...
Tools are so strange. The government requires arcane computation of parking, or someone wants all kinds of takeoffs to monitor programmed spaces compared with design. These kinds of things require spreadsheets so back and forth, and all the while the CLOCK ticks. At a minimum of about $1 a minute to the client, a daydream can get to be rather costly. A bathroom break runs $5 or more. Photos on screen by the dozen of some obscure existing condition poorly measured and all the more mysterious as you attempt to close. Big fun. Stay away from charts and graphs unless you're really feeling your oats.

Tags: