From the beginning of the training in architecture schools, in the beginning one learns to use essential tools and materials to carry out two activities typical of the profession: the drawing of plans and the conception of models.
Initially, these tools and techniques are the traditional ones, working by hand with real materials, but soon, before concluding the training and starting to practice as a professional, computer solutions are used to cover all the activities that must be cover the work of the architect.
Professionals must have complete training supported by the mastery of artisan techniques and digital tools and methodologies so that they can develop their knowledge and creativity by applying their own personality that gives them an authorship value distinguishable from the rest in the competitive world of architecture. .
Artisanal techniques against digital technologies
Volumetrics, plans, elevations, sections, details… are the best way to graphically and technically represent a project and architects are destined to produce innumerable drawings throughout their lives. There are two methodologies that some want to confront and make incompatible, but that does not necessarily have to be so: the design based on the traditional drawing by hand and the physical volumetric model and the design using computer programs to produce models and digital documentation.
If digital technology gives us the possibility of executing a job quickly, efficiently, accurately and compatible with all the disciplines and actors involved in the construction process, drawing by hand still has great value, since:
- It gives value to the architect’s trade and constitutes a recognizable signature.
- The use and contact with the materials favor another angle of approach and conception of architecture.
- Learning manual drawing helps to understand three-dimensional spaces, the play of light and shadow and, in general, all the fundamental concepts of architecture. It is a prerequisite for the good use of computer programs.
drawing supplies
- A drawing pad, we must not forget our creative facet and draw at all times.
- Graphite pencils or lead pencils of different thicknesses and hardness, to develop drawings with a variety of qualities and nuances
- Tracing and graph papers, to create new versions of drawings by tracing on others or draw with greater precision of measurements.
- Rulers, squares and scales, to easily draw straight, parallel and perpendicular lines and quickly calculate the sizes of the drawings in relation to the actual measurements
- A large and reclining drawing table to draw comfortably for hours
model materials
The manual model, the three-dimensional representation reduced to scale of the architectural project, is a good way to experience the real results of our drawings on paper and thus rectify errors or evolve in the design of the volumes, adding complexity and nuances in the articulation of spaces. and the games of light and shadow.
There is also the dichotomy between the manual model or the virtual digital model. The latter indisputably saves time and provides more detailed and realistic results, but the manual model is still an excellent communication tool that explains the project very well to the client, who understands the project much better through an object. real.
The basic list of materials to make models would be:
- Foamboard panels of different thicknesses are the base of the walls and floors of the project, light and solid at the same time, they are easily cut with a cutter.
- Cutter, blade to cut shapes with precision.
- Metallic rule, facilitates cutting with a cutter and to obtain straight sides
- Rods and plastic tubes, to create linear elements and pillars that reproduce the structure of the building.
Architectural Design Tools
Taking into account the skills that an architect can cover, it is essential to use various types of software to undertake the work entrusted to him. They all respond to very precise functions: CAD tools, BIM, Design Visualization, virtual reality… What are the differences and advantages of each one?
He Computer Aided Design (CAD) It is a technology that allows, due to the great variety of programs available, to virtually create manufactured products and above all to test them, since they allow a technical definition and an analysis of the interactions and eventual incompatibilities.
It is an intelligent virtual construction of the object, apart from the domains of the architect’s activity, other fields that resort to CAD are mechanics or furniture design.
Which CAD program is recommended to choose? A reference on the matter is AutoCAD.
It is complete, intuitive and very competitive. It allows 2D and 3D designs with total precision and has the possibility of annotation (dimensions, tables, etc.) and automation.
It also has a range of specialized tools for the architecture sector (AutoCAD Architecture) that ensure a real gain in execution time.
It adapts perfectly to the architect’s working conditions, it has web and mobile applications that allow unrestricted mobility.
He Building Information Modeling (BIM) It is a concept recently introduced in the world of architecture and construction and is defined above all as a collaborative construction process. Involving the conception of intelligent three-dimensional digital models. BIM entails efficient production and management of building-related data.
These models reproduce the set of functional and aesthetic aspects of the project in a very precise and structured way. They can be divided and distributed among the different parties involved in the construction process (architects, engineers, builders, clients, etc.) and may have the possibility of intervening to complete or technically modify the model and thus throughout the life cycle of the model. project.
Thanks to this work methodology, the teams can be coordinated before the start of the work and thus facilitate the development of its construction and avoid delays and budget alterations.
Which BIM program is recommended to choose? Although there are several programs available on the market, the most widely used in Europe, the United States, Arab countries or Asia is Revit.
Revit is a very complete design and documentation tool that allows you to get high performance out of 3D modeling and data from construction elements thanks to the use of parametric objects.
It also perfectly handles the different disciplines and phases involved in any type of project.
Revit also facilitates the cooperation and coordination of teams thanks to project division functionalities and its multidisciplinary vocation.
The importance of the mission incumbent on the architect implies that he must be permanently equipped with the best tools, manual and digital. They must be at the service of his creativity while being aligned with the demands of clients and the reality of a trade in continuous evolution.