Drawing from the Model

Fundamentals of Digital Drawing, 3D Modeling, and Visual Programming in Architectural Design

Frank Melendez

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781119115632
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: Architecture Design

Bridges traditional and contemporary methods of creating architectural design drawings and 3D models through digital tools and computational processes.

Drawing from the Model: Fundamentals of Digital Drawing, 3D Modeling, and Visual Programming in Architectural Design presents architectural design students, educators, and professionals with a broad overview of traditional and contemporary architectural representation methods. The book offers insights into developments in computing in relation to architectural drawing and modeling, by addressing historical analog methods of architectural drawing based on descriptive geometry and projection, and transitioning to contemporary digital methods based on computational processes and emerging technologies.

Drawing from the Model offers digital tools, techniques, and workflows for producing architectural design drawings (plans, sections, elevations, axonometrics, and perspectives), using contemporary 2D drawing and 3D modeling design software. Visual programming is introduced to address topics of parametric modeling, algorithmic design, computational simulations, physical computing, and robotics. The book focuses on digital design software used in higher education and industry, including Robert McNeel & Associates Rhinoceros® (Rhino 6 for Windows), Grasshopper®, Adobe Illustrator® CC, and Arduino, and features an appendix filled with 10 design drawing and 3D modeling exercises intended as educational and pedagogical examples for readers to practice and/or teach workflows that are addresses in the book.

• Bridges analog hand-drawing and digital design drawing techniques
• Provides comprehensive coverage of architectural representation, computing, computer-aided drafting, and 3D modeling tools, techniques, and workflows, for contemporary architectural design drawing aesthetics and graphics.
• Introduces topics of parametric modeling, algorithmic design, computational simulation, physical computing, and robotics through visual programming environments and processes.
• Features tutorial-based instruction using the latest versions of Rhinoceros® (Rhino 6 for Windows), Grasshopper®, Adobe Illustrator® CC, and Arduino.

Part 1
Architectural Representation and Digital Technologies

Part 1 focuses on the topics of drawing, modeling, and computing technologies, and situates these terms within the context of architectural design and representation. This begins with an overview of architectural drawing based on how we (humans) perceive the forms and spaces that surround us and the use of drawing as a tool for visual expressions based on our observations and imagination. This includes the use of analog and digital tools for creating two-dimensional projections of three-dimensional geometry, and conventional and novel methods of drawing that range from the dexterity of the hand and pencil to the processing of computational algorithms.

This section describes the role of architectural models and their application in various stages of the design process. Architectural representation includes the use of physical models, real materials, to sketch and to create experimental, performative instruments, as well as the use of digital models, and virtual environments, to create geometry, explore topologies, parametrically driven iterations, algorithmic processes, and computational simulations. Additionally, technologies such as virtual, augmented, and mixed reality, and scanning devices, provide new methods for visualizing digital environments and digitizing physical spaces. This ability to navigate back and forth between the real and the virtual is continuing to blur what used to be distinct boundaries between these two worlds, through advances in digital fabrication tools. Digital models can be output directly to various rapid prototyping machines and industrial robots, and realized as physical, material constructs. Conversely, physical elements can be scanned and data can be used to drive digital models. Computing technologies continue to evolve and expand abilities for working fluidly between analog and digital processes, opening up new possibilities that are expanding the role of architectural drawing and representation.

Chapter 1
Architectural Drawing

Chapter 1 provides an overview of the role of drawing in architectural design and various methods that are utilized for creating design drawings through analog and digital techniques. This begins with how we (humans) experience the world; including the perception of our surrounding environment and our ability to form mental images. Architectural drawing is based on our ability to see and imagine physical forms and objects, and to translate three-dimensional geometry into two-dimensional representations through descriptive geometry and projection techniques. This process plays a critical role in architectural design and the construction of buildings.

Various drawing methods provide architects and designers with the ability to visualize, represent, and communicate information through hand sketches, technical drawings, three-dimensional projections, simulations, and visualizations, to name a few. These various historical and contemporary analog and digital techniques can be applied throughout various stages of the architectural design process, expanding the tools that are available to architects and designers. This presents a new paradigm in architectural representation and the education of architectural drawing, which ranges from the development of visual acuity and dexterity that is required for hand sketching and drawing, to the development of coding skills for generating computational simulations and visualizations. In this chapter, the role of architectural drawing is presented as an increasingly expansive field that ranges from analog representations based on visual observation to computational simulations based on input parameters and data.

1.1 Drawing and Perception

“A line is a dot that went for a walk.”

—Paul Klee

This well-known definition of a line by the German artist Paul Klee seems simultaneously to express the simplicity and the complexity of the subject and the act of drawing. The analogy comparing a line to a dot going for a walk is fairly straightforward. The tip of a pencil can be placed on a piece of paper to create a dot (point), and moved along a trajectory to create a line. This is something that most children can do instinctively when handed a piece of paper and a pencil. However, we might find ourselves confronted with other questions when drawing a line, such as: What do I want to draw? Where on the page should I start my drawing? Do I want to draw something that I am observing, or something that I am imagining? What am I trying to represent or communicate? When these questions arise, a connection between drawing and thought is established.

The act of drawing has been used throughout human history to express thoughts and communicate information. From prehistoric markings found on the walls of caves to contemporar...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Part 1 Architectural Representation and Digital Technologies
• Part 2 3D Modeling and Geometry
• Part 3 Architectural Design Drawings and Graphics
• Part 4 Computational Design
• Appendix: Design Drawing and Modeling Exercises
• Selected Bibliography
• Index
• End User License Agreement