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Lee High School

Does 3D Designing, Make Design Building Faster?

Architecture

Alexis Zainos

Architecture

Mr. Foote

5th Hour

04/21/2017
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Zainos Alexis

Mr. Foote

Capstone

April 21, 2017

Faster Designing

Since man first started to design buildings, architects have had to draw their designs on

paper. Drawing takes a long time, every little detail has to measured to the exact point. There

isnt a way to see how it looks, until you build it. With everything that is done, might not even

come out the way that the person imaged it to be. Only by building a 3D model made by wood,

cardboard or styrofoam. However, this might help the architect figure out how it might look. It

still has many flaws to it. Depending on the size of the model, itll determine how much theyll

be able to see. Imagine if it was the size of a shoe box, the only thing that the person would be

able to see, is the exterior of the building. Not even to the full extent because to create

something with so much detail is almost impossible in that scale. The only good thing that could

come from it would be that it is somewhat portable and can be taken to the client that wants to

see it. If the model is made in a bigger scale then, depending on the size of it will make it less

portable, but would be able to see more detail in the building.

Anything that is done, making it bigger or smaller, it will always have some type of flaw.

That is mostly one of the reasons, that architects have moved to designing on a computer because

it comes with many benefits. It is portable, a building can be made to the exact detail to the size

of a penny, and many more. In an article it talks about the time frame that it takes an architect to

design their building. In the article it states: An 1800 square foot home can take anywhere from
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2-6 weeks of time, depending on the client's ability to return presentations in a suitable time

frame. I could finished home plans in as little as one week with no revisions(RB Drafting).

Taking 2-6 weeks or one week without revision (checking for errors) is a long time if it is put

into perspective. In another article it states: Approximately 1 in 5 architects work longer than 50

hours per week. Long hours and work during nights and weekends is necessary to meet

deadlines(Architects Overview). By doing the math that is approximately 100 to 300 hours a

week to do one project and it might not even be what the client imagined it to be. In another

article it states: The Building Warrant process takes a similar amount of time, approximately 4

weeks to prepare detailed construction drawings followed by an application to the local Building

Standards office which can take from 4-12 weeks to process(Hyve Architects). It might be

somewhat more time if it goes to tweel weeks to get done the design done. However, it might

take more time but it will have more detail at the end. Then they could see if they're missing

something. Then if something doesn't look right, they can call the client or meet up with them to

talk about the problem or see if they want it like that. Unlike drawing it on paper not knowing

that that looks wrong or looks different than the client asked.

In an interview with David Bouwsma who works at via design in Grand Rapids he stated

3D modeling is almost what every architect is doing, to understand that model more

quickly(Personal interview). This is coming from a person who has a lot of knowledge under

his belt. David likes to use 3D modeling because he can see what is going on while he builds the

client's building. He can determine what can be done to the build. For example if the client wants

to have a skylight added to the building, but wants it to have a current amount of light that comes

in throughout the day but not a lot to heat up the place. By using the 3D model he can see what
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angle the skylight has to be, in order to get the exact amount of light that the client asked for. If

this was done in traditional designing, there was no way to be 100% percent sure on how the

light would come though the light. By using the 3D model, it will reduce errors and make sure

that it comes out exactly how the client has imagined it to be.

With modern building looking more futuristic. The designer has to have a greater

imagination to expand their thoughts. By using the 3D model, they can experiment and try new

ideas to see how they would come out. If their idea is even worth pitching it to a new client. In

an article it talks about how new designers are innovating ideas from old buildings and putting

new material. In the article it states These designers noted that the gothic buildings used a lot of

building materials such as concrete and stones. These designers decided not to use only those

building materials but used new materials like glasses, marbles and cardboards (Ashesi Design

Lab). By using less material it becomes more economical and give out a different environment to

the place. Gothic buildings were made from a lot of stone, concrete, metal and glass. Many

people can see the difference in modern, traditional, and gotic. Some people like it and some

people hate it, but it is how the world is heading to a more futuristic world.

Everything has to change once in awhile. Many people hate change due to the fact that

they dont like change. They like things to stay the same, they dont want to learn a new way of

life or learn something new at an older age. This is how some architect perceive the thought of

3D design. Mostly in older generation, however some have adapted to see all the benefits that it

has come with. Now they can work on design someones house from across the state, the country

or even the world. They can even share the design through the web with simply a few clicks. 3D
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design, has made life much easier for many architects who have picked up the new way to

design.
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Work Cited

Architects Overview. Ca,Pus Explore, www.campusexplorer.com/careers/874C0309

/architects/. Accessed 29 Mar. 2017.

Bartlett, Ron . FAQ. RB Drafting, www.rbdrafting.net/faq/.

Bouwsma, David. Personal interview. 3 April 2017.

Estes, Adam Clark. You Can Now 3D Print a Model of Your New House. Gizmodo, 3 Nov.

2014, gizmodo.com/you-can-now-3d-print-a-model-of-your-new-house-1541513335.

Accessed 25 Mar. 2017.

Hyve Architects. Hyve Architects, www.hyvearch.co.uk/about-hyve

/faqs/how-long-does-the-design-process-take/. Accessed 30 Mar. 2017.

Lewis, Chapman, Dru. Personal interview. 10 April 2017.

Santes, Christana. How Architecture Has Evolved over Time. Ashesi Design Lab, 18 Nov.

2014, designashesi.wordpress.com/2014/11/18/how-architecture-has-evolved

-over-time/. Accessed 30 Mar. 2017.

"SAP Ecosystem Continues to Show Strong Global Momentum." PR Newswire, 17 Oct. 2006.

Academic OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=lom

_grandrapidcc&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA152902175&asid

=c8400d0a08050d44a75c540807a0798e. Accessed 13 Apr. 2017.