Design and Modern Technologies - Knowledgeable Tutor

Abstract

This paper explores the different ways through which computers are applicable in the technology age that we are living in today. It brings out the importance of computers in art and its application in the modern world. The relevance of this paper is to show the reader that without ancient materials, art is not complete and brings out the fact that there is beauty in a lot of things that were used in the past.

In todays world, very impressive designs are emerging from a collaboration of practice and collective intelligence. This study brings together two predominant phenomena relating design to information and telecommunication technologies and new globalization economies. It also shows the invention of the computer over time, being modeled over time and the new softwares that have been developed to make it effective and efficient in a world where the trend of technology is changing so fast.

It concentrates on various authors and designers who have put all the effort to transform the face of art by combining cultural designs with modern ones and not altering the feel of each.

Introduction

Design is a generic activity which to some extent is used to alter various trends, to fit them in the needs of the society. Design may include building and construction, which is also referred to as architecture, interior design, fashion and many more. A designer is someone who knows what he or she wants to achieve and how to achieve it, and must be able to make variations to one design and transform it to something slightly different (Lawson 1998).

In a typical world where everything is being transformed from analogue to digital, we might be impressed by the chance to explore new technologies that come packaged with new video resolutions with minimal hitches. However this might cause a disruption of the systems, as it comes with it lump-sum expenditure, and various discussions have taken toll as to whether the transition is convenient enough and its effect on the global economy (Lawson 1998).

Architecture is one of the most ancient developments of art and over time it has been transformed and improved but the greatest transformation that has been applied to architecture is electronification. It has been transformed into software and nowadays people apply it by the use of various electronics like the computer. This transition has come with it many various alternative modes of social, economic and political organizations in form of open source communities and peer networks. This has distorted the conventional way of making collective inventions, and this has been a major challenge to the notion of individual authorship and agency and has also questioned the organization of traditional disciplines. This reorganization is present in the architectural practice and also in its participation in the cultural context of improving interdisciplinary (Hight and Perry 2006). Architextile is one of the disciplines that bring together textile design and architecture, and focus on the possibility of contemporary architecture and urban design.

Literature review

There are various types of architectural scripts and examples include:

Rhino script: this is one of the major language softwares used in design, and its founded on Microsoft Visual Basic Script (VBScript). This software has been used on the improvement of programs like the java script, though it does not offer objects or methods of manipulation on HTML documents. It consists of programs that are used in design for editing, examples being: Monkey, which makes java flexible and enables interpretation of language (Lawson 2005).
Grasshopper: this is a graphical algorithm editor, mostly for designers exploring new shapes, and to use this program you need not have knowledge of programming or scripting as when using the rhino script. It gives you the option of using several languages.
Python script: this is a special language used in programming and helps programmers work faster and more effectively. This software is cost effective and easy to maintain as it does not require extra knowledge in programming (Python software foundation 2011).
Bentley generative components: it a C# language based and implemented on the model object, and it is possible to extend it directly using the C# language.
MEL script: this is one of the softwares used for the creation of animations (Lawson 2005).
Processing script: this is another one of the programming languages, where commands are typed directly onto the system files (Siqueira 2011).
Auto LISP: this is an AutoCAD program that gives the option of not entering commands directly. One can type them elsewhere and store them in system files, only retrieving them when you need to use them.
Arduino script: this is a hardware installed for specific functions, like in remote controls and robots and uses sensors to send its signal.

Methods

Instead of doing away with ancient architecture and adopting modern architecture, architects are looking for ways through which they can link the two. One of the ways by which artists are using to improve the design process is software deployment by Scientists and designers among other ways. Specified software are prepared and taken to the place where they are to be used, and they are installed to take effect and different softwares are being developed for the different types of design. Some of these softwares come in the form of object language and they are installed into computers where they are applied.

Many researches have been conducted to determine whether this transition will bring positive outcomes and effectively link the cultural design to modern architecture. Other than the computers, several other discoveries have been made before the computer was declared the most effective and one of the major ones is the Parallel Processor, which incorporates several processors which can perform many computations at the same time. A universal computing system was also developed by Turing in his quest to improve technology. The Turing Machine worked with an endless paper tape, which moved back and forth, according to instructions issued. All these people were coming up with these discoveries in search for an effective and efficient system that would take the design world an extra mile (Frazer 1995).

Results/ Discussion

So far the idea is working though the challenge is that its taking time for architects and the people in general to implement and support it. The relationship between Architecture and computers was symbolized by proliferation of amorphous, curvilinear forms.

Architecture and science

This is a term used to refer to a sector of architecture known as topological architecture, and is based on contemporary computer animation techniques, to bring out plasticity and malleability to architecture. Topological architecture refers to the variations made to architectural designs by the use of computer technology. The intentions of these designs are an attempt to incorporate, not to exaggerate or conflict cultural design, and come up with gratifying developmental systems (Wolfram 2002).

Algorithmic architecture is the creation of revolutionary periodic and pre-fabricated objects that look as though they are natural and real by the use of computers. By the use of a computer, Architects have been able to draw orthographic projections or any other objects from whichever location and orientation in the world using various programs. There are also programs specially designed to develop the geometry of solar-shading devices and others for examining solar penetration. Lawson (1998) describes algorithms and associative designs as process of interactions performed by the computer and argues that in a computer there is a distinction between internal representation of forms as in algorithmically generated geometries, and external representation representation as in representing geometric data into pictures, showing distinctive dimensions, sections and elevations.

In his book A New Kind of Science, Wolfram(2002) describes the world as digital in nature and a scientific community. He argues that so as to understand the complexity of nature, simple computational systems needed to be established, instead of complicated mathematical systems that existed. He further elaborates this by saying that it would bring about a comprehensive understanding in various scientific fields like physics, chemistry, biology and general many other scientific areas.

In his quest to unravel knowledge, Wolfram came up with a system he called the answer machine, in 2009, which had an easy to use interface, based on natural language processing, using the approach he described earlier in his book, A New Kind of Science, and a large library of algorithms.

Parametric architecture

This comprises the invention and usage of CAD programs, which were originally used for the visualization and storage of geometric data. Computers were used for the production of geometric data through various programming languages which required codes to access and translate the data. During the 1990s, CAD Softwares became more popular and by this time they were not being used for computation, but rather for computerization, and this is because they still used graphical interface. As the CAD softwares became more and more popular, the developers made them available for a cost unlike before when they were being accessed for free, and this had an effect on the global economy.

OpenGL library and the C++ programming language are also some of the softwares that have become very popular and necessary in this age and time.

Conclusion

Each and every day new designs are being invented through digital developments and are being applied into the architectural field to come up with more complex designs especially of houses. This is a major step in the improvement and interaction between architecture and technology. Various authors and designers around the globe have tried to come up with generative ideas of transforming design into a collaboration of cultural and modern features and this trend is really proving fruitful as it is impossible to separate the two. Through their creativity, we have seen the creation of various web designs and programs like Java script and algorithms among others. This trend has also enabled construction of complex buildings and motors around the world, through topological architecture (Coates 2010).