New Prospects for the Architect in the 21st Century
by
Sangeetha Narayan
Carleton University Student
October 16, 2000

Technological advancement especially in the areas of 3D modeling and the internet has provided new venues for the architect. We have passed the time where a person trained in the traditional discipline of architecture would have the sole option of working at architecture firms or at other building related professions. The constantly growing high tech world, now, provides an outlet for individuals in the architecture profession; promising more creative control and higher pay. The limitations of the architecture profession has thus resulted in the branching out of architects into new and exciting fields such as Virtual Architecture and New Media Design ;born out of the present continuing growth spurt in the High tech industry.

The designing of virtual environments or 3D graphical interfaces has been coined as Virtual Architecture. The emergence of 3D graphic interfaces has been made possible through recent, major developments in the field of 3D graphics. Such interfaces are not only used extensively in the game and movie effect industries, but also for creating virtual environments on the internet. Constant improvements are underway in the making of faster and more efficient 3D interface formats in the Word Wide Web so that more company sites can provide their customers with 3D virtual environments to enhance the experience their products. For instance, architecture firms, themselves, like HOK are moving towards using virtual computing as a way to gain more clients. They are working towards providing clients the ability to explore designs on the internet. Provisions to make spatial modifications in real time "as they push walls back and raise ceilings digitally by simply motioning a data glove in space" are underway. Virtual Architecture is therefore no longer a concept of the distant future; it is clearly a reality of the present.
"Since designing 3D graphical interfaces requires expertise in the management of 3D space, architects are natural candidates for designing virtual environments."

Formal architectural education provides for a good understanding of spatial design concepts which are vital for creating computer simulated environments. However, knowledge on how to apply those spatial concepts into the virtual environment is also important. The potential of architecture professionals to capture a more active role in this emerging market will largely depend on their ability to develop the new skills required for the design of computer simulated environments. Architecture schools of today will have to incorporate virtual mode designing permanently into their curriculum in order to allow students to meet these requirements.

The biggest advantage to the architect for designing these computer simulated environments, is that unlike building in the real world, the spaces that need to be created do not require to conform to the laws of physics. Other than just structural constraints, political and economic obstacles also exist; which do not allow the architect to take full advantage of the design opportunity. These constraints are simply of no relevance in the virtual domain. The ulterior motive of these simulated spaces is for them to be visually pleasing, as that is the sole medium through which the architecture is going to be experienced. The importance of design therefore in the virtual dimension cannot be more reinforced. Therefore, it will come as no shock, when we see the growing trend of newly trained architects moving towards establishing careers in the virtual realm, where their potentials as designers can be exploited to the fullest extent.

Another area of major interest for architects today is in the field of New Media Design. Plumb Design Inc, which is a New Media firm in the Silicon Valley has an architect trained professional as its CEO, Marc Tincker. After obtaining an architecture undergraduate degree from Mellon university he proceeded in getting a basic education in Comp Science. However, it is his background in architecture that has been most influential in helping him establish the foundation of Plumb Design's creative structure.

"Creating an internet application is a demanding challenge that incorporates many of the same methodologies that I would use in designing a building......In each there is a great deal of conceptual planning, and in each the underlying structure is an essential element that determines the success or failure of the project.."
Internet projects are very similar to architectural projects in the sense that they both require a collaboration of design and technical expertise. For example, in the projects undertaken by Plumb Design, each case undergoes a schematic design process, where clients demands, initially determined and considered, are creatively laid out in a structured format. It is very close to the process of designing a building based on client requirements from which working drawings are then derived.
It isn't just in the culmination of design and technical processes that makes companies like Plum Design Inc. mirror architecture firms in approach. Even the nomenclature used in the business seems to be borrowed from the architecture profession. Edward Pak, who is another employee in Plumb Design with an architectural background states:" We often find ourselves using architecture hot-button words like 'sustainability' and 'adaptive reuse' to describe internet applications."

Plumb Design is only one of the myriad of New Media firms in Silicon Valley that are modeling its processes on architectural firms. io360 and MethodFive are other examples of businesses started by professionals having a background in architecture. These companies have a large number of key personnel who are trained in the architecture profession and continue to recruit more from the same. The reason behind this new trend is because they find that architectural education not only trains students to provide design solutions that simply work, but to make them work in an aesthetic manner.

In some sense it can be said that, today, as the architecture profession is moving in a direction where the importance of aesthetics is diminishing, students may find virtual environment design and internet design as a more gratifying career. Market pressures and severe competition have been responsible for reducing the architecture profession into a mere service provider. Design is no longer appreciated as it was in traditional architecture. Virtual architecture which thrives on impact of the visual and design will definitely help push creativity that is today lost in the realm of physical architecture . However, as we saw in the case of Plumb Design, there are still a lot lessons to be learnt from the traditional architecture profession. The relevance of the physical dimension cannot be undermined admits all these changes. The architecture profession will prevail till this reality persists. A transformation is required, however, for it to have a stronger impact on today's society. It will have to take into account its traditional relevance to a design-oriented career. Otherwise the drain of professionals from physical to virtual will
be inevitable.

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