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6АРХИТЕКТУРА
ONE STEP CLOSER TO AUTOMATION: HOW CAN WE MAKE ARCHITECTURAL AND URBAN DESIGN MORE EFFICIENT
Plotnikova T.A.
Plotnikova Tiana Alexandrovna - Architectural Designer, "WHY ARCHITECTURE", LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Abstract: this paper sets to discuss efficient methods of architectural and urban design, the possibilities of existing software and identifies a new market niche. It also offers an alternative solution that allows users to incorporate complex data on the early stages of urban and architectural design.
Keywords: architecture, Urban Design, Data, Uflow, Solution.
Any design professional knows that design is not a straightforward process. It is about a number of cyclical processes that inform each other. Design thinking is based on the empathy towards the end user, trying to understand the key pain points and defining the problem. Then it is about ideating, prototyping and testing. In order to finally implement the design, be it a product, a building or a business strategy, you need to go back and forth between the steps. Those steps inform each other and allow architects to create better design solutions.
When it comes to big scale projects in architecture or urban design - a lot of data has to be processed. The success of the project is not only based on its visual component, it is based on satisfying the requirements of the client, the city, regulations etc. When designing masterplans: neighborhoods or new cities, the amount of data that needs to be considered in the design process is enormous. Usually it is requirements from the city, business and public organizations. To create a smart design solution, consider all the data and to create a favorable solution for all the parties is a very complicated task. Considering that the design process is not linear, the data that the designer receives - has to be processed a couple of dozens, if not hundreds of times.
The software that currently exists on the market does not properly serve the need of incorporating data into early stages of the design process. The absence of such a tool used to create a lot of 'back and forth' moments and misunderstandings for the design team and the client. Having a tool that takes data and converts it to form can be immensely beneficial - it can serve as a strong backbone for consequent design stages.
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Fig. 1. Uflow user-interface
Having experienced these pain points firsthand, I created my own software Uflow that reads the data from Excel and converts it into geometry. Conversion of data from one form
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to another happens with the consideration of all conditions and relationships that were established in Excel. This helps the designer to save the time he would otherwise spend on doing that manually. It also aids the design in the way that it generates design options that respond to the brief. Oftentimes testing in the creative process leads to a dead end, meaning that the design solution does not hit the mark and does not satisfy all the requirements. It is very challenging for an individual or a team to consider all data holistically and respond to it with a design strategy. The software automates this process for people and provides with multiple design strategies that respond to the brief. Uflow also creates a very user-friendly environment for a designer allowing him to alter the design solution generated by the program. The fundamental principal of Uflow is based on the same design thinking process described at the beginning of the paper. The process is about data informing the project, designer informing the project, testing, iterating and selecting the proposal that satisfies both - data requirements and design vision of the architect.
Apart from simplifying the design process, Uflow sets a framework for easier communication between the design team and the client. Frequently communication lacks transparency - there is a lot of data, a lot of spatial relationships and no clear way to communicate problems. Uflow creates a visual representation of the space: each space is represented in correct scale, colored by function and is in correct adjacency to other programmatic uses. In certain cases, some urban requirements could be negotiated with the client and having a diagrammatic representation of spaces and spatial relationships could facilitate better communication between the parties.
I believe that there are many great tools out there that support either the delivery of the design solution or conceptual representation (visualizations). There are no good technical solutions that can bring clarity and streamline the concept stage design for large scale urban projects. Uflow was born from a personal pain-point and it is not about fully automating the design process, it is about helping designers to integrate data and create even better urban design strategies.
Fig. 2. Uflow - visual representation of data in 3 variations
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Fig. 3. Uflow user-interface
Once someone told me: "Deciding on your design concept is like taking a stick and drawing a line on sand". It resonated so strongly with me - I thought that sentence verbalized the essence of the design process very well. The reason I created Uflow is not to change the creative journey, but to give architects the tool to draw that finish line with strength and confidence.
References
1. Lewrick M. The Design Thinking Toolbox: A Guide to Mastering the Most Popular and Valuable Innovation Methods, 2020. P. 4.
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