Hello everyone,
Just a quick response (sorry for the typos).
I am still on that side of the discussants who think that design software is impossible. I will clarify what I mean.
My observations come from the field of architectural programming and design and are limited to that area.
First, let's see a model of design process that consists of core activities and peripheral activities. Peripheral activities are routine and pertain to technicalities. The core activities are about developing the design concept, etc. This concept is everything for me. The rest is construction/production documents. One of my dissatisfactions with architecture is that the creative time is 1% of the work time. The rest is drafting, construction documents and running around. I know some architects are proud with their mastery in production documents, in the carpentry details, but I evidently am not of this kind. I get bored. So, I differentiate between a core design process and project delivery process. The project delivery process incorporates design and core design activities, but it is much broader and involves a myriad of supplementary activities. The clients pay for the product of the project delivery process.
The first time I heard about design software, it was 30 years ago and the software was called AutoCAD. Well, we all know that CAD is a drafting software, drafting 2D or 3D models. The computer can make 3D models that no human can make. So much about design.
Then, some 20 years ago, someone told me about facilities programming software. There were/are several types of these. One of the software types is basically a spreadsheet where programmers enter information. The software just adds numbers. In the best case scenario, the software makes block diagrams that cannot be fully trusted. Designers need to inspect them, verify them, and select only the option that makes sense. There are a number of options that are plain wrong. The software can also model patterns of human locomotion in a furnished room (surgical suite) in relation to the placement of furniture and equipment. The software calculates the travel time of the operators in the room. Certain furniture configurations can save one full-time equivalent (FTE) staff position. Although this is valuable help, it is not core design. It is still in the realm of the peripheral activities. The movement calculations are based on a behavior model. If the model is wrong, the calculations are wrong. That is it. As I mentioned before, the problem is not in the math; the problem is with the social science models. I can tell you that, this time with my hat of a sociologist. There is software that calculates room adjacencies based on the data that are entered. This is still a peripheral work.
I haven't seen software that is capable to make major decisions. Even if somewhat has developed such software, it will be a spreadsheet where we enter information based on our theoretical models and research findings. If the social models are wrong, everything is wrong. So much for math and software.
Bottom line. Computers may help with technicalities. They can actually do some technical work much better than the humans. Materials and products software works faster and with less errors than the humans. Now they call it BIM software, building information management. But this is not the core of design. This is about drafting and spec writing.
I can imagine that researchers make algorithms based on successful design solutions. Such software might be capable to put together a new successful design, similar to the way lay people work with the design patterns of Christopher Alexander. But the software will always be one huge step behind of the human designer. Such software is in fact a computerized expert system that can produce solutions based on the algorithms entered in it. This is the best case scenario. You can design your house. Right now there are various kinds of "design" software for laymen, sold by retails of construction materials, products, and equipment. Such software is about $40-$50. So much about design. This is something different. This is like entering your information in a virtual medical doctor software and getting your diagnosis and treatment prescriptions. It might work in 95% of the cases. But the remaining 5% might end in the morgue. Would you call this a computer medical doctor? By the way, a friend of mine treated himself his headaches for years on the assumption he has a sinus trouble. The treatment was successful for five years. There was no doubt that the sinuses make the trouble. Until one day he had a major problem, MRI, and then, there was a discovery that during all these years, a different condition has grown slowly. So much about the virtual medical doctors. They are simple expert knowledge systems that are set on a computer rather than a 1,000 page handbook. They are more interactive and create the feeling of actual interaction and decision making. In effect, they are sophisticated books.
Best wishes,
Lubomir
Lubomir Popov, Ph.D., FDRS
Professor, Interior Design Program
American Culture Studies affiliated faculty
309 Johnston Hall,
Bowling Green, Ohio 43403-0059
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419.372.7935
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