Information Technology in Computer Aided Architectural Design

The present time can be characterized as an era of digital revolution which has resulted in a creativity burst in different design applications. Nowadays Computer Aided Architectural Design (CAAD) undoubtedly is recognized as a design media rather than a simple computerized design tool and is widely accepted in architectural practice. The general goal architects pursue is to visually express design and illustrate their projects or ideas using both professional experience and personal computerized creative skills. Rapid advancements in Information Technology (IT) are still under way and are widely used to communicate architectural design projects. CAAD is a particularly dynamic field that is developing through the actions of architects, software developers, researchers, technology, users and society alike. New methods and terms are introduced and developed, just to mention a few of them – Human Computer Interaction, Computer Supported Collaborative Work, Virtual Reality (VR), Rapid Prototyping (RP), etc. 3D modeling, virtual buildings, single building models, and other ideas have been widely used during the last two decades. The main concept focuses on three main benefits: 1) The generation or extraction of 2D drawings from 3D building models thus improving productivity in documentation, 2) Visualization, animation, including virtual reality scenes from the same model, and 3) The use of data embedded in objects contained in the model for the purposes of generating schedules and lists of materials. However, not always these advancements have been effectively used in an everyday design practice. The paper deals with an exploration of some of these new information technologies, how they can be integrated into architectural design process. The introduction of contemporary CAAD knowledge into the university curricula is discussed as well. Academic courses basically are about the development of computer aided creative and problem solving skills in context with fast changing CAAD media. It becomes more difficult to teach the common principles behind the software which are general and will most likely survive ever-changing software versions. Limited university class contact hours for the subjects do not allow developing detailed courses for training particular software. An evaluation of the promptitude of the architectural students at Riga Technical University for the self sufficient problem solving tasks was performed. The statistical analysis of the results of the research covering 2 academic years is presented in the discussion. A strong linear correlation was found between the time to complete particular exercise and CAD competence level among the students. Proficent users spent only 7 minutes on this while the beginers 110-130 minutes, thus clearly demonstrating the importance of CAD training in effective use of software. Current developments in architectural problem solving education are presented and discussed