Impact of the digital design process in an architectural engineering technology program: Integration of advanced digital tools (work in progress)

Eugene Kwak

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Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: Architectural Engineering Division (ARCHE) Technical Session 1
Tagged Division: Architectural Engineering Division (ARCHE)
Page Count: 12
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--43497
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/43497
Download Count: 145

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Paper Authors

biography

Eugene Kwak State University of New York, College of Technology at Farmingdale

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Eugene Kwak is a licensed architect and an assistant professor in the Department of Architecture and Construction Management at Farmingdale State College, State University of New York. He has been running research-based projects, including the most recent project “Togather” which has been featured in the New York Times and Dwell. “Togather” focuses on the regional food systems, land access, and empowering local farmers through providing affordable housing and long-term free land lease. During his tenure in the private sector, he focused on technology-based green and sustainable work including the New Housing New York Legacy Project. Eugene’s entry for the Intersection: Grand Concourse 100 and Reinventing Grand Army Plaza Competition was selected as one of the top 30 proposals to be included in a public exhibition. He is currently serving as a member of the American Farmland Trust New York Advisory Council. He has taught architectural design, urban design seminars, and various workshops at Parsons The New School, Pratt Institute, and New York Institute of Technology. Eugene received a Bachelor of Architecture from Carnegie Mellon University and a Master of Science Degree in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University.

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Abstract

An architectural design course demands a wide range of creative design approaches. To strengthen design concepts, students are encouraged to employ diverse digital tools during their ideation process. Traditional methods of representation include sketching, drafting, and modeling that explain the spatial organization and relationships. Although these methods provide an understanding of the design ideas, they cannot provide an immersive experience. Digital tools and platforms such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), metaverse, and rapid prototyping help students gain an empirical understanding of space. The recent advancement of VR gear, software, and applications lowered the threshold for designers and readily provides pedagogical options for exploring immersive experiences. The integration of digital tools helps designers quickly manifest a three-dimensional environment and explore various compositional and spatial options. Through this process, the digital tool is transcended beyond a mere visualization tool and becomes a methodology to achieve better design. For the past several years, the author has had the opportunity to integrate various digital tools in architectural design courses to examine the implications of the digital design process. Participating students were introduced to architectural theory and experimented with various design strategies using digital tools. They employed BIM for modeling their designs and translated the designs to VR files for presentation and review sessions. The student viewers were able to use affordable VR gear Google Cardboard to evaluate and conducted peer reviews of the student projects. Furthermore, in the current course, the author is experimenting with VR gear and its applications as an experimental design tool that provides interactive 3-dimensional modeling capability in the VR environment. This work-in-progress paper will analyze the use of digital tools in the architectural design process and evaluate the validity of the tools as pedagogical content in an architectural design course.

Citation
Format

Kwak, E. (2023, June), Impact of the digital design process in an architectural engineering technology program: Integration of advanced digital tools (work in progress) Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43497

TY - CPAPER
AB - An architectural design course demands a wide range of creative design approaches. To strengthen design concepts, students are encouraged to employ diverse digital tools during their ideation process. Traditional methods of representation include sketching, drafting, and modeling that explain the spatial organization and relationships. Although these methods provide an understanding of the design ideas, they cannot provide an immersive experience. Digital tools and platforms such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), metaverse, and rapid prototyping help students gain an empirical understanding of space. The recent advancement of VR gear, software, and applications lowered the threshold for designers and readily provides pedagogical options for exploring immersive experiences. The integration of digital tools helps designers quickly manifest a three-dimensional environment and explore various compositional and spatial options. Through this process, the digital tool is transcended beyond a mere visualization tool and becomes a methodology to achieve better design. For the past several years, the author has had the opportunity to integrate various digital tools in architectural design courses to examine the implications of the digital design process. Participating students were introduced to architectural theory and experimented with various design strategies using digital tools. They employed BIM for modeling their designs and translated the designs to VR files for presentation and review sessions. The student viewers were able to use affordable VR gear Google Cardboard to evaluate and conducted peer reviews of the student projects. Furthermore, in the current course, the author is experimenting with VR gear and its applications as an experimental design tool that provides interactive 3-dimensional modeling capability in the VR environment. This work-in-progress paper will analyze the use of digital tools in the architectural design process and evaluate the validity of the tools as pedagogical content in an architectural design course.
AU - Eugene Kwak
CY - Baltimore , Maryland
DA - 2023/06/25
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Impact of the digital design process in an architectural engineering technology program: Integration of advanced digital tools (work in progress)
UR - https://strategy.asee.org/43497
DO - 10.18260/1-2--43497
ER -