Convergence: The Redesign of Design(AD Smart)

"There is today a pronounced and accelerated convergence in architecture. This convergence is occurring by doers not thinkers; in practice not academia; in building design, fabrication, and construction. It is about solution-centric individuals engaged in real time problem solving, not in abstractions. The nature of this convergence, where things are converging and what that means for architecture, is the subject of this book." —from the Introduction Those working in architecture and engineering feel pressure to work faster, at lower cost, while maintaining a high level of innovation and quality. At the same time, emergent tools and processes make this possible. Convergence is about the firms, teams and people who thrive in this environment as a result of their ability to creatively combine and innovate. It seeks to answer several timely questions: What are the tools and work processes that are converging? How are individuals and organizations converging their tools and work processes? What challenges and benefits are they seeing? What is the ultimate endgame of this convergence? What skillsets and mindsets would someone need to develop to work effectively in this changing environment? What are the implications of convergence on the role of the designer, and on design? On how we design, build, fabricate, and construct? On how we work? The book explains how convergence relates to, but ultimately differs from integration, consolidation, multi-tasking, automation, and other forms of optimization. The practice-based research builds upon the author’s research in BIM and in the collaborative leveraging of data in design and fabrication. As an investigation and meditation on the impact of technology on the education and making of design professionals Convergence explains what is happening in the world of design, and discusses the implications for the future of education, training and practice.

Table of Contents:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 7 INTRODUCTION: DESIGN IN A TIME OF SIMULTANEITY, SUPERINTEGRATION, AND CONVERGENCE 8-19 Convergence Defined 8 Convergence Paradigms 13 Convergence Questions 18 CHAPTER 1 10 FACTORS LEADING TOWARD CONVERGENCE 20-39 Convergence and Integration 21 Convergence and Consolidation 21 Convergence and Automation 22 Convergence and Efficiency 23 Convergence Triggers 25 10 Factors Bringing About Convergence 25 Challenges to Convergence 36 CHAPTER 2 DATA AND INTUITION 40-63 A Look Back at the Data 41 Quantitative vs. Qualitative Data 47 Architecture Starts with Intuition 49 The Limits of Data in Architecture 51 The Convergence of Everything 53 What Convergence Works Against 55 Data and Intuition in Design Tools 60 CHAPTER 3 ANALYTICS AND MODELS 64-91 Integrated Analytics 64 Modeling and Simulation 71 Energy Modeling 72 Compliance Modeling 74 Geodesign, GIS, and BIM 77 Does Technology Facilitate Convergence? 79 Data, Accessibility, and Convergence 85 The Point Where All of the Intelligence Converges 85 CHAPTER 4 PARAMETRICS AND COMPUTATION 92-117 BIM Tools 93 Challenges to the Convergence 98 Computational Tools 99 On the Evolution of a Parametric/Computational Convergence 103 Simulation and Automation 107 The Algorithm of Everything 109 Algorithms and Machine Learning 112 CHAPTER 5 VIRTUAL AND PHYSICAL 118-141 Advances in Virtual Reality 119 VR and Reality Capture 121 Reality Computing 125 Uses for VR in Architecture 125 VR and AR in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction 126 Leveraging Video Games in AEC 129 Implementing Encapsulated Knowledge 130 BIM and Gaming 132 Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Machine Vision for BIM 133 Nature Abhors a Convergence 134 CHAPTER 6 CONCEPTION AND CONSTRUCTION 142-165 "When Does Design End and Construction Begin?" 143 Buildings as Documents 153 Fusing the Computational and Material 154 Convergence of Technology and Construction 154 CHAPTER 7 DESIGN AND FABRICATION 166-191 Your Next Building Will Be Manufactured 167 Reasons for a Design/Fabrication Convergence 168 Drones and Robots 169 Cross-Discipline Knowledge of Engineering, Architecture, Computer Science, and Management 173 Toward an Architecture of Everything 177 CHAPTER 8 PRACTICAL AND INEFFABLE 192-215 Ideation Is Almost Antithetical to Automation 192 Between Firmness, Commodity, and Delight 195 Start with Utter Practicality 211 EPILOGUE: AN IMPENDING PERIOD OF INTENSE CHANGE THE SOFTWARE OF EVERYTHING 216-225 INDEX 226-232

About the Author :
Randy Deutsch AIA, LEED AP is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he teaches Design, Professional Practice, Construction Management, & Building- and Digital-Technology. He is a BIM Strategist, IPD Advocate and architect responsible for over 100 large, complex sustainable projects. His designs and writing have appeared in Architectural Record, Architect Magazine, DesignIntelligence and other periodicals. Randy is the author of BIM and Integrated Design: Strategies for Architectural Practice (Wiley, 2011) and Data Driven Design and Construction: Strategies for Capturing, Analyzing and Applying Building Data (Wiley, 2015.) Randy leads an annual executive education program at Harvard GSD.