Mahmood 1

Hamza Mahmood
October 20, 2015
Intern Mentor, Pd. 6
Designing and Drafting: The Importance of AutoCAD in Creating Building Designs
Research Question:
How is Autodesk altering or changing the process of architects creating buildings and
construction pieces, rather than the use of traditional hand drawings?
Hypothesis:
With Autodesk being more accepting in the workplace, architects would be able to create better
construction pieces due to the features Autodesk has compared to hand drawings.
Background/History of the Issue:
In the past there was not technology that would create designs or be able to function as a tool for
a live model simulator of sorts, there was only hand drawings, done with simple pen or pencil.
Great architects such as Vespasian, the creator of the Roman Coliseum, and Ustad Ahmad
Lahouri, the creator of the Taj Mahal, did not have any type of software mechanisms that
allowed them to create three-dimensional models of their designs and yet they created such
beautiful pieces of work, which all started with a simple hand sketch. As time progressed and as
technology advanced many program and software were made to assist architects and many other
people who work in a type of designing field. In 1979 a major company that was created to be
this helping in the architectural field was Autodesk, the company that made Autodesk Inventor

Mahmood 2
and also AutoCAD. As some more years progressed Autodesk was integrated into the workplace
and also into some school curriculums, so students are able to get a feel for designing threedimensional models of whatever they may want.
Rationale:
I feel like this is a major problem in the architectural work field because some people enjoy
using Autodesk since it provides the benefit of creating model with a simple click of the mouse.
However, others still want to maintain the use of the traditional hand drawings because it enables
them to create their own ideas through their own hand rather than changing it due some computer
constraint. Since I have been in high school I have worked with both hand drawings and also
Autodesk to create different projects such as a puzzle cube. For the project we had to first create
hand drawings and then proceed onto creating those same drawings in inventor and assemble
them together. The idea having software capable of creating live models of anything one may
conceive is an important problem to be discussed because it shows how the architectural field is
changing from its old traditions and moving into the modern world.
Basis of Hypothesis:
I focused my hypothesis specifically Autodesk because my mentor works with AutoCAD, a
branch of Autodesk and I have also worked with Autodesk inventor, so I have a very
knowledgeable connection to the software itself. By using Autodesk in both school and my
internship I have learnt its benefits such as identifying problems a piece may have, calculating
the weight of a product created or its material density. Autodesk is really revolutionizing not
only architecture, but also any field that deals with designing like Mechanical Engineer and how
they may have to design a car engine or some similar. The literature I have found will support

Mahmood 3
my prediction because I have found many articles and journals showing the features of Autodesk
specifically AutoCAD, how its benefiting the architectural field, and the history of Autodesk
itself.
Operational Definition:

Hand drawings: In terms of traditional hand drawings as stated in my research problem,

I am referring to drawings of buildings or construction pieces done strictly by hand and
not by the use of any technology.

Autodesk: In terms of Autodesk as stated in my hypothesis I am referring to software

that has revolutionized the architectural field and is used by many architects and
engineers to assist with the creation of anything from houses to stadiums.

Descriptors Used for Literature Search:

Architecture

Autodesk

AutoCAD

Building Information Modeling (B.I.M.)

Architectural Hand Drawings