16/12/2014

Whatzthecloudsgottodowithit?| GenerativeDesign

GenerativeDesign
ThefutureofCAD

Whatzthecloudsgottodowithit?
leaveacomment
Thecloudbringstogetherthepossibilityofmassivecomputationalresourcesandconnectivityinan
unprecedentedscaleacrossawiderangeofbusiness,educationalandentertainmentactivities.
AretheArchitectsreadyforthecloud?
TheanswerisNo.But,willtheygetthere?Yes.Mostlikely,inthesamewrongwaythey
adoptedCADtoreplicatethedrawingboardwithCRTscreenswithoutconsiderationtothetrue
potentialofcomputers.Thiswasabigjumpformanyarchitects.Ithappenedonlybecausetheywere
assuredthattheCathodeRayTube(CRT)wasbetterthanthedrawingboard.Companiessuchas
Amazon,Microsoft,AppleandAutodeskareallnowbusybuildingtherailroadsinthekingdomin
heaveninwhichplatformsofgreatpromisewilldominatethenexteraofhumandependenceon
computation.So,everyonewillgetthereforsure.
Butwhatwilldesignbeinthecloud?
Ibelievethatthecloudwillinitiallybeusedinthesamewaythatcomputerswereusedtoreplace
existingPCbasedpractices.PCboundCADsystemswillsoonbeoperatingoncloudplatforms.Speed
andconnectivitybonusesaregoodenoughtoluremostCADdependentdesigners.Butoncetheyare
allthere,itislikelytotransformthepracticeofdesigninwaythatitwastransformedbythePC/CAD
revolution.Butthen,withoutthemrealizingit,theclockswillbeturnedbackonthem.Design
processeswillgobackafewbillionyearstowheredesignbegan.
Designwillbeasinnature
Natureinitselfisamassivecomputationalenvironmentthathasevolvedoverbillionsofyears.Itskey
virtuesofbuildingcomplexitybasedonsharedcodeandabilitytoexplorepossibilitiesthroughrandom
explorationusinghighlyevolvedstrategiesandmethodswillcometodominatetheartofdesign
orchestratedbyhumandesigners,thewayhumanshaveharvestedthepotentialofnaturesdesign
capabilitytoturngrassintowheatandriceandwolfintodog;primarilybymanipulatingahighly
evolvedrefinedandstructureddesignprocesses.
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16/12/2014

Whatzthecloudsgottodowithit?| GenerativeDesign

Designasitisnow
Beforeweconsidertheloftyheightsthat
cloudscantakeusto,letsreviewwherewe
arewithCADnow.Theturbocharged
draftingmachinesnowconnectedtodata
basespoweredgraphicallybygames
technologieshavegotusquitefar.Adiverse
setofcapabilitiesandprofessionalwork
practicesarenowslowlycomingtogether;
butmostlyatthebackendofthedesign
process.Buthereitistoolate,asallthe
importantdesignsarealreadymadeand
opportunitiestomakesignificant
improvementsarelimited.Itisknownthat
morethan80%ofdecisionsand
commitmentsaremadeintheearlystagesofthedesignprocess(shadedingreen)wherenow
computersplayaverylimitedrole.
ThecodificationandcomodificationofCAD
MostCADpackagesnowhandlethedrudgeryof3Dmanipulationfairlywell.Thedarkregionsshown
isdominatedbycodethatreducedesignlabor(mostCADcompanieshavesimilarcapabilitiesinthis
area).Thepushnow,isintoearlystagedesign,wheresignificantimprovementscanbemade.Software
likeGrasshopperandplatformslikeVasariarenowextendingthereachofCADintoearlystagedesign.
Furtherupstreamisgenerativedesign.
Whatthecloudsmeanforgenerativedesign?
Itislikeaskingwhatgasolinemeansforyourcar?Generativedesigncandrinkitallallthe
computationalcapabilitiesthatthecloudcanprovide.Itwillsoonbepossibletorollapparentlydumb,
randomandcomputationallyintensiveapproachesthatnaturehaschoseninitsgreatwisdom.
Hopefully,itwillbebasedonanopenandsharedgeneticinfrastructuresothatknowledgegenerated
willnotbelostbutbesharedandbuiltupon.
Thefundamentalchangewillbetheabilitytoconsidermultiplepossibilitiesinvirtualenvironments.In
sharpcontrasttothesingularandsomewhatperturbedlinearapproachmasteredbydesignerson
accountoftheirlimitedmentalprocessingcapabilities.Thedesignprocessesnowusedbydesignersare
basedonthelimitsoftheprocessingcapabilityofthehumanmindanditsabilitytoconsideronlya
largebutlimitednumberofpossibilities.Kasparovisnolongerthechampionofchess.
ThematuringofmanyCADtechnologieshasalreadygreatlyreducedthehumanlaborintakingearly
stageconceptstorealitythatisclosetoreal,makingitpossibletoconsidermultiplepossibilitiesofgreat
maturityinsteadofdumpingthemattheendofadoodlingprocessaspartofanancientdesign
ritual.
WrittenbySivamKrish

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Whatzthecloudsgottodowithit?| GenerativeDesign

October25,2011at12:45am
Postedinadoption,Architecture,DesignProcess,GeneticDesign,PerformativeDesign,Research,
Software

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