Creating architecture in a digital world

Working as an architect these days isn’t what it used to be. Though it still is not an overnight task to design a new project, the waiting period has been trimmed, thanks to new technology.

Tech also is shaping the way some buildings are being created, as more clients want features that were unheard of just a few years ago. Things such as smart lighting and energy efficient technology.

Jared Kramer, project designer with Ackerman-Estvold, continues to witness the way his profession is changing with technology.

“It’s changed the way we do things on so many different levels,” he said. “From our computer-aided drafting software to the actual building sciences and the things that people demand to see in their houses. Smart lights, smart thermostats, video doorbells, all of those things require a new set of design criteria. And the technology for us to be able to document these things and deliver them has really increased at about the same rate, if not even faster.”

Kramer said today’s technology platforms – such as Building Information Modeling, or BIM technology, that allows the creation of 3D models – helps

By Andrew Weeks

architects to be more precise in their drafting, spotting issues before they happen on the construction site, and helps the project to run more smoothly.

“It helps you stick to a budget a lot easier, and it helps keep everyone on the same page,” he said, noting in today’s market “I think it’s indispensable.”

He said something that has helped change the industry in recent years is virtual reality, which gives people a realistic look at what their project is going to look like when it’s done. Unlike what is graphed on paper, using VR allows clients to enter the rooms and explore the building long before it is finished. There are many benefits to this, especially in the planning phase of a project, where problems can be detected early on and improved upon before the building phase gets underway.

“That’s huge,” Kramer said. “I think about the days when we only had 2D drawings and pictures. How difficult it must have been to imagine what your building’s going to look like if you’re someone who doesn’t look at plans all day long. Now we have 3D rendering programs. We have 3D design drafting programs. And I think that it’s going to continue to increase at an exponential rate, probably.”

Likewise, Dale Eberly, senior health care architect with EAPC Architects Engineers, said the biggest advancements he’s seen come out of tech are the digital collaboration tools.

“Be it Teams or Webex for meetings, Bluebeam Studio Sessions for plan collaboration, or something as simple as digital plan submission to the reviewing authorities,” said Eberly, who specializes in health care facilities and is based in St. Paul. “Now, most of that isn’t new per se, but the level of use for it is.”

“Honestly, firms like EAPC where we already collaborated heavily across offices were a bit ahead of the curve on adoption of some of those collaboration technologies.

“We’re also seeing an increase in the use of web-based or web supported tools, such as BIM360 or Specpoint. All of this impacts how we do the work. I can spend my morning on a job site, collaborate with teams in Sioux Falls and then Bismarck all from the comfort of my home office or my regular EAPC office in St Paul.”

A World Online

The Internet of Things or IoT — a term used to describe physical devices connected to the internet — is primed to keep growing and, at least supposedly, make people’s lives easier.

As Prairie Business reported previously, IoT is powering a global revolution. Examples are more automobiles and household items connected to the internet, with the ability to make purchases from the devices. Underway are things like the future refrigerator that detects when a food item is getting low and purchases groceries to refill it.

A Business Insider magazine report in 2019 said there were an estimated eight billion IoT-enabled devices active around the world, but by 2027 the number could reach 41 billion.

“It is pretty wild,” Kramer said. “I mean, you can have Wi-Fi connect to your new stove, microwave, dishwasher and control them from there. You don’t even have to be at your house if you want to start a load of laundry.”

“I think first and foremost we are seeing all this technology affect power requirements, especially in renovation projects,” Eberly said. “Everyone thinks ‘oh the new tech is more efficient and uses less power.’ Sure, that’s generally true, but even if it uses 20% less power, when you have two or three times the number of devices, well … that’s more power, more circuits, etc.

“Also we are seeing more of the Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) going in to support cellphone signal. Everything has a network connection, from the patient phones on WIFI, to HVAC equipment to wireless patient vitals monitoring to the computer in every room. Security plays into this too as more things go from physical keys to electronic access (badge readers). All of this means more cabling, IT rooms with more equipment, more power for that equipment, more cooling for the equipment. It ripples on and on. All of this translates into more space.”

The Perks of Being an Architect

Kramer and Eberly, who work for different companies and have their own experiences in the field, both said they enjoy what they do and where the industry is headed. It remains a challenging field – in a good way – that allows a person to continue to grow with the times and technology. Every day can be different, while maintaining the same rewards: Pride as a project moves through the design phase to ultimate construction and completion.

“For me the honest answer is ‘differently challenging’,” Eberly said. “Tech makes some things easier, like a Teams call to a colleague in Grand Forks, but it means we need to be more deliberate about the coordination. It’s not just walking down the hall and chatting.

“As for tech impacting buildings themselves, to me it’s the same song and dance. We are always trying to figure out how the pieces fit and it just happens to be driving the size up on some of the pieces. It does mean that one needs to be more acquainted with the requirements of the technology, what it needs, and how it is maintained. But it’s called practicing architecture for a reason. It’s never fully perfected and always evolving.”

Kramer said: “I think design has gotten to a point now where they’re really an open process, listening to your client and asking them what they’re looking for. There’s not a lot of room anymore, at least in our neck of the woods, for first architecture, people who want to push their design on others. It’s really a process of asking what your client is looking for, taking that information and implementing it into something that looks like a building and then having that back and forth with them to come up with your final product.

“I guess that’s another reason why it’s so rewarding to me – you never know what you’re going to really be getting into when you start a project.”

THE MAGIC CLIMBER EXHIBIT, LOCATED AT THE MAGIC CITY DISCOVERY CENTER IN MINOT, N.D., WAS DESIGNED IN A JOINT EFFORT WITH REDBOX WORKSHOP. IT IS A 37-FOOT EXHIBIT THAT WILL ALLOW CHILDREN TO CLIMB THROUGH THE PRAIRIE DOG CRAWL, UP THE OIL DERRICK PASSING THROUGH THE CLOUDS UNTIL THEY FINALLY REACH THE B-52 AT THE VERY TOP WHERE THEY WILL HAVE A 360-DEGREE VIEW OF THE MAGIC CITY.

IMAGE: CANDACE BREKKE/ACKERMANESTVOLD