I was raised on the phrase ‘Its a poor craftsman who blames the tools‘. Under this maxim, I endeavored to learn everything that I could about the tools we as designers use to create.
When I was 5, it was simple. Couple of crayons and a pencil or two and some paper. If you could convince a parent you wouldn’t draw on the walls or your sister – you could have the markers.
Now, architecture involves knowing software across multiple realms and holding a degree of comfort with all of it. Design tools, production tools, project management tools, internal staffing tools, presentation tools, accounting, and then data farming add-ons to advance productivity and data & geometry manipulation. There are some typical programs, but a lot of this varies from firm to firm – and to be able to participate in the marketplace, you need to understand it.
And any one of them could be different with a new software patch or updated tool…
Here are books that I keep handy.
The area that I’d like to gain the most knowledge in is the world of Revit/Dynamo, Rhino/Grasshopper & PowerBI. I’m ok with video tutorials that you can find all over YouTube, AutoDeskU or LinkedIn Learning, but there’s something to be said for cracking a book with a deeper explanation of concepts and principles in front of you.
“The wealth of information contained in these pages is great for both self-starters and for the code warriors who need a quick reference in the giant tangle of nodes and code on their screen.
Without him knowing it, Marcello has been teaching me things in Dynamo for a while now. I’ve watched every Autodesk University video that I could find to pick up tips and methodologies. When I heard it announced at one of his talks that his cheat sheets were coming out in book form – I couldn’t wait to possess such a tool.” – From my Amazon Review
I picked this book up a year ago to help fill in the holes of my Rhino3D work. Its a great book for beginning concepts and self-education. Most of my Rhino work has been in fits and starts, and I wanted a much broader knowledge base so that I could take advantage Rhino/Grasshopper and Rhino.Inside
I believe that the Kindle version is free if you’ve got Prime, but the physical copy is a good resource if you’re looking for reference materials.
Naturally, I’ve gotten this to augment the Rhino book as and intro explanation to Grasshopper 3D. It matches up pretty well with a solid explanation on node functionality and working with geometry. It’s incredibly helpful for those of us who weren’t handed all of this in college.
What it doesn’t have is the translation of principles to the language of Dynamo & Revit. Learn the principles here, then jump over to the collection of concepts in Marcello’s book and I believe that I’ll be most of the way there in my self-education.
This can probably just be titled the ‘Randy Deutsch’ Library section. Randy outlines 25 Strategies in data-driven design. A series of interviews & studies from professionals in the AEC industry, they share strategies for utilizing BIM, data analysis, decision making and projects in the cloud (apropos given WFH).
By now, everyone uses BIM right? Not so much. The UK even mandated it nationally, and its slowly coming online. I’ve been working with it in some form since 1998 or earlier (Softplan & architectural desktop add-ons), thru Architectural Desktop and into Revit. This book introduces the reader to BIM concepts and implementation into their practice. Good to have around to help explain to late-adopters what’s good about it. Never having to do a schedule by hand again on a project with 1000+ doors was reason enough for me.
Rapidly advancing technology is being implemented faster by the doers than it’s understood by the managers… Very common problem in the industry.
Personally I believe we’re headed toward ‘drawing less’ construction where we build off the BIM model. Might not be for a few years, but we’re headed there. More, faster, better and for lower fee… the challenges are real.
You want a glimpse into where we’re going? Where you might go? This collection of interviews with BIM thought leaders gives a look into that possible future, and who’s going to be taking us there.
I’ve read this one a few times, each time with more fervor. Having lived in firms that believe in exploring new tools when they hit the market, and those that believe that ‘formal training’ is pizza over lunch once every 2 months to explain a Revit principle to the new users – I agree wholeheartedly that the industry needs a supported and expanding path to knowledge. Not just the ‘learn that junk at home when we aren’t paying you’ approach.
The firm that knows and supports has better end product, better process, and is more fun to work there. The one that is slow to adapt and doesn’t let the superusers into the IT Group, well that’s just a never-ending argument and frustration.
Each one of these books was/is a great read to throw into a bag for traveling or reading virtually anywhere. In the pre-iPad times, it made for a great way to pass time and learn of the age to come. Written 20 years ago – now they serve as little time capsules of the level of thinking that created our current realities. Some more dense reading than others – I wouldn’t mind if digital publishers did more of this. A short-story series on where the industry is going, and the architectural theory driving it.
Digital Gehry takes a look at Gehry’s digital practice and its ability to redefine the role of the architect as “master builder” by using the model to aid in construction.
I attended a lecture given by the Construction Manager on the Seattle Museum on this very topic about the use of BIM (Catia / GehryTechnologies) and the construction process. Very cool.
Digital Eisenman touches on all aspects of his career to date and the impact that digital design has had on his office. Many examples of his early works & philosophies.
Digital Design addresses the coming changes to digital design in all aspects. Graphics, Product, and the changing landscape of the new tools.
Hyper Architecture explores the transformation from avant garde architecture and thinking of the 40s, into the new more virtual realms. Puglisi uses modern architecture examples to study their virtual realism.
Exploring the transition of architecture into the virtual realm and the proposing a new language to translate the organic and virtual to the physical.
Exploring communication as the essential cornerstone of design awareness. The screen is our paper in this new narrative space, and how that is reflected in architecture that contains multiple layers of meaning.
Exploring the concepts of introducing human knowledge and nature into art. Brandur gets into German compositions, non-repeating elements and broadening perspectives. It’s a pretty heavy read on these ideas.
Explorations of the ‘new realm’ of digital design from 10 different projects/firms taken from the late 90s. Great read about the concepts and principles of digital forms and computational design.
This one outlines the benefits of BIM, ideas about building design automation, and advancements to allow energy modeling in the exterior envelope. You never know where something you’ve read 20 years ago will becoming commonplace.
This is a quick read on an exploration of surface and flatness as surface becomes the focus in digital design.
The step-by-step exploration of the design process from the perspective of IT. The second half of the book explores interactive sensors and the logic of the new environment.
Quick read on the architecture of the internet and traditional basis of the ‘new media’. Some of these have become snapshots of the recent past. This was merely 19 years ago.
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