Tomás Bravo has been selected to be part of the ArchDaily's 2024 Best New Practices, highlighting his work about the dialogue between architecture and territory, and the use of advanced technologies to analyze nature and heritage through a process that involves a project in itself. Originating from Chile's diverse and complex geography, he proposes using classical architectural representation in combination with technological tools and measurement methodologies to bring the territory and heritage closer to architecture professionals and their clients.
Tomás Bravo graduated as an architect from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in 2014, with a diploma in new digital technologies in architecture such as BIM Modeling and Project Development. Specializing in the use of drones linked to BIM and Revit methodology, he carries out aerial recordings, photogrammetry, topographic and heritage surveys, as well as territorial plans of small, medium, and large scale along with BIM projects.
Developing topographic characterizations such as in San Fabián de Alinco, solar path animations like the one at Estancia Ñirehuao, and 3D models such as the Chilean Pavilion designed for the Venice Architecture Biennale or the Las Lomas Chapel in Puerto Varas, among others, his work is characterized by the use of technologies and methodologies from topography, cartography, and geomatics, recording, analyzing, documenting, and representing the territory and heritage architecture. In conversation with Tomás Bravo, we set out to explore his beginnings in the field, his approach to on-site recordings, processing, and post-production, and his relationship with technology, gaining insight into his thoughts and vision for the future.
ArchDaily (Agustina Iñiguez): How did you get started with site analysis? Was there any trigger, factor, or person that inspired you to approach your projects from a topographical perspective?
Tomás Bravo: Since I was a child, I felt a connection to cartography; I would imagine how explorers interpreted the environment in maps created from a human perspective. On the other hand, during my childhood, strategy games like "Age of Empires," with their component of discovering hidden worlds from a third-person view, directly influenced me. Over the years, I joined a scout group, which instilled in me a strong need for adventure, discovering new places, and experiences in natural settings. I believe my childhood references have shaped the interests I have developed in my professional career.
Then in 2016, through a self-commissioned project, I began working on a project called Proyecto Erizo, a performative-spatial exploration of 5x5 meters that valued the fold in the manner of origami as an element that structured the object's resistant shape. It was then that I needed to see how Proyecto Erizo transformed from a top-down view, and for the first time, I turned to drone technology to visualize it. A year after this intervention, I intuitively decided to buy my first drone after seeing its potential. Over the next two years, I perfected a workflow that allowed me to use the drone as a measurement and 3D modeling tool, integrating the exportable files from photogrammetry with traditional architectural software such as Autocad, Rhinoceros, and Revit.
AI: How do you think disciplines like cartography, surveying, and topography relate to architecture? Does topography condition architecture or vice versa?
TB: It is evident that the ground is the common element among all the mentioned disciplines. However, each one is responsible for studying a specific aspect of the ground. In my opinion, it is architecture that orders and articulates the relationships between these disciplines. When architecture finds its position on the ground, possibilities are limited, and at the same time, new interpretations of the environment emerge.
As for how architecture and topography relate or condition each other, I believe the best answers for a good architectural project come from a relevant reading of the site. Most of the time, the site gives us clues as to what architectural operations could be carried out, thus a symbiosis is produced that ties architecture to the shape of the ground.
AI: Why is it important to study solar exposure, slopes, or temperature ranges on site?
TB: Architecture aims to give order to the territory and habitability to the environment, therefore, the more previous information we have, the better the architectural response will be. Being able to evaluate in advance the layout, differences in elevation, available space between boundaries, sunlight exposure, drainage, wind exposure, and seasonal variations will almost certainly guide the strategies to be followed.
AI: What technologies do you think contribute to the development of architecture and understanding of the environment?
TB: The incorporation of technological tools such as satellite images, laser scanning, LiDAR, drones, ground-penetrating radar, GIS, 360 cameras, and software gives us the ability to digitize environments and buildings. These tools allow us to conduct exhaustive and precise analyses, apply reverse engineering to the territory and heritage, improve decision-making, conduct tests, develop hypotheses, run simulations, monitor, and predict changes, in order to safeguard, educate, and preserve architecture, territory, and heritage.
AI: What representation tools do you use and consider necessary to understand the architectural discipline? Which tool do you think will be the tool of the future?
TB: In my work, I use classical architectural representation quite a bit, parallel views in plan, sections, elevations, and axonometrics I use to take measurements and generate technical documentation for the analysis of the environment and heritage. In addition to classical representation, I combine other means of representation such as 3D printed models on a reduced scale, online visible 3D models, and animations, animated section sequences, animated plan view sequences, animated axonometrics unfolding, virtual tours through the environment, and animations of simulated solar routes in winter and summer.
I usually combine technical drawing with multiple digital formats. Orthomosaics, contour lines, and point clouds allow me to capture the realistic aspects of the site, visualizing textures, colors, and shapes. I place great emphasis on the correct valuation of these multiple formats, considering the thicknesses in relation to the textures and colors of the locations to enhance the planimetry and/or animations. Another component I use frequently is the ability to simultaneously view the plans, visualizing a floor plan at the same time as the elevations and axonometric views, which provides a comprehensive understanding of the site. In this regard, I have been greatly influenced by James Corner along with Alex S. MacLean and their book "Taking Measures Across the American Landscape," from which I find inspiration and imagine new means of expression.
A tool that I think will become increasingly prevalent is the use of smartphones as an initial means of capturing the environment. Smartphones are increasingly equipped with more and better sensors, one of which is the LiDAR sensor. Although it currently has limited and domestic reach, I believe it will become a democratized tool in the future, providing a good first sketch of environments. Despite being heavily questioned by "digitalization experts" regarding the accuracy and relevance of digitizing private works, it is a tool that will push hyper-sophisticated recording technologies to lower their costs.
AI: What is your opinion on artificial intelligence and its role in the development of an architecture project?
TB: First, I want to clarify that I am neither an expert nor an advanced user of AI. I believe that one of the advantages AI offers is the ability to expedite iteration in the project development process. The trial-and-error method as a means of project refinement demands time, concentration, and resources. AI has made this development method easier, achieving results in less time and with less effort. On the other hand, I think the almost instantaneous results produced by AI are so surprising and impactful that they have reduced critical thinking regarding how relevant or appropriate these results are, placing emphasis on the outcome and often devaluing the process.
In my professional practice, I have learned that project development processes are often not linear. The constant back and forth, drawing and redrawing, has made the architectural discipline a practice, and it is practice that makes perfect. Therefore, while I believe AI is a powerful tool for generating seemingly complete responses, human experience and critical thinking are still essential to continue driving the architectural practice toward future masterpieces.
AI: How is it possible to bring landscape and heritage knowledge closer to the communities?
TB: The use of immersive tools like AR and VR enhances communication and facilitates imagination, giving viewers a recognition of environments without the need to travel. They allow users to fly and imagine how places might have been in the past or how they will be in the future, to recreate environments, digitally preserve heritage, and communicate ideas visually. You become an adventurer without taking risks or needing expertise, democratizing travel and its potential interpretations.
AI: What advice would you give to future generations of professionals?
TB: I would tell them to start as soon as possible in the pursuit of self-awareness. It's crucial to understand that this will be a constant search throughout their professional careers, filled with both frustrations and successes. A key tool for self-awareness is developing intuition to clarify personal interests. Additionally, I'm increasingly convinced that childhood experiences and preferences reflect our most genuine interests. They are a good starting point for embarking on this ongoing personal journey, which will help them become unique in their professional work.
And finally, emphasize the importance of self-commissioning as a means of personal development. It's crucial to act and bring to life what they are imagining, using the resources available to them and in the place where they are. I assure you, it will be like a snowball effect. Sooner than later, they will look back and realize how they gained so much momentum to take off.
