In the 1956 competition to design the city of Brasilia, Lucio Costa's proposal differed significantly from his competitors'. In contrast with the detailed plans and well-designed perspectives of the other competitors, the winning proposal presented the minimum required by the tender: a drawing of the pilot plan and a report. In the report, a few simple drawings supported the text, demonstrating the architect's ability to synthesize ideas in a few lines.
Having the ability to express an idea through drawing facilitates the design process for an architect or designer, whether it is to develop the concepts, or even to represent the building. A good sketch should be easy to understand, even for those without technical knowledge, and provides a visual representation of the important elements of a project, such as spaces, dimensions, circulation and relationships between elements. Although most architects now master three-dimensional tools and hand sketches are no longer indispensable, there are tools that combine several new functionalities with the good old act of drawing.
With the popularization of tablets and smartphones –and their respective drawing apps– some architects have been leaving behind the notebooks and napkins of before and resorting to freehand drawings in virtual environments, with its possibilities for leaps in scale and for redoing strokes indefinitely without tearing and wasting paper. In the case of Spaces, an iPad concept design application, this goes a bit further. The act of drawing remains central, made possible by the stylus that comes with the device: a drawn polygon simultaneously becomes a 3D volume, where one can easily edit its dimensions and cuts, create façades, columns, etc.
As the developers point out, the conceptual part of the design process does not have as many software and tool options, since most of them require taking many decisions beforehand. "Most technology solutions have focused on the later stages of construction documentation and construction itself." In addition, many modeling software are not so intuitive and demand a learning curve before they can be used properly.
The idea behind Spaces is to make the process as natural as possible, with sketching at its core; like any architectural project (or even a city like Brasilia), everything starts with a trace. When the first polygons are closed, a preview shows the volume created with the number of floors chosen. By deleting a corner or changing the outline, the 3D model is simultaneously changed. By changing the scope, it is possible to draw by editing façades, creating area divisions, changing the foundation, creating columns, among many other features.
With the developed volume, it is then possible to create area reports, review all the views, and make insolation studies. These, in turn, can be placed in context by importing the surroundings through Open Street Maps, creating the real implementation of the project and observing all the interferences and possibilities with neighboring buildings. After that, the model can be shared through an IFC file, which is easily read by other BIM or modeling software, preserving its attributes.
Since the conceptual design process is highly iterative, it is common to explore multiple options before settling on a final concept. These explorations can either be rejected, or evolve into what will become the chosen proposal. This is the main contribution of the application: allowing the various propositions to be managed quickly and easily, enabling the architect to focus on exploring the best option for each project developed.
Spaces is available for download from the Apple App Store, with free and subscription based plans – learn more here.
