The Digital Evolution Pre-Lab kicked-off on the 22nd of June with Sol Amour of Autodesk leading an inspiring discussion on bridging the present and the future, and how hackathons have brought about real, tangible change to the AEC industry. So far, participants also enjoyed two virtual workshops with Nate Miller of Proving Ground and Daniel Gijsbers of Autodesk—an opportunity to expand their knowledge and skillsets surrounding a multitude of computational design topics. Additionally, Randy Deutsch himself joined us for an exciting reading discussion on his book, Superusers: Design Technology Specialists and the Future of Practice.
Participants also enjoyed a variety of global virtual networking events where they shared their Lab submissions and bounced ideas off one another. We also broke into smaller, regional activities to allow smaller groups of participants to meaningfully connect and get to know each other further.
Read on to learn more about our participants, their experience so far, and their Lab submissions:
Carrie Jim
I believe the Digital Evolution Lab is a great opportunity to both challenge myself personally and get to know my coworkers and company more closely. I think the opportunity to use technology as a tool to facilitate the design process is what I find most compelling about computational design in general. I’ve most enjoyed getting to know the many talented people we have across the firm as well as learning about digital design trends through a variety of workshops. So far, I’ve only met the design fellows briefly but I look forward to establishing a deeper bond.
Jeong Han Kim
I have been interested in computation design for a while. So, I began by studying it by myself— following quite many video tutorials and webinars. Those study materials were good for understanding concepts and some techniques, but not good enough to have a thorough understanding. I have been thirsty for live feedback, or tips or bits of knowledge from colleagues who do similar work and can share the same thoughts. The Digital Evolution Lab was the perfect fit for that. By letting the machine do most of the work, we can spend more time thinking about and seeking better solutions — freeing us from time constraints in some way. Also, by thinking computationally, we can approach problems from a different angle. I think that different thought processes can end up with different solutions, which we are looking for.
So far, the most interesting part of the Pre-Lab was when Randy Deutsch discussed Superusers. Having the opportunity to directly engage with the author and hear his thoughts was a very unique opportunity. Meeting these people and listening to their thoughts and experiences on computational design was awesome — I am looking forward to starting the main portion of the lab so I can see how they work and ask more questions.
Jinge Chai
I was always interested in computational design and tried to apply some techniques I know in our practice, but there are very few opportunities for me to explore in my daily tasks. I’m grateful for this firmwide push to embrace the next level of “CAD” and would love to explore it further. The most compelling elements about computational design, to me, are a release from the repetitive daily routine, to marry reason and form and to open up new possibilities that designers could not previously imagine. I’ve most enjoyed the machine learning readings thus far. I have to scratch my head very often, to read some paragraphs back and forth, but overall it is very exciting and inspiring—though I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the Neural Network.
We have a curious team across the globe. All the Evolutionaries are, more or less, revolutionaries with endless curiosities. During our discussions after the reading session, I was amazed at how much these guys had learned outside of our discipline. I also liked the 2 Truth and 1 Lie networking event—a game in which we voted on another person’s life experience remotely. Since I have never met any of the Evolutionaries, it is a lot of fun to listen to their life stories—some are really refreshing and inspiring.
Xavier Ticzon
I applied to the Lab because it seemed like an interesting opportunity to put my experience in procedural modeling (Grasshopper) to the test, and really see if it can be maximized to provide value to a corporate architecture setting. To me, the most compelling aspect of computational design is genetic algorithms— where we can explore and search for unique, novel and high functioning design solutions. Its ability to fast track design processes and create more efficient workflows, such as automating repetitive design tasks, and bringing complex forms into fabrication into the real world is also extremely valuable to me. So far, the talk by Proving Ground has been the most enjoyable event, as they demystified Machine Learning in Architecture and brought it down to a very digestible level. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know my fellow Digital Evolutionaries and am already looking forward to more of these next year— hopefully in person! I think the planning committee did a stellar job transposing this workshop online.
Victor Trautman
I applied to the lab because I was interested in expanding my knowledge of digital technologies that can move the architectural industry in new and interesting directions. The idea of leveraging computational tools to discover new design ideas that would previously have been unimaginable is very interesting to me. The computer is a powerful tool for both, understanding vast quantities of data, and visualizing incredibly complex geometries. I have enjoyed being exposed to areas of computational design that I had not previously had a chance to explore. For example, I had a general understanding of what neural networks were, but having readings, as well as a workshop, that delved more specifically into both what they are, and how they can be used in practice was an invaluable experience.
I have enjoyed hearing from and getting to know my fellow Digital Evolutionaries. Hearing about their backgrounds, and how they came to be interested in computational design, has been an interesting and engaging experience for me. It has also given me a greater understanding and appreciation of how individuals can be interested in the same thing for different reasons, or from different angles. Understanding where people of similar interests, but different mindsets, are coming from has helped to broaden the window through which I look at computational design and how it can impact our industry.