Computer Aided Design In Architecture Planning

 
CAD Software

The introduction of CAD software brought major changes to architectural designs and planning in terms of accuracy, visualization and the time duration needed to complete a project irrespective of how large the plan could be.

Before the invention of Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) software in the early 80's, architects still designed building drafts but the process involved was cumbersome and took years to complete for bigger projects. Errors were also rampant in large architectural plans which in some cases lead to structural deformities as can be seen in the famous situation of the leaning tower of Pisa.

The introduction of CAD software brought major changes to architectural designs and planning in terms of accuracy, visualization and the time duration needed to complete a project irrespective of how large the plan could be.

Specific Ways Architectural CAD use enhance Productivity

Visualization: Traditional architectural drawings by hand came with many disadvantages with its limited viewing possibilities. Although architects could draw plans from different orthogonal views, they still captured structural plans in a limited fashion. The use of CAD solves this problem by allowing its users draft architectural drawing plans in three dimensions therefore providing viewers with accurately well defined plans for all sides of the building in question.

Drafting Components and Assembling: In some cases, the item needed to be designed might have several components which must be assembled together to form a functioning whole. Traditional means could represent each components and the final structure but limitedly for it could not show how the assembled item should function. This caused all sorts of waste in materials and increased manufacturing costs for completed designs with errors had to be redone from scratch.
2D/3D CAD software have simplified the manufacturing task for architects and engineers by providing them with the ability to create lifelike representations of the architectural product to be designed coupled with video rendering that show exactly how an assembled design plans to function. The use of CAD software drastically cut production cost and time.

Contemptory architecture like Frank Gehry's Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health building would be next-to-impossible without CAD software and 3D scanning. Image Source: Matthew Carbone

Designing Prototypes: CAD Software enable architects bring their plans to life in virtual format which enables trouble shooting and fixing problems cheaply without having to manufacture a particular component many times. This cuts the cost of bringing a design to life and also provides miniature representations of architectural structures for use in presentations and raising capital from investors.
With CAD, it is also possible, in most cases, to produce a 3D print directly from the file created for prototyping and verification.

Storage Problems: The use of paper, cardboards and other perishable drafting surfaces by architects of old, raised so many issues such as adequately guiding plans from destruction by fire, age and rodents, transporting large projects from place to place etc. CAD software use puts the above problems to rest with its versatile storage means for soft copies can be stored in different file formats, on diverse storage systems almost indefinitely without any fear of damage caused by external or natural sources. Transportation of architectural plans is also done virtually for at the click of a button, a file no matter how bulky it is can be sent all over the world.

By Purathini.A

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