Reading 1| Change or Perish

Change or Perish

AIA Report on Integrated Practice| Thom Mayne and Chuck Eastman

Thom Mayne in his writing offers the reader his wisdom and opinion on BIM and architecture, his main thesis that we in the field of architecture must adapt to new technologies or perish. To adapt, Mayne advises the field should place more emphasis on making and the idea of no longer working in 2D but 3D instead. “The most important thing is to understand that it isn’t just about the nature of how we put together our packages. It has to do with a complete rethinking of our work.” To understand  the new technology of BIM and its implications Mayne advises gestalt.
Definition of GESTALT: a structure, configuration, or pattern of physical, biological, or psychological phenomena so integrated as to constitute a functional unit with properties not derivable by summation of its parts
Origin of GESTALT: German, literally, shape, form (Merriam-Webster Dictionary Definition)

Chuck Eastman similarly advocates BIM and the necessity of change in the field of architecture. While Mayne advises gestalt, Eastman advises understanding the foundation of BIM: Parametric modeling. 

Parametric modeling: The basic idea that 2D or 3D solid object shapes can be defined according to parameters, some of which are user-defined values and others relative to other shapes.           

Based on these writings and my experience with both BIM programs as well as Parametric modeling studies, it is my opinion that for BIM to work it relies on a system of defined limits and conditions that if not met fails. Each object therefore relies on rules to define itself, and as such it behaves a certain way based on the rules/limitations we the designer place on it. Understanding this changes not only the way one chooses to design but also how one communicates.  Parametrics and BIM also allows for the exploration of systems from other fields of structure and fabrication that could expand architectural design.  Eastman hypothesizes that this expansion of BIM could lead to the creating of new design styles in architecture.

In the end the writings of Mayne and Eastman for me pose this challenge: in a world of expanding technology what is the reality of architecture and what it is and how it performs in modern society?