A few years ago, digital systems were unfamiliar, counter-intuitive, difficult and expensive, and they were often accused of removing us from the essence of architecture, from the creative act of design, or worse, of driving the design process. It is true that most early digital systems are poor challengers to refined, late analog systems. But hardware and software improvements are allowing digital systems to emulate the continuous, more intuitive and sensuous processes of an analog system. For example, computer graphics presentations have progressed rapidly from text screens to bit maps to smooth grey scale to 8-bit and 24 bit color, and now even have the ability to mimic the subtle effects of watercolor. Moreover, the strength of digital systems in processing streams of information becomes a decisive factor as information itself is delivered in digital format, and that information can be massaged to quickly provide data that previously were slow and difficult to obtain.
Improvements occur as quickly as the hardware economics permit.
Last spring, Dean Tschumi asked us to propose an integration of digital technologies into the School. In the spring 1994 semester, in 206 Fayerweather, the DDL assembled an early prototype of the Paperless Studio, an electronic design environment which bore more resemblance to a special effects film studio than to a traditional architectural studio. Columbia's Center for Telecommunications Research provided addition SGI hardware and video capability. This environment was tested by students and faculty in both real and virtual design projects. We saw that we needed to reverse the traditional studio arrangement of individual drafting tables and remote, shared computer labs.