By Lisa Crowe lthough Atlanta's 1996 Summer Olympics will be the largest and most complex event ever staged in the Southeast, the mammoth planning process itself is conspicuously low-tech, favoring color markers instead of plotters, and scratch pads instead of terminals. But don't be fooled. Tech alumnus W. Jeff Floyd Jr., ARCH '70, also a Sizemore Floyd partner and director of the Olympic project, knows the job is awesome and the stakes are high.
Visual programming starts out with goal-setting sessions.
Programmers explore the image that a client wants to project, the mission of the project, how it will fit into its surroundings, and its budget and schedule. After concrete goals are established, programmers start collecting facts. They research information on infrastructure, financial resources, transportation, parking, pedestrian traffic and design standards. The process then moves to an exploration of alternative concepts. Programmers and clients examine different options and determine what the client actually needs.