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Towards a Virtual Architecture
'Gerhard Schmitt
Gerhard Schmitt
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'Florian Wenz
Florian Wenz
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'David Kurmann
David Kurmann
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'Eric van der Mark
Eric van der Mark
Since its beginnings, architecture has been a discipline for creating space; after the introduction of the architectural drawing at the latest, it became an art form that creates images. It manifests itself physically through real, solid material. This phase of physical existence can be brief in relation to a building's entire existence: The visual representation precedes it, the purpose of which is to make planned buildings seem as convincing in the viewer's imagination; afterwards, architecture which has been constructed leaves behind abstract pictures in our memories. Both are virtual phases of architecture and are interrupted by the physical existence of the building. The art of drawing has reached a high level of development in the field of architecture, while the discussion about abstraction and realism played an important role. Since the beginning of the 80's, computer simulation has offered new opportunities, just as the technology of virtual reality (VR) has since the beginning of the 90's, and both of these technologies were at first oriented towards the existing methods of representation. However, they are increasingly taking their own courses and relativizing architecture's material phase.NEW ABSTRACTIONS IN PLANNING In the architectural design process, various abstract models of physical objects with various qualities, functions and limitations are related to one another. The traditional architectural model shows primarily the formal-geometric qualities of a design. Working models permit interactive and swift testing of spatial alternatives and materials. In spite of the necessary abstraction, presentational models are attempts to anticipate the reality and serve as aids in decision-ma king. In the traditional model, assigning solely a limited number of attributes to the model elements is possible. The conclusions drawn from this process must be analyzed in the human memory. Therefore, the traditional models are considerably less reusable than the electronic ones. The designer's desires are progressing in the direction of a seamless integration of interactive sketching, modelling and photo-realist representations in a single computer program.
New abstractions came into being along with the research of Computer-aided Architectural Design. The analysis of buildings or of design processes (Akin, 1986) lead to the creation of computer programs which give form to the implied architectural structures, thereby making them visible. Fractal aspects in Peter Eisenman's architecture (Schmitt, 1988), the language of Frank Lloyd Wright's prairie houses (Koning, 1981), the morphological languages of the forms of American Queen Anne houses (Flemming, 1987) and the proto-typical character of the routine design (Gero, 1988) are parts of this development. Assuming that such analyses can be transformed into syntheses by merely reversing the processes would be a fallacy. However, the automatic production of structural sections by means of generative technologies such as languages is also a step away from material architecture and strengthens the abstract aspects of the field.FROM THE TRADITIONAL PRESENTATION OF ARCHITECTURE TO VIRTUAL ARCHITECTURE The importance of the presentation of architecture is underscored anew in every competition for designs. However, the appearance of the first architectural drawing marked the beginning of a development in the field, the next logical step of which was the application of virtual-reality (VR) technology. Virtual reality is based on a model of reality stored in a computer as a data record with which the viewer can interact. This model makes aspects of reality available that appeal to different human senses. The transition from traditional simulation to VR is fluid. The two most important characteristics of VR for the design are interaction and immersion, in other words the capability of manipulating objects directly and having the sense of being completely surrounded by a virtual space.
Architecture is a natural area of application for VR. Every draft, every perspective attempts to create an illusion within its beholder, thereby using the simplest means possible to make an architectural statement which is complete as possible (Schmitt, 1993). Of course, very few laymen possess a sufficient understanding of the language of two- and three-dimensional abstraction to be able to make a sound, judgement of new projects. This technology does even less to make the correlations between form, function, performance and cost sufficiently clear and assessable. An extremely realistic virtual model which takes all these aspects into account in an integrated form and which the beholders can examine in every desired way would represent and important aid for that very reason.THE ARCHITECTURAL SPACE LABORATORY – A VIRTUAL CONSTRUCTION SITE FOR ARCHITECTURE The creation of a VR environment for the field of architecture requires extremely fast hardware and intelligent hardware. At the architectural department of the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (Swiss Technical College, ETH) in Zurich, such an environment exists in the form of the Architectural Space Laboratory (ASL), which tests scenarios for the architectural office of the 21st century. The computers at the ASL are connected to worldwide networks, and a permanent network with the architectural schools at Harvard and MIT is being established in a virtual studio (MIT, 1993).
New software, which we have developed, makes it possible to construct complex models with intelligent objects and manipulate them directly. These intelligent objects can have physical equivalents such as building elements or furniture, or they can have a functional character. Information about energy, costs, etc. which is linked with the intelligent objects and which is normally not obvious or which cannot normally be discovered directly is simulated in the ASL. Finding and explaining new correlations by expanding the perceptive abilities is our goal for the scientific applications of the ASL.
At the ASL, a series of innovative projects have been developed in a continuous sequence; these projects deal with the new creative possibilities of the computer in architectural production. The following are especially noteworthy:- "Reading Space" – an interactive environment based on a library project by Rem Koolhaas (Marc Grootel) which was not realized.
- "Eileen Gray" – a digital, architectural reconstruction of the house "En bord de mer" by the Scottish architect Eileen Gray in the form of an interactive, walk-in model (Stefan Hecker Kitsios, Christian F. Müller).
- "The Swimming Pool Library" – a film which examines the possibilities of architectural "storytelling"in connection with computer graphics and which will appear in the program of this year's "Ars Electronica" (Hermann Verkerk).
- "Sculptor" – the prototype of a real-time-based virtual modeling tool equipped with auto-animation, gravity simulation and modeling constraints (David Kurmann). A video created with "Sculptor" recently won the first prize for animation at the Swiss Computer Graphics Art Competition 1994 (David Kurmann, Eric van der Mark, Nathanea Elte).
- "Impuls" – an interactive installation for the "Künstliche Spiele" ("Artificial Games") exhibition in Munich (Künstlerwerkstätten, September 1993) in which object clusters created with "Sculptor" were subjected to an artificial evolutionary process (David Kurmann, Florian Wenz).
- "Kraftstrasse 35" – an installation in which a highly complex steel section was implanted into a Villa on the Zürichberg. In this case, it was possible for the first time to gain experience with industrial planning while using interactive computer graphics (Christoph Rütimann, Florian Wenz).
- "Die endlose Linie" ("The Endless Line") – a contest entry for an art installation in the new main office headquarters of the Schweizer Bankverein in Chur, awarded the first prize and being realized at present (Christoph Rütimann, Florian Wenz).
THE PRELIMINARY PHASE OF THE CONCRETE PHYSICAL PRESENCE The framework of wooden slats used in Switzerland to mark the outline of a planned structure is in this case a very abstract representation of the new building, which however does not make any statements about the material to be used and other important architectural features. When one considers that this framework functions as an important basis for making decisions, the necessity for a more realistic simulation is immediately obvious. In the extensively built-up environment of the industrialized countries, every innovation, every new building is a modification, which will directly affect many immediate residents. For this reason, explaining the effects of this modification beforehand and as clearly as possible is absolutely necessary. This applies particularly to the positive aspects of new projects. Virtual architecture offers an opportunity to avoid the uncomfortable situation in which every change is regarded to be a threat. Architects will use VR technology to prove their competence in actively shaping the environment. This technology should assist by communicating more than just the formal geometrical aspects of the new project.
On the other hand, virtual reality can offer its opponents many weak points. Apart from the fact that this is a very capital-intensive technology, the suspicion that it could be used to deceive potential decision-makers seems well grounded. The withdrawal of the "reality which can be experienced and felt" leads to a "one-sided use of the senses of visual perception and the power of imagination" and therefore a "blurring of reality and the interpretation of reality" (Degler, 1993, p. 153). The fears of the philosopher of scientific ethics, Matthias Gatzemeier, of Aachen have in fact already become reality in the case of many consumers of the new technology. The danger begins when humans project their way of looking at things onto the machine and demand the corresponding "understanding" from it. In many cases, the simulation takes the place of the previously known reality, as Joseph Weizenbaum lamented in a speech (Weizenbaum, 1993). However, that which is considered a frightening possibility today is often processed normality by tomorrow, as the introduction of CAD to architectural agencies has shown.A VIRTUAL ARCHITECTURE? Of course, the question of whether real architecture is still necessary at all presents itself when virtual architecture makes things possible which are difficult in the physical world. Is it not imaginable that the residents of a house can call up and create any and every desired situation with the aid of a VR environment? Especially in times when the abstractness of the living and working spaces in the post-industrial society have achieved an extreme, the possibility that the most modern technology will be used for retreating into virtual Baroque, Rococo or even Roman surroundings is thoroughly conceivable.
On the other hand, the greater amount of freedom in modeling and in integrated evaluation will lead to new discoveries and architectural inventions. This development would be preferable to certain applications of VR, which are already widespread, as some of them are of a destructive nature. Our experiences have shown that VR in the field of architecture exercises a considerable fascination. Indeed, it leads to indistinctness in the border between planned, finished and destroyed or ruined buildings. However, instead of decreasing the value of the physically extant (as one would expect), VR will increase the value of architecture which has actually been realized as one of the few constants overtime.
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