IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2011 - 19

“sometimes you need to be able to make big changes quickly, and bim can just be too cumbersome initially.” —Mitchell Sawasy, FIIDA, FAIA, principal, rSA Architecture “i was initially skeptical that [revit] would be useful on smaller tenant improvement —Jennifer Barnes, IIDA, vice president, rTKL projects.”

revit. This process—which requires a lot of technological savvy on the part of designers—shows the restrictions of bIm’s fully integrated approach. “sometimes you need to be able to make big changes quickly, and bIm can just be too cumbersome initially,” sawasy says. ne area where many designers see limitations with the software is with modeling furniture and finishes. Though many manufacturers offer plug-in ready data for furniture and finishes, it tends to be so information-rich that it bogs down the model. so most designers avoid modeling furniture in revit—other than in small vignettes—or use their own, much simpler furniture, essentially place holders, instead of the exact products. manufacturers, it seems, could benefit from creating much simpler versions of furniture models to make sure their products become fully integrated, as with mechanical/electrical/plumbing (mEP) engineering. In the architecture community, with its greater use of fabrication software, the discussion has moved from when to take the technological leap to a debate around when software is no longer an enabling tool and becomes the driver of design. For the most part, the kind of parametric modeling, advanced fabrication, computer numerical controlled (CnC) milling, and 3-D printing that are becoming more commonplace in certain architectural circles have yet to filter down to the commercial interior design sector. There are exceptions, of course, such as shimoda Design group’s sculptural fiberglass elements inside the steelcase showroom at Chicago’s merchandise mart. but right now it seems like many designers are still grappling with the power of the tools. Another obstacle to successful employment of technology can come from those designers who are waiting for the technology to adapt to the practice instead of discovering

how existing tools may be relevant to the profession. Jonsara ruth, director of the mFA program in the interior design program at Parsons The new school for Design in new york, believes designers need to rethink the way other disciplines relate to the practice. Her program’s students, for example, learn about Ecotect, typically used by lighting designers and mEP engineers for its lightingand temperature-analysis capability. “understanding light and temperature is enormously important for how you experience a space,” she says. “We need to ask, How can we better use these technologies to shape interior design?” It’s likely that a more sophisticated and pervasive use of technology by interior designers will be spurred on by young designers newly entering the practice. students not only possess a greater technological fluency, but they also may have less tendency to mentally segregate digital and analog processes. For example, the ubiquity of technologies, including programs such as the modeling tool rhino, which can be fed into a laser-cutter, is leading to a greater interest in craft and unique elements. “our students are very fluid in the way they use technology, images, and small pieces of text, even more so than five years ago,” says ruth. “At the same time, there’s a growing interest in the handmade, in human presence. so we’re constantly asking, How can we integrate the two?” As a thesis project, one Parson’s student created custom wallpaper with a pattern in electrostatic paint. When charged, the paint would collect dust in a pattern across the surface. When turned off, the surface could be wiped down and returned to pristine condition. The project, ruth says, captured the desire to allow for imperfections, for chance, coupled with a fascination with the new. “We need to get back to basics,” she notes, “but also think beyond the technology we are given.”
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