ABSTRACT:
Today digital technology presents opportunities and possibilities that a quarter of a century ago would not have been out of place in sci-fi films or in the imaginations of inventors. But today this digital technology is a reality and its progress has been rapid; questionably too rapid for us to keep up with. This advancement has made our planet appear to be smaller, more accessible, and globalisation is evident in every part of our lives. Is this a good thing or are we turning our backs on the principles that we not so long ago deeply valued; regionality, skill and longevity and replaced these with speed, homogeny, expediency and globalisation? Is this apparent technology overload desensitising us and our lives...do we behave differently to the pre-technological humans of 25 years ago? This shift in the way we live our lives has been facilitated and nurtured by the rapid and wondrous development, use and reliance on the computer and all that it can offer in every sphere of our existence, from shopping to socialising, design to construction, information to communication. But the computer cannot make a judgement, it cannot tell us if the shoes we purchase on e-bay will suit us, if the match.com date is our soul mate or if the space we have designed is an uplifting, comfortable or inspiring to inhabit. Architectural education is one realm where this advancing technology has been fully embraced. The majority of students have been born and educated within this new and developing technological environment, they are familiar using it and comfortable within its realm. But do the design proposals that are produced as a result of an immersed technological process provide true representation of architectural proposals? Can a design process that combines technology alongside an ‘old school’ traditional method of design together with hands on experience provide an enriched learning environment and result in a more holistically explored and communicated architectural outcome?