Computers have profoundly changed design and the construction, fabrication, and consumption of designed products and environments, making them more affordable, efficient, and accessible. At the same time, this digital revolution has led to an integration of design, production, and distribution in ways never seen before, resulting in the blurring of once-clear boundaries between designers and fabricators and producers and consumers.

The College of Design has some of the country's leading research under way looking at how computers will alter everything from the clothes we wear to stores we patronize to the buildings we inhabit to the landscapes we traverse. We are also leaders in integrating this technology into our teaching, delivering knowledge to the larger world. On the following pages we profile faculty members who are at the forefront of the design digital revolution.

Lee Anderson

Using 3D modeling to tour virtual buildings

By Lori-Anne Williams

Lee Anderson seems affable, but he could make you walk off of a roof.

That is, the associate professor in the School of Architecture works with virtual reality through the Digital Design Consortium (DDC), an interdisciplinary unit that Anderson helped create in 2004. Anderson's focus is three-dimensional (3D) modeling, and through his work he can guide someone through a house that has yet to be built, through a commercial building that is still in design, or even across a roof and down into a garden below.

For Anderson, digital design encompasses most of the tools he uses in his research, and often in his teaching. "Digital design is a constellation of tools that assumes a 3D model will plug into various possibilities," Anderson said. "We can use these tools for structural analysis, energy analysis, to explore day lighting, and more."

The Digital Design Center began with the vision of Ted and Linda Johnson. Ted Johnson began his undergraduate work in architecture, then switched to computer science. He never lost his fascination for combining these two disciplines. Currently, DDC faculty--Anderson, Renee Cheng, and Marc Swackhamer, from architecture, and associate professors Victoria Interrante and Gary Meyer of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering--work together to develop new tools and uses for cutting-edge technology. "It's a privilege to work together with colleagues in such an interesting program," Anderson said.

Within the DDC, the focus is on exploring new ways to make building design more efficient, gaining enough knowledge early in the process to save money and eliminate delays later on. Some of the work requires complex computational design, such as estimating precise curves and calculating hyperbolic paraboloid roofs (saddle-shaped roofs). Despite the complexity of the tools and equations involved in his work, Anderson sees his research as just a walk in the park.

"We can create animations to see walkways from a birds-eye view or as if you were walking along the path," Anderson said enthusiastically. "There's a whole galaxy of possibilities."

What's next in the world of digital design? Anderson said that building information management (BIM) systems will become more commonplace. BIM systems will include not only structural details, but also information on each design element. For a window, the BIM system could provide details such as the window manufacturer, the installation cost, and the color of the surrounding walls. "BIM systems could come down in price over the next 5 to 10 years," Anderson stated, "and we'll see a tighter connection between manufacturers and BIM users."

In addition to his research, Anderson teaches two computer-assisted design (CAD) courses and Design in the Digital Age. He introduces students to all aspects of digital design and how societal changes influence design. He also teaches virtual reality and video editing and animation courses in Norway each year. He received his undergraduate degree from Sophia University in Tokyo and a master of architecture degree from the University of Minnesota.

He'll gladly talk about digital design and his work with the DDC. But just be careful if he takes you up to a virtual roof.

• A 2001 gift from Linda (BA economics '79, MBA '82) and Ted Johnson (BS computer science '82) created the Digital Design Consortium (DDC). The DDC is a unique collaboration involving faculty from two disparate fields: architecture and computer science. It is one of only a few efforts in the academic world to bring together specialists who have backgrounds in both design and information technology.
• Ted, who serves on the College of Design Advisory Board, was recently back on campus and introduced his fellow advisory board members to the DDC. Ted noted that the impetus for his and Linda's gift was the need for digital visualization and design tools in architecture that would allow for flexibility, iteration, and change.
• DDC research addresses the entire architectural design process at many scales, including acquiring data about the construction site, designing the building that will be at the site, and selecting the materials that will be used to fabricate the structure.
• Current DDC research includes developing new techniques to simulate and visualize the color and appearance of architectural surface finishes, exploring the Large Area Virtual Design Environment, and studying the physical interaction of one's body with the design environment and its effect on design and the design process.