AUGMENTED REALITY IN DESIGN DEVELOPMENT: REPRESENTATION AND REFINEMENT

Computing has saturated every aspect of the architectural profession yet despite all the conveniences and efficiencies it provides, contemporary designers still face challenges in addressing their fundamental task - to exercise creative oversight with integrative awareness in the design of the built environment. That computing has become a critical component in digital modeling, representation, and fabrication does not ensure designs are anything more than existent in the theoretical, virtual realm. When posited within an iterative design environment, virtual designs often require additional steps to adequately contextualize the work such as through physical models, photomontages, and printouts. Though very potent, these interim steps tax resources, most notably invaluable time which could otherwise be spent on design development. Unfortunately computing power has, in a rather perverse turn, encouraged designers to focus their energy on representation as opposed to enhancing a design's robustness and comprehensiveness. As a response to this, an augmented reality platform entitled ARIDD (Augmented Reality in Design Development) has been developed that empowers designers by allowing them to visualize their digital designs into the real world in real time. By quickly allowing designers to import their digital models on this platform and represent the idea atop real world, adjustable conditions, this augmented reality tool significantly reduces the effort and resources required to represent an idea and instead allows for greater opportunities to refine an idea.