A FORAY INTO DIGITAL DESIGN
What does a high mountain landscape designer do in the winter months (which seem to include April this year)? Design for summer installations yes, but it is also a great time to learn, explore and discover. Usually I am more inspired to delve into the plant world, but this year I forced myself to enter the more intimidating world of computer design, illustration and modeling. To say the least, it was a personal growth experience.
Computer-aided design (CAD) first appeared in 1957 and became prevalent in architecture by the early 1980's. I was involved with an architectural firm during those early years when having CAD meant separate equipment rooms, special temperature settings and at least one full time staff "expert" to keep it all running. I also remember the "all hands on deck" call when a presentation rendering was facing a deadline, and we all grabbed colored pencils, architects or not, and got to work.
Fast forward to 2018. The rendering below was completed using AutoCAD and SketchUp on a mere 13" laptop by a novice, me, after a semester of studying various digital design programs. Was it easy? Not the first time! Is it worth it? Hmmm.
Understanding digital design is a tremendous asset to my profession. Architects all use CAD as a standard in drafting. Being able to work with AutoCAD base plans from architects gets my clients' project off the ground faster. For larger projects, computer applications can help the designer easily manipulate drawings for changes, create construction documents in a shorter time frame and produce presentation renderings from several perspectives.
Do computers create a better landscape design? No. Good design comes from knowledge of the site, soil, climate, micro-climates, plant material, design principles, sustainability inputs, etc., all of which interact in hundreds of combinations. Computers don't do that.
Backgrounds can be changed fairly easily with digital modeling.
Once the digital model is complete, creating various "scenes" or perspectives can take minutes, rather that days.
While there are many reasons to understand and utilize amazing software capabilities, at the end of the day an accurate site plan, good design skills, a roll of trace and pencils can create lasting beautiful, real-world designs.