A Curriculum
for
Virtual Architecture

Guillermo Vasquez de Velasco College of Architecture Department of Architecture Texas A&M University

Ergun Akleman Visualization Laboratory College of Architecture Department of Architecture Texas A&M University

Abstract

The potential of virtual, computer generated, 3Dimentional environments for application in the architectural domain, and the potential application of architectural expertise in the development of virtual environments are subjects motivating massive interest within the Architectural research and development community.

In order to define Virtual Architecture we first need to introduce the concept of virtual environment. A virtual environment is an artificial computer simulated 3D visual environment that can, but does not have to, appear and feel like a real environment. Virtual environment is a more general term than Virtual Reality, for instance, every virtual reality environment is a virtual environment, but the opposite is not necessarily true. There can be many fundamentally different types of virtual environments. For instance, virtual environments can be abstract. A virtual environment can be like a cubist or impressionist painting in 3D. On the other hand, virtual environments can provide an illusion of reality as in the case of virtual reality. Objects in a virtual environment can either obey the rules of physics or ignore them. The users of a virtual environment are not limited by gravity, surrounding solids or motion (xxx). Users can fly, move across walls or transport themselves between two points in an instant. Virtual environments can be distributed or non-distributed. Geographically dispersed users can visit a distributed virtual environment that is different for each user in a simultaneous basis. The same freedom offered to the designer can be offered to the user. Virtual Architecture can not only be different, but beyond that, it can be perceived differently. In a virtual environment there can also be synthetic actors, which are called avatars, and do not need to simulate real people, animals or plants. These avatars can interact with the users of the virtual environments, or be the users themselves.

Virtual environments should be designed by Architects of Virtuality that address not only building-like environments or landscape-like environments, but go beyond such parameters and into the exploration of cyberspaces and its own rules for the articulation of simulated solids and voids.

Virtual Architecture requires understanding many fundamentally different types of design approaches such as game design, movie special effect design, cave environment design, and/or VRML environment design. Virtual Architecture can be in many ways similar to real architecture, but on the other hand, it may also be undeniably different. Virtual Architecture can emulate real architecture or emulate other expressive forms of communication that making use of less constraining media can achieve higher levels of abstraction or duality.

Vitrubius's Requirements for Virtual Architecture

Virtual Architecture, like its counterpart in reality, needs to fulfill three conditions that have defined what is, and what is not, Architecture since the times of Vitrubius (xxx). Architecture must serve a human function, must be pleasing to human senses, and must be constructable. If we put Virtual Architecture to the test of fulfilling Vitruvius's requirements, we find that indeed Virtual Architecture satisfy all three of them.

Virtual environments are nothing but 3D graphic that can act as interfaces between human users and computer systems, Virtual Architecture can serve human functions as interfaces in human-to-system interaction and human-to-human communication in the same way as buildings serve as environments for human-to-institution interaction and human communication in general. For instance, we can visit virtual malls where we can actually purchase goods that are delivered to our homes. We can visit virtual banks where we perform financial transactions that are as real as those we perform in the lobbies of their steel and glass counterparts. We can visit virtual libraries in which we interact with computer systems holding vast amounts of information.

In reference to the requirement of pleasing human senses, Virtual Architecture can be an extremely rewarding environment. Virtual Architecture is not bound by the lays of physics and therefore its potential richness in terms of form and shape is only limited by the processing power of its delivery system (xxx). Furthermore, the user of Virtual Architecture can experience the environment with a level of navigational freedom that lends itself for perceptual exploration and enjoyment.

Addressing its constructability, Virtual Architecture is build out of algorithms [Knuth, 97], [Cormen, 90] rather than bricks but at a fundamental level it implies a process that is not unlike the process of erecting a building in reality. Virtual architecture needs to be designed having in mind the constraints of algorithms (xxx). The production cost of Virtual Architecture is as real as the construction cost of buildings, and as in the later case, the designer / builder of a Virtual environment must work within a team, a schedule, and a budget.

The Education of Architects of Virtuality

The architect is a professional specially trained for dealing with the conception and materialization of quality in 3D space. The design and production of Virtual Architecture requires a substantial contribution from the architect, but the current expertise of the architect is in many ways irrelevant to the nature of virtuality and insufficient in matters of digital constructability. Our challenge as educators is to study the knowledge content required by the architect of virtuality, study his/her relationship with other professionals in the field, and develop a curriculum that will address his/her expertise.

If we can forecast the emergence of a new professional market for the so called "Architects of Virtuality", and we understand that such professionals will need to articulate a blend of design and computing knowledge, it is our responsibility to design a curriculum that will address such expertise. Vitruvius's requirements applied to Virtual Architecture provide us the following perspective in the design of a curriculum for Virtual Architecture.

The above observations suggest that by merging components of the architecture and computer graphics curricula into a single pedagogic structure it may be possible to outline a curriculum for Virtual Architecture. This is in many ways a durable task due to the overlap that both disciplines have in the domain of visual arts. The same may be said of the potential for substituting a number of architectural courses about material engineering with courses on computer engineering.

In a closer analysis of conventional architectural curricula, we can always find a backbone made out of a sequence of design studios that serve as application framework for all the other courses in humanities, visual arts, and engineering.

We believe that our design studios will remain to be relevant to the concerns of the Architect of Virtuality. However as we remove courses on material engineering from contributing areas of the curriculum we will also need to relax the material constraints of the design problems that are addressed in the design studios. On the other hand, from the perspective of a curriculum in computer graphics and its traditional background in graphic design we can also recognize the existence of design studios and their relevancy in the education of Architect of Virtuality.

In the branch of humanities, both architectural and computer graphics curricula address the history of architecture and arts as fundamental concerns. In architectural studies, the history of art is largely immersed in the framework of main architectural styles, while in the case of the graphic design curriculum the history of architecture is visited as background to the history of painting and other visual arts. We believe that course work in the domain of architectural and art history will be relevant to the Architect of Virtuality.

In the branch of visual arts, both the architect and graphic artist need to address the domain of perception and its sociological as well as physiological implications. In the case of the graphic artist we find a distinctive concern in the perception of 2D imagery wile in the case of the architect we find a considerable accent in 3D perception. We believe that the Architect of Virtuality will need to have considerable expertise in both 2D and 3D perceptual issues.

In the branch of engineering a large number of courses from the curriculum of the architect will be irrelevant to the Architect of Virtuality. On specific, the Architect of Virtuality will have no use for courses on building materials and technologies. The same may be said from courses on physics. On the other hand, courses in the area of descriptive geometry and math's will be highly relevant for the Architect of Virtuality. As a matter of fact, the Architect of Virtuality will require additional background on math's as in the case of graphic designers with specialization on computer graphics.

As in the case of a curriculum in graphic design that incorporates course work from computer sciences in order to address an accent in computer graphics. In a similar way the curriculum to the Architect of Virtuality will need to incorporate a substantial number of courses from computer science in support of the expertise on digital media required for the construction of Virtual Architecture.

Based on an analysis of the expertise required by the Architect of Virtuality, we have designed a curriculum that, combines courses of the humanities, engineering, visual arts, and computer sciences. It is a 2 + 2 + 2 years curriculum leading, after 6 years of education, to the professional degree of "Master of Virtual Architecture". Within such framework, and in order to address a current need for short & mid term entry levels into the market, the curriculum considers the possibility of delivering a 2 years degree of "Digital Design Media Specialist" and a 4 years undergraduate degree of "Virtual Environment Designer".

Digital Design Media Specialist

A fundamental question at the time of designing a new curriculum is to identify the mechanism through which domain knowledge is to be integrated. Fortunately, in the case of both architectural design and graphic design we have a culture of "studios" that address such question and work as melting pots for the integration of tributary courses. Making use of such a characteristic, our curriculum maintains both structures as parallel backbones that articulate the domain knowledge (See figure #1). During the first 2 years of the curriculum, Environmental Design Studios and Computer Graphic Studios will articulate courses in humanities, engineering, visual arts, and computer sciences at the same time that carefully design exercises within both studio sequences address their bilateral integration.

In the case of Environmental Design Studios, the students will be required to design buildings with increasing levels of complexity. Material constrains will be largely relaxed but the resulting designs will need to continue to address reality as their general frame of reference. The 4 design subjects initially suggested for the sequences of Environmental Design Studios are the following. 1. - Design of a play ground, 2. - Design of a house, 3. - Design of a design office, 4, - Design of a sports center. Design subjects may change in time but in any case, students’ exposure to such building typologies should be insured in order to safeguard the potential for inductive as well as deductive design inferences.

In the case of Computer Graphics Studios (CGS), and its relation with the Environmental Design Studios (EDS), the students will also be required to perform projects with increasing levels of complexity. In coordination with the EDS designing a playground, the first CGS will address the task of producing a black & white photographic portfolio of playground scenes. The students will also be asked to produce paintings and drawings about the playground subject, and a cartoon storyboard based on a play ground theme.

The second CGS, in coordination with the EDS designing a house, will address the production of a color photographic portfolio based on domestic scenes. In that same context, the students will be asked to manipulate digital imagery and introduce human figures in such imagery. The third CGS will address the subject of digital 3D modeling of complex shapes. If the office designed in the EDS is not complex enough, the students will be asked to add a sculptural element of complex shape. As part of the same studio, the students will be asked to design and build a World Wide Web sites and display their projects through such medium. The last CGS, leading to the degree of Digital Design Media Specialist, will require the production of a digital motion simulation of a sport event and its editing in NTSC (television code) format.

With such a background, a Digital Design Media Specialist will be prepared for market entry as webmaster. With a solid foundation in the generation of multimedia resources, professional WebMasters will not only know how to build a WWW site, but will also now how to design one.

Virtual Environment Designer

During the third and fourth year of the curriculum, the students will move from the simulation of reality to the creation of virtual environments. The initial curricular structure, based on two parallel sequences of studios, is in the third year transformed into a single sequence of studio courses that merge skills in the design of quality in 3D space with the skills of representing such quality in the digital domain. This sequence of "Virtual Environmental Design Studios" will continue to integrate core courses on engineering and computer science at the same time that offers freedom for the inclusion of elective courses in the humanities, visual arts, and performing arts. In particular, the inclusion of elective courses in the two last years of the undergraduate program will add flexibility for exploration of specific topics such as music, dance, literature, etc.

In contrast with the studios of first and second year, the studios of third and fourth year will have duration of two semesters in order to permit the development of large and complex projects. The third year will be dedicated to the development of a virtual environment analogue to a real environment, as for instance a hotel or shopping mall, that may be experienced in an inmersive fashion and co-habited by animated human and animal characters. Studios of the fourth year will challenge the students with the development of a virtual commuting center that is not necessarily analogue to any form of physical infrastructure but yet supplies an inmersive environment in which human-to-human and human-to-system interaction is possible.

Someone with the degree of Virtual Environment Designer will be able to develop virtual reality environments for inmersive habitation. The quality of the inmersive 3D experience will not necessarily be high. However as in the case of undergraduate students of architecture, Virtual Environment Designers will have a basic understanding of the elements that contribute to a successful 3D perceptual experience and how to integrate such elements in a design synthesis. Virtual Environmental Designers will be ideal candidates for positions in the development of low profile micro-worlds.

Master of Virtual Architecture

At graduate level, two years of studies leading to the degree of Master of Virtual Architecture will offer opportunities for undertaking research and development studies. Students will be expected to take courses from a wide range of contributing disciplines as they work on individual long-term projects. Some students may wish to put emphasis in the development of sophisticated perceptual qualities, while other students may choose to concentrate in the development of "virtual real state" and the management of VR-based businesses. On the balance, the Masters Program on Virtual Architecture will be an individualized program that will initially explore an unrestricted spectrum of areas of emphasis until a more structural alternative evolves from the teaching and practice of Virtual Architecture itself.

A Master of Virtual Architecture, or Architect of Virtuality, will be able to design and develop high profile micro-worlds and/or take a leading position in the management of the emerging VR-based networking industry. In addition to such new markets, the Architect of Virtuality will be exceptionally well qualifies for taking a wide variety of positions in the entertainment industry.

Most of the challenges posed by the introduction of a new curriculum for Virtual Architecture are not different from those posed by the introduction of new curricula in Architectural Design or Graphic Design. However, there are two issues that need to be highlighted as unusual challenges, namely: Curriculum Integration, and Faculty Development.

a) Curriculum Integration. - The issue of curriculum integration is a constant concern in most schools of Architecture and Graphic Design. The backbone of design studios is an outstanding means for addressing integration requirements but it is undeniable that it demands very careful management. The work of academic advisors is fundamental on accomplishing integration. In the case of the two first years of our new curriculum for Virtual Architecture we do not have one sequence of studios, but two sequences. The management of both sequences of studios will demand an even greater management effort. A well constraint curriculum in terms of pre-requisites will certainly help but it will not remove the need for careful advising of the students. This will be in particular true when a student starts to fall back on his/her studies or when an exchange students bring in courses that are substituted for courses that may be out of sequence. Further more, studio instructors of both sequences of studios will need to develop tight communication links in order to insure bilateral relevancy. If we take as an example our efforts in the coordination of design studios in a vertical fashion, we can predict that vertical and horizontal coordination will be a quite demanding task.

b) Faculty Development. - The new curriculum for Virtual Architecture can be properly staffed with faculty that has experience teaching the diverse courses and studios of the curriculum. This is true in all instances during the first two years of the curriculum, but as we move into the third and fourth year we do not have faculty with experience in the teaching of Virtual Environmental Design Studios. Facing this challenge we must make sure that the program on Virtual Architecture is implemented on stages that will permit faculty development. In particular, we need to run at least two semesters of the low end of the curriculum before we permit exchange students to force us into the delivery of Virtual Environmental Design Studios. Our expectation is that instructors working initially in the interdisciplinary integration of Environmental Design Studios and Computer Graphics Design Studios will develop the expertise for teaching or co-teaching the upper level studios.

This paper is largely based on the teaching and research experience of the authors. Our Department of Architecture offers an undergraduate program on Environmental Design followed by three independent graduate programs leading to the degrees of Master of Architecture, Master of Science in Architecture, and Master of Science in Visualization. The students with a Master Degrees in Architecture are usually hired by design & construction firms and in most case end up obtaining professional registration for practice as architects. On the other hand, the students with Master Degrees in Visualization are mainly hired by the movie effects industry. These programs are currently very successful on achieving 100% employment for their graduates

The Environmental Design curriculum permits the inclusion of a considerable number of elective courses that prepare our students for graduate school in Architecture or Visualization. However, despite the flexibility of the curriculum there is a distinctive pre-assumption that most of our students will follow into the Master of Architecture program. On the other hand, under present circumstances we are starting to see a growing population of students interested in the Master of Science in Visualization program. We believe that as professional demands continue to grow, the curriculum in environmental design will be limited in terms of its flexibility. Our own graduate programs are starting to require levels of competence for which our undergraduate students are not necessarily trained. For example, the Visualization program requires a level of computer programming knowledge that is not reflected in the core curriculum of Environmental Design. On the other hand, the undergraduate students are exposed to only 4 design studios that make explicit reference to architectural materiality. However at the time of applying for graduate school they need to compete at national level with students that have been exposed to 8 design studios in which architectural materiality has been a fundamental issue.

We strongly believe that in a near future the flexibility of our undergraduate program in Environmental Design will be mainly used for addressing the many areas of specialization that the architectural domain has to offer. One of such areas of specialization may be architectural visualization but not Virtual Architecture. In similar way, we strongly believe that professionals in the field of computer generated imagery will require undergraduate studies in computer graphics, but nevertheless, such studies will not necessarily address an expertise on computer generated environments in general or Virtual Architecture on specific. As we see it, the architect of virtuality will be a cross bread of architect, graphic designer, and computer scientist that has expert knowledge on how to design 3D environments and how to construct such environments in the digital domain.

As a matter of conclusions we also would like to produce a synthesis of what we have learned through a retrospective analysis of our past teaching experiences in the field of digital visualization and reflections upon our current planning activities for future market trends in the digital domain.

a) Our on-going experience on the teaching of a Masters of Science in Visualization within a College of Architecture has permitted the formulation of the following conclusions:

-Students of Architecture, that are traditionally considered to have a twofold vocation for the arts and sciences, are ideal candidates for vocational studies in the field of Computer Generated Imagery. In particular this is true in the case of 3D imagery.

- -Based on their cognitive profile, students of Architecture demonstrate good ability for the conception of scenarios, development of imaginary situations, and storytelling through graphical means.

- Due to market demands, most of our students end up working for the entertainment industry. Current demand from the entertainment industry exceeds the number of graduates that are available.

- b) Our analysis of the domain of Virtual Architecture permits the formulation of the following conclusions:

- It is technically possible to generate 3D virtual environments that are perceptually pleasing, useful for the performance of human activities, and constructable on the basis of computer hardware and software. Based on the three Vitruvian principals of Architecture, firmitas, utilitas, and venustas, it is possible to address the existence of Virtual Architecture as a synthesis of human requirements and technical constraints in 3D virtual space.

- Neither the architect, the graphic designer, nor the computer scientist can be fully qualified for satisfying the demands posed by Virtual Architecture. A new curriculum that combines attributes of all three is required.

- We believe that the acceptance of Virtual Architecture as a new profession can be a relatively fast process since the initial abundance of mediocre implementations will create a vacuum for professional intervention.

c) The exercise of developing a curriculum in the domain of Virtual Architecture has permitted the following conclusions:

- In the process of building up the expertise of the Architect of Virtuality, through a 6 years professional degree, it is possible, and desirable due to market demands, to offer intermediate degrees at bachelors level (Virtual Environment Designer) and technical level (Digital Design Media Specialist).

- Both, Architectural Design and Graphic Design make use of a sequence of studios as a means for managing the integration of contributing courses. Following the same integration methodology, the new curriculum will also make use of studios into two sequences during the first two years and a single sequence during the third and fourth year of studies. There should be an incremental level of complexity in the exercises offered by the sequence of studios. The same may be said of a shift from reality to virtuality as the student progresses in the studio sequence.

- The first two years of studies, leading to a technical degree, need to be well constrained by a structure of pre-requisites in order to insure a standard of performance. The third and fourth year of the bachelors' degree need to offer some flexibility for the development of certain areas of emphasis and a consequent match with personal skills. The last two years of the Masters’ program should be extremely flexible in order to cope with a very dynamic professional market.

- In order to push the market into requiring formal training in the domain of Virtual Architecture, it should be possible for Architects, Graphic Designers, and Computer Scientists to substitute at least one third of their curriculum and obtain the bachelor degree of Virtual Environment Designer.

Extensive and intensive use of computers has already influenced the functional characteristics of most architectural typologies. In similar way, architectural typologies have influenced our early attempts of modeling virtual environments. However, we believe that our experimentation with virtual environments and the subsequent usage of such environments for performing a wide variety of activities will probably generate the potential for the emergence of a new 3D paradigm and the possibility of exporting some of its characteristics into reality. As a hypothetical example we my find that polygon optimization processes in virtual environments may have an impact on built architecture through the development of a formal grammar that limits its polygonal content and offers a high degree of geometrical purity on its compositions. As we further explore virtuality, both as designers and as users, a growing sector of the profession will consider that virtual architecture should not be addressed as a second order reality but as a reality within its own nature.

At the time of closing the edition of this paper we feel both, confident on our ability to address the challenges hereby stated, and eager to continue with the refinement of this first draft of a curriculum for Virtual Architecture. Feedback and debate from the collective in Virtual Reality, Architecture, Graphic Design, and Computer Sciences is essential in this effort.

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