Commercial Architecture – April 2019

COMMERCIALARCHITECTUREMAGAZINE.COM APRIL 2019 5

A Peek At Perkins+Will Technology Efforts

A

recent conversation about how architects are using
augmented/virtual-reality had me poking around
looking for other ways technology is changing how
structures are designed. One of my discoveries was an article
on the Autodesk/Redshift site (San Rafael, CA, autodesk.
com/redshift/technology-architecture/) written by Matt
Alderton. The article, “5 Technology Innovations Can Help
Your Architecture Practice Work Smarter,” describes how the
folks at Perkins+Will (perkinswill.com) are changing their
approach.
Before we get to those five innovations, I have to call your
attention to a quote in the article from Nick Cameron, direc-
tor of digital practice at Perkins+Will, because it applies to
much more than implementing technology: “Our mantra is,
‘Why and how?’ As in: Why are we doing things this way?
and: How can we do things better?” That’s worth putting on
the whiteboard in your meeting room.
Now, a heavily paraphrased taste of those five innova-
tions:

• Big data: Your early warning system. At any one time,
  Perkins+Will is managing more than 700 active projects,
  each of which can be mined for information to help archi-
  tects work more effectively and efficiently. Making sure
  teams can find and extract that information was key to a
  big-data project. The firm created an app that combs Revit
  models for designated metrics—large file sizes, long syn-
  chronization times, and large numbers of simultaneous
  users—that can indicate teams in distress. Using a visual
  dashboard, managers can see, in real time, which projects
  need extra attention.


• Social VR: Learning from multiplayer gaming. When
  using virtual reality (VR), rather than having one person
  wear the headset and the rest of the people in the room
  watch a screen and miss out on the experience, Iffat Mai,
  firm-wide development manager, turned to online video
  games. The result was a “social-VR” solution based on mul-
  tiplayer games that unites teams inside virtual workspaces.


• Mixed reality: Ditch the drawings. Mixed reality (MR) is
  an excellent option for exploring spaces that already exist.
  “Mixed reality is literally mixing interactive virtual objects
  onto a physical area,” stated Michael Shyu, an architect in

Perkins+Will’s Boston office. To implement MR, they use

a Microsoft HoloLens headset to see a 3D model superim-

posed on the actual space. They combined BIM models

with the HoloLens and used a video-game approach to

create an immersive tour of a space.

• Augmented reality on a smartphone. To experience exte-
  riors as they do interiors with MR, the Perkins+Will folks
  use their smartphones and augmented-reality developer
  kits such as Apple’s ARKit and Android’s ARCore.


• AI technology for architectural freedom. The firm
  worked with Autodesk to develop generative-, or computa-
  tional-, design technology. Generative design uses artificial
  intelligence to create computer-generated design options.
  Architects use machine-learning algorithms to define
  design goals, parameters, and constraints. They then enter
  the information into a computer that uses machine-learn-
  ing algorithms to process them. The result is a menu of
  design options for consideration.
  I only had room to share some teaser information about
  the Perkins+Will efforts. If you’re at all interested in imple-
  menting these technologies, or simply learning more, it’s
  worth your time to read the article and explore all of the
  additional linked information. CA

Gary L. Parr

Editorial Director

Perkins+Will is working to maxi-

mize technology implementation.

Learn what they’re doing in an

article on the Autodesk site.

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