The debate over technology in architecture is seemingly endless, with certain questions igniting the fires of forums across the internet each and every time they are put forward: Apple or PC? Revit or ArchiCAD? Rhino or 3ds Max? IPhone or Android? The list goes on and on, but these questions are never truly answerable unless you have a chance to test both hardware and software out on real-world projects — the kind with real-world clients, real-world budgets and real-world deadlines.
Now the chance has arrived for architects to do just that with Microsoft’s latest hybrid laptop: the Surface Book.
Image via Windows Blog
During recent weeks, a series of innovative firms has been putting Microsoft’s latest hardware to the test, using it for every stage of design development from the very first concept sketch all the way through to the production of construction documentation and even on site. Over the course of the coming weeks, we’ll be revealing what the designers thought of the Book, demonstrating how well it handled the most demanding architectural software and comparing it with the main competitors in its field.
The laptop was tested at all stages of a project, looking at the computer’s performance in five key areas:
Ideation: Sketching and marking up stages
Versatility: Working on site and remotely
Compatability: Power to run full desktop programs
Power: Graphics performance with 3D-modeling software
Design: Aesthetics and longevity of the physical product
Here’s a rundown of the five firms involved, together with the kinds of projects that these architects require their cutting-edge technology for.
Bal Harbour House by Oppenheim Architecture, Bal Harbour, Fla. Rendering courtesy Brick Visual | Architectural Visualization
Oppenheim Architecture
Miami-based Oppenheim Architecture is an award-winning architecture, planning and interior-design firm specializing in every building typology worldwide. According to the architects, their work is built on “both a physical and spiritual contextual sensitivity supported by evocative and economic design solutions that all serve to enhance life.” If any new technology can help them in their pursuit of this ambitious mission, the firm will embrace it, and the Surface Book therefore had the potential to form a vital new design platform.
Vault House by Johnston Marklee, Oxnard, Calif.
Johnston Marklee
Founded in 1998, Johnston Marklee has developed an innovative approach that revolves around the unification of design and building technologies, making the Los Angeles–based firm a perfect fit for this tech-based test. Given its openness to emerging and even experimental technology, it is unsurprising that the studio has garnered Progressive Architecture Design Awards for multiple projects, and harnessing high-quality computers and tablets throughout the design process is integral to its success.
The Chicago by Stanley Saitowitz / Natoma Architects, Chicago, Ill.
Stanley Saitowitz / Natoma Architects
Distinguished South African architect Stanley Saitowitz views buildings “as apparatus rather than object, as instrument rather than monument.” The dynamic architecture that this attitude entails is only made possible through the use of the latest technologies, and the San Francisco–based firm also develops passive and active energy systems for its projects, requiring powerful hardware and intelligent software to do so. Microsoft’s Surface Book was thoroughly put through its paces within this innovative environment.
© Magda Biernat
IHeartMedia by A+I, New York, N.Y.
A+I
A+I stands for Architecture Plus Information, a name that encapsulates the New York–based firm’s constant desire to soak up knowledge as it seeks the ideal solutions for an incredibly broad range of clients. “We’re fascinated by everything from the way a garment is constructed to how advertising is sold to how food delivery happens on a massive scale.” This creative curiosity also made the studio an ideal candidate for testing the inventive features of Surface Book to their limits.
L’Assemblee Radieuse by WORKac, Libreville, Gabon
WORKac
New York–based WORKac — the AIA’s Firm of the Year in 2016 — prides itself on embracing emerging design processes and techniques to help tackle contemporary challenges in the built environment. The studio has a highly idiosyncratic way of presenting its concepts, composing unique architectural visualizations that constitute a perfect test case for the capabilities of the Surface Book. Was this superlight laptop able to stand up to the rigors of the firm’s powerful 3D-modeling software?
Stay tuned to find out the answer to that question, and maybe — just maybe — some of the most longstanding technological debates in architecture might soon be resolved.
Top image via Windows Blog