Greta Buehrle’s presentation selected as the Best Presentation at the IDEC SW Regional Conference

Greta Buehrle, an Interior Design graduate student, presented her thesis project at the IDEC Southwest Regional Conference in Lubbock. This is the first time that a graduate student presentation has been given this award. Her presentation entitled “Speeding Up Design: The Influence of Technology on Creativity & Time Management in the Design Process” focused on how technology impacts on decision-making stage in design process. An abstract of the study is as follows.

Technology driven programs such as Autodesk’s Revit and Google’s Sketch-Up are quickly becoming “the norm” in day-to-day practice at architecture and interior design firms across the world. The client-driven desire to produce documents and design ideas faster and the ability of the programs to develop ideas in 3D are major contributing causes for this movement. Many users of the programs, specifically programs utilizing BIM technology, are struggling to come to grips with the impact these programs are having on the design process. With BIM technology, many decisions normally assessed in the design development or construction document stage, must be made in the early stages of design work. However, many supporters of the programs emphasize that the ability to see designs in 3D, as well as the ease of making late design changes in the program allow decisions to be made quickly. This study will determine how this technology may affect designers’ creativity as well as how it may be affecting decision-making in the design process. While results from this study will be of interest to those involved in the professional practice of architecture and interior design, understanding the affect of technology on the practiced design process will assist educators in knowing how to best prepare their students to enter the profession.