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Presenting Design Quarterly 03: Technology driving change

July 30, 2018

By Percy “Rebel” Roberts

Pushing technology to create lasting, human-centered places

A few decades ago, an architecture/engineering/interior design (A/E/ID) practice could go into business with little more equipment than a few desks, drafting boards, pencil sharpeners, and T-squares. Clients hired design professionals knowing we could take these tools and create lasting, human-centered places that resonate with institutions, businesses, and communities.

Fast forward 30 years. Times have changed, and so have our tools.

Digital technology enables designers to realize a whole host of new ideas we’ve been dreaming about—complex geometries, challenging materials, or building assemblies. But to bring those dreams to reality and strive for design excellence requires our industry to adjust our mindset and design methodology to leverage the power of emerging technology. Much of the potency of this emerging technology lies in its ability to visualize design concepts more realistically, so that our collaborators and clients can understand everything from design intent, to functionality and even buildings system performance, earlier in the process.

In this issue of the Design Quarterly we investigate the myriad of possibilities that lie at the intersection of design and technology. We look at how technology is challenging and empowering our design and engineering practitioners to think differently, and how our designers, who represent the leading edge in digital practice, are pushing technology to transform not only the design industry itself but the communities where we live, work, and play.

We hope you’ll find the third edition of Stantec Design Quarterly as inspiring and thought-provoking as we do. Because we believe in the power of place to transform lives. By keeping people at the heart of what we do, we’re designing places that meet our needs today while delivering on the promise of tomorrow.

Happy reading.

Read the Stantec Design Quarterly: Technology Driving Change.

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