Post-Digital Architectural Collage

Architects, like any other artists, are always seeking something new to distinguish themselves from the generation that came before. What could be the next step in the world of hyper-realistic digital rendering? Several architecture firms have started exploring post-digital drawing as a way to conceptualize cutting-edge designs in a new way. But what is post-digital architecture, and how does it differ from the past 30 years of digital rendering?

What is Post-Digital Architectural Collage?

ПPost-digital technology in the architecture world has already come to mean different things to different people. Put simply, it has a relatively straightforward definition: this approach moves away from the hyper-realism of traditional 3D rendering that the industry has been familiar with for the past 30 years or so, and instead favors hand-drawing or collage. Up-and-coming young architects are embracing this style because it sets them apart from the sea of "realistic" 3D visualizations that saturate architectural design firms worldwide.

However, despite this style departing from traditional digital rendering, it still utilizes cutting-edge digital tools. While the drawings are made in the style of utopian collages from the 1950s and 1960s, all the concepts are still developed on digital platforms, typically using the most advanced rendering tools and Photoshop. The intention is for the design projects to look hand-drawn while leveraging the advantages of 3D graphics—aspect ratios, proportions, viewing angles—as well as ease of use and distribution.

The Future of Post-Digital Architectural Collage

Artistic representations always progress in stages; it's not a new concept. After all, music, art, and literature have gone through realism, modernism, and postmodernism in the past century. From this perspective, architecture is no different, especially considering that it is rooted in the form of artistic expression. Therefore, a departure from the hyper-realism of digital rendering doesn't seem unusual. Each new wave of architects (like other artists) wants to find a new way to visualize their art, both out of boredom with the current environment and a desire to find new modes of expression. Does this mean that post-digital architectural visualization will become mainstream?

Post-digital drawing provides a compromise between the world of the past and the world of the present. It takes advantage of what is good about digital rendering, especially the freedom of expression it offers, and combines it with a desire for a more "retro" aesthetic that has made a comeback in other fields as well. The young and talented generation of architects seems to be more drawn to a modernist and utilitarian visualization of design rather than the contemporary digital images that aim to be as "real" as possible. In simpler terms, recent trends in architectural design strive to convey the essence of the design object rather than how it will appear in real life.

Conclusion

Post-digital architectural collage is one of the latest trends that has gained particular popularity among South American architects who strive to stand out from the crowd of traditional hyper-realistic 3D visualizations. While such an approach may not provide a "true" representation of the object, it still offers an accurate depiction of how the building will function in the future. Considering that it is currently a hot topic in global architectural firms and universities, it will be interesting to see how this style evolves in the future.

The collages for the article were taken from the website https://falaatelier.com