Architectural atmospheres, branding and the social: the role of digital visualizing technologies in contemporary architectural practice

Architecture and urban design have become increasingly concerned with creating recognisable, 'branded' products in the form of buildings and public spaces. Architects today view their buildings as, for example, 'canvases for expression', or 'self-confident visual statements' in a competitive global market.These types of buildings and associated public spaces are now produced and presented through digital visualisation technologies which are specifically intended to generate certain types of atmosphere, mood or affect.To date, however, very little attention has been paid to precisely how these digital visualisation technologies are affecting the design process, including how designs are presented to planners, publics and clients.Through a comparative ethnographic study of several architects' offices - involving the detailed observation of working practices and of the production and circulation of visual materials amongst the different parties involved in the design process - this study aims to examine how these new digital visualisation technologies are embedded in architects' working practices and how they are shaping the production of buildings and urban designs. The project will thus show how the digital economy, through architecture and urban design practices, is shaping the physical design of the built environment.

建筑与城市设计领域愈发注重打造辨识度鲜明、带有品牌属性的建筑及公共空间产品。如今在竞争激烈的全球市场中，建筑师将建筑视作“自我表达的画布”或“彰显自信的视觉宣言”。此类建筑及相关公共空间如今通过数字可视化技术进行创作与展示，这类技术旨在营造特定的氛围、情绪与情感体验。然而迄今为止，学界对这类数字可视化技术如何影响设计流程——包括设计方案如何向规划方、公众与委托方展示——的研究仍十分匮乏。本研究通过对多家建筑师事务所开展比较民族志研究，涵盖对其工作实践的细致观察以及设计流程各参与方之间视觉素材的生成与流转，旨在探究这类新型数字可视化技术如何融入建筑师的工作实践，以及它们如何塑造建筑与城市设计的产出。因此，本项目将揭示数字经济如何通过建筑与城市设计实践，塑造建成环境的实体形态。