Applications of Technology in Design Disciplines: Perforated Screens and Ornament, the Impact of Digitization in Higher Education

Abstract

Digital technology is instrumental today in the scholarship of teaching and learning. This new technology with its three-dimensional design capabilities helps improve students’ understanding of design forms especially as it provides them with rendered visualization of their projects. 3D modeling prepares them for the industry after they graduate as they can help explain their ideas and designs to clients who do not share their professional background. This new technology with its three-dimensional design capabilities strongly influences the presentation of projects because of the rendered visualization effects. The effect of 3D Modelling and simulation software offers unlimited pedagogical experiences for student architects in relation to regional and Islam-based perforated screen designs. New Patterns in perforated screens need to be studied in depth from the historical and pedagogical points of view. However, digital assignments, especially in disciplines such as architecture and architectural heritage, need to be re-assessed because of the mass of downloadable components available on the internet which makes it difficult for Faculty to evaluate students’ projects, and blurs stylistic boundaries for students. Today, Higher Education Institutions prepare students for the industry with the digital skills needed. Yet in the process a paradigm shift occurs in the design process as students lean towards digitization of their designs, causing a setback in manual skills and the ability to distinguish between regional styles and different design schools. This research studies the effects and limitations of 3D Modeling/digitization of design on Arab/Islamic screens and traditional designs. We highlight digital production process and how students of ADU relate to digital media in their designs. We begin with a theoretical framework based on literature review, examine a selection of perforated screens, and allow students to reinterpret them, offering multiple representations of contemporary forms and ornaments of Islamic patterns. This juxtaposition between tradition and modernity is in line with the Abu Dhabi 2030 Vision and allows academics to breach boundaries between disciplines to examine the effect of 3D Modeling on the design of cultural buildings.