In the latest discussion of its 10 year old series, KÉK (Hungarian Contemporary Architecture Centre) sought to answer the question of what it must have been like for an architect to transition from analog to digital design in the era when computer aided design gained ground. In the Trust Your Architect discussion series, Tima Zoltán, design director of KÖZTI, and two other architects shared their experiences with the audience.
At the fifth roundtable discussion of the 2025 season, accounts of the participants made the digital revolution in architectural design, that took place in the 1990s and 2000s, perceivable. Similar to the emergence of AI-based technologies, it brought about radical changes in the workflow, professional competencies and spatial visualization. That was the time, when tracing paper, pencil and ruler were replaced by computers, which was perhaps an even greater shift than what we experience today.
The architects did not comprehend the significance of the change for a long time, because at the very beginning of the process it was not clear why a computer-made design was better than hand-drawn one. At first, they looked at the computer as if it were an up-to-date ruler and pencil, or a digital drawing pen. For Tima Zoltán, digital design became truly tangible, when they had to draw 400 identical hospital rooms for a design competition, and here the transition from manual to digital design became a clear advantage.
Listening to the architects’ recollection, it was interesting to perceive the process of how, starting from initial aversion, the computers became part of everyday life. At KÖZTI, computer aided design in ArchiCAD started with the Ferihegyi 2B Airport Terminal project.
During the discussion, it was raised that digitality has schematized the design language of architects, while modeling has gained new momentum and has developed greatly in recent times. So much so that KÖZTI recently acquired a 3D printer, thanks to which there is a modeling workshop again at KÖZTI after 1989. There is enormous potential in this, professional models can be made with 3D printers, thanks to which the architectural design can come to life in a tangible form.
Overall, it can be said that the architectural profession has undergone an amazing development. It is safe to say that we are still far from the end of the transformation in architectural design. Therefore, great challenges await today’s young architects.
Participants of the roundtable discussion were Tima Zoltán, design director of KÖZTI, Hartvig Lajos DLA, one of the owners of Bánáti + Hartvig Építész Iroda and Módis Péter, head of MódiStúdió. The moderator and organizer, representing KÉK, was Szemerey Samu.
The full broadcast is available at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/live/SYvpeLr_GyI?si=ne1Z24W53PdlFIz6&fbclid=IwY2xjawKSgqBleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFKSzdkNzY3RWlRTUtueGJWAR5_ig-55me6femI4rcKkxZAaJYdvqE4s4GFMU0NJxHzwBEWaubFmeh8dmfuFA_aem_V20uBn4mK1kcNcCHihAvZA
