In the realm of Digital Art History, architecture represents a broad field in which the use of various computational methods provide extraordinary tools not only for architects but also for art historians and information scientists. Art historians use computers to reconstruct historical architecture through 3D renderings and to document listed buildings and structures using video drones to gather visual data for research and conservation. Architects, on the other hand, look back on a long history of integrating software into their day-to-day work to generate and process digital images of architecture. Computer-aided-design (CAD) has fundamentally changed architecture and its possibilities.
Not only have digital methods shaped current design thinking and aesthetics, but they have also led to a complete rethink of the theoretical foundation of architecture and what defines it. In this regard, the role of IT specialists in architectural processes has to be given more attention. For example, planning and design software allow certain innovative architectural forms but at the same time exclude other design possibilities. Hence the question arises to what extent programmers are co-authors of architecture.
Ultimately, a discussion has to unfold on how the relationship of architects and information scientists should be cultivated. What should interdisciplinary curricula look like and what is the current approach to the issue at universities around the world? Can the impact of the digital be defined as the ultimate paradigm shift in architecture, or can we trace genealogies through its history and see analogies to other developments in media culture?
These questions and others are at the forefront of the third call for papers to the International Journal for Digital Art History (DAHJ), which outlines a broad overview of new theoretical approaches in digital architecture history. We welcome articles from art historians, architects, information scientists, and authors from other related disciplines who are concerned with questions and projects around this topic. For example: historical construction research, use of gaming platforms for spatial simulation and theory, visualization software for teaching, the role of the digital image in architecture.
The call is now open and first articles are to be published in the last quarter of 2016. To submit articles, please register first and review the information for authors. We will be publishing articles on a rolling basis.