Thesis: Contemporary computer science development at the end of the twentieth century pushed architects to use hard- and software as tools, which became an active support (more than just CAAD). It enabled to widen the scope of a form-properties research and a generation of solutions impossible to achieve before, by using traditional methods and tools. This situation leads to new, unpredictable possibilities of architectural research and design. Objectives: 1. Definition of the latest trends in computer technologies applied in architectural offices. 2. Presentation of some practical consequencies of application of those technologies in design and construction. 3. Separation of new design methods caused by use of digital tools. 4. A simplified taxonomy of the methods above, with characteristic features. 5. A research in practical application of digital tools in Polish and foreign offices, as well as at the WUT Faculty of Architecture.

The subject of the work:

The thesis constitutes of five chapters. The first chapter is an introduction, where the range of work is presented in the context of place, time and the research made. The following chapters research three aspects of CAAD: (1) hardware and software, (2) new definition of architecture, which is a result of application of the digital tools, (3) practical problems connected with the use of computer techniques. The second chapter describes the new technologies in use –Virtual Reality (incl. VRD, CAVE’s, Data Gloves, motion-capture), Rapid prototyping (incl. holographic printers, 3D scanners, routers, milling-machines), new types of interfaces (e.g. xWorlds, InfoSpace, Flock of birds), etc. The third chapter is a theoretical one. It presents three types of changes in design methods, which can be classified, judging by results, in architecture of: (a) in-formation (b) de-formation and (c) cyberspace. All the mentioned applications of a digital technology cause redefinition of the range of the architects’ profession. The fourth chapter is concentrated on the application and utilization of technology. It is a detailed analysis of chosen buildings (characteristic examples) and design methods used by some avant-garde and well-known practitioners and visioners of architecture (Eisenman, Gehry, Spuybroek, etc.). It also presents statistics, where the influence of digital tools on the way of working (efficiency, productivity, use of tools) is expressed numerically. A synthesis summarizes the relation between architects and the new digital tools in some aspects: hard- and software, social changes, ergonomics, methodics, linguistic/symbolic and architectural. The mentioned ranges of interaction constitute the proof of the thesis.