Learning 3-D in Schools
Designing in three dimensions is the equivalent of modeling in clay while designing in two dimensions is like drawing on paper. Three-dimensional modeling enables designers to craft objects, manipulate them, add light and shadow, and view them from any perspective. Using three-dimensional projections, they can visualize exactly how the two-dimensional abstractions on paper would look when manufactured into a finished object or building. At last, designers had their productivity breakthrough, because manually constructing perspective views is a time-consuming and error-prone procedure.

Now these modeling procedures have become so powerful that the act of drawing flat, two-dimensional views is close to becoming obsolete. The newest software lets architects and engineers conceive and develop their designs as three-dimensional objects; the computer then can generate two-dimensional drawings, if needed, as a by-product of the model.

The programs also let designers attribute a variety of characteristics to the object under design, making it an "information model" that conveys data about material strengths, color, thermal characteristics, and so on. No longer just something to evaluate aesthetically, the model can be subjected to engineering analyses, cost estimation, and other tests that are routinely required in professional practice. That versatility makes the model far more valuable than a simple drawing and promises to revolutionize design practice.

Ironically, as design professionals struggle to master the formidable complexity of this powerful new software, some teenagers are learning it with much less difficulty. The youngsters' advantage comes partly from having adaptable young minds and childhood exposure to electronics. But mature professionals often must also unlearn the conventions and abstractions that were a standard part of design training and that still persist in many architecture schools. As one CAD teacher notes: If you learned in 2-D, 3-D is going to seem hard. But thinking in 3-D is really more natural, and young students who never learned the old processes have a much easier time with the new software.

Thomas Rivera	Luke Assenmacher	Landon Ruchotzke
Shawn Assenmacher	Andres Falvay	Emily Seyfert
Dakota Kieffer	Zach Strait	Renee Snyder
Austin Hughes	Josh Feddersen	Elizabeth Smithson
Dallas Thola	Kallie Tebbe	Trent Gassman
Elizabeth Smithson	Shawn Assenmacher	Kallie Tebbe

3-D Animations will be coming soon!


Instructor: Mr. Kvapil