Technology

Architecture used to be based in the world of T-squares, Triangles, Pencils and Paper. Until recently this has been they way of the architect for as long as architects have been around.
Today architecture is caught up in the technology boom, and many firms around the world don't use paper at all in the office. Technology is here to stay, and it's possibilities are amazing. However, it seems like we are just playing around looking for something visually cool and not really considering the ramifications of what we are doing. Exactly what is the point of doing something like what these programs are capable of? I feel like all we are doing is exploring the possibilities and not actually creating something good.
In a positive sense architecture has broken away from it's Cartesian roots and is free to explore the actual intents of the designers. We as architects are no longer limited to something like complex geometry and engineering issues. Did you know Jorn Utzon, the designer of the famed Sydney Opera House is rumored to have had to radically alter his original design [towards the conservative] because the original shape was too complex. However it is generally the most daring building projects which change the way we look at architecture, and change architecture itself. In time maybe even this will be a masterpiece...
OCAD