This story was written by Ron Burgher of Landscape Technology, Vacaville, California. Burgher received his BS degree in park planning and landscape architecture from Colorado State University and is currently pursuing his master?EUR??,,????'???s degree in computer science.

Another !#@?# computer article! These days every time you pick up a magazine, open a newspaper, or turn on the television or radio, you are bombarded with advertisements and stories about computers. There are even highway billboards urging you to come in and see the great deals available on this computer or that printer.

What is all the excitement about computers? Why is everyone saying you have to become “computer literate?” Hopefully, this article will help sort out some of the answers, especially in relation to how a computer might assist in your practice.

So What’s the ?EUR??,,????'??Big Deal?EUR??,,????'?? about Computers?

Part of the answer involves America’s love affair with technology. We have always been intrigued with any electronic gadget that came along. Look at radio, television, tape recorders and lately, video tape machines, they all have enjoyed a popularity here, in the United States, far above that in the rest of the world.

But the excitement and usefulness of computers has more to do with two words – speed and perfection. Computers are allowing us to complete work at an incredible speed, and with a perfection never before possible. It is these factors that have led, more than anything else, to the “Computer Revolution.”

Computers and the Landscape Architect

“Ok” you say, “that’s all well and good, but what does that mean to me and my landscape practice or business?” Some of you are probably also saying, “I get along pretty well right now, why should I change?”

The answers to these questions require us to examine what happens every day in the business world. Most clients want things done yesterday, and with a degree of perfection. Is it any wonder that the landscape architect can offer a better product, in a drastically reduced time-frame, is the one that gets the contract? Eventually, the simple economics of competition alone, is going to force most firms to begin to think seriously about computerization.

What is CADD?

Computer Assisted Design and Drafting is as valuable to the architect as the word processor is to the writer. A CADD system makes it possible to create, store, modify, scale, produce and do many other operations to a design without tedious and time consuming re-draws (remember what we said about speed).

Actual production of the drawing is done with a device called a pen plotter. Plotters can complete a drawing that would take a draftsman several days to produce in less than an hour, and it never asks for a raise or calls in sick.

Features...Features...Features

Now, suppose that you have completed the design and the client calls to say that he has decided to add a small lake in the middle of the site. With manual design and drafting methods, it’s back to the drawing board. With CADD, all that is required, is to retrieve the design from the disk, make the t changes required, and have the pen plotter reproduce the drawings while you go to lunch.

How does it Work?

When you turn on the computer and start the CADD program, what happens? After an introductory message or two, some type of blank screen surrounded by a border appears (See Figure 1). Within the border is a list of options. This is called a “menu” and identifies things that you can do at this point. By pointing to one of the options with an electronic pointing device, such as a “mouse,” and pressing one of the buttons, you “select” that option. This action calls up a section of the program that performs the mathematics associated with the selection you have made.

For example, if you selected “circle” from the menu, the program sets up the formulas needed to draw a circle. The program then waits for you to move the pointing device into the drawing area and by clicking the button, you then indicate where you want the center of the circle. Next you move the pointing device to the proper distance from the center of the circle and once again click the button. This tells the program the radius of the circle. Then the program does the mathematics needed and draws the circle on the screen.

Most CADD programs also have the ability to take your input in numerical form. Using this method, you indicate the center of the circle with the pointing device. The program then asks you for the radius. Once you type in the radius, the program draws the circle on the screen with that exact center and radius. Most of the drawing functions listed in the menu work in this manner.

Many landscape architects and firms are already utilizing microcomputers for more routine tasks such as word processing, and business accounting. Some are using software programs called spreadsheets for proposals, estimating, and bills of materials. But possibly the most promising area of microcomputer use for landscape architecture is through specialized software programs that assist in the design and drafting phase of a project.

As early as 1981, T&W Systems introduced a software program named 4T-Square. With this program, microcomputer based Computer Assisted Design and Drafting (CADD) became available.

Most CADD programs allow for the creation of symbol libraries, which are simply stored parts of drawings that you can select, scale, and insert into the active design project. Whole sets of details can thus be electronically drafted once and stored for use in any number of projects. As you can imagine, the efficient use of these libraries can result in a tremendous savings of design and drafting time.

Typical CADD System Configuration

Although there are often many differences between systems, a typical configuration for a CADD system might consist of the following:

1. A Central Processing Unit (CPU) with a minimum of 512 K bytes of Random Access Memory. This is the heart of a computer system and as such performs all the computations and logic needed for the system to operate. Today most systems operate at a CPU speed of 4.77 MHz, but increasingly, higher speed systems, such as IBM’s PC-AT, are being installed.
2. A minimum of two disc drives for storage of data and programs. Most systems are currently utilizing hard (fixed) disc drives in addition to one or two ‘floppy” drives. Hard disks have the advantage of storing the equivalent of many floppy disks, and of retrieving stored data or programs much faster.
3. A keyboard of general system operations and input of text labels. There are many different keyboards available and finding the correct one is pretty much a matter of personal taste.
4. A monitor for display. It is here that systems designed primarily for CADD operations begin to differ from general business systems. Computer monitors were originally designed to display text, and most do a very nice job. The problems come about when attempts are made to use these monitors for a graphic display. The left side of the diagram in Figure 2 represents a highly magnified section of a typical computer monitor screen. As you can see, the screen is made up of rows and columns of boxes. These boxes are called “pixels” (short for picture elements).

Depicting circles, arcs, curves, or any graphic that is not strictly aligned along the “x” or “y” axes presents a rather severe problem. This problem is called having the “zaggies”. Fortunately, there is a way to improve on the display. By using a monitor with a higher resolution, hence more and smaller pixels, the problem is much less noticeable

5. A mouse, digitizing tablet, light pen, or other pointing device. These components allow the designer to select functions, locate points, draw lines or accomplish other drafting operations.
6. A pen plotter. This is the device that actually produces the drawing. Plotters, since they are digital devices, also suffer from the dreaded zaggies. However, because a plotter resolution is so much higher than that of a monitor, the zaggies are undetectable in the finished drawing. Plotters are available that will produce drawings from as small as 8’/2×11, to full size construction drawings. Additionally, plotters may use just one pen or as many as eight. This allows for a full spectrum of colors to be produced within one drawing.

So there you have it – a short introduction to the world of computers and Computer Assisted Design and Drafting. In addition to the speed, flexibility and perfection that a CADD system offers in the design and drafting phase of your projects, computers can also be used to assist with more routine tasks such as billing, preparation of bids and proposals, accounting, telecommunications, financial projections, and correspondence.

I wouldn’t suggest that every landscape architect office run right out and attempt to computerize all aspects of their practice today, but a prudent investigation into the benefits that computers and CADD certainly wouldn’t be a waste of time for any professional landscape architect looking to the future.