Dancing House: Sketch to Model

This video is the work of Sarah Long, in the Department of Art and Art History, School of Arts and Sciences who completed this project for Senior Lecturer Lee Minardi's ES18 Computer Aided Design class in fall 2013. Ms. Long won first place in the 2014 Tufts Research Visualization Awards for the video category.
Abstract: The architect's sketch is a primary means of expressing an idea, particularly in the early stages of a project. A realistic rendering, on the other hand is almost always considered to be the final and more valuable product of the architectural design process. The value of hand drawings to architecture is trivialized by the preference for realistic computer renderings, a phenomena which is misrepresents the incredible process through which architects and engineers turn preliminary sketches into iconic buildings. Frank Gehry is a world-renowned architect with a characteristically dynamic style of expression. This animation is an attempt to visually connect the beginning and the end of the architectural design process, and to understand the dynamism of Gehry's sketches and buildings through this transformation from sketch to rendering.