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Toby Witte of Wittehaus shares his insights about the design process, abstraction, and the creation of space with 3rd year undergraduate students of the David R. Ravin School of Architecture at the University of North Carolina – Charlotte.

While Toby and his team value the use of computer aided tools, from 3D rendering programs, AI rendering services, 3D printing, and virtual reality visualization, his intent in this lecture is to allow for the students to plug into a more basic and essential skill set - the use of a pen on paper. (In his lecture Toby repeatedly suggests “say no to Rhino”, a rendering program, not to lambaste it itself, but to allow the students to pick up a pencil first.) He hopes to convey that one of the most valuable skill sets they will bring to their study and the profession is a reiterative, analytical, and flexible design process.

He tries to share how a few lines on paper can allow one to design entire new worlds that can be tested against many issues and problems. With simple and few lines on paper the design can change repeatedly with ease to be improved upon; and before the long and complex process of producing 3D models, photo realistic renderings, and construction drawings begins.

As the profession of architecture is awaiting massive upheaval through the use of ever more user-friendly and AI powered rendering options, Toby is trying to show the values of the architect will remain in the human-driven and creative design process and how those values will only be aggrandized. Architecture is art and as such is deeply rooted in our shared humanity. Our curiosity and empathy has to enter the creative process first.

His parting words in the lecture are: “We need to strive to excel in the abstraction of a problem set by way of an reiterative, analytical, flexible, responsive design process in the hunt for meaningful spaces, defined by materials, light, volumes, and structure.”