Not too long ago in an article
 for Fortune Magazine Walter Mc-
 Quade referred to the "tweedy old
 profession of architecture". It is a
 tweedy profession, isn't it? WVe are
 rich with tradition. There is a
 sound and sturdy base of history
 a wealth of cultural heritage
 which guides our actions, and con-
 ditions our values.

 For the most part, this tradition
is good, and, paradoxically, one of
the deepest traditions among arch-
itects is that of questioning the
traditional forms of architecture.

 But while we constantly ques-
tion and challenge the traditional
forms of architecture, we are slow
to challenge our methods of prac-
tice. In fact, most architects con-
tinue blindly to use out-dated and
antiquated techniques of design,
management, and production.

 Nevertheless, I am optimistic.
During the last 3 years I have had
the good fortune to meet and work
with a number of architects at
Caudill Rowlett Scott, and in
other offices, who are challenging
some of these old methods -and
in the process have become com-
mitted to the half-veiled promise
offered by computer technology.

Promise of Computers

 This technology the art and
science of processing information
- will have the most far reaching
consequences on the practice of
architects of any contemporary
technological development.


 Those are bold words. And I
 must admit that there is not yet
 proof of their accuracy. Indeed,
 the delight and wonder of working
 with computers is seductive and
 has caused many of us who seek
 this work to overstate our case.

 But some facts bear us out. In
the last 10 years, computers have
developed at a tremendous pace.

 Compared to 10 years ago, com-
puters have increased their speed
100 times, they are one-tenth their
former size and the cost of compu-
tation is one-thousandth that of a
decade ago. By one estimate, our
capacity to process information is a
million times greater than 10 years
ago. Presently there are 30,000
computers in the nation worth
about eight billion; 1000 times as
much strict computational power
as 10 years ago.

 And all indicators point to an
increased rate of development.
Those are impressive statistics and
we can't afford to scoff at them -
or say, "That's interesting, but we
arc architects, not engineers. This
doesn't affect us." It does.

Practical Uses

 Speculation aside, a number of
practical applications exist which
one might profitably pursue.
 First, you might use a computer
as an arithmetic machine, a calcu-


Architecture / Tradition



 The Computer


 By CHARLES B. THOMSEN, AIA
 Caudill Rowlett Scott
 Architects, Planners, Engineers
 Houston, Texas


lator, or a super adding machine
and with it, do some of your ac-
counting, cost estimating and engi-
neering. You might also build
mathematical models of some of
your designs and test their func-
tioning under various conditions.

 Secondly, you could use a com-
puter as a meter, like the speed-
ometer of your car, or a barometer.
But you would probably be meter-
ing the conditions of your firm,
perhaps forecasting your man-
power demands, determining the
amount of overtime that is being
recorded, testing your overhead, or
sampling the net profit of an
active job.

 Thirdly, the computer could
serve as an electronic filing cabinet
which collects, stores, creates, com-
bines and retrieves data.

 Used this way, the computer
produces your specifications, deter-
mines the properties of building
materials, or collects some statistics
on the successes and failures of
your past practice to guide you
around future mistakes in manage-
ment.

 All of these things can be done
for you with impressive speed. A
medium size computer can make a
million additions per second, read
90,000 characters of data per sec-
ond from magnetic tape, and out-
put 1000 lines of information per
second on a highspeed printer.

 These capabilities will help us as
architects to provide better services
to our client, to prosper, and at the
same time free us of tedium and
make our work more enjoyable.

Progress in a Year

 At CRS we are trying all these
things, and although we have only
begun, I believe the prognosis for
 THE FLORIDA ARCHITECT