New Trends In Graphic Representation [Nuevas tendencias en la representación gráfica]

In terms of graphic representation, architectural & urban study drawings present some fuzziness related to the multiplicity of scales, to the representation of the urban dynamic and to the means of communicating the contents of these studies for different publics, clearly divided among lay and specialists. Since the 16th century there have been certain stimulating propositions to this theme that have had an enormous, often unacknowleged, impact on the perception and construction of the built environment. Recent experiences in Rio, due to the series of urban projects that are being accomplished, is showing that some architecture offices are adopting new graphic trends in drawings conceived for preliminary studies, diagnoses and inventories. Due to the new possibilities offered by graphic computing they are developing, with diferent softwares, a sort of "patchwork” or "collage” and "sampling” technique for morphological analysis and representantion of places and buildings. This use of graphic computing, as an alternative to the usual realistic depictions that attempts to deal with prosaic simulations of an everyday experience, results in a different type of graphic expression that transcend literalism and appealls to the imagination of the general viewer. It is important to highlight that the analysis of these graphic solutions that attempts to turn visible design problems, could result in the development of new graphic tools that will help the creative design process.