Uncertainty as to what a project could look like once it is built can make for uneasy clients and unforeseen budget issues. In addition to the effects on the human psyche, the digital realm has radically altered construction techniques of high performance buildings. The Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, Spain serves as a landmark for the possibilities of contemporary architecture. The building was designed by Frank Gehry. Throughout his extensive career, Gehry made a habit of using traditional methods of designing, as any architect does: sketching, drawing, modeling, diagramming, etc. Gehry produced similar projects to that of the museum at Bilbao, but often received complaints from contractors about the constructability of such complex shapes. Bilbao was to be his most ambitious commission of this type to date, and it was not easily attainable given the resources of his time. So, he resorted to the use of the digital realm.

Jason Miller comments on this transition in the architect’s biography, Frank Gehry: “Contractors were wary of the cost overruns that could occur of complicated building specs were miscalculated, not to mention nervous about estimating the amount of time the designs would take to execute. A computer program rescued Gehry’s less executable building designs from oblivion. Called CATIA (Computer assisted three-dimensional Interactive Application)… Once Gehry is pleased with the [physical] scale model, the model is scanned into the computer and interpreted as a three-dimensional computer image, mapping each surface in detail. From the computer model, a final physical model and accurate architectural drawings can be created. The program also itemizes elaborate building specifications, allowing suppliers to produce titanium panels or stone blocks – or any other material of choice – to the exacting requirements of the design.”