How do old design techniques differs from the new technological ones Essay

How do old design techniques differs from the new technological ones - Essay Example Are these new methods better in quality as compared to the preceding old methods? This paper will aim at trying to answer the question concerning the quality of the old methods in design as compared to the current design methods, which have a computer-precise technological aspect. Although new technology such as CAD can deliver highly precise designs and measurements, older design methods and practices which could not depend on computer technology had some meaningful value worth preserving. One of the earliest design practices in general is a period of apprenticeship. This form of on-the-job training can be referred to as a system steeped in antiquity. For instance, the practice is mentioned in Hammurabi’s code of ancient Babylon written around 4,000 years ago: ‘A craftsman often adopted a son to learn the craft. He profited by the sons labour. If he failed to teach his son the craft, that son could prosecute him and get the contract annulled. This was a form of apprenticeship, and it is not clear that the apprentice had any filial relation’ (Horne, 1915) at this time in history. The greatest asset for a designer was the technical knowledge the apprentice could learn from his master. This method can be said of great quality as compared to the new technological design methods because the knowledge obtained in such methods of design were practical and provided contextual knowledge which is hard to get in a classroom. Compared to the ancient methods of apprenticeship instruction for great works such as the pyramids or ancient temples, design instruction practices moved away from this tradition and became largely theoretical, employing the practical element very limitedly. For instance, during the medieval period of the fifth to the fifteenth centuries AD, great cathedrals were designed throughout Western Europe by inexact measurements, probably the correlation between sets of dividers, one small, the other large. At this point in