Born out of the conviction that "there must be a better way" to design and construct the built environment, The Architecture and New Technologies Group (The ANT Group) is driven to find and incorporate technological solutions that benefit the AEC industry. As a full-service architectural firm and design technologies R&D Lab, our focus is on minimizing wasted time and material and optimizing the design process for our clients. The end result of an optimized process is an optimized building.
How does The ANT Group Work?
Working directly with private clients and consulting with other firms and companies, all of our projects incorporate emerging technologies to their benefit. The ANT Group has several work models.
PRIVATE CLIENTS - The ANT Group provides full-service architectural design to private clients. Designs include relevant technologies that are carefully tested and measured for their positive impact.
AEC COLLABORATION - The ANT Group works in collaboration with other architectural, engineering and construction firms to enhance their current process and support the implementation of emerging technologies.
VENDOR COLLABORATION - The ANT Group consults with hardware and software vendors to provide feedback and guidance from the real-world application of their products.
IN-HOUSE CONSULTING - The ANT Group provides technological R&D for AEC firms that need ongoing assistance and do not have the in-house expertise.
CONSULTING - The ANT Group provides consulting services in any of the "graduated" technologies/processes as well as in BIM implementation and training.
What types of technologies is The ANT Group working with now?
BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING (BIM) - While BIM is by no means an emerging technology, its potential for optimizing buildings is significant. BIM is a core technology within The ANT Group.
SIMULATION AND ANALYSIS - Simulation and analysis are the next logical steps in the evolution of BIM implementation. Immediate solutions provide information on structure, energy analysis and code status.
LASER SCANNING - In the renovation of existing buildings, getting accurate information on facilities even as new as 25 years old is difficult. Laser scanning captures accurate 3D information quickly and can be converted to BIM models efficiently.
FABRICATION AND PRE-FABRICATION - If the building industry is to continue at the desired pace, efficiencies in the process must take place. The fabrication and pre-fabrication of portions of buildings will come straight from the design software to the mills for assembly on site or in a shop environment.
3D RAPID PROTOTYPING - Similar to fabrication, 3D rapid prototyping affords the design professional relatively inexpensive physical models. These models are used efficiently in the process of design iteration.
IMMERSIVE ENVIRONMENTS - Paralleling the innovations in data, storage and processing speed, are advances in display technologies. Large, interactive displays are having a profound effect on how the AEC industry designs, collaborates, presents and builds.
INTERFACE - Computing interfaces --touch, multi-touch, gestural and voice interfaces-- are already appearing on our phones, games and other devices and are changing the way we design.
AUGMENTED REALITY - Augmented reality is the layering of virtual worlds on top of the real. The use of this technology is assisting designers in visualizing different solutions, in full scale, as well as present them in a real world setting. Thanks to augmented reality, clients can see a building on site before it is actually built.
There are many, many technologies that are changing the face of the design and construction industry. In bringing emergent technologies to our projects, The ANT Group is paving the way for our clients' success.
