An Insightful Resemblance between Ancient Egyptian Miniatures and Current Digital Information Models

Architects always search for new means of describing and communicating their design ideas, and 3-D models found to be from the most informative means for this purpose. In ancient Egypt, the beliefs of death, resurrection, and eternity shaped the ancient religious structures and their construction. The design and construction processes of ancient Egyptian buildings and artefacts were collaborative between designers and workers who used stones for cult structures and clay for traditional dwellings. These dwellings as well as the daily life activities were represented by 3-D miniatures and buried with the body as those found in Meketre tomb. For example, the model of a slaughtering house described a slaughtering scene with all objects represented proportionally with colors, while the model of a porch and garden embodied an exterior porch and its surrounding landscape elements. In the current era, building information modeling (BIM) describes the creation of 3-D information models in the virtual digital environment. This technology allowed the architects to collaborate in a common data environment (CDE) on the cloud with other design disciplines through a centralized 3-D digital model to make appropriate design decisions. Fondation Louis Vuitton Museum and Shanghai Tower are notable examples that used BIM models to boost their design and construction processes. The 3-D model of the museum combined all design disciplines for real-time collaboration, while the unique shape of the tower utilized parametric modeling and digital simulation for efficient construction.