FROM CLAY TABLETS TO DIGITAL TWINS: A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AND BIM TECHNOLOGIES
Keywords:
Architectural history; Building Information Modelling (BIM); CAD; Digital Twins; Generative Design; Timurid architecture; Sustainability; Parametric design; Quasi-crystalline geometry; Artificial Intelligence.Abstract
This article presents a comprehensive chronological and technological analysis of architectural design and building modelling methodologies, tracing their evolution from the earliest Neolithic spatial representations to the sophisticated cyber-physical systems of the 21st century. Drawing upon historical records, archaeological evidence, and contemporary engineering literature, the study examines key paradigm shifts: the emergence of geometric modelling in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt; the mathematical sophistication of Islamic Golden Age and Timurid architecture in Central Asia; the Renaissance invention of linear perspective; the standardisation of mechanical draughting during the Industrial Revolution; the revolutionary transition to Computer-Aided Design (CAD); and finally the transformative advent of Building Information Modelling (BIM), Digital Twins, Generative Design, and Artificial Intelligence. The article demonstrates that each technological transition was driven by converging socio-economic, material, and intellectual pressures, and argues that the present moment — characterised by the integration of AI, IoT sensors, and sustainability imperatives — represents the most consequential inflection point in the five-millennia history of architectural design technology. Special attention is paid to the Timurid architectural heritage of Central Asia as an under-studied precursor to modern parametric and quasi-crystalline design principles.References
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