Proving Grounds: How Saudi Arabia Shaped Computer Aided Design Tools Used by American Architects, 1967–83.
This article reinterprets the early history of computer-aided design (CAD) by relocating its development from U.S. labs to transnational building sites in Saudi Arabia. Drawing on unpublished project records and planning documents, the article shows how American architectural firms working on Saudi-...
| Published in: | Technology & Culture Vol. 66; no. 4; pp. 959 - 991 |
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| Format: | Article |
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Johns Hopkins University Press
Oct2025
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=188783689&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 188783689 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 0040165X TCU jtl: Technology & Culture issn: 0040165X maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Oct2025 vid: 66 iid: 4 pid: 226 pub: Johns Hopkins University Press artinfo: ui: 188783689 10.1353/tech.2025.a971298 ppf: 959 ppct: 32 formats: tig: atl: Proving Grounds: How Saudi Arabia Shaped Computer Aided Design Tools Used by American Architects, 1967–83. aug: au: Tobey, Aaron su: Saudi Arabia United States Geopolitics Computer-aided design American architects Architectural history Saudi Arabians Digital humanities Computer software developers sug: subj: Geopolitics Saudi Arabia United States Computer Systems Design Services Computer systems design and related services (except video game design and development) Computer-aided design American architects Architectural history Saudi Arabians Digital humanities Computer software developers keyword: architect architecture computer aided design architect architecture computer aided design ab: This article reinterprets the early history of computer-aided design (CAD) by relocating its development from U.S. labs to transnational building sites in Saudi Arabia. Drawing on unpublished project records and planning documents, the article shows how American architectural firms working on Saudi-funded megaprojects shaped the routines, software, and visual language of CAD. By framing CAD as a product of geopolitical negotiation—rather than technical inevitability—this article unsettles dominant digital-turn narratives. This analysis contributes to architectural history, STS, and digital studies by demonstrating how design tools emerged through the entanglement of labor, software, and political ambition. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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