On Un/Certainty as a Method in Architectural Digital Design
M.Sc. Thesis, 2008 (together w/Neuman Eran)
ABSTRACT:
In recent years, as the enhanced use of computerized form-generation
tools in the architectural design process increased, new concepts
regarding the design of the architectural form have emerged. One of
these concepts is that of uncertainty in the creation of form, a
concept which is reflected by various practitioners practicing computer
aided design techniques.
This research discusses the concept of uncertainty
as a method in
architectural design processes, where computerized calculations serve
as the creative force in designing the architectural form. In these
processes the designer directs the process,
but the formative product
is not pre-directed, therefore not pre-planned or predicted by the
designer. In this situation, where the designer consciously avoids
planning a formative result, the
design process includes a meaningful
dimension of uncertainty regarding the product at the end of the
process.
This is different from design processes where the designer
directs his efforts towards a form. Furthermore, this study refers to
processes in which this dimension of uncertainty is intrinsic to the
computational process in itself (such as the use of pseudorandom number
generators and stochastic searching processes in the creation of form).
Given the complexity of the calculation and the embodiment of
indeterminacy within the computational process, the discussion is of
uncertainty as a method and a process
and of the potentiality of the
method with regard to design.
The research method is qualitative analysis of a case study aimed at
examining this dimension of uncertainty at a critical level. The
analysis focuses on The Hylomorphic Project designed by Open Source
Architecture with the cooperation of Kristina Shea, Marina Gourtovaia
and Arup for the Gen(H)ome exhibition at the Rudolf Schindler House,
West Hollywood, Los Angeles in 2006.
The conceptual framework for the case study report is based upon
three
major themes:
- The first theme, The Third Culture context, refers to the
scientific
cultural context of the case study design method, identified at the
heart of The Hylomorphic design process.
- The second theme, Design Information, refers to the design
process
method as a system of knowledge, where design information is created
not just by the computer, but by design decisions and interactions
between different knowledge domains upon the singular platform of the
software.
- The third theme, The Structure of Un/Certainty, examines
the
incorporation of both "certain" deterministic patterns and "uncertain"
unpredictable ones within the syntax of the code script, the structural
shape annealing algorithm used by the eifForm software that generated
the form, and the syntax of the topological form generation language of
the software.
Finally, the dimension of uncertainty which is structured in the
process is argued here to play a fundamental role as a productive force
in the architectural creation. In the design process of
The Hylomorphic Project the designer controls only part of the design
and does not specify the end result of the project. As such, the design
method discussed entails a conscious decision by the designer to let
go, thus enabling the architectural articulation to autonomously
"become" throughout the form generation procedure. The structuring of
both "certain" and "uncertain" decisions is well defined in advance,
and serves as a platform for unpredictable and extraordinary results
that would not have otherwise been possible.
technion IIT | architecture.and.town.planning | send.email
isaac guedi capeluto