Weaving Algorithms Into Architecture

Computational design is not just a digital replication of analog tools—instead, it introduces an entirely new framework for ‘how’ we work.

- Sneha Naicker

Technology has a great deal of influence on almost every aspect of our everyday life. But what is the work that captures the essence of technology in architecture? In architecture, “form” has a well-placed understanding. It portrays the defining moment for a building. It is the identity; often a way to re-question functionality as a work of art. Now, the most exciting facet, about the amalgamation of the two, is that technology can now demonstrate how the full force of a design, and the design process itself, can affect the day-to-day complex problems vis-a-vis innovations. The macro trends that are coming out of such initiatives couldn’t be further than the present culture of conventional in terms of ideations and yet they address a vast array of possibilities in a positive way. Central to urban developments, these designs were far and few but now computational design is emerging as a global runway for new ideas.

Computational design is when design techniques merge with computational technologies.

Applying computational techniques to the design workflow radically changes how people construct interfaces, services, objects, or buildings. Instead of specifying fixed shapes, designers must define the entire process by which an object is created. This generative process is powered by algorithms whilst the output is not performed by humans using a drawing tool but is auto-generated by a set of instructions, variables and parameters. With the onset of computational design, architecture is witnessing a rapid transformation.