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Algorithmic Architecture
Why does the word design owe its origin to Latin and not Greek roots? Where do the limits of the human mind lie? How does ambiguity enter the deterministic world of computation? Who was Parmenides and why is his philosophy still puzzling today? This unique volume challenges the reader to tackle all these complex questions and more.
Algorithmic Architecture is not a typical theory-based architectural book; it is not a computer programming or language tutorial book either. It contains a series of provocative design projects, and yet it is not just a design or graphic art book per se. Following the tradition of architecture as a conglomeration of various design fields - engineering, theory, art, and recently, computation - the challenge of this book is to present a concept that, like architecture, is a unifying theme for many diverse disciplines. An algorithm is not only a step-by-step problem-solving procedure, a series of lines of computer codes or a mechanistic linguistic expression, but is also an ontological construct with deep philosophical, social, design, and artistic repercussions. Consequently, this book presents many, various and often seemingly disparate points of view that lead to the establishment of one common theme; algorithmic architecture.
Algorithmic Architecture is not a typical theory-based architectural book; it is not a computer programming or language tutorial book either. It contains a series of provocative design projects, and yet it is not just a design or graphic art book per se. Following the tradition of architecture as a conglomeration of various design fields - engineering, theory, art, and recently, computation - the challenge of this book is to present a concept that, like architecture, is a unifying theme for many diverse disciplines. An algorithm is not only a step-by-step problem-solving procedure, a series of lines of computer codes or a mechanistic linguistic expression, but is also an ontological construct with deep philosophical, social, design, and artistic repercussions. Consequently, this book presents many, various and often seemingly disparate points of view that lead to the establishment of one common theme; algorithmic architecture.
- GenresArchitecture
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
20 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 6, 2009
I am about halfway through this book and am betting that the best is to come. The author seems to have a good grasp of computational and design thinking and how to integrate the two. So far, he has offered some pretty solid and common sense advice on how to go about it.
Maybe I like this book because I have similar opinions and interests as the author. It is refreshing to hear an informed argument about computers in design. We all used them in school, but there seemed to be a lack of theoretical rigor in the discussions we had - I don't think anyone had both areas of expertise. A lot of times, people ended up taking uninformed positions instead of making a genuine effort to understand them. To be sure, mine was not that informed either - although I have taken the time to understand computation more since graduating and think a lot of other designers would do well to consider doing the same.
The author is on shakier ground when discussing broader philosphical concepts, which seem sort of sketched in.
Maybe I like this book because I have similar opinions and interests as the author. It is refreshing to hear an informed argument about computers in design. We all used them in school, but there seemed to be a lack of theoretical rigor in the discussions we had - I don't think anyone had both areas of expertise. A lot of times, people ended up taking uninformed positions instead of making a genuine effort to understand them. To be sure, mine was not that informed either - although I have taken the time to understand computation more since graduating and think a lot of other designers would do well to consider doing the same.
The author is on shakier ground when discussing broader philosphical concepts, which seem sort of sketched in.
July 31, 2007
Not bad. Good introduction into ideas and processes related to generative design and modeling. Its good enough to keep as reference material. In other words, I look back at it quite a bit.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
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