The Evolution of Computation in Architecture

Book excerpt: This book is the first comprehensive overview of the pioneering works, events, and people that contributed to the paradigm shift defined by computation in architecture. Only recently has computation fostered profound new ways of designing, fabricating, constructing, and thinking about architecture. While the profession sits at the end of the beginning of this historically transformative shift, it is now possible to look back upon the rapidly maturing landscape of projects, influencers, and tools that have finally begun to catch up with the visionary thinking of the past. Readers are guided through the fascinating and fast-paced historical timeline of the development of computation in architecture. Beginning with an account of the pioneering futuristic thinkers, the authors then guide the reader through the birth of computation, the appropriation of tools and the impact of experimentation on the profession, leading into the legitimacy of research and how paradigms have been expanded. The examples and influences are presented in a way that they can be understood and built upon. This book is a must-read for students of computation in architecture as well as researchers and practicing architects thinking about how the tools we use and the ways we design our buildings and environments with them can truly impact our lives.