Unconventional Computing: Design Methods for Adaptive Architecture

by Rachel Armstrong (Editor), Simone Ferracina (Editor)

Unconventional Design Methods for Adaptive Architecture is an exploration of the emerging terrain of negotiated acts of co-design between humans, nonhumans and matter, where spatial programs are regarded as acts of persuasion, cooperation and symbiosis. These acts of design and production are not at odds with nature but are seamlessly entwined with its processes. Unconventional computing offers a platform where information and matter are coupled. Rather than being an afterthought to geometry in the design process, materials can participate directly in design solutions. The book aims to expand tools and approaches for responsive and adaptable methods of architectural design and production. Contributors from the fields of science, design and computation suggest that unconventional computing can be a synergetic practice that integrates established methods including parametrics, digital prototyping, landscape design and cybernetics. The convergence of these methods produce potent possibilities for emerging material practices.

215 pages, Paperback

First published October 24, 2013

About the author

Dr. Rachel Armstrong is a writer and lecturer on the future of human society. She regularly appears on television review and chat shows to talk about her ideas and the implications of current technological trends on our culture.