Inside Smartgeometry : Expanding the Architectural Possibilities of Computational Design

[BOOK DESCRIPTION]

Smartgeometry (SG) is a key influence on the architectural community who explore creative computational methods for the design of buildings. An informal international network of practitioners and researchers, the group meets annually to experiment with new technologies and collaborate to develop digital design techniques. When SG was founded in 2001 by London-based architects and friends Hugh Whitehead (Foster + Partners), J Parrish (AECOM) and Lars Hesselgren (PLP), there was little in the way of parametric tools for architecture. SG was founded to encourage the development, discussion and experimentation of digital design techniques driven by design intent rather than on construction specifications. SG calls for a re-consideration of the design process, where the creation of computational mechanisms become an integral part of designing - not a task done prior to or separate from the process. In the early years of the workshops this need for new ways of design thinking led to the development of Bentley's GenerativeComponents software.In recent years, the ecology of these design environments has diversified to include multiple software platforms, as well as innovative fabrication techniques and interactive environments. SG has grown accordingly from a handful of experts to an international network of designers who are defining the future of design. Founded by digital pioneers, it creates the algorithmic designers of the future. Inside Smartgeometry can be seen as a retroactive manifesto for SG, examining and contextualising the work of the SG community: the digital spaces, prototypes and buildings designed using bespoke tools created in response to architectural ideas. From interactive crowd-sourcing tools to responsive agent-based systems to complex digitally fabricated structures, it explores more than a decade of advances that have been influential for architecture. Through 23 original texts including reflections by the founders, and key contributors such as Robert Aish, Martin Bechthold, Mark Burry, Chris Williams and Robert Woodbury, the book offers a critical state of the art of computational design for architecture.Many international design and engineering firms have participated in SG and the book includes chapters by practitioners from offices such as CASE, Design2Production, Foster + Partners, Grimshaw, Populous and SOM.

[TABLE OF CONTENTS]

Foreword                                           6
          Brett Steele
    Introduction                                   8   (17)
          Brady Peters
          Terri Peters
    The Origins of Smartgeometry                   25  (14)
          Hugh Whitehead
          Lars Hesselgren
          J. Parrish
    First Build Your Tools                         39  (20)
          Robert Aish
    Parametric Evolution                           59  (2)
          Branko Kolarevic
    Matrix Architecture                            61  (18)
          Jenny E. Sabin
    Metrics of Human Experience                    79  (2)
          Roly Hudson
          Michael Westlake
    Interacting with the Model                     81  (820)
          Neil Katz
          Bess Krietemeyer
          Tobias Schwinn
    Responsive Design: Towards An Ecology of       901 (210)
    Objects and People
          Andre Chaszar
          Anton Savov
          Peter Liebsch
          Sascha Bohnenberger
    Design Flow and Tool Flux                      1111(10)
          Robert Woodbury
    The Sound of Smartgeometry                     1121(8)
          Brady Peters
    Design Exploration and Steering of Design      1129(12)
          Axel Kilian
    Geometry: How Smart Do You Have to Be?         1141(12)
          Chris Williams
    Generativecomponents and Smartgeometry:        1153(12)
    Situated Software Development
          Volker Mueller
          Makai Smith
    From Descriptive Geometry to Smartgeometry:    1165(10)
    First Steps Towards Digital Architecture
          Mark Burry
    Exploring Human-Computer Interaction in        1175(10)
    Design Process
          Flora Salim
          Przemek Jaworski
    Designing Intelligence: Diy Robotics for       1185(10)
    Responsive Environments
          Nick Puckett
    Encoding Design                                1195(10)
          Fabian Scheurer
    Working Prototypes, Creating Knowledge         1205
          Shane Burger
          Xavier De Kestelier
    Mind the Gap: Stories of Exchange              2217(14)
    Designing Robotic Assemblies                   2231(10)
          Tobias Bonwetsch
    The Practice of Smartgeometry                  2241(12)
          Hugh Whitehead
    Digital Crafting: Performative Thinking for    2253(14)
    Material Design
          Mette Ramsgard Thomsen
          Martin Tamke
    Design Robotics: New Strategies for            2267
    Material System Research
          Martin Bechthold
Contributor Biographies                            272