WEEK 4 Reading

Morphogenesis literally means the beginning of the shape, usually refers to the biological development of an organism, but it has also been a long source of inspiration for computer-based designs. The term “emergence” derives from system theory, where it defines properties of a system which cannot be derived from the sum of its parts - a notion often associated with complexity theory, to the study of nonlinear behaviours and to self organising systems. Michael Hensel, Achim Menges and Michael Weinstock are keen to point out the difference between emergent properties in life and computation as they apply the principles of self organisation to buildings as systems, or even eco systems. Menges applies the theories of self organising systems to structural design, form finding and research on physical materials. The term he often uses in this context is performative, an apparent conflation of form and performance, has been largely adopted by the design community and is still in use.

Menges’s theory and his term performativeness is the quality of material systems that perform through deformation, or which visibly deform to self organise and resist new external forces. These materials can deform under stress and will so they must be carefully calculated.

Blog entry WEEK 3 2015 CoDe1100

“Computation has profound impact on both the perception and realisation of architectural form, space and structure. It shifts the way one perceives form, the way which in which form is purposed, and the way in which form is produced.” Achim Menges, a contemporary architect and professor explains that computation is essential to modern architecture, and completely changes the way we visualize our designs. Through these digital tools we are able to design structures that otherwise would be impossible if done on paper. It is these tools that has allowed architecture to reach its modern stage.

To understand computation and its relevance for architectural design, one must understand the difference between computational and computerisation. The design process consists of 2 stages, how they function, and what they consist of.

Sorry for this is what i could only come up with, i only kind of get the gist of it, couldnt understand enough to condense 20 pages into a summary.