Studio AirJournalCheung Fung Ian Chan

My name is Ian. I am currently in my third year of the Bachelor of Environments at the University of Melbourne. I was born in Hong Kong and I came to Australia when I was in year 10, so I could continue my studies at high school and improve my English skills. I enjoy all kinds of sports and also travelling with my family and friends.

Before I arrived in Australia, all my life was spent in cities. When I was told that I was going to spend my last two years of high school in a place called Townsville in Queens-land, that was the first time I got so lost in life. From a city of 7 million people to a town of 200 thousand people, I flew from Hong Kong to Townsville. I still remember that moment when I arrived at the Townville airport which there is only 2 escalators, I began to think, is there even an elevator in this airport? I was right, there is no elevator in the Townsville airport. And not just the airport, there is no metro in the town, the bus comes every 2 hours, every shop close down at 4 pm…. The 16 years old me was so shocked and disappointed, that I think I spent the first half year there almost alone, without really making conversation to anyone. But gradually I started to realize without all those things you see in cities, the distance of people actually become closer. People walk instead of waiting for the bus and on their way, they can meet a lot of new faces to talk to and probably make friends; the shops close down so early people have nowhere to go at night, which they always host house parties and spend time with their friends. Spend 2 years in this little town made me get to know that the relationship among people can be this close, that was an experience that a city life can never give you.

By studying architecture, my aim is to use it to enhance the relationship among people. Especially in cities such as Melbourne, sometimes we are just too busy to mind other people’s business, that we missed out a lot of new opportunities to meet new friends. Through architecture, I wish I could create environments that can shorten the distance between all of us.

Content IntroductionPage Content1 Introduction

2 Architecture contribute ideas as discourse and to the culture

7 Design Computation

12 Composition/Generation

14

15

Conclusion

Learning Outcome

16 Algorithmic Sketchs

17 References

1

Architecture contribute Ideas as DiscourseAnd to the Culture

Bank of China Tower

Architect: L.M. Pei

Location: Hong Kong

Year: 1990

Architecture changes through time, along with the human history. From the stone houses in villages to the skyscrapers in cities, the designs and contruction methods have been modified according to the change of culture and technology of mankind. Architecture is not just structures but also a language spoken by architects, describing and recording the fascinating and exciting evolution process of mankind

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Fig 1. Bank of China Tower 2

As a typical Hong Konger, the Bank of China Tower was the first real architectural project I got contact with. In our eyes, this building can almost be used as the symbol of Hong Kong. Its unique outlook and the X pattern on the outside of it made it become a landmark in the central business district in Hong Kong . The tower was designed and completed in 1990 by the Chinese-American architect, L.M. Pei. Not only the Bank of China Tower is revolutionary in terms of height (it was the first building outside the United States to break 305 metres tall), but also in designs, discovering new ways of thinking. The structure was one of the first and famous buildings focus on structural expression, it was design as mutiple triangular prisms combined with each other, which looks like growng bamboo shoots, symbolising livelihood and properity. This way of designing was not very common back in the 90s of Hong Kong, so this project actually inspired some of the projects after it to use structural expressionism as their designing principle. Apart from the design principles, the Bank of China Tower also created a precedent of constructing without

Ideas & Culture

consulting the Fengshui masters, this was definitely a revolutionary and radical act in the architecture industury. As it is almost a rule that every big project has to have a consultation from the Fengshui master before construction to prevent bad luck. Especially when sharp edges and negative symbol X appear on Pei’s design [4]. Although Pei was criticised by these acts but he managed to over-come these difficulties at last and completed the project. There-fore the Bank of China Tower project made a precedent of

of not following the superstitious belief that is so solid in the minds of the traditional Chinese people. Without the traditional beliefs, the future possibilties of architectures design can be much wider than before (the radical design of this project is what made it become a landmark). The tower continue to serve as the headquarter of the Bank of China, porviding a huge load of banking services. The tower made crucial contribution to strengthen the central business

The Thread

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FIg 2. Bank of China TowerFIg 3. diagram showing triangular prisms symbolize bamboo shoots4. Philip Browing, Architecture of L.M. Pei (New York: Kensington Book, 2008),p50

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The Thread is a project led by a group of students using drones to create a structure. These drones carry threads and move by themselves to create stucture that it is extremely difficult to be done by hand.. What the drones do show that architecture, engineering can be accomplished at the same time. Although the drones cannot do the design part of the structure, It still means that these two industries might have to be redefined in the future.

Even though the structure built in the project Thread was only done by threads, the capability of the complexity level reached by the drones can already be observed. It is a level that cannot be reached by bare human hands. However, this project does not only show us that engineering could be replaced by drones, it also show us that the design ideas of the architects will not be restricted by technology, as the drones might be able to complete a more complicated construction work level as we can now

More or less, we cannot predict the future, it remains unknown. But there is one thing that is certain, which is as the more the technogy is developed, the less restriction will be on the archi-tects design ideas.

ComputationDesign

Computers were invented in the 20th century, this invention surely had brought a great change to a lot of industries in the world, including architecture. Designers and architects have used computer to aid their design work for decades. I agree with Peters [8] , that computation is redefining the architecture industry. When design com-putation become more and more popular, 3D model can be done on computers in-stead of making physical models. These 3D models can even be used to simulate the building’s performace before it is even built. Also, design works can be done faster, accelerating the working progress of the whole project.

Innovative design that has never been done can now be accomplished on the computer by giving architects abilities to due with complex problems, opening up a lot of opportunities for unique and revolutionary building designs

Give opportunities to designsInnovative[5]

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Fig 5 Drones making a structure with stingsFig 6 Layout of the structure the drones are constructing7. Aerial robot thread construction (London: AA School of Architecture, 2013) < http://www.kokkugia.com/AADRL-aerial-robot-thread-construction> [accessed 17 march 2016]

8. Peters, Brady, ‘Computation Works: The Building of Algorithmic Thought’, Architectural Design, 83, 2, pp. 08-15

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CCTV Headquarters

Architect: Rem Koolhaas & Ole Scheeren

Location: Beijing, China

Year: 2012

The CCTV Headquarters is not like any other ordinary towers. The structure is a loof of six horizontal and a vertical section, which together they form an irregualr grid at the front of the building with an open centre in the middle. This building is in such a radicial shape and it is extremely difficult to construct. Which the archi-tect himself, Rem Koolhaas, describe this buidling as something that can never be concieved by the Chinese nor construction by the Europeans [10].

Computation allows the architects to develope such a complex building form, designing computation surely made a great contribution in the process. Unlike making a physical model, producing a 3D model on the computer of this shape does not require a lot of effort and it saves them a lot of time, and even get a better outcome. Design computation can also provide aid in the simulation of extreme structure of this sort, to simulate whether the build would stand if it is built in this form. After numerous computer simulations and tests, the architects and engineers realised they had to build the tower in three parts first then combine it together [11].

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Fig 9 Facade view of the CCTV Tower10. Fraioli, Paul, “The Invention and Reinvention of the City: An Interview with Rem Koolhaas”, Journal of International Affairs (Oxford, Architectural, 2009)11. Paul Goldberger, “Forbidden Cities: Beijing’s great new architecture is a mixed blessing for the city”. (The New Yorker, 2010)

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Innovation Tower

Architect: Zaha Hadid

Location: Hong Kong

Year: 2013

The Innovation Tower is one of the building located inside the Hong Kong Polytechic University, Hong Kong. The theme of the project was to design a structure that stands as a beacon structure in order to symbolise the development of the design industry in Hong Kong. What hadid did was to completely destroy the traditional form of a tower and built a fluid structure instead.

The parametric structure of this tower was even more challenging and complicated to be concieved and constructed. Only with design computation we can produce a precise drawing and 3D model for the tower layout. And it is almost an immpossible or extremely difficult task to achieve if it was to be done through a physical model [10].

The more complicated and irregular the structure shape is, the more design computation can show its capability in the design and construction process. Computation gives the architects the ability to due with complex problems.

10. Wong, Perry, “The innovative architecture of Zaha Hadid”, (Comlumnbia, Architectural, 2008)Fig 11 The innovation Tower

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Composition/Generation

There was once we do not have computers, that all designs were to be hand drawn. At that time, architects have to decide all the details of their designs. And all that changed when design computering appeared

From the start of this profession, architects have been designing their projects thoroughly. They have to decide every single lines and form of the structure. Using a simple idea as the design principle, architectures starts to develop every details of the structure, deciding how it is going to be when it is built. It was very time consuming, and that is what we call composition architecture.

After the invention of computer and a variety of design comput-ing application followed by it, those details design become

unneccessary. As we only need to enter algorithms (methods or techiques to tell the computer to do something) and pa-rameters to generate a whole build with the similar patterns [14]. The two images on this page shows perfect examples of how design computation can aid the architects in the design process, saving a lot of efforts. Architects no longer have to spend time to decide every line or details of the building form. This is called the generation of the architectural design process.

Although it saves a lot of efforts which will reduce their operational cost, but I prefer composition architecture rather than generation. Deciding every details of the building does cost a lot of time, but it is as you do it, you create a unique part of the structure. Because that part is not generated by algorithms, but by your unique self. The outcome of the composition architecture may be not as neat as the gneration architecture, but each part of it is unique, this is one of the factors which produce great architecture masterpieces.

However, with no doubt the technology is going to improve in the future. And it may even overcome the shortcomings I mentioned above. But for now, I still belief that architects should decide every detai of their project instead of just enter algorithms and generate everything out.

Photo aboveDalian International Conference Centre

Photo on the rightGalaxy SOHO

Fig 12 Dalian International Conference CentreFig 13 Galaxy SOHO14. Definition of ‘Algorithm’ in Wilson, Robert A. and Frank C. Keil, eds (1999). The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences (London: MIT Press), pp. 11, 12

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ConclusionAfter all the discussion in part A, I might change my design approach a little bit. I am going to stick with the theme of creating a place or an environment that can shorten the distance between people, but I will add nature and design computation into my ap-proach. Which will become: Making good use of computation techniques to create an environment or a structure to shorten the distance among people and the nature. This approach is significant as I believe that we can only make this world a better place if we communicate and get closer to each other. Nothing can be achieved alone. And I think improving the relationship among people is one of the action that everyone can be ben-efit from it.

Learning OutcomesIn the past few weeks I have learnt a lot during lectures and studios, espe-cially skills on Rhino and grasshopper. I thought I could do anything and any shape in Rhino and CAD but I was wrong. Grasshopper can do much more complicated shapes and structures, and those forms are what we can-not do on CAD obviously, or even rhino. I believe getting to learn to use such a powerful program can allow me to have the ability to work on more complicated forms, giving me much more opportunities to explore on new designs that I would not have conceived before, just as I discuss in A2. However I feel like I am not familiar with grasshopper at all so I will defi-nitely have to watch the tutorials over and over again in order to master the grasshopper skills. If I had the grasshopper skills before, I would not have had so many restrictions on my design thoughts in my past design projects.

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References

Philip Browing, Architecture of L.M. Pei (New York: Kensington Book, 2008),p50

Aerial robot thread construction (London: AA School of Architecture, 2013) < http://www.kokkugia.com/AADRL-aerial-robot-thread-construction> [accessed 17 march 2016]

Peters, Brady, ‘Computation Works: The Building of Algorithmic Thought’, Architectural Design, 83, 2, pp. 08-15

Fraioli, Paul, “The Invention and Reinvention of the City: An Interview with Rem Koolhaas”, Journal of International Affairs (Oxford, Architectural, 2009)

Paul Goldberger, “Forbidden Cities: Beijing’s great new architecture is a mixed blessing for the city”. (The New Yorker, 2010)

Wong, Perry, “The innovative architecture of Zaha Hadid”, (Comlumnbia, Architectural, 2008)

Definition of ‘Algorithm’ in Wilson, Robert A. and Frank C. Keil, eds (1999). The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sci-ences (London: MIT Press), pp. 11, 12

Algorithmic Sketches

The image on the right shows sketches i produced when I was using the grasshopper and loft function for the first time. I selected this image to be displayed as I think the

very first piece of sketch I did should be kept as a record, so I can know my learning process on Grasshopper.

This sketches strengthen my argument that architects or any person involved in the designing industy has less limitation in concieving their design ideas now. Models of these shapes can never be made by hand if there is no design computation. With the program, we can now build whatever models in our minds, we can create any shapes that might not have appeared on this planet before.

I also created a tunnel, and a crystal kind of structure. Through design computation, we can ignore the physics rules that exist in real life and intead focus on creating new shapes and forms. Once again, I can breakthrough the limitations of physical models and create a 3D model with just parametric lines. Through trying numerous times of creating this kind of inrregular shapes, we might gain inspiration of a new design someday.

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B1 Research Field

B1 Research Field

Tessellation & Discomfort

I had not made up my mind of my research field until I went on the site visit to Merri Creek, because all of these fields seem the same to me.Merri Creek is one of the only places that can be hardly decribed as wild na-ture that I went to in Melbourne. However, this place was not giving off a relax-ing or comfortable atmostphere which it suppose to be. Instead, I was feeling odd which I later on found out that it is due to the skyscrapers I saw above the treeline. I might be the only one getting this odd feeling since the people on site seems to be enjoying themselves in this so called “nature”. I cannot help myself but to realise how much human had modified nature, that even protected environments like this is still surrounded by the things we made. From there I decided to amplify that odd and discomfort feeling on site so that peo-ple will realise what we had done that had put the nature at risk.

In order to archieve that, making use of phobia seems to me a pretty good way to get people’s attention, or even a way to let them fear the damage that did to nature. Trypophobia, a type of phobia refering to the fear of clus-ters of small holes or bumps, is the type of phobia that most people are like to be disgusted by according to psychiatrist Carol Mathews, as it is based on the brain response that relates the shapes with danger (such holes might be holes made by insects or holes on wounds)1. To create such pattern and

shapes, tessellation will be ideal to be chosen as my research field, as it is to fill a plane using one or more geometric shapes without overlaps and gaps.

Voussoir Cloud

Precedent - Voussoir CloudThe precedent I studied was Voussoir Cloud, the latest installatio of IwamotoScott for the Southern California Institute of Architecture Gallery. The Voussoir Cloud is basically columns and vaults conisting of clusters of 3D petals made up of wood.

The IwamotoScott architects tried to create an warm atmostphere mainly by using wood as the constructing material to gain sensorial effects. Also they attempt to create a confutsion through the confluct of structure and materials.

There are a lot of fabricational concerns in the process of constructing this structure. Design computation played an extremely crucial role in producing such a complex structure like this, as it would be impossible to be build manually. The installation process is very complicated, since each petal within the design has a slightly different geometry. This is where rhino and grasshopper play the important part as computational script are developed using them to calculate the curve of each on of those petal.

The Voussoir Cloud project reveals many possibilities of design ideas in my head. The clusters of three dimensional petals created in the project inspired me of how to create clusters of holes on the site to make trypophobia. And how design computation can amplify the scale and desity of holes to create a more effective trypophobia. Other than that, the conflict created in the project is also what I would like to show in my project to represent the great difference between the modified environment and the nature2.

B2 Case Study 1.0

Changing parameters of scale

Changing parameters of unit z and geometries

Changing components options, additions or subtractions

Changing points and exploration on free forms

By playing with the geometries, forms and component options, this iteration performs its complexity in the arrang-ment. But what made it successful is not the arrangement but the conflict and chao atmostphere it gives off. Our design can definitely be created in this way

Adding a lot more points into the defi-nition has increase the number and intensity of the holes within the curve. In this manner, putting in more points into the file can obviously make them more intensive, amplifying the effect of trypophobia on visitors of the de-sign. This technique will definitely help us to achieve the design goals

Just as the first iteration, modifying the geometries, forms and component options, this iteration performs its com-plexity and conflict in this form which can be used to represent the conflict between the nature and human world

Different from the other three, this iter-ation does not perform the complex-ity nor the intensity. Instead, I think it is an interesting form created through changing the geometries. This would be useful when we are to come up with a form of the design

Selection Criteria1. Intensive elements to create trypophobia2. Creates the sense of conflict 3. Can still be track back to project Voussoir Cloud

B3 Case Study 2.0

POLYP. LuxPOLYP. lux was the latest work by Softlab which was part of the Festival of Ideas. The structure is hung at the en-trance of St. Patrick’s Catholic School from the ceiling above. It is constructed by a gravity driven process, which is three pipes kind of forms of varieted length hanging downwards.The surface contains more then 1400 LEDs.

The design intent of the project is to slow down the visitors and encourage them to interact with the work 3

Reverse engineering Steps and Diagrams

Set out the plane of the structure

Put the points at where the pipes are, adjust the height of the points

Put the points at where the pipes are, adjust the parameters of scale

Put the points at where the pipes are, adjust the parameters of unit z

Combine the iterations

Track back to the original and adjust the geometries and parameters

After mulitple attempts in reservse enginneering the POLYP. Lux project, there are fails are other outcomes that are comparatively successful. The three images at the bottom are fail outcomes as they do not pro-cess the curves and the pipes nor the original project at all. The pipes hanging down are stuck together that there are no space between them, making them look completely different from the origninal project.

The two images above shows the outcome after I change the geom-etry and the positions of specific points. That had made the form of the iteration to change, showing more curves in the structure instead of just pointy ends. Although there are still a lot of room to make it look like the original project more but it is comparatively success comparing to the other ones I generated

B4 Technique: Developement

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3

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In my perpective, the intensity of clus-ters of small holes or bumps is still the main focus and the most crucial idea. As it is the most common element that cause discomfort and trypophobia in people’s mind. So this is probably not the best iteration but it is marked as successful

If our project aim is to create intensive patterns that fill up a plane without gaps, it does not have to be holes that dig in. In-stead it might be sticks or poles that comes out from the ground, but also with holes at the end of each of them

This iteration processes different elements and pattern that are attached together. I think this can be an inspiration of how we can design we project so to represent the conflict between the human world and the nature

Selection Criteria1. Intensive elements to create trypophobia/discomfort2. Creates the sense of conflict 3. Can be constructed by both artificial and natural materials

B5 Techique: Prototypes

Our design prototype on site

Our chosen site on Merri Creek

Which is over the Merri Creek Trial

MaterialsWhen we are considering about material to use in our design, we did not just consider how they are going to be fixed together or assembled, but we also want to express our design themes throught the use of materials. Which is the conflict between the nature and the environment modified by human.

The material we chose to represent nature is plywood. As mentioned in B1, The Voussoir Cloud project also used wood as their construction material, which creates atmostphere to gain sensorial effects. As wood is a natural element, using it as one of the material of our design will help to give off the sense of nature. Using plywood has a lot of benefits, including its sta-bility and high impact resistance. Also, plywood does not really react to any chemicals so we do not have to worry that it will corrode over time. In order to create the sense of coflict, the other material we chose to use is iron. As we all know, iron is a material that cannot be used before manual processing. So iron will be a good choice used to represent that human has modififed the environment so much, regarding how our heavy indus-try convert a simple material into such huge and heavy object. The most commonly know chemical effect on iron is oxidation, which is also known as rusting, causing the exposure of the surface for corrosion. We chose iron to be our material not just to create a conflict, but also allow it to corrode so the structure does not stand forever, implicating artificial elements does not last forever; while the plywood that does not corrode stay standing

Our design is composed of iron frames supporting a plane of tessel-lation on top of it. It would be built over the Merri Creek Trial allowing people (jogglers most) to go under it.Giving them a trypophobia expe-riece when they see the tessellation plane. Although the Merri Creek is frequently flooded, but the site we had chosen is not on or near the creek, so flooding is not really our concern. However, the rainwater and other source of water source will affect our design. Such as raining over the structure will cause the iron frame to corrode from time to time, afffecting its structural performance from time to

time. Even though its design is meant to be corroding, but structural instabilty of the structure will endanger the safely of people going under it. Therefore, the structure has to be eventually removed when the corrosion start to cause serious effect on its structural performance. Material test is not possible due to our material choice

B6 Technique: ProposalThere was absolutely no idea in my mind of what we are going to do for our design. The day we arrived at this patch of greenery all i got was this odd feel-ing that nothing seems to be right, that is when you think that things do not fit. The reason that I believe to cause this weirdness is the buildings I saw above the treeline. What even made the site more odd to me is that people are inter-acting with the site without feeling what I was feeling. In my perspective, users of the site is using the site as an escape of their busy lives, which is actually a false sense of security as they did not espcape but instead still trapped in this environment modified by human. In our design, we aim to break this false sense and get people realise how we have put our world at risk by modifying it too much.

As I have mentioned in the previous parts, our design is a tessellational plane with numerous of cones hang down, supported by iron frames. We selected these two materials in order to create a conflict through using iron and ply-wood to represent modified human world and the nature respectively. Where plywood creates atmostphere to gain sensorial effects. As wood is a natural element, using it as one of the material of our design will help to give off the sense of nature. While iron used to represent that human has modififed the environment so much, regarding how our heavy industry convert a simple ma-terial into such huge ad heavy object. The chemical reaction of both materials was also a crucial factor that affect us when choosing materials to use, this was mentioned in B5. That iron, representing artificial product, will eventually fall; while plywood, representing nature, will stay standing.

For the design of our structure, it is a tessellational plane with numerous of cones hang down, supported by iron frames. The reason of having a tessel-lational plane (with intensive clusts of holes) is attract the users attention and also create a feeling of discomfort, so to let the users feel how we feel. Vegeta-tions will be grown inside the cones hanging down, they can only be observed outside the structure. When they walk through it, all they can see are the cones

wrapping around the vegetation, representing how human had build around nature. Just like how we build cities everywhere and just reserving small amount of green spaces. Reminding us if we keep building in this way, the green space will be gone sooner or later.

Anyways, there are still a lot of opportunities and limitations that will affect this design proposal later on when we go deeper. Identifying them earlier will defi-nitely inspire us to come up with more design ideas.

Opportunities:1. The site chosen is close to the local council, which will raise the awareness to environmental issues2. The site is close to schools, especially early learning centre, which the design can be usesd to educate the younger ones that human has changed the envi-ronment too much

Limitations:1. Building such huge structures with iron might already be a waste of resources, or even harming the nearby ecosystem2. The structure might scare off or even endanger animals by putting a “un-natural” structure on site3. It is difficult to constructure as the arrangement of the tessellational panel is extremely complicated

B7 Learning OutcomesAt the start we were told to ananlyse a precedent project and download its definition and modify it. I had no idea how it works at the moment I down-loaded it. I decided to explore on tessellation but I did not even know what to modify in order to change how it looks. So I gave up at some point and went to the other research fields such as patterning and panelling. But still at that time I still did not know how to create or even manipulate the definition to create now iterations. Later on I figured that I should not run away from the problem. So I went back to where I started off with, tessellation.

In the learning process I seeked a lot of help from my classmates and they are really helpful (sorry I did not come to you much). Step by step I figured out how to play with the definitions, then I start to create new stuff myself. However, there are still objectives that I cannot really achieve such as the reverse enginnering part. Where I failed to make the curves as smooth as the real project is, even though I think I got the points and the plane right...

As for the research fight, it definitely helped me understand a lot mmore about architecture and the role of design computation. Such as how materials affect on the architectural langauge; how some complex pattern can never be done manully.

B8 Appendix - Algorithmic Sketches

ReferencesCarol Mathews, Phobia: Trypopobia (London: Kenton Book, 2007),p87

Voussoir Cloud (USA: School of Architecture, 2016) http://www.archivenue.com/voussoir-cloud-by-iwamotoscott-with-buro-happold/[accessed 17 march 2016]

POLYP. Lux (London: St. Patrick, 2014) http://designplaygrounds.com/deviants/polyp-lux-by-softlab//[accessed 10 march 2014]

Peters, Brady, ‘Computation Works: The Building of Algorithmic Thought’, Architectural Design, 83, 2, pp. 08-15

Definition of ‘Algorithm’ in Wilson, Robert A. and Frank C. Keil, eds (1999). The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sci-ences (London: MIT Press), pp. 11, 12