Levels Of Design Computability Digital Architecture AE 461 course -2013-

Levels Of Design ComputabilityDigital Architecture AE 461 course -2013-

Digital Architecture AE 461 course -2013-

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For Toni kotnic, during the design

process it can distinguish three major levels of computational utilisation that can be defined as levels of design computability: the representational, the parametric, and the algorithmic.


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The representational level A representational level is characterised by

the utilisation of the computational mainly as an electronic drawing tool. An example of such an application is the design of the Kunsthaus Graz by Peter Cook and Colin Fournier in Austria 2003, Figure 2– 12.There; NURBS have been used to digitally describe the shape of the outer skin of the museum based on an existing physical model as shown in Figure 2– 12a. (Mandour, 2004)


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The representational level The structure for the exhibition spaces is

held within the steel frame in the skin. This allows the space to remain unobstructed by columns, as shown in Figure 2– 12b. Below the exhibition spaces, the free public space is enclosed by a thin curtain wall of glass, giving the space a feeling of transparency as shown in Figure 2– 12a and d.


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The representational level The design incorporates a triangular brace

system, and hexagonal ports which grow to self structured nozzles as shown in Figure 2– 12b. These tilted extrusions act as light ports bringing northern light into the exhibition halls. They also serve to highlight the history of Graz, by their orientation to traditional heritage monuments, such as the Clock Tower atop the Schlossber as shown in Figure 2– 12c.


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The representational level The skin does have an added media

function. 930 circular fluorescent bulbs are placed behind the acrylic panels, forming what could be described a very large very low resolution grayscale bitmap matrix. Each bulb can be controlled independently, for intensity and duration. The skin can then be programmed for signage, or for a programmed media exhibit, as shown in Figure


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The representational level Figure 2– 12 The Kunsthaus Graz by Peter Cook and

Colin Fournier. (Graz, 2003) The computer enabled the activation of a geometric language that could not otherwise be controlled easily due to the confliction of the geometry with the standard projections used by convention in architectural presentation .That means; on a representational level there is no real perception of the computational nature that governs the digital environment. Rather, the design process is still in line with the visual reasoning of a conventional paper-based design approach.


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The representational level What exists is merely an awareness

of a potential extension of the traditional geometric language of architecture that is present in the invisible mathematical description of digital design tools, the recognition of the existence of a relationship between specific input and unique output.


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The parametric level In parametric design relationships between objects

are explicitly described, establishing interdependencies between the various objects. Variations, once generated, can be easily transformed and manipulated by activating these attributes. A more complex parametric interplay between all of the various elements of the architecture was used in the design of the Mercedes Benz Museum in Stuttgart by UN Studio (Van Berkel en Bos Architectenbureau) see Figure 2– 13. There, the definition of the geometry of every single element of the building is dependent on the basic layout of the figure.


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The parametric level Figure 2– 13 The Mercedes Benz Museum in Stuttgart

by UN Studio. (kotnic, 2007) On the parametric level there is already a clear understanding of the existence of a computational relationship between input and output and its integration into the design process as a scheme of interdependency between various parts of the design. The algorithmic description of the relationship, however, is not actively activated as design tool. The relationship is fixed and the focus is rather on the possibility of quantification of the input that enables a controlled variation of the output. (Schnabel, 2007)


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The algorithmic level An algorithmic level opens up this relationship between

input and output and is characterised by the utilisation of the formal description of computable function itself and its application as a design strategy. On the algorithmic level, therefore, the focus is on the development of computational design logic that is a sequence of algebraic, analytic, and geometric operations for the manipulation of data and its translation into architectural properties. It is the algorithmic description of the computable function itself and the possibility of an individualised overcoming of the limitations of the inbuilt functionality of the used software.


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The algorithmic level One of the first built examples based on an

algorithmic design approach was the pavilion for the Serpentine Gallery by Toyo Ito and Cecil Balmondin 2002, Figure 2– 14. The use of an iterative subdivision of adjacent sides resulted in a dense field of lines that defined the location of structural members as well as the distribution of openings for the enclosed cubic space. (kotnic, 2007)


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The algorithmic level The design of the national swimming centre in

Beijing by PTW Architects (Peddle Thorp & Walker) is another example of design development based on an algorithmic construction of the underlying geometric structure, Figure 2– 15. The formal description of the space filling behaviour of foam bubbles and its abstraction as Wearie-Phelan geometry enabled the use of complex polyhedral cells as a construction system, a rational and efficient solution that appears to be random. (


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Levels Of Design Computability Digital Architecture AE 461 course -2013-