Computational Design Synergy: Stimulation Through Simulation

O P / P O S IT IO N S Computational Design Synergy: Stimulation Through Simulation In complex decision-making such as city design, good designers should find the most synergetic solution between all different systems at play, deterministic or nondeterministic, as opposed to simply limited to the computation of an optimal solution of one deterministic system. Recent advances in computation, such as cloud computing and sensitivity analysis, support designers in such systemic searches, in what we refer to as computational design synergy. Computation no longer produces a myopic black-box fixed solution, but a precomputed environment of alternative best systemic solutions from which the designer and all stakeholders make informed choices. While “black-box” historic data simulation successfully accounted for all those aspects of the decision that are deterministic and slow changing, this same data simulation failed to consider critical nondeterministic and fast-changing aspects of decisions, among them market-driven, social, and economic behaviors. To address these nondeterministic aspects, the machine was installed such that it could learn from the choices of a massively diverse group of stakeholders; their choices are effectively used as proxies for the nondeterministic systems. In the future, this form of computational learning could be executed live: stakeholders could explore consequences while being expertly supported, or stimulated, by the computation. In this scenario, the most sensitive parameters for the chosen key performance indicators (KPIs) would be highlighted. One potential choice, for example, could be the trade-off between carbon and urban form. Again, the novel ability to capture and compute large amounts of data referring to aspects that are “theory poor, but data rich” enables synergetic systemic solutions that are more appropriate and timely, yet scalable. Architecture is an inherently risky business. Architects dream up design solutions for a building that, once erected, is not easily changed. The hope is that a design does the job it needs to do; yet, there is hardly ever an evaluation after the close of the contract for Alvise Simondetti Arup