Empathic Space: The Computation of Human-Centric Architecture(Architectural Design)

In recent years, questions of space have gained renewed momentum in architecture and urban design, as adaptation, densification and sustainable regeneration have become an increasing priority. While most computing-based design tends to emphasise the formal aspects of architecture, overlooking space and its users, the ‘original’ computational design approaches first spearheaded in the UK in the 1960s and 1970s tended to be focused on behavioural and occupational patterns. Over the last decade, a new generation of design research has emerged that has started to implement and validate previous investigations into spatial computation, aiming to understand how to design spatial configurations based on user experiences. This revives an interest in the experiential that was first explored in the early 20th century by German and Nordic organic architects, who invented design methods that correlated cognitive responses of buildings' occupants to spatial structure. The current revival of human-centric design, however, represents the first design approach that synthesises spatial design and algorithmic techniques with organic design thinking, which could also be regarded as a return to the ‘first principles' of architectural design. Contributors include: Paul Coates, Christian Derix, Olafur Eliasson, Lucy Helme, Bill Hillier, Åsmund Izaki, Prarthana Jagannath, Dan Montello, Juhani Pallasmaa, Philip Steadman and Guy Theraulaz. Featured Architects/Designers: Jussi Ängeslevä (Art+Com), Stan Allen, Aedas|R&D, Markus Braach (Kaisersrot), Hermann Hertzberger, Kazuhiro Kojima (Cat), Pablo Miranda and Rafi Segal.

Table of Contents:
EDITORIAL 5 Helen Castle ABOUT THE GUEST-EDITORS 6| Christian Derix and Åsmund Izaki SPOTLIGHT: Visual highlights of the issue 8 INTRODUCTION: The Space of People in Computation 14 Christian Derix HEURISTIC GENERATION Generative Design Methods and the Exploration of Worlds of Formal Possibility 24 Philip Steadman The Deep Structure of the Picturesque 32 Paul Coates and Christian Derix Crafting Space: Generative Processes of Architectural Configurations 38 Kazuhiro Kojima Solutions You Cannot Draw 46 Markus Braach INTERACTIONS IN THE FIELD Embracing the Creativity of Stigmergy in Social Insects 54 Guy Theraulaz Block/Tower: A Vertical Landscape in Midtown Manhattan 60 Stan Allen and Rafi Segal Programs as Paradigms 66 Pablo Miranda Carranza COGNITIVE CONDITIONS Spatial Cognition and Architectural Space: Research Perspectives 74 Daniel R Montello Empathic Imagination: Formal and Experiential Projection 80 Juhani Pallasmaa The Future is Curved 86 Olafur Eliasson The Aura of the Digital 94 Jussi Ängeslevä EXPERIENTIAL TYPOLOGIES The Generic City and its Origins 100 Bill Hillier Polyvalence: Th e Competence of Form and Space with Regard to Different Interpretations 106 Herman Hertzberger Encoding User Experiences 114 Åsmund Izaki and Lucy Helme FUTURE FORWARD New Curricula: Syntonic Systems 122 Christian Derix and Åsmund Izaki Near Futures: Associative Archetypes 130 Christian Derix and Prarthana Jagannath COUNTERPOINT: How Can Code be Used to Address Spatiality in Architecture? 136 Leon van Schaik CONTRIBUTORS 142

About the Author :
Christian Derix and Asmund Izaki are the authors of Empathic Space: The Computation of Human-Centric Architecture, published by Wiley.