Synergism and Contingency: Design Collaboration with the Computer (1994)
article⁄Synergism and Contingency: Design Collaboration with the Computer (1994)
abstract⁄The outcome of an architectural project is always contingent, dependent upon conditions or events that are not established at the outset. A university design studio does not easily replicate the state of flux which occurs as an architectural commission proceeds. In developing an architectural project, each new situation, whether it be a building code issue, an engineering issue, or a client reaction, must be viewed as an opportunity to further refine and develop the design rather than a hindrance to the outcome. In the design studio I describe in this paper, students test processes which attempt to take advantage of contingent conditions, opening up the design solutions to new possibilities. As a means to open up the design process to new possibilities, this studio introduces the computer as the primary tool for design exploration. Through the computer interface, the work speculates on the possibilities of synergism, defined as the actions of two or more substances or organisms to achieve an effect of which each is individually incapable.’ Three synergetic conditions are explored that between the designer and the computer, that between the designer with computer and designers of previous works of art or architecture, and that between two or more designers working together with the computer. The lack of a predictable result, one that may be obvious or superficial, is a positive byproduct of the synergetic and contingent circumstances under which the designs are developed.
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| Year |
1994 |
| Authors |
Coleman, Kim. |
| Issue |
Reconnecting |
| Pages |
209-217 |
| Library link |
Anton Harfmann & Mike Fraser, 1994. bib⁄Reconnecting. ACADIA. |
| Entry filename |
synergism-contingency |
