Basak Ucar | TED University (original) (raw)
Papers by Basak Ucar
RCL — Revista de Comunicação e Linguagens Journal of Communication and Languages, 2024
Contemporary urban conditions, where different agencies are associated through various spatial co... more Contemporary urban conditions, where different agencies are associated through various spatial confrontations, are redefined as a system with all its components; socioeconomic, biological, geographical, ecological, and experiential. Incorporating these coexistences in the definition of urban conditions necessitates a multi-focal rendering of the associations and a speculative practice of a new methodological approach. This article considers the use of data-driven urban representations for achieving a 'systems thinking' approach as a new methodology to research the pluralities, contradictions, degradations, and climatic challenges of contemporary cities. In this respect, the experienced data avalanche and interaction with the large scale of bytes used for data-driven practices can be considered as a challenging transformation that proposes deep readings of cities and hence can be used in practising a 'systems thinking' approach. Mapping the information and producing data-driven urban representations can be considered a challenge in defining the systems thinking approach and responding to the transformations, definitions, and conditions of contemporary cities. This new method of engagement with data-driven practices cultivates an architectural transformation by sourcing,
Journal of Design Studio, 2023
Commonly associated with the accurate representation of reality according to a specific ratio, wh... more Commonly associated with the accurate representation of reality according to a specific ratio, which depends mainly on measuring and precision, the notion of scale has been considered an operative tool in architecture to perceive and indicate the size of anything according to a reference system. An effort to challenge the concept of scale(ing) to include diverse reference units and their scalar articulations holds the potential of instigating novel associations in architectural design studios. Possible readings of these alternative scale(ing) conditions are discussed in the paper in reference to a series of design exercises conducted at architectural design studios. The main intention is to question these unmediated associations to the reference unit in the determination of size and proportion, thus possible scales of architectural space. This particular method of analysis aims to arrive at various scale(ing) conditions, whose internal reference system is challenged by the changes and shifts in the definition of the major reference unit. Each different scale(ing) condition studied through the given exercise was regarded as an act of confrontation for readings of scale as well as presenting provocative challenges to the architectural design processes. With this standpoint, the paper proposes a multilayered reading of scale that argues the reference unit’s instrumentality in the definition of architectural space and proposes an alternative methodology of integrating scale in architectural design education.
EAAE-ARCC International Conference & 2nd VIBRArch: The architect and the city, 2020
Being an abstract system that translates and reconstructs the real phenomena, map had a long hist... more Being an abstract system that translates and reconstructs the real phenomena, map had a long history of recording and interpreting the data. Practiced with different techniques in different periods and contexts, it has always been considered as a preeminent way of collecting, organizing and representing the data. However, map also inherits the potential of representing more than the reality and denotes new and unacknowledged conditions, which initiate the use of maps as generative tools that mediate between real and possible configurations.
Advances in technology and the use of digital design tools initiated a radical shift in communication and mapping techniques, which enabled to acquire, interpret and use complex data. Defining a shift in the conventional mapping practices, this contemporary approach of working with big and complex data engages with what is ‘unknown’, ‘invisible’ or ‘discreet’. This shift necessitates the acknowledgement of alternative ways of examining and conveying information as well as its visualization. ‘Datascapes’ are considered as multilayered and multidimensional representations of complex data, which not only represent the data visually or numerically, but also inherit a particular ‘eidetic argument’. Since they hold the data in an interpretative manner, they stimulate the designer’s creativity and opens up new grounds for explorations. However, datascapes are not static representations confined with the two dimensional representation medium, rather may be configured and represented in various forms, which can be updated simultaneously and result in ephemeral maps of complex matters. These maps can represent the ever-changing relations and ever-expanding data, and can be used to map the visible and invisible data of the contemporary city.
Footprint Delft Architecture Theory Journal, 2023
Architectural Research Addressing Societal Challenges
METU JOURNAL OF THE FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, 2011
Dosya #44_yüzüncü yılında bauhaus, 2019
Advances in computing, sensing devices and engineering knowledge bring forth new reflections and ... more Advances in computing, sensing devices and engineering knowledge bring forth new reflections and new fields of research on/in architecture; the use of responsive technologies is one such field that introduces and develops the idea of responsiveness in architecture. In the emerging experience of responsive environments, the notion of responsiveness goes beyond that of a computer responding consequently to a given input, to start denoting a reciprocal relationship between the human and the machine. In a relationship where the parties of interaction respond to each other and redefine themselves according to the responses of other parties, the boundary between parties transforms itself and inherits the potential of being dynamic and permeable. In the constant redefinition of this boundary, neither the responsive mechanism, nor the participant can be regarded as passive receptors.
There has been a growing interest in responsive environments in architecture, with the introducti... more There has been a growing interest in responsive environments in architecture, with the introduction of new technologies and recent developments in computing, sensing devices and engineering knowledge. The concept of responsiveness has given way to the design and building of dynamic and flexible environments, which are able to respond to changing conditions in the environment and the user actions. Research in the field of responsive environments commonly embraces the use of machines as mechanisms, emphasizing the coordination of parts in association to satisfy a common purpose. There are also exceptional attempts of conceptualizing responsive environments as Deleuzian machines that re-problematize embodiment and human machine interaction; machinic approaches. The machines in these practices differ from mechanisms in the sense that ―they make new connections in order to transform and maximize themselves, while connecting and reconnecting to different machine(s), which are also in continuous evolution and redefinition. Defining the responsive environment through machinic approaches enables the embodiment of relations with regard to the body. Using the machine not only as a means for attaining an efficiency of production, but also as a means for defining an evolving, dynamic, unpredictable and indeterminate interaction process, is seen to have altered the conception of the body in responsive environments. In its altered conception, the body is continuously redefined through its interaction with the machine and the environment. This change necessitates the re-conceptualization of the human-machine interaction and the conception of the machine so that it can trigger and also embrace this transformation. Therefore, it can be claimed that this conception of the body through machinic approaches; as unstable and inseparable from the environment introduces new experiences for the body and recasts the issue of human-machine interaction and that of embodiment in the field of architecture. Embracing this reconceptualization of the body, machinic approaches in responsive environments do not consider a hierarchic order between the participants of the interaction process. Rather, these approaches consider that all bodies involved in the interaction process including the environment can define connections with other bodies, trigger and redefine the relations, which initiate a non-hierarchic association. In its re-problematization, the human-machine interaction is conceptualized so that it enables this non-hierarchic association and disrupts the prevailing and central condition of the human body. This can be regarded as initiating a de-centering of the human body, which enables the human and the machine to act in a reciprocal relationship with one another, and affect each other's conditions and experiences. Through this way, responsive environments not only affect the definition and effectiveness of the built environment but also the ways the environment is experienced together with the condition of the human and the machine in this experience. In the proposed paper, machinic approaches used to define responsive environments in architecture will be discussed in relation to Deleuzian definition of the machine. Several architectural examples will be considered to discuss the redefinition of the concept of responsiveness through continuously transforming machines.
The common ground that architecture shares with other disciplines of design and planning, as well... more The common ground that architecture shares with other disciplines of design and planning, as well as its relation to all forms of visual arts, is evident and granted. This shared ground and the reciprocities that all inter-disciplinary relations suggest are being efficiently –and inevitably– utilized for educational purposes. For many courses in the architectural curricula, instructors and students find many opportunities to compare concepts of architecture with those of visual arts. However, one can also observe that such comparisons and relations mostly tend to be experienced through the products of such fields. The relation of art works themselves to architectural concepts becomes so boldly apparent that the comparison of the processes of artistic creation and architectural production remains secondary. On the other hand, architectural design also shares a lot with other compositional arts that does not operate on visual terms, such as music and literature. The vocabulary on composition shared by all these disciplines with concepts such as texture, rhythm, and etc. opens up further possibilities for educational experiences on the process of creation. In this paper, such an
This paper focuses on the new experiences in architecture provided by the introduction of new tec... more This paper focuses on the new experiences in architecture provided by the introduction of new technologies and advances in the computational paradigm, which have given way to the design and building of dynamic and flexible environments called responsive environments. Being dynamic and flexible, responsive environments are able to respond to changing conditions in the environment and the user actions. Their capabilities, extending from capturing the information from the environment to providing real-time outputs illuminate interesting opportunities for designers and users. This emerging experience of responsiveness defines new experiences for the user, where the notion of responsiveness goes beyond that of a computer responding automatically to a given input and denotes a continuous redefinition of the boundary between the users' embodied self and its' computed representation. In the constant redefinition of this boundary neither the responsive environment nor the user can be regarded as passive receptors. Instead, they act as dynamic and active entities evolving and redefining the mutual relationship in-between constantly. This paper focuses on this relationship, where the environment and the user can be intertwined in such a way that each one acts like an extension of the other and propose new experiences. In order to attain this continuous redefinition, the relationship between the user and the responsive environment should sustain its continuity and open up new experiences and relations. In this paper it is argued that introducing generative impulses that can help to continue the interaction between the responsive environments can be considered as a generative approach that produces variation. Concepts of 'unpredictability' and 'boredom' are conceived as motivating and generative impulses that can help to continue the interaction between the responsive environment and the participant and generate new experiences and relations. The paper also exemplifies a design-research experiment that was implemented as a portable digital screen to test and discuss the conceptualization of 'unpredictability' and 'boredom' as generative impulses in responsive environments.
Advances in theory and technology of computational design can be asserted to promote new directio... more Advances in theory and technology of computational design can be asserted to promote new directions for the design and experience of architectural and urban environments where the design process is governed by performance oriented studies. It is possible to assert that one of the main objectives of these studies is to respond to the dynamic behavior of environment and participants in the urban context. These studies based on relations and equations aim to define a constantly evolving process based on several computational design strategies. As a consequence of experiencing these computational design tools and strategies, the environment can be redefined as a single parametric entity in respect to the changing values given to different variables. In this process, the end product can alter simultaneously through the integration and modification of the information gathered from the urban environment and its participants. However, it is open to question whether the design of architectural and urban environments is physically and socially responsive to their urban contexts. Therefore, this paper focuses on the theoretical discussion of the terms of performative design, its tools of operation, and the ways of responding to context considering the environmental factors and also the participants. 1. INTRODUCTION The developments in technology and computer-aided communication means, as well as studies in mathematics, geometry and science can be asserted to promote significant changes in architectural design practices, conception of space, its perception and visual expression. This radical shift was subsequent to the introduction of computational design tools and strategies, which altered the conventional architectural design approach, and opened up new grounds for the generation and experimentation of design ideas. In the light of these developments, architectural design practice was redefined once more with the introduction of computational design strategies and tools and witnessed a transformation from a static relationship between idea and image, towards a more dynamic process [2]. Within this transformation, the possibilities introduced by these tools and strategies can also be asserted to define new paradigm shifts in the theoretical and methodological conceptions of design and production practices. The practiced computational design tools and strategies open up new territories for the exploration and experience of design ideas and enable to work dynamically and simultaneously on the emergent and adaptive properties of the computational model [3]. According to Kolarevic, in this new design environment the designer has the control over the computationally-generated form since s/he defines a generative system for the formal production [3]. Through this system, the designer controls the behaviour of form and model over time, and selects forms those emerge from several operations. These operations can be formulated according to different parameters varying form structural considerations to aesthetic concerns, economic limitations to functional requirements. Although most of the examples of this approach aim to consider functional influences, there is also a growing interest in manifesting the formal repertoire that reveal the responsiveness of the process and form to the complex contextual influences driven by the socioeconomic , cultural and environmental forces [3]. Influenced by these tools and strategies, and also engineering applications of simulation and analysis of especially structural and environmental considerations, the design of many significant architectural projects make use of computational performance simulations and analyses in their form-finding processes. This emerging approach utilizes several quantitative and qualitative performance-based applications and considers " performance " as a guiding design principle for the design of the built environment [4]. Dependent on different performance-related aspects, the concept of " performance " spans different territories of financial, social, cultural, structural or environmental considerations in each design process. In order to understand the use of urban context as a force of attraction in design processes considering " performance " as a guiding design
As a consequence of developments in technology and computer-aided communication means, the archit... more As a consequence of developments in technology and computer-aided communication means, the architectural design practices, conception of space, its perception and visual expression have undergone significant changes. This radical shift was subsequent to the introduction of computational design tools, which altered the conventional architectural design approach, and opened up new grounds for the generation and experimentation of design ideas. Parallel to the changes in the design process, ways of representing design ideas have undergone significant changes. This paper argues that, the architectural representation process and diagram based practices, acting as critical design and communication tools for centuries, experienced a conceptual shift under the influence of computational design practices. Being structures of relations and forces, diagrams can be conceived as important tools that are used in this updated design environment. Since the use of diagrams defines the mediation between the conceptual analysis of relations and their material outcomes, the conscious delay of formal expression gives the opportunity to experiment on the circumstances through the modification of relations or data. These modifications provide feedbacks to the diagram, leading to the constant evolution of the diagram and consequently the whole process. Therefore , the formal expressions of these ever-changing relations are delayed consciously to facilitate the definition of a generative design process. The conscious delay of formal expression releases design ideas from visual and formal constraints, giving way to a constantly evolving process, where the diagram provides continuous feedback. This shift marks the departure from the functional use of diagrams. Diagrammatic practices, suspending visual representation for the sake of indicating new relations and organizations, are seen to acquire significance in computational design processes, in which modifications and data integrations can be made easily. In order to achieve the desired generativity in computational design processes and to overcome the pragmatic determinism of formal expressions, the relations and forces affecting different layers of the diagram are altered or redefined constantly, thus delineating the maximization of possible outcomes. Hence, following the altered mode of the architectural representation process, the guidance of diagrammatic studies in a computational design process blurs formal representation , and underlines the significance of process and information entry into the system. Through the coding of data present in the diagram, which can be handled easily via these tools, an instrumental representation is attained. By means of capturing snapshots from
Parallel with the introduction of the computational design environment, architectural design and ... more Parallel with the introduction of the computational design environment, architectural design and representation processes witness a radical transition, which may be asserted to initiate a paradigm shift affecting both. In this new design environment, the computational design process is governed by process-based studies making use of relations and equations that aim to define a constantly evolving process, where the end-product alters simultaneously with data integration and modification. This paper focuses mainly on active/dynamic environments defined by responsive systems where there exists a mutual relation between the system (made up of sensors, reactors, and collectors etc. that provide the information flow) and the user. Simultaneously capturing the data from the user, scanning into numeric data and transmitting it to the relations, the responsive models propose simultaneous visualization of their interaction with the user, thus redefining the architectural representation process within the computational design environment.
With the introduction of a computational design environment, architectural design and representat... more With the introduction of a computational design environment, architectural design and representation processes witness a radical transition from the analog to the digital medium, that may be asserted to initiate a paradigm shift affecting both. In this new design environment, extending the instrumentality of computer-aided processes to the generative use of computational tools and procedures, architectural design and representation processes are subject to mutual alterations, challenged with computational design strategies such as parametric design, associative geometry, generative diagrams, scripting and algorithmic procedures. Computational design approaches proceed with the definition of a mathematical model based on the numeric definition of relations and equations, substituting the conventional visual/orthographic representation. This thesis aims to inquire the outcomes of assuming non-visual/numeric representation as a strategy in the therefore redefined process of architectural representation. Through the generative logic embedded in the mathematical model, attention shifts from form to process. This emphasis on process rather than the formal outcome, aids the experimentation of a desired indeterminacy, coming forth in dynamic, non-linear
v
design processes, blurring the boundaries between different phases of design, and of representation. The intentional search for a generative design process liberated from the visual/formal determinism of the conventional design approach, initiates a conscious delay in the definition of form, and thus of visual representation. The thesis discusses the potentials presented by generative mathematical models defined with the aid of computational design tools, and the ways in which they alter and inform architectural design and representation.
RCL — Revista de Comunicação e Linguagens Journal of Communication and Languages, 2024
Contemporary urban conditions, where different agencies are associated through various spatial co... more Contemporary urban conditions, where different agencies are associated through various spatial confrontations, are redefined as a system with all its components; socioeconomic, biological, geographical, ecological, and experiential. Incorporating these coexistences in the definition of urban conditions necessitates a multi-focal rendering of the associations and a speculative practice of a new methodological approach. This article considers the use of data-driven urban representations for achieving a 'systems thinking' approach as a new methodology to research the pluralities, contradictions, degradations, and climatic challenges of contemporary cities. In this respect, the experienced data avalanche and interaction with the large scale of bytes used for data-driven practices can be considered as a challenging transformation that proposes deep readings of cities and hence can be used in practising a 'systems thinking' approach. Mapping the information and producing data-driven urban representations can be considered a challenge in defining the systems thinking approach and responding to the transformations, definitions, and conditions of contemporary cities. This new method of engagement with data-driven practices cultivates an architectural transformation by sourcing,
Journal of Design Studio, 2023
Commonly associated with the accurate representation of reality according to a specific ratio, wh... more Commonly associated with the accurate representation of reality according to a specific ratio, which depends mainly on measuring and precision, the notion of scale has been considered an operative tool in architecture to perceive and indicate the size of anything according to a reference system. An effort to challenge the concept of scale(ing) to include diverse reference units and their scalar articulations holds the potential of instigating novel associations in architectural design studios. Possible readings of these alternative scale(ing) conditions are discussed in the paper in reference to a series of design exercises conducted at architectural design studios. The main intention is to question these unmediated associations to the reference unit in the determination of size and proportion, thus possible scales of architectural space. This particular method of analysis aims to arrive at various scale(ing) conditions, whose internal reference system is challenged by the changes and shifts in the definition of the major reference unit. Each different scale(ing) condition studied through the given exercise was regarded as an act of confrontation for readings of scale as well as presenting provocative challenges to the architectural design processes. With this standpoint, the paper proposes a multilayered reading of scale that argues the reference unit’s instrumentality in the definition of architectural space and proposes an alternative methodology of integrating scale in architectural design education.
EAAE-ARCC International Conference & 2nd VIBRArch: The architect and the city, 2020
Being an abstract system that translates and reconstructs the real phenomena, map had a long hist... more Being an abstract system that translates and reconstructs the real phenomena, map had a long history of recording and interpreting the data. Practiced with different techniques in different periods and contexts, it has always been considered as a preeminent way of collecting, organizing and representing the data. However, map also inherits the potential of representing more than the reality and denotes new and unacknowledged conditions, which initiate the use of maps as generative tools that mediate between real and possible configurations.
Advances in technology and the use of digital design tools initiated a radical shift in communication and mapping techniques, which enabled to acquire, interpret and use complex data. Defining a shift in the conventional mapping practices, this contemporary approach of working with big and complex data engages with what is ‘unknown’, ‘invisible’ or ‘discreet’. This shift necessitates the acknowledgement of alternative ways of examining and conveying information as well as its visualization. ‘Datascapes’ are considered as multilayered and multidimensional representations of complex data, which not only represent the data visually or numerically, but also inherit a particular ‘eidetic argument’. Since they hold the data in an interpretative manner, they stimulate the designer’s creativity and opens up new grounds for explorations. However, datascapes are not static representations confined with the two dimensional representation medium, rather may be configured and represented in various forms, which can be updated simultaneously and result in ephemeral maps of complex matters. These maps can represent the ever-changing relations and ever-expanding data, and can be used to map the visible and invisible data of the contemporary city.
Footprint Delft Architecture Theory Journal, 2023
Architectural Research Addressing Societal Challenges
METU JOURNAL OF THE FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, 2011
Dosya #44_yüzüncü yılında bauhaus, 2019
Advances in computing, sensing devices and engineering knowledge bring forth new reflections and ... more Advances in computing, sensing devices and engineering knowledge bring forth new reflections and new fields of research on/in architecture; the use of responsive technologies is one such field that introduces and develops the idea of responsiveness in architecture. In the emerging experience of responsive environments, the notion of responsiveness goes beyond that of a computer responding consequently to a given input, to start denoting a reciprocal relationship between the human and the machine. In a relationship where the parties of interaction respond to each other and redefine themselves according to the responses of other parties, the boundary between parties transforms itself and inherits the potential of being dynamic and permeable. In the constant redefinition of this boundary, neither the responsive mechanism, nor the participant can be regarded as passive receptors.
There has been a growing interest in responsive environments in architecture, with the introducti... more There has been a growing interest in responsive environments in architecture, with the introduction of new technologies and recent developments in computing, sensing devices and engineering knowledge. The concept of responsiveness has given way to the design and building of dynamic and flexible environments, which are able to respond to changing conditions in the environment and the user actions. Research in the field of responsive environments commonly embraces the use of machines as mechanisms, emphasizing the coordination of parts in association to satisfy a common purpose. There are also exceptional attempts of conceptualizing responsive environments as Deleuzian machines that re-problematize embodiment and human machine interaction; machinic approaches. The machines in these practices differ from mechanisms in the sense that ―they make new connections in order to transform and maximize themselves, while connecting and reconnecting to different machine(s), which are also in continuous evolution and redefinition. Defining the responsive environment through machinic approaches enables the embodiment of relations with regard to the body. Using the machine not only as a means for attaining an efficiency of production, but also as a means for defining an evolving, dynamic, unpredictable and indeterminate interaction process, is seen to have altered the conception of the body in responsive environments. In its altered conception, the body is continuously redefined through its interaction with the machine and the environment. This change necessitates the re-conceptualization of the human-machine interaction and the conception of the machine so that it can trigger and also embrace this transformation. Therefore, it can be claimed that this conception of the body through machinic approaches; as unstable and inseparable from the environment introduces new experiences for the body and recasts the issue of human-machine interaction and that of embodiment in the field of architecture. Embracing this reconceptualization of the body, machinic approaches in responsive environments do not consider a hierarchic order between the participants of the interaction process. Rather, these approaches consider that all bodies involved in the interaction process including the environment can define connections with other bodies, trigger and redefine the relations, which initiate a non-hierarchic association. In its re-problematization, the human-machine interaction is conceptualized so that it enables this non-hierarchic association and disrupts the prevailing and central condition of the human body. This can be regarded as initiating a de-centering of the human body, which enables the human and the machine to act in a reciprocal relationship with one another, and affect each other's conditions and experiences. Through this way, responsive environments not only affect the definition and effectiveness of the built environment but also the ways the environment is experienced together with the condition of the human and the machine in this experience. In the proposed paper, machinic approaches used to define responsive environments in architecture will be discussed in relation to Deleuzian definition of the machine. Several architectural examples will be considered to discuss the redefinition of the concept of responsiveness through continuously transforming machines.
The common ground that architecture shares with other disciplines of design and planning, as well... more The common ground that architecture shares with other disciplines of design and planning, as well as its relation to all forms of visual arts, is evident and granted. This shared ground and the reciprocities that all inter-disciplinary relations suggest are being efficiently –and inevitably– utilized for educational purposes. For many courses in the architectural curricula, instructors and students find many opportunities to compare concepts of architecture with those of visual arts. However, one can also observe that such comparisons and relations mostly tend to be experienced through the products of such fields. The relation of art works themselves to architectural concepts becomes so boldly apparent that the comparison of the processes of artistic creation and architectural production remains secondary. On the other hand, architectural design also shares a lot with other compositional arts that does not operate on visual terms, such as music and literature. The vocabulary on composition shared by all these disciplines with concepts such as texture, rhythm, and etc. opens up further possibilities for educational experiences on the process of creation. In this paper, such an
This paper focuses on the new experiences in architecture provided by the introduction of new tec... more This paper focuses on the new experiences in architecture provided by the introduction of new technologies and advances in the computational paradigm, which have given way to the design and building of dynamic and flexible environments called responsive environments. Being dynamic and flexible, responsive environments are able to respond to changing conditions in the environment and the user actions. Their capabilities, extending from capturing the information from the environment to providing real-time outputs illuminate interesting opportunities for designers and users. This emerging experience of responsiveness defines new experiences for the user, where the notion of responsiveness goes beyond that of a computer responding automatically to a given input and denotes a continuous redefinition of the boundary between the users' embodied self and its' computed representation. In the constant redefinition of this boundary neither the responsive environment nor the user can be regarded as passive receptors. Instead, they act as dynamic and active entities evolving and redefining the mutual relationship in-between constantly. This paper focuses on this relationship, where the environment and the user can be intertwined in such a way that each one acts like an extension of the other and propose new experiences. In order to attain this continuous redefinition, the relationship between the user and the responsive environment should sustain its continuity and open up new experiences and relations. In this paper it is argued that introducing generative impulses that can help to continue the interaction between the responsive environments can be considered as a generative approach that produces variation. Concepts of 'unpredictability' and 'boredom' are conceived as motivating and generative impulses that can help to continue the interaction between the responsive environment and the participant and generate new experiences and relations. The paper also exemplifies a design-research experiment that was implemented as a portable digital screen to test and discuss the conceptualization of 'unpredictability' and 'boredom' as generative impulses in responsive environments.
Advances in theory and technology of computational design can be asserted to promote new directio... more Advances in theory and technology of computational design can be asserted to promote new directions for the design and experience of architectural and urban environments where the design process is governed by performance oriented studies. It is possible to assert that one of the main objectives of these studies is to respond to the dynamic behavior of environment and participants in the urban context. These studies based on relations and equations aim to define a constantly evolving process based on several computational design strategies. As a consequence of experiencing these computational design tools and strategies, the environment can be redefined as a single parametric entity in respect to the changing values given to different variables. In this process, the end product can alter simultaneously through the integration and modification of the information gathered from the urban environment and its participants. However, it is open to question whether the design of architectural and urban environments is physically and socially responsive to their urban contexts. Therefore, this paper focuses on the theoretical discussion of the terms of performative design, its tools of operation, and the ways of responding to context considering the environmental factors and also the participants. 1. INTRODUCTION The developments in technology and computer-aided communication means, as well as studies in mathematics, geometry and science can be asserted to promote significant changes in architectural design practices, conception of space, its perception and visual expression. This radical shift was subsequent to the introduction of computational design tools and strategies, which altered the conventional architectural design approach, and opened up new grounds for the generation and experimentation of design ideas. In the light of these developments, architectural design practice was redefined once more with the introduction of computational design strategies and tools and witnessed a transformation from a static relationship between idea and image, towards a more dynamic process [2]. Within this transformation, the possibilities introduced by these tools and strategies can also be asserted to define new paradigm shifts in the theoretical and methodological conceptions of design and production practices. The practiced computational design tools and strategies open up new territories for the exploration and experience of design ideas and enable to work dynamically and simultaneously on the emergent and adaptive properties of the computational model [3]. According to Kolarevic, in this new design environment the designer has the control over the computationally-generated form since s/he defines a generative system for the formal production [3]. Through this system, the designer controls the behaviour of form and model over time, and selects forms those emerge from several operations. These operations can be formulated according to different parameters varying form structural considerations to aesthetic concerns, economic limitations to functional requirements. Although most of the examples of this approach aim to consider functional influences, there is also a growing interest in manifesting the formal repertoire that reveal the responsiveness of the process and form to the complex contextual influences driven by the socioeconomic , cultural and environmental forces [3]. Influenced by these tools and strategies, and also engineering applications of simulation and analysis of especially structural and environmental considerations, the design of many significant architectural projects make use of computational performance simulations and analyses in their form-finding processes. This emerging approach utilizes several quantitative and qualitative performance-based applications and considers " performance " as a guiding design principle for the design of the built environment [4]. Dependent on different performance-related aspects, the concept of " performance " spans different territories of financial, social, cultural, structural or environmental considerations in each design process. In order to understand the use of urban context as a force of attraction in design processes considering " performance " as a guiding design
As a consequence of developments in technology and computer-aided communication means, the archit... more As a consequence of developments in technology and computer-aided communication means, the architectural design practices, conception of space, its perception and visual expression have undergone significant changes. This radical shift was subsequent to the introduction of computational design tools, which altered the conventional architectural design approach, and opened up new grounds for the generation and experimentation of design ideas. Parallel to the changes in the design process, ways of representing design ideas have undergone significant changes. This paper argues that, the architectural representation process and diagram based practices, acting as critical design and communication tools for centuries, experienced a conceptual shift under the influence of computational design practices. Being structures of relations and forces, diagrams can be conceived as important tools that are used in this updated design environment. Since the use of diagrams defines the mediation between the conceptual analysis of relations and their material outcomes, the conscious delay of formal expression gives the opportunity to experiment on the circumstances through the modification of relations or data. These modifications provide feedbacks to the diagram, leading to the constant evolution of the diagram and consequently the whole process. Therefore , the formal expressions of these ever-changing relations are delayed consciously to facilitate the definition of a generative design process. The conscious delay of formal expression releases design ideas from visual and formal constraints, giving way to a constantly evolving process, where the diagram provides continuous feedback. This shift marks the departure from the functional use of diagrams. Diagrammatic practices, suspending visual representation for the sake of indicating new relations and organizations, are seen to acquire significance in computational design processes, in which modifications and data integrations can be made easily. In order to achieve the desired generativity in computational design processes and to overcome the pragmatic determinism of formal expressions, the relations and forces affecting different layers of the diagram are altered or redefined constantly, thus delineating the maximization of possible outcomes. Hence, following the altered mode of the architectural representation process, the guidance of diagrammatic studies in a computational design process blurs formal representation , and underlines the significance of process and information entry into the system. Through the coding of data present in the diagram, which can be handled easily via these tools, an instrumental representation is attained. By means of capturing snapshots from
Parallel with the introduction of the computational design environment, architectural design and ... more Parallel with the introduction of the computational design environment, architectural design and representation processes witness a radical transition, which may be asserted to initiate a paradigm shift affecting both. In this new design environment, the computational design process is governed by process-based studies making use of relations and equations that aim to define a constantly evolving process, where the end-product alters simultaneously with data integration and modification. This paper focuses mainly on active/dynamic environments defined by responsive systems where there exists a mutual relation between the system (made up of sensors, reactors, and collectors etc. that provide the information flow) and the user. Simultaneously capturing the data from the user, scanning into numeric data and transmitting it to the relations, the responsive models propose simultaneous visualization of their interaction with the user, thus redefining the architectural representation process within the computational design environment.
With the introduction of a computational design environment, architectural design and representat... more With the introduction of a computational design environment, architectural design and representation processes witness a radical transition from the analog to the digital medium, that may be asserted to initiate a paradigm shift affecting both. In this new design environment, extending the instrumentality of computer-aided processes to the generative use of computational tools and procedures, architectural design and representation processes are subject to mutual alterations, challenged with computational design strategies such as parametric design, associative geometry, generative diagrams, scripting and algorithmic procedures. Computational design approaches proceed with the definition of a mathematical model based on the numeric definition of relations and equations, substituting the conventional visual/orthographic representation. This thesis aims to inquire the outcomes of assuming non-visual/numeric representation as a strategy in the therefore redefined process of architectural representation. Through the generative logic embedded in the mathematical model, attention shifts from form to process. This emphasis on process rather than the formal outcome, aids the experimentation of a desired indeterminacy, coming forth in dynamic, non-linear
v
design processes, blurring the boundaries between different phases of design, and of representation. The intentional search for a generative design process liberated from the visual/formal determinism of the conventional design approach, initiates a conscious delay in the definition of form, and thus of visual representation. The thesis discusses the potentials presented by generative mathematical models defined with the aid of computational design tools, and the ways in which they alter and inform architectural design and representation.