Architecture in the age of disruptive technologies: transformation and challenges
Over the past 16 years, the Arab Society for Computer Aided Architectural Design (ASCAAD) has consolidated scientific research in computer-related fields, including a series of scientific conferences that addressed the following topics:
eDesign in architecture.
Computing in architecture: Re-thinking the discourse.
Embodying virtual architecture.
Digitizing architecture: Formalization and content.
CAAD | CITIES | SUSTAINABILITY.
CAAD | INNOVATION | PRACTICE.
Digital crafting: Virtualizing architecture and delivering real built environment.
Parametricism v. Materialism: Evolution of digital technologies for development.
Architecture in the age of disruptive technologies: Transformation and challenges.
This special issue of the OHI Journal relates to the activities of the recent ASCAAD 2021 conference, hosted by the Department of Architecture at the American University in Cairo under the theme of Architecture in the age of disruptive technologies: transformation and challenges. This issue was devoted to publishing a set of research papers presented in the conference.
Architecture in the age of disruptive technologies is concerned with what is between the shift from the usual perception of the architectural design process and the challenges related to addressing the paradigm shift, which gradually abandons the typical associations cantered on morphology in the architectural design and turns to the computational design with modern techniques with which new horizons can be discovered (Ahlquist and Menges, 2011, 2016; Retsin et al., 2019; Willmann et al., 2019).
There have been numerous initiatives in recent times that seek to identify visions, aspects and challenges related to how to direct the available digital tools to explore what was not previously possible; the shift from the tangible to the intangible (Beorkrem, 2017; Retsin, 2019), from the materiality to the phenomenology (Burry et al., 2020), from mass production to mass customization (Ahlquist and Menges, 2016; Eastman et al., 2008), tool-centric to human-centric design (Loschke, 2016; Mayer et al., 2020) and from top-down formalism to bottom-up informed approaches (Eastman et al., 2008).
There is a growing interest in the arcade of architectural research to understand this shift in focus, particularly because it raises a critical question about the role of computation in architecture as the sole embodiment and operationalization of technical dimensions, and dimensions that seek to adopt and deliberately embrace the humanities as a legitimate ambition to bring the technical aspect and human needs closer.
A parallel evolving effect in the field of computational design and innovation is the introduction of disruptive technologies that simultaneously transform practices and business. These technologies tend to provoke multiple transformations in terms of processes and workflows, methodologies and strategies, roles and responsibilities and consequently formulating diverse emergent modes of design thinking, collaboration and innovation. Technologies, such as mixed reality, cloud computing, robotics, big data and Internet of things, are continuously changing the nature of the profession, inciting novel modes of thinking and rethinking architecture, developing new norms and impacting the future of architectural education.
With this growing pace into highly disruptive modes of production, automation, intelligence and responsiveness comes the need for a revisit of the inseparable relation between technology and the humanities. It will be possible to explore the urgency of a pressing dialogue between the transformative nature of the disruptive on the one hand and the cognitive, the socio-cultural, the authentic and the behavioural on the other. As scholars and thinkers, we must evaluate these nuances considering the digital humanities and a comprehensive rethinking of the intricate human versus machine discourse.
This special issue stems from the 9th International Conference of the Arab Society for Computer Aided Architectural Design (ASCAAD 2021), themed: Architecture in the age of disruptive technologies: Transformation and challenges, hosted by the American University in Cairo, Egypt between March 2nd and 4th 2021 (Virtual Conference). The conference included several proposed directions (themes) to discuss the transformation to disruptive technologies and possible methods to balance with human needs. These themes are shown below:
Human-centred computation.
Design cognition,
Creative design concepts and theories,
Human–computer interaction and
Machine learning and deep learning in architecture.
Emergent modes of learning.
Generative and parametric design,
New modes of Computer-Aided Architectural Design (CAAD) learning,
Design education,
Design of/for A massive open online course (MOOCs) and
Interactive media and visualization.
Architectonic languages.
Digital tools in design and construction,
Shape and motion grammars,
Responsive and interactive architecture,
Rapid prototyping and digital fabrication,
Design-to-robotic production and
Programmable and smart materials.
Technology integration and collaboration.
Building information modelling (BIM),
Computer-supported design collaboration,
Virtual/Mixed reality and
IoT, cloud computing and digital twinning.
Computational enculturation.
Adoptable built environments,
Smart cities,
Digital heritage and
Digital architectural humanities.
Table 1 shows the topics raised for research during the ASCAAD 2021 conference, and the number of papers that dealt with these research trends, noting that many of these papers dealt with more than one topic and linked several directions; thus, this statistic does not express the total number of accepted papers in the conference, but rather sheds light on the interest of young researchers studying the phenomenon of digital architecture in and around the Middle East.
This special issue includes the following research papers:
The first research paper is titled “Transforming learning for architecture: online foundations design studio as new norm for crises adaptation under COVID-19” by Al Maani, Alnusairat and Al-Jokhadar. This study explores the virtual design as a transformative learning model for disaster and resilience context, including the factors that affect foundation students' perceptions and experiences of the quality of this adaptation.
The second research paper is titled “Immersive construction detailing education: BIM-based virtual reality” by ElGewely, Nadim, Talaat, El Kassed, Yehia and Abdennadher. The study proposes a virtual reality platform that provides experiential learning in a risk-free environment in situations that students cannot perform during construction site visits for an incidental reason. The study proposed a virtual reality environment, validates it and providing the evidence that it would enhance students' engagement, motivation and achievement.
The third research paper is titled “4D printing of wood filaments: FDM wood filament coding for responsive architectural skins” by El-Dabaa and Salem. The study explores the hygroscopic properties of wood as a programmable material that responds passively to changes in humidity levels to include complex motion responses programmed to its compact and tuned parameters. The research deals with several plastic experiments on wood using exploratory computer techniques, and the study concluded that the integration of several hygroscopic factors for wood allows controlling the behaviour of the conformational response.
The fourth research paper is titled “Against a workplace contagion: a digital approach to support hygiene-conscious office space planning” by Mekawy and Gabr. This study aims to present a digital optimization approach for the spatial planning of open-plan workspaces to mitigate the risks of infection transmission. This approach was applied in the form of a tool that was able to take an empty office space and provide a set of optimal solutions to this design problem in a way that makes it easier for designers in the early design stages to explore, develop and build on these solutions.
The fifth research paper is titled “A dynamic vertical shading optimization to improve view, visual comfort and operational energy” by Valitabar, Mahdavinejad, Skates and Pilechiha. This paper presents a method whereby architects could design optimum adaptive solar facades concerning the view, visual comfort and operational energy. It is a multi-objective optimization method that is presented for multiple-layer shading systems to address current problems in designing adaptive solar facades.
The sixth research paper is titled “An interdisciplinary approach for tacit knowledge communication between the designer and the computer” by Hossameldin, Bakir and Elfiki. This research investigates means of tacit knowledge communication between the designer and the computer in architectural design. It suggests a theoretical basis for understanding and facilitating the transfer and representation of tacit knowledge in a computational design environment and emphasizes specifically the significance of a human–computer symbiotic relationship for an effective tacit knowledge transfer process.
The seventh research paper is titled “Smart system to generate the optimal authorized bounding volume” by Belkaid, Ben Saci and Hassoumi. This study provides a computational design method for generating the optimal authorized bounding volume, which uses the best target values of morphological urban rules. It also examines an intelligent system, adopting the multi-agent approach, which aims to control and increase urban densification by optimizing morphological urban rules.
The eighth research paper is titled “We gain a lot … but what are we losing? A critical reflection on the implications of digital design technologies” by Soulikias, Cucuzzella, Nizar, Hazbei and Goubran. This paper sheds light on what is being potentially lost in the design process as we rapidly transition to digital media used to communicate architecture. It discusses the open possibilities of creative hybridization between handmade and digital work in architecture practice and education. What can be represented by artefacts and artworks that engage the senses, citing the success of the documentary Last Dance on the Main, an animated film about the endangered layers of human presence in one of Montreal's downtown neighbourhoods.
The ninth research paper is titled “A material-based computation framework for parametric design education” by Abdelmohsen and Massoud. This study discusses a pedagogical approach that integrates rules related to materials and deploying them into thinking based algorithmic design for better understanding the relation between materiality and technology. It identifies affordances of material-based computation in terms of supporting the understanding of parametric design, informing the process of parametric form finding in an educational setup and augmenting student learning outcomes. What distinguishes this approach is that it expands the pedagogical strategies employed to address parametric design as a form finding process and sets a bottom-up form finding framework.
The tenth research paper is titled “A generative design case study for UAV-based assembly and fabrication” by Zamani and Dounas. This study proposes a Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) based on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and uses the Muqarnas as the main case study due to its geometric modularity and Muqarnas as drivers for design for fabrication and assembly. It examines a parametric tool and plugins for creating a generative system of several types of Muqarnas through parametric analysis and synthesis on Grasshopper software.
These papers selected for publication in this special issue, along with the rest of the research papers published at the ASCAAD Conference 2021, contribute to enriching the concept of “Architecture in the age of disruptive technologies: Transformation and challenges” and to testing and codifying different approaches to innovation enabled by digital technologies, thus challenging research and application opportunities keeping abreast of contemporary technological development.
