A morphogenetic architecture for intelligent buildings

Abstract

The architectural singularity is approaching. It is the point at which buildings become more intelligent than their occupants and designers. This will significantly change the roles of the built-environment professions in the design, fabrication, construction and operation of buildings. By exploring self-organizing behaviour in biological development this article describes the approaching challenges of this architectural singularity. Elements of morphogenetic design have been applied in various disciplines associated with intelligent building (IB), including architecture, engineering and computing. However, these previous discipline-specific approaches have not considered the trans-disciplinary implications of morphogenetic growth processes on the role of the disciplines associated with IB. Therefore, this article introduces a science fiction prototyping (SFP) scenario that proposes a morphogenetic design process for IBs based on Drosophila melanogaster development and grounded in the contemporary technologies of Building Information Modelling, digital fabrication and parametric design. Based on a discussion of the implications for the design team a morphogenetic architecture framework for IB is proposed.