Architecture-Human-Machine (re)configurations - Examining computational design in practice

Abstract

This paper outlines a research project that explores the participation in, and perception of, advanced technologies in architectural professional practice through a sociotechnical lens and presents empirical research findings from an online survey distributed to employees in five large-scale architectural practices in Sydney, Australia. This argues that while the computational design paradigm might be well accepted, understood, and documented in academic research contexts, the extent and ways that computational design thinking and methods are put-into-practice has to date been less explored. In engineering and construction, technology adoption studies since the mid 1990s have measured information technology (IT) use (Howard et al. 1998; Samuelson and Björk 2013). In architecture, research has also focused on quantifying IT use (Cichocka 2017), as well as the examination of specific practices such as building information modelling (BIM) (Cardoso Llach 2017; Herr and Fischer 2017; Son et al. 2015). With the notable exceptions of Daniel Cardoso Llach (2015; 2017) and Yanni Loukissas (2012), few scholars have explored advanced technologies in architectural practice from a sociotechnical perspective. This paper argues that a sociotechnical lens can net valuable insights into advanced technology engagement to inform pedagogical approaches in architectural education as well as strategies for continuing professional development.