Abstract
We explored the relational dynamic elements of complex buildings, a type of architecture designed to incubate uses, located in urban areas with high housing density. The uses of complex buildings concern different elements, including the network of agents using or managing them, the environment, and the activities and functions that take place occasionally, temporarily, or permanently.. Data was gathered through ethnographic research lasting 6 months, and a chronotopian approach was used to describe time and space. We analysed and discussed the interaction of the elements of complex buildings through a cellular automaton model, a computational method that simulates the growth of complex systems. It was used here to generate patterns that suggest configurations of uses that can optimize management and therefore increase economic and social capital. The cellular automaton representation was used to develop an abstraction of the Centquatre, a public cultural center in Paris. This center is a good example of a complex building, being based on a public–private partnership and having an architectural configuration designed to host a wide range of art, social, and productive activities. The building includes a large central space used as an urban public area open to different types of people. The relevance of the case study lies in its capacity to produce economic value by combining different uses, and also by welcoming different people to the public space. We found that the multistate cellular automata representation allows the Centquatre behavior to be modeled by means of combinatorial and statistical methods. The correlations between the automaton behavior and the number of users can be identified using machine learning techniques related to random forests. We argue that this approach makes it possible to improve the planning of complex buildings.
Highlights
In a memorable essay addressed to biologists, John von Neumann describes the structure of an automaton that reproduces itself, even in more complex or evolved forms, illustrating the logic that serves as a deciding principle for living beings and computers [1]
The main results of our analysis are twofold: we show that a multifunctional building that gives rise to a gigantic number of possible configurations can be studied by statistical-combinatorial techniques, and that the planning of such spaces can be optimised by means of the random forest method [15]
The failure of the linear regression model shows that the behavior of the automaton is profoundly non-linear: a very small change in state can cause a big change in the number of visitors, whereas the random forest model seemed to capture this non-linearity better than the other predictors
Summary
In a memorable essay addressed to biologists, John von Neumann describes the structure of an automaton that reproduces itself, even in more complex or evolved forms, illustrating the logic that serves as a deciding principle for living beings and computers [1] This idea has produced many results, showing how a simple local rule can produce complex global behavior. The consequence is an increase in the number of variables and the development of new forms of management—buildings are transformed into intelligent systems that meet the dwelling needs of the contemporary city From this point of view, buildings must be programmed to ensure good cohabitation of their different uses. The main results of our analysis are twofold: we show that a multifunctional building that gives rise to a gigantic number of possible configurations can be studied by statistical-combinatorial techniques, and that the planning of such spaces can be optimised by means of the random forest method [15]
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