Empathic Space / Architectural Design (PDF)

In recent years, questions of space have gained renewed momentum in
architecture and urban design, as adaptation, densification and
sustainable regeneration have become an increasing priority. While
most computing-based design tends to emphasise the formal aspects
of architecture, overlooking space and its users, the
'original' computational design approaches first
spearheaded in the UK in the 1960s and 1970s tended to be focused
on behavioural and occupational patterns. Over the last decade, a
new generation of design research has emerged that has started to
implement and validate previous investigations into spatial
computation, aiming to understand how to design spatial
configurations based on user experiences. This revives an interest
in the experiential that was first explored in the early 20th
century by German and Nordic organic architects, who invented
design methods that correlated cognitive responses of buildings'
occupants to spatial structure. The current revival of
human-centric design, however, represents the first design approach
that synthesises spatial design and algorithmic techniques with
organic design thinking, which could also be regarded as a return
to the 'first principles' of architectural design.

Contributors include:

Paul Coates, Christian Derix, Olafur Eliasson, Lucy Helme, Bill
Hillier, Åsmund Izaki, Prarthana Jagannath, Dan Montello,
Juhani Pallasmaa, Philip Steadman and Guy Theraulaz.

Featured Architects/Designers:

Jussi Ängeslevä (Art+Com), Stan Allen, Aedas|R&D,
Markus Braach (Kaisersrot), Hermann Hertzberger, Kazuhiro Kojima
(Cat), Pablo Miranda and Rafi Segal.