Computer Exercises in Architectural Design Theory

This paper discusses how architectural theory may be taught using computer based exercises to explore the practical application of those theories. The particular view of architecture developed is, necessarily, a restricted one but the objectives behind the exercises are slightly different to those that a pure architectural theorist or historian might have The formal teaching of architectural theory and composition has not been very fashionable in Schools of Architecture for several years now: indeed there is a considerable inbuilt resistance in students to the application of any form of rules or procedures. There is however a general interest in computing and this can be utilised to advantage. In concentrating on computer applications in design eclectic use has been made of a number of architectural examples ranging from Greek temples to the work of modern deconstructionists. Architectural theory since Vitruvius is littered with attempts to define universal theories of design and this paper certainly does not presume to anything so grand: I have merely looked at buildings, compared them and noted what they have in common and how that might relate to computer-aided design. I have ignored completely any sociological, philosophical or phenomenological questions but would readily agree with the criticism that Cartesian rationality is not, on its own, a sufficient base upon which to build a theory of design. However I believe there is merit in articulating design by separating it from other concerns and making it a subject of study in its own right. Work in design research will provide the models and intellectual structures to facilitate discourse about design and might be expected to benefit the development of design skills by providing material that could be formally taught and debated in a way that is removed from the ephemeral “fashionable designeri debate. Of course, some of the ideas discussed here may prove to be equally ephemeral but that does not entirely negate their value.