| id |
caadria2025_742 |
| authors |
Cristobal Olave, Diana and McLemore, Duane |
| year |
2025 |
| title |
Towards Immediacy and Participation: The promises of algorithmic construction |
| source |
Dagmar Reinhardt, Nicolas Rogeau, Christiane M. Herr, Anastasia Globa, Jielin Chen, Taro Narahara (eds.), ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATICS - Proceedings of the 30th CAADRIA Conference, Tokyo, 22-29 March 2025, Volume 1, pp. 571–580 |
| summary |
This paper examines the use of computation in participatory housing design, and discusses its history, ideals and limitations. Drawing from archival material and personal interviews, the authors compare four case studies: The Calculation Center of the University of Madrid (1969-1972), the Stichting Architecten Research (1975-1990), WikiHouse (2011-present), and Automated Architecture (2019-present). This genealogy reveals an evolution from the use of mainframe computers to desktop computers then web tools and robotic arms, and from modular prefabricated systems to mass-customized digital fabrication. It argues that despite technological development, a combinatorial approach to choice and participation has persisted, where the main author designs an algorithmic object and secondary authors (or end-users) adapt and adjust some limited variable aspects at will. The paper demonstrates the possibilities and limitations of such an approach. It argues that while this methodology offers disruptive changes into the economic underpinnings of industrial production, it also limits user participation to the act of selecting from a pre-defined menu of alternatives. |
| keywords |
Computer-Aided Participatory Design, Algorithmic Design, Mass-Customization, Open-Source, Computational Design History |
| series |
CAADRIA |
| email |
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| full text |
 file.pdf (1,340,141 bytes) |
| references |
Content-type: text/plain
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| last changed |
2025/04/18 12:25 |
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