Architectural Intelligence：How Designers and Architects Created the Digital Landscape

Architectswhoengagedwithcybernetics,artificialintelligence,andothertechnologiespouredthefoundationfordigitalinteractivity.InArchitecturalIntelligence,MollyWrightSteensonexplorestheworkoffourarchitectsinthe1960sand1970swhoincorporatedelementsofinteractivityintotheirwork.ChristopherAlexander,RichardSaulWurman,CedricPrice,andNicholasNegroponteandtheMITArchitectureMachineGroupallincorporatedtechnologies--includingcyberneticsandartificialintelligence--intotheirworkandinfluenceddigitaldesignpracticesfromthelate1980stothepresentday.Alexander,longbeforehisfamous1977bookAPatternLanguage,usedcomputationandstructuretovisualizedesignproblems;Wurmanpopularizedthenotionof"informationarchitecture";Pricedesignedsomeofthefirstintelligentbuildings;andNegroponteexperimentedwiththewayspeopleexperienceartificialintelligence,evenatarchitecturalscale.Steensoninvestigateshowthesearchitectspushedtheboundariesofarchitecture--andhowtheirtechnologicalexperimentspushedtheboundariesoftechnology.Whatdidcomputational,cybernetic,andartificialintelligenceresearchershavetogainbyengagingwitharchitectsandarchitecturalproblems?Andwhatwasthisnewspacethatemergedwithinthesecollaborations?Attimes,Steensonwrites,thearchitectsinthisbookcharacterizedthemselvesasanti-architectsandtheirworkasanti-architecture.TheprojectsSteensonexaminesmostlydidnotresultinconstructedbuildings,butratherindesignprocessesandtools,computerprograms,interfaces,digitalenvironments.Alexander,Wurman,Price,andNegropontelaidthefoundationformanyofourcontemporaryinteractivepractices,frominformationarchitecturetointeractiondesign,frommachinelearningtosmartcities.