VIRTUAL London Heritages Conference
Abstract
In design history’s recent past, architects decided to explore the possibility of an artificially intelligent architecture that could respond and interact with its users. While Nicholas Negroponte is usually cited as starting such investigations at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1967, a group of British architects, with different knowledge, inspiration, and experience, held the belief that progress in science technology occurs at the intersection of different disciplines, specifically with that of science. They explored the possibilities of postwar theories in biology and mathematics, combined with the newfound theories of cybernetics and the power of computing, and introduced these ideas into architectural discourse. This article examines the early work and intellectual influences of John Frazer and the design research published in the exhibition and catalogue An Evolutionary Architecture (1995). In doing so it questions how to frame and historicise the legacy of Frazer’s digital, interactive process which represented complex, dynamic ideas related to generative systems and artificial intelligence within design history.
AnnMarie Brennan is Senior Lecturer of Design Theory in the Faculty of Architecture, Building, and Planning at the University of Melbourne. She teaches architectural history, theory, and design studio subjects and supervises PhD candidates. Her research is located at the intersection of architecture, design, technology, culture, and media studies.