Computing through holistic systems design method: material formations workshop

The emergence of interdisciplinary fields of interests in architecture (digital media, more specifically computational design tools) has transformed the common design, analysis, and building processes into a new discipline in which the skills and knowledge required of the architectural designer should be adapted. With the exception of a few innovative higher education institutions, there is no across the board academic implementation regarding emerging computational design applications at undergraduate level in architecture. Material Formations Workshop, organised by the Department of Architecture, Istanbul Technical University, investigated the logic of computing through Holistic Systems Design Method (HSDM). All participants had diverse skills and knowledge and used HSDM to deal with multi parameter problems as observed in nature where physical material was the main derivative of the design process. Specific rules were defined, and relationships were established among system components. Possible future lines of the research are also suggested in this paper.