Blue Papers

During the last 30 years, the use of digital technologies in architecture has exponentially increased. New computational tools and methods are significantly changing the way we design and perform our buildings. In addition to that, the advancement in the field of digital fabrication and robotics is giving life to new automated systems, able to promote new integrative and co-evolutionary approaches which are moving the construction industry towards more efficient and sustainable processes. Although the integration of computation and robotics in architectural design and construction is becoming a central aspect in contemporary architectural practice, the definition of “digital architecture” coming from such technological advancement is still very problematic. For someone, digital architecture is a sum of technological tools; for others, a system of advanced methods. In both cases, the understanding of digital architecture is still far from its completion, and such a delay of understanding represents a significant part of the confusing and slippery territory in which digital architecture is currently developed.

This book analyses the current digital evolution of architecture through a series of considerations related to several aspects of the ongoing digital era, ranging from the problem of authorship and human creativity in computational design to notions related to architectural pedagogy, professional practice and robotic construction.