Embedded Architectures and Information-based Design

Construction impacts upon our planet at a momentous rate, consuming vast resources in terms of surface area, material and energy and also in terms of the biophysical environment. In this context two questions arise: [i] can architecture be in the service of the bio-physical environment; and, by extension, [ii] can architecture principally be conceived of as not in conflict with, but rather as an integral embedded part of the bio-physical environment. We attempt to address these questions through an approach that we have termed “embedded architecture”, which aims to intensify locally-specific environment and architecture correlations and interactions, as well as related cultural patterns, towards performance-oriented architecture, urban and landscape design, that integrates aspects of cultural, social and environmental performance and sustainability. The talk will discuss interdisciplinary and projective research-by-design studies along three strands: [i] designs for urban areas with focus on demographic and environmental aspects, [ii] designs for peri-urban areas with focus on maintaining existing local bio-physical conditions, and [iii] designs for rural areas that elaborate an integrative approach towards constructions and land uses that are typically seen as mutually exclusive. The aim is to eventually integrate the three strands of research into a unified approach, which are underpinned by a methodological framework that we have termed “information-based design”.