Innovation Under Duress

This paper proposes a strategic framework for how computational design can be transitioned and upscaled from technical development to full industrial project implementation in live commissions, providing opportunities for innovation within the economical and time-based constraints of the architectural commission. It primarily addresses computational design development as part of ongoing commissions and identifies three main challenges in how this can provide opportunities for project specific innovation. The first challenge regards the scope and expected benefits of computational design development in relation to the overarching scope of a commission in situations when the project lead is unfamiliar with the methodology. The second challenge is how to manage the development process in relation to the overarching process of the architectural commission. The third challenge regards the interaction between developers and project architects/engineers in terms of expectations on roles, responsibilities, and mandates, something which is also affected by the selected workflow model. The responses to these challenges are based on the experience of the 13-year practice of Dsearch at the architectural practice White Arkitekter, and involves the definition of new offers, models for alternate workflows, and a mapping of developer roles and responsibilities in four dimensions. Three design cases are used for clarification and reflection, each with its own condition and scope.