Computational Morphogenesis: Integral Form Generation and Materialisation Processes

Natural morphogenesis, the process of evolutionary development and growth, derives polymorphic systems that obtain their complex form, organisation and versatility from the interaction of system intrinsic material capacities and external environmental influences and forces. One striking aspect of natural morphogenesis is that formation and materialisation processes are always inherently and inseparably related. In stark contrast to these integral development processes of material form, architecture as a material practice is mainly based on design approaches that are characterised by a hierarchical relationship that prioritises the definition and generation of form over its subsequent materialisation. 

An alternative approach to design entails unfolding morphological complexity and performative capacity without differentiating between form generation and materialisation processes. Based on an understanding of material systems not as derivatives of standardized building systems and elements but rather as generative drivers in the design process this approach seeks to develop and employ computational techniques and digital fabrication technologies to unfold innate material capacity and specific latent gestalt. Extending the concept of material systems by embedding their material characteristics, geometric behaviour, manufacturing constraints and assembly logics within integral computational models promotes an understanding of form, material and structure not as separate elements, but rather as complex interrelations in polymorphic systems resulting from the response to varied input and environmental influences and derived through the logics and constraints of advanced manufacturing processes. 
