Abstract

The purpose of architecture is often discussed in relation to Vitruvian principles of ‘firmness’, ‘delight’ and ‘commodity’ (as paraphrased in English by Sir Henry Wotton). Firmness – structural, environmental and technological performance of a building – and delight – spatial and formal capacities of architecture to surprise and inspire awe – are often agreed upon without much contention. Commodity – the utility or purpose of a building – however, is contended as much today as in antiquity. On the one hand, the purpose of building is often subsumed as a vehicle for technological progress. On the other, the social purpose of architecture, and architects, stakes its claims equally periodically.2 Such disagreements on the purpose of architecture can be traced back to at least Filippo Brunelleschi and Leon Battista Alberti, famous architectural protagonists of the Italian Renaissance.3 Recent claims of the social purpose of architecture range from the deterministic4 – where spatial design determines the behaviour of people – to the call for its scientic study.

Citation

Bhoosan, S., 2017. Collaborative Design: Combining Computer‐Aided Geometry Design and Building Information Modelling. Architectural Design, 87(3), pp.82-89.