I gave a talk at the New York Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Design, at the NYC campus. The hosts of the talk were Athina Papadopoulou, Assistant Professor of Architecture, Health and Design and Sandra Manninger, Associate Professor of Architecture.

Abstract

Along with the exponential increase of data production and the development of fast computing and graphical processors, the past few years have seen a substantial increase in effort toward the mechanization of creative processes in design, art, science, and technology. Quite a number of articles describe computer programs for game-playing, art creation, literature, design generation, visualization, and scientific discovery. Generative AI, the catchphrase underneath the hype, is a byproduct of engineering achievements in “deep” neural networks.

This talk focuses on the conceptual meaning of the term “generative” and the computational interpretations it receives in theories of design computing in architecture and related areas of spatial design. Understanding the term in this way, and some of its historical origins, will enable architects and researchers in the area of computing to illuminate various controversies that rage today – between cognitivist and connectionist approaches to creativity, between authorship and forgery, between “rules” and “data.”

See my related conference publication:

A. Haridis. (2024). “Formulating the Generative: History, logic, and status of computing designs in a latent space.” Kontovourkis, O., Phocas, M.C., and Wurzer, G. (eds.). Data-Driven Intelligence. Proceedings of the 42nd Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe. (eCAADe 2024). Nicosia, 11-13 September 2024, Volume 2, pp. 261–270.