Thermodynamics of architecture and urban fabric: designing and re-shaping cityscapes by laws of Nature

Finding form for a building, or better, forming the fabric of a modern cityscape could not only trigger research on mere preexisting built environment, but also anxiety to know more about the people who would use the form/shape and finally structure of a building. How free a designer/architect could be to play with form when s/he tries to make associations with the material and structural context of a real building? How long does it take to move from freedom of form towards a final design dictated and overwhelmed by frameworks and policies? Ethical and framework criteria and restrictions several times may be fatal to form finding. How can modern designers/architects avoid restrictions and misapprehension of regulatory outlines? The searchers of form are considered rare by Frei Otto, who mainly followed the laws of form and a structural approach most of the times; very recent work of him shows strict relationship with Morphogenesis. Thus, we can also suggest that Morphogenesis is based on more ‘organic’ approaches and laws of thermodynamics; cities can be natural fractal entities as well as morphogenetic structural systems as technology today offers more opportunities to play, develop and accomplish natural forms of not only simple buildings, but also built and unbuilt/open spaces in modern cityscapes. The paper will not only discuss morphogenesis and fractility in architecture, but also will show how students of design and architecture often react and interact with specific analytical tools, from Mathematics and Physics to Biology and Architectural Psychology, in order to create human-centered design. The author has had the opportunity to teach history and theory of architecture to undergraduate and postgraduate students for several years; she has also managed to make connections between Urban Design and Studio practices modules, too. She often shared research activities with her students and observed specific activities during which the students managed to capture hidden codes and messages from built and natural environment, which are regulated by powerful thermodynamic laws of nature, providing for future cityscapes’ evolution.

Finding form for a building, or better, forming the fabric of a modern cityscape could not only trigger research on mere preexisting built environment, but also anxiety to know more about the people who would use the form/shape and finally structure of a building. How free a designer/architect could be to play with form when s/he tries to make associations with the material and structural context of a real building? How long does it take to move from freedom of form towards a final design dictated and overwhelmed by frameworks and policies? Ethical and framework criteria and restrictions several times may be fatal to form finding. How can modern designers/architects avoid restrictions and misapprehension of regulatory outlines?
The searchers of form are considered rare by Frei Otto, who mainly followed the laws of form and a structural approach most of the times; very recent work of him shows strict relationship with Morphogenesis. Thus, we can also suggest that Morphogenesis is based on more ‘organic’ approaches and laws of thermodynamics; cities can be natural fractal entities as well as morphogenetic structural systems as technology today offers more opportunities to play, develop and accomplish natural forms of not only simple buildings, but also built and unbuilt/open spaces in modern cityscapes.
The paper will not only discuss morphogenesis and fractility in architecture, but also will show how students of design and architecture often react and interact with specific analytical tools, from Mathematics and Physics to Biology and Architectural Psychology, in order to create human-centered design. The author has had the opportunity to teach history and theory of architecture to undergraduate and postgraduate students for several years; she has also managed to make connections between Urban Design and Studio practices modules, too. She often shared research activities with her students and observed specific activities during which the students managed to capture hidden codes and messages from built and natural environment, which are regulated by powerful thermodynamic laws of nature, providing for future cityscapes’ evolution.