Beyond simulation

Abstract

In nature "making" or "growing" implies an intricate and embedded relation between form, material system, pattern, space, where function and performance are the emergent result of the organism-environment interrelation. Energy is tightly involved in the complex variation of the principle of minimal effort, both in the inorganic world (i.e. water drop or crystals) and in the organic; when dealing with organisms, metabolism is the expression of this relation between form, energy and matter. Conversely, our systems of production tend to separate and optimize the various phases of design, fabrication and construction. Digital tools are tightening and fusing those phases together, fostering a more sensible design ecology as they may facilitate a better understanding of synergies between systems and environments, or subsystem interaction.