Scripting Cultures: Architectural Design and Programming

Chapter 3

Cultural defence

In the previous chapter I considered two cultural conditions in parallel, and sought a connection: a short history of the use of computers in architecture, and the current question of ‘where are we now?’ in terms of a dominant paradigm in respect of ‘movement’. As detailed in the previous chapter, on the one hand we have a position promulgated as ‘anything goes’ by a leading practitioner Cecil Balmond,¹ and on the other ‘the next major movement is …’ from Patrik Schumacher.² It is possible that both practitioners are arguing for the same thing from a slightly different trajectory, but what of the individual designer not necessarily at the height of their powers?

Every design scripter scripts design for the first time – but what are they joining: mainstream alternative practice, a club, a movement, a counter-culture? This curiosity was sparked by my own experience: in preparing for this book I reflected on how I myself started thinking about design and computer coding in the same thought space. It occurred to me that everyone moving into this excitingly different domain of practice might also have found themselves facing similar challenges with the same sense of joining a road without clear signposts. Certainly, when faced with students tackling scripting for the first time, there is a palpable sense of ‘this could well be too difficult and beyond me, and how would I use it anyway?’ It seems we are over the first hurdle – initiation – as there is considerable ...