M.ARCH DESIGN LECTURE SERIES: DESIGN SPACE EXPLORATION

Design space exploration is the idea that computers can usefully depict design as the act of exploring alternatives. Such exploration serves as a means to achieve better-informed designs. The objective is to systematically explore a design aspect, issue or part so as to gain a better understanding of the choices and implications thereof. Hereto, it is important to carefully define the target and boundaries of this exploration. The target of the exploration is what one wants to achieve with the exploration and is best expressed as a performance measure. The boundaries of the exploration set the stage for defining the exploratory method and for guiding the exploration toward the selected target. Note that performance should not be interpreted as merely technical; architecture has always performed socially, semantically, ideologically, and in a basic manner as a shelter. Performance as a guiding design principle invokes a shift in the orientation of architectural theory and practice from what the building is to what it does. It defines the architectural object not by how it appears but, rather, by its capability of affecting, transforming and doing; in other words, by how it performs.