Fear of code : an approach to integrating computation with architectural design

Abstract

Computation has enormous creative potential for designers. Unfortunately, many factors, such as the considerable investment required to learn programming, have prevented it from entering into common use. By analyzing the barriers to working with computation and suggesting directions for future research and implementation, this thesis seeks to enable a more inclusive dialogue towards the eventual integration of computation into the architectural mainstream. To this end, I propose a more responsible relationship between architects and their software through a combination of interface improvements, code analysis and management tools, and the formation of open source communities for support and development.