Programming.Architecture is a simple and concise introduction to the history of computing and computational design, explaining the basics of algorithmic thinking and the use of the computer as a tool for design and architecture.

Paul Coates, a pioneer of CAAD, demonstrates algorithmic thinking through projects and student work collated through his years of teaching students of computing and design. The book takes a detailed and practical look at what the techniques and philosophy of coding entail, and gives the reader many "glimpses under the hood" in the form of code snippets and examples of algorithms.

This is essential reading for student and professional architects and designers interested in how the development of computers has influenced the way we think about, and design for, the built environment.

Reviews

"Programming Architecture is a good book. It makes an invaluable contribution to the field of generative design. I recommend this book to designers interested in the history of computing and computational design and to computer experts in genetic programming interested to explore a new field of application such as architectural design." – Benachir Medjdoub, Genetic Programming and Evolvable Machines

Contents

Introduction 1. Falling Between Two Stools 2. Rethinking Representation 3. In the Beginning was the Word 4. The Mystery of the Machine that Invents Itself 5. Evolving the Text - Being even Lazier 6. The Text of the Vernacular. Epilogue. Glossary

Author Bio

Paul Coates is Senior Lecturer at the University of East London (UEL). He is also Programme leader of the MSc Architecture: Computing and design programme and Head of CECA (the Centre for Evolutionary Computing in Architecture), a research centre at the School of Architecture and the Visual Arts, UEL.