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Symmetry: Culture and Science
Volume 31, Number 3, pages 383-399 (2020)
https://doi.org/10.26830/symmetry_2020_3_383

FROM DESIGN PATTERNS TO DESIGN MACHINES: WILL THE ROBOTS TAKE OVER ARCHITECTURE?

Harun Ekinoğlu^*

^* Department of City Planning, City of New York, USA, Equitable Life Building, 31st Floor, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271, U.S.A.
E-mail: harun.ekinoglu@gmail.com
ORCID: 0000-0001-9872-2738

Abstract: Could a computer design the divine holiness seen within the Hagia Sophia’s formidable dimensions, or the organic yet subtle posture symbolizing the glory, nativity, and passion of the Sagrada Família? Artistically and architecturally, all of humankind’s masterpieces have been achieved their form through the wisdom and emotions borne out of the social, cultural and ideological archipelago of the ages. This is not only an invaluable wealth inherited from the past but also through the very knowledge of the body, mind, and spirit of the human being and his/her creative genius to extract and transfer from the past to the future. However, more and more architectural design practices have evolved that rely on artificial intelligence with machine learning capabilities. This is where the questions arise: can such intelligent capacity take over traditional architectural design practices and replace the architect? The discussion in this paper suggests that although design machines are offering highly complex and cutting-edge design methods for architecture and several other design fields, and although machines can help to solve complex problems where trade-offs rather than optimized solutions are acceptable, they are still not good at open-ended creative solutions, which currently remain the province of human architects

Keywords: architecture, design, generative design, AI, pattern language, design machines

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