Implementing Digital Performative Design in Design Studio: a Teaching Experience

This paper presents an experimental design studio of digital performative design conducted in an architecture course, in Brazil. This teaching and learning experience included a period of three week exercise as part of an integrated design class. The overall objective of the experiment was to introduce the concept of performative design through a design exercise based on actual digital practice. The term performative is understood as the synthesis of two main features of the digital design: transformation or generation of geometry and analytical evaluation of performance based on simulations of physical conditions. Performative design is therefore based on methods that integrate, in digital design process, evaluative simulations to techniques of shape definition (geometry and property), in an automated or semi-automated manner. The design exercise was performed on conceptual study level. The given design conditions were the terrain and program requirements as functions, areas and constraints. The chosen performance which should drive the shape was structural efficiency and the computational tool used to support simulation was BESO3D (for Rhinoceros), developed by Innovative Structures Group from RMIT University. Experiment results show that using the BESO Performative method, supported by the use of the BESO 3D tool in design studio classes in architecture was worthwhile. Experiments with the method: allowed to create a considerable number of design solutions within a solution space; easily used digital tools; enabled the realization of a large number of cognitive actions in a short time; valued formal exploration; enhanced structural performance as engine for generating the shape of the building. The experiences of design reported in this study showed that, despite the limitations and restrictions contained in the practices of design studios of architecture course, design processes based on digital performative methods can be applied effectively in this universe. Its use can stimulate shape generation in a creative way and enable experimentation with multiple formal possibilities.