In his acclaimed work, On the Mode of Existence of Technical Objects (1958), the French philosopher Gilbert Simondon considers automation to be a low degree of technical perfection, a mode of operation which sacrifices potential uses due to its control by economic or social vectors. He suggests an alternative: relating to the margin of indetermination inherent in the machine in order to increase its sensitivity to outside information. Sensitivity of machines to information, rather than an increase in automation enables technical ensembles to reflect a new relation between human, object and tool. What matters here is that introducing indeterminism in a technological context contradicts some discourses regarding automation that are prevalent in architecture today, for instance, notions of optimization and performance as mathematically deterministic processes that feature prominently in the field of digital architecture.
The European Architectural History Network (EAHN) is pleased to announce the EAHN’s fifth thematic conference The Tools of the Architect, to be held at Delft University of Technology and Het Nieuwe Instituut HNI (Delft and Rotterdam, The Netherlands) on 22 – 24 November 2017. This conference wants to focus on the changing practical and conceptual tools of the architect and their effect on the logos and praxis of architecture.
Authors: PhD Candidate Tom Shaked | Associate Professor Aaron Sprecher
Link to Book of Abstracts
TU Delft and HNI, Rotterdam, 22 – 24 November 2017