Contemporary Processes in Architecture

Yesterday's working methods are no longer adequate for architectural practice. The neo-avant-garde architects are now arguing for contemporary processes that are as dynamic and fluid as the way we live and think, with the same intensity as such intangible forces as the global market and the Internet. For any process to be truly creative in the generative sense, we must condition an environment where new rules engage and inspire us. Models of design need to be created that are capable of consistently transforming and evolving, keeping pace with today's rate of change.


This issue of Architectural Design explores how contemporary processes, in the pursuit of creativity and fluidity, have become more abstract and experimental, attempting to overcome the pragmatic determinism attributed to more conventional working methods. It explores the work of architects who design with generative potentials, force fields and conceptual diagrams developed with the aid of high-end computer software packages. Through elucidating texts and the potent imagery of process - many of the projects are illustrated stage by stage - it effectively promises that a revolution is about to happen in the production of architectural design.

· Ben van Berkel of UN Studio.

· James Corner,

· Ed Keller

· Kolatan/MacDonald Studio

· Nox

· Oliver Lang

· Greg Lynn

· Enrique Norten

· OCEAN

· Reiser + Umemoto

Yesterday's working methods are no longer adequate for architectural practice. The neo-avant-garde architects are now arguing for contemporary processes that are as dynamic and fluid as the way we live and think, with the same intensity as such intangible forces as the global market and the Internet. For any process to be truly creative in the generative sense, we must condition an environment where new rules engage and inspire us. Models of design need to be created that are capable of consistently transforming and evolving, keeping pace with today's rate of change.


This issue of Architectural Design explores how contemporary processes, in the pursuit of creativity and fluidity, have become more abstract and experimental, attempting to overcome the pragmatic determinism attributed to more conventional working methods. It explores the work of architects who design with generative potentials, force fields and conceptual diagrams developed with the aid of high-end computer software packages. Through elucidating texts and the potent imagery of process - many of the projects are illustrated stage by stage - it effectively promises that a revolution is about to happen in the production of architectural design.

· Ben van Berkel of UN Studio.

· James Corner,

· Ed Keller

· Kolatan/MacDonald Studio

· Nox

· Oliver Lang

· Greg Lynn

· Enrique Norten

· OCEAN

· Reiser + Umemoto