Aryan Shahabian: ALGORITHMIC THINKING
FOR ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS
Although algorithmic thinking—the process of finding a structure of paths or steps to be taken
in order to solve a problem or a number of correlated problems—serves as the creative core of programming, it can be learned
and practiced independently of coding languages.
" The most incomprehensible thing
about
the world is that
it is comprehensible. "
It is a skill, and like many other skills, it can be reinforced
through training and intentional effort. Algorithms apply combinations of reasoning, data processing and calculation actions
to transform the input into the output. A finite number of relatively simple algorithms, may constitute compound-complex algorithms.
Thus, the role of thinking is to discover the profundity of the question, turn its very roots into solvable problems, and
assemble an orchestra of algorithms which should be intelligible and executable for the expected performers. The performers
could be computers, people, mechanical tools, etc. In this lecture we are going to examine a number of examples of computational
tools and logical tasks and will discuss the algorithmic thinking processes lying behind them.
Aryan Shahabian,
MSc in Architecture, MSc in Urban Strategies/Urban Technique, Doctoral candidate in the Institute of Architecture University
of Applied Arts Vienna.
He has won: the second prize of the Persia Tower competition in Armenia (indexed in the Global
Tall Building Database of the CTBUH), the first prize of Mirmiran Architecture Award for the best diploma project nationally
in Iran (2008), and the 4th prize of Tehran Book Fair Competition (2005). He was also shortlisted for the World Architecture
Community Awards (2011).
Aryan is a partner of Pasargad Consulting Architects and Planners. As an architect, sustainability
consultant and researcher, he has also collaborated with firms including, Diba Tensile Architecture, Solarchvision, Fluid
Motion Architects and Coop Himmelblau. With a multidisciplinary background—in the fields of painting, cartoon, music, architecture
and computational design—he has held several solo/group exhibitions in Tehran and Vienna. Aryan has led (digital-) architecture
workshops, and lectured at Iran University of Science and Technology, Azad University, Tehran Municipality, and the University
of Applied Arts Vienna. He has also presented and published papers in journals and conferences including the CISBAT 2015 at
EPFL, Switzerland.
