Putting Computational Design to Work: Infrastructuring Advanced Technologies for Professional Practice

Algorithms and their sociotechnical environments have entered many aspects of life, including the production of the built environment. A corresponding approach is computational design, an umbrella term for various computational methods, software, and technologies. Computational design is subjected to a continuous process of infrastructuring, meaning different reconfiguration efforts coming from social, political, and technological actions. However, a central problem of infrastructuring processes is their transparency: Who decides how and which technologies are applied and connected, with what effects, and for whom?

In this talk, Yana Boeva will discuss the computational turn in architecture and construction and its impact on professional practice, decision-making, and the built environment, drawing on two empirical studies from Germany. Boeva asks how designers and engineers maneuver the dynamic changes placed by digital innovation and sustainability transitions in work practice. The sovereign performance requires not only technical skills but understanding of how a technology-related reconfiguration involves sociocultural, regulatory, and economic aspects. In the wake of various generative AIs and computation entering professional domains, this raises questions about knowledge and skill requirements for present and future generations and their ethical dimensions. The talk will conclude with future research directions on responsible interaction with advanced technologies in professional practice.

About the speaker

Yana Boeva is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute for Social Sciences and Junior Research Group Leader at the Cluster of Excellence “Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Architecture (IntCDC)”, University of Stuttgart, Germany. Her research interests include the critical studies of computation, digital infrastructure, knowledge and skill requirements in the digital transformation, epistemic cultures and practices of design and engineering, and their sociocultural context. She holds a PhD in Science and Technology Studies from York University, Toronto.