Inside smartgeometry – Expanding the architectural possibilities of computational design
Brady Peters and Terri Peters eds
Wiley £29.99

Smartgeometry was founded in 2001 by Hugh Whiteread, Lars Hesselgren and J Parrish, who have become synonymous with the development of advanced computational thinking in architectural form generation – although they would say they’re more about the creation and application of digital tools and cross-disciplinary fertilisation of ideas, rather than a sole association with architecture. I find most AD publications tend to suffer from being fluff-filled (aka Schumacher Syndrome) but this one is different. If the various authors are not talking about real architectural projects that they have been directly involved with and whose challenges were interrogated and resolved, they are discussing how factors from other disciplines can impinge, influence and modify computational design. As a result, over 22 copiously illustrated essays by renowned practitioners and academics, the book has the cumulative sense of being firmly grounded – more coal-face than cutting edge. It’s an aspect that works in its favour.