About Performative Design

Development of new instruments and methods contribute to a new understanding of the way buildings are imagined, constructed and experienced. Due to recent developments in technology, cultural theory and the emergence of sustainability as a defining socio economic issue, there is an increasing interest in performance as an architectural design paradigm. The paradigmatic appeal of the performative in architecture lies precisely in the multiplicity of meanings associated with it; however, performance is still one of the least defined concepts in architecture.
Being performative is usually associated with sustainability and complex digital models analyzing the structural and environmental behavior of buildings. This limits performance to a merely technical interpretation. Performative architecture must also consider other aspects, because architecture has always performed socially, semantically, ideologically, and in a basic manner as a shelter (Hagan, 2008). Therefore, the question “what is architectural performance in the digital age” gains importance. Is this performance comparable to the performance of a machine or a theatrical performance (Leatherbarrow, 2005)? There is no single answer for this question because of the multiplicity of the meanings and connotations of the word performance. Determining different performative aspects in a particular project and reconciling conflicting performance goals in a creative and effective way are key challenges in performative architecture.
Performative architecture is considered here as the shift in the orientation of architectural theory and practice from what the building is to what it does. Therefore, it defines the architectural object, not by how it appears, but rather by its capability of affecting, transforming and doing; in other words, by how it performs. The aim of performative architecture is to prevent clashing ideas between the performance aspects by optimization methods. Optimization should not be limited to a technical interpretation. If performative architecture is limited to simulation and evaluation, then there will not be much difference between performative architecture and engineering. Performative architecture should have the capability to generate. It uses digital generation and modification to search for design alternatives. The generated emergent effects of the architecture (on nature, site, people, climate and time) are analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively in performative architecture.

 Canan Albayrak and Bige Tunçer, 2011

References
Canan Albayrak and Bige Tunçer, Performative architecture as a guideline for transformation, Respecting Fragile Places, Proceedings of the eCAADe 2011 Conference, 21-24 September 2011, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Susannah Hagan, Digitalia - Architecture and the Digital, the Environmental and the Avant- Garde, Routledge, 2008.
David Leatherbarrow, Architecture's Unscripted Performance, in: B. Kolarevic and A. M. Malkawi (eds.), Architecture Beyond Instrumentality, Spon Press, 2005, pp. 5-19.