The first part of this paper by Achim Menges focuses on the explanation of the theoretical framework of ICD’s approach to design computation, which finds its conceptual roots in the integrative processes of biological becoming rather than the striated processes of established technological production. It seeks to outline novel possibilities for a higher level of integration of form, information and performance in architecture through the possible synthesis of machine and material computation in morphogenetic design. The second part of the paper will provide specific examples of such a computational approach by introducing three related research areas.

The possible integration of material behaviour as an active driver in computational design processes will be introduced through a first research project focusing on bending-active structures constructed from thin plywood lamellas. The second research project constitutes an example for the integration of materialization characteristics by encoding the possibilities and limits of robotic fabrication for modular wood shell structures in design computation. The third research project introduces the integration of material structure by embedding the complex reciprocities of form, material, structure and performance resulting from robotic carbon and glass fibre filament winding in a generative morphogenetic design process.