School Notes: School of Architecture
January/February 2014

Using a computer to create

An exhibition at the School of Architecture Gallery takes a look at the use of the computer in architecture, focusing on four seminal projects that experimented with computer design and computation tools: the Lewis Residence by Frank Gehry (1985–1995), Peter Eisenman’s unrealized Biozentrum (1987), Chuck Hoberman’s Expanding Sphere (1992), and Shoei Yoh’s roof structures for Odawara (1991) and Galaxy Toyama (1992) Gymnasiums.

These four architects went to the computer with different needs. For Gehry, the computer influenced the development of an expressive design language that mediated between three-dimensional computer simulations and physical models. Eisenman used scripting to create abstract representations of DNA structures. Computing allowed Hoberman to perform complex geometrical calculations, and Yoh used computer-led production to create sculpted roof forms that responded to heavy loads.

Archeology of the Digital will be on view at the School of Architecture Gallery from February 20 to May 3.

Considering ‘Digital Post-Modernities’

In conjunction with the gallery exhibition, the school will host Digital Post-Modernities: From Calculus to Computation, February 20–22. This symposium, convened by Vincent Scully Visiting Professor Mario Carpo, will bring together practitioners from different realms of today’s digitally intelligent architecture and invite them to assess the way their own digital work has changed over time, or relates to the work of their predecessors or followers. The symposium will reflect the vitality and diversity of today’s digital design scene and highlight some of the oppositions that animate digital discourse among the design professions. 

Alumnus-designed Evans Hall opens

On January 9, Dean Robert A. M. Stern, along with former president Richard C. Levin and School of Management dean Edward A. Snyder, will help dedicate Edward P. Evans Hall, the School of Management’s new home at 165 Whitney Avenue. The 242,000-square-foot facility was designed by Lord Norman Foster ’62MArch. With its striking modern design, glass façade, and large courtyard, Evans Hall will take its place among the architectural landmarks that distinguish the Yale campus.