Deleuze and the Use of the Genetic Algorithm in Architecture

Manuel De Landa (2001)

Thecomputersimulationofevolutionaryprocessesisalreadyawell establishedtechniqueforthestudyofbiologicaldynamics.Onecan unleashwithinadigitalenvironmentapopulationofvirtualplantsor animalsandkeeptrackofthewayinwhichthesecreatureschangeasthey mateandpasstheirvirtualgeneticmaterialstotheiroffspring.Thehard workgoesintodefiningtherelationbetweenthevirtualgenesandthe virtualbodilytraitsthattheygenerate,everythingelsekeepingtrackof whomatedwithwhom,assigningfitnessvaluestoeachnewform, determininghowagenespreadsthroughapopulationovermany generationsisataskperformedautomaticallybycertaincomputer programscollectivelyknownasgeneticalgorithms.Thestudyofthe formalandfunctionalpropertiesofthistypeofsoftwarehasnowbecomea fieldinitself,quiteseparatefromtheapplicationsinbiologicalresearch whichthesesimulationsmayhave.InthisessayIwilldealneitherwiththe computerscienceaspectsofgeneticalgorithms(asaspecialcaseofsearch algorithms)norwiththeiruseinbiology,butfocusinsteadonthe applicationswhichthesetechniquesmayhaveasaidsinartisticdesign. Inasenseevolutionarysimulationsreplacedesign,sinceartistscanuse thissoftwaretobreednewformsratherthanspecificallydesignthem.This isbasicallycorrectbut,asIarguebelow,thereisapartoftheprocessin whichdeliberatedesignisstillacrucialcomponent.Althoughthesoftware itselfisrelativelywellknownandeasilyavailable,sothatusersmaygetthe impressionthatbreedingnewformshasbecomeamatterofroutine,the spaceofpossibledesignsthatthealgorithmsearchesneedstobe sufficientlyrichfortheevolutionaryresultstobetrulysurprising.Asan aidindesignthesetechniqueswouldbequiteuselessifthedesignercould easilyforeseewhatformswillbebred.Onlyifvirtualevolutioncanbe usedtoexploreaspacerichenoughsothatallthepossibilitiescannotbe consideredinadvancebythedesigner,onlyifwhatresultsshocksorat leastsurprises,cangeneticalgorithmsbeconsideredusefulvisualization tools.Andinthetaskofdesigningrichsearchspacescertainphilosophical ideas,whichmaybetracedtotheworkofGillesDeleuze,playavery importantrole.Iwillarguethattheproductiveuseofgeneticalgorithms impliesthedeploymentofthreeformsofphilosophicalthinking (populational,intensive,andtopologicalthinking)whichwerenot inventedbyDeleuzebutwhichhehasbroughttogetherforthefirsttime andmadethebasisforabrandnewconceptionofthegenesisofform. Tobeabletoapplythegeneticalgorithmatall,aparticularfieldofart needstofirstsolvetheproblemofhowtorepresentthefinalproduct(a painting,asong,abuilding)intermsoftheprocessthatgeneratedit,and then,howtorepresentthisprocessitselfasawelldefinedsequenceof operations.Itisthissequence,orrather,thecomputercodethatspecifiesit, thatbecomesthegeneticmaterial ofthepainting,song,orbuildingin

question.Inthecaseofarchitectsusingcomputeraideddesign(CAD) thisproblembecomesgreatlysimplifiedgiventhataCADmodelofan architecturalstructureisalreadygivenbyaseriesofoperations.Around column,forexample,isproducedbyaseriessuchasthis:1)drawaline definingtheprofileofthecolumn;2)rotatethislinetoyieldasurfaceof revolution;3)performafewBooleansubtractionstocarveoutsome detailinthebodyofthecolumn.Somesoftwarepackagesstorethis sequenceandmayevenmakeavailabletheactualcomputercode correspondingtoit,sothatthiscodenowbecomesthevirtualDNAof thecolumn.(Asimilarprocedureisfollowedtocreateeachoftheother structuralandornamentalelementsofabuilding.) AtthispointweneedtobringoneofthephilosophicalresourcesI mentionedearliertounderstandwhathappensnext:populationthinking. Thisstyleofreasoningwascreatedinthe1930sbythebiologistswho broughttogetherDarwinsandMendelstheoriesandsynthesizedthe modernversionofevolutionarytheory.Inanutshellwhatcharacterizes thisstylemaybephrasedasneverthinkintermsofAdamandEvebut alwaysintermsoflargerreproductivecommunities.Moretechnically,the ideaisthatdespitethefactthatatanyonetimeanevolvedformisrealized inindividualorganisms,thepopulationnottheindividualisthematrixfor theproductionofform.Agivenanimalorplantarchitectureevolvesslowly asgenespropagateinapopulation,atdifferentratesandatdifferenttimes, sothatthenewformisslowlysynthesizedwithinthelargerreproductive community.1Thelessonforcomputerdesignissimplythatoncethe relationshipbetweenthevirtualgenesandthevirtualbodilytraitsofa CADbuildinghasbeenworkedout,asIjustdescribed,anentire populationofsuchbuildingsneedstobeunleashedwithinthecomputer, notjustacoupleofthem.ThearchitectmustaddtotheCADsequenceof operationspointsatwhichspontaneousmutationsmayoccur(inthe columnexample:therelativeproportionsoftheinitialline;thecenterof rotation;theshapewithwhichtheBooleansubtractionisperformed)and thenletthesemutantinstructionspropagateandinteractinacollectivity overmanygenerations. TopopulationthinkingDeleuzeaddsanothercognitivestylewhichin itspresentformisderivedfromthermodynamics,butwhichasherealizes hasrootsasfarbackaslatemedievalphilosophy:intensivethinking.The moderndefinitionofanintensivequantityisgivenbycontrastwithits opposite,anextensivequantity.Thelatterreferstothemagnitudeswith whicharchitectsaremostfamiliarwith,lengths,areas,volumes.Theseare definedasmagnitudeswhichcanbespatiallysubdivided:ifonetakesa volumeofwater,forexample,anddividesitintwohalves,oneendsup withtwohalfvolumes.Thetermintensiveontheotherhand,refersto quantitiesliketemperature,pressureorspeed,whichcannotbeso subdivided:ifonedividesintwohalvesavolumeofwateratninety degreesoftemperatureonedoesnotendupwithtwohalfvolumesatforty fivedegreesoftemperature,butwithtwohalvesatthe originalninety

degrees.AlthoughforDeleuzethislackofdivisibilityis important,he alsostressesanotherfeatureofintensivequantities:adifferenceofintensity spontaneouslytendstocancelitselfoutandintheprocess,itdrivesfluxes ofmatterandenergy.Inotherwords,differencesofintensityare productivedifferencessincetheydriveprocessesinwhichthediversityof actualformsisproduced.2Forexample,theprocessofembryogenesis, whichproducesahumanbodyoutofafertilizedegg,isaprocessdriven bydifferencesofintensity(differencesofchemicalconcentration,of density,ofsurfacetension). Whatdoesthismeanforthearchitect?Thatunlessonebringsintoa CADmodeltheintensiveelementsofstructuralengineering,basically, distributionsofstress,avirtualbuildingwillnotevolveasabuilding.In otherwords,ifthecolumnIdescribedaboveisnotlinkedtotherestofthe buildingasaloadbearingelement,bythethirdorfourthgenerationthis columnmaybeplacedinsuchawaythatitcannotperformitsfunctionof carryingloadsincompressionanymore.Theonlywayofmakingsurethat structuralelementsdonotlosetheirfunction,andhencethattheoverall buildingdoesnotloseviabilityasastablestructure,istosomehow representthedistributionofstresses,aswellaswhattypeofconcentrations ofstressendangerastructuresintegrity,aspartoftheprocesswhich translatesvirtualgenesintobodies.Inthecaseofrealorganisms,ifa developingembryobecomesstructurallyunviableitwontevengetto reproductiveagetobesortedoutbynaturalselection.Itgetsselectedout priortothat.Asimilarprocesswouldhavetobesimulatedinthecomputer tomakesurethattheproductsofvirtualevolutionareviableintermsof structuralengineeringpriortobeingselectedbythedesignerintermsof theiraestheticfitness. Now,letsassumethattheserequirementshaveindeedbeenmet, perhapsbyanarchitecthackerwhotakesexistingsoftware(aCAD packageandastructuralengineeringpackage)andwritessomecodeto bringthetwotogether.Ifheorshenowsetsouttousevirtualevolutionas adesigntoolthefactthattheonlyroleleftforahumanistobethejudgeof aestheticfitnessineverygeneration(thatis,toletdiebuildingsthatdonot lookestheticallypromisingandletmatethosethatdo)maybe disappointing.Theroleofdesignhasnowbeentransformedinto(some wouldsaydegradeddownto)theequivalentofaprizedogorarace horsebreeder.Thereclearlyisanaestheticcomponentinthelattertwo activities,oneisinaway,sculptingdogsorhorses,buthardlythekind ofcreativitythatoneidentifieswiththedevelopmentofapersonalartistic style.Althoughtodayslogansaboutthedeathoftheauthorandattitudes againsttheromanticviewofthegeniusareinvogue,Iexpectthistobe fadandquestionsofpersonalstyletoreturntothespotlight.Willthese futureauthorsbesatisfiedwiththeroleofbreedersofvirtualforms?Not thattheprocesssofarisroutineinanysense.Afterall,theoriginalCAD modelmustbeendowedwithmutationpointsatjusttherightplaces(an thisinvolvesdesigndecisions)andmuch creativitywillneedtobe

exercisedtolinkornamentalandstructuralelements injusttheright way.Butstillthisseemsafarcryfromadesignprocesswhereonecan developauniquestyle. Thereis,however,anotherpartoftheprocesswherestylisticquestions arestillcrucial,althoughinadifferentsensethaninordinarydesign. ExplainingthisinvolvesbringinginthethirdelementinDeleuzes philosophyofthegenesisofform:topologicalthinking.Onewayto introducethisotherstyleofthinkingisbycontrastingtheresultswhich artistshavesofarobtainedwiththegeneticalgorithmandthoseachieved bybiologicalevolution.Whenonelooksatcurrentartisticresultsthemost strikingfactisthat,onceafewinterestingformshavebeengenerated,the evolutionaryprocessseemstorunoutofpossibilities.Newformsdo continuetoemergebuttheyseemtooclosetotheoriginalones,asifthe spaceofpossibledesignswhichtheprocessexploreshadbeenexhausted.3 Thisisinsharpcontrastwiththeincrediblecombinatorialproductivityof naturalforms,likethethousandsoforiginalarchitecturaldesigns exhibitedbyvertebrateorinsectbodies.Althoughbiologistsdonothavea fullexplanationofthisfact,onepossiblewayofapproachingthequestion isthroughthenotionofabodyplan. Asvertebrates,thearchitectureofourbodies(whichcombinesbones bearingloadsincompressionandmusclesbearingthenintension)makes uspartofthephylumchordata.Thetermphylumreferstoabranchin theevolutionarytree(thefirstbifurcationafteranimalandplant kingdoms)butitalsocarriestheideaofasharedbodyplan,akindof abstractvertebratewhich,iffoldedandcurledinparticularsequences duringembryogenesis,yieldsanelephant,twistedandstretchedinanother sequenceyieldsagiraffe,andinyetothersequencesofintensiveoperations yieldssnakes,eagles,sharksandhumans.Toputthisdifferently,thereare abstractvertebratedesignelements,suchasthetetrapodlimb,which mayberealizedinstructuresasdifferentasasthesingledigitlimbofa horse,thewingofabird,orthehandwithopposingthumbofahuman. Giventhattheproportionsofeachoftheselimbs,aswellasthenumber andshapeofdigits,isvariable,theircommonbodyplancannotinclude anyofthesedetails.Inotherwords,whiletheformofthefinalproduct(an actualhorse,birdorhuman)doeshavespecificlengths,areasandvolumes, thebodyplancannotpossiblybedefinedinthesetermsbutmustbe abstractenoughtobecompatiblewithamyriadcombinationofthese extensivequantities.Deleuzeusesthetermabstractdiagram(orvirtual multiplicity)torefertoentitieslikethevertebratebodyplan,buthis conceptalsoincludesthebodyplansofnonorganicentitieslikeclouds ormountains.4 Whatkindoftheoreticalresourcesdoweneedtothinkaboutthese abstractdiagrams?Inmathematicsthekindofspacesinwhichtermslike lengthorareaarefundamentalnotionsarecalledmetricspaces,the familiarEuclideangeometrybeingoneexampleofthisclass.(Non Euclideangeometries,usingcurvedinsteadofflatspaces,arealsometric).

Ontheotherhand,there aregeometrieswherethesenotionsarenot basic,sincethesegeometriespossessoperationswhichdonotpreserve lengthsorareasunchanged.Architectsarefamiliarwithatleastoneof thesegeometries,projectivegeometry(asinperspectiveprojections).Inthis casetheoperationtoprojectmaylengthenorshrinklengthsandareasso thesecannotbebasicnotions.Inturn,thosepropertieswhichdoremain fixedunderprojectionsmaynotbepreservedunderyetotherformsof geometry,suchasdifferentialgeometryortopology.Theoperations allowedinthelatter,suchasstretchingwithouttearing,andfolding withoutgluing,preserveonlyasetofveryabstractpropertiesinvariant. Thesetopologicalinvariants(suchasthedimensionalityofaspace,orits connectivity)arepreciselytheelementsweneedtothinkaboutbodyplans (ormoregenerally,abstractdiagrams.)Itisclearthatthekindofspatial structuredefiningabodyplancannotbemetricsinceembryological operationscanproducealargevarietyoffinishedbodies,eachwitha differentmetricstructure.Thereforebodyplansmustbetopological. Toreturntothegeneticalgorithm,ifevolvedarchitecturalstructuresare toenjoythesamedegreeofcombinatorialproductivityasbiologicalones theymustalsobeginwithanadequatediagram,anabstractbuilding correspondingtotheabstractvertebrate.Anditisathispointthatdesign goesbeyondmerebreeding,withdifferentartistsdesigningdifferent topologicaldiagramsbearingtheirsignature.Thedesignprocess,however, willbequitedifferentfromthetraditionalonewhichoperateswithin metricspaces.Itisindeedtooearlytosayjustwhatkindofdesign methodologieswillbenecessarywhenonecannotusefixedlengthsoreven fixedproportionsasaestheticelementsandmustinsteadrelyonpure connectivities(andothertopologicalinvariants).Butwhatitisclearisthat withoutthisthespaceofpossibilitieswhichvirtualevolutionblindly searcheswillbetooimpoverishedtobeofanyuse.Thus,architects wishingtousethisnewtoolmustnotonlybecomehackers(sothatthey cancreatethecodeneededtobringextensiveandintensiveaspects together)butalsobeabletohackbiology,thermodynamics, mathematics,andotherareasofsciencetotapintothenecessary resources.Asfascinatingastheideaofbreedingbuildingsinsidea computermaybe,itisclearthatmeredigitaltechnologywithout populational,intensiveandtopologicalthinkingwillneverbeenough.
References

First....theformsdonotpreexistthepopulation,theyaremorelike statisticalresults.Themoreapopulationassumesdivergentforms, themoreitsmultiplicitydividesintomultiplicitiesofadifferent nature....themoreefficientlyitdistributesitselfinthemilieu,or dividesupthemilieu....Second,simultaneouslyandunderthe

sameconditions....degreesare nolongermeasuredintermsof increasingperfection....butintermsofdifferentialrelationsand coefficientssuchasselectionpressure,catalyticaction,speedof propagation,rateofgrowth,evolution,mutation....Darwinisms twofundamentalcontributionsmoveinthedirectionofascience ofmultiplicities:thesubstitutionofpopulationsfortypes,andthe substitutionofratesordifferentialrelationsfordegrees. GillesDeleuzeandFelixGuattari.AThousandPlateaus.(Universityof MinnesotaPress,Minneapolis,1987).Page48. 2 Differenceisnotdiversity.Diversityisgiven,butdifferenceisthat bywhichthegivenisgiven...Differenceisnotphenomenonbutthe nuomenonclosesttothephenomenon...Everyphenomenonrefers toaninequalitybywhichitisconditioned...Everythingwhich happensandeverythingwhichappearsiscorrelatedwithordersof differences:differencesoflevel,temperature,pressure,tension, potential,differenceofintensity GillesDeleuze.DifferenceandRepetition.(ColumbiaUniversityPress,New York,1994).Page222. 3Seeforexample:StephenToddandWilliamLatham.EvolutionaryArt andComputers.(AcademicPress,NewYork,1992). 4 Anabstractmachineinitselfisnotphysicalorcorporeal,anymore thanitissemiotic;itisdiagrammatic(itknowsnothingofthe distinctionsbetweentheartificialandthenaturaleither).It operatesbymatter,notbysubstance;byfunction,notbyform... TheabstractmachineispureMatterFunctionadiagram independentoftheformsandsubstances,expressionsandcontents itwilldistribute. GillesDeleuzeandFelixGuattari.AThousandPlateaus.Op.Cit.Page141