This report presents an emerging design workflow for the earlystage design of bridges, based on a series of commissions at White Arkitekter. It seeks to convey the experiences and lessons learned from these projects in order to on the one hand prepare a design team for new bridge commissions, and on the other provide an example for how computational design can be an asset in the development of architectural structures in general.

Computational Design is a heterogeneous field of digital development enhancing architectural design, which has emerged and expanded during the past 20 years or so. There are many different definitions, but in general the computational design developer combines expertise in scripting and programming with design competence, and the ability to develop and apply digital code to resolve issues or enhance workflows in architectural design processes. One can argue that it entails a designerly way to write code, or a more systematic way to design. For certain, computational design is a field that continues to advance, with applications in all stages and scales of the architectural design project providing the architect with the ability redesign and improve the design process. This advance has been pushed for a long time within experimental practice and academia, but the application within architectural practice is increasing. To add new capabilities and new ways of practice can be challenging, however. This white paper addresses some of these challenges and presents a set of strategies in response to them. It also provides examples of how computational design has been used at White Arkitekter to enhance architectural commissions of all scales. The computational design development in these selected projects has been conducted by Dsearch, a team of computational design specialist engaged in project specific innovation as well as generic method development since 2010. 

Computational techniques offer new opportunities within architectural design practice, affecting not only issues of form and fabrication, but also the management of architectural design processes. This white paper presents the bespoke process for the computational design development of a public furniture in the form of a 65-meter-long bench specifically designed for  Forumtorget, a public square in Uppsala, Sweden. The paper covers the project design development from concept to completion, as well as the development of computational design system* that facilitated this process. The use of computational design* methods was essential for the complex design, and beyond formal possibilities and process automation it allowed a postponement of certain design decisions to very late in the project, which in turn facilitated a less linear design process. Reflections on the specific design and development workflows developed are presented, including issues relevant at competition stages, during design develop ment and refinement, and as part of procurement and production. The Endnotes section include additional details in terms of methods, processes and design solutions.  The Forumtorget Bench development was led by Dsearch, a specialist team for computational design within White Arkitekter AB. The bench was a key part of a 2011 winning competition proposal for the transformation of Forumtorget, a square in central Uppsala. The computational design systems* and processes developed were carefully set up to support the collaboration between multiple parties –architects, designers and landscape architects, client representatives, facility managers, producers and the general public. The project development was extended in time due to the refurbishment of an adjacent department store – from 2011 to 2018. This meant that the development was subjected to shifting project conditions, as well as the continuous advancement of the computational design standards developed by Dsearch. The conditions for the design development also included a demand for longevity – 30+ years in a demanding location, which sets this development apart from similar prototypical projects, reflected in the robust design and material selection.

Additive Manufacture in essence means a production process based on additive principles rather than subtractive processes. Brick masonry is in this sense an additive process, where material loss is minimal, while timber construction is essence is a subtractive process, with a loss of material from the original tree to the final timber beam. The current meaning of the term additive manufacturing – or AM – indicates an automated procedure of depositing material in a controlled way in order to produce an object, an architectural building element, or a complete architectural structure. This process is analogue to the principles used for 3d-printing, a technology originally developed to automatically produce models and prototypes – often referred to as rapid prototyping. AM brings this up in scale and scope, addressing instead the final production aspects. Within product design, AM can use very similar technologies as 3d-printing, with a wide range of materials. The AM process here typically cannot compete with other automated production methods that depends on repetition, it is instead often directed towards bespoke elements of complex form, often referred to as mass customisation. Within architecture and construction, AM requires a different scale and economy in production. While construction often combines repetition and bespoke elements, it does not entail the extreme mass production of other industries. It may however minimise the material loss of subtractive processes or the casting of concrete, it can provide opportunities to allow a more articulated design that was previously depending on very skilled labour and could potentially automate many procedures of the construction process.This provides a promise of efficiency in terms of sustainability and economy to AM applied in construction. It also suggests that the potential architectural performance of AM is of relevance. While this ARQ project considers efficiency of construction processes to certain extents, the primary concern has been the performative architectural aspects of the produced material outcome – from the technical performance of the produced architectural elements to the aesthetic and cultural potential of architectural form. This is addressed through the evaluation of the produced artefacts through out the process, but it also refers to the competencies needed, and the processes developed over a range of cases.

This paper presents the design development of The Sheaf — a 12-meter-high iconic timber-diagrid hyperboloid lookout tower, from concept to detailed design. The Sheaf was the winning proposal in an architectural competition in 2019 for a lookout tower in Varberg, Sweden. A close dialogue between architect and engineer propelled the iterative design development, initially exploring the concept and later solving details leading to a sustainable, material-efficient, and expressive tower using simple, affordable building elements. The alternating use of digital parametric models and physical model tests supported the decision-making, allowing quick exploration of viable alternatives and the client to get involved.

This chapter describes a research thread at CITA which explores how computation and a challenging of traditional material practice can impact the use of timber in architectural design and fabrication. Several past research projects at CITA have demonstrated the potential for streamlining the design-to-production process using computational tools, and the value of working in concert with the inherent properties of wood. Current research continues this thread through a participation in the Innochain research network (http://innochain.net/) and collaboration with industrial partners White Arkitekter AB and Blumer-Lehmann AG. Through the embedding of digital tools within established timber design a fabrication processes, new workflows are proposed which could lead to more intelligent design decisions, optimized building components, and new timber morphologies.

White Arkitekter, Scandinavia's leading interdisciplinary architecture practice, create environments that inspire sustainable ways of living. An employee-owned company founded by Sidney White in 1951, White is a collective of people interested in people. They are architects, anthropologists, planners, engineers, artists, sustainability experts, researchers and more.

In their new book, White showcase over 80 international projects. By integrating research and practice, their work pushes levels of sustainability even higher - it 'makes sense' in every way. Their projects range from residential apartments to trekking cabins, from schools to offices, from pop-up parks to nature reserves, and from hospitals to an entire city relocation.

To build takes many hands and many minds - it is a marriage of sensibility and sensitivity. The projects in Make Sense aim for a better future - for people and for the planet.