Computational Regionalism: Re-articulating Middle Eastern Material Culture

This paper outlines the potential of the production of contemporary material culture to help in the shaping of regional identity through a research framework defined as Computational Regionalism within the context of the Middle East. The paper describes Computational Regionalism’s aims at developing a regionally specific architecture and material culture through integration with emerging computational design methodologies and digital fabrication techniques. The paper begins by describing a timeline of the production of material culture in the 20th century Middle East, situating it within a socio-cultural sphere that eventually led to the emergence of a new form of cultural Orientalism which in turn continues to diminish the production of relevant contemporary Middle Eastern material culture. This is followed by the outlining of strong and explicit parallels between Middle Eastern material culture and contemporary computational design methodologies that can create the tenets for a novel yet historically relevant Middle Eastern material culture. The paper gives examples of these endeavors through both, a research project as well as an educational and pedagogical framework at a college of architecture in the Middle East.

Volume Editors
David Ruy & Lola Sheppard

ISBN
978-0-935502-95-4