Morphogenesis
© 2012 EPFL
Morphogenesis If we want to be able to manage the development of our cities, we must produce an intelligent system that integrates all our knowledge-architectural, geographical, mathematical, computational, physical, even biological.
In this context, our laboratory is working on three main projects :
• Modeling :
Any urban analysis must be both qualitative and quantitative : this makes it possible to identify the laws that control the dynamics of natural and built constituents of the city, in order to quantify them in the form of probability functions and model them mathematically.
• Simulation :
We model the metropolis as a cognitive geographical information system whose physical states are continuously evolving. The objects that make up the city (housing, shops, schools, factories, train station, streets and paths, etc.) are agents. They interact in the system with their environment. They are given actions (formation, conservation, change in function, abandonment) that engender chain reactions with other agents.
• Representation :
we are developing both a teaching tool and a platform for simple, realistic and efficient decisionmaking. It allows us to visualize dynamically and at multi-scales : from the global level through the intermediate level (neighborhood), to the local level (building) ; or through time. A tool like this makes it possible to manipulate the dynamical rules in order to observe and analyze evolution scenarios for the city (e.g. with regard to major planning efforts), and to validate our hypotheses.