Swarm intelligence in architectural design

This paper investigates the application of swarm intelligence in the field of architecture. We seek to distinguish different fields of application by regarding swarm intelligence as a potential tool to support the design process, to improve architectural use and further create novel building systems, based on self-organization principles. In architectural applications, swarm intelligence offers a high potential of resilience, and solutions that are fit to the task. We analyze two case studies, one concerning adaptive buildings with intelligent behavior, and one in the field of algorithmic design which makes use of agents during the planning process. Regarding their potentials and deficits, we propose a broader perspective on agent based architectural design. By integrating self-organized construction processes that are related both to the design process and to the usage, we propose combining the different tendencies to a more resilient system that covers a buildings ontogeny from beginning to end.