003 | Reading Response

The Evolution of Form in Nature by Michael Weinstock

Do the transformation of forms in architecture mimic the evolution seen in natural forms and systems? Weinstock makes the case that because humans are part of nature the systems and forms we create go through the same evolutionary process as all living organisms. 

All forms of nature and all forms of civilization have architecture. We think nature is separate from mankind. This came from ancient ideas of paradise. Mankind was created for the perfection of nature, in a dominant relationship with it.

Natural history should be separated into 3 domains ;  usual nature, deviant nature and nature manipulated           by man (to produce the artificial). The making of technology (architecture) would therefore be a natural behavior that is developed / improved over time. 

"All forms emerge from the dynamic processes by which natural systems, both living and non-living, produce organized arrangements of material in space and time."

These natural systems over generations produce more and more complex organisms and forms.

“Natural forms are not created by a single force or event, nor by the simple coexistence of many parts; it is the interactions of each part to its immediate surroundings that initiates processes that over time produce coherent forms.”

“Cities are dynamic forms, constructed spatial and material arrays that are reworked and rebuilt over time, decaying, collapsing and expanding in irregular episodes of growth and incorporation.” The evolution of city arrangement coincides with the systems for movement of food, materials, water and manufactured artifacts. They also have become more complex over time.

"the material forms of living things are a diagram of the forces that have acted on them."

A very interesting read that attempts to explain the relationships of every organism and system and its change over time.