The ambition of this research is to abstract principles of homeostasis and its connection to the evolutionary development of natural systems to define and develop a set of experiments to produce a computational design engine that generates testable mathematical models with a specified degree of mutability, or adaptation to differing circumstances or environments.The abstracted principles are utilised to evolve a set of urban tissues with the focus on the environmental behaviours of their interstitial spaces across a range of temporal and spatial domains and is complemented with the conceptual and computationally simulated designs, evaluations and principles of implementation. Although biomimicry has been established for many decades and has made significant contributions to engineering and architecture, homeostasis has rarely been part of this field of research. As discussed in the difference between the revised and original editions of Steadman, 1979 ‘The Evolution of Designs: Biological Analogy in Architecture and Applied Arts’, the idea of nature from formal metaphor has changed to a repository of interconnected dynamic processes available to be investigated and simulated. Seeking deeper insights into the natural systems and processes has sped up in the past two decades due to environmental emergencies. There is a growing confidence that the application of principles of natural systems and processes in architectural design processes can facilitate a better conformity between architecture and nature.

Homeostasis is the term for the biological processes by which individual beings and collectives maintain a steady state in their environment, and there is a wide range of morphological and behavioural traits across multiple species that are rooted in their homeostatic behaviours. These morphological characteristics are governed by homeostasis and evolutionary developmental processes. To examine and reflect on the interrelations of forms, these processes, and behaviours can yield useful strategies for computational urban design methodologies that require significant environmental performance enhancements.

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British Library EThOS: Link

Architectural Association School of Architecture Library: Link

ORO OU Repository: Link

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