Challenges in teaching architectural morphogenesis

Reviewing the successive cognitive, operative and constructive models of architectural morphogenesis through time, the paper first recalls students and teachers in architecture how designers started experimenting digital design to reach self-generative, morphogenetic morphologies. Generally referred to as “non-standard architecture”, this innovative morphogenesis favours a new kind of spatial and architectural audacity but also generates three types of rupture: i) a rupture between form and structure; ii) a rupture in terms of process continuity and iii) a rupture in terms of multi-disciplinary collaboration. We consequently have to acknowledge the fact that, at a current state, non-standard architecture still struggles in terms of self-coherency and implementation, leaving a large amount of projects at their virtual, embryonic state especially in pedagogical contexts. We believe the challenge resides in overcoming the overly simplistic and reductionist appeal of purely formal and visual non-standard architecture: these morphologies should, on the contrary, be intrinsically defined by their form and structure relationship. We suggest such reconciliation should occur during the early stages of architectural education. Two experimental instruments, that perhaps constitute interesting renewed pedagogical models, are reported in this paper and we conclude by listing the remaining challenges when it comes to the teaching of architectural morphogenesis.