thought given to each new design
problem the architect faces, but
the volume of crumpled paper in
the wastebaskets suggests that each
new problem is submitted to hit
or miss testing of ideas against
complex backgrounds of informa-
tion, with the result that thinking
is slowed down or circumscribed ...
'Can they think?'
Controversy recurs on the theme,
"Can computers think?" If we de-
fine thinking as the creative activ-
ity performed by the human brain,
then the question can be dismissed
as ridiculous and our human feel-
ings of superiority are undisturbed.
If, however, we regard thinking as
the purposeful process involved in
solving problems, formulating and
through mazes, then we can trans-
form our original question into a
succession of more meaningful
questions having to do with spe-
cific actions, explicit criteria for
cvalution of the actions, and cer-
tain particular computers.
 With these specific questions,
then, we can expect the answer to
be sometimes yes and at other
times no. Further, we can expect
that when the answer is no we can
work towards changing that answer
by pursuing such question as
"What more must we know to
design a computer that can think
in this way?" and "How can we
teach the computer to think about
this problem?"
 All this pertains directly to the
application of computers in archi-
tecture and planning. Some of the
tasks we perform as architects and
planners can now be done as well,
or better, by computers. There arc,
however, other things that com-
puters cannot now begin to do:
here, the difficulty may well be
that we cannot say what it is we
wish done, or how.
 It is fruitful to look for ways to
use computers in the production
and analysis of architecture. Many
of the processes we perform have
parallels in other fields where
computers are being used with
success.
 As architects we must improve
our understanding of the expand-
ing design problems we face and,
since our human resources arc lim-
ited, any tools which can either
help us to see problems better or
improve our efficiency in solving
them must be ,thought of as useful
tools.
Roles for the computer
The concept of a close mutual re-
lationship between man and mach-
ine in the performance of intel-


Icctual tasks is intriguing: each
extends the capabilities or offsets
the shortcomings of the other.'1 2
Specifically, the computer can rap-
idly scan large amounts of infor-
mation, can transform the infor-
mation, can stimulate the outcome
of complex operations (for ex-
ample, patterns of movements)
whose components vary, and can
compare outcomes of these com-
putable operations with design cri-
teria or with outcomes of alterna-
tive design assumptions.
 Only those aspects that arc
quantifiable can be measured, of
course, but such a mutual, or "sym-
biotic' relationship can allow the
man to control the choice of data
and analyses, and to provide the
judgment and the imaginative in-
sights which elevate the process
above the level of mere mechanical
manipulation.
 The next few years will see use-
ful and relevant application of
computers throughout the building
process, from the architect's as-
similation of the background facets
to the control of construction
scheduling and of production of
components. Some examples have
been discussed in the literature
2, 3, 4 and others at recent confer-
ences5, 6, 7. One current applica-
tion by the authors is an aid to vis-
ualizing a complex of interrelated
spaces such as a large existing medi-
cal center. Floor plans to the build-
ing, site plans, etc., are described
to the computer by tracing rele-
vant room outlines and relation-
ships with a graphic input device
connected to the computer. The
sketches are displayed by the com-
puter as drawn and can be rejected
or modified and labelled before
storage.
 Once a set of drawings is avail-
able in computer storage, they can
be processed for computation of
areas, distances, etc. The computer
can then be queried to provide
data summaries by types of spaces,
by areas, by distances between like
spaces, and other measures the
architect needs to study adequacy
of available facilities for present
and future uses.
 The data can be displayed and
plotted as ink line drawings show-
ing, for example, all circulation on
one illustration, all rooms of stor-
age and supply function on an-
other, etc. This is not a tool that
will radically alter the process of
design. It is an example of an aid
that can improve effectiveness of
man in ,the design process.
 There are many other capabili-


ties. Many useful applications are
visible through the cracks in the
ivory towers.
Process will not be remote
All current trends in the technolo-
gy suggest that this will not be a
remote process but rather a func-
tion deeply imbedded in the ar-
chitect's office and a viable part of
his staff operation. Plans can be
traced directly into a computer
that can comprehend them and
respond quickly to any number of
questions.
 The same computer can hoard
information about human activi-
tics that the plans are designed
for, or costs of the kinds of space
the plans provide, and it can cross
reference these kinds of informa-
tion in responding to complex
questions that occur to the de-
signer. When the designer has
tested and modified the plans to
his satisfaction, they may be stored
or printed out.
 Today these things are being
done in only a few laboratories
and a few pioneering architectural
and engineering offices, but the
authors believe that this kind of
tool will be placed in the average
architect's office at feasible cost.
Some practitioners are already
using the available tools and eager-
ly awaiting stronger ones. Most
universities are teaching students
in a number of disciplines to use
computers in their work. There is
small reason to believe that com-
placency will protect us from the
twentieth century.
'Licklider, J. C. R., "Man-Computer-
Symbiosis," Inst. of Radio Engineers
Transactions on Human Factors in
Electronics, Vol. ITFE-1, No. 1, March
1960.
2Souder, J. J., W. E. Clark, J. I. El-
kind and M. B. Bro n, Planning for
Hospitals: A Systems Approach Using
Computer-Aided Techniques, U. S.
Public Health Service Project W-59,
publ. by American Hospital Associa-
tion, Chicago, Ill., 1964.
\Alcxander, C., Notes on the Synthesis
of Form, Harvard University Press,
Cambridge, Mass., 1964.
4Soudcr, J. J., and W. E. Clark,
"Computer Technology: A New Tool
for Planning," Journal of the Ameri-
can Institute of Architects, pp. 97-106,
October 1963.
5Engineering Foundation Conference
in the Building Construction System,
Andover, New Hampshire, August
1964.
"California Council, American Insti-
tute of Architects annual meeting,
Coronado, Calif., October 1964.
7"Architecture and the Computer,"
the First Boston Architectural Center
Conference, Boston, Mass., December
1964.
 THE FLORIDA ARCHITECT