Flatwriter Today. Towards Friedman’s Utopia Through Generative Design

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the theoretical initiatives of the last quarter of the twentieth century aimed at a new model of urbanism based on the self-determination of the inhabitant. More particularly, on the work of Yona Friedman and his theoretical proposal called the Flatwriter. The Flatwriter review aims to assess the validity of the scientific method developed by Friedman. To do so, we use current methods of graphic representation and visual programming, such as Rhinoceros and Grasshopper 3D, with the aim of checking whether these theories of user empowerment, once considered utopian, have a place with the graphic and design methods that are available to us today. The methodology used tries to test the viability of the graph and adjacency matrix theories of Friedman’s method in the field of architectural programming, with the purpose of achieving the objective for which the Flatwriter was devised: the free choice of a spatial organization, within a pre-established system that rigorously contains all possibilities without exception. In this paper, we will provide an overview of the implementation possibilities of the developed method, aiming at a theoretical approach to the issue from Generative Design and Evolutionary Design, and presenting the results obtained from the different methods explored so far through deterministic and stochastic processes.