Beyond Simulation: Designing For Uncertainty And Robust Solutions

Simulation is an increasingly essential tool in the design of our environment, but any model is only as good as the initial assumptions on which it is built. This paper aims to outline some of the limits and potential dangers of reliance on simulation, and suggests how to make our models, and our buildings, more robust with respect to the uncertainty we face in design. It argues that the single analyses provided by most simulations display too precise and too narrow a result to be maximally useful in design, and instead a broader description is required, as might be provided by many differing simulations. Increased computing power now allows this in many areas.

Author: Sean Hanna
Author: Lars Hesselgren
Author:Victor Gonzalez
Author:Ignacio Vargas

Publication: Proceedings: Symposium on Simulation for Architecture and Urban Design at the 2010 Spring Simulation Multiconference

Year: 2010