ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the value of computational design methodologies in offering time-based investigations in which change is implicit through the active composition of behaviours and relationships. The extensive research and design policy generated by the urban heat island phenomenon offers a cautionary tale on the potentials and dangers of using big data to inform mediation strategies. Expanding the performance of atmospheric qualities through a data-driven design process guided the development of diverse densities and block configurations to facilitate better airflow conditions and differentiated spatial and climatic experiences. For designers it becomes useful to shift emphasis from a specialised focus on data analytics as explored in science to a broader interrogation of the behaviours of systems informed by a combination of simulation, design theory, and existing scientific research. The value of simulations in engaging with relationships and behaviours is demonstrated in a landscape architecture master's project, which aimed to modify the extremely humid streetscape of Singapore's premier shopping street, Orchard Road.
