ABSTRACT
Teachers and students face the trap of thinking that more and more data for site analysis will reach an end point where an enlightened answer will emerge from the substance of accumulated data. In this chapter the author addresses the need to approach data in a non-linear manner, and to avoid the seduction of the mere accumulation of substance, with neither enlightenment nor strong design outcomes. The overlay technique essentially recommends establishing a biological partnership with nature. The author suggests that we are now doing something quite different in the way we design, particularly when we design constructed ecologies. Inverse thinking for design can be a more dynamic process than forward problems because we can test all sorts of possibilities to solve our design questions. The computational power of digital tools can bridge spatial and ecological processes and allow the testing of processes, design possibilities, and responses of design to changing scenarios.
