Interactive Hemostasis Modeling in Urban Network Design

• Published in: International journal of architectural computing 2009-09, Vol.7 (3), p.375-387
• Main Author: Taron, Joshua M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1478-0771; 2048-3988
• DOI: 10.1260/147807709789621293

This paper describes a type of project that images a city as it might exist given the integration of hemostatic procedures within pedestrian networks during emergencies requiring full-scale egress from an urban core. It articulates the steps taken to integrate a pre-existing C++ hemostasis model (C. Jacob, 2008) into Maya software in order to describe how the project operates on a computational level. By projecting these agent-based logics directly into/onto each pedestrian in the city (the smallest unit of the system), egress-oriented infrastructure can shift from being extensively predetermined in form (concrete barriers, metal railing, police barricades, etc.), to something more intensively defined, real-time, and locally on-demand. These procedures are situated within a larger schema based on the structural principles of Norbert Wiener's cybernetic feedback loops, that acknowledge and allow for hybrid (top-down + bottom-up) awareness and control within systems. The project attempts to ally itself with emerging forms of network design with similar structural typologies supported through the use of personal mobile devices (PMDs) in urban environments.