A landmark survey of computation in architecture from the 1950s to the present, curated by Teresa Fankhänel at the Architekturmuseum der TUM in Munich. Asymptote's work was featured alongside Frank Gehry, Daniel Libeskind, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, MVRDV, Greg Lynn, and others.
The Architecture Machine: The Role of Computers in Architecture was a major exhibition at the Architekturmuseum der TU München (October 2020 – June 2021), curated by Teresa Fankhänel. The show surveyed the entire trajectory of computational thinking in architecture — from the earliest experiments of the 1950s and 60s through to contemporary practice — examining the computer’s evolving role as a drawing machine, a design tool, a storytelling medium, and an interactive communication platform.
Exhibition
Asymptote’s work was featured alongside an international roster of architects and artists who have shaped the relationship between computation and architecture, including Frank Gehry, Daniel Libeskind, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Greg Lynn, MVRDV, NOX, Foreign Office Architects, Reiser + Umemoto, SHoP Architects, Barkow Leibinger, Frei Otto, and Ivan Sutherland, among over forty contributors.
The exhibition was structured in four chapters tracing the computer’s expanding role in architectural practice: from early computational drawing and form-generation, through parametric design and digital fabrication, to immersive storytelling and interactive platforms — a trajectory that closely mirrors Asymptote’s own evolution from digital collage (I-Scapes) through virtual environments (Guggenheim Virtual Museum, NYSE 3DTF) to built architecture informed by computational process.
Publication
The exhibition was accompanied by a comprehensive publication, The Architecture Machine, edited by Teresa Fankhänel and Andres Lepik, documenting the works and contextualizing the history of computation in architectural design.
