HISTORY OF GENERATIVE ART - Cybernetics and Urban Design
Cybernetics, developed in the mid-20th century by Norbert Wiener, focuses on the study of control and communication in mechanical, biological, and social systems. Its principles have influenced various disciplines, including not only science and technology, but also the arts, humanities, and urban design. In the context of city planning, cybernetics helped in understanding cities as dynamic and adaptive systems shaped by continuous feedback between inhabitants, infrastructure, and environmental conditions.
Cities are complex, open systems in which numerous interdependent variables interact and influence one another. Through the use of feedback loops, urban environments can be designed to respond in real time and adapt to user behavior, for example, in self-regulating traffic systems. Cybernetics introduced concepts such as adaptive planning, iterative development, and systems capable of changing in response to their own performance.
Cedric Price and Joan Littlewood, Fun Palace, 1960s, Courtesy Cedric Price fonds/Canadian Centre for Architecture Collection, Montreal
In the 1950s and 1960s, several theorists began investigating how cybernetic principles could influence urban design. One important figure was a British architect, Cedric Price. In the 1960s, he proposed the Fun Palace, a flexible cultural space that could be reconfigured according to users’ needs. This interactive environment, equipped with sensors, cranes, and movable components, enabled users to shape the space through their activities. Although it was never built, the Fun Palace influenced later projects such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris, which adopted several of its concepts related to flexibility and transparency.
The Hungarian artist Nicolas Schöffer also explored the application of cybernetic theory to urban planning. In 1965, he proposed the Cybernetic City which composed of three interconnected zones managed by a central control unit. The design allocated areas for work, contemplation, residence, and leisure. Schöffer believed that advances in automation and cybernetics would increase leisure time and reshape urban life.
Nicolas Schöffer, The Cybernetic City, 1965, Source: Adagp, Paris – Éléonore de Lavandeyra-Schöffer, 2018
Constant Nieuwenhuys’s long-term project New Babylon, developed between 1959 and 1974, also incorporated ideas from cybernetics and the space age. He imagined a future society liberated by automation, where urban space would be a platform for creativity and play. The environment was to be fluid, constantly reconfigurable and structured around a network of interconnected spatial units. These units would allow transformation based on the users’ desires and movements.
Constant Nieuwenhuys, New Babylon, 1959-74, Source: medium.com
While many cybernetic urban designs remained on paper, some were partially realized. Expo ’70 in Osaka represented a large-scale project to apply cybernetic concepts to architecture and urban design. Japanese architect Kenzo Tange designed the expo grounds as a modular and expandable structure, which was capable of growth and change. Several national and corporate pavilions featured interactive technologies, feedback systems, and real-time information displays.
In the present day, cybernetic principles continue to influence urban planning and architecture, particularly through the development of smart cities and responsive environments. Real-time, data-driven systems, such as adaptive traffic signals, responsive public lighting, and environmental monitoring technologies, are now implemented in cities such as Barcelona, Singapore, and Amsterdam.
Kenzo Tange, Japan World Exposition in Osaka, 1970, Source: messynessychic.com