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Argument › No. 18/2026

Temporality in Architectural Modelling. Towards an Operational Framework in/with Time

https://doi.org/10.54508/Argument.18.10

  • / “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urban Planning Bucharest, RO

Abstract

The issue of time has always been at the foundational level of architectural thinking throughout the ages—from antiquity’s cosmological alignments and ritualistic processions to the Baroque’s theatrical spaces, modernity’s standardisation of time and behaviour, and present-day proliferation of various optimisation tools that simulate building physics. However, at the design stage, notions of time are reduced to metaphors that link what is essentially static geometry to temporal concepts. The first part of this paper examines historical architectural approaches to time.

The latter part of the paper extrapolates from current technology, particularly cutting-edge AI models and immersive VR representation tools, to conceptualise a novel methodological approach that strategically uses simulated time, space and psychology to allow for a dynamic interaction between designers, inhabitants and physical space across varying time scales. This, we argue, represents a shift in observational modes that will allow for the probing of important architectural design approaches whilst designing.

Keywords

architectural theory, temporal architecture, design methodology, AI-assisted design, real-time simulation, human response simulation

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