As generative and analytic algorithms increasingly automate the design of our built environment, the power of simple geometrical notation to affect social meanings becomes both more critical and more elusive. My recent book, The Hidden Lives of Algorithms, challenges the assumption that computational tools are neutral or purely technical. Instead, it argues that the geometric symbols we use to represent the world—specifically points, lines, and circles—hold embodied social potential that prefigures our design outcomes. The research investigates how these foundational geometries map onto human cognitive categories: lines become paths (movement/freedom), circles become containment (inclusion/exclusion), and points become attention (status/focus). When we encode these geometries into algorithms for pathfinding, spatial optimization, or crowd simulation, we are inadvertently automating specific social values. The book draws on insights from cognitive science, human geography, and computer science to reveal how spatialised algorithmic operations influence complex human experiences such as accessibility, belonging, and identity. By deconstructing these operations, the work provides a framework for designers to understand the “hidden lives” of their digital tools. The goal is to move beyond the mystery of the “black box” and equip architects with the conceptual clarity to use algorithms not just for efficiency, but for the deliberate creation of equitable and meaningful social space.
My scholarship explores the intersection of cognitive linguistics and architectural methodology, focusing on how human embodiment and conceptual metaphors shape the built environment. I examine the “black boxes” of design—whether they are cognitive habits or computational algorithms—to make the social and ethical implications of our tools transparent and rigorous.
The Hidden Lives of Algorithms: Full Published Work
Collaborator: Routledge, Dr. Silvo Carta (deceased)