eCAADe 2023 conference proceedings

The theme of the conference asked participants to re-consider the relationship between design and the digital. The notion of a cycle is already present in the syllable re. Indeed, 20 years earlier, in 2003, we held an eCAADe conference in Graz simply under the title Digital Design and our re-using – or is it re-cycling? – the theme can be seen as the completion of one of those cycles described above: One level up, we meet again, we’ve come full circle. The question of the relationship between architectural design and the digital is still in flux, still worthy of renewed consideration.
There is a historical notion implicit in the theme. To reconsider something, one needs to take a step back, to look into the past as well as into the future. Indeed, at this conference we wanted to take a longer view, something not done often enough in the fast-paced world of digital technology. Carefully considering one’s past can be a source of inspiration. In fact, the double spiral stair that inspired our conference logo also inspired many architects through the ages. Konrad Wachsmann, for example, is said to have come up with his famous Grapevine assembly system based on this double spiral stair and its intricate joinery. More recently, Rem Koolhaas deemed the double spiral staircase in Graz important enough to include a detailed model of it in his Elements of Architecture exhibition at the Venice Biennale in 2014.