Beginnings of “Architecture and the Computer”: The first conference on digital architectural design at the Boston Architectural Center, 1964

On December 5 1964, the Boston Architectural Center organized the first conference on the use and impact of the computer on architectural design and the architectural and engineering professions. Under the title “Architecture and the Computer” the conference centered around technical subjects of computer and design graphics as well as deeper concepts of creativity and design intuition. Although the conference seems to belong to the prehistory of digital architecture the problems that it set continue to attract the interest and anxieties of 21st century architectural discourse. The address will 1) establish the historical context of the 1964 conference (organizers, participants, financing etc.); 2) will present the contributions and questions set by architects (Walter Gropius, Serge Chermayeff, Edward Durrell Stone) and AI foundational experts (Marvin Minsky); 3) and will report on the consecutive coverage of the conference and its subject by the architectural press. Archival material will be presented from: the Boston Architecture College Archives, Columbia University (Serge Chermayeff papers), and Harvard (Walter & Ide Gropius).