Bridging the cultures: architecture,models and computers in 1960s Cambridge

ABSTRACT

In the 1960s a unique research centre was founded in the Department of Architecture at the University of Cambridge. Before that date research in architecture was fragmentary and consisted largely of individual studies of topics in architectural history. Under the direction of Sir Leslie Martin, who had been appointed Professor of Architecture in 1956, a group of young architecture graduates embarked on a programme of research in the newly established centre for Land Use and Built Form Studies. Informed by the interest in the idea of the ‘model’ that was prevalent across the disciplines in Cambridge at this time and by using the power of the University Mathematical Laboratory’s ‘Titan’ mainframe computer, the group developed conceptual and mathematical models that operated across the range of architectural scales from building to city. This paper describes that work and sets it in the context of Leslie Martin’s role in reshaping architectural education in Britain.     

Land-Use Allocation in the Absence of Complete Market Values

This paper describes a method of land-allocation that can be used byplanners and other land managers in the face of market failure. The method integrates theland-allocation approach used in geographic information systems with that used in a generalizedassignment problem. Suitability scores, instead of market prices, are used in assigning competingland uses to individual parcels (pixels) of land. The method is illustrated using a hypotheticalexample involving three competing land uses within a region.     

History and Policy Studies

This article deals with actual and potential contributions of history to policy studies. Some historians have attempted to influence specific policies through their writings, others have held policy-relevant positions in government agencies, while others have functioned in roles that have made them official preservers of our past. The authors discuss a number of ways in which history is relevant to policy studies-among them, the conception of history as a policy laboratory, as a source for perspective about the development of current policies, as a source of theoretically interesting rare or unique occurrences, and as a repository of values to which appeals can be made to justify current and proposed policies. Historians are becoming aware of the need for alternative careers to teaching in universities and this has led them to seek an increase in the number of policy-relevant positions for historians in government.