Epigenetic Habitats : Mimesis and Living Architecture in Light of Catharine Malabou’s Meditation About Synaptic Chips

Abstract

4 Mimesis has been integrated with architecture for a long time—from ancient civilisations e.g. ancient Greece and the Renaissance to the modern and postmodern eras. These architectural eras tend to respond to Platonic or Kantian schemes, illustrating the evolution of architectural mimesis. For Plato, mimesis meant copying and reproducing nature through art; for Kant, however, it was more about harmonising beauty and function than copying from nature. Kant believed that art is a creation of genius which does not copy nature directly but rather reinvents nature’s rules into artistic expression. While rich in their interpretation of imitation, both concepts lack the dynamic meaning of mimesis when it comes to mimicking human intelligence. In this context, I would like to address the following question: Is the arrival of AI and robotics in architecture demanding a new epigenetic scheme for thinking about mimesis? I would like to address this question by considering Catherine Malabou’s interpretation of the concept of ‘synaptic chips’ that has been discussed in her work on epigenetic mimesis—an idea that transforms the entire picture of AI in architecture. The discussion of synaptic chips as presented by Malabou serves as a metaphorical basis for the evolution and adaptation of architectural design. Architectural designs may similarly evolve through the influence of connections that are synaptic-like; such structures respond to changes in their environments based on environmental stimuli. This approach—which is epigenetic—to mimesis suggests a shift more profound from just replicating forms to creating architectures that learn from their surroundings, thus adapting to them. This reveals a more complex interplay between form, function and environment than what is traditionally understood under Platonic or Kantian mimesis. Through this extension of mimesis by Malabou using neuroscience plus epigenetics, one can infer an avenue towards dynamic designs: designs that are more responsive and, in turn, enhance mimetic capabilities of AI systems within architecture—thereby also enhancing the architectural design’s adaptability and functionality.