The Living vs. The Dead: using Generative Urban Design to prepare for the zombie apocalypse

Over the last few months I’ve been working with my colleagues in The Living to add important – but still slightly speculative – capabilities into the Generative Urban Design tool we’ve been working on for Van Wijnen. The opportunity presented itself back at Autodesk University 2018, when Lorenzo Villaggi and I were discussing the state of the world over a few beers. It seemed absolutely clear, from our perspective, that given where we are today – thinking about global politics, the climate and civil liberties – it seems inevitable that the next thing to hit will be the zombie apocalypse.

So it was that we approached Van Wijnen to suggest additional undead-centric features for their GUD tool. Jelmer Frank Wijnia – Generative Design Lead at Van Wijnen – was admittedly initially somewhat sceptical, but we managed to convince him that – while speculative – these features would allow them to prepare for the oncoming onslaught. And given the lead-time on designing…

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