Game Theory in Architecture
One article that I found extremely interesting was about the role of game theory in architecture. Titled “Using game theory to fine–tune architectural diplomacy, ” the feature was posted on Archinect.com, a resource for architects to discover potential connections and share interesting commentary. The author published emails that he exchanged with Adam Tarr, the founder of Mzo Tarr Architects, on the innovative way that Mzo Tarr used game theory to allocate the amount of square feet dedicated to an indoor garden versus private apartment space per floor in a residential building in London.
Specifically, Adam Tarr discussed using game theory utility curves to design a proposal for the residents that encouraged them to give up apartment square footage in exchange for a common garden space at a 1:2 ratio; that is, they would receive 2 sq. meters of garden in exchange for giving up 1 sq. meter of apartment space. What he found was that when some tenants chose to be selfish and rely on the generosity of the other people living on their floor, their floor’s total private and garden space combined was less than that of floors with unselfish residents. Therefore, they were actually worse off by not collaborating with each other.
I enjoyed this article because it presented a real–world application of the principles of game theory that we have been learning about in class, and demonstrated that game theory could be applied even in a field that seems unrelated. Collaboration leading to better results for everyone represents a mutually beneficial game theory solution, and so would be the pure strategy Nash equilibrium. If you are Player A and you see that Player B has given up private space for garden space, the higher payoff would be if you also gave up private space; vice versa for Player B. I am interested in exploring further opportunities for applications of game theory in architecture.
One way to extend this discussion would be to introduce auctions: instead of having each square meter of private home equate to two meters of garden space, there could be an auction to determine just how much the conversion ratio was (if all the tenants happened to value their private apartment space very highly, the conversion would perhaps be 1 sq. meter of private space to 3 sq. meters of garden space in order for everyone to agree to contribute). Obviously, this auction would be very difficult to coordinate, but if conducted properly could lead to the most efficient allocation of limited space on each floor. The results would be extremely valuable for both the tenants of this building and the architecture firm in general, as it would provide insight as to how to best structure living spaces and could help the firm cut unnecessary spending on, for example, a huge garden that tenants did not particularly desire.
Link to article: http://archinect.com/features/article/149965078/using-game-theory-to-fine-tune-architectural-diplomacy
Image credit: Courtesy of Mzo Tarr via http://archinect.com/features/article/149965078/using-game-theory-to-fine-tune-architectural-diplomacy