5 posts tagged “studio”
So, here is the new studio task for next semester in the Dessau Institute of Architecture:
DIA Dessau Institute of Architecture Advanced Architecture Studio WS09/10
Prof. Matias del Campo: The Tangling Line - Urban design for the Expo 2012, Yeosu, Korea
Braiding, Weaving and Bifurcations…
This semesters studio is focused on the idea of tangled structures—massively distributed networks made up of relatively weak cross-linked fibrous components that are the dominant mode of formation of structures in nature. This elegant concept of material assembly follows a long lineage in architectural history, from gothic interweaving to Art Nouveau braiding; textile techniques from two-
to three-dimensional weaving (Miyake, Northsails); Fine Arts from Pollock to Eliasson; Mathematics from topology to tangle theory; and science from advanced composites to tissue engineering demonstrate the omnipresence of this concept of matter assembly. A crucial characteristic of this structural morphology is that patterning, form, and organization are inherent conditions emerging out of the design process. The studio projects will explore in depth the aesthetics and performative parameters of tangled and patterned surface conditions as an alternative to prevailing assembly strategies in a
contemporary design environment, using the most advanced digital design tools and computer controlled fabrication methods, such as 3D printers and Laser Cutters. Design research is conducted into the architectural potential for this idea in the context of advanced engineering and contemporary construction methods.
The main task of the studio is to explore braiding, weaving and bifurcations as design tools for urban scale structures. The site and program for these explorations is the Expo 2012 in Yeosu, Korea. The site offers the opportunity to work on distributed, tangled networks along the coastline of the Expo Project. All the necessary data, such as plans and information about the site will be available from the studio master. Due to the size of the project group work is encouraged, limited to a maximum group size of 3 students.
For more information please visit the studio blog: http://bifurbication.blogspot.com/
It is highly recommended that prospective students of this studio pick up the reader Deep Ornament: Primer that is available in the DIA Office. This reader forms the theoretical basis of the work in the studio.
This semesters main theme in my studio at the Bauhaus was the issue of Ornamentation. The students had to explore the various architectural implications conotated with the realm of ornaments. To be precise the studio was called Deep Ornament. This implies opportunities to explore issues such structure, spatial articulation as well as the performative qualities of articulated surfaces. The students developed two specific branches within the provided environment of thought. One approach dealed with
On invitation by Francois Roche and Marc Fornes, Sandra and I joined in as guestcrits for the midterm review of the Studio of Francois Roche this semester at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, die Angewandte. The range of projects dealing with robotic systems, stochastics and various models of material deposition systems was quite intriguing and the robotic solutions very imaginative. The kinematics of some of the solutions where astounding and much more the material output of the machines, ranging from fuzzy material clouds to fribreous behaviour....
Sandra and I are teaching a workshop at the Bauhaus Dessau in Germany. The Dessau Institute of Architecture resides right beside the famous Bauhaus building, designed by Walter Gropius, the mythical birthplace of modern design.
The course we are teaching deals with issues such as selforganization, and the behaviour of molecule populations informed by intensive forces such as friction, varying gravitational forces and viscosity as a mean of architectural design. In a first stage, the students had to create a plaster model, an "Abstract Machine" depicting the behaviour described above. After scrutinizing the model for the resulting spatial patterns, created by the process, the students have to create a digital translation, a computational model of the observed phenomena. I will post the link to the studios blog as soon as we finished the course, end of december.
I was not sure wether I should like it or hate it, the IBM building of the Otis College of art. I remember I saw the oldschool computer punchcard fassade of the building allready in one of our modernism books. When you start to Europe from the LAX Airport you can clearly see it, as it is in its close proximity. Well, Sandra and I where anyway not there to admire the building, but to join the boards of critics at the final review of the landscape design studio. Takao Tajima, was so kind to invite us to join in. The issue of the course was to design a bridge over the LA river, that should incorporate further program and include the landscape issue of its surroundings. The projects encompassed the issue in various ways, and some of the projects that best sticked to my mind where those trying to blend the heterogenous environment into one connecting entity, thus resulting in spectacular possibilities for the transition between the shores of the river.
