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Material Computation: Higher Integration in Morphogenetic Design
Abstract
The production of architecture, both intellectually and physically, is on the brink of a fundamental change. Computational design enables architects to integrate ever more multifaceted and complex design information, while the industrial logics of conventional building construction are eroding rapidly in a context of increasingly ubiquitous computer-controlled manufacturing and fabrication. A novel convergence of computation and materialisation is about to emerge, bringing the virtual process of design and the physical realisation of architecture much closer together, more so than ever before. Computation provides a powerful agency for both informing the design process through specific material behaviour and characteristics, and in turn informing the organisation of matter and material across multiple scales based on feedback from the environment. Computational design and integrated materialisation processes allow for uncovering the inherent morphogenetic potential of materials and thus are opening up a largely uncharted field of possibilities for the way the built environment in the 21st century is conceived and produced. In order to effectively introduce and outline the enabling power of computational design along with its inherent relationship to a biological paradigm, this publication looks at formation and materialisation in nature, integrative computational design, and engineering and manufacturing integration. * Architectural contributors include: Cristiano Cecatto, Neri Oxman, Skylar Tibbits and Michael Weinstock. * A scientific perspective by Philip Ball and J Scott Turner. * Features: Buro Happold's SMART group, DiniTech, Foster + Partners' Specialist Modelling Group, the Freeform Construction group and Stuttgart University's Institute for Computational Design.
... Since the 1990s, architectural practice has been transforming rapidly with the development of digital technologies that introduced computational workflows for advanced modelling and manufacture of parametric surfaces [1]. A key subject in this field is the use of parametric tools that can combine design, optimization, and fabrication of nonstandard geometry through variables, principles, and constraints [2,3]. These systems are often driven by various performance-based criteria ranging between material properties, structural behaviour, geometric optimization, or fabrication constraints [4]. ...
... An emerging strategy among computational designers is the integration of diverse parametric tools in a dynamic, process-oriented workflow for the automated production of a range of possibilities for given problems [7]. More recently, designers began addressing the need for the implementation of custom parametric design software to provide solutions for multiple design criteria, optimization protocols, material behaviour, and structural constraints [3,16]. An area of focus among these topics is "form-finding" strategies that can be explored through various computational workflows, emergent structural systems, and simulation-based constraint solvers [12,14,18]. ...
... To achieve this task, architects commonly prefer Rhinoceros and Grasshopper tools, while a physics-based particle solver -Kangaroois extensively used for parametric form-finding studies [19]. In architectural design, "form-finding" signifies the use of a material/mechanical or digital/computational system to develop the design under various physical, material, or performance-oriented constraints [3,20]. Historically, this method has been attributed to the innovative structural models developed by Gaudi, where the structural configuration of a building can be built as a network of hanging chains in tension that can be directly translated into a compression model built out of vaults following Hooke's law of inversion [21]. ...
This article describes a parametric design and fabrication workflow influenced by Frei Otto’s form-finding experiments on soap films. The research investigates minimal surface geometry by combining physical and digital experiments in a computational framework. Operating on mesh topology, various parametric design tools and plug-ins in Rhinoceros/Grasshopper are presented to discuss the translation of minimal surfaces to flat strips suitable for planar fabrication using flexible materials. These tools are tested on a case study to show the automated design and manufacture of double-curved surfaces as double-layered strips running in perpendicular directions that can be affixed at point connections for structural stability. The development of the parametric workflow, material constraints, and stripped fabrication of layers are discussed.
... The production of architecture is moving towards a novel convergence of computation and materialization in response to the trend of industrial revolution (Menges 2012). With the rise of digital materiality, virtual computational design is facing a challenge of integrating complex design information in the physical realization of architecture. ...
... The amount of accuracy required in material science is similar to the material assembly in digital fabrication, which puts forward a question of whether architectural design is about strict technological control or loose artistic articulation. As Sanford Kwinter points out: No computer on earth can match the processing power of even the most simple natural system (Menges 2012). Computational learning is powerful in probing new reality of materiality, however, an appropriate balance between digital control and natural formation in materialization should be advocated as a strategy confronting the potential danger of overwhelmed technology and science as well as inviting the power and possibilities of mother nature. ...
... Since then, digital geometry generation has advanced while at the same time the gap between digital form and its materialisation appears to have widened. While it can be argued that design processes are informed by the material and manufacturing methods later used for physical construction, the design process is fundamentally separate from the majority of a material's physical capacities [66]. Philosophically, even advanced contemporary digital fabrication methods revert in principle to the ancient Greek hylomorphic view in which form (morphe), despite its digital and geometric intelligence, is imposed on matter (hyle) from the outside, be it by divine force, the engineer or a robotic manipulator [23]. ...
... In the fields of design and engineering, concepts for incorporating material-specific qualities as an integral part of the design and fabrication system have been identified and described from a number of perspectives: in structural design as material behaviour [35], in architectural design as material computation [66] and material culture [69], as concepts for digital production as fabrication information modelling (FIM) [31], and most specifically for timber construction as integrated material practice [93]. The term material programming, as described in Figure 1.4 and Chapter 2, has in parallel to this research been introduced in the field of humancomputer interaction [103], and is defined in relation to the design concept of programmable materials [74; 99]. ...
Form and structure play critical roles in architecture yet the processes required to produce performative geometries often require tremendous resources and physical effort. Advances in computational design and the programming of digital fabrication machines have increased variety, precision and automation in the production of building components. However, the underlying processes of generating material form still rely predominantly on brute-force methods of shaping. This research presents an alternative, material programming approach to the fabrication of building components in which shape is generated by activating the material’s inherent capacity to change in relation to external stimuli. The concept is investigated through the development of an innovative method of self-shaping manufacturing for load-bearing curved wood building components. The dissertation introduces material programming in the context of architectural design, fabrication processes, wood materials and existing self-shaping and development of a computational design-to-fabrication approach. In parallel the challenges of upscaling and predictability are addressed through computational mechanics and physical prototyping. The concept is then adapted and implemented through the design and production of components for a building demonstrator, the of the material system. The material programming approach is therefore shown as a simple yet sophisticated method of fabrication for a novel, ecological and effective architecture.
... The research is based on the intersection between the debated generative theme [28] and the innovation of new tools digitale della percezione [28]. Per ciò che concerne le ampie potenzialità del parametricismo, il grande tema che si vuole porre in essere risiede nella reale capacità di calcolo di tali processi, dove sempre più serve gestire una grande quantità di parametri [29] per poter giungere all'ottimizzazione [30], innestandosi pertanto nella corrente di computational design [31] [32] [33] e form finding [34,35] e della simulazione degli impatti [36]. ...
... As far as the wide potential of parametricism is concerned, the great theme to be implemented lies in the real ability to calculate these processes. Here it is increasingly necessary to manage a large quantity of parameters [30] in order to optimize [31], thus grafting into the stream of computational design [32] [33] [34], form finding [35,36] and the simulation of impacts [37]. ...
The present study aims to demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of the use of visual scripting languages to analyze the complex theme of perception and impact of the environment on humans, showing research and experiments on their value for the analysis and the interpretation of digitally collected data.
... Industrial robots are adaptive platforms that can enable the economic construction of building systems to achieve geometrically unique elements if connected to a digital design system. Thus, the expertise to produce lightweight composite structures has emerged from within the design-engineering communities with research conducted by the Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD) and the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE) [42]. This body of work at the University of Stuttgart, referred to as fibrous building morphology [43], investigates computational designengineering and fabrication methods and seeks to transfer contemporary biomimetic research [43] to construction applications. ...
... In fabrication simulations, syntaxes are represented by polylines between winding pins ( Fig. 4 and Fig. 9). Both physical and computational models were utilized to evaluate the reciprocal deformation of free-spanning fibers and the subsequent generation of the required fiber syntaxes [42]. Fiber-to-fiber intersections reduce the buckling length of cured fiber bundles. ...
Novel fabrication methods are necessary to capitalize on the high strength-to-weight ratio of composites engineered for construction applications. This paper presents prefabrication strategies for geometrically-complex building elements wound out of Glass and Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (G/CFRP). The research focuses on Robotic Coreless Filament Winding (RCFW), a technology that eliminates formwork, proposing upscaling and industrialization strategies combined with updated robot programming and control methods. Our application addresses the prefabrication of hyperboloid, tubular components with differentiated geometry and fiber layout. We examine how the proposed methods enabled the industrial prefabrication of a building-scale G/CFRP dome structure and discuss the industrial process relative to key fabrication parameters. Highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of the research, we envisage future directions and applications for RCFW in construction. Overall, we find that synergy between academia and industry is essential to meeting research, productivity, and certification goals in the rather conservative building industry.
... The production of architecture is moving towards a novel convergence of computation and materialization in response to the trend of industrial revolution (Menges 2012). With the rise of digital materiality, virtual computational design is facing a challenge of integrating complex design information in the physical realization of architecture. ...
... The amount of accuracy required in material science is similar to the material assembly in digital fabrication, which puts forward a question of whether architectural design is about strict technological control or loose artistic articulation. As Sanford Kwinter points out: No computer on earth can match the processing power of even the most simple natural system (Menges 2012). Computational learning is powerful in probing new reality of materiality, however, an appropriate balance between digital control and natural formation in materialization should be advocated as a strategy confronting the potential danger of overwhelmed technology and science as well as inviting the power and possibilities of mother nature. ...
... Recent technological advancements have opened new possibilities for integrating patterns into architectural practice [5], [6]. Parametric design, a computational design approach, allows architects to create complex and customizable designs by manipulating parameters and algorithms. ...
The interest in pattern geometry and its application to architecture may be seen throughout history. While some authors were fascinated by pattern aesthetics, others were focused on their effectiveness and underlying principles of pattern formation. In continuing with the work of the second group of authors, this paper reviews opportunities for efficient ways of implementing patterns in the design of architectural elements, supported by recent developments in parametric design and digital fabrication techniques. This paper aims to analyze pattern configurations found in nature in order to determine the underlying generation principles and the potential of their application for 3D-printed slab systems. Using case study methodology, selected patterns will be applied in developing a generative parametric design system, which will further be tested in creating and (small-scale) fabricating ribbed slab elements. The result of the research is the generalization of a design approach based on principles of natural pattern formation to produce sustainable design solutions that rely on the transposition of the inherent efficiency of natural systems, such as low energy or material consumption.
... Energooszczędność budynku charakteryzowana jest jako współczynnik EP (bilans nieodnawialnej energii pierwotnej), a jej dopuszczalny poziom opisany jest jednostką EP = [kWh/m 2 rok)] [6]. Badania naukowe i praktyka projektowa definiują kilka efektywnych metod obniżania konsumowanej energii przez obiekty architektury [8], [9], [10], [11], [12]. Do tego zestawu należą między innymi kontrola nasłonecznienia i radiacji budynku [13], [14], [15], dobór odpowiednich materiałów budowlanych i termoizolacyjnych oraz zapewnienie znacznej zwartości Początkowo architektura parametryczna przede wszystkim epatowała złożonością geometrii form, stanowiąc manifest technologiczny z pogranicza architektury i programowania. ...
Artykuł omawia ewolucję nurtu architektury parametrycznej w kontekście opracowanego projektu budynku użyteczności publicznej. W pracy zaprezentowano zaimplementowane metody algorytmizacji architektury w celu nadawania jej cech energooszczędnych. Prezentuje kompleksową metodykę optymalizacyjno-projektową (analiza i optymalizacja współczynnika A/V, nasłonecznienia i radiacji) przy zastosowaniu oprogramowania Rhinoceros i Grasshopper. Uzyskane wyniki badań wpłynęły na zmianyw projekcie, dzięki nim udało się: zredukować wartość A/V do 0,628 m-1, precyzyjnie obliczyć czas nasłonecznienia oraz wykazać jego zgodność z przepisami prawa, obniżyć poziom radiacji południowej elewacji projektowanego obiektu. Artykuł dowodzi słuszności i wydajności stosowania algorytmów w architekturze oraz wskazuje efektywne i praktyczne metody ich stosowania.
... Material computation has emerged as a cuttingedge field that seeks to bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds (Oxman and Rosenberg, 2007). It involves using algorithms and computational tools to design and fabricate complex structures and materials, blurring the lines between material science, engineering, and computer science (Menges, 2012). With a focus on exploring novel materials and their properties, material computation has the potential to revolutionize various industries, from construction and architecture to biomedical engineering and beyond (Stepney, 2008). ...
... [3] discusses the potential of generative design to create innovative and efficient design solutions. In architecture, generative design has been used to create complex building forms and façade systems, as discussed by [4]. ...
... También hay que reseñar nuestra distancia con el diseño computacional en su vertiente de investigación sobre la morfogenética, la biomimética y la computación material (Menges 2012, Oxman 2010. Se está abriendo en ellas una amplísima posibilidad de desarrollo para la arquitectura, pero, pese a que será necesario estudiar los avances en este campo por su paralelismo con el nuestro, y por la oportunidad de producción formal que ofrecen, no es el objeto de esta investigación. ...
El presente trabajo forma parte de la investigación doctoral sobre las implicaciones y potencias del diseño informacional en las etapas iniciales del proyecto de arquitectura. Denominamos diseño informacional a los procesos de proyecto basados en la gestión activa y aperceptiva de la información como recurso productivo en el proyecto y diseño. En el texto discutiremos, usando como ejemplo ilustrativo el desarrollo de un concurso de ideas de arquitectura dentro de un entorno profesional, cuatro de los aspectos que postulamos como fundamentales de los procesos de diseño informacional. Como conclusión plantearemos una serie de ventajas e inconvenientes de estos procesos en el ejercicio profesional y la docencia de la arquitectura.
The present paper is part of the ongoing doctoral research on the implications and power of informational design in the early stages of architectural design. We call informational design the design processes based on the active and aware management of information as a productive resource in design creativity. In the text we will discuss, while using as an illustrative example the professional proposal for an architecture ideas competition, four of the aspects we propose as base as key ones for informational design processes. To conclude, we will consider a set of advantages and disadvantages of these processes in the professional practice and in the teaching of architecture.
... Integrating advanced material simulation has led to the forming of a new set of digital-material relations that fundamentally conceive materials as performative; responding to stresses and changing behaviour in time. Fuelled by the creation of advanced computational design methods that enable feedback between otherwise discrete design phases of design, simulation and digital fabrication, and informed by the fields of aerospace engineering, robotics, computer science and technical textiles Jipa et al., 2016;Thomsen et al., 2019), the emergence of concepts of material driven form-finding or morphogenesis has brought about a new performative perception of materials (Loh et al., 2016;Menges, 2012;Oxman, 2012;Tamke et al., 2012). This has opened new research horizons aiming to steer material performance interfacing the low scale composition of materials with high scale performances of the overall structural system through advanced fabrication systems either through established CNC systems or through bespoke robotic tools reinventing material address. ...
This paper examines how the central contributions of the computational design field can be understood as central steppingstones into an age of sustainability to engage with new renewable, regenerative and restorative material systems. By taking departure in the conceptualisation of an extended digital chain by which architecture can address fabrication at the low scales of the material, this paper asks how these methodological innovations can be transferred to new questions arising from a bio-based material paradigm. The paper outlines the three central contributions of the computational design field: advanced information modelling, functional grading and integrated sensing, and suggests how these can be extended to allow new means of instrumentation for bio-based materials characterised by the heterogeneous, the behaving and the living.
... Computational design in architecture emerged in the 1960s attempts to deal with the generation and optimization of architectural forms under the impact of internal and external factors in the design process with computation-based techniques such as algorithmic design, kinetic form-finding [23,24]. For the last ten years, with the introduction of material properties [25] and fabrication constraints [26] in the computational design process, integrated computational design and fabrication have been one of the most influential discourses in architecture allows for the exploration of novel building systems with physical logics [27,28]., Currently, a new trend is the co-development of building systems and robot platforms [17] which try to develop construction robotics to cope with the need in different building systems and develop novel building systems according to the capacity of construction robotics simultaneously. ...
Timber slabs design is currently limited to grid layouts derived from prefabricated rectangular panels. The lack of adaptability of timber slabs to accommodate multiple span directions makes it difficult to compete with reinforced concrete slabs constructed on site. This paper describes an adaptive slab system composed of thin Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) panels and robot-fabricated beam networks for reinforcement. The beam network was developed through intricate negotiation of structural optimization and fabrication constraints, which can adapt to changes in slab span and directions. A mobile robot platform that allows for on-site assembly of timber sticks into continuous beam networks was developed. The robot platform and slab system were tested with a case study pavilion. The co-design of the robot platform and the slab system fills the gap in on-site robotic timber construction and expands the design freedom of timber buildings.
... Here, the focus is more on exploring new adaptable design-to-fabrication workflows that allow for a significant degree of variation in the architectural expression and are open to developing new construction types. [19][20][21]. We seek to demonstrate with the following workflow that there might be possibilities for making better use of the capacities found in natural wood by employing technologies that are already present in today's modern sawmills and manufacturing companies. ...
Highly optimised processing workflows characterise today’s wood industry. The gained efficiency is mainly directed towards making standardised linear materials that fulfil the market’s expectation of a continuous flow of identical products with certain constant specifications. The research presented here seeks to question these limitations and provide another approach to the use of wood in construction. The study involves complex geometry handling, architectural design, and material and structural considerations. Trees absorb CO2 during growth, and as a construction material, wood can function as CO2 storage, thereby reducing the levels in the atmosphere during the lifetime of the building—and even longer if the building components can be reused. We have seen a significant rise in wood construction over the past few years. This is partly due to growing climate awareness and the increased availability of engineered wood products (EWP). EWPs are reliant on uniform tree production. With growing interest in using wood for construction, an increase in plantation forests is predicted, leading to a lack of biodiversity in the affected areas. The consideration for the general climate expressed through the increased use of wood as a building material may thus appear to be in contrast to the efforts to improve biodiversity. This research seeks to provide an alternative route where non-uniform wood, usually used as firewood, can be used as a construction material. The project demonstrates possibilities that emerge from engaging with the wood as a specific occurrence of a biological entity rather than a standardised material. While historical precedents inspire the research, the project has been developed using digital tools, such as laser scanning, algorithmic design and robotic fabrication. We have developed a unique design-to-production workflow that uses curved natural wood in its original form to enable curved architectural designs. The workflow thereby links the inherent properties of the wood to a distinct mode of expression. The wood is retrieved from a sawmill that collects discarded tree trunks from local forests. The sawlogs are registered with a 3D scanner, and a customised parametric method is used to handle the geometric information and establish a database of the irregular saw logs. A custom-made algorithmic design tool identifies where the sawlogs fit best in a predefined construction design based on the database. Machining data is directly extracted for the subsequent robotic processing. The irregular shape of the material suggests a discrete analysis of the structural properties of each component. A series of destructive physical tests are carried out to indicate the capacity of the structural system and the joint solution. To demonstrate the viability of the workflow, study challenges in controlling tolerances and humidity, and develop an assembly strategy, we have produced a construction prototype of 15 members in the size of 3 m in width and 4 m in height.
... In turn, the illiterate inclusion of computers in the design stage is often criticised since it has resulted in a geometry-driven contemporary design culture (Oxman 2010). As an effect, materiality is typically conceptualised as a passive property assigned to a finalised geometry during later stages of design (Menges 2012). These outcomes are a result of a reductionist design practice as if it was a 'scientific problem' characterized by a high level of rationalisation and abstraction (Snod-grass and Coyne 1997). ...
... Inspired by the philosophy of new-materialism (Miller, 2018) on one hand, and technological advancement in material research on the other, a rising awareness of matter's generative power is at the centre of design discourse in the past years, under the concept of 'Materiality' (DeLanda, 2015). Seeking innovation and alternative modes of form-making, material-systems are developed, where the inherent capacities of the material itself are enhanced and exploited to achieve performance (Menges, 2012). Such material-centred approach widens morphological expression, promotes efficiency and higher performance, and inherently introduces new design paradigms (Hensel, et al., 2010). ...
This paper explores the concept of geometrical frustration as an alternative mode of form-making in design and manufacturing. While builders, craft makers and designers traditionally attempt to work with stress-free materials with predictable response and controlled outcome, nature often develops form and function through mechanisms of stress-informed materials. In biological systems such as flowers, geometrical frustration caused by internal stresses often leads to shape transformation. Although scientists have studied and understood this phenomena, material frustration has yet been introduced as a possibility for designers. In this paper, a frustrated materials approach is brought to the design process, through case studies in two different material systems. Both in ceramics and in latex, the material becomes an active partner in the design process, no longer controlled, predictable and "well behaved". Through close collaboration with the scientist, the material's behaviour is understood and analysed for further exploitation, enabling to reverse-engineer surprising new forms.
... arm meant taking the post-digital risks of working with and merging analogue crafts and digital technologies". 165 Un aspetto importante dei nuovi processi di fabbricazione digitale è rappresentato dalla possibilità di sperimentare una rinnovata sensibilità materiale attraverso la quale esplorare nuovi codici formali e una nuova tettonica informata da parametri performativi oggettivamente misurabili (e.g. strutturali, ambientali, spaziali e materiali) oltre che sviluppare una nuova estetica del digitale. ...
... Recent design research has considered new design and fabrication projects that take advantage of construction materials' behaviors and smart interventions in assembly systems. A material's properties and behavior in different environments and in response to various construction techniques can be used to derive factors affecting design generation, leading to new fabrication methods [26]. There is a growing body of research on material programming and how the type and behavior of the material, as well as its function and fabrication requirements, can impact the fabrication process. ...
This research explores how deductive engineering thinking, as opposed to an abductive design rationale, can influence how robotic methods of fabricating building components are developed. The goal of this research is to demonstrate how creative thinking can introduce alternative robotic fabrication techniques targeted for the architectural mass-customization process. For this purpose, we chose robotic dieless sheet metal folding as the main fabrication technique, due to its wide range of applications in both the architectural construction and manufacturing industries. Two robotic sheet metal folding projects were developed. The first, an example of tool programming, took advantage of an engineering approach and was focused on the affordances of the tool (an industrial robotic arm). The second project, one of material programming, employed a design methodology and was directed towards the affordances of the material (i.e., stainless steel sheet metal). By discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, this research argues that both engineering and design should be considered required and complementary processes in the development of new creative fabrication solutions, allowing them to and make the overall production process more efficient.
... The key motivation of this approach is to determine a force equilibrium to generate and stabilise a structure just by its geometry. While the membrane and shell structures of pioneers like Frei Otto, Heinz Isler, and Felix Candela were often derived from model-based form-finding processes or using pure geometrical bodies (Chilton 2000, Otto 2005, Garlock & Billington 2008), today's structures often arise from advanced digital simulations and the integration of material behaviour therein (Adriaenssens et al. 2014, Menges 2012. ...
... However, during the last decade or so, as computational simulation methods advanced, there has been a turn toward integrating material properties and behavior. As a result, invention techniques and material systems develop to integrate sustainable, responsive, renewable biological materials into Hybrid architectural components (Menges, 2012;Oxman et al., 2015). ...
Domestic greywater produced via household chores has a major contribution to environmental pollution and is also the best-untapped energy source. Since the past decade, in the different fields, enormous efforts have been made to reach the bio-energy from bio-waste. These efforts consist of a wide range of thermochemical, biochemical , and microbial fuel cells; etc. however, all these efforts are in their infancy. They have high cost and are efficient on a large-scale; furthermore, these efforts used a non-intelligent process that has led to lack of development in this type of review. This ongoing research presents the smart design process that leads to hybrid energy via the intersection of computation, wastewater, and microorganisms and aims to introduce the novel bio-computational machine based on particle Physics. Therefore, we will investigate the mixture of the microbial fuel cells, specifically "Spirulina" micro-algae, and household chores greywater. In the computational framework, we propose high-precise fluid simulation with the advantage of particle position and dynamic physics for the conversion of the mixture of "Spirulina medium," and household chore greywater makes energy control possible through flow, and management of the type of solution mix, by transferring data from the modules to the digital environment. Finally, these datasets simulate behavior based on the physical properties of each particle. The procedure works in a parametric computer-aided design (CAD) environment and through Grasshopper within Rhinoceros Software by syncing bio-computational machine to the digital environment. The solenoid valve and fluid flow controller applied between the nutritious tank and energy conversion tank measure nutritional consumption and sends it to the digital environment numerically with an Arduino-Uno board kit. These batch numerical signals are stored in our local database then are combined with the particle physics engine and simulate the material behavior; also, they provide the ability to control our bio-computational machine digitally.
... We assume that material-based design, material computation (Menges, 2012), digital materiality, and material -tectonics are different conceptualizations for the same approach to digital design in which material data is prominent. It operates mainly at the level of materials but does not dissociate them from other digital design components. ...
... This has manifested itself in the electromechanical paradigm that currently dominates responsive elements of buildings today , where electronic sensors feed data to computers that control a narrow range of devices, such as kinetic façades. However, several research efforts in the recent decade, spurred by a wider reversion to materiality, have embraced a more physical, materials-science-based approach to responsiveness (material computation), where the intrinsic capacities of special materials are leveraged to perform geometric and/or spatial changes based on a passive environmental response (Menges 2012). These explorations have brought new meaning to responsive architecture, complemented by the ongoing democratization of computational design and digital fabrication technologies (Kolarevic and Duarte 2018). ...
Current examples of passively actuated structures and surfaces show enormous potential in conferring buildings and products with the ability to assume multiple spatial configurations without added electrical power. This research focuses on leveraging the water‐responsive material properties of cotton‐fiber‐reinforced chitosan films to enable fast‐actuating (<5 minutes), large scale (∼1 m; 3.3 ft.), passive structural changes of a 4m2 (43 ft.2) rain‐responsive canopy prototype consisting of multiple cantilevering truss members connected by a textile membrane. This paper describes the materials engineering development, integrated design‐simulation methodology, and tectonics of the proof‐of‐concept canopy system. Results from empirical testing for dynamic, water‐actuated systems are reported along with the practical and conceptual implications of deploying 4D biomaterial‐based structures.
... The common characteristic are sensors and actuators, very often paired to change the physical appearance of a spatial construction, or the space itself. Pioneered by d'Estree Sterk (2003) as responsive architecture it already evolved into dissipative (Sprecher 2013) and living architecture (Beesly 2015) or morphogenetic (Menges 2012), biomimetic (El Ahmar & Fioravanti 2015) and similar designs. The second field comprises all architectures combining virtual immersive and real spatial experiences. ...
The design, development and writing software for computers has transformed from a niche technology into a means of production. Although computation, information technologies, and digitality have become part of the architectural design process, they are not considered as part of a code itself. By looking into history it can be shown that in architecture codes are already present in different forms. The codes found are used to mark the related periods and to point towards a future form of architectural code with computation involved.
... The common characteristic are sensors and actuators, very often paired to change the physical appearance of a spatial construction, or the space itself. Pioneered by d'Estree Sterk (2003) as responsive architecture it already evolved into dissipative (Sprecher 2013) and living architecture (Beesly 2015) or morphogenetic (Menges 2012), biomimetic (El Ahmar & Fioravanti 2015) and similar designs. The second field comprises all architectures combining virtual immersive and real spatial experiences. ...
The design, development and writing software for computers has transformed from a niche technology into a means of production. Although computation, information technologies, and digitality have become part of the architectural design process, they are not considered as part of a code itself. By looking into history it can be shown that in architecture codes are already present in different forms. The codes found are used to mark the related periods and to point towards a future form of architectural code with computation involved.
... At the heart of digital design, explains Gramazio and Kohler (2008), is the purposeful integration of difficult material and informational problems. These vary from project to project but can include: the description, control, and limits of advanced geometry (Burry 2011); control code for robots or 3D printers bringing digital form into the physical world (Søndergaard et al. 2016, Brander et al. 2016, Grigoriadis 2016; the physical behaviour of building structure, tectonics, and materials (Menges 2012;; simulation of relationships between architectural form, daylight, and human well-being (Amundadottir et al. 2017). The list goes on as computational modelling and scripting lend themselves to near-endless development and variation (see Kolarevic 2003;Terzidis 2006). ...
This article develops a framework for analysing how digital software and models become mediums for creative imagination in architectural design. To understand the hermeneutics of these relationships, we develop key concepts from Material Engagement Theory (MET) and Postphenomenology (PP). To push these frameworks into the realm of digital design, we develop the concept of Digital Materiality. Digital Materiality describes the way successive layers of mathematics, code, and software come to mediate enactive perception, and the possibilities of creative material engagement actualised in work with software. Just as molecular materials come to transform action with material objects, so digital materiality comes to enable and transform creative practices with computers. Digital architectural design form a new space for ongoing enactive discovery and creativity through manipulation of digital models and their underlying software environments. By shifting relationships within their digital models, architects can direct their attention, intention, and imagination towards widely different aspects of the model. Here, creative imagination becomes a fundamentally situated activity where mind emerges through dynamic interaction between a variety of embodied, material, and cultural domains.
... Current research is suggesting a "new material practice" (Tamke et al., 2012) that extends the geometric understanding of material with a fixed set of material constants into the cognition and use of material behaviour. These approaches span from the design with bending behaviour in active bending structures (Lienhard et al., 2012) to the use of material to compute, coined by Menges (2012) as 'material computation': "In architecture, computation provides a powerful agency for both informing the design process through specific material behaviour and characteristics, and in turn informing the organisation of matter and material across multiple scales based on feedback with the environment. " ...
The question whether contemporary information technology with its potential for individual fabrication allows for a new approach to the uniqueness that is offered to us by nature was discussed within a 8-day workshop. 19 students of KADK explored the performative potential of naturally angled and forked wood-a desired material until 19th century, but swept away by industrialization and its standardization of processes and materials.
... "In architecture, computation provides a powerful agency for both informing the design process through specific material behavior and characteristics, and in turn informing the organization of matter and material across multiple scales based on feedback with the environment." [10] These approaches rely inherently on the very detailed understanding and specification of the material behaviour of every element. In our case, the necessary knowledge about the material exceeds the existing definitions of material properties that are found through empirical testing across a series of elements. ...
Angled and forked wood-a desired material until 19th century, was swept away by industrialization and its standardization of processes and materials. Contemporary information technology has the potential for the capturing and recognition of individual geometries through laser scanning and computation and subsequently design and bespoke CNC fabrication. The question whether this allows for a new approach to the uniqueness that is offered to us by nature is discussed in a series of workshops and projects, which explore the performative potential of naturally grown materials.
The concept of form in architectural design has been debated since prehistoric times. In its most straightforward meaning, form can be defined as the shape, shell, and inhabited volume of a structure. This study aims to explore the historical process of the transformation and evolution of form, as well as to discover new meanings and potentials of form through analysis, and to develop a critical perspective on form. The study is structured around three main axes. In the first stage, a mapping is designed to analyze the evolution of form throughout history. This mapping focuses on the changes in the approach to form, design, and making techniques chronologically. This stage reveals that form is no longer merely a final product represented by drawings or statically produced, but rather a concept that involves process and dynamism in a temporal-spatial dimension, whether in its design or production. In the second stage, the evolution of form is discussed through a new concept called ‘vital form’. While form represents something static or stationary, vital form signifies a dynamic and fluid state. While form is symbolically designed or produced by the designer from top to bottom, vital form represents a bottom-up, autonomous state formed by the influence of actors involved in design or production. Subsequently, the relationships, transitions, interactions, and changes between form and vital form, as well as their interpretations, are discussed within the proposed model in the study, based on conceptual sets derived from theoretical debates and the implications in design and making processes. It is believed that such exploration and awareness of form in architecture will bring new dimensions to the contemporary understanding, design, and making practices of form.
This research posits design methods and implications for architectural fabrication in mixed reality. The notion of spatialising fabrication instructions in mixed reality to guide processes of formation by hand is a new and novel contribution to the discourse on digital fabrication and craft. The benefits of mixed reality environments for visualisation of unbuilt designs, or assembly of designs agnostic to methods of construction has been well established by the literature. However the impact that these new affordances will have on architectural design thinking and production represents a gap in disciplinary knowledge that this research seeks to address. By defining the capacities, limitations and affordances of subjective interpretation of digital fabrication instructions in mixed reality, this research proposes a framework for thinking about the new design conventions and opportunities for designing for mixed reality fabrication. Several case study projects provide practical evidence of this framework by demonstrating the impact of mixed reality on enabling creative exploration and application of traditional craft skills within digital design-to-production processes, as well as improving performance in conventional fabrication processes such as non-linear bricklaying. A reflection on these projects speculates on the broader implications of adoption of mixed reality fabrication by manufacturing and construction industries, the extent to which traditional craft practices may be reinterpreted in mixed reality and the possibilities of an expanded design space for architecture and art.
Building shells play an important role in controlling energy loss in buildings, however, most of them are fixed and passively designed, which wastes a lot of energy to provide interior space comfort. Adaptive architectural envelope can reduce the complexity and cost and energy consumption in providing heating, cooling, ventilation or lighting of the building and save energy. Imitation of nature and inspiration from its mechanisms in adapting to environmental conditions can be used as a rich resource of strategies that can be used in sustainable designs. Adaptive envelope is a way to create architecture more compatible with people and their living environment. This research focus on plants because they are motionless and are exposed to environmental changes, so they have to adapt to the weather conditions that affect them permanently. This article is a review of the researches conducted in the field of plant strategies in adapting to environmental conditions and examples used in architectural envelopes inspired by plants and green triggers such as light, heat, humidity, carbon dioxide, etc. In this research, the method of transferring the principles of plant adaptation to architectural design has also been discussed. Applying these principles and green triggers in designing of responsive building envelopes provides simple mechanics with less complexity and less cost in response to environmental changes. In addition, green triggers as the renewable sources can replace fossil fuel, which increases the importance of technologies derived from nature.
O presente livro é fruto do Workshop Desafiando a Gravidade, que faz parte da série Oficinas Transversivas: Experimentações em Arte, Arquitetura e Design organizada anualmente pelo Laboratório de Modelos 3D e Fabricação Digital da Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da UFRJ. O tema dessa segunda edição surgiu de inquietações a respeito de conceitos da física e sua relação com o espaço construído pelo homem. Se na edição anterior, Abrigos Sensíveis (2014), o foco foi dado à tectônica responsiva, nessa edição veio à tona a estereotomia e o debate entre o objeto e o campo, a interação com o solo, a superfície de contato como geradora de paisagens.
Robotic construction is a powerful means of addressing labor shortages, low productivity, and low sustainability in the construction industry. Even though construction robots have attracted attention in research and practice, in a market condition where the technology and industry scale of the construction industry is yet unable to meet the scale of full automation, human–robot interaction (HRI) is a more adaptable working model. It is crucial to change the level of automation to the level of cooperation. This paper proposes an HRI construction method that aims to provide a new idea for existing robotic construction research, which combines the advantages of manual construction and automated robotic construction. This construction method allows an inexperienced layman to quickly complete the construction of complex timber structures with the assistance of a robot. Furthermore, this automated construction method's advantages, limitations, and potential pitfalls and the environmental, economic, and social sustainability aspects of design, production, and construction are also considered, providing a technical reference for the sustainable development of China's construction industry.
Digital technologies are increasingly being used in the built environment. An overview of seven digital technologies for structural design is given and their applications and values on projects at various scales are discussed. The potentials and opportunities of digital technologies to contribute to sustainable designs are also addressed with the aim of achieving a net zero built environment.
This paper considers how research by design and innovative technologies can join in the development of a collective project in Architectural Education. Based on the book Staying with the Trouble by Donna J. Haraway, this paper establishes a method called Sympoiesis methodology in which a theoretical framework is introduced that consists of collective design, prototype interaction and robotic fabrication. The aim of the paper is to propose a new method in architectural design studio teaching based on collective problem-solving access through making-with prototypes over the implementation of robotic fabrication. Finally, a 6-week seminar studio is presented as a case study, illustrating the proposed framework and helping determine its applicability, impact and limitations, to establish a more profound dialogue between new technologies and digital tools in new participatory learning spaces in the best practices and design in Architectural Education.
Este artículo considera cómo la investigación a través del diseño e innovadoras tecnologías pueden unirse en el desarrollo de un proyecto colectivo en la enseñanza de Arquitectura. Basándose en el libro Staying with the Trouble de Donna J. Haraway, se presenta un método llamado metodología Sympoiesis que propone un marco teórico compuesto por: el diseño colectivo, la interacción con prototipos y la fabricación robótica. El objetivo es proponer un nuevo método dentro del estudio de diseño arquitectónico basado en un acceso colectivo a la resolución de problemas a través de la creación de prototipos con la fabricación robótica. Finalmente, se presenta un seminario de 6 semanas que ilustra el marco propuesto y ayuda a determinar su aplicabilidad, impacto y limitaciones, para establecer un diálogo más profundo entre las nuevas tecnologías y las herramientas digitales en nuevos espacios de aprendizaje participativo, mostrando así una nueva forma de abordar el diseño en la escuela de Arquitectura.
Most contemporary architecture programmes use a pedagogical model in which students construct their design knowledge by engaging in an architectural project. Due to the size and complexities of the physical environments they study, students develop their design knowledge primarily by using representations of the material world. The learning opportunities afforded by the experience of materials hence are often overlooked. In this study, we seek evidence that material experiences have an agency on architectural teaching and learning. Using sociomaterial perspectives, we followed two architecture designbuild courses, analysed their students’ learning diaries, and contextualised them with the teacher’s pedagogical reflections. We found correlations between specific materials and specific knowledge, skills, and technological competencies and demonstrated how materials could be used as ‘learning agents’ in architectural education. The paper’s findings contribute to the development of a material-driven pedagogy in which materials are used as ‘learning agents’ in architectural education.
This thesis focuses on the
development of the Panlam system: a
design-to-fabrication computational
methodology for freeform timber
frames based on CNC milling tables
and timber panel lamination. || The research is situated in the context
of the European timber industry while
the Panlam system targets forested
regions and economies with potential of
developing local innovations in freeform
timber, more specifically the Balkans
and Bulgaria. || The thesis consists of three sections:
Definition, Exploration and Synthesis.
The first section forms the background
and motivation of the work with a
review of current practices in freeform
timber. This sets the theoretical basis
for the explorations in the second
section where a range of initial digital
and physical prototypes lead to the
formulation of the Panlam system and
modeling algorithm. The third section
implements the Panlam methodology in
a hypothetical architectural project in
order to evaluate and further develop
the system for specific context and
brief. This section and the research
conclude with two large scale physical
prototypes. || Panlam = Panel laminated timber.
Panlam is the key product of this work: a design-to-fabrication
computational methodology for freeform
timber frames based on CNC milling tables and
timber panel lamination.
Most contemporary architecture programmes use a pedagogical model in which students construct their design knowledge by engaging in an architectural project. Due to the size and complexities of the physical environments they study, students develop their design knowledge primarily by using representations of the material world. The learning opportunities afforded by the experience of materials hence are often overlooked. In this study, we seek evidence that material experiences have an agency on architectural teaching and learning. Using sociomaterial perspectives, we followed two architecture designbuild courses, analysed their students’ learning diaries, and contextualised them with the teacher’s pedagogical reflections. We found correlations between specific materials and specific knowledge, skills, and technological competencies and demonstrated how materials could be used as ‘learning agents’ in architectural education. The paper’s findings contribute to the development of a material-driven pedagogy in which materials are used as ‘learning agents’ in architectural education. The full article can be found here (open access): http://dx.doi.org/10.7577/formakademiskmisk.4787
This article focuses on contemporary craft as a transactional phenomenon in the twenty-first century. It explores the influence of automation technology – such as laser-cutters and robotics – arguing that our approach to automation has gone unchanged since the Industrial Revolution. Practical implementations of automation reinforce a Marxist ideology that labor is placed under threat and individuals stripped of skill. By focusing on craft as a fundamentally transactional activity between individuals, the essay confronts preconceived ideas regarding automation. It steps through a series of theoretical frameworks including Wittgenstein, Arendt and Marx to unpack the relationship between labor, value and craft. Using two case-studies – one designing aided by a laser cutter, the other drawing portraiture with an industrial robot – the author offers a conceptual shift from considering production to be “from” machines to production “with” machines. I use this shift within the case-studies to offer a delineation of streams for approaching and ultimately reclaiming craft from machines.
For the past 50 years, the advancements of technology have equipped architects with unique tools that have enabled the development of new computer-mediated design methods, fabrication techniques, and architectural expressions. Simultaneously, in contemporary architecture new frameworks emerged that have radically redefined the traditional conceptions of design, of the built environment, and of the role of architects.
Cybernetic Architectures argues that such frameworks have been constructed in direct reference to cybernetic thinking, a thought model that emerged concurrently with the origins of informatics and that embodies the main assumptions, values, and ideals underlying the development of computer science. The book explains how the evolution of the computational perspective in architecture has been parallel to the construction of design issues in reference to the central ideas fostered by the cybernetic model. It unpacks and explains this crucial relationship, in the work of digital architects, between the use of information technology in design and the conception of architectural problems around an informational ontology.
This book will appeal to architecture students and scholars interested in understanding the recent transformations in the architectural landscape related to the advent of computer-based design paradigms.
Integrated material practice in free-form timber structures is a practice-led research project at CITA (Centre for IT and Architecture) that develops a digitally-augmented material practice around glue-laminated timber. The project is part of the InnoChain ETN and has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 642877. The advent of digital tools and computation has shifted the focus of many material practices from the shaping of material to the shaping of information. The ability to process large amounts of data quickly has made computation commonplace in the design and manufacture of buildings, especially in iterative digital design workflows. The simulation of material performance and the shift from models as representational tools to functional ones has opened up new methods of working between digital model and physical material. Wood has gained a new relevance in contemporary construction because it is sustainable, renewable, and stores carbon. In light of the climate crisis and concerns about overpopulation, and coupled with developments in adhesives and process technology, it is returning to the forefront of construction. However, as a grown and heterogeneous material, its properties and behaviours nevertheless present barriers to its utilization in architecturally demanding areas. Similarly, the integration of the properties, material behaviours, and production constraints of glue-laminated timber (glulam) assemblies into early-stage architectural design workflows remains a challenging specialist and inter-disciplinary affair. Drawing on a partnership with Dsearch – the digital research network at White Arkitekter in Sweden – and Blumer Lehmann AG – a leading Swiss timber contractor – this research examines the design and fabrication of glue-laminated timber structures and seeks a means to link industrial timber fabrication with early-stage architectural design through the application of computational modelling, design, and an interrogation of established timber production processes. A particular focus is placed on large-scale free-form glulam structures due to their high performance demands and the challenge of exploiting the bending properties of timber. By proposing a computationally-augmented material practice in which design intent is informed by material and fabrication constraints, the research aims to discover new potentials in timber architecture. The central figure in the research is the glulam blank - the glue-laminated near-net shape of large-scale timber components. The design space that the blank occupies - between sawn, graded lumber and the finished architectural component - holds the potential to yield new types of timber components and new structural morphologies. Engaging with this space therefore requires new interfaces for design modelling and production that take into account the affordances of timber and timber processing. The contribution of this research is a framework for a material practice that integrates processes of computational modelling, architectural design, and timber fabrication and acts as a broker between domains of architectural design and industrial timber production. The research identifies four different notions of feedback that allow this material practice to form.
This book explores various digital representation strategies that could change the future of wooden architectures by blending tradition and innovation. Composed of 61 chapters, written by 153 authors hailing from 5 continents, 24 countries and 69 research centers, it addresses advanced digital modeling, with a particular focus on solutions involving generative models and dynamic value, inherent to the relation between knowing how to draw and how to build. Thanks to the potential of computing, areas like parametric design and digital manufacturing are opening exciting new avenues for the future of construction. The book’s chapters are divided into five sections that connect digital wood design to integrated approaches and generative design; to model synthesis and morphological comprehension; to lessons learned from nature and material explorations; to constructive wisdom and implementation-related challenges; and to parametric transfigurations and morphological optimizations.
This paper discusses the digital automation workflows and co-design methods that made possible the comprehensive robotic prefabrication of the BUGA Wood Pavilion-a large-scale production case study of robotic timber construction. Latest research in architectural robotics often focuses on the advancement of singular aspects of integrated digital fabrication and computational design techniques. Few researchers discuss how a multitude of different robotic processes can come together into seamless, collaborative robotic fabrication workflows and how a high level of interaction within larger teams of computational design and robotic fabrication experts can be achieved. It will be increasingly important to discuss suitable methods for the management of robotics and computational design in construction for the successful implementation of robotic fabrication systems in the context of the industry. We present here how a co-design approach enabled the organization of computational design decisions in reciprocal feedback with the fabrication planning, simulation and robotic code generation. We demonstrate how this approach can implement direct and curated reciprocal feedback between all planning domains-paving the way for fast-paced integrative project development. Furthermore, we discuss how the modularization of computational routines simplify the management and computational control of complex robotic construction efforts on a per-project basis and open the door for the flexible reutilization of developed digital technologies across projects and building systems.
The Computational Fallacy', in Achim Menges and Sean Ahlquist, Computational Design Thinking
- Sanford Kwinter
Sanford Kwinter, 'The Computational Fallacy', in Achim Menges and Sean Ahlquist, Computational Design Thinking, John Wiley & Sons (London), 2011, p 211.
Nature's Patterns – Shapes
- Philip Ball
Philip Ball, Nature's Patterns – Shapes, Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2009, p 17.
The Extended Organism The Physiology of Animal-Built Structures The Tinkerer's Accomplice: How Design Emerges from Life Itself
- J Scott
- Turner
J Scott Turner, The Extended Organism " The Physiology of Animal-Built Structures, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA), 2000. See also: J Scott Turner, The Tinkerer's Accomplice: How Design Emerges from Life Itself, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA), 2007.