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Digital design and fabrication technologies have
given architects the means to invent new architectural
languages and communicate them directly to production
facilities, allowing for the construction of projects
with unforeseen complexity. Yet the impact of digital
fabrication goes far beyond the mere production of
complex geometries.
A growing number of architectural practices and
academic research groups are exploring the new-found
freedoms in the close connection between digital
design and production, inventing new design processes,
material applications and building scenarios based
on opportunities found within the use of digital
fabrication technologies.1
The work presented in this article fits within this context,
but it also explores which opportunities lie beyond the use
of existing CAD/CAM technologies borrowed from other
industries. Focusing on technologies and workflows that
are specifically designed for architectural production, it
considers the design and operation of custom fabrication
devices as an integral part of the design process.
Exploring new scenarios for the creation and inhabitation
of architectural structures, it experiments with flexible,
mobile and low-cost fabrication machines. This allows
the work to speculate about projects that are site-specific,
customised and adapted to local climatic conditions, in
areas and communities that traditionally have limited
access to new technologies and infrastructure.
This article presents a collection of ten projects that
investigate the workflow between computational
design and material production methods, through
the invention and development of customised,
numerically controlled fabrication devices, software
protocols and material solutions.
The ten projects are conceived by master students in
the DRL graduate programme at the Architectural
Association (AA) and the MAA programme of the
Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia
(IAAC). They were developed in two design studios
tutored by Marta Malé-Alemany, in collaboration
with Jeroen van Ameijde (London) and Victor
Viña (Barcelona).2
(FAB)BOTS CUSTOMISED ROBOTIC DEVICES
FOR DESIGN & FABRICATION
MARTA MALÉ-ALEMANY, JEROEN VAN AMEIJDE & VICTOR VIÑA,
AA, IAAC
1
MARTA MALÉ-ALEMANY, VICTOR VIÑA & JEROEN VAN AMEIJDE . (FAB)BOTS:CUSTOMIZED ROBOTIC DEVICES FOR DESIGN AND FABRICATION
1: Non Gravity Printing Systems:
machine prototype.
2–4: Dreamweaver: hacked household
knitting machine, knitted tube typology
studies, structural prototype.
METHODOLOGIES FOR EXPERIMENTATION
Using introductory tutorials focusing on scripting
and machine building, the design studios encourage
students to formulate a critical position towards the
characteristics of existing digital fabrication technologies.
The studios develop early prototypes of custom-designed
fabrication systems, using techniques such as the
‘hacking’ of standard CNC machines, consumer devices
or electronic toys. These ‘quick and dirty’ tests help
to explore the behavioural properties of the proposed
hardware solutions, opening up new lines of research
and discussion, and provide the basis for successive
generations of system designs. Emphasis is placed on
the different nature of the abstract machinic models of
the proposals to their implementations as prototypes,
discussing the economy of means in applications at
a larger scale.
Developing devices in combination with specific
methods of material formation, the studios explore
integrated design and production methods that are
specific to a particular application scenario. Suitable for
deployment on-site, these methods are potentially more
viable to be used in architectural projects than standard
digital fabrication technologies, which are designed
for the mass production of a generic range of products
in an industrial setting. The students’ prototypes of
fabrication devices deliver proof of concept for the
possible implementation with a small investment of time
and resources. The limitations of the relatively simple
machines are regarded as an opportunity to develop
new architectural languages, emphasising the scenario
as an optimisation between the characteristics of
specific materials, tools and design.
As the studios emphasise the testing of deployment
scenarios through material and mechanical testing
and digital simulations, students are asked to reflect on
2
3
42 ∙ 43
the implications of their tools for the nature of the
architectural design process itself. Several new processes
of conception and production are emerging within
the work, ranging from methods of direct control –
in which digital fabrication comes after a customised
design process – to methods of indirect control, where
the final product emerges out of the interaction between
fabrication devices, material behaviour and environment.
PROTOTYPING ARCHITECTURAL MACHINES
Design and build processes using direct control take
advantage of the possibility of traditional numerically
controlled devices to activate a number of motors with
high precision using relatively simple code. A number
of student projects have started with the adaptation
of the components of a CAD/CAM system and its
computational workflow, which translates parametric
coordinates to digital signals, which in turn drive
electromechanical actuators. Instead of using the motors
to drive linear axes in a way that is standard in two-
or three-axis CNC machines, they can be used to drive
rotational devices, allowing to design custom machines
with a more simple mechanical layout or to connect
the motors directly into other mechanical devices.
Dreamweaver departs from hacking existing circular
knitting machines with numerically controlled plug-
in devices. The project’s aim is to create alternative
patterns, which serve to produce multiple variations
of the common tubular knitted profiles. Using the
variations in knitting patterns to produce structural
elements for architectural applications, the machine
is regarded as a part of a high-speed, on-site
construction system.
Learning from typologies of branching propagation
and hierarchical clustering, the project is developed as
a computational and material model that operates at
multiple scales. Using the precision made possible by
the machinic system, the system is able to create varied
structural typologies on a macro level by programming
material patterns at the knitted micro-scale.
Fibr(h)ous(e) also uses CNC technology at its basis.
Envisioning a foldable machine that can easily
be transported on-site, a tabletop proof of concept
4
machine built by the students is used to demonstrate the
principles of filament-winding and explore the potential
of using parametrically generated patterns of thread by
driving the machine in various sequences of movements
over time. Conceived as a combination of scaffold and
skin, the project speculates on a fast deployment system
for lightweight, self-sufficient living units that could
be built in one day. Driving differential fibre patterns
through structural, programmatic and climatic parameters
in accordance with the required performance criteria
for each living unit, Fibr(h)ous(e) proposes an efficient
building technology based on the use of minimal
material and an intelligent distribution logic.
PROTOTYPING WITH MATERIAL BEHAVIOUR
Taking advantage of the capacity of numerically
controlled devices for the precise implementation of
large datasets of machine instructions, a number of
projects are also relying on complex material behaviour
in the realisation of their final structures. Using both
conventional and unconventional materials in innovative
applications, these projects question the necessity to
control all aspects of the material formation with the
same precision, accepting the inherent limitations of
a material or using its potential to self-compute for the
benefit of the final structures.
Sandbot explores low-cost casting processes using sand
as recyclable formwork to produce building components.
It is conceived as a portable device with multiple tools to
carve and press sand that is available on-site into complex
moulds, in which different materials can be cast such
as plaster and cement. Within the constraints of the
material and the tools the system is capable of infinite
variation, as the mould is essentially scale free and
completely reusable.
Non Gravity Printing Systems (NGPS), uses a multi-
material deposition machine that releases small drops
of paste-like materials into a chemical solution that
causes the deposited liquid to form into perfect spherical
droplets. The concept of the project grew out of the
‘Molecular Gastronomy’ experiments by Ferran Adrià,
the famous head chef of El Bulli restaurant. NGPS
operates in an environment that is nearly gravity-free
because drops of material remain suspended until
solidification is completed. This process of fabrication,
based upon aggregation of small material deposits, allows
for the combination of different materials according
to performance criteria, resulting in highly complex
structures with intricate material combinations.
PneuMorphosys explores the possibilities of incorporating
air into the construction process as a structural
optimisation, material distribution and morphing agent.
The project uses a flexible formwork and a system of
digitally controlled valves to regulate the flow of air into
a series of discrete pockets, located inside and outside
the structure to define both internal chambers and the
external shape of the cast. A series of sensors serve to
control the material pressure, allowing the optimisation
of material distribution within complex formations.
Digital Vernacular is based on the use of a numerically
controlled device to deposit paste-like materials such as
clay. Following the geometrical rules dictated by material
behaviour, a layered process of deployment is integrated
into the design and construction strategy for housing
units on-site. Adapting each design to the specific
characteristics of its site, the project uses variable
5
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44 ∙ 45
patterns to incorporate openings for ventilation,
circulation and views. In an on-site machine deployment
scenario, the self-same rules that govern the construction
sequence of co-dependent spaces is also be applied at
the scale of a community, delivering vernacular housing
environments at an equilibrium between materiality,
fabrication and design.
PROTOTYPING EMERGENCE
A number of projects investigate the emergent nature
of decentralised computational models and their ability
to perform according to intelligent behaviours, often
mimicking processes of self-organisation as observed
within nature. Providing an alternative approach to the
design of custom hardware solutions, by using external
sensorial inputs to adjust their fabrication process
in real time, these proposals are based on adaptive,
dynamic processes reacting to environmental conditions
in order to construct highly performative and
site-specific formations.
Fab(a)thing is developed as an instantaneous on-site
design and fabrication process, using an infrared input
device, a 3D positioning system and a deposition
nozzle for PU foam, a material that solidifies almost
instantly. Using an infrared distance sensor attached to
the dispenser head to dynamically autocorrect its path,
the system can respond to design changes or material
deformation during construction. Conceived as an
interactive CAD/CAM process that allows the end-user
to sketch on-site in an augmented reality interface, the
project opens up new paths to explore the application of
emergence, decentralisation and adaptivity in alternative
construction processes.
5–6: Fib(h)rous(e): prototype detail
showing scaffold and skin, housing
scenario rendering.
7–8: Non Gravity Printing Systems:
printed materials tests, multi-material
printing logics.
7
8
9–11: Fluid Cast: digitally simulated
formation of a floating structure,
prototype machine for plotting wax in
water, numerically controlled printed
wax prototypes.
12: HelioBot: mechanical prototype.
910
11
46 ∙ 47
result of a number of actuating agents over different
lapses of time, generating material formations dependent
on light conditions within a specific environment.
The project speculates on new fabrication processes
that simultaneously design, optimise and fabricate,
producing emergent material patterns from simple
governing rules as the machines operate over time.
Fluid Cast investigates complex material behaviour
of phase-change materials as well as construction
technologies using multiple material deposition agents,
speculating on highly innovative fabrication scenarios
for water-based structures. An extensive series of material
tests is used to inform agent-based digital simulations
that demonstrate how complex structures can be formed
as a result of interactions between multiple machines and
a dynamic 3D environment such as the sea. The emergent
properties of these structures are generated through the
method of controlling the devices, programming specific
behavioural rules that are aimed towards performance
criteria of the resulting structures within the environment
in which they operate. The project tests the implications
of behaviour of the deposition nozzles moving in-between
short and longer distances from each other, creating
instant networked structures that can be applied in
various water-based and inhabitable applications, at
a range of different scales.
DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
Through the development of innovative material
processes, devices and computational methods, the
students’ projects speculate on application scenarios
that distance themselves from current processes that
are based on linear file-to-factory methods and
industrialised modes of production.
The work employs high-tech software and hardware
applications to enable deployment in relatively low-tech
environments and communities, considering energy use
and the economy of materials in using local resources in
designs that are adapted to local contexts and climate.
Continuing to pursue a sense of realism through the
demonstration of working machinic prototypes, rigorous
material testing and digital simulations, the studios are
currently developing new projects that cover a range of
interests. Aiming for the construction of larger prototypes
that test real architectural performance, the studios
continue to set up design processes that are aimed at
producing structures with a built-in intelligence, helping
to address some of the new and pressing challenges of
our time.
Heliobot is a full-scale prototype of a solar-powered
machine for on-site fabrication, capable of operating
autonomously. It utilises no additional energy other than
that gained from the sun and operates by concentrating
solar energy for burning, heating and cutting in the
preparation of materials for future assembly. The device
operates as a mobile robotic system using light sensors,
DC motors and simple analogue electronic circuits
based on differential behaviours (as in Mark Tilden’s
BEAM robotics3). A sun-tracking system, comprised
of four independent sensing and actuating modules,
is able to align a Fresnel lens in order to achieve
maximum solar concentration.
Mimicry is a project that explores the nature of
flocking behaviour and swarm intelligence, using both
software and hardware prototyping tools to explore
computational models (as in Braitenberg’s Vehicles4 or
Craig Reynolds’ B.O.I.D.S.5). It simulates the collective
12
AUTHORS/
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS/
PROJECT CREDITS
RESEARCH PAVILION ICD/ITKE
AUTHORS
Achim Menges (Institute for Computational Design/
ICD), Simon Schleicher (Institute of Building
Structures and Structural Design/ITKE, University
of Stuttgart, Germany) and Moritz Fleischmann
(Institute for Computational Design/ICD).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Research Pavilion was a collaborative project of
the Institute for Computational Design (Prof. Achim
Menges) and the Institute of Building Structures and
Structural Design (Prof. Jan Knippers) at Stuttgart
University, made possible by the generous support
of a number of sponsors including OCHS GmbH,
KUKA Roboter GmbH, Leitz GmbH & Co. KG, A.
WÖLM BAU GmbH, ESCAD Systemtechnik GmbH
and the Ministerium für Ländlichen Raum, Ernährung
und Verbraucherschutz Landesbetrieb Forst Baden-
Württemberg (ForstBW).
The project team included Andreas Eisenhardt, Manuel
Vollrath, Kristine Wächter & Thomas Irowetz, Oliver
David Krieg, Ádmir Mahmutovic, Peter Meschendörfer,
Leopold Möhler, Michael Pelzer and Konrad Zerbe.
Responsible for the scientific development were
Moritz Fleischmann (project management), Simon
Schleicher (project management), Christopher
Robeller (detailing/construction management), Julian
Lienhard (structural design), Diana D’Souza (structural
design) and Karola Dierichs (documentation).
PROJECT CREDITS
Institution: University of Stuttgart. Department:
Faculty of Architecture. Institutes: Institute for
Computational Design (ICD), Prof. Achim Menges,
and Institute of Building Structures and Structural
Design (ITKE), Prof. Jan Knippers. Project Team
(Concept and Realisation): Andreas Eisenhardt,
Manuel Vollrath, Kristine Wächter and Thomas
Irowetz, Oliver David Krieg, Ádmir Mahmutovic,
Peter Meschendörfer, Leopold Möhler, Michael Pelzer
and Konrad Zerbe. Scientific Development: Moritz
Fleischmann (project management), Simon Schleicher
(project management), Christopher Robeller (detailing
/ construction management), Julian Lienhard
(structural design), Diana D’Souza (structural design),
Karola Dierichs (documentation).
LINKS
http://icd.uni-stuttgart.de/?p=4458
www.itke.uni-stuttgart.de/de/forschung/
Forschungspavillon.htm
CONTACT
mail@icd.uni-stuttgart.de (ICD)
info@itke.uni-stuttgart.de (ITKE)
THAW IMAGINING A SOFT TECTONICS
AUTHORS
Mette Ramsgard Thomsen, Karin Bech and Martin
Tamke, Centre for IT and Architecture, Royal Danish
Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thaw was exhibited as part of the digital material
exhibition at R.O.M Gallery for Art and Architecture,
Oslo, in May 2010. The exhibition was kindly
supported by the Nordic Culture Foundation and
Henrik de Miniassen, director of R.O.M. Thaw was
further developed as a larger-scale installation for
the Lisbon Architecture Triennale as a 10-metre-high
installation Thicket.
Thaw was further supported through the collaboration
with Behnam Pourdeyhimi, NC State University
College of Textiles.
(FAB)BOTS CUSTOMISED
ROBOTIC DEVICES FOR DESIGN
& FABRICATION
Design Studio: ‘Machinic Control 1.0’: Tutors: Marta
Malé-Alemany, Jeroen van Ameijde. Architectural
Association School of Architecture, Design Research
Lab (DRL) Graduate Programme (2009–10). Projects:
DIGITAL VERNACULAR: Shankara S. Kothapuram,
Mei-ling Lin, Ling Han, Jiawei Song. FIBR(H)OUS(E):
Amrita Deshpande, Saahil Parikh, Akhil Laddha. FLUID
CAST: Ena Lloret, Maria Eugenia. Villafañe, Jaime De
Miguel, Catalina Pollak. Design Studio: ‘Digital Tectonics
RS3’, Tutors Marta Malé-Alemany, Victor Viña, César
Cruz Cazares (assistant), Lluís Fraguada (collaborator).
Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC),
Master in Advanced Architecture (2009–10). Projects:
SANDBOT: Joel Letkemann, Viraj Kataria, Fabio Lopez.
HELIOBOT: Felipe Pecegueiro, Jorge Orozco, Kfir
Gluzberg. FAB [A]THING: Jun Huang, Jessica Lai,
Asim Hameed. DREAMWEAVER: Melat Assefa, Brian
Peters, Joao Albuquerque. NGPS: Ali Basbous, Miquel
Lloveras. PNEUMORPHOSYS: Natalija Boljsakov,
Brian Miller, Carlos Naranjo. MIMICRY: Mia Gorretti
Layco, Georgia Kotsari, Tomasz Starczewski. Exhibition:
(FAB)BOTS, Customized robotic devices for design
and fabrication, 16 June to 12 September 2010, Disseny
Hub Barcelona (DHUB). Curator: Marta Malé-
Alemany. Coordination: Catalina Pollak.
LOGIC MATTER
Logic Matter was made possible by the support,
inspiration and critique from collaborations at MIT
with Erik Demaine, Patrick Winston, Terry Knight
and Neil Gershenfeld.
CNCATENARY TOWARDS A DIGITAL
FABRICATION METHOD FOR
CATENARY SYSTEMS
This research was realised as part of the Master of
Science in Adaptive Architecture and Computation at
the University of London Bartlett School of Graduate
Studies. It was carried out at the facilities and
workshops of The Bartlett School of Architecture and
under the supervision of my tutors, Ruairi Glynn and
Marilena Skavara.
SCANLAB
FARO Europe
Pointools
CEGE@ucl
Slade@ucl
FREE-FORM METAL INFLATION
& THE PERSISTENT MODEL
Anders Holden Deleuran (research assistant, CITA)
for his persistent and skilled attempts at modelling
the metal inflation process using Autodesk Maya. My
colleagues at the Centre for IT and Architecture (CITA)
and Institute 4, Kunstakademiets Arkitektskole, for
their continued encouragement and support of
this work.
Persistent Model #1 was an exhibit in the show
entitled
digital.material
which showcased four recent
works by CITA. The exhibition ran from 23 April to 23
May 2010 at the ROM Gallery, Oslo.
MATTER & MAKING
PERISCOPE FOAM TOWER
AUTHORS
Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee
254 ∙ 255
PROJECT CREDITS
Design Team: Matter Design – Brandon Clifford, Wesley
McGee. In collaboration with Supermanoeuvre – Dave
Pigram. Structural: Simpson Gumpertz&Heger –
Matthew Johnson. Build Team: Matter Design – Brandon
Clifford, Wesley McGee, Johanna Lobdell, Deniz McGee,
Kris Walters, Maciej Kaczynski. Rigging: Boutte Tree
– TiersonBoutte. Fabrication: University of Michigan
Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.
WAVE PAVILION
Designer/Fabricator: macdowell.tomova. Consultants:
Wes McGee, Matter Design; Dave Pigram,
Supermanoeuvre.
BENT
Kendra Byrne and Nick Rebeck: www.b-e-n-t.com
Special thanks to faculty advisors David Pigram
and Wes McGee.
MATERIAL ANIMATION A NEW
INTERFACE TO CUSTOM FABRICATION
Work developed on robotic folding methods was done
in collaboration with Robofold Ltd., Gregory Epps.
Field Condition is supported by the University of
Kentucky College of Design – School of Architecture,
College of Engineering – Dept. of Computer and
Electrical Engineering, and the Institute of Sustainable
Manufacturing. The team for Field Condition is Anton
Bakerjian and Ian McHone.
MINIMAL COMPLEXITY
The Minimal Complexity prototype was developed
during the Certificate of Advanced Architectural
Research Postgraduate Course at The Bartlett,UCL,
between 2009 and 2010, and it has taken part in
‘Constructing Realities’, the final exhibition of the
Course’s research work between July and October 2010.
The theoretical paper ‘Minimal Surfaces as Self-
Organizing Systems’ describing the computational
framework for generating the final prototype was
developed as part of the MSc. Adaptive Architecture
and Computation Course at The Bartlett, UCL, 2009,
and has been presented at ACADIA Conference, in
New York, in October 2010.
The Minimal Complexity structure winner of the
TEX-FAB REPEAT Digital Fabrication Competition
was built in Houston, Texas, in February 2011.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Ruairi Glynn, Prof. Stephen Gage, Sean Hanna,
Alasdair Turner, The Bartlett School of Architecture,
UCL. Brad Bell, Kevin Patrick McClellan, Andrew
Vrana, TEX-FAB Digital Fabrication Alliance.
INVESTIGATIONS IN DESIGN &
FABRICATION AT HYPERBODY
PROTODECK
AUTHORS
Marco Verde Eng, MArch, MarkDavid Hosale, Ph.D.
PROJECT CREDITS
Property Developer: Hyperbody | TU Delft. Direction:
Prof. ir. Kas Oosterhuis. protoDECK system
development and manufacturing engineering: Marco
Verde Eng, MArch. protoNODE system development
and manufacturing engineering: Dr MarkDavid
Hosale. Digital Fabrication: NEDCAM, HYPERBODY
CNC DIVISION.
PROTOSPACE 4 MOCK-UP
AUTHOR
Jelle Feringa, PhD candidate, co-founder EZCT
Architecture & Design Research
PROJECT CREDITS
Design of the protoSPACE 4 pavilion was completed
in the context of the MSC2 spring 2009 design studio.
Hot-wire manufacturing: Jelle Feringa & Haiko Dragstra
(Komplot Mechanics). Components connections: Owen
Slootweg. Final Assembly: Owen Slootweg & Chris
Kievid & Jelle Feringa. Project managment: Chris Kievid.
PROTOTYPE FOR A
SPATIALISED INSTRUMENT
This project would not have been possible without
generous help from Bob Sheil, Emmanuel Vercruysse,
Paul Bavister, Abi Abdolwahabi, Bim Burton, Martin
Avery, Christian Nold, Jon Mercer, Justin Goodyear, Fin
Fraser, Javiera Izquierdo Ieiva, Ric Lipson and Lucy Voice.
Also thanks to the Centre for Cretive Collaboration,
Brian Condon, Thias Martin and Neil Gregory.
www.mishasmith.com
VILLA NURBS
City: Empuriabrava. Country: Spain. Construction:
started 2003. Office: Cloud 9 (Barcelona, Spain; est. 1997)
Architect: Enric Ruiz Geli. Collaborators: Felix
Fassbinder (Project Architect), Jordi Fernández Río
(Project Architect). Arquitectos Técnicos: Daniel
Benito Pò (Architect), Xavier Badia (Architect), Agustí
Mallol (Architect), Víctor Llanos (Collaborator [office]),
Miguel Carreiro (Collaborator [office]), Emmanuel
Ruffo (Collaborator [office]), Rosa Duque (Collaborator
[office]), André Macedo (Collaborator [office]), Ura
Carvalho (Collaborator [office]), Hye Young Yu
(Collaborator [office]), Marta Yebra (Collaborator
[office]), Mae Durant (Collaborator [office]),
Angelina Pinto (Collaborator [office]), Randall Holl
(Collaborator [office]), William Arbizu (Collaborator
[office]), Max Zinnecker (Collaborator [office]), Laia
Jutgla (Collaborator [office]), Manel Soler (Collaborator
[office]), Megan Kelly-Sweeney (Collaborator
[office]), Alessandra Faticanti (Collaborator [office]),
Susanne Bodach (Collaborator [office]), André
Brosel (Collaborator [office]), Konrad Hofmann
(Collaborator [office]), Nora Graw (Collaborator
[office]), Cricursa/Vicky Colombet (Glas Manufaturer),
Toni Cumella Ceramic Manufacturer), Frederic Amat
(Ceramic Artist), Industrias de la Fusta (IFV) (Corian
Manufacturer), Covertex (ETFE Manufacturer),
BOMA SL (Engineering), Obres i Construccions Joan
Fustè (Construction), Diorama (Wood), Calderería
Delgado (Steel Framework), Ramón Presta (Hydraulics),
Industrias BEC (Tensile Structures), Aiterm,
PGI, Reindesa (Installations), Aislater, Inoxcolor
(Installations), Estudi Ramon Folch (Construction),
Emiliana Desigestudio (Graphic Design), BAF
(Audiovisuals), Led’s Go (Illumination). Client (Private):
Family Emilio Gallego. Programme: housing.
C-STONE & C-BENCH
This project is dedicated to Christel Vandewaerde (4
December 1963 – 18 December 2010).
GALAXY SOHO LARGE-SCALE
CLADDING CONSTRUCTION IN CHINA
Client: SOHO China Ltd., Beijing, China. Architect:
ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS. Design: Zaha
Hadid with Patrik Schumacher. Project Associate:
Cristiano Ceccato. Project Director: Satoshi Ohashi.
Project Architect: Yoshi Uchiyama. Project Manager:
Raymond Lau. Project Team: Stephan Wurster,
Michael Hill, Samer Chamoun, Eugene Leung, Rita
Lee, Lillie Liu, Rolando Rodriguez-Leal, Wen Tao,
Tom Wuenschmann, Seung-ho Yeo, Shuojiong Zhang,
Michael Grau, Shu Hashimoto, Shao‐Wei Huang,
Chikara Inamura, Lydia Kim, Yasuko Kobayashi,
Wang Lin, Yereem Park, Christoph Klemmt, Dorian
Bybee, Kyla Farrell, John Klein. Local design institute:
BIAD (Beijing Institute of Architecture and Design),
Beijing. Facade engineer: KT Kighton Ltd., Shanghai.
Timeframe: 2008–12. Programme: Mixed‐Use
Commercial & Retail Complex, Shell & Core Fit‐Out.
GFA: 360,000m2 + 150,000m2 Below Grade. Site Area:
50,000m2. Height: 67 metres = 16 Floors Above Grade.
MEDIA-ICT
City: Barcelona. Country: Spain. Completed: January
2010 (started 2005). Office: Cloud 9 (Barcelona, Spain;
est. 1997)
Architect: Enric Ruiz Geli. Collaborators: Josep María
Forteza (Building advising), Agustí Obiol (Structural
engineering), David Tusset (Engineering), Hector Yuste
(Project management), Joan Buj Cotes (Construction),
Carlos Siscart González (Construction), Ben Morris
(Construction), Lluis Renom (Construction),
Edouard Cabay (Architect), Javier Pérez Contonente
(Architect), Francesco Ducato (Architect), Felix
Fassbinder (Architect), Nora Graw (Architect), Konrad
Hofmann (Architect), Victor Llanos (Architect), Max
Zinnecker (Architect), Marta Arranz (Collaborator
[office]), Ruben Alonso (Collaborator [office]), Luis
Borunda (Collaborator [office]), Marta Banach
(Collaborator [office]), Daniel Corsi (Collaborator
[office]), Cristina Guadalupe (Collaborator [office]),
Albert Lopez (Collaborator [office]), Mireia Luzarraga
(Collaborator [office]), Patricio Levy (Collaborator
[office]), Alex Muiño (Collaborator [office]), Beatriz
Minguez (Collaborator [office]), Veronica Mansilla
(Collaborator [office]), Federico Ortiz (Collaborator
[office]), Mireia Pallarès (Collaborator [office]), Marisol
Verges (Collaborator [office]), Hale YoungBlood
(Collaborator [office]), Pep Bou (Art), André Macedo
(Design). Client (Public): Consorci de la Zona Franca
and 22@. Programme: Office.
THE SPHERE GENERATE, FABRICATE,
CALCULATE
The authors would like to thank Oliver Drawer and
Arnold AG for the successful collaboration during
planning and construction. Their commitment is visible
in the quality of the finished object. We would also like
to thank Giulio Castegini , the project manager from
Mario Bellini Associati S.r.l. for his untiring dedication
to achieving the maximum quality.
WAVED WOODEN WALL
Kilden Performing Arts Center, Kristiansand, Norway.
Architect: ALA Arkitekter AS, Helsinki, Finland.
General Contractor: AF Gruppen AS, Oslo, Norway.
Timber Facade Contractor: Trebyggeriet SA, Hornnes,
Norway. FaCade Cladding, CNC-Fabrication: Risør
Trebåtbyggeri AS, Risør, Norway. Facade Structure,
CNC-Fabrication: Blumer-Lehmann AG, Gossau,
Switzerland. Façade Engineering: SJB Kempter-
Fitze, Eschenbach, Switzerland. Consulting, Digital
Planning: designtoproduction GmbH, Erlenbach/
Zurich, Switzerland.
LOUVRE ABU DHABI 1:33
LIGHT-TEST PROTOTYPE
Construction of the 1:33 prototype has been a
cooperation between: 1:One | Computational
Geometry (programming), George Ackermann
GmbH (manufacturing & assembly) and Honkahe
Interior+Furniture (modelmaking and consulting).
PHOTO CREDITS
RESEARCH PAVILION ICD/ITKE
A. Menges, 2010: 1, 7; C. Robeller/S. Schleicher, 2010: 2,
3; A. Eisenhardt/M. Vollrath/K. Wächter/S. Schleicher,
2010: 4; A. Lautenschlager, 2010: 5; A. Eisenhardt/M.
Vollrath/K. Wächter, 2010: 6,9; S. Schleicher, 2010: 8.
UNIKABETON PROTOTYPE
All images © Per Dombernowsky and Asbjørn
Søndergaard 2010.
FREE-FORM METAL INFLATION
& THE PERSISTENT MODEL
Anders Ingvartsen: 1, 3; Anders Holden Deleuran,
CITA: 5.
MATTER & MAKING
PERISCOPE FOAM TOWER
Matter Design, 2010: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7; FABLab University
of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and
Urban Planning, 2010: 3.
BENT
All images: Kendra Byrne and Nick Rebeck.
MATERIAL ANIMATION A NEW
INTERFACE TO CUSTOM FABRICATION
Greg Epps, 2010: 1; Nick Puckett, 2010: 3.
INVESTIGATIONS IN
DESIGN & FABRICATION
AT HYPERBODY
Jelle Feringa, 2010: 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10; MarkDavid Hosale,
2010: 2; MarkDavid Hosale/ Marco Verde, 2010: 3; Jan
Jacobs, 2009: 4; Marco Verde, 2010: 5.
KOHLER/KARA
All images: Gramazio & Kohler, Architecture and
Digital Fabrication, ETH Zürich.
BEESLEY/STACEY
All photos: ©PBAi/Pierre Charron.
OXMAN/HANNA
All photos: Neri Oxman.
VILLA NURBS
Photo by Luis Ros © Cloud9: 1, 2, 4; Victor Llanos ©
Cloud9: 3, 5, 6, 7.
GALAXY SOHO LARGE-SCALE
CLADDING CONSTRUCTION IN CHINA
All images © Zaha Hadid Architects.
MEDIA-ICT
Photo by José Miguel Hernandez © Cloud9: 1, 9; Photo
by Luis Ros © Cloud9, La Chula: 5; Photo by Iwan
Baan, Cloud9: 3, 11, 12; Photo by Luis Ros © Cloud9:
2, 13.
THE SPHERE GENERATE, CALCULATE,
FABRICATE
All images © Bollinger + Grohmann Ingenieure, 2010.
THE RICHMOND SPEED SKATING
OVAL ROOF
Fast + Epp Engineers: 1; StructureCraft Builders: 2–8.
THREE PROJECTS
A COMPARITIVE STUDY
Amanda Levete Architects: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10; Edmund
Sumner: 2; Leo Torri for DuPontTM Corian®: 9; ©
Meinhardt Façade Technologies: 11.
MULTI-SPHERICAL
MIRRORED SCULPTURE
M. Hess photography: 1; Arup photography: 2, 3, 4, 7.
MÉDIACITÉ
Photo by Paul Madden, 2009: 1, 4; Image by Ron Arad
Architects, 2007: 2, 5; Photo by Yvés L’Hermite, 2008:
3, 7; Photo by JL Deru, 2008: 6; Photo by Marc Detiffe,
2010: 8.
RADIOLARIA PAVILION
Credit: Blueprint, 2009: 1; Credit: Shiro Studio: 2, 4;
Credit: D-Shape, 2009: 3, 5, 6.
WAVED WOODEN WALL
1, 2 © Trebyggeriet; 3, 4, 5 © designtoproduction.
256 ∙ 257
Fabricate 2011
Editors: Ruairi Glynn and Bob Sheil
This edition published in 2017 by
UCL Press
University College London
Gower Street
London WC1E 6BT
Available to download free: www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-press
First published in 2011 by Riverside Architectural Press.
Text © Bartlett School of Architecture and the authors
Images © Bartlett School of Architecture and the authors
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from The British Library.
This book is published under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial
Non-derivative 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). This license allows you
to share, copy, distribute and transmit the work for personal and non-commercial use
providing author and publisher attribution is clearly stated. Attribution should include
the following information:
Ruairi Glynn and Bob Sheil (eds.), Fabricate. London, UCL Press, 2017.
https://doi.org/10.14324/111.9781787352131
Further details about Creative Commons licenses are available at creativecommons.org/
licenses.
ISBN: 9781787352131 (PDF)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14324/111.9781787352131
