Bloom by Alisa Andrasek and José Sanchez

Bartlett Design Research Folios

Bloom Distributed Urban Game

by Alisa Andrasek and José Sanchez

Bartlett Design Research Folios

Project Details

Designers:

Alisa Andrasek and José Sanchez Andrasek and Sanchez are partners and principal designers of Bloom Games. Andrasek was responsible for the conceptual development, design development and fabrication. Sanchez was responsible for theconceptual design development, design development and scripting/software design.

Title:

Bloom: Distributed Urban Game

Output type:

Design

Function:

Interactive urban game and series of follies

Locations:

Victoria Park, London; Cutty Sark, Greenwich; Affordable Art Fair, London: Battersea and Hampstead Heath; FRAC (Le Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain), Orleans; Global Design NYU at The Building Centre, London

Client:

Mayor of London, Greater London Authority

Practical completion: 27 July 2012 Budget:

£87,000

Area:

Variable

Structural engineer:

Manja van de Worp, Advanced Technology and Research, Arup

Manufacturers:

Plastic manufacturer: Atomplast, Santiago, Chile; steel manufacturer: JMR Section Benders, Dagenham

Design assistants:

Salih Topal, Dagham Cam, Andres Darko, Pallavi Sharma, Nicolo Friedman, Vincenzo D’Auria, Mark Muscat

4

Bloom: Distributed Urban Game

Statement about the Research Content and Process

Description Commissioned as part of London’s 2012 Olympic celebrations, Bloom is an innovative urban intervention that engages people in social play and the culture of design.

Questions 1. How can architecture be a social design experience for the user, with reference to ‘game’ design and crowd-sourcing contexts?

2. How can participatory design reflect ‘growth’ and a notion of change/life found in gardening experience (rather than a more deterministically controlled and fixed state of design)?

How can universality and redundancy in a system allow for variability, diversification and imaginative projections?

3. How can a project develop under extreme time pressures and volatile conditions (constantly changing site locations and logistics during a complex event such as the Olympics in a large urban environment) by focusing on an easy-to-transport, adaptable and reusable design?

4. Which manufacturing method is most appropriate for high volumes of repetitive and light building blocks?

1 (previous page) Bloom pavilion and game at Victoria Park

Statements

5

Methods 1. Generative open design. Bloom’s geometric system is based on the aggregation of multiple components. A custom-written software was developed that could simulate possible geometries.

The final design of the cell was achieved by examining different patterns of growth and choosing the one that consistently produced compelling and structurally stable formations.

2. Structure based on principles of redundancy, frequently found within natural complex systems, and on contemporary information systems (versus the paradigm of highly optimised minimal structures).

3. Material testing, prototypes and product development through collaboration with a plastics manufacturer.

Dissemination Exhibited at Victoria Park, UCL and Greenwich; further sites in London (Building Centre, Affordable Art Fair) and Orléans (Archilab at FRAC). Presented in lectures in Stockholm, Barcelona, London, Los Angeles, New York and Troy, USA.

Statement of Significance

One of the winners of the Greater London Authority’s Wonder competition for architectural installations to celebrate the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

6

Bloom: Distributed Urban Game

2

3

2&3 Testing possible sites during the design phase (rendering)

Introduction

7

Introduction

Bloom was commissioned by the Greater London Authority as part of the Wonder series of architectural installations celebrating the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. [fig. 1] It is an extensive material and design urban game research project, realised in collaboration with a plastics manufacturer from Chile and structural engineers from Arup London.

Bloom is conceptualised as an urban toy, a distributed social game and collective ‘gardening’ experience that seeks to engage people in order to construct open-ended design formations using Bloom building cells. At each location, the designers constructed initial pavilions/follies to showcase the possibilities of the system.

These acted as the main ‘portals’ of the game, inviting interaction and participation.

People were able to manipulate the cells, adding pieces to the initial structure to alter its form or seeding entirely new ground sequences, such as urban furniture or simply unpredictable formations. The only fixed part of the design was the stable bench structure, as an initial seed condition for the

visitors’ interaction, suggesting multiple connection points from which the structure could start to grow. New pieces were fed into this collective construction site depending on game intensity.

The participatory design process aims to bring phenomena of social networks and game culture to the physical environment at an urban scale. Bloom explores modes of assembly, disassembly and reusability that challenge the notions of traditional construction. Looking at the example of toys like Lego, the lifespan of the project is undetermined as it is able to adapt and reappear in many different places and on many different occasions.

The collective act of coming to one place and building together becomes a shared memory for each person attending. The energy for Bloom’s design is sourced from people’s interactions. None of the pieces can do anything on its own, and only when thousands of them are put together do the game and the Bloom garden emerge. [fig. 2–4]

8

Bloom: Distributed Urban Game

4a

4 Games, urban furniture and architecture 4a Combinations game: Rubik’s Cube 4b Construction toy: Lego

4b

Introduction

9

4c

4c Urban furniture: Enzis outdoor furniture by PPAG architects 4d Thomas Heatherwick’s UK Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010 4d

Photograph: Michael Freeman

Aims and Objectives

11

Aims and Objectives

Crowd-sourced design

Growth logics

It is impossible to forecast what people will do with such a game, since the game relies highly on contingency. There is a universality to the building cells, but they also have embedded biases and information encoded into them. No matter how randomly participants connect the cells, they will always exhibit recognisable behaviours. Due to the flexibility and resilience of building cells, the ‘rules’ of the game can be bent; cells can be twisted to follow different shapes and emerge with new configurations. [fig. 5–9]

In its basic form, Bloom is a modular construction system capable of generating complex cellular structures utilising standardised units. Simple combinations between cells can produce different sequences. For example, each possible connection has a notation (A, B, C ...), and by following simple letter combinations different sequences are produced. Only by playing does the actual ‘design’ emerge.

The final piece is a collective act of search and play. [fig. 13 & 14]

Software Adaptability/resilience

Bloom Games developed a custom-written software in Processing and Rhino testing recursive growth-based algorithms such as L-systems and DLA (diffusion-limited aggregation). Through this design-search environment it was possible to study various growth (‘blooming’) sequences to predict the characteristic morphological behaviours of the system. [fig. 12]

Bloom has been designed as a system that is highly adaptive to different site conditions, variable number of participants, available budget and myriad possible outcomes.

Being aware of the volatility of logistics and conditions involved in an event like the Olympics, the flexibility and resilience of the design was an imperative (see Andrasek 2012: pp. 36–45). [fig. 10 & 11]

6

5&6 Play!

12

Bloom: Distributed Urban Game

7

8

7–9 Play!

Aims and Objectives

13

9

14

Bloom: Distributed Urban Game

10

11

Aims and Objectives

15

12

10 & 11 Testing different scale of possible sites and different configurations (renderings) 12 Bloom combinatorics develop as customwritten software in Processing and Rhino

13

13 Bloom combinatorics

18

Bloom: Distributed Urban Game

15

14 (previous page) Bloom structures 15 Play!

Questions

19

Questions

1. How can architecture be an interactive/social design experience for the user, with reference to ‘game’ design and crowd-sourcing contexts?

2. How can an interactive/participatory design reflect a notion of change/life found in gardening experience and promote ‘growth’ through collectively derived design, rather than a more deterministic control of design (e.g. pre-planned drawings and a fixed state of design)? How can universality and redundancy in a system allow for variability, diversification and imaginative projections (see Andrasek 2012: pp. 36–45)?

3. How can a project develop under extreme time pressures and volatile conditions (constantly changing site locations and logistics during a complex event such as the Olympics in a large urban environment) by focusing on an easy-to-transport, adaptable and reusable design?

4. Which manufacturing method is most appropriate for high volumes of repetitive and light building blocks?

20

Bloom: Distributed Urban Game

16

17

16 & 17 Collective play

Context / Methods

21

Context

1. Architectural designs of play such as those of Constant Nieuwenhuys (New Babylon, 1959–74) and discussions of social engagement and participatory art by critics (Bishop 2012). [fig. 15–17] 2. Game cultures, building units and collective materiality found in physical toys (Lego, Rubik’s Cube) and video games (Minecraft, World of Goo), as well as in architecture (Thomas Heatherwick’s Shanghai Expo pavilion, 2010) where complexity is achieved out of the accumulation of simple elements.

3. Biological cellular growth and its capacity for diversification (Longo and Montévil 2012). Bloom engages with current architectural topics of variance and adaptability in biology and morphogenesis from a point of view of discreteness rather than continuum. Bloom works with a single component type, whereby the crucial factor for diversification comes from randomness generated by the participants’ play, interaction, skill and imagination.

Methods

Cell anatomy The Bloom cell has three possible connection points. Through the asymmetry of their positions, various types of spiralling connections emerge. Crucial to the cell design were the relationships of the vectors of connection, based on small variations from the shared axis, which result in gradual spiralling if the cells are accumulated consistently.

Future emergent behaviours are preseeded into the system by encoding information within the anatomy of a cell.

Some combinations block possible future moves and lock users into taking a specific route. In this way, the project encourages different users to take decisions on how to reach a specific goal or build a resilient structure. [fig. 18 & 19]

22

Prototyping and test play In order to develop a system that could be truly engaging, laser-cut timber prototypes were produced and made available to test through play. Students without any pre-knowledge of the Bloom system were asked to ‘play’ and ‘design’ with the pieces freely. The construction time was approximately 30 minutes, resulting in a formation of 1.5m × 1.2m × 0.7m. Students’ feedback suggested that the proposed cells were easy to assemble and produced beautiful and structurally stable results rapidly. [fig. 20]

Material and shape testing In order to ensure public safety and riskfree use of the Bloom cell, the design was tested through 1:1 3D printed prototypes.

The prototypes were not produced in the final plastic material but helped to visualise and understand the shape and possible weight of one of the cells.

Bench design Designed as a modular element, six long benches were produced to allow users to create structures that could connect them. In each location, the benches served as the centre of the Bloom garden. Given their modular nature, the number and length of the benches can vary to adapt to specific site conditions. [fig. 21–27] In order to deploy an initial stable shape, bench elements are designed to act as structural anchors for the larger Bloom pavilions/sculptures and to diversify the use and aesthetic of the

Bloom: Distributed Urban Game

pavilions. The bench design language is much simpler, using parametric linear arrays arranged in a spiralling fashion, contrasting with other ‘blooming’ sequences with higher degrees of randomness. Benches are designed as self-supporting structures developed off site and could be positioned onto any flat surface without further need for drilling or foundations. Two structural scenarios, one for connected benches and one for a single bench, were developed with Arup Engineers. [fig. 29 & 30]

Cell manufacturing The Bloom cell was manufactured through a plastic injection mould process, carried out by the manufacturer Atomplast, based in Santiago, Chile. Atomplast partially sponsored the project, which allowed for the cost of the injection mould to be reduced drastically. The process of creating a matrix for injection is costly, but once created, extremely high volumes of identical components could be manufactured quickly at a very low cost. [fig. 28] Manufacturing constraints affected the development of a design system that could use the same cell in different combinations to allow for highly diverse outputs. The rigidity of the built assemblage would come from the aggregation of elements rather than the strength of an individual unit, which is in itself weak and light. The rigidity of the system emerges through ‘redundancy’ when many elements are brought together.

Methods

23

18

19

18 & 19 Cell anatomy

24

Bloom: Distributed Urban Game

Methods

25

20

20 First prototypes and test play by non-experienced users. Time-lapse of construction: 20 minutes with 300 pieces

26

Bloom: Distributed Urban Game

21

22

Methods

27

23

24

28

Bloom: Distributed Urban Game

25

26

Methods

29

27

21–24 (previous page) Bench design 25–27 Bench design

30

Bloom: Distributed Urban Game

Reusability and adaptability

Health and safety

The Bloom cell was designed to be a desirable object, which Bloom participants could take home as a souvenir of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. The collective act of coming together and building something becomes a shared memory for each participant. By serving as a symbol of the event of participation in such collective play, the Bloom cell is meant to provoke the seeding of new structures. Bloom’s mode of assembly, disassembly and reusability in new configurations in different places challenges notions of traditional construction.

The Bloom cell is made out of 100% recyclable PET plastic – material certified for food products, with the highest standards. Each cell is light, weighing approximately 90g. The plastic is strong, flexible and can be manufactured in many different colours and opacities. The manufacturer is conducting tests to add photo-luminescent pigments that will create glowing effects at night. The edges of the components are rounded, easy to handle, and child-safe.

28 Industrial mould for the cell made by Atomplast plastic manufacturer in Chile

32

Bloom: Distributed Urban Game

29

29 Connected bench unit stress and load test

Methods

33

30

30 Single bench unit stress and load test

36

Bloom: Distributed Urban Game

32

31 (previous page) Bloom pavilion and game in Greenwich 32 Bloom at Affordable Art Fair, London 33 Bloom at Global Design NYU, London

33

Dissemination / Bibliography

37

Dissemination

Installations Olympic location: Victoria Park Live Site, 27 Jul – 12 Aug 2012. [fig. 1] Paralympic location: Cutty Sark, Greenwich, 28 Aug – 12 Sep 2012. [fig. 31] Further venues: Affordable Art Fair, Battersea and Hampstead, London, Oct 2012. [fig. 32] Elsewhere Envisioned: Global Design (touring show curated by New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualised Study), The Building Centre, London, 20 Sep – 20 Oct 2012. [fig. 33] Archilab 2013, FRAC (Le Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain), Orleans, Oct 2013

Invited talks Bloom has been the subject of numerous invited international talks, including: Institute for Advanced Architecture in Catalonia (IaaC), Barcelona, Feb 2013 Material Gap 2013 and Pecha Kucha, Stockholm, Mar 2013 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, New York, Mar 2013 José Sanchez, ‘Design = Play’, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Mar 2013 Urbanista magazine launch symposium, Lime Wharf Gallery, London, Mar 2013.

Bibliography

Claire Bishop (2012). Artificial Hells: Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship.

London: Verso.

Giuseppe Longo and Maël Montévil (2012). ‘From physics to biology by extending criticality and symmetry breakings’, Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology 106.2: 340–347.

38

Bloom: Distributed Urban Game

Related publications by the researcher pp. 36–45 Alisa Andrasek, ‘Open Synthesis: Towards a Resilient Fabric of Architecture’, Log 25 (Summer 2012): 45–54.

Related writings by others pp. 48–54 Pia Ednie-Brown, ‘The Ethics of the Imperative’, The Innovation Imperative: Architectures of Vitality (ed. Pia Ednie-Brown, Mark Burry and Andrew Burrow) [special issue of] Architectural Design 83.1 (Jan/Feb 2013): 18–23.

Web pp. 55–57 Lucy Bullivant, ‘Bloom: Alisa Andrasek and Jose Sanchez’, Urbanista 1 (2012): www.urbanista.org/issues/issue-1/features/bloom-alisa-andrasek-and-jose-sanchez p. 58 ‘The Bartlett Installations for London 2012’, Time Out (19 Jul 2012): www.timeout.com/london/around-town/event/270846/the-bartlett-installations-for-london-2012 pp. 59–61 ‘Phaidon’s eye on the architecture world’, Phaidon (25 Jul 2012): http://uk.phaidon.com/ agenda/architecture/articles/2012/july/25/phaidons-eye-on-the-architecture-world-25-07-12 pp. 62–66 ‘Bloom / Alisa Andrasek and Jose Sanchez’, Re-City Magazine (25 Jul 2012): www.recitymagazine.com/project-479-alisa-andrasek-and-jose-sanchez-bloom pp. 67–69 Laurie Manfra, ‘Opening Games’, Metropolis Magazine (25 Jul 2012): www.metropolismag.com/Point-of-View/July-2012/Opening-Games pp. 70–71 ‘Alisa Andrasek and Jose Sanchez’, Sucker Punch (30 Jul 2012): www.suckerpunchdaily.com/2012/07/30/bloom-2 p. 72 ‘Notes’, CC: A Global Report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, (30 Jul 2012): http://ccgsapp.org/notes/2012/07/alisa-andrasekmsaad-00-and-jose-sanchez-bring-neon-pink-bloom-garden-olympics-and-par pp. 73–74 ‘Hrvatska arhitektura na Olimpijskim igrama’, DAZ: Društvo Arhitekata Zagreba [Croatia] (2 Aug 2012): www.d-a-z.hr/hr/vijesti/hrvatska-arhitektura-na-olimpijskim-igrama,1588.html pp. 75–80 Filip Visnjic, ‘Bloom – Urban toy invites participants to “seed”new formations’, Creative Applications (13 Aug 2012): www.creativeapplications.net/processing/bloom-urban-toy-invitesparticipants-to-seed-new-formations

Appendix

39

pp. 81–83 ‘Bloom urban toy sculptures by Alisa Andrasek and Jose Sanchez’, Design Boom (14 Aug 2012): www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/23009/bloom-urban-toy-sculptures-by-alisa-andrasekand-jose-sanchez.html pp. 84–87 Catalina Gutiérrez, ‘Bloom / Alisa Andrasek + Jose Sanchez’, Plataforma Arquitectura [Chile] (3 Sep 2012): www.plataformaarquitectura.cl/2012/09/03/bloom-alisa-andrasek-jose-sanchez

40

Bartlett Design Research Folios ISSN 2753-9822 Founding editor: Yeoryia Manolopoulou Editors: Yeoryia Manolopoulou, Peg Rawes, Luis Rego Content: © the authors Graphic design: objectif Typesetting: Axel Feldmann, Siaron Hughes, Alan Hayward Proofreading: Wendy Toole

Bloom: Distributed Urban Game

Bartlett Design Research Folios

Bloom

by Alisa Andrasek and José Sanchez House of Flags

by AY Architects Montpelier Community Nursery

by AY Architects Design for London

by Peter Bishop

Gorchakov’s Wish

by Kreider + O’Leary Video Shakkei

by Kreider + O’Leary Megaframe

by Dirk Krolikowski (Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners)

Regeneration of Birzeit Historic Centre

by Palestine Regeneration Team PerFORM

by Protoarchitecture Lab 55/02 by sixteen*(makers)

Seasons Through the Looking Glass

by CJ Lim

Envirographic and Techno Natures

by Smout Allen

Agropolis by mam

Hydrological Infrastructures

by Smout Allen

River Douglas Bridge

by DKFS Architects

Alga(e)zebo by mam

Lunar Wood

by Smout Allen

Open Cinema

by Colin Fournier and Marysia Lewandowska

Chong Qing Nan Lu Towers by mam

Universal Tea Machine

by Smout Allen

ProtoRobotic FOAMing by mam, Grymsdyke Farm and REX|LAB

British Exploratory Land Archive

by Smout Allen and Geoff Manaugh

2EmmaToc / Writtle Calling

by Matthew Butcher and Melissa Appleton

The ActiveHouse

by Stephen Gage Déjà vu

by Penelope Haralambidou Urban Collage

by Christine Hawley Hakka Cultural Park

by Christine Hawley, Abigail Ashton, Andrew Porter and Moyang Yang House Refurbishment in Carmena

by Izaskun Chinchilla Architects Refurbishment of Garcimuñoz Castle

by Izaskun Chinchilla Architects

Banyoles Old Town Refurbishment

by Miàs Architects Torre Baró Apartment Building

by Miàs Architects Alzheimer’s Respite Centre

by Níall McLaughlin Architects Bishop Edward King Chapel

by Níall McLaughlin Architects Block N15 Façade, Olympic Village

by Níall McLaughlin Architects

101 Spinning Wardrobe

by Storp Weber Architects Blind Spot House

by Storp Weber Architects Green Belt Movement Teaching and Learning Pavilion

by Patrick Weber Modulating Light and Views

by Patrick Weber