RC1
Wonderlab
Synthetic Constructability: Increased Resolution Fabric of Architecture Alisa Andrasek, Dağhan Çam, Andy Lomas
Students Zuardin Akbar, Supanut Bunjaratravee, Siqi Chen, Wei Wen Cui, Zhuoxing Gu, Yuwei Jing, Ayham Kabbani, Leonidas Leonidou, Ge Liang, Manrong Liang, Hang Li, Ji Lin, Xiao Lu, Zhe Pang, Zefeng Shi, Bingyang Su, Tianyuan Xie, Yiting Yang, Chi Zhang, Anqi Zheng, Baolin Zhou, Eleni Ziova
The Bartlett School of Architecture 2016
Project teams Morphocyte Zuardin Akbar, Yuwei Jing, Ayham Kabbani, Leonidas Leonidou Wrinkle in Space Zhe Pang, Baolin Zhou, Siqi Chen, Hang Li Gossamer. Skin Supanut Bunjaratravee, WeiWen Cui, Manrong Liang, Xiao Lu, Zefeng Shi Li-Quid Zhuoxing Gu, Tianyuan Xie, Bingyang Su, Anqi Zheng Cellnepho Eleni Ziova, Yiting Yang, Ge Liang, Ji Lin, Chi Zhang Report Tutor Mollie Claypool, Evan Greenberg Fabrication Tutor Feng Zhou Robotics Vicente Soler, Vincent Huyghe Thanks to our collaborators Enrico Dini, Vincent Huyghe, Gennaro Senatore, Vicente Soler, Feng Zhou Thank you to our sponsors nVidia and Formfutura
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High volumes of computing (via GPU-run supercomputing), computational physics simulations, discretised and adaptive algorithms such as Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) and the inclusion of large data sourced from multiple domains, are opening new spaces of synthesis for architecture. This architecture draws on large data from the finer-grain physics of matter – matter as information, enabled by computation. It not only expands on technically enriched material formations, but also activates previously hidden material powers, enabling the creation of designs that in both imagination and performance are beyond our anticipation. 3D printing is now going mainstream and growing in scale, becoming increasingly relevant to architecture. Multi-material printing introduces blending material states in high detail, with the capacity to increase material performance, including minimising the weight and volume of structures while maximising their strength; enabling mass customisation at any level of detail; and yielding previously unseen aesthetic possibilities. Such high-resolution construction methods are further accelerated by the finer-grain physics simulations, disrupting the blueprints of architecture, resulting in structures with the increased resilience, plasticity and malleability of complex interrelated systems – in short, increased design-ability within complex ecologies. Innovation is accelerated by simulating material states and thus radically cutting down the need for exhaustive physical prototyping. Complex syntheses of geometry and physics, fortified by principles of self-organisation, are allowing designers to work with materialisation prior to materialisation. Boundless opportunities open up by coupling robotics with material behaviours and the ability to design various extensions for robotic arms via 3D printing. The four research projects presented here each outline a version of an Increased Resolution Fabric of Architecture. ‘Morphocyte’ are building on Wonderlab’s research on Cellular Division (CD), by simulating biological processes such as morphogenesis or cancer cell growth, and using its differentiating power to create an unseen, intricate and heterogeneous design vocabulary. Students working on project ‘Wrinkle in Space’ are using CD research to develop a series of paths for 3D printing architectural fabrics at variable resolutions of ‘wrinkling’. Team ‘Gossamer. Skin’ are looking at the potential of high-resolution 3D printed building envelopes, using Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) to react to the data of light, heat and structural resilience, in order to design 3D printing paths for robotic extrusion. ‘Li-Quid’ are using fluid dynamics to develop macro-spatial formations, and simultaneously using vector data of fluid flows to develop paths for robotic spatial extrusion lattices that capture the movement of the liquids. The resultant geometry is more adaptable, structurally stronger than generic lattice, and visually enticing. Cellnepho are looking into the differentiated typology of cells within voxel fields in order to achieve variable density, structural strength, elasticity (if printed with soft materials), and porosity for filtering light and creating variable opacity.