Week 10 Reading - Parametrics Explained

In the ever changing world of technology, digital design is constantly evolving, and although we have had CAD systems in Architecture for some time, it is only recently that we have really discovered two distinct and potent design sensibilities; parametric and algorithmic design[1]. However, the term parametric design tends to be used loosely. Parametric design is a term used to describe a variety of disciplines from mathematics through to design; it literally means working within parameters of a defined range[2]. Software that aids parametric design is highly efficient for remodelling forms, and afford greater control in the design process[3]. Architects that are known for their parametric design approach include the work of Zaha Hadid and Frank Gehry. Algorithmic design on the other hand is a term used to describe the use of procedural techniques in solving design problems. An algorithm is a simple instruction[4]. Basically, algorithmic design refers specifically to the use of scripting languages that allow the designer to step beyond the limitations of the user interface, and to design

through the direct manipulation not of form but of code[5]. Quite simply, “algorithmic techniques are based on the use of code. Parametric techniques are based on the manipulation of form. They are therefore quite distinct techniques.” [6]  As these two techniques are being developed, architects such as Zaha Hadid and Patrick Schumacher believe that this could potentially be a new “style” of architecture[7]. Schumacher states in an article ‘Parametricsim’, that “There is a global convergence in recent avant-garde architecture that justifies its designation as a new style: parametricism. It is a style rooted in digital animation techniques, its latest refinements based on advanced parametric design systems and scripting methods.”[8]

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[1] Leach, Neil, “Parametrics Explained”*, in Scripting the Future, Tongji UP, 2012. Page 1

[2] Leach, Neil, “Parametrics Explained”*, in Scripting the Future, Tongji UP, 2012. Page 2

[3] Leach, Neil, “Parametrics Explained”*, in Scripting the Future, Tongji UP, 2012. Page 2

[4] Leach, Neil, “Parametrics Explained”*, in Scripting the Future, Tongji UP, 2012. Page 2

[5] Leach, Neil, “Parametrics Explained”*, in Scripting the Future, Tongji UP, 2012. Page 2-3

[6] Leach, Neil, “Parametrics Explained”*, in Scripting the Future, Tongji UP, 2012. Page 4

[7] Leach, Neil, “Parametrics Explained”*, in Scripting the Future, Tongji UP, 2012. Page 5

[8] Leach, Neil, “Parametrics Explained”*, in Scripting the Future, Tongji UP, 2012. Page 5

Week 9 Reading - Theories of the Digital in Architecture – The Orders of the Non-Standard

Non-standard Architecture is trying to break the boundaries of the traditional understanding of rationalism, rationalisation, technicism and engineering[1]. By doing so people are hoping to identify the most accurate apprehension of the mutation of the processes of conception and production of architecture[2]. In a constantly changing world and environment today we are often introduced to new computer software, and in terms of architecture it is opening a generative domain, an algorithmic culture opening the potentialities of complex morphogenesis and complex geometries[3], that once upon a time may not have been possible. From this, many different interpretations and theories arose, challenging the original critical dialogue[4]. One of the first interpretations of this came from the field of American neo-structuralism[5] whereby the transcript of changed and focused on the typologies and morphologies[6] of Architecture. Edmund Husserl’s approach tried to define the ‘vague morphological entities’[7], focusing on formal and material, and opening the way to a radical logicisation of ontology[8]. Gilles Deleuze’s theory of multiplicities was bound to a mathematisation defined from differential calculus. The valuation of a generic immanence imposed a new understanding of the singularisation[9]. Rene Thom had a dynamic understanding of morphogenesis, where non-standard analysis was the tool[10], and he understood the relationship between mathematics and nature, creating an integration of infinite in the numbers to define the signalisation of a form or motive[11]. “The standard is established on solid foundations, not arbitrarily, but in the secure knowledge of things motivated and logic controlled by analysis and experimentation.”[12]

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[1] Migayrou, Frédéric, “The Order of the Non-Standard: Towards a Critical Structualism,” in Theories of the Digital in Architecture, edited by Rivka & Robert Oxman (2014), Page 17

[2] Migayrou, Frédéric, “The Order of the Non-Standard: Towards a Critical Structualism,” in Theories of the Digital in Architecture, edited by Rivka & Robert Oxman (2014), Page 17

[3]Migayrou, Frédéric, “The Order of the Non-Standard: Towards a Critical Structualism,” in Theories of the Digital in Architecture, edited by Rivka & Robert Oxman (2014), Page 17

[4]Migayrou, Frédéric, “The Order of the Non-Standard: Towards a Critical Structualism,” in Theories of the Digital in Architecture, edited by Rivka & Robert Oxman (2014), Page 17

[5]Migayrou, Frédéric, “The Order of the Non-Standard: Towards a Critical Structualism,” in Theories of the Digital in Architecture, edited by Rivka & Robert Oxman (2014), Page 17

[6]Migayrou, Frédéric, “The Order of the Non-Standard: Towards a Critical Structualism,” in Theories of the Digital in Architecture, edited by Rivka & Robert Oxman (2014), Page 17

[7]Migayrou, Frédéric, “The Order of the Non-Standard: Towards a Critical Structualism,” in Theories of the Digital in Architecture, edited by Rivka & Robert Oxman (2014), Page 17

[8] Migayrou, Frédéric, “The Order of the Non-Standard: Towards a Critical Structualism,” in Theories of the Digital in Architecture, edited by Rivka & Robert Oxman (2014), Page 17

[9] Migayrou, Frédéric, “The Order of the Non-Standard: Towards a Critical Structualism,” in Theories of the Digital in Architecture, edited by Rivka & Robert Oxman (2014), Page 19

[10] Migayrou, Frédéric, “The Order of the Non-Standard: Towards a Critical Structualism,” in Theories of the Digital in Architecture, edited by Rivka & Robert Oxman (2014), Page 19

[11] Migayrou, Frédéric, “The Order of the Non-Standard: Towards a Critical Structualism,” in Theories of the Digital in Architecture, edited by Rivka & Robert Oxman (2014), Page 19

[12] Migayrou, Frédéric, “The Order of the Non-Standard: Towards a Critical Structualism,” in Theories of the Digital in Architecture, edited by Rivka & Robert Oxman (2014), Page 32

Week 8 Reading - “The Surface as Architecture,” in Digital Culture in Architecture: an Introduction for the Design Profession, Picon Antoine

In terms of architecture, there is an ever growing importance of electronic media, and the way a surface or skin of a building is constantly evolving [1].  Stephen Perrella coined the term hyper surface, to name the convergence between cyberspace envisaged as hypermedia [2]. Surface in today's society tends to look for ways to improve and create better areas, such as energy requirements in sustainability, with things like double vented facades which look to drastically improve the performance of buildings [3]. The importance of a surface involves complexity, instability and flexibility of architectural programs [4]. Today, many people see the evolving building facades as 'dressing the future'[5]. Digital architecture tends to be leading in the way of building facades, with one argument stating that it has to do with the fact that surfaces challenge the traditional mode of presence of architecture as well as some of the fundamental binary structures that have characterised the discipline for a long time [6]. This includes the way surfaces may not necessarily define space, the distinction between the architectural object and its surroundings, between architecture and ground, and between architecture and landscape [7]. Things like striated, inscribed, ornamented and architectural skin tend to speak directly to the senses, really leaving the subject unclear about where his sensitive body ends and from where exterior reality truly takes over [8]. In the future the growing use of digital design and programs will continue to evolve these complex innovative surfaces, hoping to create a more persuasive affect in alternative geometries which have never been explored before.  

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[1] Picon, Antoine, “The surface as Architecture,” in Digital Culture in Architecture: an Introduction for the   Design Profession (2010): Page 84

[2] Picon, Antoine, “The surface as Architecture,” in Digital Culture in Architecture: an Introduction for the   Design Profession (2010): Page 84

[3] Picon, Antoine, “The surface as Architecture,” in Digital Culture in Architecture: an Introduction for the   Design Profession (2010): Page 85

[4] Picon, Antoine, “The surface as Architecture,” in Digital Culture in Architecture: an Introduction for the   Design Profession (2010): Page 86

[5] Picon, Antoine, “The surface as Architecture,” in Digital Culture in Architecture: an Introduction for the   Design Profession (2010): Page 89

[6] Picon, Antoine, “The surface as Architecture,” in Digital Culture in Architecture: an Introduction for the   Design Profession (2010): Page 89

[7] Picon, Antoine, “The surface as Architecture,” in Digital Culture in Architecture: an Introduction for the   Design Profession (2010): Page 90

[8] Picon, Antoine, “The surface as Architecture,” in Digital Culture in Architecture: an Introduction for the   Design Profession (2010): Page 91

     

Week 7 Reading - Practice VS Project (Introduction) – Stan Allen

Architecture is a discipline which involves work across a large range of constantly changing factors, from clients, to builders, to budgets. It works within an open environment where every job is different, needing the ability to quickly adapt and respond to many variables on and off the site.  The theory of Architecture has long stood to unite many things within a framework. It brings us to see how over time things change, like the approach taken in discursive practice and material practice. “Discursive practices look critically at what already exists, while material practices bring new things into being: ‘things in the making’”[1].  In today’s society the question is what architecture can do, rather than what it is or what it means[2]. Material practices tend to be ‘agile and responsive[3]’ and ‘tethered to a fast moving reality[4]’. The history of architecture and the many theories that are still relevant today stand as a starting point, however the immense amount of work undertaken ‘simply bypasses outmoded working strategies, leaving the discipline open to new techniques[5]’. Material practices evolve overtime still keeping in mind the traditional architectural strategy, however ‘under the pragmatics of material practice, the fixed structure of the discipline is neither rejected nor affirmed[6]’. These material practices can revolutionize the way architecture is viewed to the world. ‘A material practice is marked by the uncertainty of an ever-shifting reference in the world itself[7]’.

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[1] Allen. Stan, ‘Introduction: Practice vs. Project’, in Practice: Architecture, Technique and Representation, (2009) Page 13.

[2] Allen. Stan, ‘Introduction: Practice vs. Project’, in Practice: Architecture, Technique and Representation, (2009) Page 14.

[3] Allen. Stan, ‘Introduction: Practice vs. Project’, in Practice: Architecture, Technique and Representation, (2009) Page 15.

[4] Allen. Stan, ‘Introduction: Practice vs. Project’, in Practice: Architecture, Technique and Representation, (2009) Page 15.

[5] Allen. Stan, ‘Introduction: Practice vs. Project’, in Practice: Architecture, Technique and Representation, (2009) Page 15.

[6] Allen. Stan, ‘Introduction: Practice vs. Project’, in Practice: Architecture, Technique and Representation, (2009) Page 15.

[7] Allen. Stan, ‘Introduction: Practice vs. Project’, in Practice: Architecture, Technique and Representation, (2009) Page 15.

Week 6 Reading - The Digital Turn in Architecture 1992-2012 (Mario Carpo – “Morphogenesis and Emergence” by Michael Hensel, Achim Menges and Michael Weinstock (2004-2006) Pages 158-159

‘Michael Hensel, Achim Menges and Michael Weinstock are keen to point out the difference between ‘emergent’ properties in life and in computation, and the gap between nature and machinic production’. I think this sentence really sums up the Morphogenesis and Emergence article. I strongly agree with the point of view of these three men. The use of computers and computer aided design doesn’t just necessarily make designing a structure easy, but it also has a crucial impact on the types of materials that can be used and to what extend they can be used, not only in the form of a building but also the structure and performance of a building. Once upon a time the only way of knowing how a certain material was going to work was to build a scaled down model, whereas today we are able to test quite easily on computers irregular materials and patterns of materials to get a better understanding of the way they are going to perform. The computers are not only a positive impact on the design of the building itself, but they also have a major impact in the fabrication of the materials. Digitally controlled machines are being used as an alternative to manually modelling materials, to recreate the structures we design, so as to not have to spend as much time to put these materials together. Computers and computer aided design are definitely having a major impact on the world we live in, and I believe that the world will be a better place because of it.

Quote: The Digital Turn in Architecture 1992-2012 (Mario Carpo) “Morphogenesis and Emergence” by Michael Hensel, Achim Menges and Michael Weinstock (2004-2006)

Week 3 - A Universe of Discourse

What is an algorithm?

A set of procedures consisting of a finite number of rules, which define a succession of operations for the solution of a given problem.  In this way, an algorithm is a finite sequence explicit, elementary instructions described in an exact, complete yet general manner.

What is Computation?

Is the processing of information and interactions between elements which constitute a specific environment, the pivotal word being interactions. Computation provides a framework for negotiating and influencing the interrelation of these data sets of information, with the capacity to generate complex order, form and structure.

What is an Open System?

An open system is defined as a system in exchange of matter with its environment, presenting import and export, building up and breaking down of its material components (Ludwig von Bertalanffy)

What is Generative Morphogenesis?

Natural Morphogenesis, the sequential biological events which define the development of an organism from initial generation to mature system, derives complex organisation, form and structure from the interaction of system-intrinsic material capacities and external influences and forces.

All definitions from Computational Design Thinking (2011) Pages 10-29

Computational Design Thinking Pages 10-19

‘The open-ended characteristic of evolutionary computation is of particular interest for architecture, as a design task can usually not be comprehensively described as a problem, but rather as an opportunity for creating novel possibilities within the framework of a given brief’. This phrase really connected with me when reading as I found that architecture today is still quite heavily influenced by structural properties, features and functions of buildings in the past. I think that today these qualities of a building are still being thoroughly researched with technology that is readily available to us, and will always play a significant part in the process of designing and constructing a building. Over time, evolutionary processes are significant in improving the knowledge of design computation to help improve the cities of the future.  Things in other fields such as natural morphogenesis will help to develop information in relating internal and external forces of the surroundings to really expand the formation within architecture. This sort of thing will also expand the knowledge of relationships such as materialisation and formation. In the Archaeology of Knowledge and the Discourse on Language by Michel Foucault, Foucault expresses two notions of the right and wrong ways to approach history. His view seems as though certain discourses and continuities may turn up again in the future, but much more advanced and relatable to that time in the future, based on what will have been faced through evolution.

Quote:  M Hemburg, A Menges and U O’Reilly, ‘Evolutionary Computation in Architecture’, in Architectural design, vol 74, no 3, Wiley-Academy (London), 2004, pp48-53.

Computation or Revolution Pages (76-85)

‘Productivity isn’t everything, but in the long run it is almost everything’, is a notable assertion by Paul Krugman. Productivity by the use of robotics is commonly found in many areas of industry, but can there be robotics in Architecure? Specifically in Architecture, there has already been a case carried out at EZCT Architecture and Design Research in 2010 whereby an ABB IRB 120 robot was developed to simplify the communication between industrial robots and CAD software. This is now known as the plugin Grasshopper. I think this as an example of how architecture can implement the use of robotics for the better, helping develop a way of creating generative algorithms. 

Introduction – The Digital Turn In Architecture

In the introduction, it states ‘a meaningful building of the digital age is not just any building that was designed and built using digital tools: it is one that could not have been either designed or built without them’. I think this is a very powerful statement relating to the way architecture has changed over the last century, having a positive impact in the built environment. We are able to see, communicate and understand ideas and designs easier and very quickly and easily make a change for the better. In the early 1990’s there was an emergence of technologies that gave architects the ability to produce splines, something that previously required a lot of time mathematical equations that now is quite pointless. The manipulation of these lines also became very easy with software that included the use of interfaces and vectors, something that wasn’t as easy when hand drawn.  There are a lot of people out there who do not believe that digital technology is the best way forward and is affecting society, the economy, our culture and our everyday lives, but I personally believe that there is so much more out there to learn and be discovered, not only in the way of architecture and design, but in the technologies and software that are being used to create and communicate these designs. The last sentence ‘The most momentous days of the digital turn may still be ahead of us’ is one that I can relate to, as I can’t wait to see what lies ahead in technology and architecture.