Through the application of evolutionary strategies and computational techniques the architectural qualities of different material systems are recombined and enhanced over succeeding generations. As the systems increase in scale and three dimensional complexity through digital morphogenesis, a series of built models are to be explored through the integration of material behaviour and fabrication processes.
Studio Brief: Active Surfaces
The studio researched and designed an inhabitable responsive surface capable of adapting to both its environment and its users.The design was to employ both passive and active adaptation to environmental stimuli, leading to novel spatial effects for programmatic use. Each material system addressed the design problem at different scales and generated responsiveness and interactivity at the local, regional, and global levels through the intelligence of material and geometry. The surface was to be designed as an urban intervention in the plaza confined by the River Thames and The Scoop, adjacent to London City Hall. The surface acted not solely as pavilion, canopy, or landscape, but produced three distinct spatial arrangements, effects or uses throughout a 24-hour cycle. The ground condition became a continuation of the surface through the language of the landscape, edge of the river or the water surface itself. The material system was designed to be structurally effective and its differentiation produced, negotiated, or intensified at least one environmental condition.
