A 1.2. COMPUTATIONAL ARCHITECUTRE
“this conceptural approach is actually a device developed for each project by means of which we remain invisible as authors,... It is a strategy that gives us the freedom to reinvent architecture with each new project rather than consolidating our style.� --- jacques herzog for pritzker prize
Computational architecture, which cannot be imagined in traditional architectural history, has been accepted as archictectural practices in part of the design process. If we regard the whole design process as a chemical equation, the computer would be the catalyst to speed up design documentation and presentation. There is no doubt that digital programs now plays a crutial role in architectural design process. But what is the reason that people put their passions in studying softwares. I think after I got in touch with the CAD and Rhino, the answer is obvious -- to make the design efficiency and expressive. The most distinguished difference between digital design space and traditional paper work is digital tools can bring as many as possibilities and outcomes of a problem to clients in a short period. Despite of that, it is a much more expressive way to tell clients your idea of the whole structure. For example, CAD has become the basic design tool of architecutal requirements. Comparing with handwork, it will save much time in drawng furniture arrangement or circuits application. In addition, for architects themselves, the intercommunity of softwares enable them to build 3D models just on the 2D drawings as we can place the CAD files into Skechup to build up the 3D house model. In contemporary achitectural design, the digital design method is highly used to explore more and more possibilities rather than form and material but also the interior experience of users. And also computation enables designers to do something beyond their imagination. I think in this studio, those are the reasons for enabling us to do several experiments of Gateway project.
GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM, SPAIN Guggenheim Museum is one of the world most well-known work of contemporary architectures designed by architect Frank Gehry, it was instantly hailed as a “signal moment in the architectural culture”. The museum now has more than ten million visitors and with over a hundred exhibitions. The whole building is changing people’s ideas about museums that connecting art, architecture and collecting harmoniously, representing “one of those rare moments when critics, academics, and the general public were all completely united about something.” The materials used for the museum are glasses, steel, limestone and titanium which people can tell from the surface of the museum. The curve form of the exterior wall is intended to appear random because the architect said “the randomness of the curves are designed to catch the light”. The interior “is designed around a large, light-filled atrium with views of Bilbao’s estuary and the surrounding hills of the Basque country.” The atrium, which Gehry nicknamed The Flower because of its shape, serves as the organizing center of the museum.
As the museum opened to public in 1997, it was regarded as the most spectacular building of the style of Deconstructivism because of the irregular building form. The design was achieved not only by architect’s brilliant brain but also the useage of the digital software. Computer Aided Three-dimensional Interactive Application (CATIA) enabled Gehry to test the possibilities of the random form of the museum and helped him to get the satisfied result. As I mentioned before that Frank Gehry wanted to the random curve wall to catch the light, it was difficult for him to show the light effect using handdrawing because of the random surface. Therefore, it would be much easier to use digital tool to simulate the design effects. Without doing the model using real materials that architects want in their designs, the results can be easily achieved in softwares to show clients or public the design approach. Rather than that, digital tools also enable designers to show their design with surrounding environments.
SERPENTINE GALLERY PAVILLION, 2002 The Serpentine Gallery, locating in Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, central London, is an art gallery which focuses on modern and contemporary art. This pavillion was finished in 2002 by Toyo Ito, recipient of the Pritzker Prize 2013, along with Cecil Balmond and Arup. The pavillion is constructed in a complex random pattern in small scale using only glass and aluminium panels. The whole structure can be seen as an algorithmic cube of geometric pattern. The different scale of triangles and trapezoids are formed through the intersecting lines producing window openings. The segments of the structure are easily transportable and buildable just like the interlocking pieces of the puzzle. Although the space is in the chaotic array of lines, it is still apparent that there is an underlying order of simple proportions, a dynamic pattern that follows the concentric lines of its geometric genesis.
In this case, digitla tool also shows its efficiency and accurancy through design process. While I was doing the model of the Virtual Environments, the most important thing that we realized later was the scale of the model. And also the connection between the two small pieces should be absolutly accurate otherwise the model will not be made. It is the situation in this pavillion that architects should calculate the exact dimension of each segment to insure each two adjacent pieces can be connect well. It can be very difficult if you draw that by hand, however, it can be controlled precisely by software. More than that, even though the geometry is arranged randomly, the 3D model will help designers to memorize it.
RHINO EXERCISE WEEK 2