DIGITAL TRANSFORMATIONS SEMINAR 17.05.11: Processing Matter (Moderated by Sergio Pineda) 18.05.11: Processing Complexity (Moderated by Wassim Jabi) Supported by: Welsh School of Architecture (Cardiff University) Royal Society of Architects in Wales Design Circle
The Digital Transformations seminar series is being launched in 2011 as a platform to explore links between computational design and spatial practice today. The proposed format – a spring session and an autumn session every year – brings together architects, designers, scientists, researchers and other professionals with interests in computation and design (spatial, structural, urban, environmental, etc). The outcomes are to be recorded and documented as an online video archive and it’s foreseen that further forms of research and publication will stem from this initial platform. For it’s first occurrence, the seminar will take place at the Welsh School of Architecture on 17 & 18 May 2011 with the following themes: Processing Matter (Moderated by Sergio Pineda) Processing Complexity (Moderated by Wassim Jabi)
PROCESSING MATTER The evolving convergence of computation and physicality Moderated by Sergio Pineda 17.05.11 Digital advances are defining a new momentum in the way architects and designers process matter. The convergence of computational design, material science, bio-structural research and the accelerated development of digitized manufacturing is leading to remarkable innovations in our understanding of matter and process. For instance, the ability to digitally synthesize biological nano-geometries has had a significant impact at different scales in design, from artificial osseous tissue for medical implants to developments in seismic-resistant structures. Forensic algorithms for the analysis of war-zone debris have initiated a new era against impunity where illegal attacks can be simulated (and exposed) from material evidence found in war scenes. Large scale digitized manufacturing of buildings is going through an accelerated development in parallel to the appearance of affordable 3d printing intended to be used by children. And the properties of responsive materials are being digitally simulated and designed for multiple purposes – energy conservation, water conservation or atmospheric narratives.
The Processing Matter seminar seeks to debate and make sense of the evolving relationship between digital process and physical matter, and the way it is enabling architects and designers to address the significant challenges of our time. Invited speakers Francis Aish (SMG, Foster + Partners) Eyal Weizman (Centre for Research Architecture, Goldsmiths University) Christina Doumpioti (Architectural Association, EmTech) Gramazio & Kohler (Zurich) Daniel Widrig Sergio Pineda (Welsh School of Architecture)
PROCESSING COMPLEXITY Agent-based models for urban simulation and speculation Moderated by Wassim Jabi 18.05.11 The traditional method of conducting urban analysis has been to use drawings to outline site assets and features, represent invisible or hard to detect forces, and document ephemeral phenomena. These site analysis maps are then augmented with textual information, diagrams, photos, and models. While these types of representations can be very useful in understanding certain aspects of a site or context, they fall far short in allowing us to understand the microbased forces that act on it and collectively influence its organisation. In addition, they usually fail to explain the multitude of local low-level interactions that take place within it: Does this subway station design create congestion at the ticket stalls? Does this urban configuration create wind corridors? Will this location of commercial stores attract enough foot traffic? These types of questions are difficult to answer without the help of spatial systems that model the underlying topology of a site and temporal multi-agent-based systems that allow a series of agents/bots/cells to operate independently and/or collaboratively and with purpose within a set of constraints. The advent of agent-based modelling and generative design systems has enabled researchers to use a new set of tools for understanding and modelling complex phenomena such as people movement, human settlement and city development. Furthermore, designers are increasingly turning to these systems to help them understand the context of their projects, visualise flows and forces that are next to impossible to document using more traditional methods, and speculate on new emergent spatial organisations that they detect from these systems. The fundamental underlying principle behind these methods is that higher-level systems of organisation can be better understood as emergent patterns of a multitude of lower-level local interactions of agents/cells/atoms. The seminar will discuss the state-of-theart in the major themes that have developed over the last few years including: cellular automata, fractals, agent-based models, emergence and complexity theory, and temporal and spatial/topological models. The participants in this seminar include world-class experts in the field of spatial simulation that will outline the major themes and report on their research in using new paradigms of urban, spatial, and people movement analysis that rely on computational methods. Invited speakers: Michael Weinstock (Architectural Association, EmTech) Michael Batty (UCL, CASA) Christian Derix (Aedas) Marco Vanucci (Adams Kara Taylor) Simon Lannon (Welsh School of Architecture) David Hines (Populous) Wassim Jabi (Welsh School of Architecture)
FURTHER INFORMATION Online: www.digitaltransformations.net Contact: Sergio Pineda (pinedas@cardiff.ac.uk), +44 (0) 29208 70307 (Image credits from left: Vegetal by Daniel Widrig, Mechanical Attractors by Richard Marxer)