Wired Urban Synthetics by Thea Mihu

School of Architecture University of Stuttgart

netWORK

by Thea Mihu

Academy of Fine Arts Textile Design

Institute for Foreign Relations

Stuttgart

a web of inner-city metamorphoses

2018

contact: thea.mihu@gmail.com

online portfolio: https://issuu.com/thea.mihu https://www.linkedin.com/in/thea-mihu/

NetWORK Wire d Ur b an Sy nt he t i c s : A web of i n ne r-c it y me t amor pho s e s

University of Stuttgart Institute of Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design o. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr.-Ing. E.h. Dr. h.c. Werner Sobek Tutor: Dipl.-Ing. Clemens Freitag Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart, Textile Design: Tutor: Prof. Karl Hรถing IfA (Institute of Foreign Relations Stuttgart): Iris Lenz

proj e c t by T he a Mi hu

Opening topic:

Outcome

In cooperation with the Textile Design program of the Stuttgart Academy of Fine Arts, net-like contexts are to be analyzed and radically reinterpreted as part of the joint design-studio â&#x20AC;&#x153;NetWORKâ&#x20AC;? - inspired from abstract to concrete networking, for example virtual, social, neural or textile networks. This analysis process should be underlined by a practical-material examination of a multitude of (textile) materials. The artistic-technical approach is to create experimental textile - possibly adaptive spatial structures (from micro to macro) that offer an aesthetic, haptic, functional and emotional added value. The best works will be exhibited as part of the Summer Studio 2018 at the ifa (Institute for Foreign Relations, Stuttgart).

This project was selected to be part of the exhibition at the IfA - Gallery. It was also selected as headline for the presentation of the exhibition.

Opening will be on 12.07.2018 in Stuttgart, Germany.

WIRED URBAN SYNTHETICS a web of inner city metamorphosis the backstage of construction sites as active microcosmoses altering the fabric of the city

CONSTRUCTION SITES - METAMORPHOSES IN THE CITY

The design of an urban perforation. This incision, which is measured in terms of time and immateriality, determines the relationship between resident and inhabited space for an indeterminate period of time and over an inestimable proportion of space. This space represents, as a derivative of time, more than an actual area: the urban void: this void circumscribes the invisible city, which is increasingly becoming our urban environment. THE URBAN VOID. On the contrary, he tries to investigate the form and consequences of the formation, the essence and the moment of static empty space in urban tissue. Unrest, there is noise and disabilities. (...) It usually settles down permanently and becomes part of the everyday world, which one may not be able to or does not have to acquire, to which one tends to get used to and which, once completed and largely frozen, belongs as inventory to the lifeworld.

UNBETWEEN. the revival of the unbetween: The construction site is an integral part of our everyday urban experience. It belongs to the symbolic landscape of the modern city. For a short period of time, the construction site is filling a gap in the row of smooth facades - thus disturbing the familiar cityscape.

digital inspiration network types - movement

construction site network metamorphosis in the cityscape STADTRAUM: STUTTGART

topography Stuttgart, 2018

infrastructure Stuttgart, 2018

construction sites - reason of deformation

Constuction sites were followed throughout the city. Their characteristics were oberserved and analysed: within the city - a static pattern - we find the construction site as a constant presence , although the location is always changing. It is a symbol of transition. Construction sites are elements scattered throughout the city and are defined by their dimension. For example, the construction site Stuttgart Main Station is a major one, which influences not only the local infrastructure, but the life quality of its inhabitants. We have two moments: a stillstand - there is no construction happening and a turning point - the temporary urban void is created. Textile materials are two dimensional and perceived as such. Current construction sites from Stuttgart are marked on the map and ierarchisiert depending on their dimension and time stretch, with Stuttgart Hbf acting as main catalyst. Deformation The activity of the construction site determines the degree of deformation. The size of the construction site is the diameter. Presence of deformation is determined by the beginning and end of the construction site.

All too often the general perception of the construction site has so far been one-sidedly focused on the burdens of noise, dust and traffic. But the construction site is much more. It is an important and exceptional place in the city, a microcosm that works under high time and financial pressure. The construction site is harsh reality, a highly complex and organized enterprise, in which material, people, machinery and media need to be coordinated. Construction sites form an integral part of our everyday urban experience.1 (...) The construction site embodies dynamics, process and constant change - it is an expectant state of suspense. Promise for the new and a place of transition in the otherwise regulated urban life. 2 Construction sites are punctual elements in the urban fabric. Known is the familiar grid of the city, whose order and interaction is influenced by the presence of these elements. An element has the power to change the whole network and deform that familiarity. This creates new networks continuously. In time, the familiar urban landscape collides with the new microcosm, creating a new one and thus a new activity field. This field of activity, its deformability and the formation of an urban perforation3 are being researched. Where there used to be standstill, we now experienced movement. 4 The construction site, the raw and unfinished, a sudden stranger 5, brings a change in our daily perception and becomes a symbol of transformation by reorganising the city.

Allzu oft richtet sich die allgemeine Wahrnehmung der Baustelle bislang einseitig auf die Belastungen durch Lärm, Staub und Verkehr. Doch die Baustelle ist viel mehr. Sie ist ein wichtiger und aussergewöhnlicher Ort in der Stadt, ein Mikrokosmos, der unter hohem Zeit- und Kostendruck funktioniert. Die Baustelle ist harte Realität, ein hochkomplexes und durchorganisiertes Unternehmen, bei dem Material, Menschen, Maschinen und Medien koordiniert werden müssen. Baustellen bilden einen festen Teil unserer urbanen Alltagserfahrung.1

(…)

Die Baustelle verkörpert Dynamik, Prozess und ständige Veränderungsie ist erwartungsvoller Schwebezustand, das Versprechen auf das Neue und ein Ort des Übergangs im sonst regulierten Stadtalltag. 2 Baustellen sind punktuelle Elemente im Stadtgewebe. Grundlage ist das vertraute Raster der Stadt, dessen Ordnung und Zusammenspiel durch die Präsenz dieser Elemente beeinflusst wird. Ein Element hat die Kraft, das ganze Netz, ‘das vertraute Raster’ zu verändern und zu verformen. Dadurch entstehen kontinuierlich neue Netze. In der Zeitverzerrung kollidiert die gewohnte Stadtlandschaft mit dem neuen Mikrokosmos und dabei entsteht ein neues Aktivitätsfeld. Dieses Aktivitätsfeld und dessen Verformbarkeit, die Gestaltung einer urbanen Perforation3werden untersucht. Wo früher <<Stillstand>> gewesen sei, erlebten wir jetzt <<Aufbruch>> und <<Bewegung>>. 4 Die Baustelle, das Rohe und Unfertige, das plötzliche Fremde5, bringt eine Veränderung unserer gewohnten Wahrnehmung und wird zum Symbol des Wandels und der Reorganisation innerhalb des städtischen Bestandes.

Deformation The activity of the construction site determines the degree of deformation. The size of the construction site is the diameter. Presence of deformation is determined by the beginning and end of the construction site. Legend - Parameter Timeline • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Possible construction site parameters: number of levels How much m3 of concrete is used in a construction site? the mass / weight of the final product? How is the city structure difficult? Air pollution control on construction sites Overheads of the construction site Number of employees period of time/time-strech noise pollution - e.g. Number of noise protection mats number of devices on construction sites Accommodation / Sanitary facilities / Meeting rooms / Construction hoists Tower cranes / truck-mounted concrete pumps / excavators / construction site access and exit rides / power supply / waste construction site lighting How much kg of reinforcement was used?

Decisive are relevant properties - that have a direct impact on the material of the city - such as time period.

Material Experimentation:

Textile stiffener

Various textile materials were used, both dense cotton fabrics and net-like polyester fabrics. The aim was to provide a comprehensive analysis of the behaviour of different types of materials. The objective was to translate a symbolic deformation of urban fabric, like the formation of foreign elements such as construction sites, into material and an architecture model, thereby examining a newly created network.

In order to be able to harden textiles while retaining their main tectonic properties, different liquids with hardening properties were examined. The following fluids were used: epoxy resin, casting resin, latex paint, clearcoat, resin based white paint, white paint for interior, liquid latex, Ponal wood glue.

Conditions: All tests were carried out indoors at a maximum temperature of 22 degrees. All materials were left to dry overnight, in order to be able to research the maximum hardening ability of the chosen material and different hardening fluids. It is necessary to wring the textile, which should be able to absorb moisture, so that no fluid would be visible on the outside. It then has to be immediately put into the right shape, it should be allowed to dry and not to be touched during the drying process.

Results Wood Glue: The resulting stiffened textiles have the following properties: they are waterproof, because a water-resistant glue was used. One can no longer deform or reshape it; it remains stiff in the initial form. Clearcoat: The resulting stiffened textile has the following properties: It is not waterproof, but it is stiff and at the same time a low formability is maintained. Latex color: The textile material is rather sticky and behaves elastically, but is therefore not 100% stiff. The latex paint hardens the textile to a lesser extent. Very suitable for later change and shape finding processes.

photo by T. Mihu

polyester fabric with

clear lacquer

photo by T. Mihu

polyester fabric with

latex paint

photo by T. Mihu

polyester fabric with

white resin paint

photo by T. Mihu

polyester fabric

with

wood glue (above)

white lacquer

(down)

Material Experimentation: Various textile materials were used, both dense cotton fabrics and net-like polyester fabrics. The aim was to provide a comprehensive analysis of the behaviour of different types of materials. The objective was to translate a symbolic deformation of urban fabric, like the formation of foreign elements such as construction sites, into material and an architecture model, thereby examining a newly created network. Conditions: All tests were carried out indoors at a maximum temperature of 22 degrees. All materials were left to dry overnight, in order to be able to research the maximum hardening ability of the chosen material and different hardening fluids. It is necessary to wring the textile, which should be able to absorb moisture, so that no fluid would be visible on the outside. It then has to be immediately put into the right shape, it should be allowed to dry and not to be touched during the drying process.

dense cotton fabric with

expoxy resin

polyester fabric with

fluid latex

tulle with

white resin paint

tulle with

white resin paint

tulle with

white resin paint

Digital Form finding strategies Used Software: Grasshopperâ&#x201E;˘ - Rhinoceros 3D

Selection Methodology

tulle with

clear lacquer

photo by T. Mihu

coloured tulle with

clear lacquer

photo by T. Mihu

tulle with

white paint

Bibliographie: 1. Glaser MA. Baustelle: Metamorphosen in der Stadt. Baden: Lars Müller; 2008. 2. Matzig G. Vorsicht, Baustelle!: Vom Zauber der Kulissen und von der Verantwortung der Architekten (Bauwelt Fundamente, Band 145). Basel: Birkhäuser; 2011. 3. Pröfener F. Zeitzeichen Baustelle. Realität, Inszenierung und Metaphorik eines abseitigen Ortes. Frankfurt am Main/ New York: Campus; 1998. #1 Glaser, Marie Antoinette; Baustelle-Metamorphosen in der Stadt, S. 7 #2 Glaser, Marie Antoinette; Baustelle-Metamorphosen in der Stadt, S. 15 #3 Pröfener, Franz; Zeitzeichen Baustelle. Realität, Inszenierung und Metaphorik eines abseitigen Ortes, S. 236 #4 Pröfener, Franz; Zeitzeichen Baustelle. Realität, Inszenierung und Metaphorik eines abseitigen Ortes, S. 13 #5 Glaser, Marie Antoinette; Baustelle-Metamorphosen in der Stadt, S. 11

photo by T. Mihu

textile netWORK

lightweight and

design

conceptual gallery

manipulation

stuttgart

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School of Architecture University of Stuttgart

Academy of Fine Arts Textile Design

Institute for Foreign Relations

Stuttgart