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Studio style
Studiostyle
Greg Corke visited Studio Libeskind’s New York offices, a stone’s throw from the World Trade Centre site, to explore the role that technology plays in the practice’s world-renowned architecture
By his own admission, Daniel Libeskind was a late bloomer. Having started out in architecture in the late 1960s, he formed his own practice in 1989 when he won a competition to build the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Technology also came late to the table and there was no role for CAD when designing the bold, zig-zagged building.
Tampere Central Deck and Arena, Tampere, Finland - an urban scale development on top of existing railway tracks in the heart of the city
At the time, Berlin was still a divided city, so technology trickled in very slowly.
“The building was done completely by hand,” Mr Libeskind explains. “Trigonometry, logarithms, calculating angles - sine, cosine, tangent. There were more than a thousand windows. Each one had a different shape and they were all calculated by hand.”
Following the completion of the project in 2001, exhibition designers asked Libeskind for the model. “I rolled up a bunch of drawings – plan, section and elevation – and I sent it to them and he said, ‘no, no, no, give us the 3D [CAD] model’.
“I said there is no 3D model and there was just a silence, a long silence and a gasp,” he smiles.
Studio Libeskind has come a long way since and CAD and BIM now play a critical role in all of its projects. “We’ve been able to build things that probably would never have been fathomable,” says Carla Swickerath, CEO/Principal.
But Studio Libeskind still relies heavily on traditional techniques. Handcrafted working models adorn every cor-
ner of its prestigious Manhattan head- Revit is a fantastic program that does team of engineers that actually do a series quarters. Concept models, hand draw- amazing things – but sometimes it’s not of analyses and say, ‘OK, well we need to ings, even simple gestures, continue to be the right application for what we’re doing tweak something this way or that way or the creative inspiration for projects. or the right phase to use it.” else this person at this time of day is really
“It always originates in drawings. I For design development, for example, going to get sun burn’,” says Mr Ashley. still draw by hand,” says Mr Libeskind. Rhino is often preferred, as the NURBS- “Some of it is intuitive, also. You’ve got “You can involve the viewer or client based modelling tool can be both free- to understand that if you create a lens, with ideas much more powerfully just by form and precise at the same time. “Our you could come out with magnifying drawing something in front of them.” forms tend to work well with that pro- glasses over ants,” jokes Mr Karim.
Projects often then move into CAD for cess,” says Ms Swickerath. further exploration. “Depending on the “In our office in general, Rhino is prob- Micro machine sketch, there are millions of interpreta- ably one of our favourite tools,” adds Studio Libeskind runs its CAD software tions of that sketch, so then we try to principal Michael Ashley. “It’s nice and on workstations and recently adopted think about different possibilities and fast and then we’ll move into Revit when the HP Z2 Mini, a tiny desktop machine those usually start to be generated in a the project is more standard.” that dwarfs standard workstation towers computer,” explains Ms Swickerath. Grasshopper, the generative design [see page 34 for AEC Magazine’s hands-
“I think that’s kind of miraculous,” add-on for Rhino, is used on some pro- on review]. adds Mr Libeskind “because it would jects, but only to solve specific design Despite its diminutive form factor, have taken a very long time to speculate problems rather than as a driver for form. quad core Intel CPU and entry-level creatively with a pencil and paper.” “Some elements of the project might be Nvidia Quadro GPU, Studio Libeskind
Studio Libeskind’s design process is scripted,” explains Mr Karim. “So, tiling has found the HP Z2 Mini to be more nonlinear. In other words, projects can a pavilion where it’s thousands of pieces than capable of supporting its core move from sketches to CAD to physical that need to tessellate in a certain way, design workflows. models and back into hand drawings. we script that.” “[Even with some of our heaviest There is no set formula, explains Studio “We don’t do generating shapes out of users], we haven’t had an issue with any Libeskind partner Yama Karim, adding the computer,” adds Ms Swickerath. “We of the programs that we use, any of the that it’s all about staying complicated geometry, any nimble and using every resource, every medium that is possible. ‘‘ The computer is a means to an end. I’ve of the difficult dense models that we use,” says Ms Swickerath. “So, for us, it’s Mr Libeskind himself does not use CAD, but admits that most of his buildings could never been seduced to think that the computer could solve the problems of been like ‘give us more of these’. We need lots of these because they are actually not have been built without architecture, because architecture is an art space saving and they are technology, and certainly not completed on time or on Daniel Libeskind quiet and they have a per formance that even sur budget. “I am not a parametric designer, I don’t use these tools, just as a service mechanism, but it use the computer to articulate the shapes ’’ prised us. “We do a lot of complex models that have a lot of input from mulmakes possible the designs which we ini- we are trying to build. To make some- tiple engineers. [The HP Z2 Mini] is yet tiate,” he says. thing more rational, to try to find the to be tripped up.”
“Being able to translate that drawing right solution.” Mr Ashley adds that the HP Z2 Mini into a [computer] program that allows For design visualisation, the firm could serve the requirements of all 50 one to make it very, very precise, measur- relies on 3ds Max with V-Ray. But the architects at the New York office, adding able, scientifically rational, very accu- modelling and rendering tool is not just that Studio Libeskind would then probarate… that whole matrix of possibilities is used to create stunning visuals and ani- bly need three or four higher-end workto me really the wonder of practicing mations. In one recent project, it was also stations to support more demanding architecture. used to optimise the design of a façade by graphics and rendering workflows.
“And I can hardly conceive, 1990 – it’s simulating light. “But even so, rendering is often done in not that long ago – to sit down and do a The Libeskind Tower is one of three the cloud, with cloud services, so you building by hand. It’s like going back to a high-rise skyscrapers at CityLife, a new just set the scene and send it off someprimeval time. It’s amazing the progress residential, commercial and business where else to render,” he adds. that has been made.” district in Milan. Its curved glass façade is designed to vertically extend the piaz- Let’s get physical Digital toolkit za it borders, so it becomes a lens into the Despite its reliance on digital workflows, Studio Libeskind has benefited from a public space. physical models continue to play a critihuge range of CAD tools over the years, Studio Libeskind was keen to avoid cal role at all project stages. Models are from Form Z to AutoCAD. Every project negative aspects of a lens, which could very important to the design process, so centres on the 3D model. potentially fry people on the plaza, so that the team can see how ideas are
“We use Revit, we use Rhino, we use each and every single facade was broken working out. To this end, the practice 3ds Max, we use whatever we need to use down into tiers for a feathering effect to still has a fully equipped model shop at and we are often beating them into sub- spread the concentration of light. its Manhattan office. mission,” says Ms Swickerath. “Because “We did some [internal] testing in 3ds “Everything we make in the computer – something you need to do in Revit – and Max just to see the light, but we have a great if we’re designing a project, exploring
options and making things work - we’re building models at the same time, because we always like to stand back and look at it in space, because the computer can be very deceiving,” says Ms Swickerath.
When it comes to physical models, Studio Libeskind takes the same approach as it does for CAD and uses the best tool for the job. Models can be hand crafted with wood, 3D printed or sculpted with paper, scissors and glue.
“Sometimes, if it’s a presentation model of a complex piece, we’ll get some pieces made [3D printed] and build it together and make it part of our hand-crafted model,” explains Ms Swickerath. “Sometimes, it’s a study thing, where you can do 3D models quickly. It [3D printing] is just one more tool in our kit.”
Traditional methods are not to be underestimated, says Mr Libeskind, adding that the practice sometimes makes huge models – large enough to stick your head inside. “I remember we did a model for the staircase at the Denver Art Museum, which was almost as big as this room,” he says, indicating the small meeting room in which he’s speaking. “It was just a very small part of it. It was a very complex shape but we couldn’t explain it [with just drawings and CAD models].”
All together now At Studio Libeskind, projects are seen through from beginning to end, with success hinging on close collaboration with its partners. With projects taking place all over the world, there is much to learn when working with local firms.
“We aren’t dogmatic, like ‘Here’s a design, take it or leave it,” explains Ms Swickerath. “It’s like, ‘Here’s the big idea. It’s complicated, it’s interesting, let’s make it work.’ Then we take the input [from our partners].
“We have this great collaboration with everybody that we work with that allows us to build these buildings.”
The 3D model forms the lynchpin to this
1 2 The Libeskind Tower (the middle tower) is one of three high-rise skyscrapers at CityLife, a new residential, commercial and business district in Milan. The building was designed in CAD and light simulation was used to avoid the ‘death ray’ effect from the curved glass façade 3 Daniel Libeskind collaborating with Studio Libeskind principal Michael Ashley
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4 Names Monument, Amsterdam, Netherlands — physical model of the Holocaust memorial, which is slated to break ground in early 2018 5 6 World Trade Center Master Plan, New York, New York, USA
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process, and data is regularly shared with we want built,” she says. peculiar, very particular - not just the partners. “We communicate with our cli- Mr Libeskind thinks the 3D model has square metres, the square footage, but ents, our engineers, all of our consultants. also helped change the dynamic when aesthetic questions, functional questions. They are able to put their information into working with clients. “Clients are more [A 3D model] makes the work more interour models and work very quickly. engaged because they can see more,” he active, it makes the work, I think, more
“We work with our engineers about says. “It used to be that you presented a intelligent, because more people are structure - how to make it aware of what is going on. more efficient, how to make it cheaper. Ms Swickerath explains how ‘‘ We use Revit, we use Rhino, we use 3ds There is less opacity, becoming more transparent and I think more democratic.” Studio Libeskind has great Max, we use whatever we need to use and But Mr Libeskind also confidence in its models and also shares its data with contractors. “It’s a tool to help we are often beating them into submission Carla Swickerath, CEO/Principal acknowledges the limitations of technology. “The computer is a means to an end,” he says. them do their job better,” she says. “We try to make that collaboration so that they can see the model drawing or a [physical] model. The client ’’ “I’ve never been seduced to think that the computer could solve the problems of architecture, because and understand things better.” was relatively innocent, not really fully architecture is an art.
“We always feel the better we commu- understanding everything. But, with a “Design originates in creativity, in innonicate, especially when things are diffi- 3D model, for example, a client can see vation. It doesn’t originate with a tool. In cult to understand with one drawing or everything. It’s like an X-ray - you can fact, probably, creative design originates one perspective or one model, then the see every flaw. with your eyes closed,” he says. more successful we are in getting what “There are clients who are very, very ■ libeskind.com
