Game, Set, and Match

L’architecture est un jeu magnifique “Architecture is the masterly, correct and magnificent play of masses brought together in light” as Le Corbusier put it in his manifesto Towards A New Architecture. Everything has changed since, and we are ready for the new paradigm: “Architecture is the programmable hyperbody played skillfully by its masters with the speed of light.

AFTER THE PARADIGM OF CONTEMPORARY PHYSICS IN ARCHITECTURE: SPATIAL POSSIBILITIES AND VARIATIONS

Living in the age of scientific, technological and digital revolution changes our attitude towards information. It is inevitable to start approaching information not only as a product of fashionable digital media behavior, but also as a particular accumulation of facts and activities, transferable bits of matter, which influence our environment. Architecture not only exerts spatial influence on our environment, but also it structures its processes. Acting as such, architecture is involved into direct representation of informational flows via organizing spatial systems. Therefore, in the digital era, design gets more related to transforming different informational modes into spatial structures. Transformations of information provide rich possibilities for conceptualizing space; such transformations could be achieved by different methodologies. This paper uses the concept of space in contemporary physics, namely the self-organizational behavior of the spacetime framework, in order to explore various ways of coding information in design. Analyzing String theory and its follower M – theory, the research derives a method for spatial organization of cause-and-effect activities resulting in a unified approach towards design methodology. This paper explores the concept of movement in the space-time framework, namely the movement in various dimensions and in non-Euclidean geometry, in order to develop a system for achieving a particular design control over informational activities. Using the topology of spacetime in String heory and M-theory, a topology produced as an outcome from that particular movement behavior, the research proposes a way to handle an informational status in the environment spatially. Such a design approach, becoming more and more necessary in the age of the digital, opens room not only for mere spatial variations, but also for a direction towards new design morphology; a morphology in which architecture obtains new spatial value, reaching beyond the label of visionary desig

Mechanical and energy absorption properties of 3D-printed honeycomb structures with Voronoi tessellations

3D printing technology is the new frontier in building construction. It is especially useful for making small structures within a short period. Full construction, including interior partitions and exterior façades, can be achieved with this technology. This paper proposes a parametric Voronoi tessellations model for quickly generating and fabricating 3D-printed hexagonal honeycomb partitions for interior design. Comprehensive experimental testing was conducted to characterize the mechanical properties and investigate the energy absorption characteristics of the proposed 3D-printed hexagonal honeycomb while comparing it to alternative hexagonal honeycomb structures. The tests included tensile testing (ASTM-D638) of the printed Polylactic Acid (PLA) material, especially with the almost total absence of conducted research that reported mechanical properties for 3D printed material with low infill percentages such as 10%. In addition, an in-plane quasi-static axial compression testing of the lightweight honeycomb structures was also conducted on the printed structure with the same low infill percentage. Compared to non-Voronoi honeycomb structures, the Voronoi honeycomb resulted in superior mechanical and energy absorption properties with energy absorption values ranging from 350 to 435 J and crash force efficiency being 1.42 to 1.65

Where Are We Now?

After 16 years of leading the Hyperbody research group as professor of practice at the TU Delft, I wanted to do something completely different and looked at the Gulf region for further educational and professional activities. I was familiar with the region, having lectured in several countries of the Middle East and eventually having realized an office building in Abu Dhabi. My practice ONL [Oosterhuis_Lenard], which I run together with my wife and business partner visual artist Ilona Lenard, proposed a number of iconic architectural proposals for hotels and office towers, and was eventually awarded some prestigious commissions for master planning projects: the redevelopment of Manhal Palace, the residence of previous ruler Sheik Zayed in Abu Dhabi. Our continuous efforts to contribute to the building market in the UAE culminated in our realized design for Mr Abdullah Al Nasser, the LIWA tower in Abu Dhabi [2014]. I Joined the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning [DAUP] at Qatar University in September 201

Simply complex, toward a new kind of building

The world around us is evolving. We are living inside evolution. As a practicing architect I find nothing more natural than to look around me and implement relevant changes into my own profession. Taking this seriously means implementing new digital technologies in the very fabric of design methods, from the first conceptual thought and from the first accurately described design proposal. Mass production is soon to be overhauled by the principles of customization, in the form of both industrial mass customization and in the form of distributed small scale household fabrication. Customization, which is the modern made to measure, will change architecture from its very foundations. A completely new esthetic will be the natural outcome of the digital parametric design process that connects the file to factory CNC production methods— a new kind of beauty for a new kind of building. Complexity based on simple rules characterizes the dramatic paradigm shift from mass production to customization. The new kind of building is complex yet systemic in its design method. The new kind of building dramatically enhances the potential of todays architectural expression while keeping strict control on its data, including costs. Truly nonstandard architecture is cost-effective and simply complex

Ipercorpi, Verso un'architettura e-motiva

Collana "IT Revolution in Architecture

Participator, A Participatory Urban Design Instrument

A point cloud of reference points forms the programmable basis of a new method of urban and architectural modeling. Points in space from the smallest identifiable units that are informed to communicate with each other to form complex data structures. The data are visualized as spatial voxels [3d pixels] as to represent spaces and volumes that maintain their mutual relationships under varying circumstances. The subsequent steps in the development from point cloud to the multimodal urban strategy are driven by variable local and global parameters. Step by step new and more detailed actors are introduced in the serious design game. Values feeding the voxel units may be fixed, variables based on experience, or randomly generated. The target value may be fixed or kept open. Using lines or curves and groups of points from the original large along the X, Y and Z-axes organized crystalline set of points are selected to form the shape of actual working space. The concept of radical multimodality at the level of the smallest grain requires that at each stage in the design game individual units are addressed as to adopt a unique function during a unique amount of time. Each unit may be a home, a workplace, a workshop, a shop, a lounge area, a school, a garden or just an empty voxel anytime and anywhere in the selected working space. The concept of multimodality [MANIC, K Oosterhuis, 2018] is taken to its extreme as to stimulate the development of diversity over time and in its spatial arrangement. The programmable framework for urban multimodality acknowledges the rise and shine of the new international citizen, who travels the world, lives nowhere and everywhere, inhabits places and spaces for ultrashort, shorter or longer periods of time, lives her/his life as a new nomad [New Babylon, Constant Nieuwenhuys, 1958]. The new nomad lives on her/his own or in groups of like-minded people, effectuated by setting preferences and choices being made via the ubiquitous multimodality app, which organizes the unfolding of her / his life. In the serious design game nomadic life is facilitated by real time activation of a complex set of programmable monads. Playing and further developing the design journey was executed in 4 workshop sessions with different professional stakeholders, architects, engineers, entrepreneurs and project developers

Interactive infrastructures—distributed interfaces for the built environment

An interactive infrastructure allows users to have access to the parameters of a building in real time, potentially leading to an increased productivity, lowering of energy and material consumption, and generally greater user satisfaction and experience. The aims of this research are to investigate and design new ways for interacting with the infrastructure of buildings, and to research and develop the basis for an interactive infrastructure communication language which enables the distributed elements of the infrastructure to communicate with each other and with the users. The effectiveness of infrastructure in buildings can be significantly improved with this approac