New projects have been updated to the Biomimetics and Core Studio I pages. Check back for constant updates and follow the Emtech Studio on Facebook.
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AA Emtech Emergent Technologies & Design
Announcements
Frequently Asked Questions added to Emtech website
We’ll be constantly updating our FAQ‘s page throughout the year; please check back for updates!
Michael Weinstock appointed role at International Research Centre of Computational Design
Michael Weinstock has been appointed the Honorary Chief Academic Adviser to the new International Research Centre of Computational Design within Tsinghua University (THAD) Beijing in collaboration with The University of Hong Kong (DoA-HK). The new Institute will bring together advanced computational research and innovative practices from across the world, seizing the historical opportunities of current surging waves of construction and rapid urban development in Great China region.
Boot Camp Pages Updated
Last week saw the end of Boot Camp, a four-week course presenting a comprehensive introduction to the core skills and techniques in digital design and fabrication. Click here to see the latest projects.
Boot Camp is centered on the development of associative geometric models in Grasshopper, and the relations between digital morphogenesis and material realisation. Students become familiar with the necessary exchange of data between the digital and physical realm through the formalisation of the inherent geometric relationships in all different elements of the developed designs. The course is supplemented with regular tutorials on mathematics, and on the appropriate techniques for recording, describing and documenting digital and physical experiments. The Induction Studio concludes with fabricated and digitally modelled material systems that resolve problems of parametric control, material behaviour, structural integrity, tessellations of three dimensional components, precise dimensional control, programme and spatial organisation.
MSc Dissertations updated
We’ve updated the MSc Dissertations page with the recently submitted 2011/2012 MSc Dissertations. Last year’s dissertations, along with a selection of previous years can be found in the Dissertations archive. Congratulations to all graduating MSc’s!
Achim Menges Emtech Lecture on 1 November
We are pleased to have Achim Menges lecture at the AA on Thursday, 1 November as part of the Emtech Masterclass series. He will also join the Phase II MArch students in studio for tutorials following his lecture.
Coalescences of Machine and Material Computation
Both machinic processes operating in the binary realm of the digital, as well as material processes operating in the complex domain of the physical can be considered computational. While there is a strong bias towards the former in contemporary design, sporadic investigations of the later have also occurred in architecture. The lecture introduces Achim Menges’ exploration of the largely unexplored territory where machine computation and material computation potentially overlap, where they not simply co-exist but intensely interact in the design process. This research will be presented along a series of prototype buildings constructed at his Institute for Computational Design in Stuttgart.
Michael Weinstock Lecture at ELISAVA, Barcelona
Emtech Director Michael Weinstock will be lecturing at ELISAVA in Barcelona on Thursday, 18 October as part of the Integral Envelopes 2.0 Workshop led by ELISAVA’s Advanced Design and Digital Architecture Director Jordi Truco.
Emtech MSc Final Jury 20 September
The Emtech MSc Final Jury will take place in the Main Lecture Hall in 36 Bedford Square on Thursday 20 September beginning at 11 AM.
Our invited jurors include:
Francis Aish, Foster + Partners
Selim Bayer, Flat C
Jeroen Janssen, AKT II
Tom Lea, Amanda Levete Architects
Wolf Mangelsdorf, Buro Happold
Theo Spyropoulos, AA DRL
Jordi Truco, ELISAVA / HYBRIDa
Dissertation Proposals 2012
Adaptive Flux Morphologies
JAVIER A CARDÓS ELENA, DENNIS GOFF, GOLI JALALI, MARY POLITES
We aim to investigate programs that act as transportation nodes within a city that have been adapting to its changing architectural, cultural, environmental and economical landscape and propose a generative system that adapts to these parameters. The system will be tested in different settings within a particular urban context that will lead to different possible arrangements of the system where not only the functionality of the programmes, but also the relationship with or impact on the immediate environment determines the resulting design. The system will be parametrically defined, so that certain parameters may be weighted more heavily than others to produce different spatial, environmental, and programmatic conditions. It will not only aim to optimise itself structurally and spatially, but also to optimise its impact on its immediate urban context.
JAVIER A CARDÓS ELENA, DENNIS GOFF, GOLI JALALI, MARY POLITES
We aim to investigate programs that act as transportation nodes within a city that have been adapting to its changing architectural, cultural, environmental and economical landscape and propose a generative system that adapts to these parameters. The system will be tested in different settings within a particular urban context that will lead to different possible arrangements of the system where not only the functionality of the programmes, but also the relationship with or impact on the immediate environment determines the resulting design. The system will be parametrically defined, so that certain parameters may be weighted more heavily than others to produce different spatial, environmental, and programmatic conditions. It will not only aim to optimise itself structurally and spatially, but also to optimise its impact on its immediate urban context.
Through careful examination of case studies focused on developing cities and their unique morphologies, patterns of design strategies for adjusting to urban growth will be extracted. Analysis of an existing urban fabric through space syntax will serve as a basis for a generative computational system capable of addressing programmatic functions of transport centres as well as social, cultural, and environmental characteristics of its urban context. This system will have the potential to be applied to multiple scenarios within a city and develop different architectural conditions.
Adaptive Skins
PRADEEP DEVADASS, SUSHANT VERMA
This research aims to investigate and develop component-based building skin systems that can be retrofitted onto existing buildings, to bring about a change in the spatial quality and light response of the building.
The context for developing component-based light responsive material systems is New Delhi, India. The research is based on analysis of the current set of constructed and theoretical works in this domain, evaluating them with respect to their dependence on mechanical control and material intelligence. A noticeable gap in this domain lies in embedding intelligence in material systems. Dependency on mechanical control leads to energy inefficiency; this may be addressed by developing smarter material systems which can omit the use of a mechanical system, partially or completely. A focus will be on increasing the scope of usability of the currently developed materials in this field and their integration at an architectural scale. Another layer of the research will focus on adding novel spatial effects to preexisting architectural conditions.
PRADEEP DEVADASS, SUSHANT VERMA
This research aims to investigate and develop component-based building skin systems that can be retrofitted onto existing buildings, to bring about a change in the spatial quality and light response of the building.
The context for developing component-based light responsive material systems is New Delhi, India. The research is based on analysis of the current set of constructed and theoretical works in this domain, evaluating them with respect to their dependence on mechanical control and material intelligence. A noticeable gap in this domain lies in embedding intelligence in material systems. Dependency on mechanical control leads to energy inefficiency; this may be addressed by developing smarter material systems which can omit the use of a mechanical system, partially or completely. A focus will be on increasing the scope of usability of the currently developed materials in this field and their integration at an architectural scale. Another layer of the research will focus on adding novel spatial effects to preexisting architectural conditions.
Arboreal Formations
BARTEK ARENDT, CHRIS HILL, ELENI MELADAKI
The project aims to investigate the translation of complexity and interdependence in natural systems to create architecture which is highly efficient, environmentally specific and structurally coherent. Local architecture placed in continental climates will be studied to assess how building forms have evolved to manage their habitats. Founded on these studies, rules for environmentally defined architecture will be abstracted and applied to spatial organizations exploring the performance and quality of space.
Materiality is considered as an integral part of the system. Drawing upon organisational principles of natural systems, the concept of the “body plan” is introduced as a reciprocal relation between environmentally adaptive parameters and diagrammatic notions of spatial organization. Form is conceived as a manifestation of the “body plan” through the imposition of material constraints. This approach calls for a diverse material, where inherent properties can be applied as a gradient to functional, structural and physical requirements. Wood possess many unexplored potentials, such as anisotropic properties, which have not been explored at a scale larger than that of a pavilion. Sheet material will be explored through the use of digital fabrication techniques, establishing elements for assembly and minimising redundancy.
BARTEK ARENDT, CHRIS HILL, ELENI MELADAKI
The project aims to investigate the translation of complexity and interdependence in natural systems to create architecture which is highly efficient, environmentally specific and structurally coherent. Local architecture placed in continental climates will be studied to assess how building forms have evolved to manage their habitats. Founded on these studies, rules for environmentally defined architecture will be abstracted and applied to spatial organizations exploring the performance and quality of space.
Materiality is considered as an integral part of the system. Drawing upon organisational principles of natural systems, the concept of the “body plan” is introduced as a reciprocal relation between environmentally adaptive parameters and diagrammatic notions of spatial organization. Form is conceived as a manifestation of the “body plan” through the imposition of material constraints. This approach calls for a diverse material, where inherent properties can be applied as a gradient to functional, structural and physical requirements. Wood possess many unexplored potentials, such as anisotropic properties, which have not been explored at a scale larger than that of a pavilion. Sheet material will be explored through the use of digital fabrication techniques, establishing elements for assembly and minimising redundancy.
Breathing Aggregations
SEBASTIAAN LEENKNEGT, LEI LIU, AARATHI MURALIDHARAN
This dissertation aims to design a method to achieve architectural homeostasis, being the control of the internal climate (more specifically ventilation and thermoregulation). Of special interest in this process is the occupants collective behaviour, which we wish to embed in the interior spatial organisation. Therefore, the main topic of research is the architecture and behaviour of social insects, and their comparison to a set of relevant case studies. Parallel studies will look at the theory of collective, emergent intelligence. These principles will be translated into a set of rules governing a bottom-up generative process, the functioning of which will be constantly informed by environmental modelling analysis and the former biomimetic studies. The architectural aim is a series of designs at the scale of an open city block across different climatic regions.
SEBASTIAAN LEENKNEGT, LEI LIU, AARATHI MURALIDHARAN
This dissertation aims to design a method to achieve architectural homeostasis, being the control of the internal climate (more specifically ventilation and thermoregulation). Of special interest in this process is the occupants collective behaviour, which we wish to embed in the interior spatial organisation. Therefore, the main topic of research is the architecture and behaviour of social insects, and their comparison to a set of relevant case studies. Parallel studies will look at the theory of collective, emergent intelligence. These principles will be translated into a set of rules governing a bottom-up generative process, the functioning of which will be constantly informed by environmental modelling analysis and the former biomimetic studies. The architectural aim is a series of designs at the scale of an open city block across different climatic regions.
Cellular Complexity
KAIS AL-RAWI, MARIE BOLTENSTERN, JULIA KOERNER
This research investigates the potential of porous and cellular systems within an architectural context. The current application of such systems within architecture is limited to the abstraction of basic structure and aesthetics; often overlooking their efficient structural capabilities and passive performative qualities. The aim is to assimilate these qualities into a single façade system which dynamically responds to given environmental conditions. Conventional façades consist of several separate sub-systems, contradictory to how nature integrates material, form and structure. The ambition is to achieve a material efficient system with spatial and structural properties; which through evolutionary computation will result in the generation and evaluation of various morphologies. The digital fabrication of this system considers additive manufacturing, allowing for material efficient production of double-curved geometries within a differentiated component based system.
KAIS AL-RAWI, MARIE BOLTENSTERN, JULIA KOERNER
This research investigates the potential of porous and cellular systems within an architectural context. The current application of such systems within architecture is limited to the abstraction of basic structure and aesthetics; often overlooking their efficient structural capabilities and passive performative qualities. The aim is to assimilate these qualities into a single façade system which dynamically responds to given environmental conditions. Conventional façades consist of several separate sub-systems, contradictory to how nature integrates material, form and structure. The ambition is to achieve a material efficient system with spatial and structural properties; which through evolutionary computation will result in the generation and evaluation of various morphologies. The digital fabrication of this system considers additive manufacturing, allowing for material efficient production of double-curved geometries within a differentiated component based system.
Concre-textonics
SWAPNIL GAWANDE, SURAJ SUTHAR
The conventional methods of concrete casting have widely been restricted to the use of orthogonal framework which only creates rectangular prismatic geometries. This research investigates the potentials of concrete and fabric formwork to construct non-prismatic geometries generated using computational methods. Conventionally, building façades are largely treated as separate assemblies and their capacity to be embedded into the building’s structural logic is not explored. The aim is to develop a structural system which is integrated into the variable modular façade system and extends into the building envelop, creating spatial continuity with due considerations to the environmental factors present within the set context. The research will further investigate the design of a structural system, integrated with a variable modular façade system that extends into the interiors of the building within different floor levels, creating spatial continuity. The proposed form work system will be reusable and modular; one which is able to achieve control over casting complex geometries with concrete composites and achieving differential spatial configurations in the interiors. The design will be set in the context of tropical climatic conditions. Environmental factors of humidity, thermal insulation, solar angles and wind directions will be the core of the designing process. The environment responsive measures will help in optimizing the habitable situations with minimal use of mechanical ventilation systems.
SWAPNIL GAWANDE, SURAJ SUTHAR
The conventional methods of concrete casting have widely been restricted to the use of orthogonal framework which only creates rectangular prismatic geometries. This research investigates the potentials of concrete and fabric formwork to construct non-prismatic geometries generated using computational methods. Conventionally, building façades are largely treated as separate assemblies and their capacity to be embedded into the building’s structural logic is not explored. The aim is to develop a structural system which is integrated into the variable modular façade system and extends into the building envelop, creating spatial continuity with due considerations to the environmental factors present within the set context. The research will further investigate the design of a structural system, integrated with a variable modular façade system that extends into the interiors of the building within different floor levels, creating spatial continuity. The proposed form work system will be reusable and modular; one which is able to achieve control over casting complex geometries with concrete composites and achieving differential spatial configurations in the interiors. The design will be set in the context of tropical climatic conditions. Environmental factors of humidity, thermal insulation, solar angles and wind directions will be the core of the designing process. The environment responsive measures will help in optimizing the habitable situations with minimal use of mechanical ventilation systems.
Designed to Die
AMIN HASSANPOUR , FEDERICO MARTELLI, ANDRIANI SOUZOU
A material arrangement strategy is proposed that takes into account the passive process of decay that occurs in any building. A temporary structure is assembled and the rate of decay of the materials used is closely programmed from the onset.
The duration is defined according to site specific environmental conditions and programmatic use. Spatial conditions are defined and transformed through the life span of the structure. The main aim is to develop a strategy of material arrangements through which we can regulate the decay process. A consideration will be taken on how sections of the structure decay differently, in order to achieve a collaborative system. At the final stage of the structure we will either have a totally inactive system or we will reclaim and reuse certain components that have longer life. Through the life cycle of the structure spatial boundaries will be defined and transformed, resulting in temporary spatial effects and uses. These changes will depend on the exposure to certain climatic conditions, social interactions and programmatic use. We will also make tests to check the feasibility of intentionally infecting the system with chemicals or natural organisms as another method of time control.
AMIN HASSANPOUR , FEDERICO MARTELLI, ANDRIANI SOUZOU
A material arrangement strategy is proposed that takes into account the passive process of decay that occurs in any building. A temporary structure is assembled and the rate of decay of the materials used is closely programmed from the onset.
The duration is defined according to site specific environmental conditions and programmatic use. Spatial conditions are defined and transformed through the life span of the structure. The main aim is to develop a strategy of material arrangements through which we can regulate the decay process. A consideration will be taken on how sections of the structure decay differently, in order to achieve a collaborative system. At the final stage of the structure we will either have a totally inactive system or we will reclaim and reuse certain components that have longer life. Through the life cycle of the structure spatial boundaries will be defined and transformed, resulting in temporary spatial effects and uses. These changes will depend on the exposure to certain climatic conditions, social interactions and programmatic use. We will also make tests to check the feasibility of intentionally infecting the system with chemicals or natural organisms as another method of time control.
Eco-Morph
GUY AUSTERN, THEERAPAT JIRATHIYUT, SOUGMIN YU, MARA MORAL CORREA
In recent years, sustainable design methods have become a common paradigm in the building industry. According to research in the field of urban physics, unsuitable urban morphologies can double the energy consumption of urban tissue, yet they are rarely accounted for when designing large scale urban environments. This research aims to find a generative method of creating climatically responsive block scale urban environments that have a positive effect on their surroundings while functioning as energetically efficient buildings. An evaluation method will be developed to measure the performance of the building both in terms of use of energy and in terms of the effect on the surrounding tissue, in the framework of the local climate conditions. This method will serve as a fitness criteria for a genetic algorithm which will function on masses, relations and surfaces. The resulting geometry and materiality should perform better than ordinary urban fabric and will be evaluated using different simulation techniques in order to test its functionality. The aim of the research will be a tool that generates building geometry, materiality of built surfaces and masses of urban blocks. The building envelope as a part of this output will be optimised to achieve positive environmental effects such as providing thermal comfort for both internal and external spaces, and allowing the building to perform with low energy consumption rate within its context.
GUY AUSTERN, THEERAPAT JIRATHIYUT, SOUGMIN YU, MARA MORAL CORREA
In recent years, sustainable design methods have become a common paradigm in the building industry. According to research in the field of urban physics, unsuitable urban morphologies can double the energy consumption of urban tissue, yet they are rarely accounted for when designing large scale urban environments. This research aims to find a generative method of creating climatically responsive block scale urban environments that have a positive effect on their surroundings while functioning as energetically efficient buildings. An evaluation method will be developed to measure the performance of the building both in terms of use of energy and in terms of the effect on the surrounding tissue, in the framework of the local climate conditions. This method will serve as a fitness criteria for a genetic algorithm which will function on masses, relations and surfaces. The resulting geometry and materiality should perform better than ordinary urban fabric and will be evaluated using different simulation techniques in order to test its functionality. The aim of the research will be a tool that generates building geometry, materiality of built surfaces and masses of urban blocks. The building envelope as a part of this output will be optimised to achieve positive environmental effects such as providing thermal comfort for both internal and external spaces, and allowing the building to perform with low energy consumption rate within its context.
Integrated Infrastructures
LEMIRE ABDUL HALIM CHEHAB, MOHAMAD MAKKOUK FILIZ TOPTAN
This dissertation investigates a new model of urbanism, that considers the integration of multiple infrastructural elements in a highly dense environment. The simulation is designed and evaluated in a way that accommodates constant urban change and copes with the social evolution. The research will encompass biological systems that exhibit a certain degree of integration between constituents in order to ensure overall functional efficiency. The study is based on relevant existing research regarding the city as an organic process, going beyond conventional models of infrastructure to investigate the possibility of combining separated urban tissues. The architectural aim is to create a computational model of a dense city infrastructure with the aptitude to stitch disconnected spaces and grow in response to the site’s social and climatic conditions. The study of the infrastructural system is narrowed down to the scale of the block and superblock to recombine multiple social programming with large vehicular flows, pedestrian circulation as well as water bodies, public spaces and planted areas. The architecture of the project will express ways to shield and encapsulate urban zones near the axes of vehicular traffic, based on their conditions and spatial configuration. All in all, the research is guided towards the generation of a new city fabric that would allow the people to have better living urban conditions.
LEMIRE ABDUL HALIM CHEHAB, MOHAMAD MAKKOUK FILIZ TOPTAN
This dissertation investigates a new model of urbanism, that considers the integration of multiple infrastructural elements in a highly dense environment. The simulation is designed and evaluated in a way that accommodates constant urban change and copes with the social evolution. The research will encompass biological systems that exhibit a certain degree of integration between constituents in order to ensure overall functional efficiency. The study is based on relevant existing research regarding the city as an organic process, going beyond conventional models of infrastructure to investigate the possibility of combining separated urban tissues. The architectural aim is to create a computational model of a dense city infrastructure with the aptitude to stitch disconnected spaces and grow in response to the site’s social and climatic conditions. The study of the infrastructural system is narrowed down to the scale of the block and superblock to recombine multiple social programming with large vehicular flows, pedestrian circulation as well as water bodies, public spaces and planted areas. The architecture of the project will express ways to shield and encapsulate urban zones near the axes of vehicular traffic, based on their conditions and spatial configuration. All in all, the research is guided towards the generation of a new city fabric that would allow the people to have better living urban conditions.
Macroscale Self-Assembling System
MARINA KONSTANTATOU , CHUN-FENG LIU , VINCENZO REALE , GIANCARLO TORPIANO
Self-assembling mechanisms exist in abundance in nature, producing structures as distinct as crystals, proteins and tissue. Natural as well as artificial examples exist at the nano and micro scale, but have rarely been attempted at the macroscopic-scale. The first objective of the proposed study will be to explore the characteristics and applications of such systems, with their main properties being high levels of redundancy and behaviour which is intrinsically related to geometry and material. The second objective will be to investigate the issues of scalability which have limited former studies. A series of digital and physical (material and component based), prototype-systems (consisting of macroscopic-scale components) will be designed, based on notions abstracted from studied examples. The final objective will be to explore the possibility of designing a system, composed of macroscopic-scale units, that self-assembles (within a probabilistic reliable interval) into some form of structure at the architectural-scale. The logic developed could apply to a self-assembly casting system, where a minimum set of components along with a template system and a throwing sequence could be used in order to create a variety of structures and generate as well voids, where spaces are needed. Consequently, construction time, labour cost and specialization could be drastically decreased compared to already existing, conventional casting techniques.
MARINA KONSTANTATOU , CHUN-FENG LIU , VINCENZO REALE , GIANCARLO TORPIANO
Self-assembling mechanisms exist in abundance in nature, producing structures as distinct as crystals, proteins and tissue. Natural as well as artificial examples exist at the nano and micro scale, but have rarely been attempted at the macroscopic-scale. The first objective of the proposed study will be to explore the characteristics and applications of such systems, with their main properties being high levels of redundancy and behaviour which is intrinsically related to geometry and material. The second objective will be to investigate the issues of scalability which have limited former studies. A series of digital and physical (material and component based), prototype-systems (consisting of macroscopic-scale components) will be designed, based on notions abstracted from studied examples. The final objective will be to explore the possibility of designing a system, composed of macroscopic-scale units, that self-assembles (within a probabilistic reliable interval) into some form of structure at the architectural-scale. The logic developed could apply to a self-assembly casting system, where a minimum set of components along with a template system and a throwing sequence could be used in order to create a variety of structures and generate as well voids, where spaces are needed. Consequently, construction time, labour cost and specialization could be drastically decreased compared to already existing, conventional casting techniques.
Natural Thermo-Adaptive
JIE CHEN, YUNGYUAN HUANG
Currently passive ventilation systems focus mainly on how to drive external air flow through internal spaces, and how to adjust the specific rate of flow. However, the internal spatial configuration is normally neglected. As a result, internal air movement is distributed unequally in different locations, which leads to areas of varying comfort. Our aim is to investigate how the internal spatial configuration affects air flow, and to create a dynamic system where air flow is regulated within a defined comfort level throughout the entire indoor environment. Spatial organisations will be studied not only in order to accommodate architectural programmes but also as a tool for thermal comfort regulation. This system is dynamic and adaptive to the changing environment.
JIE CHEN, YUNGYUAN HUANG
Currently passive ventilation systems focus mainly on how to drive external air flow through internal spaces, and how to adjust the specific rate of flow. However, the internal spatial configuration is normally neglected. As a result, internal air movement is distributed unequally in different locations, which leads to areas of varying comfort. Our aim is to investigate how the internal spatial configuration affects air flow, and to create a dynamic system where air flow is regulated within a defined comfort level throughout the entire indoor environment. Spatial organisations will be studied not only in order to accommodate architectural programmes but also as a tool for thermal comfort regulation. This system is dynamic and adaptive to the changing environment.
Emtech Projects Review Exhibition
Projects Review opened on 22 June at the Architectural Association. Please visit the Emtech exhibition in the main exhibition gallery in 36 Bedford Square. Congratulations to all graduates, and to our current Phase II students for a fantastic exhibition!
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