Mousque

Competition Project: Parametric Approach

Islamic art represents one of the oldest art forms, its history and legacy reaches far back histories and yet it still relevant in contemporary works and is full of untapped potentials. Geometric patterns make up one of the three non-figural types in Islamic art. Using contemporary modes of computation; such as scripting and free form modelling allows us to depart from conventional typologies of Islamic domes. Fabrication techniques for prototypes such as 3d printing, 3d milling and laser cutting, along with innovative use of emerging and existing materials, gives us the freedom to extend the existing boundaries and hopefully lead to new typologies in Islamic domes.

By using computational mode was generated from 4 sided Polygons which is one of the fundamental components of the traditional Islamic geometries. It departs from the existing typologies by using the same base geometries but differentiating the combination and duplication order. This method enables us to achieve novel geometrical organizations, yet remain culturally rooted. Our current fabrication technique allows for a great range of flexibility.

The project is a proposal for Mosque which explore the emergent qualities derived from surfaces modulation in an intensive fields, aiming to equilibrium states of program, structure and function through morphodynamical processes.

At a global scale the system explore how the modulation of isosurfaces, based on intensive field from site analysis data, can achieve highly differentiated spaces and performative structures.

The project uses a generative methodology to test multiple solutions based on the same process from which was selected the one that represent the best compromise between structural performance, program and connections.

Form, structure, function and decoration are emergent qualities of the same coherent system strictly related to his environment. 

For 3D Navigation: please visit this link:  http://sketchfab.com/nl4j3g2fe1

For Movie Animation: please visit this link:  https://vimeo.com/76736599

Mutant Block Aggregation

Parametric Wall

"Mutations are the basic elements by which evolutionary processes can take place."

"Parametric design is the first step to understand that changes, variations and information are the worlds foundations and matter properties, that will bring your mind to the doorstep of the boundless land of complexity."

As a means to get things started, I am posting an early parametric project that was designed for a gallery installation at the School. Using block surfaces, I developed a wall in which each part would be specific to its location in the assembly. Each block could work to brace one another, giving the system an accumulated rigidity.

Another key aspect of this research is in the investigation of material efficient form that can be completely nested on a clay or gips material. While this project is not zero waste, one can see the potential of such forms from a flat sheet.

The Parametric Walls project involves accumulating networks of simplified geometrical parts into larger useful whole masses. In this example, for a retaining wall system, Unit is designed to precisely interlock with its neighbor, allowing for a wall that curves in both plan and section, and therefore allows for a more precise distribution of weight and force both laterally and vertically. The primary intended uses for this particular system are as retaining walls for soil as well as strategic break-walls for tides and coastal wave surges. 

The parametric wall system generates units geometry, subtracts material overlaps, and organizes stacking of customized bricks to offset horizontal loading pattern. Parawall requires less vertical load than typical retaining wall systems, and produces a more strategically calculated "lean" efficient, which better offsets soil pressure on retention side.

The model is 3d computerized-made by Rhinoceros and Grasshopper.

For 3D navigation; please visit this link:  http://sketchfab.com/nlj3h2e1

Mutant Aggregation #00

Brick-laying robot sculpts 'Fireplace' without mortar "No  Mortar"
One of the oldest green building materials known to humankind, bricks have great thermal mass and last almost forever. But laying them takes skill, and complex forms and shapes are hard to design and build. Unusually, today we happened upon a story about bricks that doesn't involve Lego. Reassuringly, it still involves robots. It have re-purpose an industrial robot to create an intricate clay brick sculpture. The accuracy that will afforded by industrial robotics enables the placement and structure of the bricks themselves to create a sculpture that "lifts off the ground" without the use of mortar. Presents a digitally generated and fabricated wall consisting of clay bricks.

Using a modular unit of the masonry brick that developed a systematic aggregation creating a curved wall that inspired by Dome. The wall’s double layered running bond varies from a straight line to a maximum undulation, which creates an inhabitable space "Fireplace".

The emerging space and pattern is the resultant of a set of principles (algorithms) applied to a simple rectangular brick module, taking into account its material and technical parameters. The scale, precision, and vast number of units of the final design scheme necessitated an automated process based on script and robotic construction. A feat impossible to achieve by human hand due to the labor-intensive, precise nature of the task.

The approach that has been taken with this “Fireplace gathering” which includes the task and the robot, as well as the finished sculpture, in the work of art. It's about time robots were acknowledged for their tireless efforts. It's becoming quite the artist.

The Project is the outcome of a synthesis of computer generated design and computer aided construction research.

Going beyond the model scale, and planing to work with the Robotic arm set up new design challenges which were tightly linked to the construction techniques, material constraints, and structural limitations encountered in full scale building modus.

Ultimately the design manifests the performative potential of bricks, expressed through the wall’s curvature and porosity as it affects the acoustic and visual qualities of the wall-space created. Using digital technology these affects were pushed to a new extreme. Overall the project hopes to highlight the potential of digital fabrication techniques and the role these have in the education of architects.

For 3D Navigation: please visit this link:  http://sketchfab.com/nmkj3h10a

Mutant Aggregation Thesis "No Furniture"

Portable Fireplace Couch

There seem to be so many ways to want to sit or lie down that no couch, chair or bench design could possibly accommodate them all, right? Well, this industrious and dedicated pair of designers and artists set out to prove that theory wrong with Sitscape, a custom seating solution that combines elements of rigorous scientific analysis with creative design synthesis.

The sinuous shape of the “Portable Fireplace Couch” has been inspired by natural rock formations shaped by erosion: the application of subtractive processes that carve solid matter. The resulting formal language gives the piece increased ergonomic properties without compromising the design’s proportion; translating into a concept that allows for multiple seating layouts. The carved profile incorporates deep backrests and generous undercuts for unrivaled comfort. 

Using an almost architectural approach to this furniture design problem, the pair started by mapping out the various possible configurations for and needs of the users, balancing the results in a functional-but-stylized way in three dimensions. The result: a creative and complex form that is both artistic and usable, conforming to different basic sitting and laying positions but also unique in shape and form.

Laying emphasis on modern aesthetics, it has basic premises as an object that tumbles to attain multiple orientations to blur the qualification plans and sections. It tumbles and changes orientation and can flip to many different stances. What is a building that can tumble freely without gravity or fixed orientations, this installation is a freestanding furniture that questions projection, inside/outside, rigidity/fluidity and size/scale. It's a flippable object, able to be tilted and set on any side, offering a place to sit in any orientation. Perfectly inhabiting the otherwise inexact and under-explored midspace between architecture and an outside fireplace or couch or grill.

At first glance, the “Portable Fireplace Couch” left me flummoxed since no conventional label can be applied to it. A sculpture, a bench, or a UFO are only some of the images that popped up into my head. However further exploration makes it clear it is open to interpretation. It also illustrates how it can to pushing design boundaries that yield a more futuristic result.

In fact, the sight of this thing looming all alone in a free landscape or garden park makes it seem more powerful than it really is, I'd suggest, as it appears, in many ways, to invalidate the boundaries around it. This variation allows Portable Fireplace Couch to reposition incessantly and becomes spatially and materially coextensive with the fireplace and couch itself.

There are more illustrations showing the spatial object being flipped, as the following, truncated sequence demonstrates and the diagrams reveal the variety of facets the object requires.

But it would also be interesting, given more time, to see many more spatial variations on the same basic idea, but also to explore the effect of different materials, finishes, and colors. You select the geometry, the interior, the upholstery—maybe even small, medium, or large—and soon enough your very own piece, ready for assembly.

It’s the surprise factor combined with a design autonomy that makes this product so noteworthy. This foresight necessitates working towards the ‘No Furniture’ concept where perception and convergence usurp the humdrum rhythm of urban life.