Erin Fuller LookingOutwards-03

Image result for ICD/ITKE Research Pavilion 2013/14 at the Design Society
ICD ITKE Research Pavilion 2013-14

This Research Pavilion, 2013 – 14, was created by the Institute for Computational Design (ICD) and the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE) of the University of Stuttgart. The main goal of this structure was to continue to investigate in bionic research. The design of the structure was generated by algorithms meant to mimic the natural strength of the fiber composition of shells and exoskeletons. The students and researchers translated this to human scale installation by using lightweight fiberglass strings, taking place of natural fibers in cytoskeletons, wound around a steel frame.

I like this project because it is not only beautiful, but it shows a new path for architectural construction –  by bringing nature back into the design rather than creating the orthogonal structures we live in every day.

Jonathan Liang – Looking Outwards – 03

flowers of computation?

 

This is a work by Benjamin Dillenburger called Rocailles. Professor Dillenburger is a professor of architecture at the University of Toronto. What I find amazing about this work (and other Dillenburger works as well) is how it uses parametricism to generate beautiful sculptures. What I also admire about many of Dillenburger’s works is that they look that they are incredibly random, but have a computational formula behind how the forms are constructed. As an architecture student, I am pretty familiar with parametricism because it is now part of our core curriculum in school. Architecture now is turning to parametricism and computational design for housing units and designing buildings that can be integrated and be built by robotics. I have never been a big fan of computational design in architecture, but I love computational design when it comes to sculptures, installations, pavilions, and smaller scale works in general.

http://benjamin-dillenburger.com/projects/

 

Sarah Yae Looking Outwards 3

The Bubble Palace designed by architect Antti Lovag and commissioned by industrialist Pierre Bernard,  is located on the French Rivera. This was completed in 1989. If one were to step inside this home, he would find tubular halls and round windows. I admire this project in that it broke free from the concept that structures have to be made out of hard lines and rectangles. By incorporating round shapes and circles, this house no longer feels like an average home, but a house one would see in a cartoon. A globular structure allows this home to feel a bit more enticing, as well as evocative.

A back view of the the Bubble Palace– it has a magical feel!

For more information about the Bubble Palace, please check: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/most-beautiful-buildings-inspired-by-bubbles

 

Eliza Pratt – Looking Outwards 03

Elona Van Gent’s sculpture featured in Out of Hand , a NYC exhibit on “Materializing the Postdigital”

Elona Van Gent’s 3D printed sculpture, Wheelclawsteeth, demonstrates how digital fabrication can be used to create works that replicate naturally occurring or handmade forms. With the use of a Laminated Object Manufacturing machine (or LOM), Elona crafts “alluring and discomforting creatures” with laser-cut paper. Not only do I find her work captivating in a Guillermo-del-Toro-like fashion, but I deeply admire Van Gent’s ability to push the boundaries of computer generated sculptures to create work that could not exist in an art world void of technological advancements. By developing sculptures that appear naturally grotesque with the use of machinery, Elona challenges the existing polarity between digital fabrication and traditional sculpture. I find this to be a commendable objective in a climate where computer generative art is regarded as separate and distinctive from hand-crafted sculptures and installations.

Rachel Lee-Looking Outwards-03

Living Mushtari by MIT Media Lab Mediated Matter Group, 2015.

The project that I have decided to focus on is Living Mushtari by the MIT Media Lab. While I was first drawn to this project because of the beauty of the generated wearable factory, what I admire the most about this project is how the team who created this project were able to harness biological processes and adapt them for greater human use in a non destructive/ obstructive way. While throughout history humans have not hesitated to destroy for personal gain, Living Mushtari allows for existing biological structures to take place naturally and respects its processes. This project was created using generative growth algorithms that mimic patterns in biological growth, and produce recursive forms over time. The products of such algorithms are useful materials such as pigments and drugs that are a product of microbial symbiosis. While this project serves a practical purpose, the creator’s artistic sensibilities are showcased as the wearable forms are produced in a way that reflect symmetry and conform to the shape of the wearer’s body, as well as highlight the detailed bacterial channels via colors and transparency.

Elena Deng-Looking Outwards-03

The project I’m analyzing is Polymorph by Jenny Sabin. I admire the details within the structure as well as the simplicity of color. Through the use of generative computer concepts, she was able to create a format for the arrangement of various ceramic units. Based purely on the appearance, it reminds of me of the inner biological makings of a human body, however she refers to it as “feedback derived from material constraints.”
Judging by the appearance of the project, I can assume that the project was made using a mold in order to create the textured ceramic finish of the sculpture. I don’t know how she was able to get the shape, however in her overview of the project she states she used novel applications of ceramic components in order to create a 3D prototype. The final product shows the artists sense of simplicity as well as craftsmanship that was able to be manifested through computer aided technology.

Polymorph by Jenny Sabin

(Didn’t know about applied algorithms)

KadeStewart-LookingOutwards-03

Physical representations of different data sets by the Mediated Matter group

One of the projects being completed by the Mediated Matter group at MIT involves converting data sets into physical, 3-dimensional forms. This allows a person to utilize both visual and spatial perception skills to better understand the data being represented. Data visualization can be both interesting and informative in 2D, but bringing it to life via a new type of 3D printing is impressive and possibly a big leap forward for academics.

The special “algorithm” here is not as much digital as it is physical – the printing process involves different materials that are printed in “expected” places. This means that the physical manifestations of the data can have high accuracy of detail, especially in the color. This data-centered focus is important in that it makes us think about data in unique ways, something that I addressed in my last looking outwards post as both forward-thinking and effective.

Making Data Matter

Kevin Riordan-Looking Outwards-03

La Cage aux Folles, on display in Los Angeles since 2014.

This project is called “La Cage Aux Folles”, and was made by Warren Techentin Architecture (WTARCH) and placed in the courtyard gallery of Materials and Applications in Los Angeles, California. It was made in 2014, and was designed to be like a combination between a Mongolian yurt and a cage. It uses generative algorithms with linear elements and parametric surfaces to figure out where to bend the pipes, which create an extremely stable structure. I looked for what exactly generative algorithms were, but could not find much information. The creator’s artistic sensibilities are present in the final form, as flow was a major consideration when designing the structure, and it is very appealing to look at. I admire how foreign it looks, and how it’s use is for habituation but looks like a sculpture, not like something meant to withstand any force. The fact it is so strong is remarkable, and I think digital fabrication is what allowed something so pretty to also be so structurally sound.

Aerial view, showing how a person can easily rest on the top.

Kevin Riordan Project-03-Dynamic-Drawing

kzr-project-03

/*Kevin Riordan
Section C
kzr@andrew.cmu.edu
project_03*/
var lineX=0;
var lineY=0;
var colorX=0;
var colorY=0;
var colorR=0;

function setup() {
    createCanvas(640,480);
}

function draw() {
    background(0);
    //gridlines
    for(var c=0; c<=640; c+=20) {
        strokeWeight(0.3);
        stroke(200);
        line(c,0,c,480);
        line(0,c,640,c);
    }
    //lines coming in from the edges from top and bottom
    for (lineX=0; lineX<=640; lineX+=60) {
        //varying the color based on where mouse is
        colorX=mouseX;
        colorX=constrain(mouseX,0,255);
        colorY=mouseY;
        colorY=constrain(mouseY,0,255);
        stroke(lineX/4,colorX,colorY);
        line(lineX,0,mouseX,mouseY);
        line(640-lineX,640,mouseX,mouseY);
    }
    //lines coming in from the edges from left and right
    for (lineY=0; lineY<=640; lineY+=60) {
        //varying the color based on where mouse is
        colorX=mouseX;
        colorX=constrain(mouseX,0,255);
        colorY=mouseY;
        colorY=constrain(mouseY,0,255);
        stroke(lineY/4,colorX,colorY);
        line(0,lineY,mouseX,mouseY);
        line(640,640-lineY,mouseX,mouseY);
    };
    //lines going out from center to positions around the mouse
    for (var a=50; a<=650; a+=50) {
        //varying the color based on where mouse is
        colorR=(mouseX+mouseY)/2;
        colorR=constrain(colorR,0,255);
        colorX=255-mouseX;
        colorX=constrain(mouseX,0,255);
        colorY=255-mouseY;
        colorY=constrain(mouseY,0,255);
        stroke(colorR,colorX,colorY);
        line(width/2,height/2,mouseX+a,mouseY-a);
        line(width/2,height/2,mouseX-a,mouseY-a);
        line(width/2,height/2,mouseX+a,mouseY+a);
        line(width/2,height/2,mouseX-a,mouseY+a);
    }
    //large circle made up of smaller circles at certain increments
    for(var b=0; b<=360; b+=5) {
        colorX=(mouseX+mouseY)/2;
        colorX=constrain(colorX,0,255);
        fill(0,colorX,colorX);
        push();
        translate(width/2,height/2);
        rotate(radians(b));
        //loop used for incrementing the larger circles
        for (var g=1; g<=40; g++) {
            ellipse(mouseX*g,mouseY*g,5*(g/2),5*(g/2));
            ellipse(mouseX/g,mouseY/g,5/g,5/g);
        }
        pop();
        //triangular grid-like lines around circles
        push();
        translate(width/2,height/2);
        rotate(radians(b*2));
        for (var h = 1; h<=40; h++) {
            triangle((mouseX+b)/h,(mouseY-b)/h,mouseX/h,mouseY/h,(mouseX-b)/h,(mouseY+b)/h);
            triangle((mouseX+b)*h,(mouseY-b)*h,mouseX*h,mouseY*h,(mouseX-b)*h,(mouseY+b)*h);
        }
        pop();
    }
    //rectangles in background over gridlines
    for(var d=20;d<=640;d+=40) {
        //two different loops because I wanted to adjust color and placement, probably unneccessary
        for(var e=0;e<=640;e+=40) {
            fill(0,colorX-20,colorY-20,40);
            rect(d,e,20,20);
            fill(colorX-30,colorY-30,colorX-50,10);
            rect(d+10,e,mouseX/10,mouseY/10);
        }
        for(var f=0;f<=640;f+=40) {
            fill(colorX-40,colorY-40,0,50);
            rect(d+10,f-10,20,20);
            fill(colorY-40,0,colorY-40,60);
            rect(d+30,f-10,20,20);
        }
    }
}

I started by making the gridlines, and then started using loops to put in shapes, changing the color and position based on where the mouse was. I originally made it 800×800, but changed it to 640×480 at the end.

Kevin Thies – Looking Outwards 03 – Parametric Digital Fabrication

Interior Render of the Morpheus at the City of Dreams Macau by ZHA

The Morpheus Hotel at the City of Dreams resort in Macau, China, was started in 2013 and finished earlier this year by Zaha Hadid Architects. It’s impressive seeing something so crazy and so obviously designed on a screen come to life. All of those slightly different pieces was fabricated and put into its very specific place. The project was likely made with a combination of Maya and Gehry Technology’s Digital Project modeling software, as director Patrik Schumacher released in an 2014 interview that those were what the company was using at the time. ZHA is well known for their use of parametric design, and this project is just taking that and heavily applying it to the overall facade and structure. Scale-wise that means there’s a lot of almost identical parts that each had to be custom made, something the 1.1 billion-dollar budget reflects.