Entropic and organic structures by François Roche

François Roche was born in 1961 in Paris,. He obtained his architecture degree from UPA n° 3 in Versailles in 1987. His partner Stéphanie Lavaux was born in 1966 in La Réunion, and she left the French National Fine Arts Schooll (ENSBA) in 1990.
The exipbition catalogue explained that “The architecture of R&Sie François Roche/ Stéphanie Lavaux is inseperable from the environment; one might speak of a kind of furtive architecture. In his projects François Roche attempts to refrain from radically modifying the territory,sseking a form of a dialogue with it that is entropic and organic. He is currently undertaking a critical experiment with new morphing technologies to prompt architectural “scenarios” of cartographic distortion, substituition, and territorial mutations.
Although R&Sie has not done much sctual building until now, their ideas and influence have been of considerable importance.

R&Sie architects: http://www.new-territories.com/

1. “Terra Incognita”

One of their latest work is called “Terra Incognita”.
http://www.new-territories.com/terraincognita2.htm

HOW FLATNESS IS REVERSABLE / Terra incognita is an island which only recently appeared in the Antarctic continent, as a result of climatic global warming and the subsequent merging of ices. Here, the ice white albino penguin can be also be found. Their differences of color produce their rejection from the penguin colony. In the icy winter wind, their loneliness become the main factor of their progressive freezing and their upredictable death.
In their homepage…. They state that
“Our installation unfolded as a series of surfaces on 200m2 , made from honeycomb aluminium. Its form was generated using a parametric script, and was manufactured by controlling milling water jets through the computational script. The single surface was then stretched and sheared by counterweights consisting of different volumes of water that represent different volumes of melted Antarctic ice. Amidst this unstable balance stood a robotic albino penguin whose only gesture was the occasional blinking of an eyelid. More the water in the counter balances is evaporating itself in the climate condition of the indoor Museum, more the artificial and aluminium island is re-defining its own flatness.

This process is talking about the instability, indeterminism of the biotopes. It's talking how the the warming of the climate is deeply introducing conditions of uncertainty ness.
The Odyssey is the story in three steps ;
- the report on the real situation of Antarctica
- the scanning of the territories emerging from the melting of the snow
- a re-development of the process of instability in two place / the Tate and the Mam”

Click here in order to see the movie done on this project:
http://www.new-territories.com/terra%20essai%208.mov

2.“I have heard about

“I have heard about…”is considered to be a flat, fat, urban growing experiment.
http://www.new-territories.com/I

R&Sie state that “I’ve heard about something that builds up only through multiple, heterogeneous and contradictory scenarios, something that rejects even the idea of a possible prediction about its form of growth or future typology.
Something shapeless grafted onto existing tissue, something that needs no vanishing point to justify itself but instead welcomes a quivering existence immersed in a real-time vibratory state, here and now.
Tangled, intertwined, it seems to be a city, or rather a fragment of a city.
Its inhabitants are immunized because they are both vectors and protectors of this complexity.
The multiplicity of its interwoven experiences and forms is matched by the apparent simplicity of its mechanisms.
The urban form no longer depends on the arbitrary decisions or control over its emergence exercised by a few, but rather the ensemble of its individual contingencies. It simultaneously subsumes premises, consequences and the ensemble of induced perturbations, in a ceaseless interaction. Its laws are consubstantial with the place itself, with no work of memory.
Many different stimuli have contributed to the emergence of “I’ve heard about,” and they are continually reloaded. Its existence is inextricably linked to the end of the grand narratives, the objective recognition of climatic changes, a suspicion of all morality (even ecological), to the vibration of social phenomena and the urgent need to renew the democratic mechanisms. Fiction is its reality principle: What you have before your eyes conforms to the truth of the urban condition of “I’ve heard about”.
What moral law or social contract could extract us from this reality, prevent us from living there or protect us from it? No, the residence protocol of “I’ve heard about” cannot cancel the risk of being in this world. The inhabitants draw sustenance from the present, with no time lag. The form of the territorial structure draws its sustenance directly from the present time.

Made of invaginations and knotted geometries, life forms are embedded within it. Its growth is artificial and synthetic, owing nothing to chaos and the formlessness of nature. It is based on very real processes that generate the raw materials and operating modes of its evolution.
The public sphere is everywhere, like a pulsating organism driven by postulates that are mutually contradictory and nonetheless true. The rumours and scenarios that carry the seeds of its future mutations negotiate with the vibratory time of new territories.
It is impossible to name all the elements “I’ve heard about” comprises or to perceive it in its totality, because it belongs to the many, the multitude. Only fragments can be extracted from it.
The world is terrifying when it’s intelligible, when it clings to some semblance of predictability, when it seeks to preserve a false coherence. In “I’ve heard about,” it is what is not there that defines it, that guarantees its readability, its social and territorial fragility and its indetermination.”

In order to see the movie done by R&Sie on this project click here:
http://www.new-territories.com/videos/film_robot/film_robot.htm

Gehry Production House

The Gehry Technologies is a consulting group composed of architects and engineers, experienced over the years for advanced geometric constructability and construction processes gained across a wide range of projects at all stages of development, from schematic design through engineering and construction administration. It provides knowledge required to make the application of advanced Digital Project tools and integrated process methodologies for the architectural projects and construction.

Design Processes

Parametric Design: The design processes of the Gehry technologies start from the digitizing the design concepts and making parametric models for the same. Digital Project is built on Dassault Systèmes parametric-associative V5 design technology. These models can be reconfigured as per requirements and can be modified at various stages of the growth of the design configuration. The design issues are carefully handled as at no stage the conversion from informal design inputs to the formal outcome is the main idea is compromised. The parametric models are efficient in their data structure which are the outcome of a systematic approach and can also provide turnkey model solutions directly to the client.








Geometry Solutions: The complex geometries and non linearity are the components of the architecture of the digital age. And to formally put forward the geometrical expression which clearly states the design intentions and analyses is the primary prerogative for the successful completion of the project. Developing geometric solutions for designs, both as pre-rationalized geometric system and the post-rationalization of complex designs into constructible form are the underlying principles of these solutions and how these vary between different projects makes the task a little less normal.









Constructability Assessment: The process of fabrication of the complex geometries precisely for the construction process is a tedious job. For this the constructability assessment deals with the analyses, reports and information about the constructional components of the project so that the design solutions can be realized with in the project parameters. Materials, formwork, design complexities and fabrication processes are looked into with critical guidance for the projects’ achievement.









Visualization and Simulation : 3D visualization of the project at various stages of construction and design act as a guiding tool for design managers and engineers on site.

Construction Simulation: A wide variety of building process (4D) simulation techniques, including construction sequencing and assembly make the construction process easier.
Visualization: Rendering, fly-through animation and other visual representation support is available as a service to end-user and project teams.
Visual Analysis: These are techniques such as Clash Detection and Dynamic Sectioning which allow users to systematically analyze, coordinate and track the resolution of design conflicts.









Kowledge Capture : is the process of capturing the trends and patterns for automation, repetition or customized development of reusable components ranging from schematic to very detailed design components. This helps in increasing the efficiency of the projects. Optimization helps bringing the costs of the project down.










Tools Development (R&D): As the project goes on the need for specific software tools such as macros, plugins are needed on top of the existing tools for a particular operation. This could vary from special modeling, analysis, project automation or data interoperability tools. This acts as an automatic research and development exercise which gives you the edge over others and helps to perform tasks better. Collaboration with experts from the software fields makes this a bilateral process leading to better tools.




www.gehrytechnologies.com

Architects on EBay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Information age has impacted every aspect of design. Not only has it changed design processes and design economies but it has also widened the scope of people along the design group. CAD software has given helped people to interact better in terms of distinct design environments and now designers are no longer the select group but other professionals from various fields are also collaborating handsomely in the efforts. These new processes are instrumental in working out various design solutions and options making the inputs more efficient and creating an intelligent environment that can guide and inform the design process. And due to these innovations the customers are also being given a say in the outcome of the product. CAD and CAM systems enable design by consumers. This enables the customers to interact and also take part in the manufacturing process and also alter the core product.

Mass Customization in architecture hasn’t been that prolific (thank god!!!) as compared to other fields. Buildings are more complex structures and customization can only occur at a very in tangible scale. The components of buildings such as glazing, doors, closets etc. are some examples that have been made to order. A popular example of mass customization in architecture is the Skylights from AGC, Waterboro. It has an object-oriented design approach to designing and manufacturing custom skylights. It allows technicians to import geometry generated by the architects, build upon this model, and generate a complete model of the skylight or curtain-wall parametrically in 3D.
The same model, after several post-processing steps, is used directly for computer numerical control (CNC) manufacturing of frame members and for the CNC cutting of custom glass sheets. Builders and individual homeowners can now also design their own glazings by giving parameters online.

But the question now arises till what point does mass customization let the users or consumers make design decisions. Mass customization could change the way designers design, as specific inputs will have to be put in for it to function as a custom made product. Mass customization in architecture is finding its ground but it will be kept to a very limited scale. Architects wont be too happy to see people changing the way he or she perceived the building. Modern era was the age for prototyping buildings, but in the age of digital technologies it will be more related to for e.g. Gehryism : making structural members of various on going Gehry design projects and making new design solutions out of those only. And where different elements of design could form a part of an architects vocabulary and be used only in his design solutions: could be called copyrighted customization where the designer has the final say. Otherwise it wont be too long before architects are found listed on EBay.

http://www.architectureweek.com/2005/0420/tools_2-2.html
http://www.architectureweek.com/cgi-bin/wlk?http://www.archsky.com

Constructive Materialism

Furniture constructed with plastic made from recycled, pirated CDs. Translucent, yet insulated, skylights made from featherweight gel. These are some examples of how the world around us is changing with the influx of the new made with the old. The best part of it all is that half the time we re not even aware of it.

Technological advancement and productivity has reached high levels of both quality and quantity. Aerogel, memory foam, and whatnot were developed by NASA and the military in the 1960s and are just hitting the market now. The materials industry is a moving target. That it's trendy to look at new materials now means that there is a lot of creativity, and the creative spirit is fueling advances in material science.

The remarkable installation “Curious Implantation” by Nicole Knauer exibited in October 2005 in the KunstRaum Goethestrasse in Linz, Austria is an example of how to reinvent. In her latest installation “Curious Implantation” she has designed an artistic landscape made of synthetic cable ties that she has combined in a quite personal way to create manually a 50 qm sculpture.
The material used in the installation can be regarded as a metaphor for the sphere between reality and absurdity. Her aim was to use synthetic waste products in a different way than its original intend.

Curious Implantation

Architectural Domain has its share of turbulence. Some very eco friendly and smart materials have also entered the profession. While definitions as to smartness abound, the most generalized one is that smart materials are transformative. The transformation may be within the material itself, as in one of its properties or its physical state, or the material could be the vehicle to transform other things, such as energy forms or the surrounding environment.

The most exemplary eco friendly material which is fast catching up is the miracle polymer or Ethylene tetra flouro ethylene.

(http://www2.dupont.com/Products/en_RU/Tefzel_ETFE_fluoropolymer_resin_en.html)This wonder polymer, a transparent plastic related to Teflon, is replacing glass and plastic in some of the most innovative buildings being designed and constructed today. Its selling points? Compared to glass, it’s 1% the weight, transmits more light, is a better insulator, and costs 24% to 70% less to install. It’s also resilient (able to bear 400 times its own weight, with an estimated 50-year life-span), self-cleaning (dirt slides off its nonstick surface), and recyclable.

Earthpark, 2010

Earthpark : The Earthpark project in Pella, Iowa, is an American-style Eden Project from the original Eden designers, Grimshaw Architects. ETFE will be used for the roof of this massive indoor rainforest biodome, which will house three Amazonian climates on 70 acres. ETFE’s natural insulating properties considerably enhance the project’s green factor, too.

Eden Project, 2001

Eden project : These enormous geodesic-domed greenhouses, part of an environmental complex in Cornwall, England, were originally supposed to be made of glass. But ETFE gave designers Grimshaw Architects a flexible, lightweight, and durable alternative. The result? An environment capable of housing plant species from around the world in tropical rainforest- and Mediterranean-style climates. At 323,000 square feet Eden was, at the time, the world’s largest ETFE project and remains a defining image of ETFE architecture.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/eden3.htm

Nanotechnology may Speed up internet.

As we move into the future materialism is going to effect the way we perceive architecture and the world. Scientists want to make programmable material the next big evolution. How would it feel to change a material by giving it parameters as per your liking. Nanotechnology although not new to the world also has its fair chance of making it big. The high speed internet transmission are one of the most promising projects which could benefit from nanotechnology (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/08/0819_040819_nanointernet.html ). Researchers have devised a new material which is a polmer of carbon. It could create optical switches to replace electronic network switches leading to an internet completely based on light.

All in all it’s a never ending process of evolution and change, but how we manage it without hampering our already degraded environment should be our primary concern.

The FORM of the inFORMation age.

Complex Geometries and forms have always been a part of the living world. As we moved ahead generation by generation technology and its use in our lives grew stronger, from birth to death and even in design methods and techniques.

The information age has taken over and brought along various challenges. From conceptualising to modelling, and then developing and constructing them has its own levels of difficulty. But the breed of architecture of digitally driven processes and fabrication gives birth to highly dynamic transformations, geometries and structures.

New possibilities in computing technology are gradually advancing the architectural planning process. Boldly curving, graceful and futuristic buildings, such as Frank O. Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, or Bernhard Franken’s BMW Bubble for the IAA 1999 were regarded until recently as unrealizable. The planning process as well as production of
these freely – formed bodies demand from all involved a new approach to working one that departs radically from the old-on-stone production method.

The innovations start at the design process. Frank O. Gehry saw his forms first produced as traditional handmade models, which were then digitized by 3D scan; thus the computer-supported planning process began for Gehry after considering the form. Bernhard Franken, the architect for the BMW Bubble, 1999, and the BMW Dynaform for the IAA 2001, first produced on initial geometry using a computer-controlled design method which determined the final form for the entire building. He then used software uncommon to the architectural field, to assist in the design. The digital workflow not only redefined the working method of the planning team but also gave a new interpretation to the rolls of the architects and engineers.

To conclude, complex geometries and dynaform were and are a part of our past and future and their transition through time is the most remarkable feature of their existence.