KTH Workshop | February 22-26 2010, Stockholm / 2

I've just got back from an intense and productive week in KTH, Stockholm where i run a 4 days workshop together with Jugatx Ansotegui. Above some images of the work produced in 4 days by the 2nd year students. The intial studies based on the analysis and the development of design primitives were remarkably articulated and inspiring.
Special thanks to Daniel Norell (KTH), Andreas Falk (KTH) and Gunnar Tibert (KTH) for their support and for kindly attending the interim jury.

KTH Workshop | February 22-26 2010, Stockholm

Marco Vanucci together with Jugatx Ansotequi (AKT) will run a Digital Design workshop for first and second year students at KTH University, Stockholm from 22 until 26 of March. This year's brief is focused on the development of physical and digital techniques to implement the design of a temporary pavilion. A series of digital primitives and material techniques are used as seeds to implement the design work particular focused on the study of structural and assembly logics.
The workshop will keep running until the 5th of March and assessed by Prof.Hanif Kara.

Marco Vanucci interviewed at OpenThread Radio.

"Open Thread Limited is a London-based consultancy, which provides advisory services and technical facilitation to digital media companies. Its regular podcast about digital media's impact upon society is one way in which we disseminate their research output to a wider audience".

The episode entitled "Fame, Architecture and Web 2.0" examine how digital technologies are changing the role of architects and the nature of their work.

Special Thanks to: Sanderyn Amsberg, Rachal Bradley, Nicholas Hansen.

091215_Mesh SubDivision

"The climber of facades must make the best use of every ornament." Karl Kraus

Moving away from the description of nurb surfaces by mean of UV coordinates this experiment represent the possibility to use mesh planes and realtive vertices to extract points and apply Delaunay algorhythm. The input surface is therefore subdivided in a serie of planar triangles which form the base for the construction of the component geometry. The components are parametrically controlled by 6 points which define the triangular component, maximizing or minimazing their surface area.



























Above some images showing the build-up process:
-surface "occupation" with point cloud
-subsequent "connection" through triangulated mesh
-"population" process through planar components

Below the Grasshopper definition.

091027_Reciprocal Frames

A reciprocal frame is a class of self-supporting structure made of three on more beams and which requires no center support to create roofs, bridges or similar structures.A reciprocal roof is assembled by first installing a temporary central support that hold the first rafter at the correct height. The first rafter is fitted between the wall and the temporary central support and then further rafters are added, each resting on the last. The final rafter fits on top of the previous rafter and under the very first one. The rafters are then tied with wire before the temporary support is removed. The failure of a single element may lead to the failure of the whole structure. [wikipedia]























In this exercise i continue exploring the relationship between systems and (static or dinamic) equilibrium (homeostatic serie). Reciprocal frames are structures where internal equilibrium of parts provide overall stability to the structure. My exercise is limited in exploiting the geometrical arrangement of component parts without engaging (for now) with the problem of overall equilibrium.

Bologna, Italy Theory to Practice November 9th 2009
I'm glad to have been invited to (what i think) one of the best current design studio in Italy: Ar-ca3 at Bologna University, run by Alessio Erioli. My lecture is part of a very interesting lecture series taking place during the fall term. Here the website of the course, structured as a social network where one can also find useful tips and links.

MarcoVanucci / OPENSYSTEMS will give a lecture on Monday 9th of November

Invitation: Alessio Erioli (E-Cloud, CO-DE-IT)

AAST GH Workshop | October 15-16-17 2009, Turin

Turin, Italy AAST Grasshopper Workshop October 15-16-17 2009 Advance Architecture Settimo Tokyo: generative Architecture events in Settimo Torinese, promoted by CASARTARC settimo Torinese Association. AAST is a group of events intended to spread Generative Computational Design. AAST gives the opportunity to professionals and students to test a new approach to design, using innovative tools. The event will start an introduction course by Giulio Piacentini, McNeel / Italy. Link
Here the workshop Reader Link

Curators: Lorena Alessio, Andrea Graziano, Davide del Giudice
Art Director: Rosali Alessio

Marco Vanucci / OPENSYSTEMS together with Annarita Papeschi (Zaha Hadid Architects) will run a Grasshopper workshop entitled "Organizing Differences"

Kiev, Ukraine | CANactions Design Exhibition and Symposium | September 25-26th 2009
CANactions is an annual conference and exhibition of architectural visions and ideas tergeted at young architects and architectural students. The event is sponsored by DIA / Dessau Institute of Architecture - Germany. Here the very interesting list of partecipants link and the online exhibition link.

MarcoVanucci / OPENSYSTEMS will exhibit and give a lecture on Saturday26th of September

Guest Key Lectures:

- Prof. Alfred Jacoby, DIA / Germany
- Daniel Dendra, anOtherArchitect / Germany+ Russia
- Mark Fahlbusch, Bollinger + Grohmann / Germany
- Peter Ruge, Pysall + Ruge / Germany
- Robert Stuart Smith, Kokkugia / New York + London
- Shajay Bhooshan, Zaha Hadid Architects / London
- Theo Reitsema, Rijssen / Netherlands
- Vladimir Bondarenko, Kharkiv / Ukraine

Invitation: Daniel Dendra (anOtherArchitect)

090824_Diatoms

Diatoms (Greek: (dia) = "through" + (temnein) = "to cut", i.e., "cut in half") are a major group of eukaryotic algae, and are one of the most common types of phytoplankton. Most diatoms are unicellular, although they can exist as colonies in the shape of filaments or ribbons, fans, zigzags, or stellate colonies. Diatoms are producers within the food chain. A characteristic feature of diatom cells is that they are encased within a unique cell wall made of silica (hydrated silicon dioxide) called a frustule. These frustules show a wide diversity in form, some quite beautiful and ornate, but usually consist of two asymmetrical sides with a split between them, hence the group name.

"VISIONS", BEYOND MEDIA 2009 - Nous Gallery

OPENSYSTEMS has been invited by Nous Gallery (Melissa Woolford) to participate to the 9th edition of BEYOND MEDIA, International Festival for Architecture and Media. This year's title is "Visions". BEYOND MEDIA is the most significant event worldwide for the presentation of architecture videos. The initiative was created in Florence by Marco Brizzi and is today in its ninth edition. It is devoted to the most current visions on architecture and to the debate on the relationship between the project and the media.

"The massive production and consumption of architectural images has resulted in a greater proximity to design issues by the general public. But at the same time, images alter the way people conceive of architecture, and they affect the ability and the opportunity to generate visions, and hence theories, that are deeply rooted in our time and, at the same time, receptive to new, possible scenarios. With "VISIONS", the BEYOND MEDIA festival (...) will propose effective visions that may be useful in constructing a framework for the future."


















OPENSYSTEMS will present a video entitled "Attractor Fields" and it will be part of the Nous Gallery space in Stazione Leopolda, Florence, 9 - 17 July 2009.

090515_Attractor Field II

Some Images of the latest research on attractors conducted with Grasshopper. The definition is creating a 3D point grid; for each point of the grid is associated a component using the bounding box. The attractor points calculate the distance to the point grid scaling the components down accordingly; in the setting showed in these images the scaling factor had a threshold below which the geometry get canceled: the result is a sort of boolean operation carving the mass of the point grid.























Above: first investigation on 2D and 3D fields; the colors in these case established a gradient which indicate the average distance of points to the attractors: color is data! the attraction can be regulated according with 2 parameters: the power of attraction and the scale factor which describes the extend of the Gaussian boundaries determined by the overlapping of two or more poles of attraction. Thanks to Panagiotis Michalatos (AKT) for C# support.

sin(WAVE)

Some images of the last (lost) competition entry for the London Tent Art Fund Pavilion 2009. sin(WAVE) is defined by two 5-degree surfaces which are modulating respectively the structural canopy and a lounge area at ground level. The surfaces are generated through a network of sine/cosine curves which are shaping a tripod structure.



















sin(WAVE) addresses the pavilion requirement to negotiate between inside/outside qualities by creating a provisional structure which fluidly supply repair with its roof while offering reconfigurable settings with movable partitions (lounge-scape area, vertical wall..).















































The grid shell is formed by, respectively, 55 longitudinal and 25 transversal ribs each of which can be easily fabricated with a laser cut machine. Above an internal shot of the 1:25 laser cut model. Special thanks to Andrew Payne for its grasshopper definition for waffle structural systems.

AAST 2009

With my great pleasure I've been invited to AAST 2009.
"(...) aast is a group of events intended to spread Generative Computational Design (..) aast is a survey of researches on new generations of architects oriented to understand the huge transformation of contemporary architecture perspectives".

The event, promoted by CASARTARC, has been curated and organized by Lorena Alessio, Andrea Graziano, Davide Del Giudice. On April 7th-8th I'll be taking part of the exhibition and the conference in Turin with a bunch of young (talented) designers. Later this year i will also give a three days design workshop with A.Papeschi (Zaha Hadid Architects). I'll keep you posted.

A big thank to Andrea and Davide for the fantastic effort and passion they put into it.

Last Lost Competition

Last (lost) entry for "ARCH+ Competition, Simple Systems - Complex Capacities"

Brief:"The design of a material system that is in exchange with is context-specific environment and that, in doing so, can fulfil functional and performative requirements."

The entry proposed a profilerated field of homeostatic cable structures addressing pluri-potential capacities such as structural, organizational, environmental and spacial ones. What is promoted is the articulation of a heterogeneous, differentiated structure.

"Without modifications to the social and material environment, there can be no change in mentalities. Here, we are in the presence of a circle that [...] postulate the necessity of founding an "ecosophy" that would link environmental ecology to social ecology and to mental ecology".(F.Guattari )

HOMEOSTATIC serie: cable nets_05

Homeostasis (from Greek: ὅμος, hómos, "equal"; and ιστημι, histēmi, "to stand"; coined by Walter Bradford Cannon) is the property of a system, either open or closed, that regulates its internal environment so as to maintain a stable, constant condition.

Special thanks:

The AA: Brett Steele, Michael Kubo, Vanessa Norwood, Lee Regan, Luke Currall
Steelwork Fabricators: Chelsea Metalworks
Installation erection: All helpers including Ricardo Bittini Miret, Derek Wong, Sarah Ord, Aoife Bloomer, Alvaro Gonzales, Adiam Sertzu, Ifeanyi Oganwu.
All photographs by: Valerie Bennett

HOMEOSTATIC serie: cable nets_04

The cable structure has been designed for the AKT exhibition at the Architectural Association which i've been honored to organize and curate. The exhibition is going to open in January 16th and it will be on untill the 14th of February. After a few logistic problems we seem to have solved most of the issues related to the structure and its fabrication within budget. Above the construction drawings of the frame holding the cables which have just been sent out to fabricators. The design was carried out by a team led by myself with the preciuos collaboration of structural engineers from AKT:

structural analysis / design_eng. Carlo Diaco

structural consultants_eng. Ricardo Bittini Miret, eng. Martjin Veltkamp

management / curatorial assistent_eng. Eleni Axoiti.