Breathing prototypes

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Concept - "The Emergence of Parametric Design"

The emergence of parametric design has reached unprecedented importance within some academic and practicing architectural sectors, generating a proliferation of highly suggestive freeform projects. But are they just banal proposals product of digital intelligence?, or perhaps they are a mature style?; or are they truly changing the very basis of architecture? This lecture theorizes that parametric design is a powerful system that allows designing the element behaviour thru linkage methods with changing dimensions. But this logic can be found within the history of architecture and with particular prominence during the last century. This lecture features over 100 projects, revealing that several architects and engineers started to formulate parametric concepts initially without the use of computation. These generative logics are suggesting new design methodologies and emerging design agendas offering a different paradigm for the future practice of architecture. However, it's imperative to situate innovation within a coherent and rigorous architectural knowledge that is part of a permeable and always alive architectural history."

Concept

Over the course of five days, all the participants will generate, fabricate, and assemble inflatable prototypes which incorporate simple ambient sensory feedback to actuate various states of inflation. Force driven dynamic modeling will be utilized to simulate material behavior and physical computing will be implemented in order to create a soft, sentient spatial experience.

Objectives

The primary objectives for the Breathing Prototypes agenda is to explore and expand on the ongoing research in architectural technology dealing with inflatable structures, fabric forms, and physical computing. This exploration takes advantage of the tectonics of inflatable structures which implement low cost and lightweight materials to create freeform spatial experiences.Furthermore, there is a great deal of research to be done in rationalizing free form surfaces from fabric forms and the fabrication methods enabled by conventional sewing equipment. Finally, this material reality will be coupled with physical computing in order for the designs to take on behavioral patterns based on user interaction and ambient conditions.

Technical brief

The agenda was crafted with the intent to unite simulation, fabrication, and physical computing into one installation assembly which will at once introduce workshop participants to a dynamic modeling workflow as well as create an intriguing ambient experience for visitors to the installation.Participants will utilize Rhinoceros 3D and Grasshopper 3D to establish a force driven prototyping workflow which incorporates the dynamics engine Kangaroo for the simulation of inflatable structures.These structures will be fabricated from fabrics that can be laser cut and sewn for inflation.The prototypes will gain the ability to sense their surroundings through basic ambient sensors connected to the Arduino prototyping platform. The inflatable structures will adapt to input by actuating easy to source, low-cost, low - power computer fans which will give them the ability to breathe.

Equipment

Each participant must provide their own laptop with the following software installed:
1. Rhinoceros 3D 5.0
2. Grasshopper 3D (Latest Version)
3.Arduino
Machines to work on:
1. Laser Cutter - small laser for prototyping
2. Big laser cutter for final production
3. Sewing Machines
4. Gromet Press

Materials (provided by us)

Fabrics (Nylon) - To be specified
Arduino Boards
Sensors :

Base Shield
Light Sensor
Motion Sensor
Sound Sensor
Temperature&Humidity

Connections
Computer Fans
Thread
Wire

Precedents_Exquisite Corpse - AA

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Theodore Spyropoulos [Key lecturer]

Theodore Spyropoulos is an architect and educator. He is the Director of the Architectural Association's world renowned Design Research Lab [DRL] (London). He has been a visiting Research Fellow at M.I.T.'s Center for Advanced Visual Studies working with the Interrogative Design Group and co-founded the New Media Research Initiative at the Architectural Association. He has taught in the graduate school of the University of Pennsylvania and the Royal College of Art, Innovation Design Engineering Department. Theodore directs the experimental architecture and design studio Minimaforms with his brother Stephen Spyropoulos. Recent projects include a series of thematic landmarks for a Renzo Piano Master planned National Park in Athens, a large scale land art work in Norway, a vehicle in collaboration with artist

Krzysztof Wodiczko, and immersive ephemeral environment for the city of Detroit. The work of Minimaforms is in the collections of the FRAC Centre (France), the Signum Foundation (Poland) and the Archigram Archive (UK). In 2008 their project Memory Cloud was named one of the top ten international art installations by the Telegraph. Recent exhibitions have included work shown at the Museum of Modern Art (New York), Detroit Institute of Arts, ICA (London), FRAC Centre (France), Futura Gallery (Prague), Slovak National Gallery (Bratislava), Architecture Foundation (UK), Building Centre (UK), Arco (Spain), Architectural Association (UK), UTS: Gallery (Sydney), Palazzo Donà (Italy) and at Mega-Structures Reloaded (Germany).Previously he has worked as a project architect for the offices of Peter Eisenman and Zaha Hadid Architects. He has studied at the AA, Bartlett School of Architecture and the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

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Luis Fraguada [Main workshop tutor]

Luis E. Fraguada investigates critical issues in architecture, design, and urbanism through various modes, including associative design, scripting, and fabrication. Luis' architectural studies began at the University of Colorado, Boulder where he was able to begin exploring computational tools and theories which would lead him to choose this field as a specialty Luis pursued his master's degree in architecture and urbanism (M.Arch) from the Architectural Association Design Research Laboratory (DRL) in London where he studied with Theodore Spyropoulos. Luis chose this program for its intense use of computational tools

and extensive physical prototyping of dynamic structures. A post-graduate degree in Digital Architectural Production at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) brought Luis to Barcelona, where he is currently based. The Digital Tectonics program, directed by Marta Malé-Alemany, allowed Luis to explore how scripting and digital tools can drive materials to be produced and manipulated via cnc machinery.Luis' professional experience is as varied as his academic endeavors. Out of the experience of IaaC, Luis co-founded LaN | Live Architecture Network in 2007, a global consultancy forwarding associative design and fabrication. LaN holds professional and academic workshop s globally in North

America, South America, Europe, and Asia which immerse participants in the latest fabrication technology and computational processes. This format allowed Luis to collaborate and consult with structural engineers, scientists, choreographers, industrial fabricators, and of course, architects and designers.In 2007, Luis took a position at Vicente Guallart Architects where he worked on several projects as computational expert, including the now completed Vinaros Sea Pavilion in Vinaros, Spain, and the Cultural Gate to Alborz in

Tehran, Iran which is under construction. Recognized as an advanced user of Rhinoceros 3D software, Luis began to teach courses in scripting and Grasshopper 3d in Barcelona and in conferences around the world for Robert McNeel and Associates.Luis' teaching capacities brought him back to academia. Luis is currently member of the Faculty of Architecture at IaaC as the principle computation instructor, focusing on the interface between computational processes and fabrication and has taught at the Advanced Design of Digital Architecture program

(ADDA) directed by Jordi Truco at Elisava in Barcelona.To date, Luis has taught workshops and courses in fifteen countries. Luis joined Built By Associative Data as an associate and the Director of the Barcelona office in 2010. His time there is focused on the collection, generation, and classification of relevant data which is utilized to guide and formalize project decisions. Luis additionally consults and creates tools for private clients while broadening his research into fashion, product design, and gastronomy.

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Diana Nitreanu [Host & Coordinator]

Diana is a romanian architect and painter, born in Bucharest, in 1985. She began her professional experience back in 2008, collaborating with several architectural offices.In summer 2010 she completed her professional Master of Architecture at IaaC [Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia], in Barcelona, Spain.At IaaC she made a profound research on Future Cities and bio-digital architecture which resulted in an essay regarding Interactive Urbanism and also Master Project, Hyper Forum, a future vision of Barcelona in 2100, where the Vertical City reshapes its

form and functions according to its citizens.The project was recognized by the jury as an innovative solution, and pushed forward to future development.As well the CNN Television presented the project in 2011 Science and Technology section.During this time of study, while investigating critical issues in parametric design and digital fabrication, and noticing the potentials, Diana decided to train in McNeel Barcelona, to become an official trainer [Rhinoceros 3D modeling].Returning back in Romania in summer of 2011, Diana co-founded Laboratorul de Arhitectura and Parametrica [Digi Fab School], where she is conducting parametric design workshops, including digital and low tech fabrication processes. Currently, Diana is working as an architect, continuing her research in parametric/algorithmic design, digital fabrication, interactive urbanism, while exploring digital tools and theories.

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Arian Hakimi Nejad [Workshop assistant]

Arian Hakimi is Persian Architect, Photographer & Painter. In 2004 he started his undergraduate studies in India (U of Pune – MMCA), on 2006 he continued his further studying at (U of Tehran – Faculty of Fine Arts) from which he received his B.Arch. for his thesis project (Persian Museum of Lost Arts) for that, he started practicing Persian Glass Reverse Painting for 2 years which some of his paintings were shown in 2 exhibitions in Tehran.In 2011 he came to Barcelona to continue his graduate studies at IaaC – UPC, during his time in IaaC, he attended the Emergent Territories

studio by Willy Muller & Maite Bravo 2011-12, and his research was on Future cities (how real time data could affect the shape of the cities), Where he and Diana Nitreanu presented the project for t he M.Arch I thesis, an extension urban zone Barcelona, where the buildings reshape themselves the several data parameters. In 2012 he continued his further research on Solar houses with Jordi Pagès I Ramon and Lluís Viu Rebés. With the concept of how the intelligence of architectural form of a building could affect the energy efficiency of the buildings.The project has been well received as an innovative solution on how the transformation of data in mathematics could optimize the architectural form.Since 2012, he

started collaborating with Laboratorul de Arhitectura and as main instructor in Parametrica [Digi Fab School]. both from Bucharest, Romania. He has conducted two workshops: - PARAMETRIC DESIGN Workshop 6-7-8 July 2012 - Architecture in Fashion 11-12-13 Nov 2012 Currently he is working at ON-A Barcelona as an Architect, where he conducts researches in the various fields such as Bio digital Architecture and Parametric Design.

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Carlo Caltabiano [Workshop assistant]

Carlo is an italian architect, he began his professional experience back in 2007, collaborating with several international offices. In september 2009 he was architect intern at Feld72 as winner of the Le Carre Bleu competition. In November 2011 he has been working with ONL (Oosterhuis Lenard) in Rotterdam where he regularly participated in international competitions and appreciated working creatively. He completed his professional Master of Architecture at IaaC Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, in Barcelona, in summer 2011.

At IaaC he conducted research into parametric design, and in interactive city, attending the Emergent Territories Studio, led by Willy Muller. He presented as the final project for the master's degree, the project of a smart surface, Flex Hub Doc, in the Barcelona Port where citizens interact with Urban Design.The project has been recognized by the jury as an innovative solution for smart cities.During this time at IaaC, Carlo was also collaborating with the FABLAB Barcelona, providing technical support and assistance in the use of the CNC machine.Currently Carlo is working as a freelance, passionate lover of architecture and urban design in continuos research for expanding creativity beyond the perception.

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