Versioning

response to Versioning: Evolutionary Techniques in Architecture

SHoP

SHoP begins their introduction by providing a definition for versioning as "an operative term to describe recent, significant shift in the way architects and designers are using technology to expand... the potential effects of design on our world." I appreciated their introduction as it cut to the chase and provided a robust overview of this idea of 'versioning'. Before this reading, I was not exposed to this ideology that has formed from current technological advancements, or as SHop put it, "an attitude not ideology." 

The idea of testing and adapting sets of conditions is similar to Angelil's view of education as research oriented-- designed by probing questions and challenging norms. SHoP views this approach as a "process product" where the focus is on the fabrication process rather than a final image, also similar to Angelil's critique of architecture's focus on object. "Here the form, the forces that shape it, and the assemblage of materials in which we execute the ideology are part of the same gesture."

SHoP's Dunescape at MoMA PS1

Office dA

Monica Ponce de Leon and Nader Tehrani

Representing their approach to versioning as a reciprocal and codependent relationship between surface and space allows the exploration of the relationship between geometry and tectonic systems. Their goal is to have the skin and interior space(s) of buildings to read as one, rather than two separate systems. For most of architectural history, these two can be seen as separate systems, as discussed, such as load-bearing Renaissance construction in which the facade is read as an applique pasted onto a heavy building mass. 

"Precision becomes the operative technique for manipulating the membrane that materialises or represents the contents of the spaces of buildings." This idea was illustrated through Kahn's Exeter Library and Eladio Dieste's Church of Christ the Worker. Kahn uses the unit of a brick as patterning, but it becomes a system independent of the structural system, whereas Dieste combines surface and space into a singular entity, yet the geometry of the tectonic units is sacrificed. Geometry and patterning are in opposition in both of these works. Office dA attempts to address these simultaneously, such as the example they give of  their Hookah bar at Mantra. Plywood 'bricks' are employed as the unit of structure. This might simplify the relationship between geometry and tectonics, but it complicates its reading. The beauty I see in Dieste's Church is the advanced geometry used to create a skin simplistic in materiality yet rich in character and experience.

Compositional Surfaces

For 1c, I examined the matrix that I have been working on and was interested in the surface that looked like  frayed ribbon, with curling edges.

I selected the last three surfaces from the series of morphologies of the original object to further study the geometries of surfaces. From these three surfaces, I chose the end segment (in red) to isolate. 

I then isolated the pieces from their parent surfaces, rotating them and seeing how they morphed from one to the next.

When I turned on the control points for the surfaces, I was surprised to find the control points for the entire original surface embedded in the segments. 

Below are the surfaces I am 3D printing. I want to see, physically, how the added complexity in control points affects the surface as it morphs.

Physical manifestation of surfaces

Externalization and Experimentation

response to Inchoate: An Experiment in Architectural Education by Marc Angelil

I found Inchoate to be a read that is very relevant to the questions being asked by architectural education today. I was really drawn to the comparison of education and the Apollonian- Dioysian dichotomy, studied by Friedrich Nietzsche. Both teaching and learning can be seen as a split between promoting and questioning an area of study. 

"With the Apollonian propensity for harmonious entities a sort of positivity is exerted, in terms of asserting a body of ideas, of understanding commonly agreed upon ways of thinking... At the other extreme, the Dionysian tendency to shatter established codes acquires a type of negativity probing into aspects that seem to defy logical underpinnings, scrutinizing foundations, transgressing boundaries."

 This brings to mind the lateralization of brain functions, generalized to left brain and right brain, that have been represented visually, as seen below.

Externalization

Angelil identifies the internalization of the field of architecture as an impediment to the progress of the field through the focus on: visual appearances, authorship, and the object. 
The biggest obstacle I see in this triad is the focus on authorship, and more specifically the 'starchitect' concept. These days, architecture needs to move in the direction of cross-disciplinary collaboration. Its importance has been recognized, especially when discussing sustainable building practices. With so many fields of such narrow specialization it is increasingly important for these fields to work together. Another successful example of externalization is IDEO and their aprroach to Human Centered Design that relies on an interdisciplinary group of people working towards empathetic design solutions. Part of externalizing is questioning the role of architecture and architect. What is the role of architecture? The notion of 'architect as artist'? Are buildings to be seen as objects in the landscape? Ways of negotiating space? 

Frank Gehry

vs.

IDEO's Human Centered Design

Experimentation

Questioning the role of architecture is precisely what Angelil sees as the basis of architectural education. Teaching and learning can be seen as a type of inquiry: research that proposes, tests, and reevaluates hypotheses. They "constitute acts of transgression, interrogating from both within and without...emerging unexpectedly into new positions". This goes back to the Apollonian- Dioysian dichotomy in which you must both gain knowledge and then question the foundation that knowledge is built on. By questioning both knowns and unknowns within and beyond the field of architecture, the field can expand beyond traditional boundaries and propose new solutions.