NAFA MA(spatial design) Innovation & Technology

You may post questions or send messages to your classmates here. Look out for announcements for class matters here.

You may post questions or send messages to your classmates here. Look out for announcements for class matters here.

Week 1 Discussion topic : Advancement in innovation & technology does not benefit mankind in spiritual development , however it does increase the level of material comfort and serve as a common goal for all societies(minimum 100word comment from each student).

Week 2 Discussion topic : Discuss Kurweil’s idea of ‘Technological Singularity’ (100word).

Week 3 Group project and discussion : Start on the page design for your shared wikispaces. Discuss the issues arising from your online collaboration after the ’skin’ of the wikispace has been ‘redesigned’.

Week 4 Workshop : Start a collaborative webpage design for your assignments using Wordpress. Guidance will be given.

Week 5 Discussion topic : Identify 2 of your favourite transmaterials, one from ‘Ultraperformance’ and another from ‘Multidimensional’ category. Imagine how you would like to use these innovative materials in your design (100word).

Week 6 Discussion topic : Register with Material Explorer here. Go to the home section and enter the 26-06-2006 collection. Browse through the collection and comment on 2 transmaterials (100word).

Requirements

As a continuation of assignment 1, you are required to submit an online essay with illustrations in the form of a Weblog space shared by your classmates. Your assignment will explore case studies of innovative interiors or exhibition spaces with respect to details by the following designers :

Glenn Mercutt /Hani Rashid/Greg Lynn/Toyo Ito/Kerry Hill (discuss min 3 details/materials).

OR

The contemporary interior is seeing more and more of creative lighting design and fixtures that come with it. Examine 3 categories of contemporary lighting systems and their effect on spatial ambience  ( discuss min 3 different lights)

You are to provide 1 sketch for each innovative detail/material/lights discussed (total 3 sketches) to demonstrate your appreciation of the innovations in their designs. The essay should have a minimum of 1500 words written in your own understanding and style. Plagiarism will be penalised. Sources of images and references must be acknowledged. Go to MA assignment 2 weblog here.

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Discuss Kerry Hill’s reinterpretation of traditional materials in his ‘tropical modern’ approach towards hotel design.

OR

Discuss the art of ambient, accent, task & decorative lighting used effectively in 3 different award winning projects. 

You are to provide a slideshow with a minimum of 18 slides. The essay should have a minimum of 1500 words written in your own understanding and style. Plagiarism will be penalised. Sources of images and references must be acknowledged. Go to MA assignment 2 weblog here.

Guests who are experts in the above areas of research are welcomed to contribute to the weblog on Transmaterials for the tropics. This assignment weblog is meant to be open sourced. You can invite experts to edit your essays.

Credits Breakdown

Web participation                                  - 10%

Slides                                                       - 10 % 

Individual essay (understanding)       - 20%

Individaul essay (originality)              - 20%

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Assignment 1 total credits                - 60%

Non-standard Architectures

 One-north masterplan (Singapore, original proposal) by Zaha Hadid

Non-standard architectures is an exhibition of completed or experimental projects and prototypes by a dozen international
architectural teams. the exhibition provides an overview of current architectural research resulting from the increasing
use of digital techniques at every stage from project implementation to industrial production. It also demonstrates how the profession of architect (indeed the whole architectural industry) is being redefined – how the discipline is acquiring a new identity. The aim is not merely to present examples of digital or virtual architecture which deal with questions of representation (such as virtuality and hyperspace), but rather to highlight current modifications to the industrialization of architecture.
The non-standard architectures exhibition groups twelve international teams who have been researching and using
digital tools and computation for architectural conception, production and distribution for some years now.
in these areas, boundaries are dissolving, ideas are metamorphosing and time sequences are breaking down.
the principles of interrelation, variability and simultaneity now intervene at every step in the architectural process. Each team of architects present four experimental or completed projects which reflect the dynamism of their research,
using DVDs, models, panels, animations, installations, etc.

The theme of the exhibition and conference
One thing is clear: with the steadily increasing use of graphic software, architecture is going digital. what is less clear, however, is the implication of such changes. The widespread use of application programs based on algorithmic systems presupposes changes in design and production tools. Non-standard architectures is a reflection on the language of
architecture and its field of application, based on the exploitation of digital elements. traditional construction methods can now be contrasted with production based on the prototyping of prefabricated architectural elements. How has the digital chain modified (as in publishing, for example) the entire economy of architectural production, from initial conception
to end product? The aim of the exhibition is to make the whole architectural ‘process’ visible, from conceptual elements through to experimental objects and prototypes. It also proposes a reinterpretation of the history of art and architecture in terms of movement and inflection.
 

What does ‘Non-Standard’ refer to?

First of all, to the world of mathematics, and to the major theoretical breakthroughs (themselves non-standard) that cleared the way both for fractal and catastrophe theory and for artificial intelligence. The notion of ‘non-standard’
first appeared in the field of mathematics in 1961, with the work of Abraham Robinson. its implications are manifold and affect every discipline to which algorithmic systems can be applied, such as artificial intelligence or morphogenesis (the development of structure).

But non-standard is obviously to be contrasted with ’standard’: i.e.with the dangerous myths of modern architecture that have imposed norms in terms of comfort, space and basic hygiene - the consequences of which are incalculable. The contrast is real, but misleading too: modern architecture cannot be reduced to a norm which both represents and caricatures it. The profession’s worthiest representatives are hardly united in the cult of the right angle! instead they pick and choose from the whole inventory of forms (the line, the helicoid, the hull …). Non-standard architectures are part of a history which is now being revitalized, thanks to the development of propositions which were long stifled by standardization and technological limitations. the weaker version of the non-standard - variations on a pre-established
norm - has become fairly widespread, but the challenge for non-standard architectures is of a much more radical order: the generalization of singularity, within a new order: the non-standard. Can we trust in this individualism, with its potential weight of responsibilities, that may symbolize our 21st-century societies? Or does it just mean a succession of infinitely small variations on an ever more tyrannical norm? In other words, can society keep up with morphogenesis?

Source: Designboom

Web references on Non standard design

Vivocity - Biomorphic architecture in Singapore

Introduction to Non standard design

Cultural concerns in Computational Architecture

MIT 2004 conference on Non standard praxis

2004/06 DCC conference - digital processes of Non standard design

Theoretical wrtings on digital architecture by  Patrik Schumacher

Construction approaches to Non standard architecture 

Dom(info) house, pg 36

Case Studies

Greg Lynn

Hani Rashid

Koolhaas

Toyo Ito

Calligraphic Architecture

Useful Links to ’Post-Fordism’ design 2006

Design links

Wonderwall

Internet space as communicative platform

Computers as generators of design options

A photographic blog of the real, surreal and unreal

Contemporary architecture DVDs with lots of images

REPURPOSED (eco-friendly substitute materials)

Repurposed materials may be defined as surrogates, or materials which are used in the place of materials conventionally

used in an application. Repurposed materials provide several benefits, such as replacing precious raw materials with

less precious, more plentiful ones; diverting products from the waste stream; implementing less toxic manufacturing

processes; and simply defying convention. As a trend, repurposing is important because it underscores the desire for

adaptability in industry, as well as an increasing awareness of our limited resources. While the performance of repurposed

materials is not identical to that of the products they replace, sometimes new and unexpected benefits arise from their

use.

Sustainable Metropolis 

http://www.metropolismag.com/cda/sustainable.php

Five principles of Sustainability

http://bfi-internal.org/sustainability/principles

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Sustainable design

http://inhabitat.com/

http://www.branchhome.com/

Recycled materials

http://www.metropolismag.com/cda/story.php?artid=2910

Aluminium flooring

http://www.aluminumfloors.com/  

Ecopanel systems 

http://www.ecopanelsystems.com/types%20of%20material.html  

Bamboo flooring 

http://www.plyboo.com/flooring.html#  

Palm & Bamboo

http://www.durapalm.com/

Natural Surfaces

http://www.naturesquared.com/

Wheatboard 

http://www.primeboard.com/partbd.htm 

Banana fiber laminate 

http://www.laminart.com/products-samples/collections/abac-8.html

Kirei Board 

http://www.kireiusa.com/newkirei/applications.php  

Corn fibers 

http://www.ingeofibers.com/ingeo/home.asp 

Bio-degradable carpet 

http://www.earthweave.com/BIO-FLOOR.html  

Re-cyclable and partially organic carpet 

http://www.interfaceflor.com/service/flor/environment.html?id=NXw94P9b 

Cardboard

http://www.cardboardchair.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv 

Building a cardboard school

Cardboard furniture

Interview with Shigeru Ban

Works of Shigeru Ban

Complete online works of Shigeru Ban

Frit (recycled glass chips) used as terrazzo 

http://www.trivitro.com/vitrohue_tum/colors_sizes.html

Textile wallpaper 

http://www.tracykendall.com/ 

Requirements

Submission Deadline : 2 Oct 2007     

You are required to submit an online essay with illustrations in the form of a Weblog space shared by your classmates. Your assignment will explore the impact of innovation, change and technology on a particular form of space that you will be exploring in your design projects (e.g. resort). Name 3 innovative and environmentally friendly materials that can be incorporated in this space. You have to specify the nearest supplier of these materials, lead time for delivery upon confirmation, cost per unit (in relation to bulk order, maintenance cost and the average life-span).

In the case of lighting technology, examine 3 new lighting systems available on the market and applicable to your design projects. The essay should have a minimum of 1500 words. Sources of images and references should be acknowledged. Go to MA assignment 1 weblog here.

Guests who are experts in the above areas of reserach are welcomed to contribute to the weblog on Transmaterials for the tropics. This assignment weblog is meant to be open sourced. You can invite experts to edit your essays.

Credits Breakdown

Forum participation (2% per topic)     - 10%

Individual essay                                      - 30%

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Assignment 1 total credits                      - 40%

References

Enter an evolutionary world of open source culture here.

Studio consultation

General discussion of innovative and memorable materials encountered during visit to showrooms in Park Mall from the previous week. Review of collected product catalogues and brochures.

Roundtable discussion - review of individual student’s work on Assignment 1 and presentation on week 8.

Computer lab 5-14 activity

Critique on Technology

Biotechnology and free market economy - Genpets

The truth behind Genpets

Technology as Interactive Art

Technology and Art - Art + Com

Assigment 1 References

Innovative Technology and materials website created by UCLA architecture students

Webster-Merriam online dictionary & Thesaurus

How to use Material Explorer