Archinect - Features2024-10-31T19:10:13-04:00https://archinect.com/features/article/150419596/3d-printing-artificial-intelligence-and-space-habitats-a-conversation-with-icon-s-melodie-yashar
3D Printing, Artificial Intelligence, and Space Habitats: A Conversation with ICON’s Melodie Yashar Niall Patrick Walsh2024-03-12T16:00:00-04:00>2024-03-12T17:45:02-04:00
<img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/72/726e2472515f80b1718ebecade7b0549.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>As a ‘Space Architect’ working on the design and delivery of 3D printed habitats on the Moon and Mars, <a href="https://www.melodieyashar.com/" target="_blank">Melodie Yashar</a> is aware that, even in space, <a href="https://archinect.com/features/tag/446629/3d-printing" target="_blank">3D printing</a> does not exist in a vacuum. Like any construction methodology, it requires a confluence of design intent, delivery systems, material science, and accessible economics.</p>
<p>In her role as Vice President of Building Design & Performance at the construction technologies company <a href="https://archinect.com/ICON3dtech" target="_blank">ICON</a>, Yashar is overseeing the design and implementation of products across all these fields, with an immediate primary goal of establishing a more affordable and sustainable design and construction system. As Yashar outlined in her <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/melodie_yashar_how_to_build_for_human_life_on_mars" target="_blank">2022 TED Talk</a>, the lessons learned from such ambitious endeavors here on Earth can spark lines of inquiry for perhaps humanity’s ultimate unresolved ambitious endeavor: surviving and thriving beyond Earth itself.</p>
<p>Last week, Archinect’s Niall Patrick Walsh spoke with Yashar as ICON was in the process of <a href="https://archinect.com/news/article/150420028/ai-designer-and-multi-story-3d-printer-among-icon-technologies-unveiled-at-sxsw" target="_blank">unveiling a suite of new tec...</a></p>
https://archinect.com/features/article/150354750/beauty-is-a-measure-of-ecological-intelligence-a-conversation-with-ecologicstudio-founders-claudia-pasquero-and-marco-poletto
'Beauty Is a Measure of Ecological Intelligence'; A Conversation with ecoLogicStudio Founders Claudia Pasquero and Marco Poletto Niall Patrick Walsh2023-07-31T09:00:00-04:00>2023-07-28T21:24:06-04:00
<img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/26/26da40d563134f45a825015f4474aef3.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>Against the backdrop of a frenzied AI discourse dominated by end-product tools such as ChatGPT and Midjourney, Claudia Pasquero and Marco Poletto articulate a refreshing call to adventure. The two <a href="https://archinect.com/firms/cover/98219524/ecologicstudio" target="_blank">ecoLogicStudio</a> founders have built their professional and academic careers at the intersection of computation and biology, allowing them to articulate a vision of artificial intelligence that, in their words, "is more like a slime mold, a spider's web, a microalgae colony, or a mycelium network." Here, the computational and biological find common ground in their use of patterns as meta-language; a commonality that, when pushed, invites both human and non-human designers to shape the built environment as an organism itself rather than a static entity enlivened only by our own mechanics. </p>
<p>For Pasquero and Poletto, this is no theoretical exercise. ecoLogicStudio has already won wide acclaim for its real-world applications of ecological systems in the built environment while also articulating ...</p>
https://archinect.com/features/article/150354024/ai-is-built-on-datasets-that-are-already-biased-a-conversation-with-felecia-davis
'AI Is Built on Datasets That Are Already Biased'; A Conversation with Felecia Davis Niall Patrick Walsh2023-06-22T08:27:00-04:00>2023-06-28T16:50:35-04:00
<img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/93/932a0f4ed5936a460f62135b908e8292.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>Ever since her childhood summers sewing patterns at the family dining table, Felecia Davis has understood the power of <a href="https://archinect.com/news/tag/560582/textiles" target="_blank">textiles</a> to be a vehicle for communication, connection, and understanding. As her career in architecture unfolded in parallel with wider advances in <a href="https://archinect.com/news/article/150348101/introducing-the-archinect-in-depth-artificial-intelligence-series" target="_blank">computational</a> capabilities, Davis dedicated her studies, and subsequent career, to the question of how computational textiles could intersect with and challenge social, cultural, and political constructions.</p>
<p>This dedication to mobilizing design and creativity in the name of confronting societal biases permeates Davis' many leadership positions, whether as the founder of <a href="http://www.feleciadavistudio.com/" target="_blank">Felecia Davis Studio</a>, a co-founder of the <a href="https://archinect.com/news/tag/1712496/black-reconstruction-collective" target="_blank">Black Reconstruction Collective</a>, or as an associate professor at <a href="https://archinect.com/pennstate" target="_blank">Penn State University</a>, where she directs <a href="https://arts.psu.edu/facilities/computational-textiles-lab/" target="_blank">SOFTLAB</a>; a research group dedicated to tools, methods, and design solutions associated with computational textiles. Davis’ leadership in the field has been recognized through many honors, including the <a href="https://archinect.com/news/article/150297948/the-architectural-league-of-new-york-announces-the-2022-emerging-voices" target="_blank">Archit...</a></p>
https://archinect.com/features/article/150346967/in-the-climate-context-architects-need-to-push-a-new-frontier-a-conversation-with-mario-cucinella
‘In the Climate Context, Architects Need to Push a New Frontier’; A Conversation with Mario Cucinella Niall Patrick Walsh2023-04-22T05:29:00-04:00>2023-04-24T15:31:32-04:00
<img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/97/97cf393df076928a2b9d05e065934365.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>When <a href="https://archinect.com/news/article/150286346/world-s-first-3d-printed-raw-earth-house-to-be-showcased-at-cop26" target="_blank">TECLA</a> was unveiled to the world at the beginning of 2021, it captured the attention of both the <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90619146/this-wild-looking-house-is-made-out-of-dirt-by-a-giant-3d-printer" target="_blank">architectural community</a> and the imagination of the <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/tecla-3d-printed-house-clay/index.html" target="_blank">mainstream media</a>. The world's first 3D-printed house made from raw earth, TECLA was one of 17 projects <a href="https://archinect.com/news/article/150286346/world-s-first-3d-printed-raw-earth-house-to-be-showcased-at-cop26" target="_blank">showcased at COP26</a> in an exhibition highlighting pathways for the built environment to reduce its carbon footprint.</p>
<p>For Mario Cucinella, the architect behind TECLA, the project represents a broader conviction to “imagine a world where beauty is soulful and sustainable.” This same conviction has seen Cucinella and his team at <a href="https://archinect.com/firms/cover/4329185/mario-cucinella-architects" target="_blank">Mario Cucinella Architects</a> establish not only a portfolio of projects driven by dual principles of sustainability and creativity, but an in-house <a href="https://archinect.com/schools/cover/150141527/sos-school-of-sustainability-by-mario-cucinella-architects" target="_blank">School of Sustainability</a> encompassing environmentally-themed education, research, and practice.</p>
<p><em>Archinect’s</em> Niall Patrick Walsh sat down with Cucinella recently at the <a href="https://archinect.com/features/tag/2140961/world-architecture-festival" target="_blank">2022 World Architecture Festival</a> in Lisbon, Portugal for a wide-ranging discussion encompassing the f...</p>
https://archinect.com/features/article/150296853/finding-value-in-waste-japan-s-kamikatsu-zero-waste-center-is-a-temple-to-material-reuse
Finding Value in Waste: Japan’s Kamikatsu Zero Waste Center is a Temple to Material Reuse Niall Patrick Walsh2022-02-03T15:37:00-05:00>2022-02-03T15:38:05-05:00
<img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/bf/bf1f99d5df8b707e97499a37aa2b6dfe.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>Today, building materials account for half of all solid waste generated worldwide every year. In response to mounting concerns over the impact of construction on the built environment, a growing number of architects and material scientists are investigating the potential for recycled materials to form an integral part of future construction. In this article, we reflect on a recently completed building in rural Japan that embodies an alternative approach to the norm; with the added accolade of being perhaps the world's first waste recycling center constructed almost entirely from recycled waste.</p>
https://archinect.com/features/article/149943942/matters-of-scale-with-bill-zahner-head-of-the-engineering-design-consultancy-behind-the-petersen-automotive-museum-s-redesign
'Matters of Scale' with Bill Zahner, head of the engineering-design consultancy behind the Petersen Automotive Museum's redesign Aaron Willette2016-05-31T09:56:00-04:00>2018-01-30T06:16:04-05:00
<img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/0x/0xg8uj69wcru156o.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>For the second installation of the <a href="http://archinect.com/features/tag/678152/matters-of-scale" target="_blank"><strong>Matters of Scale</strong></a> series I’m talking to Bill Zahner, president and CEO of the <a href="http://archinect.com/features/tag/678152/matters-of-scale" target="_blank">A. Zahner Company</a>. For many people Bill doesn’t need an introduction—he’s been involved with the engineering and fabrication of metal façade systems for the likes of <a href="http://archinect.com/gehry" target="_blank">Frank Gehry</a>, <a href="http://archinect.com/firms/cover/577/herzog-de-meuron" target="_blank">Herzog & de Meuron</a>, <a href="http://archinect.com/firms/cover/106441/diller-scofidio-renfro" target="_blank">Diller Scofidio + Renfo</a>, <a href="http://archinect.com/firms/cover/776/kohn-pedersen-fox-associates" target="_blank">Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates</a>, and many, many others. When initially planning the Matters of Scale series, Bill’s name was first on my list of people that I wanted to include in the larger conversation, and I’m elated to be able to include him so early in the series.</p>