Archinect - News

Holcim and Zaha Hadid Architects team debuts second 3D printed concrete bridge concept

2024-01-14T08:00:00-05:00

Zaha Hadid Architects has released details of a second collaborative effort with Holcim on a 3D printed bridge concept that was first debuted as part of the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale.

The new ten-ton Phoenix design offers an evolution of the innovations seen in the previous Striatus bridge, the original blocks of which the team was able to recycle in the second iteration.

Image: Vincent Delesvaux

For the project, Holcim was able to deliver Phoenix with a 25% overall reduction in CO2 footprint compared to its earlier counterpart, thanks to the use of an updated ECOCycle circular technology and a special proprietary concrete ink that was also developed by the company. The construction was completed recently in Lyon, France, on the grounds of Holcim’s Innovation Hub. Its proponents are now citing it as a milestone for the design industry’s quest to develop low-carbon structural solutions at different scales.

Image: Holcim

Shajay Bhooshan, head of Zaha Hadid Architects' Computati...

Looking back at our in-depth exploration of artificial intelligence in 2023

2023-12-20T08:00:00-05:00

One of Archinect’s most significant editorial undertakings of 2023 was our Archinect In Depth: Artificial Intelligence series. Across the year, we spoke with over 30 experts in the field, producing dozens of interviews and features alongside almost 50 news stories covering the hyper-fast pace of progress emerging from the AI community.

The result is an all-encompassing, rigorous, and diverse collection of perspectives and reflections on what artificial means for the future of architects, architectural practice, and the architectural profession, along topics including ethics, labor, inequality, skills, and licensure.

Explore further insights on Archinect's leading coverage of architecture's relationship with artificial intelligence across 2023 below.

Conversations across the intersection of AI and architecture

Behnaz Farahi. Image credit: Behnaz Farahi

'The Notion of AI as a Form of Augmentation or Enhancement Is Fascinating to Me'; A Conversation with Behnaz Farahi

In May, we spoke ...

Architecture jobs in NYC for BIM, architectural technology, and computation design specialists

2023-09-15T07:30:00-04:00

Continuing with our weekly job highlights, we're focusing on six firms with open positions for design professionals who specialize in BIM, architectural technologies, and computational design.

As a leader in architectural employment and professional practice, the Archinect job board provides design professionals with a curated list of employment opportunities that you shouldn't miss. Below are seven open positions from firms seeking to find the right candidate to join their team.

University of California Merced, Master Architect 2020. Recognized by the 2023 ULI Awards in the Low-Carbon Development Category. Image: SOM | Dave Burk

SOM is hiring a Junior Computational Designer

Details: "Position responsibilities include working closely with the Computation Design Lead in the development of distinct portions of a Project(s) with supervision by the Computational Design Lead. Exhibits initiative, process innovation, problem-solving, and decision quality with a high attention to precision...

Robots assemble a domed timber pavilion designed by the universities of Stuttgart and Freiburg

2023-08-15T11:16:00-04:00

The University of Stuttgart and the University of Freiburg have partnered on the construction of a domed timber pavilion on the University of Freiburg campus which seeks to showcase an “integrative approach to design and construction for sustainable architecture.” The livMatS Biomimetic Shell at the FIT Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies will serve as a research space for the development of innovative, cross-disciplinary research ideas.

Image credit: Conné van d'Grachten

The design of the building envelope is based on the morphological principles of the plate skeleton of sea urchins, which have been researched at the University of Stuttgart for over a decade. For the pavilion, the segmental shell construction was further developed as a highly insulating structure for year-round and permanent use, with the combination of two partial shells of different shapes and sizes creating an opening skylight.

Image credit: Con...

Henning Larsen details computational design process behind mass timber 'World of Volvo' center

2023-05-02T17:30:00-04:00

Henning Larsen and Volvo are working on the design of a new consumer-facing experience center called The World of Volvo ahead of its debut early next year in the automaker’s hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Henning Larsen computational designer Leonardo Castaman recently explained on LinkedIn some details related to the project team’s seven-step process using the Kangaroo and Galapagos plugins on Grasshopper to create the wooden superstructure of the 236,800-square-foot building.

The design incorporates computer-fabricated glulam beams and columns with locally-sourced CLT floor slabs. The materials were selected to promote a circular economy in line with the philosophical notion of “Allemansrätten,” a Swedish concept that essentially translates to “leave nothing behind.”

Image courtesy Henning Larsen via LinkedIn

Castaman describes his workflow on the project as follows:

First, the plane...

University of Michigan researchers merge 3D printing with computational design to create ‘ultra-lightweight, waste-free concrete’

2023-03-21T11:02:00-04:00

Researchers from the University of Michigan’s Taubman College have unveiled details of their latest innovation in 3D printing, which the team claims creates “ultra-lightweight, waste-free concrete.” Led by architect Aghaei Meibodi and researchers Alireza Bayramvand and Yuxin Lin of the college's DART laboratory, the group’s ‘Shell Wall’ system also claims to be 72% lighter compared to a conventional solid concrete system of the same size.

Image credit: DART laboratory

The research team’s project is a departure from traditional 3D concrete printing, which sees a 3D printing tool head operating parallel to the ground or along a single plane. As we described in our in-depth look at the design and construction of a 3D-printed house in Arizona, the tool head follows a defined path and deposits mortar in horizontal layers, repeating the process until the resulting mold is completed to a defined height and reinforced with rebars or additional concrete.

Image credit: DART laboratory

“This lea...

What is a computational designer? And how can an architect become one?

2022-07-06T12:20:00-04:00

In a 2019 edition of our Studio Snapshot series, we spoke to BairBalliet founders Kelly Bair and Kristy Bailliet on the subject of computational design. “Our role as contemporary architects is to challenge the conventions of how software is used,” the architects told us.

Throughout 2022, we've highlighted several architects and educators with backgrounds in computational design finding success by rising to this challenge. In the academic community, both the UT Knoxville and Florida Atlantic University (FAU) schools of architecture have both appointed new directors with strong backgrounds in the subject. While UT director Carl Lostritto specializes in theories around drawing and computational design, FAU’s director Joseph Choma grounds his work on material innovation, experimental construction, and complex geometries.

In Dubai, meanwhile, February saw the opening of the long-awaited Museum of the Future...

UT Knoxville School of Architecture names Carl Lostritto as its new Director

2022-04-18T12:49:00-04:00

The College of Architecture and Design at the University of Tennessee - Knoxville has appointed RISD Associate Professor Carl Lostritto as its new Director.

Lostritto joins UT after ten years in Providence, where he has taught in both the B.Arch and M.Arch professional programs, in addition to serving as the graduate program director since 2017.

Lostritto, who previously held positions at the University of Maryland, Catholic University of America, Boston Architectural College, and MIT, joins the faculty with a specialization in theories about drawing and computational design. He was instrumental in the implementation of the new Computation, Technology, and Culture concentration at RISD, and has authored several essays in addition to his 2019 title Computational Drawing: From Foundational Exercises to Theories of Representation, and the forthcoming Impossible and Hyper-Real Elements of Architecture, which is due out next year.

“I know the school is committed to the impact that both ...

Joseph Choma will become the next Director of the School of Architecture at Florida Atlantic University

2022-04-01T17:46:00-04:00

Clemson University’s Joseph Choma has been announced as the next Director of the School of Architecture at Florida Atlantic University (FAU).

Choma is currently the Director of the Design Topology Lab and has been the Director of Clemson’s Master of Science in Architecture program since July. Choma will take office effective July 1st and replaces Associate Professor Francis E. Lyn, who has been serving as Interim Director.

Earlier on Archinect: Joseph Choma explains why folding is important to the field of architecture

His work centers on material innovation, experimental construction methods, and the impact of complex geometries on the built environment. Noteworthy projects have included a recent studio exploring the application of his patented foldable fiberglass structures as shelter in the wake of natural disasters, an installation for the AIA’s Atlanta Emerging Voices competition in 2013, and the solo exhibition Object to Atmosphere for the Barbara Archer Gallery, also in Atlan...

In architecture, the computer is a tool — not a crutch

2020-09-24T09:04:00-04:00

There's a funny thing that tends to happen in schools of architecture and design firms among the younger practitioners and students. The growth of computational modes of design and the development of design software has produced a generation of creative people who increasingly rely on the use of a computer to execute their work. Right off the bat, I'm not saying that computers are "bad" — I think they're great, but it is a tool to be wielded, not a crutch to be dependent on.

Just like a pencil, a computer is an inanimate idiot that requires the mind of its user to produce something of value, and so when lack of proficiency on a computer impedes on one's design, there is a problem. The obvious solution is to get better at using the software, but it often seems that some become preoccupied with the means while canning the ends.

What do I mean? Most typically, a project is pursued for some purpose — typically to address some kind of human condition: a need for a school, home, hospital...

Gensler launches Blox, an algorithm-powered design visualization and computation tool

2020-06-16T13:49:00-04:00

Global architecture firm Gensler has launched a new digital design tool that aims to supercharge design workflows by "combining information metrics and geometry form finding."

The tool, named Blox, is part of the firm's inFORM suite of "internally developed proprietary products" created to help propel the firm's overall design capabilities. A LinkedIn post published by Joseph Joseph, Partner and Global Director, Design Technology Studio at Gensler, highlights the new technology, which was developed through the Gensler Research Institute initiative.

Joseph writes, "We believe that our craft as designers is founded on these superpowers that are innately human and irreplaceable by technology. As such, we believe that we stand to gain significantly by combining our human superpowers with compute cognition to achieve our infinite possibilities thus elevating our value to a much higher purpose in the world."

According to the post, Blox can help designers develop massing designs that incl...

Pavilion 3D printed from 30,000 up-cycled plastic bottles takes shape in Dubai

2019-12-30T14:22:00-05:00

Located at the Dubai International Financial Center stands an eye-catching pavilion designed by the Middle East Architecture Network (MEAN). Known for their evocative designs using computational design and digital fabrication techniques, their most recent project, Deciduous, highlights the studio's passion for experimentation with fabrication and materials.

Image © Naaro

According to a project statement by MEAN, "Deciduous is composed of a hybrid of 3 different sustainable materials: CNC-milled Birch plywood flooring, Robotically 3D-Printed Concrete Base, and a series of branching 3D-Printed PETG stems, a plastic polymer up-cycled from 30,000 discarded water bottles.” The goal of the pavilion and its unique material construction is to aid spectators by revisiting their "relationship with nature, through an experience reminiscent of walking through an abstracted botanical form," according to the designers.

Image © Naaro

Video Documenting 'Deciduous' Fabrication, Construc...

Archinect Outpost to host launch of The Blindspot Initiative, Jose Sanchez's book of essays on design resistance

2019-01-18T14:22:00-05:00

Join us in celebrating The Blindspot Initiative, the latest book of projects and essays on design resistance and alternative modes of practice edited by Jose Sanchez at Archinect Outpost on Saturday, February 9th, 7-9pm. The evening will begin with a talk by Jose Sanchez and comments by contributors to the book (including Behnaz Farahi, Biayna Bogosian of Somewhere Something and Casey Rehm of Kinch), followed by a Virtual Reality demonstration and book signing.

The book is available for presale here, to be signed by Jose Sanchez at the event.

Gaming the Real World. Photo courtesy of Jose Sanchez of Plethora Project

Published by Evolo, The Blindspot Initiative contains a forward by generative software designer Casey Reas and texts by Jose Sanchez, David Gerber, Jenny Wu, Kate Davies and Mostafa Elsayed.

‘Multi Family House’ (Rendering courtesy of Gilles Retsin Architecture)

The Blindspot Initiative features work from a range of architectural designers, including Satoru Sugihara, Gille...

Zaha Hadid Architects design 3D-printed chairs for Nagami's Milan debut

2018-04-18T16:20:00-04:00

Milan Design Week just kicked off, and one impressive highlight is the debut exhibition Brave New World: Re-thinking Design in the New Age of Technology by brand-new Spanish company, Nagami.

Marking the brand's official launch event, the show at the Nagami pop-up showroom in Milan's Brera Design District features four exquisite chairs—designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, Ross Lovegrove, and Daniel Widrig—that combined computational design and large-scale robotic 3D printing.

Bow & Rise by Zaha Hadid Architects for Nagami

Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects
Design: Patrik Schumacher
Design Team: Sebastian Andia

Design description: "Bow and Rise are the latest results of the extensive, ongoing research that Zaha Hadid Architects is conducting within the domains of 3D printing and material experimentation. These chairs combine pristine design informed b...