This project is a technique based inquiry into the behavioural characteristics of form. The generation of form follows a morphological process in which geometry coded with behavioural intelligence becomes responsive to a field of influence. The project emerges from, and is the extension of a lineage of, performative design processes involving the reaction of line to field. Beginning with a universally periodic lattice the project attains specificity through its behavioural mutation and its edge conditions. The resulting project embodies characteristics marking a shift from the mechanical to the biological.

This particular lineage of performative design projects is traced through the projects of; Notre Dame Cathedral (Maurice de Sully), Sagrada Familia (Antonio Gaudi), Munich Olympic Stadium (Frei Otto) and the proposal for Beijing Olympic Pool (PTW + Arup). These projects generate form directly through various performative modeling techniques. The preoccupation of this lineage is structural and as such the form generation process can be understood as an interaction between lines and the forces of gravity and tension.

In positioning our project as the next step in this lineage, we continue the investigation of the line negotiating its form within a field. However this project marks two parallel shifts; the first being a shift in preoccupation from structural to behavioural, the second entails an increased complexity of the field, shifting from gravitational forces to a field of dynamic attractors.

The converging and diverging nature of the line, in the lineage of projects we have traced, is extended into a triply periodic lattice. The totalizing framework thus established gains local specificity in its truncation through the anomalies of the edge condition, and differentiation in its behavioural responses.

The shift, from material intelligence to behavioural intelligence, involves encoding sensors and response mechanisms that enable the geometry to deform in reaction to its environment. The parametric model developed in this project utilizes scripts to trigger and define its deformation, developing a certain level of cognitive response within the geometry.

Generating form through performative modeling - as exemplified by our chosen lineage and extended by this project - imparts a particular character quite different to that achieved through more explicit modes of generation. While other modes may achieve overall consistency or local differentiation the co-presence of both of these traits, here realized through behavioural modeling, evokes parallels to natural forms without recourse to mimicry.

While this investigation deliberately suspends many typical architectural constraints, it was important for us to maintain a tectonic nature, enabling a future reinsertion of these techniques into the more traditional realm of architecture. Central to this is the precise definition of the geometry requiring topological fixity, and rigorously defined points of control. Additionally, the decision to employ the inherently spatial lattice provides the potential for architectural inhabitation.

This exploration into the behavioural generation of form demonstrates the ability to impart specific character, through the intrinsic qualities of the algorithm and its interaction with a complex field of influence. These techniques continue the evolution of performative modeling and extend the potential for responsive architectural form making.

team 10_

ezio blasetti
roland snooks
dimitris themelis
matias honorato torrealba
dave pigram

animation
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