After viewing their real projects, I feel Prasma Studio take advantage of folding's two virtues.
1.
Folding will undulate the built surface into the background easily. Unlike IMPei's rigid geometry, they use faceted geometry to create shape to blend the wall, furniture or other architectural elements together. This will easily create a main focus for the viewers. Imaging sitting in a room with all the furniture( working desk,sofa, and chair) in one piece. What do you feel? You will feel that thing is a main force.
2. use the sloped panel as structure. This is easier to achieve. Like a furniture, they bend the panels to support the whole structure.
It seems they are suing Rhino for their design and modeling.
1. Do you agree with my two conclusions?
2. Will a folding structure give Structure engineer big nighmare?
3. How do you regard a building as a folding building/furniture?
4. what is the potential difficulty to put such design into reality?
What I hate is when Architects (or anyone for that matter) take a metaphor and then use it in concrete manner...
For instance:
"Derived from a phrase used in physics, the Plasma State- or fourth state of matter- describes a unique condition of matter arising at a complex overlay of external forces.
In this manner, the practice is developing new inclusive and responsive processes of design, that are applied at many types and scales of projects."
Are you really working in the fourth dimension? What does the plasma state have to do with your formal choices?
What's so new about an inclusive practice? Especially in England where Ove Arup, Foster, et al. have pioneered inclusiveness.
Actually when you write descriptive prose like an MLA (Modern Language Association) dropout, then how coherent are you being? The claim of inclusiveness was made, right?
I like the forms but the desciptive language does little to inform me of it origins... How does any of this relate to physics in any tangible way? Why not talk about something less trendy with more meat? Or do a better job of explaning it to the rest of us?
As far as your questions go...
I think you make any geometry work in a building. If you mean making an interior a landscape with chairs/area rug/etc. all as one, then great, bring it on...
I'd like to see how the formal choices are informed. Why did they go where they went? What alternatives were there?
I worked briefly for a guy in Evanston who was doing somewhat similar stuff in the early 1980's without the computer. He built everything himsel: homes, stores, etc.. There is also a Garofolo thing in my neighborhood. It is folded and a lot of fun.
As a technical matter the computer makes creating the models and making cd's pretty easy. I use one program that does both. Is Revit up to folding and making cd's?
The question that always comes into my mind when I see projects like this is: why? What link to the context is controlling these forms... if any? Does the process of adding a wave modifer to a plane, unfolding it in another program, and cutting the pieces from polycarbonate (not necessarily the process in this example, but in numerous others) necessarily relate to the user, the site, or the environment in any way, shape, or form?
It's great that they *say* that the forms are derived from a process which relates back to physics. But does that make the space any more meaningful, more human, more exciting?
I have professors (current and past) here in Chicago who are making their career on the whole wave-fold-unfold-cut aesthetic. I think it's fascinating that XSI and other programs can generate these forms. I think there are real true sculptural implications. But do they create meaningful spaces? What does XSI know about human interaction, about aesthetics, or about context? These are all incredibly important factors that seem to be ignored by much of the second wave of digital media designers.
As I told a friend earlier today, in the eyes of some designers, a wave modifer, plus earth murdering extruded plastics, plus zip-ties, equals meaningful spaces. I just don't see the connection.
I think you can make meaningful architecture out of the ideas of folding amd it can be exciting and provocative.
How do you do that? Or better yet, we should have our own competition to see it through. I think if we set it up right, there would be a lot of interesting and worthwhile answers. (Eliminate associationism in its many forms and eliminate the crutch of the pretty drawing, etc.)
That's the hard part....
I also think that you make amazing architecture from very simple ideas..
JLX: Have you read Informal by Cecil Balmond?
I agree with you about the crutch of the fancy drawing.
How many different ways can one turn ideas into interesting architecture?
Plasma studio designed a loft conversion in Minerva street of London. You guys can look it on their website. If we take a good look at the plan, the angled lines on the ground floor looks nonlogical, but they do have a function. These are the track lines for the sliding door. The loft have a pretty big space, I guess. With this empty and unrectangular space, it is easy to think widely. The client is a Vedio production guy, so he like a free space. In this situation and with this client, Plasma's tectonic make sense. The space( BR, LR, Kitchen and office) location is classical, but in order to insert a spirit into this old, dirty loft, they created free furniture, unrigid archi. elements and more important, a angled grid to bring all these together.
After all these configuration, the result is a neat and interacting space.
well, liberated geometry, but i still think there is a lot of bullhit being talked. part of it its the derivation from deleuze, and its overcomplicated statements (i mean, how many people actually understand the guy?), part of it surely comes from a leaning toward cripticism that the avantguard has always had.
it's just what they like, and how they postrationalise it's another matter. they had an exhibition a while ago where the installation was made of a single cnc machine-puctured and folded 2.5 mm sheet of industrial steel which was then folded into shape by hand (freestyle, possibly?). it was very nice to look at, quite interactive because it resonated as you walked through it, and it was smart because it gave great strenght to a pretty flimsy material.
this is their description of it:
"Firmitas
Bypassing the typically linear process of design followed by construction, and reversing traditional skeletal structural systems Plasma Studio programmed a stack of standard industrial steel sheeting with information in the form of perforated seams.
As in recent automotive strategies, the seemingly weakened material organization enables a formation of global stress distribution lines achieving a different kind of structural performance.
Utilitas
The sheet material negotiates the three parameters of curatorial organisation, site and structural form-finding. Whilst providing surface and backdrop for the other exhibits, it also pursues more traditional architectural practices by extending this function into the realm of a response with its own unique qualities and attributes.
Venustas
While the piece is derived from a rigorous set of proportional relationships, these merely differentiate the material consistency to direct the reciprocal forces within the process of production. A contemporary aesthetic discussion stems from the embedded interrelationships and processes, the sensuality of forms liberated from straightjacket Cartesian rules and its weightless appearance."
oooooook...see what i mean, it's nice to look at, i'm sending them a cv in june, but i doubt they speak like that in the office...
"hey, lets have a contemporary aesthetic discussion about the next project!"
"sure! i feel we should really push its program beyond the real of a response"
"coming down the pub?"
"yeah"
do not forget this is AA/DRL/P. Schumacher people...
Ceccanti...well said..most of this architectspeak is all a whole lot of BS....
here's Plasma Studio's Philosophy from their website ??
"We believe that form and organisation of space is essentially political- not in a symbolic way but socially and physically.
We work towards generating an architecture that authentically reflects and houses contemporary social life patterns and provides equal opportunities and qualities to an increasingly contradictory,ubiquitous atomised society.
- The majority of our projects are discussing critically boundaries between two or more spatio-political realms such as the public and the private spheres.
- We are developing strategies that formally and programmatically unify disparate elements into a coherent whole.
- Treating space and program elastically we derive at forms that are fine-tuned around specific requirements and express the multiple aspects that informed them.
- We use threedimensional space and ephemeral events as emancipatory and integratively acting tools: these do not depend on [exclusive] linguistic, cultural or intellectual keys but can be experienced and interpreted by anyone in an individual way.
"Firmitas
Bypassing the typically linear process of design followed by construction, and reversing traditional skeletal structural systems Plasma Studio programmed a stack of standard industrial steel sheeting with information in the form of perforated seams.
As in recent automotive strategies, the seemingly weakened material organization enables a formation of global stress distribution lines achieving a different kind of structural performance.
Utilitas
The sheet material negotiates the three parameters of curatorial organisation, site and structural form-finding. Whilst providing surface and backdrop for the other exhibits, it also pursues more traditional architectural practices by extending this function into the realm of a response with its own unique qualities and attributes."
the abstract: Pasma stdio programmed a metal sheet. It can stand on its own, it also contains censors in its seams to interact with the environment.
I don't really think this sentence is hard to follow. but I know you just picked for an example. It is eye-open they use car fabrication technic for their work.
Their loft refurbishment case is the one I will borrow if I have a chance to design a large interior space in the future. It is amazingly they begin to use similar skills in their large scale building designs. Look at their scheme, Refurbishment of the Mozarteum Performing Arts School at mozarteum, salzburg- austria. Their void and flow idea can bring the lights to the ground floor. That is exciting and could easily be done.
anyone familiar with Prasma Studio's tectonic technology?
First, tectonic =fold = undulated slope shape?
After viewing their real projects, I feel Prasma Studio take advantage of folding's two virtues.
1.
Folding will undulate the built surface into the background easily. Unlike IMPei's rigid geometry, they use faceted geometry to create shape to blend the wall, furniture or other architectural elements together. This will easily create a main focus for the viewers. Imaging sitting in a room with all the furniture( working desk,sofa, and chair) in one piece. What do you feel? You will feel that thing is a main force.
2. use the sloped panel as structure. This is easier to achieve. Like a furniture, they bend the panels to support the whole structure.
It seems they are suing Rhino for their design and modeling.
Here is the link, post your comments after watching their techniques please:
http://www.plasmastudio.com/
i'm not quite sure what you're asking...yes, they use the fold, but that's hardly big news...
what is your question?
1. Do you agree with my two conclusions?
2. Will a folding structure give Structure engineer big nighmare?
3. How do you regard a building as a folding building/furniture?
4. what is the potential difficulty to put such design into reality?
Please translate the archispeak into English.
What I hate is when Architects (or anyone for that matter) take a metaphor and then use it in concrete manner...
For instance:
"Derived from a phrase used in physics, the Plasma State- or fourth state of matter- describes a unique condition of matter arising at a complex overlay of external forces.
In this manner, the practice is developing new inclusive and responsive processes of design, that are applied at many types and scales of projects."
Are you really working in the fourth dimension? What does the plasma state have to do with your formal choices?
What's so new about an inclusive practice? Especially in England where Ove Arup, Foster, et al. have pioneered inclusiveness.
Actually when you write descriptive prose like an MLA (Modern Language Association) dropout, then how coherent are you being? The claim of inclusiveness was made, right?
I like the forms but the desciptive language does little to inform me of it origins... How does any of this relate to physics in any tangible way? Why not talk about something less trendy with more meat? Or do a better job of explaning it to the rest of us?
As far as your questions go...
I think you make any geometry work in a building. If you mean making an interior a landscape with chairs/area rug/etc. all as one, then great, bring it on...
I'd like to see how the formal choices are informed. Why did they go where they went? What alternatives were there?
I worked briefly for a guy in Evanston who was doing somewhat similar stuff in the early 1980's without the computer. He built everything himsel: homes, stores, etc.. There is also a Garofolo thing in my neighborhood. It is folded and a lot of fun.
As a technical matter the computer makes creating the models and making cd's pretty easy. I use one program that does both. Is Revit up to folding and making cd's?
The question that always comes into my mind when I see projects like this is: why? What link to the context is controlling these forms... if any? Does the process of adding a wave modifer to a plane, unfolding it in another program, and cutting the pieces from polycarbonate (not necessarily the process in this example, but in numerous others) necessarily relate to the user, the site, or the environment in any way, shape, or form?
It's great that they *say* that the forms are derived from a process which relates back to physics. But does that make the space any more meaningful, more human, more exciting?
I have professors (current and past) here in Chicago who are making their career on the whole wave-fold-unfold-cut aesthetic. I think it's fascinating that XSI and other programs can generate these forms. I think there are real true sculptural implications. But do they create meaningful spaces? What does XSI know about human interaction, about aesthetics, or about context? These are all incredibly important factors that seem to be ignored by much of the second wave of digital media designers.
As I told a friend earlier today, in the eyes of some designers, a wave modifer, plus earth murdering extruded plastics, plus zip-ties, equals meaningful spaces. I just don't see the connection.
.mm
makeArchitecture: I feel your pain. Some guys just try to use fancy words to hide their poor idea behind a good rendering or complicated diagram.
mm
I think you have it...
How do you create a meaningful space?
I think you can make meaningful architecture out of the ideas of folding amd it can be exciting and provocative.
How do you do that? Or better yet, we should have our own competition to see it through. I think if we set it up right, there would be a lot of interesting and worthwhile answers. (Eliminate associationism in its many forms and eliminate the crutch of the pretty drawing, etc.)
That's the hard part....
I also think that you make amazing architecture from very simple ideas..
JLX: Have you read Informal by Cecil Balmond?
I agree with you about the crutch of the fancy drawing.
How many different ways can one turn ideas into interesting architecture?
Wm
Plasma studio designed a loft conversion in Minerva street of London. You guys can look it on their website. If we take a good look at the plan, the angled lines on the ground floor looks nonlogical, but they do have a function. These are the track lines for the sliding door. The loft have a pretty big space, I guess. With this empty and unrectangular space, it is easy to think widely. The client is a Vedio production guy, so he like a free space. In this situation and with this client, Plasma's tectonic make sense. The space( BR, LR, Kitchen and office) location is classical, but in order to insert a spirit into this old, dirty loft, they created free furniture, unrigid archi. elements and more important, a angled grid to bring all these together.
After all these configuration, the result is a neat and interacting space.
Do you guys like this interior convertion?
well, liberated geometry, but i still think there is a lot of bullhit being talked. part of it its the derivation from deleuze, and its overcomplicated statements (i mean, how many people actually understand the guy?), part of it surely comes from a leaning toward cripticism that the avantguard has always had.
it's just what they like, and how they postrationalise it's another matter. they had an exhibition a while ago where the installation was made of a single cnc machine-puctured and folded 2.5 mm sheet of industrial steel which was then folded into shape by hand (freestyle, possibly?). it was very nice to look at, quite interactive because it resonated as you walked through it, and it was smart because it gave great strenght to a pretty flimsy material.
this is their description of it:
"Firmitas
Bypassing the typically linear process of design followed by construction, and reversing traditional skeletal structural systems Plasma Studio programmed a stack of standard industrial steel sheeting with information in the form of perforated seams.
As in recent automotive strategies, the seemingly weakened material organization enables a formation of global stress distribution lines achieving a different kind of structural performance.
Utilitas
The sheet material negotiates the three parameters of curatorial organisation, site and structural form-finding. Whilst providing surface and backdrop for the other exhibits, it also pursues more traditional architectural practices by extending this function into the realm of a response with its own unique qualities and attributes.
Venustas
While the piece is derived from a rigorous set of proportional relationships, these merely differentiate the material consistency to direct the reciprocal forces within the process of production. A contemporary aesthetic discussion stems from the embedded interrelationships and processes, the sensuality of forms liberated from straightjacket Cartesian rules and its weightless appearance."
oooooook...see what i mean, it's nice to look at, i'm sending them a cv in june, but i doubt they speak like that in the office...
"hey, lets have a contemporary aesthetic discussion about the next project!"
"sure! i feel we should really push its program beyond the real of a response"
"coming down the pub?"
"yeah"
do not forget this is AA/DRL/P. Schumacher people...
Ceccanti...well said..most of this architectspeak is all a whole lot of BS....
here's Plasma Studio's Philosophy from their website ??
"We believe that form and organisation of space is essentially political- not in a symbolic way but socially and physically.
We work towards generating an architecture that authentically reflects and houses contemporary social life patterns and provides equal opportunities and qualities to an increasingly contradictory,ubiquitous atomised society.
- The majority of our projects are discussing critically boundaries between two or more spatio-political realms such as the public and the private spheres.
- We are developing strategies that formally and programmatically unify disparate elements into a coherent whole.
- Treating space and program elastically we derive at forms that are fine-tuned around specific requirements and express the multiple aspects that informed them.
- We use threedimensional space and ephemeral events as emancipatory and integratively acting tools: these do not depend on [exclusive] linguistic, cultural or intellectual keys but can be experienced and interpreted by anyone in an individual way.
Wow !!
"Firmitas
Bypassing the typically linear process of design followed by construction, and reversing traditional skeletal structural systems Plasma Studio programmed a stack of standard industrial steel sheeting with information in the form of perforated seams.
As in recent automotive strategies, the seemingly weakened material organization enables a formation of global stress distribution lines achieving a different kind of structural performance.
Utilitas
The sheet material negotiates the three parameters of curatorial organisation, site and structural form-finding. Whilst providing surface and backdrop for the other exhibits, it also pursues more traditional architectural practices by extending this function into the realm of a response with its own unique qualities and attributes."
the abstract: Pasma stdio programmed a metal sheet. It can stand on its own, it also contains censors in its seams to interact with the environment.
I don't really think this sentence is hard to follow. but I know you just picked for an example. It is eye-open they use car fabrication technic for their work.
Their loft refurbishment case is the one I will borrow if I have a chance to design a large interior space in the future. It is amazingly they begin to use similar skills in their large scale building designs. Look at their scheme, Refurbishment of the Mozarteum Performing Arts School at mozarteum, salzburg- austria. Their void and flow idea can bring the lights to the ground floor. That is exciting and could easily be done.
screw theory we just wanna get paid and get laid. not necessarily in that order.peace
ha ha...well said vado
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