The Architecture of Multiple Morpho(eco)logies

Jul 25, 04:38 am

The Architecture of Multiple Morpho(eco)logies - Abu Dhabi

Travel: (Meta)morphosis – Architecture in-Transit
The Architecture of Multiple Morpho(eco)logies on Al Lulu Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Studio Agenda / Spring semester 2007:

A studio design project in relation to “Re-conceiving the Architecture of the Gulf region” program.

“Morphology is not only the study of material things and of the forms of material things, but has its dynamical aspect, under which we deal with the interpretation, in term of force, of the operations of Energy” On Growth and Form, 1942, D’Arcy Thompson

The project will start by looking at the notion of “travel” and its “transitional” aspect and will evolve into the design of new programs (and a city) on the island of Al Lulu in Abu Dhabi.
The studio pursues its investigation of the relationships between force, form and formation. The work focuses on the development of design systems, production techniques and forms of expression through an exploration of material and formal systems and their association with programmatic organizations. These design systems and processes are developed through a series of digital and physical models and notational diagrams, selected for their capacity to generate effective architectural responses that address complex systems of today’s emerging cultural behaviors.
We will start with the design and construction of physical experiments, as both Concept-forms and Form-generators. Further on, the project process will engage with both digital and physical techniques in order to develop design methodologies that utilize the computational potential inherent within material behavior. The studio will develop strategies leading to specific building proposals as a “hybrid” structures. This is your Graduating Final Project / Thesis, and as such the scale and scope of the project will vary individually, according to your thesis. The design project will focus on the applied research to develop new prototypes of urban design and architecture for the Gulf Region and innovations in environmentally and culturally sustainable designs. The sustainable science layer will add another dimension to the work.

The studio will be engaged in the research and design of morpho-(eco)logical systems by investigating physical systems in relation to their capacity to modulate microclimates and provide spatial and programmatic opportunities and solutions.
The task is to design a new district, with it own ecological and infrastructural systems addressing the design of new settlements. Each student will develop his or her own agenda and research content. The studio’s overall underlining and generative theme will be that of Architecture in-transit and travel: arrival, temporary or permanent accommodation, vertical and horizontal high-rise, farming village and coastal inhabitation.

Transitional morphologies: Space is no longer just a given entity but is instead constructed through both social and material operations and the experience of space-time.

Contemporary condition
Contemporary architectural discourse has recently renewed its interest in issues of science and materiality. If the 20th century was characterized by the art of technology, the 21st century began with the technology of art. Technology is inextricably linked to the contemporary condition, which advances in parallel with digital media. This new state is shifting the formal attributes of architecture and is generating a new formal language. The most dramatic changes have been taking place in the technology of simulation, visualization and fabrication of space. We are now entering into a completely artificial space. As the contemporary philosopher Manuel De Landa has noted, the process of creating new digital spaces by architects should be distinguished by three characteristics: population thinking (more than one derivative), intensive thinking (viable in terms of structural engineering) and topological thinking (variations without a change of properties). Then fabrication follows.

The City – The Land
Transformation is the key operation of contemporary urban culture. To cope with the demands of society, cities are in constant flux. They grow both vertically and horizontally, increasing in density and intensity; they require re-structuring and transformation on almost every level. Regardless of the scale and nature of these changes their impact on its citizens is largely unpredictable, and their repercussions unknown. This climate of uncertainty is intriguing; within it even the smallest tweaks have an impact. This is the studio’s focus: the manipulation of the urban fabric by inserting structures that trigger change, provoke and demand response.

Artificial Island: Flat grid with prosthetic geometries
An island is an extreme case for architecture. Al Lulu island is a flat artificial island of the coast of Abu Dhabi. Within this abstract and endless space, the generation of prosthetic geometries and new morphologies will act as catalysts and variants for innovation. The studio will challenge the current practice of architecture in the UAE and make alternative and real proposals for a new city. These will explore issues of landscape, coastline, redefining sustainability, environmental interactivity and dynamics such as energy and adaptability.

Process and technique
Based on the theme of travel and transition and developed through experimental and innovative process we will derive concepts and tectonic forms and a new desired architectural language for the UAE and its region. By adopting contemporary form-making practices, such as modeling in physical and digital form, the work of the studio will attempt to break some of the preconceived boundaries of architecture, notably that of the traditional sequence of site, program and proposal. A diversity of architectural approaches is expected.