ReForm - Growing Architecture
Authors:   , Orr Noah 
Published: November 2021

<p>Over the past decade robotic fabrication in architecture has succeeded where early digital architecture has fallen short: in the synthesis of the immaterial logic of computers and the material reality of architecture. In light of this new/profound shift architectural theorist and historian of the ‘Digital Turn’ - Mario Carpo argues: ‘We no longer are witnessing the delayed modernization of an industry, but rather an historic departure: the modern division between intellectual work and manual production, between design and realization and manual production. Through this we see traditional modes of design becoming obsolete’. The increasing power of digital design software, the widespread availability of digital fabrication tools, and the growing complexity of our built environment, are in stark contrast to the inefficient techniques that currently hinder today’s construction industry. Furthermore, the utilisation of concepts from nature including biomemesis, biophilia, swarm tectonics, as well as cross-disciplinary influences - from the film industry to social sciences and artificial intelligence - has contributed significantly to the depth of change in the tools, and their subsequent delivery of, architecture. Using nature and biological paradigms as a key influence for the work (specifically biological systems as defined by Menges, Wienstock and others) the thesis asks the question: How can biological theories on growth disrupt inert material perception within the discourse of 3D-printing architecture? It seeks to consider a design and fabrication process that allows the dynamic potential found in natural systems (patterns, forms, behaviours, organisation) to design and build with far more complexity and sophistication. Such work could fore front notions of growth, evolution and natural forms of optimization compared to the current post industrialised notions of beauty. New computing capacity and assembly efficiencies should over time produce more advanced structures than are possible with current technologies. The researcher is ‘aware’ of the range of fabrication methods available to the industry, firstly the invention of Computer Numerical Control (CNC) known primarily as a ‘subtractive method’ of machining and additive manufacturing machines (3D printers) by Charles Hull (1984) which revolutionized rapid prototyping throughout the automotive, aeronautic, and design industries. The application of additive manufacturing workflows - in particular to the architectural field - holds significant potential to provide a fabrication method for the complex geometrical forms that substantiate the parametric design paradigm. However, contemporary attempts in mass fabrication of computer generated componentry are still costly in terms of practice, investment, and time... They are also complex in terms of assembly and co-ordination. Using customized CAD/CAM workflow the author speculates a self-assembling ‘4-D’ architecture. As a piece of explorative design research, the thesis focuses primarily on the underlying philosophy and design methods, and looks to offer up a series of tectonic iterations that integrate form, surface and structure. These iterations have been designed and developed through complex surface pattern projection, a speculative technique developed by the author. It allows a use of direct additive 3d print to surface and enables a prototype fabrication system. This prototype system results in the production of self-assembling tension based membrane surface structures. These structures could, for example, be used for rapid deployment construction scenarios. (see final Design Research). Resin-impregnation patterns are applied to 2-D pre-stretched form-active tension systems to induce 3-D curvature upon release. Form-finding is enabled through this method based on materials’ properties, organization and behavior. A digital tool is developed in the CAD environment that demonstrates the simulation of material behavior and its prediction under specific environmental conditions. The methodology follows a systematic design-led research approach, in which physical form finding techniques, developed throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, are digitized via parametric 3D modelling software. Extensive physical modelling and analysis is conducted into a biomimetic approach to the design of fabric tensegrity surface structures, and their CNC fabrication potential explored. This research demonstrates the association between geometry and material behavior, specifically the elastic properties of resin impregnated Lycra membranes, by means of homogenizing protocols which translate physical properties into geometrical functions. The work challenges the shifting role of the architect from that of an assembler of inert (discrete) material parts towards that of ‘an orchestrator of material effects’. This shift in role is enabled through the affordances of computational design tools, and emerging fabrication methods. Conclusions are drawn from the physical and digital explorations which redefine generative material-based design computation, supporting a synergetic approach to design integrating form, structure, material and environment. How can biological theories on growth disrupt inert material perception within the discourse of 3D-printing architecture?</p>