-The future is undecided, is unbound by its past and is accretive-
After reading the article Contemporary Techniques in Architecture – a discussion by Ali Rahim on contemporary architectural techniques, a strong image formed in my mind. A thin aluminum plate is placed on a site. Various forces that are present on the site would bend the aluminum plate in different directions. For example predominant winds on the site would stretch the plate in one direction, while the flow of traffic along the site pulls the plate in a different direction. This would cause the thickness of the plate to vary at certain areas and thus even become transparent.
This seems to be the contemporary technique being described in the article. The final result of this method could vary depending on the initial form of the operand object. Therefore based on the initial input we would be able to generate an infinite number of unique solutions to a design problem.
The flexibility of this process is also fascinating. By carefully choosing the forces that operate on the object, we could generate an architecture that is purely functional or formal.
However I would like to question one aspect of this method. It appears that for the purpose of this process, the past, the present and the future have to be clearly distinct. In fact the future is merely a product of the past and the present and therefore cannot be predicted beforehand. Then is this not a purely linear process? I have always been advised about the importance of recursion in architectural process - situations where the future might actually influence the present. Where does the recursive process come into play in this method?
This article also reminds me of a video I have experienced a few weeks ago... Let me know what you think.
2 comments:
I think this is very much a non-linear process. The environment of forces acting on the design process is a set of parameters that occur simultaneously. The outcome of the combination/recombination of parameters influences subsequent combination/recombination hence, a non-linear process (sort of). I think the important point your making is that time, past/present/future, is inherently linear and therefore a design process can’t be anything but linear. The answer might be that we do our best using ‘contemporary techniques’ or ‘animation form’ to simulate a non-linear design process. Or maybe it’s time to change the laws of physics.
Your exemplification on Rahim’s design process is very illustrative. Through the last readings, it has become more evident to me one of the “new design techniques” by means of computer applications. A process for formal and conceptual design, which pretty much mimics the way of functioning of computer programs; a method in which you have several variables and you permutate and iterate them, therefore an algorithmic process. The variables are interactive with forces which permit an infinite number of permutations, then the computer comes is hand to allow us represent the results , to let us play with complex geometries, to let us challenge time and gravity.
I don’t think the process is linear nor do the time parameters, it’s a stochastic process, a back and forth course and everything overlaps.
About the video
VIVA LA REVOLUCION ARQUITECTONICA!!!
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