PROJECT EXHIBITION
Explore how design intersects with the urgent challenges of our time through “Accelerated Design”. This theme invites critical reflection and creative action in response to accelerating climate crises, digital surveillance, AI copyright issues, geopolitical conflicts, mental health challenges post-pandemic, and disinformation.
23-25 APRIL 2024
9:00-21:00
CAMPUS CENTRE, SUTD
PROJECT 1
bendscape pavillion
INSTRUCTOR : AFSHIN KOUPAEI K
STUDENTS : C.H. CHEN, L. BRAUNGER, N. NEURURER, C. BRAML, L. MACKOWSKI, T. FABINI, O. KACSO, W. ZHOU, P. MALÁSEK, , Z. TAN, J. HE, T. ROBLEK
UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED ARTS IN VIENNA, INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTURE, DIGITAL DESIGN AND PRODUCTION LAB
BENDSCAPE is the result of a two-semester work by the students in Machining PRAXIS in Architecture I & II, at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna’s Institute of Architecture.
In this study, the students began learning the processes of 3-axis machining and developed their expertise by experimenting with wood bending techniques based on subtraction. During this process, the students became familiar with the advantages and difficulties of machining. They learned how to handle CAM operations and how to employ CNC machines to manufacture the desired piece.
The BENDSCAPE Pavilion is made of 60 elements in total which are made of 29 unique typologies. Manufactured and assembled in a week with collaborative work of 12 students + 1 instructor at the Institute of Architecture at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna.
PROJECT 2
CO-INTELLIGENT DESIGN TOWARD MODULAR STRUCTURES
Mingli Sun, Peter Buš , Jianhao Chen, Kenan Sun
Shanghai International College of Design & Innovation, Tongji University.
Institute of Future Human Habitats, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School.
Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London (UCL).
School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen.
The co-intelligent design method for modular structures aims to articulate human designers’ unique capabilities, such as intuition, creativity, and designerly thinking, with the computational strengths and mimetic creativity of Agents to co-create design solutions. Human designers possess unique and irreplaceable creativity and imagination. In this study, we created the Agent’s design cognition using GAIL and PPO to imitate human designers’ design reasoning processes, allowing them to generate similar design solutions through self-training. The co-intelligent approach offers a new perspective and pathway for modular structure design. As we enter the era of AI design, this study presents new ideation on how to facilitate the collaborative design process between AI and human designers, which is a co-shaping and co-evolutionary process.
PROJECT 3
URBAN EXPERIMENT
Chuwen Zhong , Xi’an Jiaotong - Liverpool University
This urban experiment in Hong Kong’s Yali State neighborhood utilizes computer-driven genetic algorithms to optimize the thermal environment. Employing a ‘passive design’ approach with Evo-Mass in Grasshopper, the designer iteratively calculates eld of view and thermal radiation, yielding preliminary model results. Addressing high-density urban issues, the model functions as a mixed vertical micro city, creating a layered platform that serves as a green public space. Despite its current architectural scale, the study suggests future possibilities of applying technology at the urban level. Integrating physical environment optimization with urban morphology aims for a more sustainable and climate-friendly urban landscape
PROJECT 4
DATA DRIVEN PLACEMAKING
Jeroen van Ameijde, Chun Yu Ma, Garvin Goepel, Clive Kirsten, Jeff Wong
THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG, Lightweight Works, cAPS Research Ltd., Hong Kong, china
In the context of ongoing densification of cities and ageing urban populations, public spaces are a crucial infrastructure to support the physical and mental wellbeing of urban residents. This research and education project has focused on a digital workflow to generate site-specific designs for shaded public seating, considering the relationships of local public places to their surroundings. A strategy for customised and site-specific design was developed through the use of multiple software tools, employing evolutionary algorithms and multi-objective optimisation.
PROJECT 5
EXPANDED DRAWING: PLANETARY ARCHITECTURES
SIMON TWOSE, ANASTASIA GLOBA, OLIVER PRISK and ELLA JONES
TE HERENGA WAKA | VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON, THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY
Personal and Planetary Architectures brings together two parallel universes: the world of intimate, personal, human gesture, and gestures at the scale of the planet. The project aims to fuse these worlds, combining human performances with colossal planetary movements in interactive art/ architecture installations. In these, people move their bodies, draw, and touch, in response to projected animations of immense planetary dynamics—oceanic immensity, seismic activity, unpredictable bushfires. This fusion of personal and planetary is through an expanded approach to architectural drawing. We practice this expanded form of architectural drawing through spatiotemporal installations, where science and art are combined. In these, sophisticated digital techniques, of human–space interaction, merge with the sensory occupation of space. In this way we bring together two parallel temporal and spatial universes, using art and science to merge personal and planetary gestures. We speculate on what architectures are drawn by these two worlds.
The Personal and Planetary project is as part of a series of installations researching Expanded Drawing, involving multi-scale, multi-sensory gestures. The research explores key aspects in these co-created drawings, from the intrinsic openness of the architectural sketch to the material, digital, performative, and interactive aspects of the Expanded Drawing system. We ask: what is the architecture of this conversation when space is drawn by human hand and eye, and also by immense gestures of natural phenomena?
PROJECT 6
FACTORY FUTURE
JAKE WILSON (TUTORS: MARCO VANUCCI, FEDERICO ROSSI)
LONDON SOUTH BANK UNIVERSITY
Factory Future proposes the development of a new automated motorcycle factory for the production of electric vehicles, in the city of Pesaro. The project leverages on the legacy of existing manufacturing facilities and the manufacturing tradition of the North Adriatic region. The project takes advantage of the strategic position of the city of Pesaro that lies within the trade route of the New Silk Road.
Thus, the proposal establishes a link, economic and cultural, between Europe and the Far East. Factory Future proposes the development of a large-scale intervention, called the “super block”, that acts as an urban node, an infrastructural and logistics interchange and cater for the urban regeneration of Pesaro city center.
The project explores the potential of pre-fabrication of generic parts that are assembled non-standard and custom assembly processes.
PROJECT 7
INVESTIGATING RESTORATIVE BENEFITS OF SMELL EXPERIENCES IN MULTISENSORY VIRTUAL REALITY
MUHAMMED YILDIRIM, ANASTASIA GLOBA, OZGUR GOCER, ARIANNA BRAMBILLA
THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY
Previous research has extensively documented several benefits of interacting with nature. Biophilic design applications aimed at connecting the built environment back to nature have been shown to improve employee health, well-being, and productivity in the workplace. However, the majority of research regarding restorative environments to date has prioritized the visual qualities of nature experiences, neglecting other sensory modalities. Specifically, the significance of the sense of smell in the restoration process has been largely ignored. This research investigates the restorative benefits of multisensory nature experiences within workplace contexts. A pretest-posttest experimental approach was employed to compare the restorative outcomes of workplaces under two conditions, one lacking natural elements vs another offering visual, auditory, and olfactory experiences of nature. Thirty-two participants engaged in a multisensory virtual reality simulation that replicates the environmental conditions of an actual workplace located in Sydney, Australia. The results revealed that multisensory biophilic workplaces significantly improved cognitive performance, reduced stress levels, and enhanced mood states compared to their non-biophilic counterparts. Notably, there was a statistically significant association between olfactory pleasantness and restorative benefits. Although visual elements emerged as the primary means of creating a restorative workplace environment, our results suggest that the sense of smell plays a significant role in restoration process. This paper provides empirical evidence on the paramount importance of olfactory cues in nature-based experiences, contributing to the knowledge within the realms of biophilia and architectural discourse.
PROJECT 8
KATENARA 弦閣
DR KRISTOF CROLLA, NICHOL WONG BUILDING SIMPLEXITY LAB, THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG DR JUNE-HAO HOU, DR PEI-HSIEN HSU, YU-TUNG CHENG GRADUATE INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTURE, NATIONAL YANG MING CHIAO TUNG UNIVERSITY
The KATENARA (弦閣) Pavilion is a curved glue-laminated timber shelter situated in Taiwan, designed by the University of Hong Kongs’ Building Simplexity Laboratory (BSL) and built in collaboration with the National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) to advocate the use of low-carbon materials for a sustainable future. This innovative structure demonstrates how sustainable wooden architecture can be achieved using advanced digital design tools, even within the constraints of low-tech construction environments.
KATENARA emphasises the potential of digital design tools in the creation of human-centric, environmentally, socially, and financially sustainable architecture. The project showcases the exciting design possibilities offered by this new approach and emphasises the importance of design research in using cutting-edge digital tools to drive innovation, ultimately transforming the future of sustainable architecture and construction.
PROJECT 9
MATERIALFOLIO - a full-stack crowdsourcing platform to build city material archive
JUNLING ZHUANG
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK - GSAPP
MaterialFolio is an experimental project that aims to build a user-friendly, user-motivated data collection and visualization program that complements the Google Street View dataset by crowdsourcing Street View. It was developed based on ReactJS and Mapbox API on the front-end, and on the back-end, a material image segmentation model trained by Pytorch was run in real-time by Flask. Additionally, the project will provide real-time updates to an alternative image model in urban imagery research using important building materials in urban perception as a cue, and I envision an auditing system that makes these streetscapes and materials data available for public download and contributes to a multi-model image dataset by allowing access to historical streetscapes and building materials through the application’s timestamps.
PROJECT 10
OPERATING TABLE
GEORGE THEMISTOKLEOUS
NORWICH UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS
The one common material that runs along Nicosia’s buffer zone is the barbed wire. Made from thin polished stainless-steel round bars (6 mm) the materiality of the operating table resonates with the border’s stainless-steel barbed wire. Minus the sharp edges. The mirror-like steel assemblage appears to defy any functionality when seen from a distance. As opposed to the aggressive barbed wire, the object appears as unidentifiable. Luminous components hover in this mirror-like assemblage, with the resin moulds of the head gauzily reflecting their surroundings. The table split in four parts on wheels can be physically attached onto barrels (the two parts have circular arcs that wrap around the barrels). When all four parts of the head cavity align, the stainless-steel mesh mimics a table, or a sort of outline of a table. This object resembles a table because it has something like a table-top surface -the mould casts-, its height is similar to an average table, and it has upright supports. The table is operative in the sense that its form does have its own internal logic, it has been designed to contain the head moulds, electronic components (DSLR cameras, LCD screens, Raspberry Pi micro-computers, wires, sensors), mirrors, and sliders. The technical assemblage performs a specific function, and the form of the table follows some of these functional constraints, i.e., it needs to re-produce the physical mirrored stereoscopic setup inside its frame. The various folds of the steel components also respond to how the participant’s body moves around the table, inviting the body to move around, touch and move the object. This performance of the body moving the object is crucial. Whilst moving the table, sensors capture the participant, and sometimes captures other views of the surrounding spaces. This happens to a certain degree by chance, as what is in the frame depends on the interaction between the participant’s body and the table part. Once a view is captured, software processes the image in ‘real’ time, by compositing background and foreground.
PROJECT 11
WASTE NOT: MATERIALS FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
ANASTASIA GLOBA, RACHEL LEE AND ARIANNA BRAMBILLA
THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY
The escalating climate crisis and diminishing resources call for a radical shift from high-carbon building materials to more sustainable alternatives. This project investigates the potential of mycelium, a living biomaterial, in creating sustainable architecture from household waste, addressing resource depletion, and contributing to a resilient built environment. The study’s unique contribution is the practical application of household waste to produce mycelium composites for building materials, supporting a circular economy. In an experimental study, sixty-six samples with differing substrate-to-mycelium ratios were systematically analysed for weight gain/loss, shrinkage post-drying, health of growth, mould contamination, and aesthetic qualities. The findings demonstrate the feasibility and limitations of utilising local waste and living materials in architecture, addressing the research question concerning mycelium’s potential in sustainable and localised construction. This paper details the experimental findings and outlines the next research phase, advancing the innovative application of mycelium in the field, and their adoption within wider communities.
