Topic outline

  • Generative Tectonics

    Not available unless: You belong to DES STRUCT (SISU)


    Daniel Bolojan: Ubiquitous Urbanism / Refik Aanadol: Melting Memories / Leonardo Solaas: Propagations / Andrew Kudless: P Wall

    Our methods for creating, sharing, and viewing the content of our culture are all constructed with code. If wood, concrete, glass, and steel were the core materials of important new construction in the 20th century, coding has easily supplanted these in the 21st. ... Coding isn't just shaping our buildings, it's shaping our relationships, our communication, our consumption, our creation, our learning, our memory, our very view of ourselves.

    Tyler Hobbes


    This design studio will focus on the generative process and the exploration of the expressive potential in organizational relationships. The generative design process is understood as development on a computational system that is as geometric actualization of an inherent ordering principles. Such design understanding can be viewed as abstract, non-physical interpretation of Eduard Sekler´s notion of tectonics. In his well-known  Structure, Construction, Tectonics he argues that "structure, the intangible concept, is realized through construction and given visual expression through tectonics". Following this description, in this studio we investigate how the ordering principle, the intangible concept, is realized through geometrization of contextual data and given expression through tectonics!

    Such notion of generative tectonics has close ties with generative art. Coined in 1965 by the German philosopher Max Bense, the term generative art describes artistic works based on an algorithmic code. In the 1970s, generative art started to evolve beyond the walls of computer labs and spilled over to the greater art world. The phrase quickly came to refer to geometric abstract art in which simple components were repeated and altered to create more intricate patterns like in the work of Frieder Nake, Herbert Franke or Vera Molnár. Many of these works anticipated notions related to computational design like parametric design, component system and adaptation. Based on this it is easy to understand how generative art can be viewed as source of inspiration for the exploration in the design studio. 

    The studio is organized as research-oriented design studio. No specific site or program is given. Instead, participants are asked to explore the generative potential of organizational principles and the interplay of this principles with contextual data. Like in a lab condition, each design will explore the impact of various field conditons onto ordering systems given by simple sets of rules. All explorations will happen within an algorithmic environment. The necessary skills and knowledge will be provided as a series of input lectures and tutorials together with weekly assignments.        


    Preliminary Schedule       

    Algorithmic I: Processing

    10.1.2023  

    • 13:15 - 13:45 Introduction into the course
    • 13:45 - 14:30 Input 1: Order Ι Reading_I
    • 14:30 - 16:30 Algorithmic I, part 1
    • 16:30 - 17:00 Assignment 

    17.1.2023  

    • 13:15 - 15:00 Algorithmic I, part 2
    • 15:00 - 17:00 Assignment 

    24.1.2023 

    • 13:15 - 14:00 Input 2: Context Ι Reading_II
    • 14:00 - 16:00 Algorithmic I, part 3
    • 16:00 - 17:00 Assignment 

    31.1.2023  

    Sketching with AI: Midjourney et al

    7.2.2023  

    • 13:15 - 15:00 Sketching with AI, part 1
    • 15:00 - 17:00 Assignment 

    14.2.2023  

    • 13:15 - 15:00 Sketching with AI, part 2
    • 15:00 - 17:00 Assignment 

    21.2.2023  

    • 13:15 - 14:00 Input 4 Ι Reading_IV
    • 14:00 - 16:00 Sketching with AI, part 3
    • 16:00 - 17:00 Design project support

    28.2.2023  

    • 13:15 - 17:00 Review I

    Algorithmic II: Python

    7.3.2023  

    • 13:15 - 15:00 Algorithmic II, part 1
    • 15:00 - 17:00 Assignment & individual discussion

    14.3.2023  

    • 13:15 - 15:00 Algorithmic II, part 2
    • 15:00 - 17:00 Assignment & individual discussion

    21.3.2023  

    • 13:15 - 15:00 Algorithmic II, part 3
    • 15:00 - 17:00 Assignment & individual discussion

    28.3.2023  

    • 13:15 - 15:00 Algorithmic II, part 4
    • 15:00 - 17:00 Assignment & individual discussion

    4.4.2023  

    • 13:15 - 17:00 Review II

    11.4.2023  Easter Break

    Individual Design Project

    18.4.2023  

    • 13:15 - 17:00 Design Project & individual discussion

    25.4.2023  

    • 13:15 - 17:00 Design Project & individual discussion

    2.5.2023  

    • 13:15 - 17:00 Design Project & individual discussion

    9.5.2023  

    • 13:15 - 17:00 Design Project & individual discussion

    16.5.2023  

    • 13:15 - 17:00 Design Project & individual discussion

    23.5.2023  

    • 13:15 - 17:00 Design Project & individual discussion

    30.5.2023  

    • 13:15 - 17:00 Final Review