University of Pennsylvania/School of Design/Department of Architecture
University of Pennsylvania/School of Design/Department of Architecture
ARCH 741-002/Experiments in Design Techniques/spring 2008
9am-12pm, TH
Instructor: Jenny E. Sabin
Email: jsabin@cabin-studio.com
Topics
Architextiles and the Bauhaus + Black Mountain College
Computation and Weaving
Computer Aided Design and Architextiles
Algorithms and Architextiles
Surface Types and Surface Transformations
Tensegrity Structures and 3D Textures
Responsive Membranes and Smart Materials
Biology and Architextile: Material and Feedback
New Materials
Fabric Architectures
Subdivision Surfaces
Diagrids and woven superstructures
Description
The coupling together of architecture and textiles or architextiles, is not necessarily a new idea. Annie and Joseph Albers and Gunta Stölzl of the Bauhaus, to name a few, and Gottfried Semper all contributed to the development of a theoretical and architectonic practice rooted in textile. Here, the art and science of building and construction is conceptualized, theorized and tooled through textile assemblies. Today, architextiles plays a significant role in the conceptual generation of new geometries and form and in the fabrication of such digital structures into responsive, sustainable, natural and synthetic material assemblies. This course will interrogate the interface between algorithmic design techniques and fabricated material assemblies in order to address issues of performance and feedback. It will explore conceptual, digital and fabricated architextiles by taking up a diverse sequence of digital and fabrication techniques at a range of scales and applications. These investigations may reveal historical and architectural connections between computation and textile fabrication and contemporary applications in scripting and generative models. Case studies will span a number of diverse subjects from responsive surface architectures (biological and architectural) to diagrid structures at the scale of skyscrapers. The course will investigate new textile materials for their high strength and high performance qualities and the application of such materials at the scale of installation. We will look at physical and digital algorithms with the intent of exploring a wide range of fiber(optic) characteristics and textile structures. The course will teach modeling and scripting
techniques within Generative Components where environmental constraints such as haptic and sensory feedback may inform digital design techniques early on. Further, the course will experiment with the insertion of microprocessors and other tech-sensing apparatus into select physical models/installations in order to facilitate dynamic feedback in real time.
Guests:
Philip Beesley, Architect Inc., University of Waterloo
Peter Lloyd Jones, Institute for Medicine and Engineering, UPenn
Mary Anne Friel, Master Printer and Project Manager, Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia
Neil Katz, Associate, and Ajmal Aqtash, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Course Requirements and Assignments
This course is largely composed of a sequence of workshops and lectures addressing conceptual, formal and fabrication issues related to the topic of architextile. The course will be augmented with lectures, weekly readings and optional field trips to local labs at Philadelphia University and the Fabric Workshop and Museum. The class will meet each week and will oscillate between workshops, thematic lectures, exercises and student presentations. Weekly lectures will include detailed instruction in modeling and scripting transactions within Generative Components. The topic for the final project is to be selected by the student at the beginning of the semester and will be investigated for the duration of the semester. The project includes the fabrication of a 1:1 model or installation with accompanying digital drawings and models. Attendance is critical as each session builds upon the former and informs the upcoming one.
Readings
Readings will be assigned each week and are downloadable from the distribution folder in the course folder on Juno.
Sessions
January 17 Introduction
Lecture: Introduction to Historical Background in Textile Design and the Bauhaus;
Introduction to possible project categories: Weaving, Braiding and Form, Knotting, Surface Transformations, Tensegrity Structures, Sensing Networks, New Materials, Fabric Architectures, Subdivided Surfaces
January 24 Computation and Weaving
Lecture: Weaving structures and draft notation: 1D, 2D and 3D Arrays
Workshop: Introduction to Programming + binary data fields and scripting techniques
February 1/2 Generative Components Seminar
Workshop: Bentley Sponsored 2-Day tutorial in Generative Components
Friday, 12pm-6pm, B-7; Saturday, 9am-5pm, B-6
Due: Project Proposals from groups (300 word max abstract)
February 7 Surface Types and Surface Transformations
Lecture: Algorithms and Architextiles
Workshop: generative design and scripting techniques: braiding, knotting, etc.
February 14 Three-Dimensional Textures and Tensegrity Structures
Lecture: Tensegrity Structures and 3D Weaving
Project Review, presentations from all groups
February 21/22 Metabolism, Sensing and Woven Networks
Guest Lecturer: Philip Beesley
Workshop: Friday, February 22, 12-6pm
February 28 Cell Biology and Architextile
Lecture: Context and Feedback
Guest: Peter Lloyd Jones, Institute for Medicine and Engineering, Upenn
Workshop: Environment, Feedback and Recursion
March 6 Project Review, presentations from all groups including physical study models
March 13 no class, spring break
March 20 Exploring the Archive of the Fabric Workshop and Museum
Lecture: Knitting, Knotting, Braiding and Felting: Investigating the work of Anish Kapoor, Do Ho Suh, Marie-Ange Guilleminot, Jana Sterbak and Rachel Whiteread
Guests: Mary Anne Friel, Master Printer, Fabric Workshop and Museum
March 27 Subdivision Surfaces and Discrete Freeform Surfaces
Lecture: Triangulation, Mesh Structures and Beyond
April 3 Fabric Architectures
Lecture: From Otto to Kapoor
Project Review and Working Session
April 10 Diagrids and woven superstructures
Guest: Neil Katz, Associate, and Ajmal Aqtash, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
April 17 Project Review and Working Session
April 24 Final Review of Project Work
