Architecture seeks to reflect ideas about the surrounding world. For the past 20 years, architects have focused on computing technology, physical and biological processes. The science of nature and computational technologies are reshaping our understanding of being, and behind this, the idea of how we can and should work with architectural form and space. This entails the emergence and development of new tools, methods and methods, which significantly changes the idea of / u200b / u200bwhat is the morphology of architecture, i.e. a science that studies the structure of an architectural form. If, for example, biological morphology is the structure of the form of an organism and features of its structure, and in mathematics it is the theory and technique of analysis and processing of geometric structures based on set theory and topology, then the principles of modern architectural morphology are somewhere between those in biology and math. If the architectural forms of the past could be considered as the final structure, now it must be considered through the development of form - morphogenesis.
Processes
Throughout most of its history, architecture has been fascinated by the final and static result. But with the emergence of postmodernism, another interest appeared: architecture is more and more carried away by the process of creating a project. At first, these were collages of allusions to large historical styles, the ancient order system, etc., then it moves into the field of play with more abstract processes: forces, energies, pure geometry, which formed the image of deconstructivism. Further, this game, entering the vastness of modernity, is embodied in diagrammatic thinking, when the presentations of architects more and more resemble instructions for assembling and developing an architectural object.
Such an attempt to transfer architecture from the plane of the subjective ideas of the creator to the rational plane of objective decisions and tasks reflects the requirements of the new time. The chains of diagrams, graphs, explanations reflect why and how the architectural object appeared. But unlike the practice of postmodernism, which reflects the irrational subjectivity of the architect, this happens on the basis of analytics of volume, usable areas, building area, orientation to the sun, height distribution, viewpoints, amount of greenery and parking spaces, transport and pedestrian routes and many other objective factors. … For an example, you can refer to any project of the famous BIG, MVRDV, or OMA.
This correlates very well with how our ideas about the nature of our world have changed. The scientific picture of the world has shown that complex objects of animate and inanimate nature are derivatives of processes. In them, through a sequence of transformation procedures - merging, division and transformation - new entities are generated.
From doing to procreation
We were fortunate enough to be present at the amazing time of the global restructuring of the “doing man” into the “generating man”. What is the difference between the first and the second? The first is based on the traditional way of creating an artificial artifact. This is when there is a final image, plan, decision, and a person, through certain actions, achieves the desired result. Imagine creating a superhero. Then imagine a sculptor who is of the "doer" type. First, he draws or sculpts a sketch of a future sculpture, using a sitter to grasp the correct human plasticity. Then he takes a chisel and processes a piece of stone. The result is not a necessary superhero, but his inanimate reflection, hardly capable of feats.
This is also true when creating architecture. For example, an architect of the first type first comes up with an image of a building based on subjective perception and experience. This is the ideal that the architect thinks should change people's lives for the better, and therefore it should be built everywhere. Then he takes a standard 6x6 meter column grid, standard floors, bricks, etc. and puts this constructor together, striving to get closer to the original ideal. At the exit, the building is little adapted to life, not only because in the process it moved away from the ideal, but also because the ideal itself was an architect's invention, only indirectly related to the real situation. Such a building can be replicated as it is, or manually making small changes, but, in any case, it can hardly fulfill the initial impulse to make people's lives better.
But how does wildlife work? And how does the person of the second type, the “generating person”, act like her? Objects of nature are generated from the interconnections of its elements acting on the basis of laws, rules and restrictions. So living organisms do not have a final image to which they strive, but they have a combination of effects from the actions of the genotype, the totality of all genes of a given organism and ontogenesis, the individual development of an organism from inception to death, most of the time spent in the struggle for survival. This leads to the formation of an individual organism with its own phenotype, i.e. the totality of all internal and external signs and properties of the organism. Thus, it can be seen that actions, processes and development are what nature has staked on in the struggle for survival. At some point, it became obvious to people.
To clarify this statement, let's return to our superhero. In order to create a real superhero, we need to develop his genotype, which will contain super properties. Then we will develop it in the conditions of the struggle for its existence, provided that its survival will directly depend on our survival. So we get the necessary and acting, not the ideal superhero.
In an effort to create a building that will improve people's lives, the "generative architect" will create a genotype for his building so that this building develops in conditions close to reality, in accordance with the principles laid down in the genotype. At the exit, we get a building that has adapted to the surrounding conditions, and effectively performs the tasks for which it was intended. Such a building can be replicated like organisms, not through copying, but through the generation of new buildings, using the same or slightly modified genotype, thus providing a stable population.
Performativity
The practice is increasingly spreading in which actions expressing a conceived process in themselves are what predetermines the final essence of an artifact. This is how the foaming determines the basic qualities of the foam. In fact, foaming itself is both an act and a result of an act at the same time, and what we call "foam" only fixes the final state of the action taking place. This performative approach, when making is inseparable from the final result, has become an important feature of contemporary art and architecture. At the same time, the performative approach is carried out through actions carried out both in reality and in computer programs that simulate actions in real time.
An example of a performative approach produced in reality is the art installation Tape by the Croatian-Austrian group Numen / For, exhibited all over the world. It is not a final project to be transported from site to site or created from site drawings, but a process that uses large duct tape tapes and simple procedures, rules, and local solutions that can be thought of as mutations in the underlying genome. In it, material through actions performed in a new environment materializes into an environment each time unique, but having common spatial characteristics with other incarnations of "Teip".
The environment is used as a support for gradual cultivation through the process of gluing first the longitudinal tapes and then the transverse tightening tapes of the duct tape. Thus, scotch tape is not just one of the material options that can be replaced with any other if desired, but an integral part of the process. Scotch tape is a material that predetermines the actions performed, the properties of the structure and the environment being formed. This is nothing more than the process of embryological ontogenesis, when a whole organism develops from one cell! Moreover, the conditions under which an organism develops affects its shape (phenotype). With the same genotype, different conditions can give different characteristics to an organism, up to different sexes. In installations "Teip" the same rules, operating in different conditions of the urban environment, give rise to a different form of installations. To appreciate the combination of commonality and uniqueness, it is enough to compare installations in Belgrade, Berlin, Melbourne and Vienna.
The process of appearance of "Tape" can be observed on the example of the creation of an installation in Moscow:
In order to understand how the performative approach to architecture can be implemented in computer programs, one should look at the experience of Daniel Piker, who participated in the Branching Points workshop at Strelka this year (see the video of his lecture). In his lecture at the workshop, he talked about a tool he is developing for architects where it is possible to create a form based on physical interactions, to which forces similar to physical forces are applied. In this case, the final form is a derivative of the process of balancing all forces in the system.
Algorithms
For many years, and especially over the past decade, leading architects have been concentrating on how to use computational technology to develop algorithms from which an architectural form is produced. Only the listing of educational centers researching these issues speaks for itself: AA (Architectural Association), IAAC (Instiute for Advanced Architect of Catalonia), SCI-Arc (The Southern California Institute of Architecture), University of Applied Arts Vienna, RMIT University, Columbia University GSAPP, Delft University of Technology with its Hyperbody laboratory. The developed algorithms reflect the vision of how an object should be generated, what relationships, rules and restrictions operate in their system. Such a process, expressed in an algorithm and sealed in a computer code, can be represented as the genome of an object that produces different results depending on the external conditions, which in the algorithms represent the initial data. And the result of the execution of the algorithm is the required architectural form. This principle of designing an architectural form reveals a whole bunch of possibilities: the processes of self-regulation, adaptation of the form to given conditions, the possibility of creating populations of objects with different characteristics, and much more. This approach largely determines the concept parametric design, which has become the main trend in modern architecture.
Morphogenesis
Execution of the algorithm under different conditions can produce entire populations of related objects. Moreover, the population can be made up of both buildings and structural elements of a building, like populations of living organisms and cells that make up living tissues of the body.
In the process of such reproduction, another important property of such a natural act as polymorphism can manifest itself - the ability of some organisms to exist in states with different internal structures or in different external forms. In architectural algorithms, this will look like the ability to choose a way to process data based on the properties of the incoming information, and also, depending on the circumstances, choose the path of generating each specific object within one type of Multiple-Performance Capacity in Architecture. Techniques and
Technologies in Morphogenetic Design, Architectural Design Vol.76 No.2, p.8 ">[1].
An example of the manifestation of polymorphism is a video that shows how the layout changes significantly when the geometry of the building plan changes.
In a sense, the algorithm in this project works as turning on and off any genes depending on the conditions leading to different states of the organism.
The shell of the structure created at the Branching Points workshop at the White Tower 2011 festival in Yekaterinburg consisted of homogeneous elements. Each element was folded from one sheet of steel to resemble a pyramid. The folds of the elements in a checkerboard pattern were directed either in one direction or in the opposite direction from the shell surface. Thus, polymorphism manifested itself not in the form, but in the orientation of the elements. This principle made it possible to create a rigid self-supporting structure, where the elements, with their bulk and large curvature of the shell of an arbitrary shape, did not interfere with each other.
In urban planning, the principle of morphogenesis allows flexible planning of territories. An example is the project of the Berlage Institute (Rotterdam, Netherlands), where the city of Phoenix was studied. The predictive model of the area was developed on the basis of the radiation map of the desert soil, in the place of which a new residential area should appear. Depending on the level of radiation, outlines of residential units are formed so that emissions are minimal for each unit. This is how various properties of housing appear. Each residential complex is not only different in size and shape, but also includes different programs of activity and different forms of organization. [2].
To understand how the new morphogenesis manifests itself in the development of architectural structures, one cannot but refer to the experience of the Emergent Technologies and Design program of the Architectural Association in London. They explored how, together, computer code, mathematics, physical laws, material and advanced manufacturing technologies can create new, previously unthinkable complex material structures.
An example of how the morphogenesis of an entire object depends on the morphogenesis of its parts is the AA ComponentMembrane's roof terrace shed project, which was designed, calculated, manufactured and installed in just 7 weeks. The canopy had to be sufficiently well protected from wind and rain, however, it was necessary to minimize the horizontal wind load due to the weak supporting structure and not obstruct the views from the roof[3]… At the same time, the canopy had to have the ability to shade in different ways at different times of the year at different times of the day. The shape of each element of the canopy was determined by agreeing on all these criteria.
The honeycomb structure of the canopy consists of a set of elements. For each type of canopy element, the best material was chosen to fulfill its role: resistance to wind, gravitational loads, shading. For this, a parametric model was made, which made it possible to carry out the evolutionary process of finding an optimal solution. Ultimately, this digital morphogenesis resulted in a canopy consisting of 600 different structural elements and 150 different membrane shapes.
Their other project, Porous Cast, examined diatoms and radiolarians. Diatoms are unicellular or colonial algae. The cell is packed into characteristic and very different cell walls that are impregnated with quartz. The radiolarian skeleton is composed of chitin and silicon oxide, which form a porous surface. The porous mass of these two types of cells offers an interesting model for differentiated wall molding, which gives new specific architectural possibilities, such as the permeability of air, light, temperature, and more. The first phase of the experiment consisted of casting gypsum between inflated cushions, which achieved the shape inherent in the natural mineralized skeleton of cells. Then physical experiments and digital analysis of airflow and illumination were carried out to reveal changes in properties depending on various characteristics of the shape, such as the size of the cells and their permeability. The ultimate goal of the project was to create a production system that can self-organize and create a wall with different characteristics in different parts of it.[4]… Also, this approach makes it possible to proliferate - the proliferation of body tissue through the multiplication of cells, expressed in this case in the ability to grow a wall with differential characteristics through one process.
In the shell prototypes created at the Branching Point: Interaction workshop in August 2011, parametric morphogenesis manifested itself not in the form of elements, but in the geometry of links. The design concept was developed by Daniel Piker, creator of the Kangaroo plugin for Grassopper, and Dimitri Demin. In the model, by simulating physical interactions, points are distributed over a surface of double curvature so as to uniformly fill it all and form triangles with the maximum possible equality of sides. Already in the physical model, identical isosceles triangles interlock with small elastic bonds and, when the minimum surface is tensioned, form a given surface with a minimum gap between the elements.
Variability
These examples show how a morphogenetic approach can be used to create a form that is grown in an environment, yet finite and static. At the same time, one of the basic principles of a living organism, when a cell deforms and thereby changes the shape of the whole organism, can be used in architecture, in which case the adaptation passes from the project to the real life of the building.
The prototype of a deformable building, the shape of which reacts to changes in conditions, can be the Muscle NSA (NonStandardArchitectures) project created by the Hyperbody research group.[5] under the direction of Kas Osterhuis at the Technical University of Delft (TUDelft, The Netherlands). In 2003, a prototype of a building was exhibited at the Center Pompidou, where a pneumatic membrane rests on a network of industrial industrial "muscles" forming triangular cells. The muscles contract and relax independently, coordinating in real time with the general control program, thereby deforming the entire volume of the pavilion. The pavilion reacts through sensors placed around it, reacting to the movement of people in different ways[6]… In 2005, Hyperbody created the next version, called Muscle Body, where the system of coordinated work of all muscles was improved, which made it possible to maintain the shape of a stretched lycra membrane, similar to that used in sportswear. The muscles change the geometry of the awning, compressing and stretching different parts of the fabric, thereby changing their thickness and transparency. The pavilion reacts to how people get inside: it changes the illumination and generated sound, in accordance with the movement of visitors[7]… Thus, the characteristics of the environment become dynamic and inseparable from the nature of the building itself.
Moving in this direction, it is possible to create morphogenetic structures where each element can independently, but in agreement with its neighbors, change its shape so that the properties of the environment, such as illumination, temperature, airflow, color, texture and much more, will change. And if this is connected with the natural principle of flexibility and elasticity in living matter, then we go to a different level of formation of the habitat.
An example of such non-mechanical deformation is the Shape Shift project, where shell elements are designed that deform under the influence of electricity. Together, the Department of Architectural Automation at ETHZ and the Swiss Federal Laboratory of Materials Science and Technology at EMPA are experimenting with an Electroactive Polymer (EAP) that contracts and expands depending on the voltage applied to it. Their membrane is a sandwich of several layers of material. When the area of the EPA layer decreases, the entire membrane deforms due to the difference in areas between the lower and upper membrane layers.[8].
ShapeShift project video:
Another, but very important type of deformation is the direct reaction of elements to changes in the environment through the inherent properties of materials and structure. It is an autonomous and self-organizing process. It allows you to create shells that work like skin, where each cell is sensitive to changes in the environment better than a high-tech engineering construct, consisting of many disparate parts.
The installation "HygroScope - Meteosensitive Morphology", created by Achim Menges in collaboration with Stefan Richert, operates on this principle. They investigated the properties of a coniferous cone to open and close when the humidity changes. The hygroscopic properties of wood fibers allow them to absorb liquid and dry, going through this cycle many times without damage. After that, a structure was created from thin layers, the anisotropic properties of which allow the plate to quickly twist in one direction. Thus, the reaction of the shell to changes in the properties of the environment is physically programmed. [9].
HygroScope video - Center Pompidou Paris:
The latest example is the BLOOM installation created by the architecture studio dO | Su. The surface consists of elements of the same type, which are bimetallic plates. Bimetal, when heated from direct sunlight, begins to bend, thereby opening the pores in the shell, allowing fresh air to penetrate under the structure.
BLOOM Surface Video:
In this and the previous project, the principle of digital morphogenesis works simultaneously, in which each element is slightly different from its neighbors, since its formation uses data that are slightly different from those that form the neighboring ones. But this element also changes its shape under the influence of not data, but energies or properties of the environment. This principle allows an architectural object to be integrated into the ecological system in a natural way.
If earlier architecture was inspired by natural forms, now nature supplies architects with its methods and technologies for working with form and matter. Now morphogenesis is as integral to architectural morphology as it is to biology. The processes of polymorphism, proliferation, evolution, self-organization are already a real toolkit for an architect, the use of which makes it possible to more correctly build relationships between man, artificial environment and nature. And, perhaps, if we change the viewing angle, then we will see that in fact we have advanced much further in the construction of living things than we think. Only living things appear not in genetic engineering, but in architecture.
Footnotes
[1] Hensel, Michael, Towards Self-Organisational and Multiple-Performance Capacity in Architecture. Techniques and Technologies in Morphogenetic Design, Architectural Design Vol. 76 No.2, p. 8.
[2] Wiley, John. Morphogenetic Urbanism. Architectural Design: Digital Cities, p. 65
[3] Hensel, Michael, Menges, Achim, Weinstock, Michael. Computational Morphogenesis, Emergent technologies and design, 2009, pp. 51-52.
[4] Porous Cast, URL:
[5] MuscleBody - KasOosterhuis, 2005, URL:
[6] Muscle Non-Standard Architecture, Center Pompidou Paris, URL: https://protospace.bk.tudelft.nl/over-faculteit/afdelingen/hyperbody/publicity-and-publications/works-commissions/muscle-non-standard-architecture- center-pompidou-paris /
[7] MuscleBody, 2005
[8] ShapeShift, PDF document, URL:
[9] Menges, Achim, Reichert, Steffen Material Capacity: Embedded Responsiveness, Architectural Design: Material Computation: Higher Integration in Morphogenetic Design. Volume 82, Issue 2, pp. 52–59, 2012
Chronology of events of the BRANCH POINT project:
2010, July. The first workshop and lectures on the Branching Point on the Arrow
2011, January. Workshop and lectures at the Artery 2010 festival
2011, January. Workshop and lectures at the festival ARCHITECTURE OF MOVEMENT 2010 (YAROSLAVL)
2011, August. Installation of BranchPointActSurf
2011 r., May. A series of lectures "5.5 branches" at ArchMoscow 2011
2011, October. Workshop consisting of 4 clusters and lectures BRANCH POINT: INTERACTION
2011, November. Workshop at the White Tower 2011 festival in Yekaterinburg
2012 February. Joint workshop and lectures SO-SOCIETY_2 at the "Golden Capital 2012" festival in Novosibirsk.
2012, March. Workshop Processing. "Parametric architecture" in the VKHUTEMAS gallery, Moscow
archi.ru/events/extra/event_current.html?eid=6060
2012, March. Workshop and lectures in Krasnoyarsk at the invitation of 1ln group 2012
branchpoint.ru/2012/04/03/vorkshop-digital-fabrication-v-krasnoyarske/
