The Morpholio Project unveils seven new and forward thinking design tools with the launch of Morpholio 2.0, the App Store’s number one portfolio app. The app re-imagines the portfolio as a design utility, moving it into the fast, flexible, at-your-fingertips device era. The project seeks to advance the ways that creatives access, share, discuss, and get feedback on their work from a global community of users.

Morpholio began as a research project by architects who simply wanted amazing tools for their devices. The group wondered, what would happen if the focus of software development shifted away from production alone and towards the need to cultivate and assess ideas. Designers have tools that allow them to generate millions of options, but few that help to select the right ones. “Aside from making design production easier, we wanted to know if better tools could make it smarter by integrating the wisdom of crowds and capitalizing on the power of the touchscreen to capture feedback,” says Anna Kenoff, Morpholio Co-Creator.

To achieve this, Morpholio had to become very sophisticated about all the ways that designers communicate – not just through language, but most importantly through their eyes and hands. Over the past year, the team of architects and programmers has collaborated with experts from various disciplines to build a robust design-centric workspace that could be used by anyone – from fashion designers to photographers, architects and automotive designers, even tattoo artists. It builds on research into human-computer-interaction to deliver innovations like a tool for image analytics called “EyeTime” and virtual “Crits” where collaborators can share images, and comment on each other’s work via notes or sketches. Human behavior data-mining is essential to offering these forms of powerful feedback, letting you know how your followers are interacting with your work. “These new tools are absolutely integral to the daily workings of any image driven process and have huge implications for both design and artistic practice,” says Co-Creator, Toru Hasegawa.

Morpholio’s cloud-based infrastructure is built from the ground up to amplify design thinking.   Drawing, commenting, sharing and analysis are built into and on top of the portfolio, creating the first completely integrated platform for designers.  ”Creatives have a rich interaction with each other as well as their own work, which wasn’t being captured by existing software,” says Mark Collins, Co-creator. “With these new tools, Morpholio 2.0 becomes a powerful hub that reflects and amplifies the life of the creative – overflowing and abundant with inspiration, ideas and discussion.” Read the rest of this entry »

Terra Insola is an architectural workshop taking place this summer (2013) in Crete, Greece. This workshop will have four areas of development: theoretical, computational, material fabrication and film documentation:

• Research (material in situ expertise, know-how, political and cultural involvements, rituals, literature, mythology, extraction-transformation, symbiosis)

• Process – computation (logic of aggregation, scattering, staggering, stacking, with variable components, on Rhino Grasshopper and Python scripting)

• Material experiment (prototyping, test of resisting and decay, strategy of construction, machinism and robotic developments)

• Report (photography, recordings and film / stop motion during all the process of construction)

Instructors: Francois Roche, Ezio Blasetti, Stephan Henrich, Camille Lacadee, Danielle Willems, Andreas Theodoridis, Lydia Kallipoliti

The daily experience of the workshop will be balanced between computation and hands-on work in situ (local knowledge, memories and know-how knitted with global tooling, computation and machinism) as exogeneous-endogeneous apparatuses. A machine will be designed dedicated to a non-repetitive component, which is able to be re-introduced as a non-standard process to create the geometry of a shell-ter (specific “agencements” and assemblage in the pursuit of the ceramic ornamentation of the Minos Castle, embedded in a computation procedure). This project (design, process, researches, documentation, construction, etc.) will entirely emerge from the collaborative work of our group, as a unique and engaged realization. Blurring the limits between students and instructors, we will define together a strategy of co-responsibility and co-authorship. Read the rest of this entry »

The building is located on Tatarbeyi Sokak, is one of the most virginal and underdeveloped streets of the rapidly transforming Galata District under conservation. Comprised of eight 80-m2 studio flats and one 190-m2 penthouse up for sale, it has a total surface area of 1000 m2. The building is a residential project that extends beyond the conventional codes of the already-built environment, yet manages to reproduce these codes, respecting the existing architectural fabric. In this regard, it continues to find new solutions to the existing problems of architecture by utilizing contemporary technologies and taking into consideration the newly burgeoning socio-economic structure of the region, as well as the infrastructure, environmental conditions, climate, and solar movements.

The building is comprised of a wooden shell that covers the largely transparent living area in an uncompromising manner and set between two blind and extremely thing exposed concrete curtain walls. The wooden components on the front elevation run parallel to the glass façade that evolves into a saddle rood and entirely cover the front and back of the building. Perceived as a gigantic blind façade from one perspective, yet appearing as a translucent veil from the other, the wooden surface also functions as a sun filter. Comprised of parallel horizontal laths that angle at various points, the wooden element divides the façade into four as the middle segments expand outwards, towards the street; leaving the sides exposed, the wooden elements thus allow a view of the street and create a bay window effect that establishes a link between home life and life on the street. Read the rest of this entry »

This project designed by Giacomo Pala is the result of the contrast between elaborately formal and incoherent shape and program: a detailed investigation of real specific housing problems in relation to the expansion of the city of tomorrow and the issues of globalization.

The project is divided in two parts: the upper one is the housing block where 650 people can live.
There are four Typologies of apartments: 1. Apartments for singles or couples ( 60 %) 2. Apartments for four people ( 17 %) 3. Apartments for three people ( 17 %) 4. Double height apartments for four people ( 6 %)

The second part of the building is the lower one which is composed by the public spaces. This part of the building is a 3 floors block (containing sports Clubs, Swimming Pools and gyms) defined by a dynamic shape and not directly connected to the housing part in order to maintain a diversification of the public, semipublic and private spaces.

How can we look at the world today?
How can we imagine a project for the future in a realistic way?
We know now: Reality is not “Reality”.
Reality is an Incoherent and dense mix of realities.
It is a swarm which we generically call “reality”.
How can we use it to design? Read the rest of this entry »

We are pleased to inform you that our very own Editor-in-chief, Carlo Aiello, will be part of the “Viral Voices: Global Discussions” panel at the Center for Architecture on May 02, 2013. If you are in the city please reserve your place as soon as possible. Admission is free.

When: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM THURSDAY MAY 02
Where: Center for Architecture (536 Laguardia Place, New York, NY 10012)

The AIANY Global Dialogues Committee has dedicated this year to “uncovered connections,” with the intent of investigating issues that are similarly impacting multiple regions, cultures and individuals. Viral Voices: Global Discussions will explore the impact that social media, technology and device culture are having on our design process, and ultimately the way we practice. How do we shape a global conversation? How are we changing the relationships between academia and the profession? What is the impact of hyper information sharing and critique? Throughout the evening, the topics of communication, research, collaboration, and data distribution will be addressed and debated.

Mark Wigley, Dean of the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP) at Columbia University and David Basulto with David Assael of ArchDaily will come together for an evening discussing how these technologies affect the relationships between academia and profession. Following their talks, Carlo Aiello from eVolo, David Fano from CASE, Jill Fehrenbacher from Inhabitat, Toru Hasegawa from The Morpholio Project/the GSAPP Cloud Lab, Tim Maly from Wired Magazine and Cliff Kuang from Fast Company will join the speakers for a panel discussion addressing the impact that social media, technology and device culture are having on our design process, and ultimately the way we participate in a global discussion.

Price: Free
Please RSVP
Organized by: AIANY Global Dialogues Committee Read the rest of this entry »

2b is the second year undergraduate studio at USC School of Architecture, and the studio agenda focuses on materials, their properties, limitations and effects. The process that led to the glass pavilion was a succession of exercises. The studio section taught by Roland Wahlroos-Ritter started with precedent studies of the primary building materials timber, masonry [brick], steel, concrete and glass. Shelley Fu and Vicky Wong, the students that designed the glass pavilion started with a precedent study of the glass pavilion in Toledo by SAANA. They translated their interest in structural glass, as well as it reflective and refractive qualities, into their first project design of a glass bench. Since they were unable to bend glass similar to the glass in Toledo, they became interested in origami techniques and folding glass. The design developed into a simple but elegant folded plate structure.

Through the discovery of the amazing structural abilities and seductive reflections of folded plates in their bench, they became more ambitious in their design for their second project. They explored various geometries in paper models and developed a number of detail solutions. At the end of the second project review all pavilion designs within the studio section were put up for a student vote to choose which design was going to get built by all students. The glass pavilion, by far the most ambitious and expensive, won the vote.

After the vote, the project design had to be re-strategized, since within the time constraints of only two weeks of design revisions, fabrication and installation it would have been impossible to be built in glass. So in this sense the project is seen as a 1:1 prototype for a future glass pavilion; to test the geometry, spatial qualities and fabrication process. Thus glass was substituted for 6mm polycarbonate. In the process the overall geometry was refined, rhino scripts written to generate the folded plate geometry, and shop drawings developed to allow fabrication. The final design consisted of over 800 polycarbonate pieces fastened together with over 2500 zip ties. The prototype revealed unexpected moments in terms of structural behavior, especially of the two cantilevers at the end and it’s ability to transform the perception of the environment.

Studio Instructor: Roland Wahlroos-Ritter
Students: Meaghan Camp, Amrine Katherine, Feng Zhentao, Fu Shelley, Ghods Saeed, Jeung Peter, Lee Dong, Mendoza Andrea, Nicholson David, Prabhakaran Krithika, Sakaamini Zenah, Su Yang Chun, Wong Vicky, Wood Graham Read the rest of this entry »

Perpetuum Mobile conceived by O + R is a system of mobile smoking point units that proposes an alternative relationship between smokers and non-smokers in open public spaces in the city of Tokyo. The project generates a new platform of social interaction capable of adapting to different urban situations that creates unpredicted distributions on the site according to sites’ needs and seasonal changes.

Each unit is composed of 3 main elements:

A. Inner Garden Core of 2,70 x 2,70 meters of 1 meter height, that integrates: 9 seats, 9 cigarette disposal units, 4 planters, and a main bamboo central planter with a water outlet system. Each seat and back has a smoking add printed finishing. The garden is composed of Bamboo Trees, Aromatic Plants (Japanese local Variety of Mentha arvensis) and Chrysanthemum. The use of local varieties facilitates the maintenance and survival of this small landscape system. Cigarette Disposal Units are integrated on the unit with a top aluminium center chute and a metal lined Container. Cigarettes are contained and extinguished inside the metal lined container. The disposal units can be removed for cleaning, maintenance, and recycling.

B. Shelter System. Composed of a triangulated aluminium mesh structure with a variable thickness of 10 to 50 mm approx., and a recycled glass finishing on both sides with colours in gradient from black – yellow – green, and a total height of 5,00 m. The structure is connected to the core by a system of tubular columns in which a system of rings provides stability to the system. This design is inspired by the traditional Amigasa hats and developed after different operations of manipulation according to the project.

C. Motion and Support System. The complete unit is supported by wheels of 6’’diameter, tire rubber and swivel bracket with one brake per wheel and a brake control for all the wheels of the unit; each wheel is estimated to support up to 300 kg load. Read the rest of this entry »

Design Rhizome conceive by Farooq Khayyat is located in the heart of San Francisco. Rhizome operates as the city’s fulcrum; leveraging the ideas of design leaders, students, creators, and change makers with the needs of educators, entrepreneurs, and local food merchants.

Innovation is the result of combined ideas. Design Rhizome is a place where design professionals and novices alike join in spontaneous interaction and collaboration to give life to the ideas of tomorrow. Proximity, exchange of ideas, and shared resources are the key ingredients for practical creativity and innovation. The creatives can unite in a supportive space with the tech, finance, and government leaders of the day to awaken and strengthen the community. Read the rest of this entry »

Elegant Embellishments have installed a depolluting facade on the Torre de Especialidades at the Hospital Manuel Gea Gonzalez, Mexico City. The 2500m2 quasicrystal facade is composed of prosolve370e modules- three dimensional architectural modules with photocatalytic pollution-fighting technology.

prosolve370e is a decorative architectural module that reduces air pollution in urban environments. The modules are a functional, yet highly decorative modular ornament that achieve a synergy between design form and molecular technology. Inspired by fractals in nature, the undulating shapes maximize the surface area of active coating to diffuse light, air turbulence and pollution.

The modules contain superfine titanium dioxide (TiO2), a pollution-fighting technology that is activated by ambient daylight. When positioned near pollution sources, the modules break down and neutralize NOx (nitrogen oxides), VOCs (volatile organic compounds), SO2, and FPM directly where they are generated.

Derived from a quasicrystal grid, the underlying mathematical grid generates patterns that appear irregular, yet are made of only two constituent types. This modularity creates aperiodic, biomimetic tesselations that bear strong semblance to sponges or corals. The tiling method ultimately enables visual randomness, typically associated with the bespoke, to occur in a modular system.

As a modification to traditional built structures, prosolve370e essentially “tunes buildings” to perform better to the invisible criteria of air pollution.

eVolo_05: Architecture Xenoculture

Title: eVolo_05: Architecture Xenoculture
Guest Editors: Juan Azulay (Matter Management), Benjamin Rice
Cover: Perfect Bound
Size: 9″ x 11.5″
Pages: 300
ISSN: 1946-634x
ISBN: 978-1938740039

-> Get your copy

INTRODUCTION 

Xenoculture is a term coined by Iranian writer and philosopher Reza Negarestani that describes the need for embracing and exploring the unexpected, the alien. In this issue we borrow the idea and explore the realm of Architecture Xenoculture — the work of architects and designers who detach from everything that architecture is supposed to be and look like, including preconceived forms and aesthetics, to look into new architectural and design possibilities. An architectural form that emerges from mathematical processes and new material explorations and proposes something never before seen — an aesthetic yet to be determined.

Some of the work showcased has been produced by leading architecture practitioners and academics worldwide including: Hernan Diaz Alonso, Servo, Francois Roche, Marc Fornes, Kokkugia, Zaha Hadid, Volkan Alkanoglu, and Rafael Lozano among others.

Architecture Xenoculture is the problematization of work produced by embracing the proliferation of this mist of fear. It argues for the harnessing of this aesthetic of fear towards a yet-to-be determined end – intensifying its practice towards new thresholds, those that unleash the potential of the alien in the world beyond the limited imaginary we have become anesthetized to, conjuring insecure material and behavioral manifestations of the xeno-gene and its ability to adapt, mutate, survive and fight.

eVolo_05: Architecture Xenoculture

eVolo_05: Architecture Xenoculture

eVolo_05: Architecture Xenoculture

eVolo_05: Architecture Xenoculture

eVolo_05: Architecture Xenoculture

eVolo_05: Architecture Xenoculture

eVolo_05: Architecture Xenoculture

eVolo_05: Architecture Xenoculture

eVolo_05: Architecture Xenoculture

-> Get your copy

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