The Life and Death of Energy-Autonomous Objects

Anab Jain, Alex Taylor - Microsoft Research, United Kingdom

This installation presents a collection of conceptual objects designed to encourage questions around recent advances in microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology. The objects, as well as video footage simulating their use, demonstrate how MFCs have the potential to provide what are called ‘energy autonomous’ solutions for powering everyday objects.

Highlights of SIGGRAPH 2008 Curated Design & Computation Gallery Include:

Continua

Erwin Hauer and Enrique Rosado, EHR Associates LLC, Bethany Connecticut, USA

The concepts of continuity and potential infinity have been central themes of Erwin Hauer’s opus from very early on in his career as a sculptor. In his native Vienna, he began to explore perforated modular structures that evolved into infinite continuous surfaces that lent themselves to architectural usage. In partnership with Enrique Rosado, Hauer currently explores digital production of his Continua series using digital means, specifically design transformations, creation of custom tools, and CNC milling techniques.

Weaving Public and Private: Interior Wall Studies

Contact: Neil Katz, Skidmore Owings and Merrill, New York, USA

This sample interior wall panel was conceived as a 25-meter-long and 15-meter-tall screen that consists of solid, repeating Corian components that both hang together structurally and weave public and private spaces. The resulting divider is a thickly layered and textured screen that generates the project-appropriate degree of visual transparency. The system functions as both surface and structure thanks to the interplay between geometry and material.

One_Shot.MGX

Patrick Jouin and Materialise MGX

The One_Shot.MGX foldable stool, designed by Patrick Jouin, was produced for the design collection of Materialise MGX. The project is an investigation of using rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing technologies in the field of industrial design. The seating surface and the legs of the stool emerge from the 3d printing machine at once (in "one shot"), hence the name of the stool.

Tropism

Commonwealth and Joshua Davis, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Tropism is an attempt to bridge the techniques and visions of two digitally oriented art and design studios, Commonwealth and Joshua Davis. Davis is known for his generative, rule-driven graphic compositions, while Commonwealth is known for their experimental products and forms. The two came together to create a computational design series of painted porcelain vases. The Tropism vase series is not only a reflection of the complexity and mutability of the botanic world, but also an application of algorithmic, code-driven art to complex topology and material form.

Ice Rays

George Stiny, MIT Department of Architecture, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Ice-rays are a type of traditional Chinese lattice used in ornamental window grilles. They form irregular patterns that suggest cracking ice on still water. Shape grammar rules for ice-rays are applied to make several examples of ice ray windows, fabricated with CNC milling machine.

Fourier Carpet and Body Blanket

Jenny Sabin - CabinStudio, Department of Architecture, University of Pennsylvania, USA

Fourier Carpet and Body Blanket combine architecture, weaving, and computational systems. Sabin's work examines the contradictions of tradition and innovation by recombining existing albeit disparate systems.

Tensor Shades

Sawako Kaijima and Panagiotis Michalatos - Adams Kara Taylor, London, United Kingdom

The Tensor Shades project explores a process that preconditions the design space by combining two types of spatial information (structural information and desired lighting information) to create a design that maintains structural integrity and formal consistency.

Parametric Urbanism, Procedural Complexity

Nils Fischer and Shajay Bhooshan - Zaha Hadid Architects, London, United Kingdom

Zaha Hadid Architects uncovers internal correlations and recursive relationships in its design practice at multiple scales from the detail to the urban. Parametric Urbanism and Procedural Complexity demonstrate how ZHA’s work challenges current thinking in design and computation.

A Landscape of 3D Printed Skyscrapers

Multiple architectural studios

3D printed models of skyscrapers from number of architectural offices represent a glimpse into the architects' design process, where numerous variations are explored, and overall form and fa ç ade articulation are developed while creating a skyscraper.