ABSTRACT

Arne Quinze Cityscape

The project aims to investigate the translation of complexity and interdependence in natural systems to create architecture which is highly efficient, environmentally specific and structurally coherent.  Local architecture placed in continental climates will be studied to assess how building forms have evolved to manage their habitats.  Founded on these studies, rules for environmentally defined architecture will be abstracted and applied to spatial organisations exploring the performance and quality of space.  Materiality is considered as an integral part of the system. Drawing upon organisational principles of natural systems, the concept of the “body plan” is introduced as a reciprocal relation between environmentally adaptive parameters and diagrammatic notions of spatial organisation. Form is conceived as a manifestation of the “body plan” through the imposition of material constraints.  This approach calls for a diverse material, where inherent properties can be applied as a gradient to functional, structural and physical requirements. Wood possess many unexploited potentials, such as anisotropic properties, which have not been explored at a scale larger than that of a pavilion. Sheet material will be explored through the use of digital fabrication techniques, establishing elements for assembly and minimising redundancy.