we want to learn - Diploma Studio 10 at Westminster University School of Architecture and the Built Environment

Blog of the "Diploma Studio 10 at Westminster University School of Architecture and the Built Environment"

Ressources, inspiration , tutorials, ... and more.

D-Shape

"The 21st century revolution in building technology has a name. D-Shape.
The mega scale free-form printer of buildings.
What couldn't be done, now can be done."

"D-Shape is a new robotic building system using new materials to create superior stone-like structures.

This new machinery enables full-size sandstone buildings to be made without human intervention, using a stereolithography 3-D printing process that requires only sand and our special inorganic binder to operate. D-Shape is a new building technology which will revolutionize the way architectural design is planned, and building constructions are executed. By simply pressing the “enter” key on the keypad we intend to give the architect the possibility to make buildings directly, without intermediaries who can add interpretation and realization mistakes."

BLOCK Research Group

The Block Research Group is a scientific and educational platform around group head Prof. Dr. Philippe Block (ETH - Zurich).


Equilibrium
http://www.block.arch.ethz.ch/equilibrium

"In eQUILIBRIUM, the design and analysis of structures are taught through interactive, graphic statics-based drawings created with GeoGebra rather than text and equations.

Graphic statics is a powerful method for the design and analysis of structures that, by using force polygons and simple geometric construction techniques, provides intuitive visual information about the relation between form and forces in a structural system."

RhinoVAULT - designing funicular form in Rhino

http://www.block.arch.ethz.ch/tools

"RhinoVAULT is a plug-in for Rhinoceros® being developed at the BLOCK Research Group by Matthias Rippmann, Lorenz Lachauer and Philippe Block, that allows for the intuitive design of compression-only shapes, offering a maximum control of the geometry. This software is written particularly for shaping unreinforced masonry vaults, but can also be used for designing efficient freeform shells. Based on the Thrust Network Approach (TNA), which uses a force network as discretization of the shape, it is possible to internally redistribute forces within the network using force diagrams. This enables the user to generate exciting forms far beyond typical "hanging-net" morphologies."

Smart Geometry 2012 - Material Intensities

"Material Intensities

Imagine the design space of architecture was no longer at the scale of rooms, walls and atria, but that of cells, grains and vapour droplets. Rather than the flow of people, services, or construction schedules, the focus becomes the flow of light, vapour, molecular vibrations and growth schedules: design from the inside out.

The sg2012 challenge, Material Intensities, is intended to dissolve our notion of the built environment as inert constructions enclosing physically sealed spaces. Spaces and boundaries are abundant with vibration, fluctuating intensities, shifting gradients and flows. The materials that define them are in a continual state of becoming: a dance of energy and information."

3D Printed bicycle

"The 'Airbike' is made of nylon but, according to EADS, is strong enough to replace steel or aluminium and requires no conventional maintenance or assembly. It is 'grown' from powder, allowing complete sections to be built as one piece; the wheels, bearings and axle being incorporated within the 'growing' process and built at the same time. Because it can be built to rider specification, it requires no adjustment."

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