ANTONY PAULO MAUBACH328962

TUTORIAL THURS 6.15-9.15PM W/ FINN + VICTOR

STUDIOAIRJOURNAL

SEMESTER 1 2014

CONTENTS

• INTRODUCTION P.1• PAST WORK P.2/3• ARCHITECTURAL DISCOURSE P.4 PART A:• A1: DESIGN FUTURING P.6/7• A2: DESIGN COMPUTATION P.8/9• A3: COMPOSITION/GENERATION P.9/10• A4: CONCLUSION P.11• A5: LEARNING OUTCOMES P.12• A6: APPENDIX - ALGORITHMIC SKETCHES P.13

//ARCHITECTURE DESIGN STUDIO AIR

BEnv (Arch) 3rd year

ANTONY PAULO MAUBACH

// ABOUT ME

INTRODUCTION

Antony is in his 3rd year of BEnv (Architecture) at the University of Melbourne, and has previously completed a BArts (Urban Develop-ment + Visual Culture) at Monash University. He is Melbourne born but spent the first few years of his life living in a small town in the swiss alps. He is fluent in German and tries to get over there as much as possible. He loves travelling!

After school Antony spent 12 months liv-ing in Berlin where he

worked as a construc-tion assistant for the art-ist Gregor Hildebrandt. He gained experience building large and small scale installations and learned alot through observing the design process and lifecycle of numerous art projects. Antony currently works part-time as a junior urban planner in a large multidisciplinary archi-tecture + engineering design firm. He often works closely with in house urban design-ers (many of whom are trained architects), and

has a strong interest in pubilc realm design including place making, sustainable develop-ment and community orientated design. As such, he keenly follows the works of architects/urban designers such as Jan Gehl, and more locally is interested in the works of organisa-tions such as Co Design Studio & Village Well to name a few.

1. FOLLY + VIEWING PLATFORM, MAUBACH 2009

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2. COMMUNITY CENTRE, MAUBACH 2010

Antony has very limited experience with computational architecture & considers himself a keen beginner when it comes to parametric architectural theory & design. He completed a first year computer engineer-ing elective at Monash University where he learnt basic coding in Matlab and Excel (VBA), and also completed calculus 2 as a first year Uni Melb breadth. Both have helped so far.

Antony has completed 2 first year and 2 sec-ond year architecture design studios leading up to AIR. He is familiar with AutoCAD, Sketchup, InDesign, Illustrator & Photoshop, & has a basic understanding of Rhino. He enjoys design development through sketch modelling (see 2.).

Studio AIR sees Antony using Grasshopper for the first time. Through his early algorith-mic sketch experimentations he has already begun to appreciate the vast new possibili-ties the program offers him as a designer.

He is excited to challenge himself & learn as much as possible from his fellow students and tutors.

DIGITAL DESIGNEXPERIENCE

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“The rise of new digital design technologies increasingly allows users such as myself to push boundaries and actively participate in the debate. We can all contribute to architectural discourse in our own way (for example through experimentations and discussions presented in this journal) by actively engaging with and challenging architectural ideas.”

MISSION STATEMENT #1 - ARCHITECTURAL DISCOURSE

The first studio AIR tutorial began with the question ‘what is architectural dis-course?’ This ultimately lead to the ques-tion ‘what is architecture?’ As a beginner in parametric architectural theory and design it is important to first understand how and why new digital design tech-niques fit into and compliment the study of architecture.

Ultimately, architecture can take on a plurality of meanings depending on the context. From an anthropological per-spective, architecture can be understood through Fry’s definition of design as “our ability to prefigure what we create before the act of creation...it defines one of the fundamental characteristics that make us human” (Fry, 2009, p.2). Thus, Fry’s under-standing of architecture highlights a reci-procity between the ‘state of design’ and the ‘state of the world’ (natural resource depletion, unsustainability).

Schumacker defines architecture as an ‘autopoietic system’; a distinct subset of communication within a broader, all-encompassing system of societal com-munication. For Schumacker, completed buildings are but one aspect of the archi-tectural communication network. This is due to the fact that “the completion of a new building is a rather rare occasion, and their immediate presence within the discourse - by being directly experienced during an architectural excusion - is so

rare as to be negligible” (Schumacker, 2011, p.3). As such, Schumacker high-lights the importance of architectural communication mediums such as draw-ings, photographs, lectures, books and blogs, all of which depend upon and reproduce existing societal communica-tion structures and ideas.

The aforementioned definitions move beyond a simplistic bricks and mortar un-derstanding of architecture. For Antony, they highlight architecture as a language. As such, it is the intent of this language to produce meaning, rather than its ultimate functional goal (eg. habitation), that defines architecture. Constructability and representation through more traditional architectural plan and section drawings do not necesarilly have to be the primary focus in order to contribute to the debate.

The rise of new digital design technolo-gies increasingly allows users such as myself to push boundaries and actively participate in the debate. We can all con-tribute to architectural discourse in our own way (for example through experi-mentations and discussions presented in this journal) by actively engaging with and challenging architectural ideas.

I look forward to challenging myself and contributing to architectural discourse in my own way through this journal.

// ARCHITECTURAL DISCOURSE

A1:DESIGN FUTURING PA

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PRECEDENT DESIGNS

// A1: DESIGN FUTURING

THEO JANSEN- STRANDBEEST(1990 ONWARDS)

Jansen’s ‘Strandbeests’ relate strongly to Fry’s notion that the ‘state of the world’ is linked to and a product of the ‘state of design’. Jansen is in essence try-ing to redesign his own world, which he calls “a new nature”. His creations are able to store wind energy as air pressure, and are thus powered by their surround-ing natural environment. He imagines that they will oneday survive on their own.

The Strandbeests help stimulate the imagination and the pos-

sibilities of reneweable energy systems. Their most valuable contribution to sustainable living practices are their inher-ent educational capabilities through viewer observation and participation. This is evidenced by the fact that Strandbeests are exhibited all around the world with exhibitions including public demonstrations. Furthermore, some Strandbeests have in-built handles enabling the visiting public to ‘walk’ and feel the Strandbeest’s energy system.

• ENERGY SYSTEM • PUBLIC INTERACTION •

EDUCATION•ENERGY SYSTEM•INTERACTIVE•EDUCATION

Archigram’s ‘Plugin City’ ties in with Schumaker’s notion of architectural communication and the autopoetic system. As Schumaker asserts, “com-pleted buildings are but one aspect of the architectural communication network” (Schumacher, 2011, p.4). Though never built, Archigrams architectural discourse of over 900 drawings “provoked fascinating debate, combining architecture, technology and society” (Archdaily, 2014). This supports the notion that architectural discourse does not necesarilly have to be built to be succesfull.

‘Plugin City’ was a diagrematic experiment that proposed an alternative urban scenario and liberation from social consequences of modernism such as suburbia. The crain mounted living pods depicted in ‘Plugin City’ can be “plugged in wherever their inhabitants wish” (Archdaily, 2014). Whilst this work is of a different social and political context, it is interesting to note how Archigram playfully attempted to subvert traditional notions of the city and in particular the role of mobil-ity and connectivity in a city. In a similar manner, Antony envisages to use the LAGI competition and its reference to a 2025 carbon neutral Copenhagen to investigate cultural norms associated with energy use in citys.

ARCHIGRAM- PLUGIN CITY (1964-66)•ARCHITECTURAL DISCOURSE•HOW TO MAKE AN ARGUMENT•SYSTEM THINKING•CULTURAL NORMS

A2: DESIGN COMPUTATION

» Still frames of 2D animation of cell relaxation from pure voronoi net-work to relaxed voronoi network (vorlax)

PHOTO.» Tiis qui diciae nobis

dundande il eum volest aute

MATSYS DESIGN- CHRYSALIS (III)(2012 PARIS)•CELLULAR MORPHOLOGIES•SELF ORGANISATION•SPRING NETWORK (MOVEMENT)

NOX HOUSE -SON-O-HOUSE(2002 NETHERLANDS)•SOUND•INTERACTIVE•INDUSTRIAL AREA•PUBLIC ART