Space of Flows, Space pf Places: Materials for a Theory Urbanism in the Information Age

Manuel Castells discusses a fairly broad approach to theoretical approach to understanding cities as places of “flows,” that is, he defines the urban context as something based off the fluid, complex exchange between physical spaces and information architecture.

Link here.

The Renaissance of Visual Thinking

Some more work by Birger Sevaldson with OCEAN north.  Methodology comes from a field logic perspective, looking for relationships between systems (be it urbanistic, economic, political etc).  Transferring data from these relationships, a generative diagram is formed as the basis of design.  I especially like their project entitled “Ambient Amplifiers,”  where they use particle animation derived from their previous projects “Synthetic Landscape I-IV.”  The animation accounts for temporal aspects of site context as they relate to more static elements, forming a spatial relationship where they can begin to manipulate with attractor points.

Link here.

Neil Gershenfeld

Went to see Neil Gershenfeld speak at the Museum of Science yesterday.  The pics link to his TED talk, where he talks about the potential of fab labs and why they should be made more accessible to all.

Polymorphism

Achim Menges discusses his research and presents some of his projects exploring form, materials, and structure as inseparable elements responsive to environmental influences.

Link here.

Towards Self-Organisational and Multiple-Performance Capacity in Architecture

AD:  Emergence: Morphogenetic Design Strategies issue of 4 (Vol 74, No 3, 2004)

Excerpt discussing theoretical and methodological approach to architectural design exploring a biological paradigm.

Link here.

After Typology: The Suffering of Diagrams

William Braham.  University of Pennsylvania, 2000.

A scholarly article on the use of diagrams the architectural design process.

Link here.

A Ten Point Guide to Urban Field Theory

A discussion of urban field theory by Rod Barret.

Topics include Einstein (Space and time), Bergson (Time), object connectivity to the urban field, principles of temporality of fields, and re-defining of the surface in response to field conditions.

Link here.

From Object to Field

Stan Allen, AD (Architectural Design)  Vol 67.  May-June 1997

A discussion on field logics and their relationship with architecture and urbanism.  Allen places ‘field conditions’ in opposition to Modernist ‘object’ approach to architecture, explaining it as a system responsive to the complexity and indeterminacy of the urban context.

Link here.

Exploratory spatio-temporal visualization: an analytical reviewExploratory spatio-temporal visualization: an analytical review

Institute for Autonomous Intelligent Systems, SPADE, Spatial Decision Support Team (Germany), 9 July 2003.

Article on computational visualization techniques of space and time (note : not from an architectural context!)

Link here.

RULEBUILDING: A Generative Approach to Modeling Architectural Designs Using a 3-D Printer

Yanni Loukissas, PhD Scholar and Larry Sass, Assistant Professor
Computation Group, Department of Architecture
School of Architecture and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Discussion of a methodology that incorporates and direct relationship between scripting and 3d printing to alter the speed, cost, complexity, and consistency of architectural modeling.

Link here.