Week 4 Topic: From Architectural Design and the Image of Technology to Technology and the Image of Design: A preliminary survey of the shifting landscape

Frank Gehry’s, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

There is a clear differentiation between the design processes of architects in the past and those who practice today. These differences arise when comparing the method of the development of the morphogenesis process. Past architects were limited to their choice of technology, whereas, today designs are reliant on technology as the norm due to the endless variety of options. The complexity to complete designs of “round shapes and smooth, intricate surfaces” [1], in the past was achieved through the utilisation of particular complex programs that assisted in simplifying the process of design and construction. A great example of a well-executed piece of architecture that used technology to minimise confusion in the design process is Frank Gehry’s, “Guggenheim Museum Bilbao”. The style of its structure can be identified as a “smooth transformation” [2] and a “continuous variation” [3]. By presenting to the neighbourhood, a design which “attempts… to fold smoothly specific locations, materials and programmes into architecture while maintaining their individual identity” [4], Gehry, showcases the somewhat deformed curvilinear aspects to indicate “an intensive curvilinear logic which seeks to internalise cultural and contextual forces within form” [5]. Furthermore, Shoei Yoh’s work, “Municipal Sports Complex, Odawara: Galaxy”, was purely reliant on the use of technology. Technological design programs used by engineers along with Yoh were key to ensure efficiency whilst experimenting with different surface angles and positions to accurately ensure the design will be functional yet aesthetic. Consequently, technological advancements today have expanded the existing design options to cater for the “forms of bending, twisting or folding” [6], style that has recently emerged into the design world.

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r e f e r e n c e s

• Carpo, Mario, The Digital Turn in Architecture 1992-2012 (2013)

• [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] “Folding in Architecture,” by Greg Lynn (1993). pp.28, 30, 34, 38.

• “Morphogenesis and Emergence,” by Michael Hensel, Achim Menges & Michael Weinstock (2004-2006): pp.158-159.