Marco Vanucci
United Kingdom
original post
In nature, organisms try to respond to the impact of various forces with
minimum energy consumption. Similarly, materials are subject to a
process of self-organization/adaptation in relation to the action of
intrinsic as well as extrinsic forces acting upon it, aiming to fulfill a
state of equilibrium. Exploring the inherent properties governing the
behavior of a given material and its effects on the surrounding
environment, represents the starting point for a broader understanding
of material forms as a mutable, multi-performing, and generative design
tool. The bottom-up approach towards the research onto a given material
system discloses the opportunity to deeply investigate the proprieties
of such a material, as well as opening unexpected potentials for
inclusive performances and effects.
The aim of the research is to unfold a set of extensive investigations
on catenary structures developing a generative tool-set for
architectural design and overcoming the traditional notion of
programmatic determinism and building types. The analysis of the
properties of catenaries, the inherent relationship between geometry and
structure, and the behavior of the material under the application of a
set of experiments, represents the core of the research.
The hypothesis of the research is to develop an extensive set of
investigations and trigger new speculations about the way catenary can
nowadays be used, not only as global load bearing system to support
vertical loads, but also as a geometry that can provide spatial
arrangement for vertical structures. The parallel study on the physical
and the digital realms constitutes the method of research.
Understanding the built environment as a dynamic assemblage of
generative material organization that yields potentials for inclusive
performances represents, among other things, the starting point for a
critical redefinition of building typology. Thus commonly considered as a
rigid top-down organization within which every element plays a
particular role and performs a specific task, the very idea of typology
restricts the architectural discourse into codified standards where
technology is the only driving force for innovation. Unfolding the
organizational potential of high-rise buildings into a dynamic
topological and morphological matrix where a multi-parametric material
set-up opens up potentials and establishes a feedback loop between
elements and their differentiation, shifts the discourse from typology
to new ecology.
The Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo is the environmental testing ground
where the system operates, modulating its morphology accordingly with
external stimuli and internal organizational logics. The new high-rise
building is integrated to the existing market representing its vertical
extension. The existing market is characterized by a top-down layered
organization whereby each element is aiming for a homogenous spatial
standardization. The different degree of interiority within the building
is achieved through an increasing number of material thresholds. The
accumulation of discrete material sediments is defining the boundaries
between different degrees of interiority-exteriority within the existing
fabric. The new structure, instead, provides a differentiated
generative system whereby local, regional, and global arrangements
inform each other, defining new organizational distribution, as well as
morphological, geometrical, and programmatic set ups.
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