Sahara's Golden Odyssey: A 300-Year Journey to Prosperity
This transformative project endeavors to convert the Sahara into arable land (over the period of 300 years) by reversing the desertification process caused by destructive agricultural practices. This will be achieved through the implementation of sustainable land management practices, which will also play a vital role in long-term carbon sequestration strategies. Furthermore, it serves to empower local populations to sustainably and harmoniously thrive as they transition to the First World by also establishing a strong network of renewable energy sources (akin to the European Supergrid), posturing North Africa as a leader in the global energy market. Supplementary information can be found at: https://www.behance.net/gallery/80705205/Westminster-MArch-2018-2019-Year-5-Final-Portfolio
The Three Hundred Year Succession
University of Westminster DS10 This studio highly values sustainable design principles, as well as closely examining the holistic relationship between parametric modeling and emerging fabrication technologies. It is vital that design solutions respond intelligently to their wider cultural and environmental context by ensuring that research is grounded in architectural reality. This notion is nurtured by a deep exploration of construction technology - the act of making and learning by testing ideas in the real world. Timber has been specifically chosen as a topic of study for its value as a sustainable building material. The built environment contributes heavily to global carbon emissions, much of which is related to the production of concrete. Part 1: Design Development This project seeks to explore phyllotaxis (the study of plant geometry) in an endeavor to understand the structural and formal logic behind the immense variety of spiraling patterns found in plants and in nature. Early research led to exploring spirals in spiral staircases, as they are a traditional example of load-bearing, compressive spirals. Digital experiments led to playing with a variety of changing angles on a single stair. Part 2: Research & Analysis The abstracted architectural construction technology, derived from a series of physical and digital studies, is then developed organically into a greater architectural project that responds intelligently to its context. The ambition is to explore how this research can inform decisions that ultimately lead to large-scale communities. This is done while critically examining the aspects of the social and built environments that affect their ability to be perpetuated in a sustainable fashion. Part 3: Final Proposal Insight into the ultimate vision of the community-driven project. A proposal that has been shaped and informed by a long series of studies exploring the practical, economical, and environmental aspects of the endeavor.
House of Sierpinski
What was the starting point of your project? The starting point of this project was exploring what a house made out of Sierpinski’s Triangle would be like. This project was primarily about getting a feel for a more structured approach to using AI imaging in the workflow of a creative design project (specifically in the context of architecture). What were the concepts and inspirations for this project? In 2018-2019, for my MArch course, I spent several months studying fractal geometry. The course was designed around exploring fractals in the context of the relationship between emerging fabrication tools and parametric design. Although the subject is highly abstract in nature, I find it quite interesting to explore how it could affect architectural technologies. Tell us about your design process! Being new to AI imaging, the process was heavily driven by curiosity. With such a powerful tool, it is easy to quickly get lost in any number of rabbit holes. It is like working with someone who is the very best at what they do, but they do not speak the same language as you. There is a lot of trial and error, but I found that the ‘blend’ tool, in particular, allowed me to have a surprisingly high degree of control over the output after many generations. Tell us about your experience designing with AI tools? And how did it help create the project? I have no prior experience with AI imaging tools, but I was able to draw a lot of experience from my computational design background. Like Rhino’s Grasshopper, it feels like a tool that simply allows you to explore ideas and iterate with various parameters very quickly. What other software did you use to curate your designs? Although I am very confident with my Photoshop skills, I opted not to edit the output images manually very much. I think that forcing myself to learn how to be more precise with the tool is more interesting for now. What is the key feature of this project that you want to talk about more? It's a super hard balance trying to create geometry that is interesting and true to the original geometry, while also creating architecture that would be nice to experience. The more computationally interesting ones tend to be cooler but not welcoming. I also find it tough to not get too obsessive about it, as so many of the results can be taken in very different and interesting directions. Conclusion: AI imaging has really exploded over the last few months, and I feel like I’m a bit late to the party, but particularly recently, people have been getting a lot more controlled and quality output out of MJ. There's a strong argument to be made that Midjourney architecture is just eye-candy; it's purely form over function. On one hand, it enables anyone to discover, combine, and iterate on high beautiful imagery at unprecedented rates. But it doesn't really do anything in the way of real-world problem-solving, which I believe should always be a key aspect of architectural design. I believe it is comparable to any technology that has come before it: ultimately it is just a tool. But it is also a ridiculously powerful tool, and I struggle to describe with words just how insane these AI tools are getting; it feels like genuine magic. MJ as a piece of image software is out of this world in its own right, but I find it particularly interesting thinking about what changes it will have on the architecture industry, whether people like it or not.
From Fractals to Fabrication: Discovering a Novel Method for Grid-Shell Design
This is an architectural master's project that takes a deep dive into the fascinating world of fractals, and how a their study can enhance the built environment. With a passion for mathematics and a deep curiosity for the natural world, the aim of this project was to explore the relationship between geometry and modern fabrication techniques. As the research progressed, it became evident that fractal geometry holds a wealth of opportunity for digital design, particularly in the development of beautiful grid-shells. By using minimal surfaces and geodesic curves, the study led to the discovery of a novel method of generating grid-shells that are both aesthetically pleasing and efficient. Additionally, the process of increasing the surface area non-uniformly helped gain a deeper understanding of how to add complexity to grid-shells while maintaining their performance. Grid-shells are not only incredibly efficient, but also visually stunning when designed well. This project offers a glimpse into what the future of grid-shell construction could look like, and has even inspired further research into the application of Japanese Kagome Weaving techniques. The ambition for this project is also to encourage a deeper appreciation for the beauty and efficiency of grid-shells as light-weight structures in the built environment. The full project can be found here: tinyurl.com/Prokariopolis Supplementary project research can be found here: tinyurl.com/fractal-dimensions tinyurl.com/developing-fractals tinyurl.com/gridshell-form-finding
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