With the computer we can draw almost everything which we can draw by hand and we can build everything as a virtual model in a 3d-software which we know we could build in the real world. And this is how 2d and 3d programs for architecture are developed - tools are created to imitate reality and the already built. How would you use these tools to invent or question the already existing?
The only way to explore that is through the Experiment. I think the idea of the architect as a scientist willing to experiment is important because it is the experiment that usually leads to invention but of course also failures. This Workshop is not about representing something which we already know. This workshop will be about invention and it will operate as a laboratory.
You will operate as a scientist: Hypothesis - Experiment - Interpretation. The environment you will be operating in is the Virtual space.
You will experiment with a very specific set of tools in animation and dynamics and test them against architecture.
Theme:
Unstable systems: Architecture gives us the illusion that we live in a "stable" world. But is our world really stable and is the cosmos the guarantor for stability as Plato stated? Newton was the first who sensed the possibility of instability. And since Maxwell we know that the cosmos is not stable. Plato was wrong. We live in a world which is highly unstable and since the end of the 20th century we know that nature is based on instability. Now what? Let's develop strategies to operate in this environment.
Goal:
Develop "systems" that generate "structures" that generate "space".
Course structure:
A sequence of assignments (experiments) are used to teach the software Maya. Besides learning the software you will become an expert in Animation and Dynamics. The sequence of assignments will be also used to study the behavior and operation of systems pushed towards instability. Each experiment will be supported by lectures and discussions.
Tools used:
Maya is one of the top 3d software programs used in Architecture, Film, Video and Games and still is the preferred tool for animation in the industry. Maya is a very common software in cutting edge Architecture offices such as Frank Gehry, Peter Eisenman, Greg Lynn, Zaha Hadid, Asymptote, UN studio, Foreign office and Coop Himmelblau.