Temporary Autonomous Architecture: DARE TO PARASITE EXPERIMAKING // OR HOW TO HIJACK A BUILDING

Workshop held by Liss Werner at DIA Dessau 6-11/10/2011

Team: Liss Werner | Amanda Carvalho | Andrea Rossi | Alireza Rismanchian| Ali Farhan | Andrew Mogylnyi | Chelsea Scrogham | Christine Baldwin | Ekta Pandey | Elmira Alamdari | Farnaz Ad | Hazel Cruz | Kanin Manthanachart |Kate Albee | Lila Panahikazemi | Matteo Taramelli | Nikita Azarkhin | Sam Amirebrahimi | Tanya Zabavska | Urszula Edyko | Shyam Mehta

Digital develpment team: Ali Farhan, Lila Panahi, Andrea Rossi, Matteo Taramelli

Parasite: An organism that grows, feeds, and is sheltered in/or on a host organism. Parasites are physically attached to their hosts, feeding off of the weakness of the host for its own benefit. It contributes nothing to the survival of the host; rather, relying on the health of the host for its own survival. (Wikipedia)

Parasitic Architecture: Parasitic architecture is the personal, informal, unplanned use of larger structure. The structure cannot sustain its own existence, but must live off the energy of the host structure. Parasitic architecture cannot stand alone, but must be supported by the host as a temporary addition. The parasite must fully understand its host to exploit the host’s weakness.

Analysis Logic: Entire Building (script by Matteo Taramelli)

The entire building is analyzed through a point cloud, that is displaced by the repulsion power of the different function of the different parts of the building itself.

The points coming from the previous displacement are then reorganized through a proximity algorithm, that shows the different densities of the whole space.

The combination of different parameters in different moments of the day create complex grid morphologies, that can be evaluated and interpolated to get the points for the room detailing phase.

Analysis Logic: Foyer (script by Andrea Rossi)

The starting point are the dimensions of the room itself, that define the borders of the space of search of the algorithm.

The starting volume is filled with a point cloud, that starts as a regular field that gets deformed in the next stages.

The amount of movement detected in the room generates a series of vectors that displace randomly the initial point grid, creating a more complex and articulated organization.

The flexibility parameter, starting from the random modifications given by the movement, selects the amount of random and regular points to be used in the next stages: more flexibility generates a more random grid.

The activity displaces the point through repulsion, creating bigger spaces in the grid.

The interaction level is used to generate a proximity grid from the previous points, increasing the connections between them when the interaction level itself increases.

In order to define in space the field generated by the combination of the previous parameters, a series of sections in different directions is taken through the proximity diagram.

The resulting points are combined into two dimensional diagrams through a meta-ball algorithm, in order to define different areas of potential for the parameters.

The resulting meta-ball diagram is then subdivided into points, in order to generate the final mesh through iso-surfacing technique.

The final mesh is the expression of the complex interaction of the different parameters. This complex shape becomes the base field for the generation of the parasite, creating in some way a “naked flesh” of the host building itself.

The resulting geometry shows an high level of articulation in space, defining a complex field of interaction of the different parameters. Its smooth appearence and its profound inflections show a “living” nature of the building itself, overcoming a static conception of the building environment to integrate concepts as field, behavior and complexity. This final geometry creates a complex environment in which the parasite could grow, reading, and processing in real time the different characteristics of the different parts of the building.