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SUMMARY:Computing for Creativity and Performance in Structural Design - Ca
 itlin Mueller\, MIT
DTSTART:20201106T150000Z
DTEND:20201106T160000Z
UID:TALK153142@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Maria Marques de Carvalho
DESCRIPTION:In the realm of buildings and large-scale structures\, shape a
 nd geometry often have a direct and important influence on measures of per
 formance\, such as material efficiency.  Since Galileo’s Two New Science
 s in 1638\, scholars\, engineers\, and architects have explored how to sha
 pe structural elements and carve material away to achieve strength and sti
 ffness targets while using as little matter as possible.  Today\, many com
 putational methods are available to optimally distribute material in 3D sp
 ace for maximum performance across a number of disciplines\, such as shapi
 ng a building’s mass for maximum solar performance or its structure for 
 maximum stiffness.  However\, despite the existence of such methods in aca
 demia since the 1970s\, their use in practice at the architectural scale h
 as been extremely limited.  This talk will address two key reasons for the
  limited uptake of performance-driven shaping.  The first is the difficult
 y in reconciling the singular outputs of optimization methods with the mul
 ti-faceted and qualitative nature of architectural design.  Designers need
  to be active agents in the process of designing shape to incorporate aest
 hetics\, context\, culture\, etc.\, so geometries generated solely by the 
 computer without human input are of minimal value.  New methods to integra
 te designers into shape optimization processes\, such as interactive optim
 ization and design space exploration methods\, have the potential to overc
 ome this challenge. The second problem with conventional optimization in a
 rchitecture is that existing methods typically disregard materialization a
 nd construction.  This talk will discuss several new directions in the fie
 ld of digital fabrication that directly link the performance-driven design
  generation of shape with processes for material production\, fabrication\
 , and assembly. Together\, these two research directions offer new potenti
 al for shape in architecture to be responsive to performance\, materializa
 tion\, and designer intention simultaneously.  
LOCATION:Zoom (email structures-admin@eng.cam.ac.uk for link)
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