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The first Computer-Program-Generated- Architecture
in the world bi.Organic @rchitecture / Web Frame
The significance of 'the Induction Cities
project'(http://www.makoto-architect.com) lies in the search for
better solutions to given conditions. What were the
conditions that 'Web Frame' had to solve? There were two
issues:
The first of them was an absolute condition
allowing no margin for improvisation, just as one cannot choose the
site when designing a building above ground. Also it is difficult to achieve an intersection
at the same point of five frame tubes with an angular variation of one
degree each. Individual parameters were established to allow for automated
clearance of such specific conditions. This is essentially the same kind of task
as designing structural frames for conventional architectural work.
The second condition -- spatial requirements
-- became another parameter. By specifying the approximate position
and volume of component parts, the desired space is generated. This
is a flexible specification. It is a lot of work to develop a program
that will satisfy just these two conditions. Several attempts were needed
to get it right. Even an automated program for designing
a free frame "closed" in three dimensions turns out to be
difficult. There are restrictions on the solid angles that can be employed,
and all points must be joined together. The issues here are different from those
of conventional space frames assembled in regular fashion from materials
with fixed angles. Simply because the degree of freedom is great, divergences
can occur and lead in unpredictable directions. Freedom can, of course, readily slip over
into chaos. But an important element of this concept
is to give the appearance of chaos while in fact obeying certain regularities.
While the result may appear to be arbitrary
and willful, the necessary conditions are rigorously met. The same can
be said of chaos and of all forms of complex phenomena. The coexistence of freedom and harmony!
This sounds like a catchphrase put forth at some kind of meeting by
people fully aware that such a thing will never come about in reality.
But this is not an empty slogan. We are (just) beginning to see signs
that it can be realized.
Introducing Arbitrariness / Returning from
"Design-less" to Design
With 'the Web Frame project', we have moved
forward from the first phase of 'the Induction Cities project' into
the field of 'esthetic' evaluation. In the first phase, we selected as the
basis for our criteria of evaluation such quantifiable variables as
exposure to sunlight, distance, gradients, wind speed and resistance,
etc. In the case of the City of Generative Road plan project, we defined
"interesting" by means of certain formulae and thus introduced
a factor of sensibility, but we were not evaluating whether the resulting
plans were after all interesting or not. With the Web Frame project, however, we
tried to go beyond the principle of randomness (to which we have thus
far adhered) and bring into play some measure of arbitrariness. By arbitrary, I do not mean that we are
inputting directly specifications for factors such as space or forms.
What we intend rather is a program to satisfy "fuzzy" criteria
such as "enjoyable" or "dynamic." The designer's hands, tied up until
now, will begin to move, just a little. But the hands in question are
not human -- they are artificial.
Architectural Seed /
Self-Evolving Programs
At this point,
we have to return to our earlier question, what is a "good"
thing? This approach was to have the Artificial-Intelligent
program search for its own evaluative criteria. The program is run and then its output
evaluated by human beings. The results are scored -- are they
satisfactory, or not quite good enough? When this process is repeated often enough,
the program, instead of simply outputting more plans, begins to generate
plans which are likely to receive higher scores. If you praise the program,
it learns… "AIBO" was a first step in this direction. (Please note that our 'Induction Cities
project' and 'the Subway Station project' started in 1990 !) If the process continues long enough, the
solutions output by the program should improve markedly -- in theory
at least. The idea is to create a program which is
based on this mechanism. What is interesting about this is that
the question of what is "good" is never given a clear answer.
(It is true, of course, that if the results
obtained by this process were analyzed, it would be possible to get
a clear picture of the values involved. What you are seeking to do is
just this… A table of evaluative criteria is drawn up. For the Induction
Cities project, the mechanisms for devising a program are in principle
also the means for analysis.) As if by magic, good plans are generated,
even while the criteria for evaluation are not clarified. This is our
trump card for escaping the impasse of making value judgements. Learning functions for software in simple
form are built into word processors, today. If we pursue this idea further, to the
point that the program learns to modify itself, there should be no objection
to calling this an "evolutionary function." What we do call
it should depend on how advanced (smart) the program really is.
Structure-Generating Program / Wind Wings
'The Architectural Seed' germinates deep
in the ground, 35 meters below the city. (Seeking more water, more light…)
After a time, its underground stem reaches the surface and there, a
flower blooms. This is called " Wind Wings ".
" Wind Wings " are the ventilation
tower. they house the ventilation and air-conditioning equipment for
the entire subway station: a respirator for the space below the ground.
Wings are the respiratory organ put forth
above ground by an invisible, subterranean stem. For their structure, we sought a mechanism
of auto-generation using a computer program. The program is not yet
completed, however. What we show here is a 'realized model' of what
the structure will perhaps look like once the program is operative.
(The" Wind Wings " are 'actually'
constructed.) We attempted here to incorporate the structural
dynamics -- something which was not a condition to be solved by the
program for Web Frame -- and made this a primary condition. To design a conventional structural frame,
a simple grid-work is devised, weight is applied, and the effects are
calculated. Proper materials are selected to meet the load requirements
of those portions under greatest stress. The same materials are then
used throughout the frame. This is true for both rigid frames and tubes,
and regardless of whether the shape is a box or is curved. But if materials are selected not by this
uniform rule but varied from section to section as actually necessary,
a different form of frame will appear. And if we substitute the word "design"
for "necessary," still other forms will emerge. This is what
I have attempted to do with Wings. The framework is thick and large which
forces are greatest, and thin where forces are weak. Materials are fused at the joints to better
withstand transmitted stress. Instead of joining pillars to beams, the
material extends, separates, rejoins and forms a single overall frame
without distinctions between verticals and horizontals. Moreover, the arrangement of structure
and material is optimized so nothing is superfluous. Its structure is that which has already
been achieved by living plants.
Pleases note that these projects are not
intending to simulate some plants or other living things. We don't want to make an analogy of living
form, too. If you feel some relationship between this
project and living things, it is because they have some similar logic
in their generating system. The answer/way that we are trying to find/use is not on the surface, but lies in the deep space.
http://www.makoto-architect.com/
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