Impregnate material - KTH

Impregnate material
Making Discipline and Material Practice in Architecture
Instructor: Mania Aghaei Meibodi
The course impregnate material stands in the intersections between technological
advent and architecture as making discipline and material practice.
Identifying core research questions into how material mechanisms,
investigative modelling, digital technology in design and manufacturing of
building industry impact architectural language and architectural design
processes.
This course introduces theoretical fundamentals and practical applications
of model making and prototyping for architectural design. Various
materials and processing technologies are introduced. Based on these
knowledge students have opportunity to explore design through utilisation
of digital fabrication techniques and technologies. Students will be
introduced to various ways of physical model making, digital modelling
for generating mass, with programs such as Rhino and Grasshopper and
finally look into ways of full scale production.
The course is structured into weekly tutorial teaching the above, as
well as supporting design ideas and the introduction into the use of the
necessary CNC machines, robotic arm and 3d printers. The course will
progress through a series of focused strategies beginning with material
testing, followed by the development of prototypes, and arriving at aggregations
of a single topological shell. Each prototype is created by simple
operations, undertaken through a specific disposition, and evaluated
for performative potentials. All assemblies will be designed in a digital
parametric environment before production and iteratively tested utilizing
digital fabrication equipment (CNC 3-axis mill, 3d printer and Robotic
arm if necessary). The course concludes with a reception that exhibits
working prototypes and a final full-scale assembly, built by participants
over the course of 10 days (see examples in page 3 and 4). In parallel to
our computer aided design and material experiments, students are supported
with reading text.
Impregnated stripe
Students will be working in teams of three-four. The assignment includes
the creation of a digitally designed and physically produced artefact as
well as a detailed documentation of the process and the final result. Designs
from each group are combined in coherent manner. Within two intense
days before the Christmas break the final design will then be produced
at a 1:1 scale.
What is “Impregnate material”
Impregnate material is the process that causes an amorphous and figure-less
material to develop or reconfigure towards certain formal language
along with architectural expression. The word impregnate means
soak or saturate with something (such as substance, feeling, quality or
etc.). Impregnate material has dual meaning, in which it offers tactile as
well as sensational impregnation. For example, while bending is an act
of tactile impregnation, creating transparency or opacity is a sensual impregnation.
Impregnate material reconsiders the origin and development
of morphological characteristic of architecture, formal language as well
as meanings and expressions of architecture.

Impregnate material
Making Discipline and Material Practice in Architecture
Instructor: Mania Aghaei Meibodi
The course impregnate material stands in the intersections between technological
advent and architecture as making discipline and material practice.
Identifying core research questions into how material mechanisms,
investigative modelling, digital technology in design and manufacturing of
building industry impact architectural language and architectural design
processes.
This course introduces theoretical fundamentals and practical applications
of model making and prototyping for architectural design. Various
materials and processing technologies are introduced. Based on these
knowledge students have opportunity to explore design through utilisation
of digital fabrication techniques and technologies. Students will be
introduced to various ways of physical model making, digital modelling
for generating mass, with programs such as Rhino and Grasshopper and
finally look into ways of full scale production.
The course is structured into weekly tutorial teaching the above, as
well as supporting design ideas and the introduction into the use of the
necessary CNC machines, robotic arm and 3d printers. The course will
progress through a series of focused strategies beginning with material
testing, followed by the development of prototypes, and arriving at aggregations
of a single topological shell. Each prototype is created by simple
operations, undertaken through a specific disposition, and evaluated
for performative potentials. All assemblies will be designed in a digital
parametric environment before production and iteratively tested utilizing
digital fabrication equipment (CNC 3-axis mill, 3d printer and Robotic
arm if necessary). The course concludes with a reception that exhibits
working prototypes and a final full-scale assembly, built by participants
over the course of 10 days (see examples in page 3 and 4). In parallel to
our computer aided design and material experiments, students are supported
with reading text.
Impregnated stripe
Students will be working in teams of three-four. The assignment includes
the creation of a digitally designed and physically produced artefact as
well as a detailed documentation of the process and the final result. Designs
from each group are combined in coherent manner. Within two intense
days before the Christmas break the final design will then be produced
at a 1:1 scale.
What is “Impregnate material”
Impregnate material is the process that causes an amorphous and figure-less
material to develop or reconfigure towards certain formal language
along with architectural expression. The word impregnate means
soak or saturate with something (such as substance, feeling, quality or
etc.). Impregnate material has dual meaning, in which it offers tactile as
well as sensational impregnation. For example, while bending is an act
of tactile impregnation, creating transparency or opacity is a sensual impregnation.
Impregnate material reconsiders the origin and development
of morphological characteristic of architecture, formal language as well
as meanings and expressions of architecture.

In this course students are introduced to three modes of making the
physical and tactile in architectural design processes that inform the formal
language of architecture, those driven by: (i) artistic exploration and
sculpturing (form-giving), (ii) laws of physics (form-finding) and (iii) digital
design and production techniques (form-informing). Frank Gehry’s
act of crumpling a piece of paper could be categorized in the form-giving
mode. The second mode can be observed in works of architects such as
Antoni Gaudí and Frei Otto, where effects of gravity on hanging chains
(material components) and Plateau’s laws on soap films (governing formation
of bubbles from foam), respectively, formed the artefacts. The
third mode can be observed in projects presented by Iwamoto in Digital
Fabrications: Architecture and Material Techniques; where production
techniques, material processing techniques and digital objects (NURBS
surfaces, curves etc) are considered in very early design stages and impact
architectural language of the product .
While being introduced to the above modes of making, students are
thought to analyse and study the medieval architecture styles from the
lens of rule based system, to find inspiration for their own design. A rib
of Gothic style for example, is an undefined element /figure of Gothic architecture
that through act of weaving or bundling becomes a formal configuration
such as a column, window, arch, etc. Ribs don’t mean anything
by itself; as they are too thin for structure and too thick for ornament. So,
by bundling them one creates a column. It is this extra act and action of
bundling and weaving that interest us.
As for Gothic style the students masters the material while in the case of
film soap of Frei Otto or hanging chain of Gaudi, the students are thought
to give agency to material to find each other through rule based system.;
In which they set a machine with rules rather than mastering the matter.
The concept of impregnate material is therefore investigates analogy
computing VS digital computing to influence digital design- and production
tools as well as the digital practices that are informing our societies
culturally, socially and technologically.
Please see the examples of processes and artefacts in the next two pages.
Above images presents various modes and environment for production of artefact in this
course. Digital acquisition - 3d scanning (top-left), moulding (top-right), Digital model of
a minimal surface (middle) laser cut and 3d printed models of minimal surface (bottom left
and right respectively ).

Morphologic
The Backbone of Swedish Architecture
Participants: Emma Viklund, Erik Hidman, Federico Puggioni, Johan Levol
Stripe Pavilion
Participants: Sofia Holmgren, Andreas Åkerblom, Adamå Stančík,
Totto Rátkai and Krisztina Sarolta Szádvári
Projects of Digital Design & Making course, coordinated and instructed by Mania Aghaie Meibodi and Hamia Aghaiemeybodi. (http://maniahamia.com/)

Honeycomb pavilion
Participants: Jonas Haraldsson, Lars Pettersson,
Susanne Segerstein, Ante Lundgren,
Karin Eknor, Emma Berggren, Oliver Sjöberg
och Carl-Johan Carlsson.
Projects of Digital Design & Making course, coordinated and instructed by Mania Aghaie Meibodi and Hamia Aghaiemeybodi. (http://maniahamia.com/)

In this course students are introduced to three modes of making the
physical and tactile in architectural design processes that inform the formal
language of architecture, those driven by: (i) artistic exploration and
sculpturing (form-giving), (ii) laws of physics (form-finding) and (iii) digital
design and production techniques (form-informing). Frank Gehry’s
act of crumpling a piece of paper could be categorized in the form-giving
mode. The second mode can be observed in works of architects such as
Antoni Gaudí and Frei Otto, where effects of gravity on hanging chains
(material components) and Plateau’s laws on soap films (governing formation
of bubbles from foam), respectively, formed the artefacts. The
third mode can be observed in projects presented by Iwamoto in Digital
Fabrications: Architecture and Material Techniques; where production
techniques, material processing techniques and digital objects (NURBS
surfaces, curves etc) are considered in very early design stages and impact
architectural language of the product .
While being introduced to the above modes of making, students are
thought to analyse and study the medieval architecture styles from the
lens of rule based system, to find inspiration for their own design. A rib
of Gothic style for example, is an undefined element /figure of Gothic architecture
that through act of weaving or bundling becomes a formal configuration
such as a column, window, arch, etc. Ribs don’t mean anything
by itself; as they are too thin for structure and too thick for ornament. So,
by bundling them one creates a column. It is this extra act and action of
bundling and weaving that interest us.
As for Gothic style the students masters the material while in the case of
film soap of Frei Otto or hanging chain of Gaudi, the students are thought
to give agency to material to find each other through rule based system.;
In which they set a machine with rules rather than mastering the matter.
The concept of impregnate material is therefore investigates analogy
computing VS digital computing to influence digital design- and production
tools as well as the digital practices that are informing our societies
culturally, socially and technologically.
Please see the examples of processes and artefacts in the next two pages.
Above images presents various modes and environment for production of artefact in this
course. Digital acquisition - 3d scanning (top-left), moulding (top-right), Digital model of
a minimal surface (middle) laser cut and 3d printed models of minimal surface (bottom left
and right respectively ).

Morphologic
The Backbone of Swedish Architecture
Participants: Emma Viklund, Erik Hidman, Federico Puggioni, Johan Levol
Stripe Pavilion
Participants: Sofia Holmgren, Andreas Åkerblom, Adamå Stančík,
Totto Rátkai and Krisztina Sarolta Szádvári
Projects of Digital Design & Making course, coordinated and instructed by Mania Aghaie Meibodi and Hamia Aghaiemeybodi. (http://maniahamia.com/)

Honeycomb pavilion
Participants: Jonas Haraldsson, Lars Pettersson,
Susanne Segerstein, Ante Lundgren,
Karin Eknor, Emma Berggren, Oliver Sjöberg
och Carl-Johan Carlsson.
Projects of Digital Design & Making course, coordinated and instructed by Mania Aghaie Meibodi and Hamia Aghaiemeybodi. (http://maniahamia.com/)