TerriForm
Tutors: Yusuke Obuchi & Robert Stuart-Smith
Team: Ji-ah Lee [ South Korea ] Behdad Shahi [ Iran ] Junyi
Wang [ China ] Ahmed Abouelkheir [ Egypt ]
‘Contemporary patterns of production and consumption in industry
and architecture leave apart considerable amount of material waste
at the end of product’s life-span.’ The aim of our research is to
address this problem based on the assumption that architecture is
a product that has a certain finite life-span. Our question is: could
architecture contribute to the process of reproduction over time, as
well as enhance its value as a product? Or, in another words, could
we design the life-cycle in lieu of the life-span?
Following Frei Otto’s form-finding experiments, and based on the
studies of sand self-distribution behaviour acting under the force
of gravity, ‘Terri-former’ exploits phase transition properties of the
material in order to generate anon-site fabricated architecture,
with a designed life-cycle, in a location where sea and desert
come together. This sort of product emerges by means of natural
materials that are widely available locally. Concurrently, at the
end of the product’s life-cycle, the material fuses back into its
environment without leaving behind any waste. As a rule, the
constant angle of repose, ‘35 degree’, is the dominant factor
among all parts of our research, from analogue experiments to
digital explorations. The fabrication methods we explored allow for
various spatial qualities influenced by the material behaviour and
digitally controlled parameters.