Material Exploration and Engagement
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Material exploration and engagement Strategies for investigating how multifunctional materials can be used as design drivers in architecture Sascha Bohnenberger (Doctor of Philosophy) 2013 RMIT Material exploration and engagement Strategies for investigating how multifunctional materials can be used as design drivers in architecture A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Sascha Bohnenberger Dipl. Ing. Architektur (University of Kassel, Germany) Spatial Information Architecture Laboratory (SIAL) School of Architecture and Design Design and Social Context Portfolio RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia January 2013 2 Declaration I hereby declare that the following PhD by Project, except where due acknowledgement has been made, is my own work and has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to qualify for any other academic award. The content of this thesis is the result of work that has been carried out since the official commencement date of the approved research programme. Any editorial work, paid or unpaid, carried out by a third party is acknowledged. Sascha Bohnenberger Supervisors Thesis Supervisor: Mark Burry Title: Professor of Innovation (Spatial Information Architecture), RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia Thesis Supervisor (Practice): Manfred Grohmann Title: Professor of Structural Engineering, University of Kassel, Germany and founding partner of Bollinger+Grohmann Ingenieure, Frankfurt, Germany Second Thesis Supervisor: Dr Juliette Peers Title: Senior Researcher and Lecturer (Frances Burke Textile Resource Centre), RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia Declaration 3 Acknowledgements This thesis and my research journey that I have been involved in the last three and a half years could have not been possible without the support and guidance of many people who I would like acknowledge at this point. I would like to thank my supervisors Professor Mark Burry and Professor Manfred Grohmann for all their support and inspirations. I would also like to thank Dr Juliette Peers for her thoughtful comments, insights and for her great efforts to guide me towards the end of my thesis. I also want to David Mainwaring who introduced me to the field of materials science and for his interest in collaborating with the fields of architecture and design. Dr Paul Nicholas who was especially in the second half of my research very supportive and encouraging I have to thank for reading my thesis and for the many Skype™ session that helped to guide me. The Spatial Information Architecture Laboratory (SIAL) at RMIT University in Melbourne for their on-going support especially from Nicola Narayan for organising the everyday life in SIAL. I would also like to thank Jane Burry for critical discussions and feedback on my research and for the opportunities to be part of the Designing the Dynamic Research Workshop. Furthermore, I am thankful to the researchers and colleges and at SIAL at the Post grad lab, Alexander Peña de Leon, Rafael Moya and Kamil Sharadin for many fruitful discussions and a pleasurable working environment. A special thank goes to Chin Koi Khoo and Daniel Davis from the Post grad lab, who were also involved in organising and directing the ‘Designing the Dynamics’ workshop at RMIT. I would also like to acknowledge the former PhD candidates: Jerome Frumar, Dominik Holzer and Tim Schork of SIAL for their interesting and helpful conversations and support during the time of my research. I thank Bollinger+Grohmann as the embedded practice research partner and I would like to thank the team of Bollinger + Grohmann to let me been a part of many projects for without this participation my research would have not be possible. I would also like to thank the interview partners, the survey participants and the workshop participants for being part of my research and for providing me with insights that shaped my focus of the work. 4 Acknowledgements I want to thank the Smartgeometry Community for being an inspirational source and the many people involved in organising and promoting this research platform. In particularly I would like to thank Dr Mette Ramsgard Thomsen for not only being part of the ‘Performative Skin’ cluster but also for her interest in my research and for her critical discussions besides the workshop experience. I am thankful to Peter Liebsch, André Chaszar and Anton Savov for the engagement and their enthusiasm to co-organise the workshops: ‘Pasta in Bed’ and ‘Microsynergetics’. My thesis was examined by Dr Branko Kolarevic and Dr Phil Ayres. Their comments have been very helpful and I am appreciating the time they both spend for systematically read through the thesis and giving additional advice to finalise my work. I would like to acknowledge Elite Editing for editing this thesis. Editorial intervention was restricted to Standards D and E of the Australian Standards for Editing Practice since English is my second language. I thank the Australian Research Council, RMIT University and Bollinger+Grohmann for their financial support. My parents and my sister I have to thank for their support and their encouragement throughout the period of my thesis. And finally I am very grateful to my wife Friederike Fehr for always being there for me and for believing in me. Acknowledgements 5 Abstract Since the early 2000s, primarily research-based projects have focused on the use of new materials such as shape-memory alloys, light-emitting diodes (LED), film-encased photovoltaic cells and thermochromic paints. These materials offer a wide range of outstanding possibilities to the construction industry through their capacity to sense and respond to external environmental stimuli. However, the advent of smart materials— multifunctional materials that are designed by chemists, physicists and biologists - pose challenges for design practices exploring such innovations. Given the rich potential of these emerging materials and technologies for architecture, I was intrigued to know: what is necessary to introduce these materials in architecture? In this thesis, I report on design strategies that involve extrinsic and intrinsic material properties. My research strategies included the use of digital design tools, physical computing and haptic-intuitive workflows in order to bypass a lengthy iterative design and analysis process through rapid intuitive feedback. My research demonstrates the necessity of both a digital and physical interaction with previously little- or un-used engineered advanced materials, if the use of those materials is to drive change in the overall material system. This proposition is developed and tested by practice-based research and design explorations. Centred on the idea of material-driven design processes, my research addresses the work of architects, engineers and materials scientists and locates opportunities for working together within a trans-disciplinary environment. Having direct interaction with materials and their behaviours generates an awareness of the material possibilities that enables architects to engage with engineers and materials scientists. In considering both theoretical and practical implications, my research contributes to the discussion of multifunctional materials as they emerge and their applications within architecture. 6 Abstract Table of Contents Acknowledgements 4 Abstract 6 Table of Contents 7 Terms and Keywords 10 Digital Design Tools 13 Material Dictionary 15 List of Interviewees 19 Introduction 20 1.1 Introduction 21 1.2 Background 22 1.3 Research Motivation 23 1.4 Thesis Premise and Proposition 25 1.5 Research Framework 31 1.6 Structure of the Thesis 33 Approach and Methodology 36 2.1 Introduction 37 2.2 The Domain of Embedded Practice Research 38 2.3 Bollinger+Grohmann Ingenieure as Practice Research Domain 39 2.4 Triangulated Research Method 43 2.5 Personal Testing Ground 50 2.6 Summary Chapter 2 53 Material Development and its Effect on Architecture 54 3.1 Introduction 55 3.2 The First Material Revolution 56 3.3 The New Age of Materials 65 Table of Content 7 3.4 The Next Material Revolution 70 3.5 Smart Materials 79 3.6 Case Studies 87 3.7 Material Culture 91 3.8 Summary Chapter 3 94 Architecture and Materials Science Synergies 96 4.1 Introduction 97 4.2 The Origin of Materials Science 98 4.3 Architecture, Science and Technology 100 4.4 Different World Views 107 4.5 Sources of Material Information 118 4.6 Approaching Materials 124 4.7 Summary Chapter 4 132 Observing Material Decisions in Daily Work 134 5.1 Introduction 135 5.2 The Case Studies 136 5.3 Case Study 1: Diagonale—The Deichman Library 138 5.4 Case Study 2: Hermès Wood Pavilions 152 5.5 Qualitative Data for a Deeper Knowledge 161 5.6 Summary Chapter 5 187 Investigating Methods for Materials Explorations 189 6.1 Introduction 190 6.2 Four Modes of Material Exploration 191 6.3 Theoretical Design Drivers 194 6.3.1 Design Project 1 - SmArt Architecture 195 6.4 Digital Simulation 202 6.4.1 Design Project 2 - The Frankfurt Lanterns 203 8 Table of Content 6.5 Material Sensing and Visualisation 212 6.5.1 Design Project 3 - Performative Skin 216 6.5.2 Design Project 4 - Material Behaviour Project 223 6.6 Augmented Composites 234 6.6.1 Design Project 5 - Pasta in Bed 236 6.6.2 Design Project 6 - MicroSynergetics 247 6.7 Summary Chapter 6 259 Discussion and Conclusion 261 7.1 Introduction 262 7.2 The Common Ground 263 7.3 Synergies Between the Digital and the Physical 267 7.4 Conclusion 270 7.5 What the Future Might Hold 275 References 278 List of Figures 301 Appendix A1 A1 Transcripts A2 A2 Script Example A16 A3 List of Published Work A19 A4 Public Recognition and Cited Work A20 A5 Published Samples A25 A6 Research Time-Line A53 A7 Smart Materials in Architecture A54 Table of Content 9 Terms and Keywords Adaptive architecture An architecture with the ability to adapt to its environment by either topology changes of the overall shape, local alterations of building components or by regulating its energy consumption autonomously to its occupation and environmental situation.