Unfolding the design of architecture as a strategy to assess intellectual property Bridle pirating architecture Domenico D'Uva1 1Politecnico di Milano [email protected] Modeling tools are evolving the process of architectural design from the use ordinary digital tool into a role of creator of complex shapes, through coding configurations. These procedures are becoming the structural ground of the architectural shape, going beyond their sole tools role. The increasing in importance of such codes implies a major level of awareness for their use, which is worth of a deeper analysis. The system of relations among parts in an architectural design picks a single configuration among infinite others, because it is produced by a design process which find its fulfillment in the final portray. Through the spreading of digital design tools, such final configuration becomes a step in a clearly reproducible process. The project is achieved through a series of starting conditions, which undergo a parametric process, that produces the final result. An identical parametric process can be applied under slightly different starting conditions and produce completely different results. These results are connected with the code which produced them, but is the authorship still property of the original author? Keywords: Morphogenesis, Parametric, Authorship INTRODUCTION ital tool into a complex shape creator through com- Reading from Dezeen website, 2/1/2013: ”Satoshi puterized codes and procedures. The increased im- Ohashi, project director at Zaha Hadid Architects, portance of such codes implies a profound aware- told the German website: ”It is possible that the ness in their use, which is worth to be analyzed in Chongqing pirates got hold of some digital files or a more detailed way. The code exists as a connec- renderings of the project.” He was speaking about tion between the idea of the architecture and its rep- the Chongquing project, which was a copy of Ha- resentation. The study of such relationship is funda- did’s Galaxy Soho Complex in Beijing. From this brief mental to understand the origin itself of architecture comment, it is clear how the deep integration of dig- as a totality of geometries and constraints. The way ital tools into the generation process of architectural in which these geometries interacts each other has shape has transformed its role from pure support dig- changed deeply through time, enduring an abrupt CAAD EDUCATION - PHILOSOPHY - Volume 1 - eCAADe 35 | 297 acceleration with the dissemination of generative de- which undergo a parametric process that provide a sign modelers. Through the studies of (Moussavi (final?) result. Therefore starting from initial condi- 2009) and (Pottman 2007), it was already clear the de- tion ( the problem invariants) it is possible to define pendency of the components which build up the ar- an envelope of results. This process can be outlined chitecture system, starting from geometry which is through a coordinate Cartesian system, where it is connected with a system of analysis and discretiza- possible to point out the single generator character tion of the infographic knowledge model (Empler of the architecture on the abscissa, and the applica- 2007) . In this system the software tool intervenes tion intensity of the previous characters on the ver- in defining the bidirectional relationship between tical axis. This scheme can be updated for any step model and idea, aiming to representation. With the of the shape generation process. The results enve- spreading of advanced digital tools the representa- lope can be combined in an animation which repre- tion diminishes its role as aiming point in the pro- sents the variation of the influence of single compo- cess of architecture definition. The centrality of ar- nents in function of different steps in time. A func- chitectural process is shifted from representation to tion of this scheme, obtainable by changing values the process itself. In this design path the singularity of variables, is the identification and differentiation of the final result is counterposed to a multiplicity of of the result belonging to the same envelope, which results linked together by the original code. The con- houses interconnected architectures. Among all the cept itself of architectural originality is absorbed in possible generative features of a building, a small this way by the code itself, subtracting importance part among them build up the shape of architecture, from architectural manufacture. Starting from the so a question arise, how it is possible to distinguish single digital code it is possible to create an enve- one from another? Some designers describe in detail lope of multiple architectures, which share common the morphogenetic process that brings to the shape generative features. It rises therefore the problem of of the buildings; many others instead leave unex- defining the affinity of different architectural manu- plained details. factures within a certain degree of originality and rec- ognizability. Is it possible to scientifically differenti- METHODOLOGY ate different architectures if they are generated by a Starting from aforementioned thinking it is possible single code? Is it possible to speak of finalization of to grasp the need to describe the generative pro- architectural process of a single building or it would cess in the most detailed possible way. The main be more adequate to speak about an arrested devel- reason for this necessity is the extension of the right opment in the progressive refining path ? This pro- of intellectual property, up to the possible iterations cess of systemic evolution is not limited to modify the with adequate software tools. It is impossible to fill whole building but it spreads its influence on the sin- with these methodologies the whole spectrum of gle part of the architectural manufacture. cases falling into the architectural envelope, because The relationships among the parts, once they it would prevent the use of known architectures as have been drawn through traditional representation a base for new buildings. It is paramount to identify tools acquire a unique spatial configuration, which a separation between the group of buildings falling derives from a design process which finds its fulfill- into this envelope and the rest of architectures. An ment into final definition. With digital design tools hypothesis of the process of building a class of archi- this final configuration is a single step in a repro- tectures that can be considered linked to the initial ducible and modifiable process, available to any- one is the purpose of this work. Once an architecture body who owns the original code. The architec- has spread out the knowledge of its shape features, tural project is fulfilled through starting conditions, it is a common habit to describe the process of form 298 | eCAADe 35 - CAAD EDUCATION - PHILOSOPHY - Volume 1 generation through the means of media as Internet issue, more specific details are worth to be analyzed conference hardcopies. This process is accomplished in further following studies. through isolated spots on the design process, which A first group of transformation valuable to be an- focuses on main features only. It is metaphorically as alyzed is the standard volume modifications, specif- a seeing a movie where the projection lamp works for ically, rotation and scaling. Furthermore rotation brief lapses of time, leaving long obscure timespans. is itself a group of sub operations, because it in- The process of rebuilding all the steps of morpho- cludes more specific alteration, as revolution and genesis is a work which has been started in Politec- roto-translation. Starting to focus on rotation only, nico di Milano from the mentoring of prof. Andrea it is easily recognizable the possibility to choose a Rolando. Students of the courses of School of Archi- given form and apply the transformation. The choice tecture, as 3d Parametric Cad drawing (Disegno Cad of the architecture for the transformation to be ap- Parametrico 3d) have built a share of studied build- plied is important, because the parameter to be ad- ings from contemporary architecture. These archi- justed must be present in the morphogenetic pro- tectures has been studied starting from representa- cess. In fact, for the present transformation, it is im- tion point of view, producing all the missing steps portant that the process of building-shaping would from the “metaphoric movie”. These studies have possesses the rotational parameter. A practical ex- been deepened into the parametric approach, ana- ample is described in Figure 1, it is the Turning Torso, lyzing the morphogenetic process using a generative a skyscraper located in Malmo, Sweden, designed by design tool as Grasshopper. This process has built a Santiago Calatrava, where the process of rotation is limited sample of buildings which has been the base evident. for the present analysis. Each case study has a unique Figure 1 path which end with the final shape, passing through Turning Torso, a series of steps. Each step is a set of basic geometric Malmo, Sweden, by transformations, clearly identifiable. Two kind of di- Santiago Calatrava, rections arrive to the final result. First one is a simple photo of the author consequential series of transformations which, taken one after the other, lead to result. The other is an ap- plication of the same series of transformation within a certain number of iterations. Editings can be un- derstood by applying methods explained by the text explained above, both of which follows the general rule to show only a step in the whole process of trans- formation. Pottman’s studies groups transformations into chapters, so the explanation is limited to one fig- ure; Moussavi’s text is made of data sheets with small A Grasshopper algorithm has been worked out for drawings where comprehension of the full morpho- the aim of rebuilding a shape as similar as possible genetic process is very limited. Although endowed to the original Calatrava’s building.