14 March 2013
Architectural Association, London & Hooke Park
Fallen Star is the final working prototype developed by the AA DLAB Visiting School, which conducted a research on biomimetics, interaction and perception at the Architectural Association – both in London and at Hooke Park in Dorset during July 2012.
AA DLAB carries out experiments using algorithmic design methodologies and digital fabrication techniques; this year using the theme of Green as its inspiration for observing natural and biological structures of differing scales. Generative algorithms abstracted from natural constructions have been transformed from the digital realm back into the three-dimensional world of human perception. The design proposals developed by student teams during the initial phase in London were integrated with a full scale installation fabricated and assembled at Hooke Park through the medium of video-mapping. The resulting installation is characterized by user interaction, which animates the architectural piece according to feedback, giving it the potential to create dynamic spatial experiences of perception and temporality.
Over a period of 15 days, participants with different levels of experience – from 2nd year students to PhD candidates and full-time professionals – experienced a highly-focused unit-based education system with shared agendas. This, in turn, promoted collaborative design, research and performance. The formal grammar of the workshop explored the variants seen in natural growth processes, such as the Lindenmayer system, fractal theory, reaction-diffusion systems and Voronoi algorithms. The computational toolset of the workshop was Processing, Grasshopper and iPad / iPhone.
