We were looking for a way to implement the extracted ideas out of studies on “Endless House” by Frederick Kiesler-1959- into an urban scale in term of a bridge over the Besos river in Barcelona.Additionally we were working on the flows and networks, and were looking for an efficient and stable distribution network system example in nature, to develop this idea of continuity and endless space, at the end we found human brain as a very good example for inspiration.
Why brain??
Compared to other tissues, the brain is extremely dependent on a stable and efficient blood supply. Despite making up only 2% of total body mass, the brain requires 15-20% of total cardiac output. And also brain has distribution network of vessels which create a loop that is so close to the idea of an Endless house.
The Circle of Willis which creates the loop is a circular network of arteries that supply blood to the brain. It acts as a redistribution center for blood which is supplied to the Circle of Willis; blood is brought together here and then moved to the brain.
The arrangement of the brain’s arteries into the circle of Willis creates redundancies in the cerebral circulation. If one part of the circle becomes blocked or narrowed (stenosed) or one of the arteries supplying the circle is blocked or narrowed, blood flow from the other blood vessels can often preserve the cerebral perfusion well enough to avoid the symptoms of ischemia (restriction of blood supply).
After primitive studying of general rules in brain we were interested in the position of vessels itself and the way they divided into more vessels to have better distribution network system, so first we start to look at the vessels in general, the picture below and then going more in deep to the amazing microscopic images and always trying to have catalogue in each step and extract the rules and ideas which help us to develop a flow which produce a form in urban scale.
Site analysis and design developing
In the first step we did almost the same as had done in the studying in brains vessels, focusing on hierarchy of street, and also trying to keep the method of studying in different scale.so we studied hierarchy of street in the site and in larger scale in a bigger urban scale around selected site.
We try to implement the ideas to an existing urban fabric and see the potentials and problems to use and solve it later in the area with our proposal.
The other extreme was to ruin everything and considering only boundaries of our site and nothing else, to see the result of implementing our distribution rules.
