Thompson wrote On Growth and form in the maturity of a career that lay somewhat outside the mainstream of the biological sciences of his day. His writings were a large contribution for the study of morphology. On Growth and Form is essentially an attempt to establish a concept of organic form based upon the physical and mathematical laws governing the development and function of organisms. He demonstrates in this chapter that how organic forms once put in a Cartesian grid can change forms in the same species and how this method could be used to find missing parts in the series of relative species

During the debate in the class we found the book is more of a concept and basically starts with the theory of transformation and is solidly based upon the laws of Newtonian Physics. All the experiments D’Arcy conducted were in 2D and not in 3D and gives a mathematical approach to the biological forms. He tries to show how the relationship between similar species is still there but changing their coordinates and the position of the parts changes. It’s a form finding method found over 100 years ago and gives us an idea of multiplicity during that era. Topology has been explained as a concept here with no real results. It’s a relation of a part to a whole.

The Next part of the critical analysis was The Water Cube-Beijing National Aquatics Centre by ARUP. The structure is made up of the soap bubbles which symbolise the square in the Chinese culture. The beautiful geometry is based on Weaire Phalen foam structure with an array of soap bubbles where 75% of the cells have 14 faces and the other 12 faces. In spite of the complete regularity, the structure when viewed at different angle looks completely random and organic. The polyhedron structure works perfectly as an extremely energy efficient and possibly the most earthquake resistant building. The water cube is a steel space frame structure with 4000 ETFE bubbles, the material being 8 times thinner than even a penny, which are pumped in with a low pressure. The building captures 20% of the incident solar energy and requires 90% less potable water than an equivalent building and uses 55% less artificial lighting. The ETFE IS 1% of glass weight and acts as a thermal insulator. The whole structure weighs almost as much as the Eiffel tower.

Research line:

After reading On growth and form, I’m interested in studying and researching more about Topology in Architecture. Architectural topology is a mutation of form, structure, context and interwoven patterns and dynamic complexity in space. Topological space differs from Cartesian space within which it forms different forms. It’s a process of continuous deformation. There are differentiable dynamic systems in architecture like chaos theory and fractal geometry. Would like to research on the role of topology in architecture and which structure/buildings it can be applied to.

Image reference-http://futuresplus.net/tag/topology/

Text Analysis-

The Conditioned Outdoor room

Bernard Rudofsky stresses on the need to merge with the nature and not isolate ourselves from nature. He imagines the future generation living hundred and thousands of feet below the ground without imparting their happiness. In the text he talks about the importance of gardens by giving examples from the Roman Garden, Garden of Pompeii and the Japanese gardens. Man can establish an “environmental relationship” with the outdoor gardens during the transition of various seasons by seeing it as an additional living space. He also talks about the “positional relationship” a wall creates by enclosing the garden within its space and the importance of the wall in climate control and maintaining a buffer between the indoor and the outdoor. Rudofsky also brings in a “metaphorical relationship” thought the relation between the man and the nature was resuming into economic advantages- man failed to produce anything revolutionary because he retreated into his house. This text dates back to the 1950’s where technology wasn’t a part of life as it is today. The question is “Is the garden an additional living space achievable in today’s world”

House Analysis-

Studio House by F451 Arquitectura

Rudofsky’s idea of “relationship between man and nature” in “The conditioned outdoor room” is quite evident in this house. The Studio house is a faceted house and a studio with emerge from the slope of the hill in Gijon, Spain. This house is hybridization of two typologies- the modern house and the industrial warehouse. The house develops a “positional relationship” with the slope of the site as the house does not sit on the ground, but in fact the relationship with the ground changes in conjunction with the plan. We can also observe a “metaphorical relationship” – the house tries to branch out from the foot of the hill with a green roof over the house and hence dividing the two storey residence into four sections, which include living quarters, a double-height atelier, a guesthouse and a car parking garage. The building is in an “environmental relationship” with its surrounding by its double orientation, juxtaposition and location of the north lighting

Conclusion

As a conclusion, we should try to incorporate the benefits of “The conditioned outdoor room” instead of being fixed on the idea of the “garden” and the “wall”. We need to find the perfect balance between human beings, technology and nature.

Research Topic

I would like to explore the balance which can be created between human and nature taking in consideration the technological advancement.

How the environmental relationship can affect the form of the structure and vice versa.

References:

The conditioned outdoor room- Bernard Rudofsky