The Rubber Mat

The Rubber Mat, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 1997

The Rubber Mat project is a model of inhabiting prop-erty values, rent, density, business growth and green space growth. it comprised four mats, in which each of the mats em-bodied the suitable moving in space and in time. The de-sign crew had this computational thinking, at the early stage of the designing, they input algorithms and dia-grams into programming process and organized and in-strumentalised abstract geometries to reveal the con-cept of ‘deep planning’ and to assimilate the complexity of contemporary architecture.

2.0 Computing in Architecture

UNStudio, Knowledge Platforms interchange diagram, 2012The organisation of the UNStudio Knowledge Platforms emphasisesthe interchange between the platforms themselves and with buildingand research projects.

Along their way, the manipulating and accumulating advanced technologies and strategies in UNStu-dio’s daily practice have evolved into ‘Knowledge Platforms’. The key function of the Knowledge Platform is to act as a dynamic hinge between prac-tice and research, which is playing a similar role of a computerizational model generated from the concept to the building. The platform- project was characterized to allow the interactive and effec-tive cross- fertilization of research innovations be-ing utilized in the future design approaches. In later of UNStudio’ s works, the platforms evaluate new concepts and techniques in its most specific and broadest sense, such as tools, software, thinking and design models, together brought the various parameters to define a project. In addition, the Plat-forms have operated on a number of non-geometric parameters: social, economic, political and materi-al, among others.

Burnham PavilionMillennium Park, Chicago, 2009

The temporary pavilion is made up with three identical openings

that support a very straight-forward horizontal surface

and structure so as to achieve a desire for a formal, axial and

visual relation to the downtown Chicago. According to Kalay’s

paper, it is being considered that the digital design process is a

process to confront uncertain-ties and create analytical and

creative thinking constrained by many limits imposed. In this case, the Burnham Pavilion in Chicago

is influenced by two econom-ic and material constraints: ‘a structural system that is re-quired to be essentially post

and beam, and the repetition of the form of the openings in the surfaces.’ Manipulating visual programming aimed at instru-

mentalising the parameters in-tuitively to fit in its specificity.

Therefore, the solution to that is to create holes within simple and parallelogram frames to the main structure and being

duplicated and rotated to direct vistas diagonally upwards. Such

experiment serves not only a tool solving problems, but also deeply in root encouraged the designers’ logical thinking to

expand and upgrade.

Arnhem Central Station the Netherlands, 1996- 2014

The project has been a drive of innovation since its beginning more than ten years ago.

It was the genesis of early concepts such as the V- model and the Deep Planning Principle, and continues to drive innovation in the practice; therefore it encompasses many of the UNStu-

dio’s working approaches. It is worthy to mentioning specifically that its roof paneling system through which the woven pattern

has evolved and worked altogether on structural, material and economic parameters. The tool it used is the programming language in Rhinoceros- emphasis was placed on the relation-ships of the panels to develop a pattern that constrained by

mould size, anchor locations and geometric efficiencies and so on. ‘Programmed objects acting as abstractions of the panels contain methods that autonomously create boundaries, check for geometric optimisation (ruled, cylindrical, flat), create an-

chor points, annotate and extract data.’ Not so hard to see that computation’s primary potential is its flexibility to communicate information between computation and humans across multiple

declines via associative data.