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CCA Architecture MEDIAlab Adds Dimension to "FLUX" Exhibition
Posted on Tuesday, May 5, 2009, by Sarah Owens
California College of the Arts hosted FLUX: Architecture in a Parametric Landscape, an exhibition focused on the integration of digital practices and design, the Architecture Program's MEDIAlab digital workshops, and the International SmartGeometry Conference (held in spring 2009). The exhibition took place March 30–April 17, 2009, in the Nave at the San Francisco campus.
The FLUX exhibition, sponsored by K Bieg Design, Studio Under Manufacture, and SolidThinking, kicked off with a lecture featuring Swiss architects Fabio Gramazio & Matthias Kohler, scheduled as part of CCA's 2009 Architecture Lecture Series. More than 350 attendees attended the lecture, which was followed by an opening reception.
The exhibition was created through parametric modeling and digital fabrication. CCA Architecture students, under the leadership of program director Ila Berman, fabricated the exhibit using CCA's new CNC (computer numerical controlled) router and advanced parametric modeling techniques, lending for advanced component design via highly automated CAD/CAM programs.
The installation ran approximately 100 feet down the center of the Nave. As it undulated and twisted, the structure showcased more than 40 architectural projects on its armature. Eight topics addressed the geometric and performative aspects of each project: stacked aggregates, modular assemblages, pixelated fields, cellular clusters, serial iterations, woven meshes, material systems, and emergent environments.
The exhibit also included drawings, photographs, and models that illustrated the processes and technologies used to design the displayed projects. (A forthcoming publication will be published later this year that documents the lectures, workshops, and exhibition.)
CCA Architecture students from the college's MEDIAlab digital workshops worked on the FLUX exhibition for an entire year, designing, scripting, modeling, and fabricating the behemoth structure. MEDIAlab provides focus on cross-disciplinary media, advanced digital tools, and new fabrication technologies used in the industry. The CCA MEDIAlab supports students, faculty, and local professionals in the use, experimentation, and development of advanced digital and analog-media techniques and strategies in architectural production.
The timing of FLUX coincided with the international 2009 SmartGeometry Conference, an annual eight-day event that unites professionals with academics to discuss the latest projects and trends in conceptual thinking in design computation. Based in the United Kingdom, SmartGeometry was formed in 2001 as a partnership among architectural practitioners, researchers, and academics who offer an emphasis on innovative digital approaches.
The following CCA Architecture faculty played key roles in the project design and fabrication of the FLUX exhibition: Kory Bieg, Andre Caradec, and Andrew Kudless. Andy Payne, of LIFT Architects, also brought in as a parametric modeling and complex geometry consultant.)
Related
Visit K Bieg Design to see remarkable photos of the exhibit.
Visit Digitecture