A studio project, for a new school of architecture for the KU.
The idea begun from Frei Otto's studies of lattice structures with rigid joins, and became a study of how a structural system can 'overcome' its main property (that of being structurally efficient) and became a system that is at the same time an 'ornamental' element and the element that defines spaces (and of course the structural system as well). Also an attempt to see how this complexity can be fitted inside (and used in order to define) a volume as simple as that of a box.

At any case Frei Otto’s work is still an endless field of inspiration.

Technological developments have multiple results in relation to architecture. The ability to observe at the micro level surely falls into those developments. Cells and microbiological structures are offering a whole new world that can help as develop new spatial relationships, understand space in a different way. And that goes well beyond mere formal explorations. Cells of course are displaying unique forms that could be transferred to architecture, but are also displaying ways of organization, ecological strategies and extremely efficient structural systems, all of which can inform architecture in different levels.

This project begun from a cell: xylem vessels. Through detailed 3d modeling, animation and study of its properties it finally led to a design for a garden. More specifically to a system of rain collectors that could be installed in a garden. Xylem vessels are plant cells used in order to transfer water from the ground to the higher parts of the plant. That cell structure is eventually developed/transformed into the rain collector, which is also transferring water, this time following the opposite direction: top>bottom instaid of bottom>top.

more info here

A rather 'fast' project, for the st louis follies competition (http://www.stlfollies.com/index.html) developed with Katerina Tryfonidou.

The competition was a call for installations (for downtown St. Louis) that were supposed to host art exhibitions. Our proposal had to do with the idea of a growing organism that takes over city spaces. Close to the idea of the follies, since there is no specific need for the creation of the organism, the idea of a parasite that uses existing city structures in order to be developed is by no means new to architecture (urbican fever is a very interesting illustration of that ‘architect’s dream’). What makes that idea rather important today though, is that trough scripting we are becoming able to create self-referential organisms that are actually following growth patterns (the L-systems are a good example). In urbican fever the architect is finding that cubic device, he brings it to the city, and then the device starts growing according to its own logic, without the architect being able to intervene. It is a totally ‘interior to the device’ logic that is responsible for the growing pattern. Similarly in the various experiments taking place today with L-systems, cellular automata etc, the architect is in a similar position: He defines the initial rules, the first generation, and then he can only stay back and watch the growing process, which he is rather unable to predict in the first place. And that’s where the whole thing becomes so interesting.

Our project is a rather primitive attempt. A simple honeycomb structure is growing and changes colors, according to the game of life set of rules. Only that the automaton is not totally an ‘automaton’, that is people by entering the structure, can change the state of a cell and therefore affect the whole process. Well, a theme that has to be developed more in the future….

more here

Exploring the possibilities of a vertical megastructure, and how a single rule (in that case the 'spiral') can be used in order to define every aspect of the composition, from the distribution of the spaces to the structure and the skin.

This project was not so much an attempt to design a 'specific' building but rather a study of the properties of the spiral, therefore the diagrams are much more important than the renderings, which are illustrating just an example...

An exploration on the ways that land can be manipulated in order to create space. The topography of different lots within the site is superimposed on one lot and through several transformations and manipulations the form of the house is derived.