Heidi Jalkh Presents her Research in Argentinian TV
In the interview that was aired on a National television show about Science Communication in November, MoA member Heidi Jalkh presented her research on bio-inspired materials and reports on her work at »Matters of Activity« at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, which began with her participation in the »Open Design« program. The full interview can be seen on the La Liga della Ciencia Channel on YouTube.
Syntopia 1:Soma I Body. Roland Halbe
Cluster Professor Karola Dierichs Holds Lecture at IntCDC on November 13
Karola Dierichs lecture at the Cluster of Excellence Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Architecture (IntCDC) is a first attempt at arguing for an »intelligence of art« in computational design. It will do so by introducing the notion of design as the creation of novelty and will ask the question how this novelty is produced: is it a result of computational data processing or are there other forces at play?
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Prototyping Anholonomy. Copyright: Matters of Activity
Internal Workshop on 27–29 September
Do we move, interact and design in precisely three spatial dimensions and time? And are these sufficient for describing our interactions within the world? In this workshop, we will explore and prototype research from the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity«, which proposes that anholonomy of spatial and temporal geometries imbue complex systems with activity.
In other words, complex systems may exist with or without complex anholonomies from their complex temporal geometry. Designing prototypes and use-case demonstrators of such complex temporal geometries which provoke anholonomies, is key towards their communication and understanding.
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Unsteady Matter – Investigating Water-Based Design Pathways and 3D Printing Techniques for Hydrogel Composites. Copyright: Tairan (Aurora) Li, Daniel Suárez, Dr. Bastian Beyer
Investigating Water-Based Design Pathways and 3D Printing Techniques for Hydrogel Composites
Architectural design conventionally operates within or creates seemingly static and permanent conditions. The two-week project developed by Tairan Li (MoA Young International Fellow 2022) and Daniel Suárez, led by Bastian Beyer, in the context of the project »Weaving« aimed to interrogate these conditions through a series of experiments with hydrogels. This group of materials mainly consists of water held together by three-dimensional polymer chains. Compared to inert materials, hydrogels are in constant dynamic exchange with their surrounding environment. Their water content can vary according to external conditions. They shrink substantially when dried and expand in humid environments and, therefore can be understood as latent buffer materials with ever-changing properties. Furthermore, this volume change can induce strong forces which lead to curling or buckling of the material during the drying process.
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Driving the Human Book Launch at Matters of Activity, 10 May 2023. Copyright: Camille Blake / Driving the Human
Book Launch with Hand-On-Workshops, Guided Tours, a Talk, and Debates at Matters of Activity
On May 10th, the three-year initiative »Driving the Human: Seven Prototypes for Eco-social Renewal« celebrated the Berlin launch of the final publication with »Matters of Activity« at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. From 3.30 pm, the Cluster opened the doors to its premises in Sophienstraße 22a and invited interested guests to workshops and guided tours, a talk, and lively debates reflecting on the three-year process of »Driving the Human«. Partners, experts, and project authors were on hand to discuss with guests the relationship between research, design and art. On this occasion, many cluster members also provided insights into their research work at »Matters of Activity«.
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LEFT: DAOULA | sheen. West African Wild Silk on Its Way. Exhibition View in the Tieranatomisches Theater, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 2022. Copyright: Karola Dierichs | MoA; RIGHT: MoA Research Prototype 1 | Minimal Machines. Construction Process. Copyright: Sebastián Plaza Kutzbach | khb
Live-Demonstration and Press Tour in the Exhibition »DAOULA | sheen«
We hereby cordially invite you to a press event in the exhibition »DAOULA | sheen – West African Wild Silk on its Way«. The press event will take place on February 16th, 3.00 pm at the Tieranatomisches Theater and will be accompanied by a live demonstration of the project »MoA Research Prototype 1 | Minimal Machines« with a subsequent discussion of the work. The demonstration involves live work on an architectural structure inspired by the geometric principles of silk cocoons. The researchers are present and give an insight into the materials used as well as the analogue and digital tools.
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Poster Talk Karin Krauthausen 2022. Copyright: ETH Zürich
Karin Krauthausen holds Lecture at the ETH Zürich
As part of the semester program »Ticino Tempesta – Second Modernism« at the Chair of Architecture and Design at ETH Zurich, MoA member Karin Krauthausen will give a guest lecture on invitation of Prof. Dr. Elli Mosayebi. The lecture on the »Modell Hütte« will take place on Wednesday, September 28th, 2022, and will refer to the results of Krauthausen's many years of research, which were published late last year in the publication of the same name.
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Thread model by Hermann Wiener of a cone of third order and genus 0. Copyright: Collection of Mathematical Models and Instruments at Georg-August-University Göttingen, all rights reserved
Open Access Volume by Editors Michael Friedman and Karin Krauthausen Published Now
The open access book »Model and Mathematics: From the 19th to the 21st Century«, published in August 2022, collects the historical and medial perspectives of a systematic and epistemological analysis of the complicated, multifaceted relationship between model and mathematics. Contributions and expert interviews range from, for example, the physical mathematical models of the 19th century to the simulation and digital modeling of the 21st century. The aim of this anthology, edited by MoA members Michael Friedman and Karin Krauthausen, is to showcase the status of the mathematical model between abstraction and realization, presentation and representation, what is modeled and what models.
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Cover »Modell Hütte«. Copyright: diaphanes Verlag
Contributions from the Natural Sciences, Humanities, and Design Approach the Hut as a Model
At the end of December 2021, the anthology »Modell Hütte. Von emergenten Strukturen, schützender Haut und gebauter Umwelt« (translated: »Model Hut. Of emergent structures, protective skin and built environment«) was published by diaphanes Verlag. In it, the editors, MoA member Karin Krauthausen and Rebecca Ladewig, bring together multidisciplinary contributions that approach the hut as a model in many different ways. The German volume goes back to two conferences on the »Typology of the Hut« (in 2016 and 2017) of the Cluster of Excellence »Image Knowledge Gestaltung«, but was also expanded afterwards with additional contributions.
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Poster Workshop »Material as Environmental Device«. Copyright: Kristina Pfeifer »detail woven skin of Kurdish black tent« & Cécile Bidan »detail of bacterial cellulose biofilm«
A Zoom Workshop on 10 September 2020
The workshop »Material as Environmental Device« on September 10th, 2020 gathers researchers and practitioners from the fields of architecture, ecological anthropology and the natural sciences to discuss the status of the material as an active element of environmental design on the basis of past and contemporary buildings and current research in the Cluster »Matters of Activity«. Three thematic sessions – »Materials and Environments«, »Essential Material« and »Active Skins« – focus on different aspects of material activity, addressing design and production techniques, ecological and cultural implications and the prospects of climate-responsive architectures.
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