Morphogenetic Design Experiment 04

This morphogentic design experiment focused on the computational and physical investigation of “minimal holes” cut into the fabric that considerably alter the behaviour of the membrane. While traditional form-finding methods focus on structural behaviour of material form resulting in mono-parametric assessment criteria, the aim of this project was the exploration of a multi-parametric approach. Thus the additional capacity of the perforated membrane system to modulate visual permeability as a differentiated exhibition screen was understood as being intrinsically related to the structural form. In order to instrumentalize this relation two operations were of critical importance for the design process: firstly, the parametric specification and subsequent confection of each membrane patch defined by boundary points and cutting lines expressed within the object coordinate space of the patch, and secondly, the pre-tensioning action defined through the relocation of the object boundary points towards anchor points described in the coordinate space of the exhibition room. Feeding back information between examining different values of local parametric variables and testing altering positions for the anchor point coordinates derives multiple membrane morphologies that all remain coherent with the construction logics of the system. A specific configuration can be derived through corroborating and negotiating different behavioural characteristics and specific performance requirements derived from them. The resulting membrane morphology settles into a stable state of unity between form and force. At the same time the correlated complex curvature of the membrane and the opening of the holes provide for different degrees of visual permeability resulting in the varied exposure of the exhibits.

Morphogenetic Design Experiment 04 – Membrane Morphologies
Michael Hensel and Achim Menges, with Giorgos Kailis, Nicolaos Strathopoulos, Tiffany Beriro, Edouard Cabay, Valeria Segovia