Performative Morphology
Complementary Seminar for the Design Studio Performative Morphology
This Seminar complements the Design Studio ‚Performative Morpholgy‘. Performative or Functional Morphology denotes, generally, the capacitiy of a natural or artificial material system to adjust specifically to system-external and system-internal conditions through morphological variation.
This high level of differentiation is present especially in natural systems, where the high degree of morphological variation, and consequently of functionality, is achieved with relatively minimal material input.
Architectural systems, however, have long been restricted in variation due to manufacturing constraints. Primarily due to economic factors, systems with a high number of similar construction elements have been given preference. New digital fabrication methods however allow for the introduction of a very high level of morphological variation into the architectural design with comparable economic ramifications. The realization of a biomimetic design approach thus becomes practically feasible through the application of digital fabrication methods.
The seminar is aimed at investigating the relevance of biological systems for computational architectural design. The respective design phases are introduced through lectures with both theoretical approaches and concrete biological and architectural examples. The work is conducted in close interconnection with the design and allows for the reflection of the individual design phases on a conceptual level.