A neo-Durandian Embassy

Akshaya Kapadnis

ARCH 6049: Design and Research Studio
Instructor: Athanassios Economou
Georgia Institute of Technology
Fall 2019

Keywords: Shape Machine; Shape grammars: Computational design

The basic party for a contemporary embassy is envisioned here as a three-bar structure comprised by three distinct but related aspects of the program of the embassy, namely, the embassy proper, the office building, and the consular building. The three bars extend and dissect the sites determining different accesses to the building by the public and the staff. The spatial compartition of each bar follows a serial principle of arrangement and /or concatenation of programmatic spaces one after the other along the structural and the circulation axes, without privileging any symmetrical arrangement in the plan making. The spatial arrangement of the bars one to another intersect in various angles generalizing the rectangular language of Durand into a pluralistic language allowing for a variety of different intersections between the programmatic elements. All design iterations have been generated done automatically n Shape Machine following a set of thirty of so rules.

Museum of Intoxication

Bianca Abad

ARCH 6049: Design and Research Studio
Instructor: Athanassios Economou
Georgia Institute of Technology
Fall 2019

Keywords: Shape Machine; Shape grammars: Computational design

The museums of intoxication are imaginary, fictional spaces that celebrate the cyclic perception of space and time within a seemingly endless traversing of sinuous spaces woven one with another merging and blending the perception of the spectator into one intoxicating experience. The language for the museums is based on a recursive treatment of a circular room at various scales and its combination with copies of itself to generate positive and negative subspaces that work as interfaces that connect the floors one to another and/or as support spaces engulfing structural and programmatic spaces. The language is rich and generate easily a series of automated iterations in Shape Machine in various scales spanning the Small -, Medium, Large and X-large scale, The colors are saturated, blended, absorbing and refracting light into one synesthetic experience. The structure is polemically rendered in a futuristic manner to further amplify the perceptual aspirations of the project.

Theater Rules

Robert Vaivodiss

ARCH 6049: Design and Research Studio
Instructor: Athanassios Economou
Georgia Institute of Technology
Fall 2019

Keywords: Shape Machine; Shape grammars: Computational design

A studio study on the automation of contemporary theater plans using Shape Machine. The set of rules used in this study are based on an interpretation of Durand’s compositional process based on an arrangement of axes and programmatic spaces along them, in addition to rules extracted from the public space modulation of the Marshall Family Performing Arts Center (Weiss/Manfredi) and the organizational grid of Avery Fisher Hall (Richard Meier).

The plan generation starts with a simple parti indicating the spatial axes of the building. The initial DrawScript uses this parti as an input to generate a footprint with clear interior and exterior spaces and circulation axes. These spaces are indicated as long rectangular modules and small square modules at intersections and corners. In the generated plans, the overall organizing grid is set at 30 feet. The second stage step requires the designer’s input in selecting the programs for each spatial module created in the first macro. After the program is allocated, the third DrawScript macro automatically generates the space modules for the programs present in the plan. Space modules include architectural elements such as walls, doors, and windows. The designer may also select from multiple types of space modules; for example, a workshop could have four different types that include dimensional or architectural differences. The final macro generates envelope elements that modify the spaces adjacent to the exterior. Glazing elements, envelope pop-outs, exterior doors, and columns are added to complete the plan. Finally, all the construction lines are removed to clear up the drawing.

This generative strategy outlined above can be applied in many ways to develop variations even from the same parti diagram. The rule set includes different types of the same programs and variations on architectural elements.

Market Hall Grammar

Yuhang Li

ARCH 6049: Design and Research Studio
Instructor: Athanassios Economou
Georgia Institute of Technology
Fall 2019

Keywords: Shape Machine; Shape grammars: Computational design

Among the ancients, marketplaces were often identical with the public squares themselves. Sometimes they occupied only a part of the square; but in every case they afforded wide, airy spaces, planted with trees, surrounded by porticoes, and refreshed and cleansed by numerous fountains.

Although the word market is used indiscriminately to denote those places where goods, and principally victuals, are sold, a distinction must be made here between two kinds of structure. Those markets intended for the sale of fish, vegetables, flowers, and all livestock – merchandise attended by some degree of odor – must be very well aired and therefore uncovered, at least in part. In all such cases, the markets must be open. Markets intended for the sale of grain, wine, cloth, and so on – articles liable to be damaged by air, sun, or rain – must be covered and enclosed.

In the composition of a building, both kinds of combination must be kept simultaneously present in the mind; but for ease of study, they can, and indeed must, be considered separately. We shall therefore distinguish between two kinds of disposition: horizontal, as represented by plans; and vertical, as represented by sections and elevations.

In this design, a shape grammar, via Shape Machine, was applied to generate some different market hall plans. The axes were generated first, and then the sub-areas were further subdivided. These generated patterns contain a certain amount of randomness, but the generation method always follows the dissection logic. Using this method, we can generate plenty of different plans and then select the ones we want to further develop.

A Glaciology Research Station in Antarctica

Shiyun Lucy Lin

ARCH 6049: Design and Research Studio
Instructor: Athanassios Economou
Georgia Institute of Technology
Fall 2021

Keywords: Shape Machine; Shape grammars: Computational design

The proposal for a glaciology center in Antarctica is posed as a direct answer to the climate change problem. Extreme conditions recorded and experienced through time-lapse media in Koyaanisqatsi and Antarctica foreground evocative, fragile, uncanny spatio-temporal patterns. The project responds to these challenges with an architectural tectonic language evoking continuity and fragility in a continuous counterpoint of straight and curved tectonic elements. The structure responds to the immediate environment with a series of animated hexagonal apertures that close and open in various time-lapses. The Glaciology research station is situated in the King George Island, Antarctica, in a direct correspondence with the rest of the research stations that are located there. The language of the plans is envisioned as a delicate set of variations on classic geometries all generated procedurally in Shape Machine for Rhino.

Rapid Relief Hospital

Leah Baldochille

ARCH 6049: Design and Research Studio
Instructor: Athanassios Economou
Georgia Institute of Technology
Fall 2021

Keywords: Shape Machine; Shape grammars: Computational design

After months of civil unrest and increased gang violence, in August 2021 Haiti was hit by a major (M7.2) earthquake as well as a Tropical Depression two days later. Leaving behind broken communities, many Haitians began migrating north through countries like Mexico towards the United States in hopes of seeking asylum. As of October, 30,000 migrants have made it to Del Rio, Mexico in hopes for a safe way to cross into Texas. Due to the staggering number of refugees, it can take days or weeks to know the results of an asylum application, leading the refugees to camp on the banks of the river and under the Acuna Del Rio International Bridge. This refugee camp has seen high numbers of injuries, deaths, suicide attempts, and disease in the past few months and Rapid Relief Hospitals are the solution.

Rapid Relief Hospitals are temporary, prefabricated and modular systems that are quick and easy to construct but also incorporate biophilic design characteristics to promote an environment of comfort and healing. The plans are all generated in Shape Machine based on the shape rules and the code envisioned for the rapid relief hospitals based upon the three types of hexagonal Dirichlet domains

Healthcare Courts

Jack Coleman

ARCH 6049: Design and Research Studio
Instructor: Athanassios Economou
Georgia Institute of Technology
Fall 2023

Keywords: Shape Machine; Shape grammars: Computational design

The current state of modern hospital design is driven by economics rather than the health of the individual patient, Current challenges include a) Patient Health: Hospital acquired infections are an enormous contributor to illness and death. Housing patients together in poorly designed spaces sees them leaving physically and mentally worse than before; b) Staff Burnout: A neglected part of health care design are amenities for its staff. Nurses, Doctors, and employees of hospitals work extreme hours in difficult environments with little to no supporting spaces; c) Lack of Natural Light and Nature: Patients and Doctors alike frequently find themselves cooped up in dim rooms and sterile hallways with little access to natural light or views of nature; and d) Sustainability: Hospitals are energy intensive by nature with the equipment needed to function and serve the community properly. Moreover, the Health Care sector in the United States accounts for 8.5% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States

The proposal for the new hospital is built around four design drivers: 1) Patient-Driven Design: Initiating design from the patient’s perspective is paramount. Private, acoustically sound, well-ventilated spaces are conducive to a healthy environment. Private rooms decrease bacterial infections and significantly reduce patient’s stay. 2) Flexible, Staff-Oriented Spaces: To minimize staff burnout, it is important to design spacious and day-lit staff amenities to give workers a place of rest. Design that responds to circadian rhythms helps alleviate stress felt by medical staff. 3). Low-Profile, Equitably Day-lit, Courtyard Design: A low-profile design ensures a harmonious integration with the surrounding community, reducing the imposing nature of traditional hospital structures. Equitable daylighting and courtyard spaces not only enhance the well-being of patients and staff but also promote a therapeutic atmosphere. 4) Rapidly deployable, sustainable, modular design hospitals are energy intensive by nature with the equipment needed to function and serve the community properly.

The site is on a lot wedged between Ralph McGill Boulevard NE and East Avenue NE. Public parking on site will be accommodated by the former Wellstar Hospital parking deck south of the site. The program of the Wellstar hospital in Atlanta consists of a) 460 Beds; b) Level 1 Trauma Center; c) Advanced Primary Stroke Center; d) Neuro-intensive Care Unit; and e) a Level 3 Neonatal ICU

The design is based on a realization of a Durandian workflow privileging commensurability and modularity, A DrawScript code in Shape Machine resembling a Lego-like sequence, offers a dynamic interplay between the exterior and interior. The seed of the design is the reinterpretation of the Butaro district hospital designed by MASS. The meticulous study of program and design intents laid the groundwork for a comprehensive understanding of hospital operations, crucial for implementing design through the Shape Machine. The incorporation of recursion, Drawscript, and a detailed understanding of modular hospital elements contributed to the creation of a functional toolbox for the automated making of hospital layouts.

A low-profile design ensures a harmonious integration with the surrounding community, reducing the imposing nature of traditional hospital structures. Equitable daylighting and courtyard spaces not only enhance the well-being of patients and staff but also promote a therapeutic atmosphere, positively impacting recovery outcomes and creating a more inclusive and patient centric healthcare experience.

Pitch Builder

Jack Balloun

ARCH 6049: Design and Research Studio
Instructor: Athanassios Economou
Georgia Institute of Technology
Fall 2023

Keywords: Shape Machine; Shape grammars; Computational design

The modular and iterative process of shape grammar and coding is destined for use in the creation plan layouts of the stadium and entertainment typologies. The goal is to use the potential of Shape Machine to efficiently create successful plans for an enjoyable entertainment atmosphere. Iterate through a base plan and use the core elements of stadium plans and program to create designs.

Tactile Routes

Carol Mock

ARCH 6049: Design and Research Studio
Instructor: Athanassios Economou
Georgia Institute of Technology
Fall 2023

Keywords: Shape Machine; Shape grammars: Computational design

Spatial disorientation poses a significant barrier for visually impaired individuals when navigating architectural spaces, leaving them feeling helpless in their mobility. Traditional architectural marketplace design lacks necessary navigation cues embedded into the architecture making shopping and navigation daunting for people with visual impairments. This proposal seeks to erode conventional rectilinear layouts. Utilizing shape grammars to implement curvilinear circulation roots for improved accessibility and ease of movement.

The proposal here envisions a dual scheme: the market area is formed by the curvilinear boundaries and consists of the produce, butcher, fishmonger, bakery, dairy and cheese vendor, specialty food vendor. The support spaces are the formed form the intersection of the curvilinear walls with the gridiron frame and consist of the vendor Storage, vendor kitchens, restrooms, mechanical, and HVAC.

Brutalism Retrofitted

Gregory Nye

ARCH 6049: Design and Research Studio
Instructor: Athanassios Economou
Georgia Institute of Technology
Fall 2021

Keywords: Elevation retrofit; Shape Machine; Shape grammars; Computational design

The original design of the Atlanta Central Library, by Marcel Breuer in 1979, reflected the motives of the Bauhaus movement of the 1920s with a strict geometric design meant to retain a concept of monumentality even as skyscrapers began to arise around it. The library is constructed of a series of 10 x 15’ precast concrete panels that formulate the façade of the entire structure. Small gaps for tiny windows allow light in at specified locations giving the interior a dark cool feel and helps protect the bookshelves from excess daylight and heat. The library, once cluttered with eager visitors and committed readers started to see a decline in the common era as new shifts in architecture looked to accommodate more modern radiant designs. As a result, in 2018 Atlanta design firm, Cooper Carry, attempted to revitalize the space by adding a new glazing system at the 2nd and 3rd levels for improved lighting and visual look from the exterior. In return, the renovation brought backlash from the Atlanta community for disrupting the original geometric design intent by Breuer. In addition, the heat brought in from the curtain wall resulted in the removal of thousands of books to protect them from damage.

This research proposal intends to provide another outlook of possibilities for a renovation of the Atlanta Central Library that intends to bring light into the space without bringing in an excess of heat, provide an improved look from the exterior without disrupting the original geometric design intent of Marcel Breuer, propose a possible redesign of the interior spaces to begin to reflect on the exterior panels, and provide a warm comfortable, setting for visitors of the library. The retrofit will be especially sensitive to the reconstruction of panels so as to maintain their structural integrity while proving efficient variations of redesign.

The Georgia Tech Shape Machine software will be utilized to generate and investigate quick design façade variations in planar, elevational, and axonometric studies and the DIVA software for Rhino will provide accurate heat mapping studies of resulting façade variations. All together the design embodies a reflection of experimentalism, integrity of a historical context, and an attempt to revitalize and provide new interest to a building typology that is becoming seamlessly obsolete.

Topology Court | Federal Courthouse, Atlanta, GA

Andrew Scott Harmon

ARCH 6049: Design Studio: Back to the Future
Athanassios Economou, PhD
School of Architecture
College of Design
Georgia Institute of Technology
Fall 2021

Keywords: Back to the Future studio; Courthouse design; Typology; Variation; Shape grammars

The future spaces for justice ought to be structured by circular spatial modules to be inclusive and to allow for interesting intersections planarly (like venn-diagrams) and sectionally (intertwined spirographs that allowed spaces/rooms to protrude up and down, open and close). The intersecting spaces allow for courtyards, lightwells, and free-flowing public spaces to envelope the judicial courtroom pairs.

The site of the courthouse next to the 75/85 highway in Atlanta foregrounds the figure-ground relation of the courthouse and the site through the juxtaposition of the triangular site shape and the curvilinear packing of circular spatial modules of the courthouse. The rule set adapts property to the setback lines to module subdivisions, sectional pushes and pulls, and spatial find-and-replace scenarios that could create a compelling courthouse complex. The materiality of the project was explored via rule sets that delineated certain circular rings tied to transparency or opacity (at this stage, glass or concrete). Shape Machine allows to quickly program rooms of certain pie or circular shapes and then invert balconies and green spaces above and below.

Bath Rings

Cindy Yang

ARCH 6049: Design and Research Studio
Instructor: Athanassios Economou
Georgia Institute of Technology
Fall 2023

Keywords: Shape Machine; Shape grammars: Computational design; Bath design; Durand

Bathhouses share a long history across many cultures and spaces, all span off around a communal facility designed for public bathing, socializing and unwinding. They typically features shared pools, steam rooms, hot or cold plunges and a host of different spaces that complement their core function. The design study here builds off Jean Nicolas Luis Durand, French architect and École Polytechnique professor, and his prototype bathhouse in his Précis des Leçons d’ Architecture (Précis of the Lectures on Architecture), his classic architectural textbook first published in 1802, as well as the three renderings he made for the Baths of Titus, the Baths of Diocletian and the Baths of Caracalla in his Recueil et Parallèle des édifices de tout genre, Anciens et Modernes (Compendium and Parallel of Buildings of All Kinds), published in 1800, a massive portfolio that cataloged and compared historical architecture all print in a standardized scale. The study here builds of the constructive nature of these paradigms and instead proposes a new vocabulary comprised by circles and spatial relations of circles to best capture the form of the water the relations of body to water. The resulting forms produce a possible set of plans that suggest a language of forms that can be potentially built at various sites all keeping their identity. The final one proposed here is for a hotel/bath complex at the Chimney’s Picnic area at Smokey Mountain, TN.

SMLXL

Rui Shen

ARCH 6049: Design and Research Studio
Instructor: Athanassios Economou
Georgia Institute of Technology
Fall 2023

Keywords: Shape machine; Education Architecture; L-system; Shape grammar; Durand

Contemporary university campuses embed themselves into cities with an ever-expanding nature. The boundary between campus and city has evolved into a dynamic and intricate interface, necessitating forward-looking designs. As institutions fuel urban progression, the city reciprocally offers academia practical environments and fresh innovative insights, thus redefining educational imperatives.

Through an in-depth analysis of contemporary education and communication space and the evolution of urban universities, this design & research project incorporates Shape Machine to construct a generative framework and propose prospective designs for future education architecture acting as a bridge between university campus and urban, students and the public. The intricate interplay between these designs, the broader cityscape, and the campus infrastructure are critically assessed within a formal design language conditioned by cells and module interaction. This approach is not only applicable to educational architecture but can also be adjusted and expanded for use in the floor plan design of buildings with other functions.