Cohesive Flesh of Architecture

Övrigt - Utställning, 2017

The exhibited model presents the first phase of a study on the form and materiality of the so-called Architectural Flesh. The term Flesh is an architectural metaphor, which counters the reductive understanding of a building envelope as a flat and thin membrane. In our investigation, the Architectural Flesh, in contrast to the architectural skin, is understood as a thick, bulky entity. In a broader context, our investigation seeks for an alternative artistic approach to designing interactive architectural environments. Given that many of today’s interactive structures represent prototypes of user-adaptive building objects, it seems that any alternative glimpses into how to enrich their artistic production processes could significantly affect the image of responsive architecture of the future. The Cohesive Flesh presents the first glimpse into how these environments could be expressed in terms of geometry, atmosphere and material. The exhibited volume of the architectural Flesh arises from a complex series of miscellaneous digital and manual materialization procedures, leading towards physical embodiment. It is an undulated body, with gently curved bulges and valleys forming its bulk. Materially, it has a dual character, a layered combination of artificial Plasm and fibrous Tissue. The Plasm has a smooth texture of its own, which unravels upon viewing. Although it seems sleek at a first glance, it turns out resistant and sticky upon touch. At some places, it can be nudged, while at others, dormant firmness and opposition arise from underneath. Its role is to house the fibrous Tissue. The Tissue is created as a network of delicate, stretchy and flexuous tubular bands. Due to its delicate, hyper-flexuous character, it cannot exist on its own. Its soft, faint form can only take shape when supported by the stronger Plasm...