Architecture & Arcologies
_ The modern city is beginning to address the effect of urban design on our psychological state and sense of well-being. Biophilia, our intrinsic attraction to and need for nature and its forms, is at the core of our experience of stress within our built spaces.
The term “arcology” was coined by Paolo Soleri to describe an intentional union of architecture and ecology. Gregory Bateson described the interaction of our intelligence with nature in terms of arcological typing, in order to convey the mechanics of the larger “Mind.” My goal in my investigation of “arcological typing” is to define a vocabulary and ultimately a language for arcological design.
My process includes the use of drawing, photography, sculpture (wax and clay), and CAD/CAM design interchangeably. The iterative design process ultimately yields sub-classifications of a progressive design development. This development towards complexity permits the arcology environment to be inhabited continuously as it grows and changes with the population over time.
The arcological type is not only a product of technology; it is reflective of and integrated with the local and regional landscape and ecosystem. The arcological type language is not only a tool for domestic environmental stewardship; it is a means of tele-robotic and human space exploration.
The investigation into biophilic solutions for arcology construction and context is ultimately a process of distillation: in order to define a new language, we must first identify the voids in the previous one. This simplification ultimately yields further harmony between us and our world.
The term “arcology” was coined by Paolo Soleri to describe an intentional union of architecture and ecology. Gregory Bateson described the interaction of our intelligence with nature in terms of arcological typing, in order to convey the mechanics of the larger “Mind.” My goal in my investigation of “arcological typing” is to define a vocabulary and ultimately a language for arcological design.
My process includes the use of drawing, photography, sculpture (wax and clay), and CAD/CAM design interchangeably. The iterative design process ultimately yields sub-classifications of a progressive design development. This development towards complexity permits the arcology environment to be inhabited continuously as it grows and changes with the population over time.
The arcological type is not only a product of technology; it is reflective of and integrated with the local and regional landscape and ecosystem. The arcological type language is not only a tool for domestic environmental stewardship; it is a means of tele-robotic and human space exploration.
The investigation into biophilic solutions for arcology construction and context is ultimately a process of distillation: in order to define a new language, we must first identify the voids in the previous one. This simplification ultimately yields further harmony between us and our world.
Ideation and Sketching
My visualization process for arcology pattern and design alternates between deliberate formal process and abstraction. In other words, at times I am creating a structural composition based on biomimicry, natural forms, and architectural logic, and at other times I am more interested in a visual creation, often through abstraction. Sketching is the foundation for this, whether 2D or 3D.