rocker-lange blog

“From more than 5,400 entries from 90 countries to Dezeen Awards this year, the tidal stool project is one of 15 sustainability projects that are in the running to win an award later this year in the sustainability categories.” Thanks to the team @ Robotic Fabrication Lab | Faculty of Architecture | The University of Hong Kong and at our collaborators at the Centre for Chinese Architecture and Urbanism, HKU.
So, if you have time, please vote for us!!!!!

For more information on the project, please use the following link:
https://www.dezeen.com/awards/2022/shortlists/tidal-stool/

To vote, please use the following link:
https://www.dezeen.com/awards/vote

Vote closes 10th October. Thank you!

We are very happy to report that Ingeborg M. Rocker of Rocker Lange Architects has been named Chair and William Harrison Professor of the Georgia Tech School of Architecture. Ingeborg will begin her tenure on September 1, 2022. She will lead the School’s 22 full time faculty members and more than 300 students.

For more information, please use the following link:
https://arch.gatech.edu/ingeborg-rocker-appointed-chair-gt-architecture

I am thrilled to report that two projects that came out of the Robotic Fabrication Lab at HKU in the past two years have been long-listed in this year’s dezeen awards. The “Reformative Coral Habitat” project made it to the sustainable design list, while the Tidal stool has been selected for both the sustainable design category and the furniture design list. Congrats to the teams.

For more information on the projects, please use the following links:
www.dezeen.com/awards/2022/longlists/tidal-stool
www.dezeen.com/awards/2022/longlists/reformative-coral-habitats-reef-tiles

Very happy to share the recent feature in Ming Pao weekly on our Tidal stool project. Thanks to our team in the Robotic Fabrication Lab in the Faculty of Architecture at HKU for making this a successful project.

The Tidal Stool | A shoreline intervention through a robotic 3D terracotta printing method

I am happy to report the recent installation of a set of tidal stools on the shoreline of Kuk Po village, Sha Tau Kok, Hong Kong. The stool is part of a larger project on the revitalization of of the village and is a critical commentary on the common practice of how we deal with shorelines in Hong Kong.

Rather than separating through an artificial intervention, the project brings together two different ecologies, the anthropocentric and the natural environment. Both are the beneficiaries of its functional design approach. With its intricate spaces and crevices, the stool provides for many creatures hide-outs from predators and enhances the ecology of the shoreline. During high tide, the stool is partially submerged in the water. During the low tide, it invites the villagers and its visitors to take a break and enjoy the beach.

Overall, the team produced 30 unique stools with different heights for different users and varying degrees of surface complexity. The goal in producing the multiplicity of solutions was to understand which geometry would, in the end, perform best for the natural environment. All stools were produced using a standard industrial robot. The stools were made using a unique mix of terracotta clay, which is very suitable for natural habitats due to its Ph-level. So, in case the stools deteriorate over time, they get back to nature without any harm.

Funding body: Kuk Po Vision | Country Conservation Office

Project Credits:
Robotic Fabrication Lab | Faculty of Architecture | The University of Hong Kong

Christian J. Lange (Team Leader)
Weijen Wang (Team Leader)

Team:
Chen Zhaowei
Yin Fangyi
Chan Ching Yin

Christian J. Lange will deliver an invited talk at the upcoming 2nd International Conference on Biodiversity, Ecology and Conservation of Marine Ecosystems (BECoME-2022). The conference will be held during 3-7 January 2022 at the City University of Hong Kong.

For more information on the conference, please use the following link:
www.become2022.com

I am very happy to be able to join one of the panels in the upcoming conference by the STRELKA INSTITUTE. Please join in if you have time. The talks will take place September 7th, 2021 at 1:15pm Moscow time.

To follow the Conference live, please use the following link:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PELhVnvsdgY/

Very happy to share the recent feature in Ming Pao weekly on our exhibition of the Reformative Coral Habitat project at PMQ in Hong Kong. Thanks to our team in the Robotic Fabrication Lab in the Faculty of Architecture at HKU to make this a successful event.

To read the article, please use the following link:
www.mpweekly.com/culture/

Very happy that our team from the Robotic Fabrication Lab @ The Faculty of Architecture at HKU managed to bring this exhibition together. We had a great opening last Monday. The show will give insights about the design concepts, robotic production, and the implementation. To all who are still interested, the exhibit will continue until January 31st 2021. PMQ (S507, 5/F)

Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park is a local biodiversity hotspot accounting for more than three-quarters of reef-building corals in Hong Kong and more than 120 fish species. However, in recent years, gradual deterioration of the coral habitat, a process known as bioerosion, coupled with coral bleaching and mass mortality events in 2015-2016, are putting the future of the coral community at risk. In view of this, a team of HKU architects and marine scientists has developed a series of reformative 3D printed terracotta reef-structures intended to aid coral restoration by providing structurally complex substrates at the degraded areas.

The design and production of the hundred and twenty-eight 3D printed reef tiles were executed in the Robotic Fabrication Lab of the Faculty of Architecture at HKU. Covering roughly 40 sq. meters in total, the tiles were deployed in selected sites in the marine park in July 2020. The experiment will be closely monitored by marine scientists and researchers for the next one and half years.

The project is commissioned by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) and is part of an ongoing active management measure for coral restoration in Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park in Hong Kong.

This exhibition reveals the design concepts , manufacturing process, deployment, and ageing process of the tiles.​

Date: 11-Jan-2021 – 31-Jan-2021, 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
Venue: S507, 5/F, Staunton (Block A), PMQ, 35 Aberdeen Street, Central, Hong Kong