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/
Finally this collaborative project between the Robotic Fabrication Lab and SWIMS at HKU moved out of the lab. The team in the Robotic Fabrication Lab was responsible for the design and the fabrication of the tiles, working hard to ensure an even quality of the tiles. Here you see loosely assembled 72 of the final 100 tiles which were delivered yesterday. Let’s hope they will perform well on Hong Kong’s seabed.
Finally I can show some pictures of the latest outcomes of the Fall 2019 studio. This MArch studio is the third studio that focused on 3d clay printing and brick specials. This time we looked into spatial arrangements of this peculiar material system. Below you can find an excerpt of the brief:
Agenda:
Over the past three years, the agenda within the research and teaching of the robotic fabrication lab in the Faculty of Architecture at HKU has focused on the development of novel approaches for 3d printing ceramic brick specials. The key question within this specific research trajectory was on how we, as designers, can rethink one of the most traditional material systems in Architecture with innovative fabrication methods of today.
While in previous studios the focus was primarily on the development and making of the individual brick and its performance beyond physical strength, this semester, we will re-direct our attention to structural capacity and techniques of assembly. Traditionally Bricks are put together via a level and a plumb line. That method is suitable for walls, but more complex systems such as arches and vaults need temporary scaffolding or a specific false-work to achieve accurate assembly and structural strength.
The studio, therefore, will investigate how robotic 3d printing and novel fabrication processes for false-work can rethink and transform structural brick systems that rely on pure compression. The ultimate goal of the studio is to develop, make, and test experimental prototypes, and to understand their fitness for inventive programs, types, and spaces.
At last, I would like to show some photos of the outcomes of the latest studio that I taught at The University of Hong Kong. The M.Arch I studio entitled “AUTOBRICKFORMATION” focused on one of architecture’s oldest building materials, the brick.
Below is an excerpt of the brief:
The history of architecture is primarily based on a model of parts-to-whole. One of the oldest building material that is the ultimate embodiment of this concept is the brick. The brick was until modern times the standard component to build mundane buildings around the world. It represents a building material that can be flexibly assembled, is good in compression, and, although it’s based on a standardized logic, has an extensive range of architectural expression. Originally bricks were made through a slop moulding method. Today, most industrially produced bricks are made through a die extrusion process. It’s a fast and economical method but has its limitations in complexity achievable.
In the past decade, 3d printing technology has become more advanced and has made its way into architecture. Many of the industry experts who are driving this development dream of large-scale production with large printers that print entire houses in every shape and form. Though there are quite a few promising developments on the horizon, it is certain that this trend will be only one trajectory of how we think about new technologies to drive contemporary architectural production. The studio therefore will focus on the brick and try to understand how recent technologies can rethink this 7000-year-old building material.
Students: Fan Taiwen, Fan Xinkai, Hong Chen, Hu Chi Hing, Lai Chu Tung Jetson, Lin Xuancheng, Liu Pui Hang Desmond, Wang Youlin, Yam Ka Kit
Christian J. Lange will be giving a public research seminar at the Centre for Urban Studies and Urban Planning at HKU. The talk will be centered around the recent research on brick specials in the Robotic Fabrication Lab at HKU. All are welcome.
DATE:
14 November 2018 (Wednesday)
TIME:
13:00-14:00
VENUE:
Room 829,
Knowles Building
The University
of Hong Kong
We are happy that our Ceramic Constellation Pavilion is included in this year’s ACADIA conference. Christian J. Lange will present the project at the event in Mexico in October.
For more info on the event please visit also:
http://www.2018.acadia.org/
We are happy that our paper “Ceramic Constellation | Robotically Printed Brick Specials” is included in this year’s Rob Arch conference. Donn Holohan and Christian J. Lange will present the paper at the event at the ETH Zurich in September.
For more info on the event please visit also:
http://www.robarch2018.org/
Finally, I can share some photos of our latest research project coming out of the Robotics Lab at HKU entitled “Digital Terracotta”. The project is part of the current Hong Kong pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Curated by Weijen Wang with co-curators Thomas Chung and Thomas Tsang, the exhibition addresses the theme of “free space” set by Venice Biennale curators Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara of Grafton Architects through 100 experimental towers by 100 different architects. Our tower suggests a model for Hong Kong’s vertical fabric that innovates through a new 1:1 material system. 
Robotically controlled terracotta extrusions that are tailored to specific conditions offer an alternative to today’s material practice. Terracotta has a long history within the Chinese context, yet nowadays the material has been diminished to dull façade tiles. The project, therefore, suggests revitalizing principles of the past with the technology of today to alter our built environment in Hong Kong in a sustainable way.
The show will be on view until November 25th 2018 at Campo della Tana, opposite of the main entrance to the Arsenale.
I am very happy to share the recent outcome of our fall activities in the Robotic Fabrication Lab at HKU. The project entitled “CeramicINformation” is the second larger outcome of the Lab and is part of an evolving series, which aims to reconcile the material intelligence of vernacular crafts with the specificity and flexibility promised by digital design and fabrication technologies.The project is currently on show at the Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism and Architecture (UABB) in Shenzhen, China.
This particular iteration explores the process of construction, and seeks to find an appropriate level of automation suitable for emerging and transitioning economies. Each of the approximately 1000 components that make up the experimental structure is unique and has a specific immanent relationship to its neighbors. This approach allowed the complex construction to be realized using unskilled labor, over a short period, without the need for typical architectural drawings.
As a point of departure, this project examined the ubiquitous terracotta brick – common in modern Chinese construction, and explored it’s potential re-shaping through the process of robotic 3d printing. Approximately 1.5million lines of code were generated – with each brick containing an average of 1400 individual target-points.
The bricks were manufactured over a period of 20 days before the lightweight elements were shipped to the site and assembled into the multifaceted wall. The project not only highlights the new possibilities for architectural expression, but also the capacity these systems have to change the way in which we fashion the built environment.
Credits:
Project Leaders:
Christian J. Lange
Donn Holohan
Research Assistants:
Mono Tung
Kristy Chow
Pamela Maguigad
Funding:
UABB Shenzhen
Project Location:
No. 82 East Zhongshan Street, Wanli Industrial Zone, Nantou Old Town, Nanshan District, Shenzhen
For images on the project please visit also:
http://www.arch.hku.hk/