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.
Last week I was invited by Dassault Systèmes to participate in their event “Design in the age of experience” at Milan Design Week (MDW), aka Salone del Mobile. Amazing line-up of speakers, including Kengo Kuma and Daan Roosegarde. Very happy that I was able to participate.
For more info on the event, please use the following link:
https://blogs.3ds.com/perspectives/mdw_day-1/
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/
Christian J. Lange will give a talk entitled “Machinic Multiplicities” on November 9th 2017 at HKU. The talk is part of the current public lecture series entitled “In Progress” in the Department of Architecture.
Abstract:
Architecture has always been deeply linked to tradition, site, and context. The collaboration between many different trades of skilled labor that were specific to a place was in part responsible for the diversity of architectural expression. With the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, buildings became more standardized and normative, losing its uniqueness and producing at times environments of pure repetition. However, since approximately two decades we are witnessing a shift in the profession that has the capacity to bring it again closer to materiality, craft, and diversity. Computation, new software packages, and new CAAD/CAM construction methods have paved the way for architects, designers, educators and students alike to engage again much more in the innovation of building processes and the making of a building. With the advent of robotic fabrication in Architecture, we are now witnessing the next step in this evolution. While robots in other industries are mostly used for repetitive tasks, pioneers in the architectural profession saw the opportunity to utilize them for non-standard designs. In an environment with rapidly growing cities, robotic fabrication offers a trajectory for Architecture that has the potential to bring back specificity and diversity while maintaining attributes such as efficiency and economic viability.
Since early 2016, Christian J. Lange is leading the development of the new Robotic Fabrication Lab in the Faculty of Architecture. The talk will present a series of projects that have been developed within the LAB since, and touch on the potentials of this new line of inquiry.
Department of Architecture
Speaker: Christian J. Lange
Title: Machinic Multiplicities
Respondent: Kristof Crolla, Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Date: 09 Nov 2017 (Thursday)
Venue: KB730, 7/F Knowles Building, HKU
Time: 18:30
Very happy to share the recent feature of the ceramic constellation pavilion on Dezeen.
Within the scope of the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2017, co-directed by Hyungmin Pai and Alejandro Zaera-Polo, Christian Lange will be among the speakers at the upcoming event at HKU entitled “Imminent Commons: Urban Questions for the Near Future”. Speakers include Ole Bouman, Alvin Yip, Eunice Seng, Jason Hilgefort, Valerie Portefaix, Nasrine Seraji, Laurent Gutierrez and Chris Webster.
Venue: Wang Gungwu Theatre of the Graduate House at HKU
Date: 28th August, 16:00 to 19:30
I am very happy to share the recent outcome of our spring activities in the Robotic Fabrication Lab at HKU. The project entitled “Ceramic Constellation Pavilion – Spatial shifts through robotically fabricated terracotta bricks” represents the first research work in the newly formed collaboration between Sino Group and the Robotic Fabrication Lab.
The Pavilion, which was guided by Christian J. Lange, Donn Holohan and Holger Kehne was built by students utilizing robotic technology. The research initiative that supports arts, cultures, and technology is intended to foster cultural awareness of new technologies for the built environment.
In a context that has been largely shaped by standardization and mass production, the project seeks to overcome the constraints of today’s architectural production through the introduction of a structure made entirely of non-standard components.
This inaugural workshop of the “Sino Group Robotic Architecture Series” utilized terracotta clay to test the possibilities and limits within robotic fabrication and to revitalize a material system that has a significant tradition in Asia.
Departing from traditional brick bonds, the 3.8m tall project articulates a load-bearing composite structure with timber – where each of the nearly 2000 3d printed terracotta bricks is unique and different, enabling varying degrees of transparency, morphological shifts, and new experiences.
Around 700 kg of raw terracotta clay was printed over a period of 3 weeks into individual bricks that were then fired at 1025 degrees Celsius. With 2-3 minutes average printing time for each brick, the pavilion is one of the first of its kind in the world that incorporates this specific material system.
All components were fabricated with the equipment in the newly fitted Robotics Lab at HKU’s Faculty of Architecture and assembled during a ten-day workshop by students from the Department of Architecture.
The project was recently on show in the North Atrium of Olympian City, West Kowloon and will find its new home soon on the campus of the University of Hong Kong.
Credits:
Project Leaders: Christian J. Lange, Donn Holohan, Holger Kehne
Research Assistants: Tony Lau, Anthony Hu, Teego Ma Jun Yin, Ernest Hung Chi Lok, Chau Chi Wang, Ren Depei, Mono Tung, He Qiye, Henry Ho Yu Hong
Workshop students: Go Yi, Sisay Sombo, Cheung Hoi Ching, Cheung King Man, Cheung Pak Yin, Ho Pui Lun, Verena Leung, Sharon So Cheuk Ying, Xu Junjie, Zhao Jinglun, Sampson Ip Cheuk Sum, Tan Shaoying, Yeung Tsz Wing
Funding: Sino Group
Structural engineers: Goman Ho &, Alfred Fong – Ove Arup Partners Hong Kong Ltd
For for images on the project please visit also:
http://www.arch.hku.hk/
Very happy to be included in a recent article on robotics in architecture in the South China Morning Post. The article discusses the current outlook of this technology in Hong Kong and was written by Ernest Kao. It’s actually a very good read. Enjoy!
For online version of the text please visit:
http://www.scmp.com/
