In computational design, the architect no longer develops form using pen and paper or by mouse in a CAD program. Forms can be designed with a complexity that would be impossible to draw by hand and can be brought to life using additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing. The combination of computational design and additive manufacturing uses algorithms to create a form that appears both synthetic and organic. Every detail of the architecture is generated through these customised algorithms without any human intervention.
"Any references to nature or existing styles are not integrated into the design process, but are evoked only as associations in the eye of the beholder. The algorithms are deterministic as they do not incorporate randomness, but the results are not necessarily entirely forseeable. "
Advancements in 3D printing technology mean that not a small model is printed, but the actual room itself. The algorithms produces a fully immersive, solid, human-scale enclosed structure with a perplexing level of detail. Its geometry consists of hundreds of millions of individual facets printed at a resolution of a tenth of a millimeter. Architectural design can be performed entirely in three dimensions without a need for plans, sections, and construction drawings.
The scope of 3D printing in architecure is ground-breaking. There is no longer a cost associated with complexity, as printing a highly detailed grotto costs the same as printing a primitive cube. Nor is there a cost for customization: fabricating highly individual elements costs no more than printing a standardized series.
Michael Hansmeyer is an architect and programmer who explores the use of algorithms and computation to generate architectural form.
More of his work can be seen at the website Digital Grotesque.