In today’s world of amplified social interaction and connectivity there is a need for the built environment to evolve beyond its current relatively static state. Symmetry Sentience takes place in Athens, one of the most historical cities in Europe, but also one of the most changeable, driven by innovation and creativity cities. Our setting offers a direct engagement with design models characterized by action. In Symmetry Sentience, the act of reaching from one place to another in a continuous and fluid way becomes the starting point for the development of working kinetic prototypes energized by motion on horizontal planes.
The workshop aims to bring out the latent dynamic qualities of urban surroundings and to bridge these with the animate qualities of the human body. During this process, participants will challenge conventional design approaches in order to break the dichotomy between the building and the urban realm. Capable of responding to external stimuli, the proposed structures will apply the concepts of motion and real-time reaction to various parameters.
In 2015, the AA Athens Visiting School initiates its’ agenda to challenge the phenomenon of perceptual constancy through the design of architectural prototypical families. In line with the basic principles of the Gestalt principles, a diversity of shapes and sizes models will be designed through means of digital computation. Various morphologies will be derived through a bottom-up approach via various coding techniques. To bridge the gap between the digital and physical aspect of the design iterations, AA Athens makes use of digital fabricating machines to produce its’ architectural prototypes and adds mechanics to amplify their communicative characteristics. A complete 1:1 scale structure will be constructed, enabling interaction via sight, hearing and touch as a result of a series of initial testing models. These proposals will be formulated through the combination of different design software.
Credits
Programme Director: Alexandros Kallegias
Host School Coordinator: Evaggelos Kanellopoulos
Visiting School Director: Christopher Pierce
Tutors: Alexandros Kallegias, Elif Erdine, Daghan Çam, Anna Laskari, Tasos Kanellos, Zeynep Aksoz, Elina Pattichi, Konstantinos Tsivilis, Konstantinos Panagiotopoulos.
Students: Katerina Bakaliou, Nicoletta Afentouli, George Kokkoris, Spiros Koulias, Phoebe Foteinaki, Magdalena – Erika Galiti, Petros Partalidis, Sokratis Baltas, Ariss Majid, Dimitra Spanou, Achilles Malamos, Omer Kirazoglu, Song Ren, Philippe-Raphael Hadjisymeou, Ioanna Siviti, Andreas Petras, Chrysi Kolovou, Ioanna Beka, Kalliopi Makrygiorgou, Anni Müüripeal , Asimina-Georgia Tsakona, Sander Paling, Chrysanthi Sini, Jing Wei Qian, Kerry Hohenstein, Alexander Beranek, Neil Grewal, Evina Karliafti, Eirini Viaropoulou.
Image Credits: Alice Mangoyan, Alexandros Kallegias, Elif Erdine.