bio{trope}

Critic _ Ezio Blasetti, Fall 2014

How can a space be interpreted through swarm agents? Kahn’s Esherick House is built upon careful use of aligned geometry that supports timelessness and non-directionality. By deconstructing the Esherick House into cubic modules, we are able to interpret Kahn’s envisioned volumetric space through new algorithms. How, then, could we produce new space using new means, while keeping true to his meticulous attention to the configuration of space?

Bio{trope} is a re-interpretation of Kahn’s volumes as a series of synthetic biological systems interwoven to create multiple surface conditions and structural aptitude.

The design is therefore dictated by three primary systems: the concrete frame, the veins, and the stems. Each system follows its own growth formula that creates relationships with the program’s required space. The space itself is arranged to support a bio-art gallery, utilizing various volumes, apertures, angles and warped partitions to appease each specific bio-art condition. The design is then executed through a 6-step process that begins with the anchoring of the concrete supports, followed by the installation and initiation of the exterior surface and interior surface growth, and finishes with the removal of the scaffolds which are used to guide the growth.

_ Featured on Anamnesis
_ Nominated for PennDesign's 2015 Design Award