Algorithmic Design Portfolio

This document depicts chronologically

most of my algorithmic design projects.

You can contact me through:

zoster.ar@gmail.com

00407200679

https://www.facebook.com/zoster.andrei

CLIMBING PATHS ( my first script )
[ iul 2007 ]

My first generative design project was a MEL (Maya Embedded Language) script as a studio project under Neil Leach, while in Dessau Institute of Architecture (DIA) with an Erasmus scholarship.
The objective of the script was to find optimized paths up a mountain terrain, as means to develop a street structure for the expansion of a Swiss village.
The project was done in collaboration with my studio colleague , Marcio Nissenbaum.

Top-Left: hand-drawn trees ; Top-Right:digitally generated trees ; Bottom: detail of texture

INK TREES
[ may 2009 ]

The script was written in JavaScript for Adobe Illustrator (through Scriptographer).
I created this tool in order to have a quick way of doing entourage trees for architectural façades and perspectives, that otherwise take a good deal of time to produce through tedious work.

THESIS PROJECT - CONCERT HALL FOR "BANATUL" PHILARMONICA
[mar 2010]

This is my my bachelor degree thesis project, that was preceded by a dissertation regarding scripting as means of design, all of which presented in "Ion Mincu" University of Architecture and Urbanis (UAUIM) in Bucharest.
The project itself consists of a concert hall for a prestigious Romanian orchestra - the "Banat" Philahrmonic.
The project was fully generated in Grasshopper, and although this was my first project using this software, due to its complexity, it propelled my abilities to a rather significant extend, leading me to occupy a position of assistant in the first Grasshopper workshop held in Romania (mentioned further in this document).

DARTS GENERATOR 01
[ mar 2010 ]

A Grasshopper algorithm I made in order to preview custom made darts.

GENERATED ENVELOPE FOR AN EXTERNAL PROJECT
[ apr 2010 ]

I was hired to develop algorithmically the 3d enveloping structure of a thesis project.

TRAINING - REACTIVE PARAMETRIC SURFACES WORKSHOP ( assistant )
[ apr 2010 ]

This is the first workshop that was held in Romania concerning algorithmic design and digital fabrication methods. It was organized by DTAL ( Digital Technology Architecture Lab ) within "Ion MIncu" University Of Architecture and Urbanism in Bucharest.
I held a position of assistant tutor.
Some of the resulting models can be seen below.

This is a follow-up of the workshop mentioned above, but was held by invited tutors of Hyperbody research group from TU Delft (Han Feng, Ran Bergman and Nimish Biloria).

Participants had to come up with an idea for a pavilion to be constructed on the terrace of our University ( UAUIM ). My team won based on my concept, which can be seen below.
The solution was altered to simplify fabrication and was later build.

This is a follow-up of the workshop mentioned above, but was held by invited tutors of Hyperbody research group from TU Delft (Han Feng, Ran Bergman and Nimish Biloria).
Participants had to come up with an idea for a pavilion to be constructed on the terrace of our University ( UAUIM ). My team won based on my concept, which can be seen below.
The solution was altered to simplify fabrication and was later build.

Altered design for fabrication

PIECE OF CAKE ( A101 contest proposal )

[ dec 2010 ]

This contest regarded a proposal of social buildings within a masterplan that was developed for an area nearby Moscow.

The brief asked for a standardized block solution that could be adapted to somewhat different sites (different in size, orientation, density).

Collaborating with three work colleagues at PZP Arhitectura (local architecture firm where I was working) - Andrei Hernest, Radu Anghel and Sabin Prodan, I generated a pattern of volumes that exhibited a gradient of density while emerging on the same principles that respected the brief and general architectural principles. One could "cut out" blocks from parts of the pattern that complied to the needs of specified plots.

INTRODUCTION TO DIGITAL DESIGN AND FABRICATION METHODS WORKSHOP ( organizer and tutor )

[ oct 2010 ]

I got together with two other former students from DIA and UAUIM, Tudor Cosmatu and Irina Bogdan, and formed the group named T_A_I.
We organized this first workshop in the city of Iaşi (Romania).

The workshop consisted in an introduction to generative modeling and customized fabrication, as well as a tutorial course about Grasshopper that ended in a number of experimental 3D projects.

BARCELONA TOWER HOSTEL (contest)

[ apr 2011 ]

This is a contest proposal I did in collaboration with Liviu Zăgan (PZP Arhitectura) and Tudor Cosmatu for Arquitectum.

QUESTIONABLE TRADITIONS WORKSHOP ( organizer & tutor )

[ may 2010 ]

This is the second workshop of the T_A_I group. It was a big-scale event, with over 50 participants and 3 guest-tutors from abroad - Bence Pap (Zaha Hadid Architects), Andrei Gheorghe (Die Angewandte) and Alexander Kalachev (Dessau Institute of Architecture), besides my two colleagues form T_A_I - Irina Bogdan and Tudor Cosmatu. The workshop was held in Bucharest's state architecture university - "Ion Mincu" University Of Architecture and Urbanism (UAUIM).

The workshop's results were 1:1 scale models which were presented in UAUIM, as well as at the "Architecture Annual" in Bucharest and at the "Street Delivery" street festival and also received a significant amount of international attention.

"Wishbone" - one of the workshop's design results

"Virulence" - an emerging modular structure that used the university's main staircase as host

assembling "Hexigloo" - the largest structure resulting from this workshop

Hexigloo at Street Delivery - an annual street festival

GRASSHOPPER WORKSHOP FOR BEGINNERS

ORIENTED TOWARDS PRODUCT DESIGN ( organizer & tutor )

[ oct 2010 ]

This workshop was made in collaboration with Mădălin Gheorghe (simplexio.ro) and was mainly aimed at interior architecture and product design students as a starting boost towards an algorithmic approach in design. It was held in "Ion Mincu" University of Architecture and Urbanism in Bucharest.

SANTA'S DIGITAL WORKSHOP ( organizer & tutor )

[ dec 2011 ]

Another larger scale event held in collaboration with "Ion Mincu" University of Architecture and Urbanism with the occasion of the approaching winter holidays Our goal was to create ornaments that use an algorithmic design process as well as interactive elements.

Each participant was able to take home his generated "bauble" when the winter vacation started.

My bauble design

Participants' work

PARAMETRIC MĂRŢIŞOR

[ mar 2012 ]

Mărţişor is a Romanian tradition that celebrates the beginning of spring (on the 1st of March), where small cheerful trinkets are offered usually to girls and women.

I made an algorithm that generated this flower-like patterns and made one-of-a-kind models that were offered to friends and acquaintances.

Common designs found on themarket / My designs

PARAMETRIC ARCHITECTURE WORKSHOP ARKA 2012

( tutor and main design developer )

[ may 2012 ]

This workshop was organized with the occasion of the ARKA (Architecture Revolution Knowledge Art) architecture festival the city of in Iaşi (Romania) and was held in "G.M. Cantacuzino" Faculty of Architecture within "Gh. Asachi" Technical University of Iaşi.

The target was to elaborate a large structure made out of OSB plates that would be exhibited in one of the larger plazas of the city.
The final product later took part at the 2012 Architecture Annual in Bucharest and at Street Delivery 2013 Iaşi (an annual street festival).

An initial design - a twisting strip that formed a gate-like structure.

Final design - it uses repetitive modules that can be rearranged to form different structures.

Architecture Annual poster

TEDx BUCHAREST PRESENTATION ( speaker )

[ nov. 2012 ]

T_A_I were invited to speak in front of ~1000 people at the TEDx Bucharest 2012 event about our experience in sharing an algorithmic approach to design in workshops throughout the country.

FABRICATION ALGORITHM FOR "SOCLUL INFINITULUI" INSTALLATION

[ apr 2013 ]

I developed the algorithm used to prepare fabrication for this installation by Vlad Stoica (arch.) and Lea Rasovszky (vis. artist).

"Soclul infinitului" ("The Inifinity Pedestal") was exhibited in one of the main parks in Bucharest, within a local cultural event named SPAM.

SMARTGEOMETRY 2013 -CONSTRUCTING FOR UNCERTAINTY ( participant )

[ apr 2013 ]

The prestigious international algorithmic design workshop was hosted this year by The Bartlett School Of Architecture in London. Even though this is a large-scale workshop ( 10 clusters with different topics ), due to high demand, a selection process is made. I was accepted based on my application.

The cluster I participated in was "Computer Vision And Freerorm Construction" and it dealt with the idea of building freeform thin vaults with technology as cheap and easily accessible as possible. We used a laptop and a web cam to be able to reproduce catenary vaults we developed digitally, all of this without the use of falsework to describe the complex geometry.

My input was an active participation in the design of one of the two resulting vaults, as well as developing an algorithm that populates freeform surfaces with tiles in a manner that keeps a steady gap between consecutive rows, which can be hard to achieve when dealing with double-curved surfaces.

Developing the algorithm for the tile distribution

A set of printed markers and made it possible to track the position of the camera (more exactly of a physical point beneath it) in correspondence with the digital model.

The two build vaults ( material: foamglas / thin tiles )

HEART VADER ( stencil )

[ iun 2013 ]

This is my first stencil design, it was done with the occasion of a street-art festival in Bucharest - "Work In Progress - Episode 3" (click for YouTube event video).

I used a personally made image mapping algorithm specially developed for this event.