Powerhouse Tower

RESEARCH BACKGROUND Tom Kovac's Powerhouse Tower project illustrates research into possible non-standard design procedures that investigate the use of algorithms as directives for the performance and production of tall structures. The project developed research into parametric design principles and its application in architectural computing but also articulated and theorised generative concepts for design in cross-disciplinary practice. RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION The tall form of the Powerhouse Tower expresses research into variable forms based on performative algorithms and the dynamic interaction between form, surface and structure. Existing principles and conventional processes to derive tall structural forms were challenged; instead, innovative approaches were sought to reconfigure this building typology's spatiality, appearance and materiality, as well as functions and manufacturing processes. This innovation is expressed in the composite and polymer materials from which the tower is formed, and the range of programmes and adaptations that the project accommodates. As such, the project is an in-depth study into processes, and structures of computing in architecture. It develops a design language that illustrates the applicability, value and potential of computing, solving, or redefining architectural problems. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE Powerhouse Tower formed part of Kovac's exhibition in Architectures Non Standard at the Centre Pompidou 2003-04. The work is featured in the accompanying exhibition catalogue and has since been acquired for the Pompidou permanent collection. It is also included in Leon Van Schaik's book, Mastering Architecture: Becoming a Creative Innovator in Practice.