Myriad Wing

BACKGROUND Within architecture this project contributes to areas of research in algorithmic design and robotic fabrication. This project forms part of my ongoing generative design research using behavioral processes of design that draw on the logic of swarm intelligence and operate through multi-agent algorithms. In particular this project advances a generative design logic involving a feedback of self-organising algorithms and painterly or gestural operations. This project contributes to my larger research agenda focused on the architectural implications of 3D printing, exploring how this new technology will have an important influence on the form and articulation of the buildings we design. This specific project involves the design of a large sculptural installation for the Myriad apartment tower in Melbourne. CONTRIBUTION Myriad Wing is an exploration of the topological and formal possibilities enabled by robotic polycarbonate 3D printing. The intricate geometric capacity of polymer printing is leveraged in this project to create an expressive and complex topology, in exploring the limits of formal complexity enabled by this new approach. While this creative work is proto-architectural, the design research developed here is intended for future application within architectural projects. SIGNIFICANCE The significance of the project is both within the architectural discourse of robotic fabrication as well as having a wider impact on the construction sector. RMIT Architectural Robotics Lab's development of architectural approaches to 3D printing and direct deposition robotic fabrication has been published internationally as book chapters, and conference papers: this adds to this body of research. The project has been presented in international lectures (London, Milan and Miami) and is being published in the book 'Towards a Robotic Architecture', which brings together the leading international researchers in the application of industrial robotics to architecture.