non-standard architectures. an exhibition of completed or experimental projects and prototypes

non-standard architectures. an exhibition of completed or experimental projects and prototypes .....................................................................................

......................... shop .................. competitions .............. education ................ interviews ................... snapshots ................... history .......... contemporary

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non-standard architectures

10 december 2003 - 1 march 2004
centre pompidou, paris,france
http://www.centrepompidou.fr

non-standard*** architectures is an exhibition of completed
or experimental projects and prototypes by a dozen international
architectural teams. the exhibition provides an overview of
current architectural research resulting from the increasing
use of digital techniques at every stage from project
implementation to industrial production.
it also demonstrates how the profession of architect
(indeed the whole architectural industry) is being redefined –
how the discipline is acquiring a new identity.
the aim is not merely to present examples of digital or virtual
architecture which deal with questions of representation
(such as virtuality and hyperspace), but rather to highlight
current modifications to the industrialization of architecture.

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the non-standard architectures exhibition groups twelve
international teams who have been researching and using
digital tools and computation for architectural conception,
production and distribution for some years now.
in these areas, boundaries are dissolving, ideas are
metamorphosing and time sequences are breaking down.
the principles of interrelation, variability and simultaneity
now intervene at every step in the architectural process.

each team of architects present four experimental or completed
projects which reflect the dynamism of their research,
using DVDs, models, panels, animations, installations, etc.

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on show are projects by

asymptote (hani raschid & lise anne couture, usa)
see designboom's interview
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dECOi architects (mark goulthorpe, france/ usa/ uk)
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DR_D (dagmar richter, usa/ germany)
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greg lynn FORM (greg lynn, usa)
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KOL/MAC studio (sulan kolatan & william macdonald, usa)
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kovac architecture (tom kovac, australia)
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NOX (lars spuybroek, holland)
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objectile (bernard cache & patrick beaucé, france)
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oosterhuis.nl (kas oosterhuis & ilona lenard, holland)
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R&Sie (françois roche & stéphanie lavaux, france)
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servo (david erdman, marcelyn gow, ulrika karlsson, chris perry,
switzerland/ sweden/ usa)
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UN studio (ben van berkel & caroline bos, holland)
see designboom's interview

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the theme of the exhibition and conference
one thing is clear: with the steadily increasing use of graphic software,
architecture is going digital.
what is less clear, however, is the implication of such changes.
the widespread use of application programs based on algorithmic
systems presupposes changes in design and production tools.
non-standard architectures is a reflection on the language of
architecture and its field of application, based on the exploitation
of digital elements. traditional construction methods can now be
contrasted with production based on the prototyping of prefabricated
architectural elements.
how has the digital chain modified (as in publishing, for example)
the entire economy of architectural production, from initial conception
to end product?
the aim of the exhibition is to make the whole architectural 'process'
visible, from conceptual elements through to experimental objects
and prototypes. it also proposes a reinterpretation of the history of art
and architecture in terms of movement and inflection.

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what does 'non-standard' refer to?

first of all, to the world of mathematics, and to the major theoretical
breakthroughs (themselves non-standard) that cleared the way both
for fractal and catastrophe theory and for artificial intelligence.

*** the notion of 'non-standard'
first appeared in the field of mathematics in 1961, with the work of
abraham robinson. its implications are manifold and affect every
discipline to which algorithmic systems can be applied, such as artificial
intelligence or morphogenesis (the development of structure).

but non-standard is obviously to be contrasted with 'standard':
i.e.with the dangerous myths of modern architecture that have imposed
norms in terms of comfort, space and basic hygiene - the consequences
of which are incalculable.
the contrast is real, but misleading too: modern architecture cannot be
reduced to a norm which both represents and caricatures it.
the profession's worthiest representatives are hardly united in the cult
of the right angle! instead they pick and choose from the whole inventory
of forms (the line, the helicoid, the hull …).
non-standard architectures are part of a history which is now being
revitalized, thanks to the development of propositions which were long
stifled by standardization and technological limitations.
the weaker version of the non-standard - variations on a pre-established
norm - has become fairly widespread, but the challenge for non-standard
architectures is of a much more radical order: the generalization of
singularity, within a new order: the non-standard.
can we trust in this individualism, with its potential weight of
responsibilities, that may symbolize our 21st-century societies?
or does it just mean a succession of infinitely small variations on an
ever more tyrannical norm?
in other words, can society keep up with morphogenesis?

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exhibition design
meanwhile, an 'open' archaeology of form in art history and modern
architecture is exhibited along a pathway which unwinds
like a ribbon from the entrance to the heart of the exhibition,
illustrating the evolution of eleven domains (figures, helicoids,
inflections, etc). in the forum, there are objects and industrially
produced items, together with interactive installations by the twelve
architectural teams.
the layout of the exhibition reflects an algorithmic approach to spatiality.
the twelve exhibition areas are contained within a non-standard,
mathematical space - a moire pattern created by two grids.
each architectural team has an area in which to exhibit the conceptual
elements of its projects, and a plasma screen.
curators are frédéric migayrou and zeynep mennan.

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