A few days ago we came back from Venice, where we had an intensive two-day workshop with IUAV‘s Master of Digital Architecture Class (M.A.D.I.). In this post we are going to share our impression of this event and in the days to come we will also share some of the usecases, that we did with the students during the workshop.
IUAV
IUAV is one of the oldest schools of architecture in Italy. It is currently organized in three faculties: Architecture, Regional Planning, and Arts and Design–, all of which have grown out of the original School of Architecture (founded in Venice in 1926).
M.A.D.I. – Master of Digital Architecture Program
The Master of Digital Architecture is among the latest features in IUAV‘s master program list and it’s activity is most likely to be expanding within the next few years. The class currently consists of 25 students and is fully dedidated to the exploration and application of digital technologies in architecture.
The program is structured in five modules: It starts with a theoretical module, providing the necessary understanding of conceptual frameworks and strategies related to digital technologies and fabrication in Architecture. The program goes also through the exploration of different modeling and rendering techniques. It continues with a fourth module, dedicated to animation and interactive models; and finishes with rapid prototyping and digital construction module.
Morphocode’s workshop took place as part of the Modeling module.
The Place: Magazzino 6
Our workshop was held in Magazzino 6 – one of IUAV’s numerous locations across the city of Venice.
The building was originally a port warehouse but has been restored in the recent years to house studios and workshops for courses in graphic and multimedia design.
Nearby you’ll find Massimo Scolari‘s “Aliante” Installation: Originally designed for the 1991 Venice Biennale and allocated on the Fondamenta della Tana back at that time. It has been reinstalled and is currently displayed on top of the new building of the Instituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia.
The Workshop
We started our 2-day workshop with a lecture about the history of digital tools and their use in contemporary architecture. Here are a few samples of our lecture slides:
In the practice sessions that followed we introduced the students to the basic concepts behind McNeel’s Grasshopper such as dataflow and algorithmic processes. In a project-oriented way and by using real-world examples we’ve explained typical techniques and design patterns used in the process of generative design.
We showcased the latest work-in-progress version of our plug-in Rabbit, covering in brief topics such as self-organization, emergence, chaos theory and pattern formation. Rabbit 0.3 W.I.P. was used to create a life-like growth and an excitable media simulation.
One of the examples that we’ve done together with the students:
Thanks to
We would like to thank Fabio D’Agnano for his invitation. It was a pleasure for us to contribute to M.A.D.I.’s program.
