12/6/2018 Research Institute is a Study on Emergent Porosity Through Genetic Algorithms - eVolo | Architecture Magazine

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Research Institute is a Study on Emergent Porosity Through Genetic

Algorithms
By: admin | November - 20 - 2011
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This project by Joseph A. Sarafian from the University of Southern California imagines a future in which
billions of genetic algorithms act not only as the mediator between man and reality, but shape his existence
through their very interactions. It explores a functionality beyond the carrying out of human desires, but of the
prediction of human behavior. These ideas manifest in the design of the Bach Multidisciplinary Research
Institute. Derived from notions of how Johann Sebastian Bach wove together voices in his fugues, this design
is a synthesis of various flows of information, creating an effect larger than the sum of its parts. To achieve this
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goal, the building acts as an organism, reacting to its environment in such a way that it automatically controls
its porosity through a network of advanced algorithms. Thus the facade is a continually fluctuating network of
openings.

Instead of merely controlling the light conditions of the interiors, the aperture system is designed to close off
and filter pollution from the adjacent freeway as part of the research of the facility. Thus by engaging with its
environment the building acts as a testing instrument as much as an enclosure. Acoustical considerations are
addressed on a local level as spaces that require varying levels of insulation are opened or closed automatically
and in relation to human occupancy.

The research institute is designed to engage various fields of study, from music and the visual arts to biology
and mathematics. This diversity promotes a common wealth of knowledge and facilitates interdisciplinary
learning. Advancements in one field will have ripple effects in others and this synergy will promote a culture of
recombinatory knowledge.

Flanked by Grand Avenue and an off-ramp of the 101 Freeway in Downtown Los Angeles, this site poses a
unique set of challenges. Noise and car pollution are controlled through the pyramidal apertures that can close
off sound, light, air, or all three depending on which layer of the double skin system is closed. This building
envelope is comprised of carbon-fiber panels that enclose a shell of glass apertures. The glass is actually an
assembly of two thin glass sheets with a membrane of translucent Aerogel insulation that adds to its acoustical
and thermal insulation abilities. This enclosure system functions as the mediator between interior and exterior,
and is controlled by an individual, agent based system. Each occupant has his own algorithm of light
preferences and thus controls the system locally, contributing to the movement of the array as a whole when the
needs of many are seen acting as an amalgamation.

The building form and structure is generated by an agent-based flocking algorithm in which agents from
various locations on the site create paths following those of structural loads, determining the location of
primary and secondary structural members. Special thanks to my instructor, Roland Wahlroos-Ritter and
friends Erick Prins and Michael Sun for their help.

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