Dermoid

A research collaboration between CITA and SIAL, RMIT. 

Whereas there is great awareness of the potentials of working with material behaviour tools there is currently little applied research into the testing of this. Today, much of the knowledge base in building practice aims to repress and control these forces. The industrial standardisation of building material uses much resource to harness the behaviours of materials. Similarly, engineering practice seeks to compute and control material performance. 

The research project asks how digital design tools can incorporate material simulation into the design environment. The new digital platform integrates the knowledge fields of architectural design, structural engineering and material science and can allow for the creation of complex descriptions that incorporate material simulation, structural simulation and spatial design. These descriptions calculate the performance of materials incorporating the simulation of the internal structures of material and thereby allowing for digital prototyping and testing.

The project takes point of departure in visiting professor Mark Burry and CITAs joint expertise into advanced digital design technologies and digital fabrication. The project aims to investigate a new material practice where designers focus on working with materials intelligently rather than necessarily with intelligent materials.

Guiding research questions are

What are the structural potentials for working with a greater understanding of material behaviour?
How do we design for material performance?
How can this new material practice lead to new requirements in our design tools?

Support
Velux Guest Professorship, CITA / Mark Burry, SIAL.