Arquitectos Anónimos® | Coimbra’s Greenhouse

in Concept & Competition by editor — 4:55 pm | July 30, 20120 comments

Studying the Victoria Cruziana’s pattern -typical species of the Coimbra’s Greenhouse- we took inspiration to develop a drawing process able to generates architectonic spaces.  Our approach was influenced by the rhizomatic structure, an “Hilbertian” evolution, of this vegetal specimen: the rules which organize the Victoria Cruziana can be translated in rhizomatic reiterations (as mathematic sequences, branching organization).

Starting from these considerations we simulated the mathematical logic of the nenuphar branching patterns: in this way we produced the program’s spaces of the Greenhouse (a small greenhouse tank, plants showcase in the big greenhouse and the building of Science In Situ). We adopted a simpler form of the natural structure, more interested in a form-finding process able to respond to the requests of the competition.

The development process deals with the logic of pattern’s form and its application in architecture, producing functional spaces. It has different phases: first of all we had to understand how the nenuphar branching configures itself in the “Hilbertian” scheme (1); as second step we established “generating” curves as element of a the VB Script code (2), that creates branch patterns, adapted to the different areas, physical contexts and functions of the project.

This research “of the branch pattern” belongs to another way to make architecture: finding patterns trough mathematical/computing method led to amazing outcomes. This kind of attitude it’s a way to avoid preconceived ideas and prepare the course for conceptual discoveries and innovation in architecture.

(1) Nenuphar branching patterns is repetitive.

(2) VBScript (Visual Basic Scripting Edition) it’s a Script language, developed by Microsoft and belongs to Visual Basic programmig language.

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