Lab-eds

3lments


project by Daniel Koehler, Rasa Navasaityte at the University of Applied Arts
studio Hadid, advised by Zaha Hadid, Patrik Schumacher
2006 - 2007.

To tackle the patchwork-city Dubai, we propose an additional structural element. Flexible enough, to work on all architectural scales, as an implement inside of the islands for compensation of programmatic needs. As supplemental structural systems (e.g. public building complexes or infrastructure) for gradual transitions in the perception of the city. As a complement, densifications on the rest areas between the existing urban developments, for an integrated image of Dubai.

An element, what should be able to interfere with all scales and needs of a city, has to be rooted in the basic principles of urbanism. We started our investigation for a flexible element out of the understanding of a city as an infrastructural network. Thought like a plug-in for programmatic or orientational support, we focused on infrastructural cross-sections and knots. The merging of different knot-typologies leads to our 3lement, which is able through morphological shifts to blend between a wide range of knot-types.This agglomeration of elements is the architectural manifold of our urban concept. We started by researching on the field behavior of our ³lement. By flipping the Gestalt perception in an urban situation, our figurations can support different perceptions based on the observer and ambient parameters. The final Gestalt-Flip suggests an interfering between the mono-observing projects. An observed Inbetween.


Lab for Environmental Design Strategies
Austin, London, Innsbruck.