We are back! 10 Year as DS10 (Diploma Studio 10). We STILL Want To Learn. Join our studio at University of Westminster with Toby Burgess and Arthur Mamou-Mani. This year we will be looking at Temples and Sacred Spaces, using A.I. and Parametric tools, fusing nature and architecture in London’s discarded office buildings.
Temple Galaxia 2018, Burning Man “It may well be that foragers switched from gathering wild wheat to intense wheat cultivation, not to increase their normal food supply, but rather to support the building and running of temples.” Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens
Wincy Wong’s 3D printed Chicken Bone London Community (Awarded Best Diploma Project 2022)
We are back for our 10th year anniversary as DS10! Very happy to share our brief this year: ECO PARAMETRIC ARCHITECTURE: CIRCULAR DESIGN & FABRICATION which includes Artificial Intelligence, biophilic design and refurbishment of derelict building.
At the start of the year, coupled with Grasshopper training we will be looking at lattices as a granular spatial organising principle. From molecular systems to quasi-crystals, nature organizes itself through space efficient, resilient and complex arrangements.
Brief 01: 3D Lattices/ Urban Crystallography & Self-Sufficient Bio-Machines: At the start of the year, coupled with Grasshopper training we will be looking at lattices as a granular spatial organising principle. From molecular systems to quasi-crystals, nature organizes itself through space efficient, resilient and complex arrangements. We would like to start the year with a study of all these three-dimensional systems as an exercise to understand the many ways structures can be arranged in space. Using timber struts and nodes, or surfaces and hinges, whether defining space packing volumes or porous three dimensional grid shells, the modularity of the systems allows us to work at all scales. However for the first brief we expect you to design and build a self-sufficient small scale bio-machine interacting with the given sites. Like a tree absorbing carbon whilst creating timber and fruits, your architectural system will be a blend of technology and nature in the urban context.
Brief 02: Eco-Parametric Urban Infrastructures to combat climate change Nature does not make waste, everything is reused and feeds back into the system. DS10 will learn from this by applying the principles of permaculture, regenerative agriculture and renewable energy generation to propose Eco-Parametric Urban Infrastructures. You will design and test large scale infrastructures tightly interwoven into and above the urban fabric of London’s train tracks which immersively integrate nature into the city using your 3D lattices as a reference. We are seeking new architectural ideas which address energy needs in the age of the circular economy. Your mixed use infrastructure will create energy and deal with its waste to close the loop whilst helping people live better and healthier lives and create an economy in the process. Proposals may include self sufficient communities and economies, cradle to cradle business ideas, inhabited bridges forging connections between different sides of the tracks and structures which actively contribute to the area such as carbon capture devices, solar collectors, pollution scrubbers etc,
Zainab Kahn, The Spirulina Bank
Site: The underused spaces over the existing railway tracks of central London will form the foundations for exciting large scale mixed use structures, creating new connections and a new hyper dense and hyper sustainable urban fabric.
Output: Rather than a traditional paper portfolio we will focus on digital representation techniques such as animations, high quality digital renders which explain the process of your work.You will become a member of the WeWantToLearn.net community (1.7 million viewers) sharing your research and studio submissions to inspire and contribute to the wider design community. Blog posts will form part of your portfolio submission.
“Now is our chance to recover better, by building more resilient, inclusive & sustainable cities.” António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.
We are very excited to be back for a new year. This year our brief is focused on Arcology, a term coined by Paolo Soleri which is the combination of Architecture and Ecology. Below is a few links describing the year ahead:
Sustainability first! DS10 looks for novel solutions to sustainability issues in all its forms. We are interested in realistic and efficient buildings that contribute to a more sustainable society. We value digital exploration on the threshold between structure and biophilic ornament, coupled with thorough material testing DS10 believe that architecture should be joyful and that architects should think like makers and act like entrepreneurs. We like physical experiments tested with digital tools, for analysis, formal generation and fabrication.
Our past students have raised funds on Dragons Den and won StartUp AwardsOur Reading ListWe will be studying pioneers of eco-designEliza Hague’s Shellac Coated Inflatable Origami GreenhouseBy ecology we understand the total science of the connections of the organism to the surrounding external world. -Ernst Haeckel “Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty if only we have the eyes to see them.” ― John Ruskin Through dedicated digital classes in Grasshopper we will be exploring structural ornamentation techniques such as floral and vegetal motifs through the ages, filigree ironwork, spiralling and curving volutes, stone scrollwork, and replicating, evolving and reappropriating them digitally and physically. Arcology is a combination of architecture + ecology creating an ever evolving large scale, dense and highly compacted building. Abanoub Reyad and Yvonne OnahUrna UrangaJessmine BathThis year’s siteBiosphere 2
Woodchip Barn, Hooke Park. and Wooden Waves, BuroHappold.
We are back after a year exploring Symbols & Systems, and an inspiring unit trip to South India, visiting the Hempi Valley and Auroville. This year our focus is on Fractals, not just as forms but as tools to understand how geometry can become infinite and how it can be built within the constraints of the physical reality. Fractals gives the opportunity to expand confined spaces, to let the mind fill the gap that reality had to stop. Therefore it also provides a great tool for the second brief, which is the Tiny Home movement, society’s need to create more compact, efficient homes to face the environmental and economical crisis. As per our previous briefs, we would like our students to build their projects, whether it is a giant fractal at a festival or an actual home within a space that would otherwise be left empty, we want students to raise funds and make, using digital fabrication tools combined with off-the-shelf material. Our goal is to continue training the entrepreneur-makers of tomorrow. Below is a breakdown of our briefs as they are being drafted:
Hello Everyone, we are back for the academic year 2014-2015! This year we added a bit more depth to the brief by introducing a group study of Science-Fiction and visions of the future throughout history. We are also happy to announce a partnership with Buro Happold to build a live project at their headquarters on Newman Street. We will continue our collaboration with the Burning Man Festival and finally we will look at the future of cities. Here are below the documents that we have issues to DS10 students.
Hello everyone, we are happy to be back for the 2013-2014 academic year at the University of Westminster after couple weeks in the desert at the Burning Man festival! Similarly to previous years, we will place our studio briefs in the list below as we develop them throughout the year. We hope it will inspire you!
DS10 is happy to back for the 2012-2013 academic year!
Toby and I are very excited about the new brief. Below is a link to the A4 presentation that students receive before the presentation on Monday 24th September. If you have any feedback or questions on the brief please do not hesitate to comment below and we will answer asap.
(Students will adapt and confront their Burning Man proposals to broader contemporary issues. They will look at the impact of the Internet on physical spaces and might choose to design a networked headquarters/manufacturing facility for a global company or charity)
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