object-e architecture/projects

2007-10-17T13:56:00.001-07:00

07. What if new york city... competition. Honorable Mention.

2007-10-06T23:15:00.000-07:00

Design Team: Dimitris Gourdoukis

An entry for the "What if New York City..." competition, which was awarded an honorable mention. The idea is a development of the "inflateit" project. Here the focus is on the implementation of the project while inflateit was more about the development of a protocol.

Rhombi-tri-hexagonal tiling is a formal expression of a geometrical pattern where hexagons are spread in space, each being attached not to one another, but to a ring of interchangeable iso-triangles and rectangulars. Following this pattern there is no void left in-between the geometrical spaces.
The idea of a 100% density following this pattern was intriguing for an emergency architecture project: Units of residencies, in a hexagonal planar shape, could be interlocked together, having rectangular spaces of support and triangular spaces of mechanical around them. Such a modulo could be repeated infinitely, fitting in every possible site and can rapidly grow in an almost organic way, if such a need arises. The flexibility of the model is the expression of a “universal grid” where a simple unit could multiply to create residential clusters, neighborhoods or a whole city.
The residential unit consists essentially of an extruded hexagonal shape used as the living room and the bedroom and the rectangular spaces adjacent to it used as kitchen and bathroom. The unit adapts to house single people or to create larger residencies just by connecting adjacent hexagons.
The way the unit is made makes it easy to assemble and very fast to install and uninstall. The unit is supported by a steel structure of horizontal hexagonal ring-frames and six vertical steel members at the angles of the hexagon. The walls of the unit are made of inflatable plastic material which is pumped with air on site. The inflatable plastic, very similar to the material and structure of an air-mattress, provides a renewable, cost effective solution for a lightweight structure. It can be easily replaced, it is sound absorbing and it has insulation qualities. But above all it is a light, cheap material, fast to install in any emergency situation.
There are thousand different ways of organizing the units so as to create a sense of communal space. Clusters of units could have a void space in the center which could be used as a public space for the surrounding unit-residencies.
To achieve larger densities the units could be stacked, creating therefore interesting urban topographies.
The modularity of the unit, its flexibility and its efficiency in installation, maintenance and cost, makes the pattern suitable to be used as a model of an “after a natural disaster” situation. Formally, the pattern suggests a self-generating organism that spreads over the deserted landscape.

06. MAP: 5th SUS Aluminum Competition. Honorable Mention. 2007.

2007-10-06T23:02:00.001-07:00

Design team: Dimitris Gourdoukis, Claudia Barahona.

The concept for this project was to explore the versatility of aluminum as both an aesthetic material and a structural material. Aluminum – in addition to being a beautiful finish material – is a strong, yet lightweight material. The challenge then, was to develop a design as versatile as the material itself – in design, function, and size. From this concept the Modular Aluminum Pod (MAP) was created, since it can be customized to meet the functional and aesthetic needs of each individual user or program. MAP utilizes the versatility of aluminum by combining structural elements, envelope systems, and furniture systems to create a space that is sophisticated in design and function, and can be quickly assembled. Customization, simplicity, efficiency, and ease of use define the Modular Aluminum Pod system.

05. InflateIt

2007-10-06T23:00:00.001-07:00

Design Team: Dimitris Gourdoukis

InflateIt is an idea for the development of a protocol for the production of modular housing units.
The process begins with the generation of random elevation patterns. Those patterns are getting tested in a light simulator software (ecotect) for different locations, seasons and times so an initial database of solutions is created. Each time that units have to be produced, random patterns are tested until a satisfactory solution is found. The tests are added to the database.
The feedback of the users is used in order to re-evaluate the data collected. The production of new units is becoming a self-learning process for the program. At the same time the users with their feedback are altering the initial standards in a never-ending, multiple exchange and altering of information.
The growth of the database is strictly related to the growth of the inflateit settlements and follows similar self-referencial patterns. The data stored in the database gets transformed from data regarding lighting strategies to data regarding relationships.

04. Para*site. St. Louis Follies Competition. 2nd Price.

2007-10-06T22:59:00.000-07:00

03. Summer Residence, Paros. 2006

2007-10-06T22:57:00.000-07:00

01. Compose: Komvos Competition. Honorable Mention. 2004.

2007-10-05T22:59:00.000-07:00

Design team: Dimitris Gourdoukis, Katerina Tryfonidou, Natalia Karakosta.

Kombos – Compose is a competition entry for the redesign of the entrance of the Faculty of Architecture at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The faculty of Architecture occupies one wing of the building the hosts the School of Engineering.

The proposal focuses on the property of the entry point as a joint in the building, both in terms of movements and flows and in terms of the formal language that the existing building employs. Three basic elements are used, which correspond to the triptych point/stop – line/movement – surface/limit.

02. Venice Academia Bridge Competition. 2006.

2007-10-04T09:13:00.001-07:00

under construction

2007-10-03T14:01:00.000-07:00