Page 31 - Are-You-a-Model?

9:35 Yana Boeva University of Stuttgart
The model multiple: On approximation work in digital models and twins
Digital models and workflows are omnipresent in de- sign, engineering, and construction practice, reach- ing a pinnacle in the form of digital twins. Within the integrative design and construction paradigm, computational design models, simulations, and dig- ital twins figure as holistic approaches to a particular problem, bearing the cybernetic overtones of univer- sality and centralized control. The reality, however, is one of ruptures and multiplicities between digital modeling epistemologies, practices, processes, and technologies. Whereas advanced research-based approaches to design and modeling contrast profes- sional practices and experiences, in a professional setting, the same digital model and its occasional twin can become multiples with every other actor involved in the design process. As anthropologist Annemarie Mol notes, reality multiplies “since the object of manipulation tends to differ from one prac- tice to another” (2002). Following Mol’s concept of the “body multiple”, this paper proposes the notion of the “model multiple” to understand the approxi- mation work performed by various actors in creating digital models and eventually digital twins. The paper discusses how the multiplicities of digital models are rendered practicable through an analysis of de- sign meetings' observations on the border between computational design research and architectural practice, as well as interviews with professionals. It draws on scholarship across science and technol- ogy studies and digital media studies to reframe the dualistic distinctions, boundaries, and differences around digital models.
9:55 Baris Wenzel
Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences
Digitally recreating the Mannheim Multihalle model – Exploring the simulation of physical form-finding in the tradition of Frei Otto
For the construction of the pioneering wooden grid shell of the Mannheim Multihalle several different physical models were built: For the natural form finding and adaptability a model made of wire-mesh was used. To calculate the forces the planning team started building physical models, made of hang- ing-chains. The hanging model model turned upside down resulted in purely compression-loaded shapes. This elaborate model made on a scale of 1:98.5 has been preserved at the Deutsches Architekturmu- seum (DAM) in Frankfurt and will be case studied in this paper.
As part of the the sub-project “The Last Wit- nesses” of the priority program “Cultural Heritage Construction” of the Deutsche Forschungsgemein- schaft DFG (German Research Foundation), the model was recorded photogrammetrically and digi- tally remodelled. To create the hanging chains, three different methods were implemented in Grasshop- per and compared: dynamic relaxation techniques with a spring-particle system, a mesh drape and the compass method which Frei Otto introduces in the IL booklet number 10, which was written as a recursion in C#. In this context the initial question Do we look alike will be examined. Furthermore, the digital twin will be used to calculate the potential power generation by mounting solar panels on the roof cladding.
Paper with Eberhard Möller
Yana Boeva is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Social Sciences and the Cluster of Excellence “Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Architecture (In- tCDC)”, University of Stuttgart. She holds a PhD in Science & Technology Studies from York University, Toronto, and an MA in Media Studies from the Humboldt-University Berlin.
Baris Wenzel studied architecture and worked for 5 years in Mexico as an architect and computational designer. There he developed a great interest in polygon meshes and their appli- cations in architecture, civil engineering and digital fabrication. Currently he works at Hochschule Karlsruhe and as facade designer at knippershelbig advanced engineering. He is also completing his doctorate at the UIBK Innsbruck.
ARE YOU A MODEL? FRIDAY, 4.11.22 31