Surfaced: The Formation of Twisted Structures: The Work of SYSTEMarchitects

Architectural structures create the environment in which they are situated, while at the same time describing that environment. Complex forms, such as the twist, offer the architect a tool to shape an environment with a visible smoothness that disguises the space’s complexity and precision. But twisted structures present a double-challenge for architects and builders. To create such structures, it is necessary not only to design them, but to design the method of constructing them. For some geometries, it is enough to take a conventional building method, or an already extant tool and modify it slightly. But more often than not, completely new tools and methods need to be figured out. This process of re-engineering, rethinking, and re-imagining leads to an increasing and progressively more intimate awareness of material, texture, and detail. This book charts the journey of SYSTEMarchitects from the folded geometries of the seminal BURST house exhibited at MOMA’s renowned 2008 show to the curves, tucks and twisted spaces that followed. It records ve years of experimentation with pre fabricated and iterative techniques, low cost materials, and algorithmic design all in service of projects made for everyday use. It examines the role of parametric design in the domestic sphere, and It explores twisted volumes, from large scale structures to the very surface of the twist itself, offering a whole new animated direction for architecture.