artificial matters

8/3/2019 Artificial Matters

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The boundaries between the natural and articial are becoming blurred, and works of art and architecture demonstrate such state.

David Mach, for example, is able to create stunning organic sculptures using hangers, and architects like Herzog & de Meuron push the

boundaries of what conventional materials can achieve through light and other media . It is the relationship between the natural and

articial that this project plays with both on the landscape and in the building.

David Mach and Herzog & de Meuron


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On the landscape, this is expressed through the coexistence of a metallic per forated version of the asparagus and the natural vegetation.

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Fusion of Natural and Articial


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In the building, this condition happens through the inside and outside states of the skin. While the exterior is a rough metallic skin, the

interior is a natural indicator of heat temperature through colors and light, mimicking the process of annealing or heat treatment.

Metal Annealing


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Metal Annealing


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Annealing, in metallurgy and materials science, is a heat treatment

wherein a material is altered, causing changes in its properties

such as strength and hardness.

It is a process that produces conditions by heating to above the

recrystallization temperature, maintaining a suitable temperature,

and then cooling. Annealing is used to induce ductility, soften

material, relieve internal stresses, rene the structure by making it

homogeneous, and improve cold working properties. In the cases of

copper, steel, silver, and brass, this process is performed by

substantially heating the material (generally until glowing) for a

while and allowing it to cool. Unlike ferrous metalswhich must be

cooled slowly to annealcopper, silver[1] and brass can be cooledslowly in air or quickly by quenching in water. In this fashion the

metal is softened and prepared for further work such as shaping,

stamping, or forming.

Metal Annealing


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Color emissivity can be controlled inside the building, giving the impression, from the outside, that the entire massing is being heated o

cooled. This is possible because of the various per forations on the skin, some which connect the inside and outside.


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The experience both of the landscape and the building is intended to heighten one's awareness of articial and natural conditions and

processes, in order that one may be able to imagine a near future where perhaps the real and the articial, and even the virtual, will

synthesize into one reality, or technological singularity. Here thus is a case study, a proposition of such future: The coldness of a metallic,

partly melted landscape superimposed by unexpected lush vegetation as the site of a metallic structure in constant chemical reaction,

heating and cooling, emitting light, welcoming and surprising the visitors to the Milan exposition.

Country: Argentina, one of the greatest producers of asparagus.


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Design ProcessSite and Circulation: Milan Expo


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Entrance

Exhibition

Storage/Restrooms/Observation tower

Auditorium

Oces

Cafe

20 sqm

120 + 20 sqm

135 sqm

30 sqm

50 sqm

145 sqm

512 sqm

Design ProcessProgram


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Design ProcessSection and Plan Drawings


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