AA Visiting School Mixed Matters- Concrete

The Mixed Matters Visiting School will be the first of its kind focusing each time on a rotating exploration of a different multi-material, as opposed to a fixed geographic location. The scope will be to explore contemporary practices of material design, moving away from explorations of single, isotropic or composite materials and towards a new field of investigation dealing with material mixtures and grading. The aim will be to discover new types of graded materials mixes through which we can begin to question ideas of tectonics, messy building processes, energy, resource and material wastage and the minimal aesthetics of sharp boundaries and uniformity.
For the first cycle of this exploration we will be based at the Institute of Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design (ILEK) and the office of str.ucture GmbH Engineering in Stuttgart, where we will attempt to stretch the possibilities of what can be mixed with concrete. We will be utilising the concrete spraying robot at ILEK and effectively building individual small scale prototypes in graded concrete. Intensive digital material simulations will be made alongside physical material prototyping and towards designing the prototypes.

Prominent Features of the workshop/ skills developed
• Teaching team consisting of AA Diploma tutors and ILEK and str.ucture engineers.
• Access to the studio spaces and workshop facilities of the Institute of Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design (ILEK) and str.ucture GmbH Structural Design Engineering.
• Computational skills tuition on multi-material design and simulation.
• Fabrication of small to medium scale functionally graded concrete prototypes.
• Lectures series by academics and practitioners in the fields of architecture and engineering.

Location
• Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design, Pfaffenwaldring 7, 70569 Stuttgart
• str.ucture GmbH Lightweight Design, Lindenspürstraße 32, 70176 Stuttgart

Eligibility
The workshop is open to current architecture and design students, PhD candidates and young professionals. Software Requirements: Rhino (SR7 or later), RealFlow 2015

Applications
1) You can make an application by completing the online application found under ‘Links and Downloads’ on the AA Visiting School page. If you are not able to make an online application, email [email protected] for instructions to pay by bank transfer.

2) Once you complete the online application and make a full payment, you are registered to the programme. A CV or a portfolio is not required.

The deadline for applications is: June 2016.

All participants travelling from abroad are responsible for securing any visa required, and are advised to contact their home embassy early. After payment of fees, the AA School can provide a letter confirming participation in the workshop.

Fees
The AA Visiting School requires a student fee of £595 and a young professional fee of £895 per participant, which includes a £60 Visiting membership fee.

If you are a student, please send an email to [email protected] with proof of your student identity, so that you can be issued with a concession code. Please do not pay the deposit first, once the programme director has checked your student id, he will issue you with a concession code. The concession code will only work if you select the option to pay the full fees, please do not select the option to pay the deposit first.

Fees do not include flights or accommodation. Students need to bring their own laptops, digital equipment and model making tools. Please ensure this equipment is covered by your own insurance as the AA takes no responsibility for items lost or stolen at the workshop.

Programme Director
Kostas Grigoriadis

Local Directors
Michael Herrmann (str.ucture)
Werner Sobek (ILEK)

Kostas Grigoriadis studied architecture at UCL, followed by a Master in Architecture and Urbanism at the Architectural Association’s Design Research Laboratory. He has been a Diploma Unit Master at the AA since 2011 and an External Examiner in Architecture at the University of East London since August 2015. He is currently pursuing a PhD that focuses on multi-material design methodologies at the Royal College of Art in London, where he was also a Visiting Lecturer from 2012 to 2015.

Dr. Michael Herrmann studied civil engineering at the University of Stuttgart and the University of Calgary. Between 2007 and 2009, he was structural engineer at Werner Sobek Stuttgart and from 2009 until 2015 he has been engaged as a research associate at ILEK in the University of Stuttgart. His work focuses on functionally graded concrete and energy efficient construction. In 2012 he co-founded str.ucture GmbH, an engineering company committed to the development of innovative lightweight solutions.

Prof. Dr. Werner Sobek is an architect and consulting engineer and heads the Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design. From 2008 to 2014 he was Mies van der Rohe Professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and guest lecturer at numerous universities in Germany, Singapore and the US (Harvard) among others. In 1992, he founded the Werner Sobek Group, with offices in Stuttgart, Dubai, Frankfurt, Istanbul, London, Moscow, New York, and Sao Paulo, offering premium consultancy services for architecture, structures, facades and sustainability.

Details at http://www.aaschool.ac.uk/STUDY/VISITING/stuttgart.