Steve co-teaches Proof Studio at Columbia GSAPP

In Fall 2007, I co-taught an advanced design studio with David Benjamin, of The Living, entitled Proof: Prototyping Energy, Ecosystem, Evolutionary Computing, and Amphibious Architecture. This was the first in a series of studios that David would go on to teach using a methodology that we developed. The primary goal of the studio was to explore rigorous testing as a design process, beginning with the formulation of the studio itself.

We sought to explore the design potentials of evolutionary computing, through the use of the multi-objective optimization software modeFrontier. This process was enabled by parametric models built in SolidWorks and data generated by running computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis on the models, which was then processed using custom Excel macros.

We relied heavily upon external collaborations in determining the site and program. Working with the Pier 15 site in Lower Manhattan that is part of SHoP Architect's East River Waterfront project, we incorporated programmatic criteria from artist/engineer Natalie Jeremijenko, as well as, hydro-electric power turbine requirements from Verdant Power.

While the technical aspects of the studio didn't go as smoothly as planned (due to limitations in automating the extraction of data from the CFD tool), I felt that the studio was a success due to the level of engagement that the students had with our external collaborators, most notably Verdant Power's hydrodynamics expert, Jonathan Colby. Many of these technical issues have been resolved in the subsequent studios due to the shift away from CFD toward finite elements analysis (FEA) using ROBOT Millennium.

You can find the studio syllabus here.