What if Architectural Form Came From the Natural Cycles of a Place?

A total of fifteen rules relating to the metabolic function of the site were applied to a particle system.  No rule said, “make a swarm,” yet in every instance a swarm of partilcles does form.  Individual particle behaviors makes obstruction no threat, as localized control makes the larger system adaptable instantaneously.  The systemis intelligent.

After many iterations, patterns of flow emerge in each instance of the experiment and these flow patterns are read as thediagram of the building.  The larger and faster flow becomes the public area of the building and conversely, the lighter slower regions are read as private.  The diagram is then programmed based on area requirements for each public and private component.

Growth is understood as a change in volume, differentiation is understood as fluctuation in form, and function is read as density in the system.

This building lives with the particles in its environment, a solar hot water system and photovoltaic array provide energy and a desalianation plant makes seawater suitable for use and consumption.  In the laboratory, one can observe the tide come in and wash over them as they work and a glass dive tank exposes the geology the structure rests on.  Three levels of program are interconnected by ramps, the grade of which are generated in a comprimise between landscape and programmatic requirement.  LED lights are placed on the building’s exterior responding to the stars and airport runway lights on the site mark the building’s position on the island by illuminating particles suspended in the air.