Synthetic realities
New Frontiers in AI-driven Design, Fabrication and Materiality
1st Edition
Published on 1. August 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-3-88778-108-8 (ISBN)
Description
Synthetic Realities embarks on a groundbreaking journey into the dynamic landscape of design, art and architecture in the era of artificial intelligence. Edited by Manuel Kretzer and authored by a cadre of internationally renowned practitio- ners, educators and thinkers, this collection provides a sweeping overview of how AI
is reshaping creative fields, blending the digital with the physical and redefining the boundaries of materiality and aesthetics. The book delves into the profound influence of digitization on creative processes, critically examining how emerging technologies foster new forms of expression and innovation. It navigates the exciting intersection of biology and digital technology, revealing cutting-edge material innovations and bio- digital synergies. Beyond redefining aesthetic and spatial experiences in our digitized era, this volume offers fresh, compelling perspectives on the symbiosis of artificial and organic elements. Concluding with insightful philosophical reflections, Synthetic Realities is an intellectual odyssey that challenges readers to reconsider their un- derstanding of the relationship between humans, technology and creativity. A must- read for visionaries and enthusiasts, or anyone interested in the future of design and architecture, it beckons you to expand your perspectives and immerse yourself in the limitless possibilities that AI introduces to the worlds of creative endeavour.
Authors:
VERENA BACHL
ADIL BOKHARI
VERA BÜHLMANN
MATIAS DEL CAMPO
FELECIA DAVIS
MARC ENGENHART
BEHNAZ FARAHI
MICHAEL HANSMEYER
IMMANUEL KOH
MARIA KUPTSOVA
SIMON MARIS
AGOSTINO NICKL
JORGE OROZCO
MIRO ROMAN
JENNY E. SABIN
HANS SACHS
LASSE SCHERFFIG
KARSTEN SCHUHL
MANUEL KRETZER (Ed.)
'Do we ever have to understand anything again? When all that can be learned through hard work and persistence is replaced by these new synthetic tools, what are we left with?'
The profoundly important essays contained within this volume confront the disruptive impacts of artificial intelligence on the world of architecture and design. Synthetic Realities: New Frontiers in AI-driven Design, Fabrication and Materiality, edited by Manuel Kretzer, contains deep reflections from many of the leading AI thinkers and activists in the world today. For everyone striving to come to terms with the upheavals of AI in the design of the built environment this book is essential reading.
Prof. Philip Beesley
Multidisciplinary Artist, University Professor and Pioneer of Living Architecture
As we hurtle forward into an age of Artificial General Intelligence, it is vital that we reflect on our own material realities - our synthetic realities - and consider how they are being transformed by the immaterial world of artifi-cial intelligence. This book, including essays by a range of internationally renowned practi-tioners, educators, and creatives, represents a ground-breaking journey into the transforma-tive power of artificial intelligence within the realms of design and architecture.
Prof. Neil Leach
Architect, Theorist and Writer, Florida International University
Synthetic Realities: New Frontiers in AI- driven Design, Fabrication and Materiality is an impressive volume bringing together leading architectural designers, educators, and thinkers to explore artificial intelligence as
a creative practice. It integrates a breadth of discourses that inform design ideation, new materiality, and emerging social contexts. It asks how automation changes the underlying infrastructures of creativity, its representa- tion, instrumentalization, and poetics and delves into the ways AI, within the entangled boundaries of digital and physical realms,
is reshaping creative fields and redefining the boundaries of materiality and aesthetics.
This book critically examines how emerging technologies foster new forms of expression and innovation. It offers new narratives
to understand the intersection of biology and digital technology, revealing cutting-edge material innovations and bio-digital synergies, and providing compelling perspectives on the symbiosis of artificial and organic elements. Synthetic Realities challenges architecture as a creative practice to reconsider its under- standing of the relationship between humans, technology, and creativity. It is a must-read for visionaries, enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the future of design and architecture.
Prof. Mette Ramsgaard Thomsen Director CITA Centre for Information Technology and Architecture
More details
Persons
Editor
Professor for Material and Technology
Manuel Kretzer is professor for Material and Technology at the Dessau Department of Design, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences. His research aims at the creation of dynamic and adaptive objects, spaces and experiences with a specific focus on new smart and biological material performance and their combination with advanced digital design and fabrication methods.
Manuel Kretzer is professor for Material and Technology at the Dessau Department of Design, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences. His research aims at the creation of dynamic and adaptive objects, spaces and experiences with a specific focus on new smart and biological material performance and their combination with advanced digital design and fabrication methods.
Designed by
Designer & Visual Artist
Martin Naumann is a visual artist and multidisciplinary designer based in Leipzig, Germany. He is specialised in automated illustration and abstract generative art. In addition to these specialisations, his skills also extend to branding, typography and motion design. His work is often considered futuristic, combining experimental and abstract techniques with strong visual motifs inspired by nature and science.
Martin Naumann is a visual artist and multidisciplinary designer based in Leipzig, Germany. He is specialised in automated illustration and abstract generative art. In addition to these specialisations, his skills also extend to branding, typography and motion design. His work is often considered futuristic, combining experimental and abstract techniques with strong visual motifs inspired by nature and science.
Designer & Photographer
Aaron Siermann studied Integrated Design at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in Dessau. As a multidisciplinary designer, he possesses experitse across various disciplines, including photography, animation, editorial and user experience design, along with communication design.
Aaron Siermann studied Integrated Design at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in Dessau. As a multidisciplinary designer, he possesses experitse across various disciplines, including photography, animation, editorial and user experience design, along with communication design.
Contributions
Verena Bachl is a conceptual artist based in Berlin, Germany. Drawing inspiration from science as well as mythology, Bachl creates artworks that combine archetypal symbolism and intimate elements with objects and methods of industrial mass production. Bachl constructs worlds around concepts, weaving narratives that delve into the complexities of sexual identity, memory, and the enigmatic nature of uncertainty. Light installations immerse her sculptural works in a synthetic atmosphere reminiscent of their natural model, while a spatial approach to the work often unveils hidden layers of meaning and a reassessment of perspective. Her work illuminates pressing contemporary issues and challenges stereotypes by creating a speculative scenography for her combinations of figurative representation, minimalistic form and technological implementation with contrasting textures of metal, glass, and stone.
Adil Bokhari is currently a PhD researcher at the Chair for Digital Architectonics at ETH Zürich and conducts the architecture design studio for the chair: Studio Meteora. Previously he has been a guest professor at the Peter Behrens School of Arts in Düsseldorf, and has worked as a visual studies and studio tutor at the Dessau Institute of Architecture, Städelschule Architecture Class, and National College of Arts. Professional experience also includes Najmi Bilgrami Collaborative in Karachi, Zvi Hecker Architect in Berlin and Atelier Manferdini in Los Angeles.
Vera Bühlmann is a writer and translator between various emerging "vernaculars" in contemporary thought, especially with respect to philosophy, mathematics and architecture. Since 2016 she is professor for architecture theory at Technische Universität Wien TU, Austria, where she directs the Research Unit Architecture Theory and Philosophy of Technics (ATTP). Among her special fields of interest are the codification of artistic practices through mathematical thinking, digital architectonics, quantum literacy and aesthetics in a new materialist optics, as well as the role of rhetorics and literary reason for a novel and non-anthropocentric humanism. Born in 1974 in Switzerland, Vera Bühlmann studied English Literature and Language, Philosophy, and Media Studies at Zurich University and Basel University. She graduated with the distinction Summa Cum Laude for her PhD titled "Inhabiting Media, Annäherungen an Herkünfte und Topoi medialer Architektonik" from Basel University in 2009. In 2010 she co-founded the Laboratory for Applied Virtuality at the Chair for Digital Architectonics in the Department for Architecture, ETH Zurich (together with Ludger Hovestadt). From 2012-2013 she was a guest researcher at the Future Cities Laboratory at NUS Singapore, and since 2012 she is co-editor of the Applied Virtuality Book Series with Birkhäuser/de Gruyter, a book series which attends to the current societal challenges brought by digitalisation through a Liberal Arts approach that combines mathematical thinking with humanistic studies. Since 2021 she is an elected member of the University Council (Hochschulrat) of Berlin University of the Arts UdK.
GND:
GND:
Architekt, Designer, Educator
Dr. Matias del Campo is a registered architect, designer, and educator. He is an Associate Professor at Taubman College for Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan, and director of the AR2IL - The Architecture and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at UoM. He conducts research on advanced design methods in architecture, primarily through the application of Artificial Intelligence techniques in collaboration with the Computer Science department and Michigan Robotics - of which he is also an affiliated faculty member. Matias del Campo is the co-founder of the architecture practice SPAN.
Dr. Matias del Campo is a registered architect, designer, and educator. He is an Associate Professor at Taubman College for Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan, and director of the AR2IL - The Architecture and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at UoM. He conducts research on advanced design methods in architecture, primarily through the application of Artificial Intelligence techniques in collaboration with the Computer Science department and Michigan Robotics - of which he is also an affiliated faculty member. Matias del Campo is the co-founder of the architecture practice SPAN.
Felecia Davis is an Associate Professor at the Stuckeman Center for Design Computing in the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at Pennsylvania State University and is the director of SOFTLAB@PSU. This lab is dedicated to developing soft computational materials and textiles and is for the use of Penn State students and faculty, industry and community partners engaged in collaborative research and projects. The point of the lab is to establish a culture of hands on making and thinking through computational materials and the lab links together research, teaching and practice.
Marc Engenhart studied photography and information design at the Ravensburg School of Design and continues to publish his work as a musician and artist. In 2004, he founded Engenhart ° Design Studio and continues to run it today. Since 2015, he has been advising agencies, companies, and institutions on design solutions, brand design, intelligent systems, speculative design, and future strategy. He is increasingly devoting himself to publishing texts on critical speculative design (@unthinkablehub), digital design, artificially intelligent synthetic systems, media theory, and the musical reception of pop cultural phenomena, as well as his professorship in design.
Marc is a member of aed (Architecture, Engineering and Design) Stuttgart, the Federal Association for Artificial Intelligence, the tdc (Type Directors Club) New York, the bdg (Association of German Communication Designers) and the dgtf (German Society for Design Theory and Research) in Berlin, as well as co-founder of the dai digital conference (designing with artificial intelligence) and co-author of the standard work »Design and Artificial Intelligence«.
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ISNI:
Behnaz Farahi is an award-winning designer, creative technologist and critical maker working at the intersection of fashion, architecture and interactive design. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at the MIT Media Lab where she leads the 'Critical Matter' Research Group. Trained as an architect, she explores the potential of interactive environments and their relationship to the human body.
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ISNI:
Michael Hansmeyer works at the juncture of architecture, programming, machine learning, and the visual arts.
Made especially for BMW Art Club, "Digital Grotesque III" is the latest iteration of a project the artist has been developing for nearly ten years now. Its first two instalments, "Digital Grotesque I" and "Digital Grotesque II" were produced in cooperation with and presented at the FRAC Centre in Orle´ans and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, respectively.
Professor in Architecture & Sustainable Design
Immanuel Koh is an Assistant Professor in both the pillars of Architecture & Sustainable Design (ASD) and Design & Artificial Intelligence (DAI) at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). He directs Artificial-Architecture - an interdisciplinary research laboratory that focuses on the design and development of deep learning models for artificial creativity, generative architecture, predictive urbanism and defence intelligence, with funded projects from industry, academia and government. At ASD & DAI, he teaches courses on the history, theory and practice of artificial intelligence for critical thinking (Artificial & Architectural Intelligence in Design), creative design (Creative Machine Learning) and industry application (Spatial Design Studio).
Immanuel Koh is an Assistant Professor in both the pillars of Architecture & Sustainable Design (ASD) and Design & Artificial Intelligence (DAI) at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). He directs Artificial-Architecture - an interdisciplinary research laboratory that focuses on the design and development of deep learning models for artificial creativity, generative architecture, predictive urbanism and defence intelligence, with funded projects from industry, academia and government. At ASD & DAI, he teaches courses on the history, theory and practice of artificial intelligence for critical thinking (Artificial & Architectural Intelligence in Design), creative design (Creative Machine Learning) and industry application (Spatial Design Studio).
Artist, Architect
Maria Kuptsova is an artist, architect and researcher. In her practice she explores synthetic forms of intelligence and aesthetics, creating cyborganic objects, systems, processes and interfaces. Maria's PhD research, conducted under the supervision of Prof.Claudia Pasquero, proposes a machine-learning-based design technic that is contextualized in a new form of material and formal articulation with an aim to impart biological intelligence into inorganic objects and synthetic environments. Maria is a graduate from IAAC Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia in Barcelona, where she has been also teaching and working after her graduation. Currently Maria is a PhD candidate and research associate at the Synthetic Landscape Lab at the University of Innsbruck.
Maria Kuptsova is an artist, architect and researcher. In her practice she explores synthetic forms of intelligence and aesthetics, creating cyborganic objects, systems, processes and interfaces. Maria's PhD research, conducted under the supervision of Prof.Claudia Pasquero, proposes a machine-learning-based design technic that is contextualized in a new form of material and formal articulation with an aim to impart biological intelligence into inorganic objects and synthetic environments. Maria is a graduate from IAAC Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia in Barcelona, where she has been also teaching and working after her graduation. Currently Maria is a PhD candidate and research associate at the Synthetic Landscape Lab at the University of Innsbruck.
Prof. Department of Art and Design
Agostino Nickl is a designer and doctoral fellow at the Chair of Digital Architectonics at ITA, ETH Zurich. Previously, he worked at Arup Studio in London, an interdisciplinary design innovation team, and taught Architectural Design, Landscape Design and Videogame Urbanism Theory at Oxford School of Architecture and the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. Agostino graduated at the Bartlett School of Architecture under Laura Allen and Mark Smout in Unit 11, where his work was awarded with the Sir Banister Fletcher Medal, the Bartlett School of Architecture Medal and the Saint Gobain Innovation Prize.
Jorge Orozco is an architect, academic and software developer based in Zurich. He is Guest Professor for Design & Computation at UdK/TU Berlin, and Senior Lecturer and Researcher at Studio METEORA, Chair for Digital Architectonics ETH Zurich.
Jorge holds a Doctor of Science degree and a Master of Advanced Studies degree by ETH Zurich, a Master's Degree in Advanced Architecture by IAAC-UPC Barcelona, and an Architect Diploma by UMSNH Mexico.
Before, Jorge was Lecturer at University of Innsbruck's Institut für Gestaltung Studio2, Lecturer at TU Vienna's ATTP group, Guest Researcher at Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore, and lead of summer workshops at various universities across Europe.
Jorge's work was exhibited at the London Design Biennale 2023, the 17th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice, and the 12th International Architecture Biennale of Sao Paulo, Brasil.
Miro Roman is an Assistant Professor at House of Coded Objects at studio2 at the University of Innsbruck, and a senior lecturer and researcher at Studio Meteora at the chair for Digital Architectonics at ETH Zurich. He was a guest lecturer at ATTP, TU Wien, and a researcher at the Future Cities Laboratory, the interdisciplinary research program of the Singapore ETH Centre, where he co-edited A Quantum City book.
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ISNI:
Jenny E. Sabin is an architectural designer whose work is at the forefront of a new direction for 21st-century architectural practice - one that investigates the intersections of architecture and science and applies insights and theories from biology and mathematics to the design of material structures. Sabin is Chair of the Department of Design Tech and the Arthur L. and Isabel B. Wiesenberger Professor in Architecture.
Sabin is principal of Jenny Sabin Studio, an experimental architectural design studio based in Ithaca, and director of the Sabin Lab at Cornell AAP. She holds degrees in ceramics and interdisciplinary visual art from the University of Washington and a master of architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. Her book LabStudio: Design Research Between Architecture and Biology, coauthored with Peter Lloyd Jones, was published in 2017. Sabin won MoMA and MoMA PS1's Young Architects Program in 2017 with her submission, Lumen.
Hans Sachs is Professor for Computer Aided Architectural Design at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Ostwestfalen-Lippe. He is director of the specialisation on Computational Design which is part of the international and interdisciplinary Master programme of Integrated Design. He is also an active member of the university's interdisciplinary research groups, the Construction Lab, and the Perception Lab and co-leads the strategy unit for Digital Building and Construction.
Lasse Scherffig is an artist, designer, and researcher interested in interaction and the complex relationship of humans, machines and society. He holds a doctoral degree in Experimental Computer Science of KHM, Academy of Media Arts Cologne. He studied cognitive science at the University of Osnabrück, Germany, and SUNY Oswego, USA (B.Sc., 2002); and digital media at the University of Bremen, Germany, and Zurich University of the Arts, Switzerland (M.Sc., 2005).
Before joining KISD, he taught as assistant professor of art and technology at San Francisco Art Institute (2015-2018), where he served as the chair of the art and technology department (2017-2018). He has been a visiting professor at Bauhaus University Weimar (2014) and a lecturer at the department of design at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts (2014-2015). From 2006 until 2012, he worked at Lab3, Laboratory for Experimental Computer Science of KHM. From 2004-2005 he was a guest researcher at ZKM, Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe.
Karsten Schuhl is based in Berlin and works with sound & vibrations, physical matter, and sensor-actuator networks, investigating the connective thread in the explorative processes of artistic and design-based research. He strongly emphasises physical artefacts as agents for interaction and sense-making by creating multi-sensory experiences to elicit moments of awe and situations of "!".
As an artist, designer, and researcher, his work aims to bend and decontextualise perspectives and shift perception to explore patterns, details, and intricacies of the daily to reveal hidden values and instil a sense of wonder.
Past works, collaborations, and installations have partly been funded by the Council for the Arts at MIT, the New European Bauhaus initiative / WORTH Projects, and museums and institutions such as the Barbican Centre in London and the Atonal Festival in Berlin.
Currently, he is investigating how to actively manage sonic-spatial perception based on material, geometric and kinetic principles alone. He holds an M.A. in Product Design and an M.Sc. in Media Arts and Sciences from the MIT Media Lab.