Next Project

The Morphogenetic Office

Part 2 Project 2013
Nigel Dakin
Oxford Brookes University Oxford | UK
With the uninterrupted progression of Moore's Law it is reasonable to predict that the computer will, one day, shrink to the micro/nano scale and will cost less than a tenth of a penny. Our surrounding world will become a computerised, intelligent environment continually collecting and processing information.

Research today, funded by Intel, explores the potential for programmable matter; microscopic, Claytronic (computer) Particles that can be programmed to signal and interact with each other to form electromagnetic bonds, generating optimised structures constructed from the microscopic scale that can be computed to transform and morph into an infinite number of different structural configurations, changing colour and opacity to replicate different material properties and simulate textural finishes.

The Morphogenetic Office explores the future potential of programmable matter within the built environment, proposing its integration within the existing fabric of Canary Wharf. The iconic profile of One Canada Square is kept through the re-appropriation process of the tower. The new structural system becomes a circulation network for the Claytronic Particle as well as a skeletal framework to support programmable structures that inhabit the new tower.

A vast manufacturing plant, located below the existing retail promenade, recycles scrap material from the old tower through the process of chemical vapour deposition to produce graphene; a highly conductive, strong and lightweight material with properties far superior to any other known material. Once produced, graphene is fed into particle manufacturing units that each house tens of thousands of Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS); microscopic manufacturing machines that construct and recycle Claytronic Particles through a highly efficient system of production at the nano-scale. Manufactured particles are then circulated within the structural framework of the re-appropriated tower providing a continual supply of programmable matter.

The future office environment experiences a continual state of metamorphosis, programmed by the user to respond to the fluctuating needs of the future worker. Digitalised replications will redefine the conventions of the built world within ever changing simulated environments. Our surroundings will materialise from an endless array of programmed forms; the city in a continual state of flux.

Nigel Dakin

Tutor(s)
Prof David Greene

Mr Toby Shew
2013
• Page Hits: 5139         • Entry Date: 12 September 2013         • Last Update: 12 September 2013