AA Designing Fabrication Awards 2009 Showcased in London

If you’re in London these days, don’t miss out on some very cool events that the AA is hosting as part of the London Design Festival:

The Architectural Association School is showcasing the work of eight award-winning architectural projects which demonstrate the most innovative integration of design and fabrication processes through digitally driven design systems in a new exhibition Designing Fabrication at Village Underground Art Space from September 21 – 26 as part of London Design Festival. The show will be open daily from 12-8 pm. A symposium exploring themes and issues raised by the awards and exhibition is taking place on Friday, September 25 from 2 – 6 pm (see details below).

The Designing Fabrication Awards, organized by the AA|FAB Cluster led by Alan Dempsey and Kristine Mun, considered projects in two categories, interior and exterior and sought to recognize the most pioneering use of emerging digital technologies in the design and fabrication process. The eight projects are documented through drawings, images, models and full-scale prototypes, while a further 24 built projects from around the world and also included in the exhibition, place this work in the context of contemporary architectural production.

The winners of the AA|FAB Awards 2009 were:

Exterior Category

• First Prize: Re-Purpose Ply by Jason Griffiths takes the form of an intriguing and useful shelter system made from re-used US political campaign boards and integrates digital manufacturing, environmental performance and material re-use.
• Runner-Up: The Morning Line by Matthew Ritchie with Aranda/Lasch and Daniel Bosia explores the interplay between art, architecture, and music and is conceived as a drawing in space, where each line connects to every other line to construct a spatial picture.
• Runner-Up: Muscular Synergy by Josiah Barnes and Pablo Rica became a proposal for a hamam/relaxation hub in Tunis. The material system allows for the fabrication of CNC sewn, laser cut “sacks” which can be flat packed and shipped to the site. On-site, the sacks should be placed using a telescopic frame support as a guide and filled with sand from the desert, and solidifying bacteria is introduced to begin a two to three day hardening process.

Interior Category:

• First Prize: Ceiling Cloud by Andrew Vrana, Joe Meppelink and Scott Marble, a complex installation that successfully integrates design aesthetics, lighting, environmental performance and fabrication.
• Runner Up: Green Void by Chris Bosse, Tobias Wallisser, Alexander Rieck, LAV, a digital design, derived from nature, realized in lightweight fabric, using the latest digital fabrication and engineering techniques that achieves a strong spatial effect with minimal means
• Runner Up: Allotropic System by Nicholas Bruscia, a rigorous investigation into a flexible mould system which demonstrates a high degree of formal control and understanding of material performance.

About the Symposium
A symposium will explore some of the issues raised by the exhibition.

Friday, September 25, 2 - 6 pm, AA Lecture Hall, Architectural Association, 36 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3ES
Speakers: Benjamin Aranda, Josiah Barnes, Chris Bosse, Nicholas Bruscia, Shin Egashira, Mehran Gharleghi, Jason Griffiths and Andrew Vrana.
Moderated by Alan Dempsey, Kristine Mun and Brett Steele