ABSTRACT
Self-assembly has become an architectural apparatus for understanding inputs, processes, and outputs that can lead to the creation of space. The design studio, taught at MIT's Department of Architecture, is an undergraduate design fundamentals course that focuses on the principles of self- organization and architectural design process. Through the lens of bottom-up process, we study generative rules for design, both visually and physically, investigating design possibilities across many scales. The studio consists of three exercises: drawing; physical making; and large-scale spatial organization, which investigate these fundamental themes. The studio work focuses on natural and synthetic phenomena, such as new developments in nano-robotics, DNA origami, synthetic biology, robotics and materials science, as a vehicle to explore contemporary spatial design possibilities. The project focuses on the theme of generative materials by translating their system/process/logic/behavior into an apparatus for the physical production of new material structures.
