ABSTRACT
The research interest of Gabriel Sanchiz Garin’s MSc dissertation (2007) originated in the context of Diploma Unit 4 at the Architectural Association, where the groundwork was laid. The inquiry started with a fascination with the research collaboration of the biologist Johann-Gerhard Helmcke and Frei Otto within the context of the Biology and Building workgroup that focused on, among other issues, the shells of diatoms and the skeletons of radiolaria. This interdisciplinary research was driven by an interest in lightweight natural structures and related autoformative processes in nature, based on the hypothesis that these offer direct potentials as analogous models for technical constructs and thus for architectural design.
