INTRO

Through technological developments, design product is teased out from the integrative processes which connects multi phases of design with different disciplines. Thus, designers start to build an integrative structures for their processes and environment make use of cutting edge technologies. Especially, they interrogate the relationship between materialization and materiality from different perspectives from the initial phase of the process.

Rather starting the design process with established contexts, that limits the designer’s mind by constituting familiar relations, today there is more focus  on experimental design processes through exploring and researching  the performativity of systems.

This paper presents the process and the products of a research on the formation of a movement behaviour which transforms the initial surface from one state to another states. The study developed an initial model of a material organization: system inspired by nature: the adaptable exoskelon of the armadillium vulgare. Through geometric analysis of the functional variation in exoskeleton units shape with physical model making, the underlying principle is translated into design&production rules. The generative model of adaptable segmented system constructed through geometric abstraction of exoskeleton achieved diverse functions such as variability in form-volume, porosity, flexibility and strength through distribution of materials with the folding technique. The potentiality of this parametric physical model (based on a very simple systemacy) was questioned relating with human body especially as wearable to fit complex surfaces and adapt diverse situations of the human body, which were not anticipated at the beginning

METHODOLOGICAL PROCEDURES

Research process started with questioning performativity of the matter through formation of a movement. This process transforms matter that consists of variable geometric relationships and rules. Beside that, embodiment of the movement is interrogated with the exploration of the relationship between the materiality and materialisation which, as a consequence, creates an integrative ‘material organisation’.

“This exploration process, as a reflective and growing process, which comprises interactive reciprocal ever-increasing relations.

The exploration-experimentation process of the material organisation comprises three interrelated-reciprocative cyclic phases:

1. relationship between a movement and the geometry

2. relationship between the movement-geometry and the fabrication constraints

3. relationship between physical material and developed geometric organisation

The study focuses the integration of design and making in the process. It starts with the analyses and abstraction of a natural system which translates these insight to production-fabrication method through physical model making. The fabrication method potentially embeds differantiated curvatures into flat surface through a folding technique. The initial underlying rule is refined and get complex through physical and digital models in an iterative process.  Thus, the developed organization gain an ability to transform any planar surface to non-standart form with varying behaviours.

Iterations of the organisation are experimentally produced to create various effects as folded state for different degree of expanding, semi-folded state for wavy free form surfaces and unfolded state for plane surfaces. As it is produced intentional different effects related with the static and dynamic part of the human body. Experiments on assemblying different movement behaviours also creates surprising differentiated surface effects.

The different folding experiment on a single materialized organization is investigated in a various ways. Four different state of the matter is exemplified as folded shell, semi-folded loose surface , bended (upper) surface and unfolded plane.

During the materiality (organisation) –materialization (physical folding form)  cyclic process, performativity of the organization is interrogated in relation between the movement of differentiated curvatures and its potential resultant surface-volume effects.

Thus, new interrelated geometric relations are defined as;

‘folding geometries between triangular faces’ to create curvatures from flat surface,

‘connection between triangular faces’ to connect different curvatures,

‘different degree of curvatures and different size of segmented top surfaces’ to create differentiated 3D space from flat surface.

This process generated a customizable and adaptable method for fabrication. This developed organisation allow to transform the flat surface to intended space structure which has an ability of movement. The process also allows the designer to implement the fabrication process by designing his own fabrication tool as a design research.

The developed organisation is transformed to ‘a design tool’ (a potential open-ended-flexible-adaptable skin system) through the exploration of its materiality. This abstract geometric organisation’s adaptation and relation with human body is exemplified with differentiated products.

The developed logic of the organisation: performative skin is derivated for body proportions. It is formed with various degree of curvature, porosity and  thickness according to specific parts of the body. The composition of the ‘material organisation’ is produced to meet specific performance criteria in relationship with the parts of human body and structure is manually adapted to human body.

RESULT

The model is termed as ‘Performative skin’ which has capacity to create various effects, forms, movement behaviours  and differentiated degree of porosity and structural support by controlling the materialization of its organization. The materialized structure, an adaptable skin, is a folding shell which is capable to cover the intended shape and reshape through the different behaviours of the constitutive segmented bodies.

Segments are the smallest components in the structure which has foldable side faces. Different combination of segments forms a foldable body and the combination of variable bodies forms a spatial structure which folds with multiple behaviours.

This customizable structure that can become suitable for all body types and create various surface effects through the owner’s interference. The skin potentially exhibits any specific behaviour through the ability of folding, bending and expanding or contraction. The shell variations can be organized according to symmetry of the body size. Through their moveable nature the garments that are cut by laser cutting machines can be used either tightly or loosely on different parts of the body.

DISCUSSION

The study aims to enhance the capacity of the ‘materials’. Thus, the term ‘material organisation’ is used to explain the association of material and geometric relations which attains material to ability of folding: different degree of movement behaviours, different degree of porosity, different degree of structural support for designing&producing differentiated forms.

The performativity of the organisation is explored through the experiments on ‘differentiated ‘movement organisations’. The process started to focus the geometric organization for the movement in one direction to create curvatures, then continue with the assembly of different curvatures to extend the directions. The movement of the surface get more complex step by step. It is potentially display any specific behaviour through re-organisation of ‘this segmented bodies and their relationships’. In consequence of the organisation of these curves and derivative definitions of the secondary relationships, matter has a potentiality for unlimited-liqufied movement and space formation. In other words, it transforms into an ever-developing structure which has a potentiality to produce variable parametric end products in different scales.

The study explored many relations between materiality (organisation) and materialization (fabrication) which formed the differentiated results at different scales but it could not experiment the entire potentiality and definitely missed many parts in this unlimited open system.

This experimental - intuitive design formation and materialisation process is capable to be extended for many adaptable incomplete architectural products through the logic of the ‘material organization’ as a design tool. Besides, incomplete products produced by this ‘design tool’ can further the design process. It is open to user’s participation and creativity at different levels by reinterpreting and seeing or changing and combining the parts and wholes.  It allows to create more responsive customized products by adapting it to the context of its environment.