CECA
Ceca was formed in 2002 by Paul Coates, Christian Derix, Pablo Miranda Carranza and Robert Thum. At the time the research and teaching programme at UEL had been going for 10 years or so and we all thought that it was time to formalise our approach - Christian and Robert were ex students and we came up with the project on a boat trip travelling across lake Zurich. CECA , like the diploma and masters programme before it was intended to be focussed on developing the work in generative modelling that Paul had pioneered in the early 80s, and that Christian Robert and Pablo were enthusiastically developing. In the early days we concentrated on the main aspects of AI / AL algorithms, Paul did some stuff on Genetic Programming and Lindenmayer systems (1995) Pablo worked on agents(1998) , and then in 2000 Christian began to get interested in neural networks and in particular the self organised feature maps of Kohonen. He has been developing and teaching this since, and this exhibition shows the work of some current students in this field.
ecoLogicStudio
ecoLogicStudio was co-founded in London by architects/engineers, Marco Poletto and Claudia Pasquero. Both Graduated at the Turin Polytechnic and the AA (MA environment and energy), they joined their experiences as designers and environmental consultants to propose a new formula of environmental design practice. Since its foundation the work of ecoLogicStudio has been committed to develop an innovative approach to architecture and design; the product of our design process is conceived and developed as a system in constant dynamic tension with the surrounding environment. Our design agenda has been tested in different domains, from architecture to academic research, from urban design to temporary installations; the result has been the development of a specific design methodology capable of translating the systemic approach into actual buildable products. The methodology has been supported by a parallel development of design tools and techniques; from the use of parametric modelling software, to environmental simulation packages, to graphic diagramming techniques. Moreover the innovative nature of our work and working method has allowed us to practice internationally and to cooperate within a multidisciplinary network of highly regarded teams. We took part in a wide range of projects, from the development of urban strategies to the design of products; likewise our clients include architects, engineers, academic institutions, the private and public sector, a well as manufacturers and developers.
ecoLogicStudio philosophy:
With the new millennium we are experiencing the definitive passage from the era of “the machine” to the so called era of “ecology”: this transition has been marked by the growing understanding of the new paradigm of complexity and of one of its main characteristic: non-linearity. This change in perspective has opened up new interpretations of the role of technology, overcoming both the modernist quest for pure efficiency and the typical post-modern rejection. Technology in the era of ecology is becoming a tool for thinking as much as for making; an instrument to re-describe the current modus operandi and evolve new forms of knowledge and architectural practice. Tools for digital design, technologies for prototyping and fabrication, nanotechnologies and innovation in the construction materials, as well as interactive systems and responsiveness could be conceived and utilised, within this renewed framework, as technical components of a new paradigm of eco-logic architecture; an architecture for the era of ecology. Supported by this philosophical agenda, the work of ecoLogicStudio aims to resolve the tension between technology and ecology, between the artificial and the natural, in the definition of new “architectonic hybrids” able to re-describe conventional typologies and construction techniques; architecture and nature become two components of the same symbiotic assemblage.
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