TOPIC CONTENT:
MorphoPoly
Exhibition Tour: Conservator at Work
Exhibition View: Threads of Life
Exhibition View: Holobiont. Life is Other
In the Presence of Artistic Research
Light up – The Potential of Light in Museum Architecture
Lighthouse
Exhibition View: Labor der Plötzlichkeit. Elektrische Funken und Entladungen
Exhibition View: Conceptual Joining – Wood Structures from Detail to Utopia
Conceptual Joining: Backstage Report
AIL presents projects from the field of Artistic Research on a regular basis, covering all states of research and a variety of formats. As a complementary understanding of research alongside traditionally academic ones, Artistic Research can expand epistemological questions, especially with regard to intersectional problems.
Find here upcoming dates and selected projects from the past.
25 Oct 2023, 15:00
How can we plan, design and inhabit urban existence differently – and for multiple living species and life forms? What is a model and how can we understand models differently and understand other models?
morphoPoly is a process-oriented project in the field of artistic research. Several groups create city models and other designs from diverse materials and in diverse media for a performative, multi-sensory conception of contemporary urban existence. These designs evolve in the context of a ‘gamification’ that is itself part of the process.
At various locations in Vienna, the team of morphoPoly organized building, research and learning games on the question of the city model.
morphoPoly has, during its first period (2021–2023), undergone a complex process involving the planning and monitoring of building (and dissolving) model cities using various materials, ranging from Lego and toy bricks to everyday leftovers.
The initial builders were children aged 6 till 12, with some of them collaborating with us throughout the entire process. The project evolved within fluid structures, bridging the realms of Social Design and Zentrum Fokus Forschung. It combined the animating, almost therapeutic qualities of hands-on building and tinkering with transdisciplinary, multi-sensory research on our perception of cities, encompassing not only utopian but also real urban environments.
One branch of the project was dedicated to creating a board game meant to demonstrate the ecological challenges inherent in contemporary and immediate future city planning. Participants were instructed to transform the over-crowded cities of the 20th century with streets planned for car traffic into an urban development fit for the 21st century.
All those models and model games building on each other, but also wildly diverse and built in different venues, from the UNIDO and the Austrian Filmmuseum to the Poolbar Festival in Feldkirch, ask for a narrative bridge that was provided by an on-going project of (often hilarious) story telling.
Thus the story telling arc of the project can go on in each household that will host a piece of morphoPoly.
24 Oct 2023, 15:00
Insights into the research and cultural heritage work of conservators: how they study, conserve, analyze, explore, communicate and operate in an international and interdisciplinary context.
EXHIBITION OPENING HOURS: Mon, Tue, Wed, Fr: 13.00 – 18.00; Thu: 13.00 – 20.00
This exhibition reflects on the developments over the past 24 years in the academic field of conservation at the Institute of Conservation of the University of Applied Arts Vienna under the directorship of Gabriela Krist. During this time, the existing fields of object and painting conservation as well as the classical technique of individual object treatment were expanded thanks to the addition of new specialist fields, such as textile and stone, and the adoption of new approaches to preventative conservation, collection care and preservation of cultural artefacts in a global context and in times of climate change.
This exhibition provides a comprehensive overview of current projects, including conservation projects of contemporary art, textiles, classical oil paintings, stone objects, gold works and historical everyday objects commissioned by museums as well as church and cultural heritage organizations. Additionally, video documentaries will give insight into international projects in Nepal, Mongolia, China and Albania in which the team, graduates and students of the institute have been involved.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of lectures and talks from the field of Conservation Studies. Live demonstrations will make it possible to experience conservators at work and ask questions. The 'Conservator at Work' program will provide insight into the research and cultural heritage work of conservators: how they study, conserve, analyze, explore, communicate and operate in an international and interdisciplinary context.
Curated by Gabriela Krist and the team of the Institute of Conservation of the University of Applied Arts Vienna
Exhibition design: Christian Höller / Photos: Christoph Schleßmann
Some insights from our current exhibition still on till 14 Jul 2023
About the multifaceted relationship between textiles, medicine and the arts. Presentation of historical and artistic positions that enter into a dialogue and generate productive tensions.
Artists:
Sonja Bäumel, Pascale Maxime Ballieul, Camille Borchert, Ida Flora Frantal, Raja Goltz, Barbara Graf, Ruth Anderwald + Leonhard Grond, Elizabeth McGlynn, Ute Neuber, Katharina Sabernig, Hannah Schwab, Yuliia Strykovska, Leo Ruben Enosch Zellweger
Curatorial team:
Monika Ankele (Medical University of Vienna), Barbara Graf (University of Applied Arts Vienna), Katrin Pilz (Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Digital History, Vienna), Monika Pietrzak-Franger (University of Vienna), Barbara Putz-Plecko (University of Applied Arts Vienna), Katharina Sabernig (University of Applied Arts Vienna), Georg Vasold (University of Vienna).
The curatorial team is part of the transdisciplinary working group History of Medicine and Medical/Health Humanities of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Selected Work:
Although textiles have been indispensable to medicine since time immemorial, their role in this context has been understudied so far. From the surgical thread, wound dressings, wipes, pads, and protective clothing to the hospital bed, the practices of healing are unimaginable without them. But the relationship between textiles in the arts, wellbeing and health is much broader. It includes, but is not restricted to, the use of such techniques as knitting, crocheting, weaving or braiding in the development of cardiovascular grafts or surgical meshes. The use of textiles is also ambivalent. They have found use in psychiatric institutions for the bodily restraint of patients, but patients also used them for designing their environment and creating body wrappings as survival strategies. Textiles can also be a source of ill-health: Beyond the addition of harmful substances during their production, textiles have been used in fashion for centuries to shape, deform and discipline the body according to ideals of beauty. Practitioners from the fields visual arts and artistic research reflect on this complicated relationship in manifold ways. Artists use fabrics to evoke the vulnerability of the human body, its ongoing decay and imminent death, and also to highlight the complexity of interhuman relationships. They draw attention to (self-)care, understanding the human anatomy, perceiving one’s own corporeality, and to the ways in which textiles can become an existential embodiment. Beyond the metaphorical “Threads of Life”, suturing connects the craft of surgery with that of tailoring. The exhibition spotlights the multifaceted relationships between textiles, medicine and the arts. It brings historical objects and contemporary artistic positions into a dialogue that generates productive tensions.
Photos: Paul Pibernig
Curated by Judith Reichart, Lucie Strecker, Thomas Feuerstein, Jens Hauser
In the context of the exhibition, a multimedia wall newspaper presented artistic and theoretical contributions on the potential of microscopic physiological, chemical or biotechnological processes, taken from the journal ‘On Microperformativity’.
Microperformative positions ask how artistic methods can critically engage with technologies that manipulate life at the microscopic and molecular levels, merging around bio- and digital media. For this finissage the contributions by international authors of the special volume of the journal Performance Research 25 (3), ‘On Microperformativity’ were presented and discussed. The term microperformativity denotes a current trend in theories of performativity and performative artistic practices to destabilize human scales (both spatial and temporal) as the dominant plane of reference and to emphasize biological and technological micro-aspects that relate the invisibility of the microscopic to the intangibility of the macroscopic. Investigations into microperformativity redefine what art, philosophy, and the technosciences now consider ‘body’ at a time when performance art is moving toward a generalized and ubiquitous performativity in art.
Brain's Shit for Shit Brains speculates on the importance of microbial diversity in sociopolitical contexts. Not only biobanks have recently been advertising the shit of celebrities, but pharmacological and medical research is also investigating the importance of microorganisms in the stool and their influence on mental and cognitive functions via the so-called microbiota-gut-brain axis.
Lucie Strecker designed a shooting gallery in which a microbial suppository becomes the grand prize. Porcelain anuses are the targets, placed in a coordinate system of social positions according to the French sociologist and anthropologist Pierre Bourdieu.
Lucie Strecker collected stool samples from people from different socio-political spaces and extracted microbes from them. They were preserved as a ‘pharmakon.’ The pharmakon is ambivalent in its effect: as magic and power it can be – simultaneously or consecutively – healing and damaging. For this installation, the literary artist KT Zakravsky wrote a literary game manual.
The installation by Henrik Plenge Jakobson is an imaginative lesson with rocks from the lake waiting for their teacher to appear so she can begin her lesson on where the concept of freedom is hidden. It will likely be a complex session about existence and its relationship to the environment, and where exactly the cracks of emancipation can be found within that relationship.
'The performance installation ECOLALIA uses artificial intelligence to uncover the complex balance between the needs of our oral microbiome and a future language. Our lab data show that the tonal, vibrating voice that unfolds primarily in singing and moaning stimulates microbes to grow, while the noise of alphabetic speech, as amplified by whispering, stresses oral microbes and causes them to die.’ — ECOLALIA makes a statement about the simultaneous loss of diversity of microbiota and languages. It shows in real time that the oral flora uses vowels differently from consonants for its growth. The flourishing of the flora, supported by artificial intelligence and a speech synthesiser, suggests new sounds for new languages.
HYDRA (2021) by Thomas Feuerstein is a mouth-blown glass sculpture in the form of a many-headed hydra, inside of which freshwater polyps – called Hydra viridissima – are cultivated. The hydras live in a chamber of the sculpture filled with water and enter into symbiosis with chlorella algae. Through their transparent bodies, the chlorophyll of the microalgae glows and colors them green. Both creatures mutually complement their animal and plant metabolism and use light and plankton as a source of energy and food. – Symbiotic communities have gained metaphorical prominence in recent years in the debate over new models of society.
Maja Smrekar includes her Hybrid Family in the Opus et Domus by producing yarn from her dog companion’s and her own body hair that she collected since 2017, spun into a social fabric that was defined by their hybrid relationship, including artifially produced serotonine, an odoriferous mixture, combining serotonin taken from the blood of the artist with that taken from her dog. The advanced technology implemented into the installation serves to underline the contrast to the symptoms of the ever regressing society. The archetypal relationship depicted in this tableau vivant thus paraphrases a conclusion that the roots of politics are older than humanity; a thought suggesting that nowadays hybrid processes in society are solely political statements.
Close Reading by David Berry/Lucie Strecker (2021) — In literary studies, close reading refers to the careful interpretation of a passage of text, a precise reading that traces all textual details, nuances of meaning, and linguistic effects, focusing on the text as an object. Such an approach places great emphasis on the specific as opposed to the general, paying close attention to individual words, syntax, and the order of sentences and words.
As an installation, Close Reading is an invitation to visitors to select a short passage from the journal, read it aloud, and ‘discuss’ the Petri dish which is placed in the microphone stand with their breath and the microbes in it. The petri dish is closed and the quote is written on the lid. From that moment on, the individual microorganisms continue to grow on the nutrient medium over the period of the exhibition.
With contributions by
Art Orienté Objet, Irini Athanassakis, David Berry, Julia Borovaya, Adam Brown, Juan M. Castro & Akihiro Kubota, Tagny Duff, Thomas Feuerstein, Karmen Franinovic, Ana Maria Gomez Lopez, Luis Hernan/Pei-Ying Lin/Carolina Ramirez-Figueroa, Hideo Iwasaki, Henrik Plenge Jakobsen, Eduardo Kac, Roman Kirschner, Lynn Margulis/Dorion Sagan/Bruce Clarke/David McConville, Yann Marussich, Agnes Meyer-Brandis, ORLAN, Špela Petrič, Chris Salter, Maja Smrekar, Klaus Spiess/Ulla Rauter/Emanuel Gollob, Lucie Strecker/KT Zakravsky, Tina Tarpgaard, Paul Vanouse, M R Vishnuprasad, Peter Weibel, and authors of the special issue On Micorperformativity, Performance Research: A Journal of the Performing Arts, 2020, 25 (3).
Scenography: Wolfgang Fiel, Institute for cultural policy
The exhibition was curated originally for the Magazin 4 exhibition space in Bregenz. The content was adapted and expanded for display at Angewandte Interdisciplinary Lab (AIL).
All photos: Lea Dörl
Opening: 22 May 2023, 19:00
Running: 23 May 2023 – 26 May 2023
A project by the Zentrum Fokus Forschung
Opening Hours Exhibition:
Opening Mon: 19:00
Tue, Wed: 9:00–18:00
Thu: 9:00–20:00
Fri: 13:00–15:00
Public Colloquium:
Tue–Thu: 9:00–16:30
‘Perhaps, even today, we do not deal with art. We might have overlooked the moment when it transformed itself into something else, something which we cannot yet name. It is certain, however, that what we deal with offers greater possibilities.’ — Jerzy Ludwinski
This exposition of artistic-research work is an invitation to reflect on the present through the prism of current artistic research. Situated in-between provocation and reflection, the exhibition and the series of public lecture-performances and lectures give insight into the diversity of topics, methods, perspectives, and discursive and display strategies afforded by artistic research. Artist-researchers make speculative propositions about the kinds of knowledge, action, and impact art might yield. The PhD in Art program understands modes of artistic-scientific working as an empowerment of the artists, a critical possibility to reach beyond perceived boundaries, to a mode and attitude of working which fuses and confounds, cross-pollinating the ecologies of the artistic and curatorial with scientific, practice-based and societal impact. Creativity and imagination are essential capacities shaping the present and enabling future-making. This reinvigoration of research-impacted artistic practices has situated artists as agents in social, scientific, and political spheres. The diverse practices of artist-researchers may address pressing artistic, social, political, and ecological issues. Employing creative methods that draw from artistic traditions as well as from research practices, artistic research reaches beyond the limitations of representing or elaborating the world, proposing different outlooks on the present and future.
What are the limitations and hazards of such intermingling, and what becomes generative and fecund in these contact zones? To discuss these questions together with the artist-researchers, this four-day event extends an invitation to be present and join the PhD in Art program in discussing the exhibition and presentations of the current state of the PhD in Art projects.
Sebastian Chichocki, chief curator and head of the research department at MOMA Warsaw and The Consortium for Postartistic Practices
Davide Deriu, architectural theorist and historian at the University of Westminster London
Yael Eylat van Essen, curator and researcher at Holon Institute of Technology
Astrid S. Klein, artist-researcher and lecturer at University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf and Quartier Flottant, will contribute from their perspective and give insight into their own work in the field.
Participants:
Tamara Antonijević, Niels Bonde, Nisrine Boukhari, Erik Bünger, Margit Busch, Andrew Champlin, Cristiana de Marchi, George Demir, Rah Eleh, Jošt Franko, Oscar Gardea, Joseph Leung, Judit Navratil, Ana Rajčević, Marthin Rozo, Juli Sikorska, Conny Zenk
The function of the Zentrum Fokus Forschung is to develop projects in the post-graduate research areas of art and science (research projects, incl. projects evolving from the Artistic Research PhD Programme) and to support significant developments in art and science in general.
The Zentrum Fokus Forschung is a unit – complementing existing departments – at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, in which independent artistic research is generated and connected; artistic work is thereby regarded as the basis of knowledge production, of course in a productive relationship with existing ways of knowledge development, which have been established in other fields of research.
The aim is to generate fresh knowledge regarding specific issues in the arts by providing an adequate institutional focus, to contextualize artistic research and to adequately communicate results in both national and international artistic environments.
Zentrum Fokus Forschung is located at Rustenschacher Allee in Vienna and its core task is to coordinate and develop research activities. As a matter of principle, research in the sense of comprehensive knowledge production is open to any outcome, everything is possible.
30 May 2023, 18:00
Exploring the potential of dynamic artificial lighting technologies in museum architecture opens new perspectives and approaches to the use of light in exhibition spaces. Once one sees light as a material in the museum, then one can begin to assess its potential in the exhibition space.
In galleries and art museums, our perception of art, space and atmosphere is essentially determined by lighting. Today, pioneering LED technologies allow us to create customized lighting scenarios. Artificial light is becoming an interactive material in museum architecture, not only in terms of conceptual design but as real-time spatial experiences. Exploring the potential of dynamic artificial lighting technologies in museum architecture opens new perspectives and approaches to the use of light in exhibition spaces. Once one sees light as a material in the museum, then one can begin to assess its potential in the exhibition space.
The book Light Up – The Potential of Light in Museum Architecture begins by asking why lighting is simply taken for granted, regarded merely as a light source rather than as a creator of mood affecting our perception of an artwork, allowing us to view and interpret it in new ways. The interrelationship between the arts, as well as two different perspectives regarding the use of light as a material in the exhibition space, forms the foundation for the book.
As an architect, the author Andrea Graser examines the subject through an analytical approach to exhibition space and museum architecture. Her perspective has been broadened by the insights of Friedrich Biedermann, an artist who uses light as a medium in his works. Both studied at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and over the course of their long careers as architect and artist they have pursued this theme. Together, they developed a theory of the object-oriented ontology of light, which regards light as spiritual matter uniting the architectural space, the artwork, and the viewer.
Light up – The Potential of Light in Museum Architecture
Edition Angewandte
Publisher: Birkhäuser
Year: 2023
Author: Andrea Graser
Pages: 224
Size: 27,9 x 18,4 cm
Price: € 42,00 [D]
Language: English
Graphic design: Caroline Ecker
Translator: Michael Bernstein
ISBN: 978-0356-2705-3 En
E-Book: 978-3-0356-2706-0 En
Opening: 20 Mar 2019, 17:00
Running: 20 Mar 2019 – 06 Mar 2019
The essence of light is to define our perception of art and space.
Lighthouse is an installation that plays an active role in the discourse surrounding the ‘future museum’. Its light source is not static but dynamic and always changing. Artists, curators and architects develop a setting based on the preliminary findings from the current research into ‘light as the building block of the future museum’ by architect Andrea Graser.
The essence of light is to define our perception of art and space. An interplay of art, space and light. A 24-hour time lapse. Between light and darkness. Between ambient light and signal lights. Putting the connection of material space and substantial light to the test.
In cooperation with artist Friedrich Biedermann. The image shows part of his sculpture Lighthouse.
Photos: Studio Okular
The highly charged collection of items will diffuse over the course of the event
In a laboratory and experimental setting, objects will be collected that are either products of the effects of lightning or electrically charged themselves – ranging from the historical electrostatic generator, fulgurites and tesla coils to contemporary artworks.
The highly charged collection of items will diffuse over the course of the event – the exhibition objects will be spread and scattered across the space of AIL. The different daily constellations will offer a new way of looking at the material. Additional discursive formats will expand the field of research and explore the phenomenon of electrostatic discharge in other practices and areas of expertise.
Contributors:
Anita Bauer & Günther Oberleitner & Nadja Schreier, Dietmar Brehm, Chris Burden, Laura Egger-Karlegger & Sarah Podbelsek, Judith Fegerl, Nikolaus Gansterer, Anna Jordan & Maria Mäser, Uli Kühn & Robert Zimmermann, Peter Kutin, David Moises & Chris Janka, Stephan Pack, Lisl Ponger, Alexander Trnka, among others.
Lead: Christoph Kaltenbrunner & Katrin Nora Kober
In cooperation with Anita Bauer, Konrad Cernohous, Anna Jordan, Sarah Radatz, Philip Röttl, Stefan Ryba, Nadja Schreier, Martina Zodl, among others.
Photos: Martina Lajczak
The exhibition focuses on two projects that explore the relationship between material, structure and space
Conceptual Joining – Wood Structures from Detail to Utopia was shown at AIL in October 2019.
The artistic research project Conceptual Joining investigates wood constructions in a series of structural and spatial experiments. By combining the intelligence of traditional craftsmanship with the potential of computational techniques different design methods and techniques are developed.
The exhibition focuses on two projects that explore the relationship between material, structure and space. Branch Formations is about utilizing naturally grown wood elements as components of a spatial framework. In Interlocking Spaces joining principles, derived from traditional Japanese Architecture, are expanded by digital systematics, forming complex configurations. The working process and results of 2.5 years of research are presented. Full scale installations, models, videos and Augmented Reality allow for an interactive experience of an architectural speculation.
Projektteam:
Leitung: Christoph Kaltenbrunner
Forschungsteam: Lukas Allner, Daniela Kröhnert, Philipp Reinsberg, Mechthild Weber
MentorInnen: Karin Raith, Anja Jonkhans und Clemens Preisinger
Ein Projekt gefördert von österreichischer Wissenschaftsfonds (FWF) / PEEK Programm
Photos: Zara Pfeifer
Daniela Kröhnert and Lukas Allner giving us insights in their research project and experiences
Das Forschungsteam von Conceptual Joining zeigte im Winter 2019 in Form einer Ausstellung im AIL ihre Arbeit und Ergebnisse, im Rahmen dessen haben wir Daniela Kröhnert and Lukas Allner gebeten uns einige Hintergründe und Erfahrungen zum Projekt zu beleuchten:
Wir wollen mit den entstandenen Experimenten Spekulationen über eine materialorientierte Architektur anregen, die auf eine mögliche Funktion und Deutung aus dem sich ergebenden Potential verweisen.
Wie setzt sich euer Team zusammen, wer kommt aus welchem Kontext?
Wir sind alle Architekten, mit verschiedenen Hintergründen und Expertisen, zum Beispiel ist Philipp Reinsberg auch Zimmermann und Daniela Kröhnert Spezialistin für CNC Fabrikation. Unsere Mentoren sind Professor*innen und Unterrichtende an der Angewandten in verschiedenen Bereichen mit weiteren Kompetenzen zum Beispiel als Ingenieur*innen, Industriedesigner und Wissenschaftler*innen.
Unser Team wird angeleitet von Prof. Christoph Kaltenbrunner, momentan Professor am Institut für Kunstpädagogik und leitet die Abteilung Darstellung, Architektur und Environment und vereint den Architekten, Produktdesigner und Maschinenbauer in einer Person.
Das Forschungsteam sind Lukas Allner, Daniela Kröhnert, Philipp Reinsberg und Mechthild Weber, alle studierte Architekt*innen, mit unterschiedlichen Vorausbildungen und Spezialisierungen. Philipp ist gelernter Zimmerer, Daniela Spezialistin in Digitaler Fabrikation, Lukas Stärken liegen vor allem im Entwurf und der konzeptionellen Entwicklung unserer Experimente und sorgt für eine kohärente Umsetzung der Forschungsagenda, Mechthild ist Expertin wenn es darum geht die komplexen Prozesse in der Bauausführung mit der Kunst zu verbinden und steuert unsere Forschungsagenda indem sie für den Wissensaustausch zwischen allen Beteiligten (auch Forschungspartner*innen) sorgt. Zusätzlich werden wir betreut durch die Mentor*innen, Prof. Karin Raith und Anja Jonkhans aus der Abteilung Baukontruktion des Instituts für Architektur und Clemens Preisinger, Bauingenieur und Entwickler der parametrischen Tragwerkssoftware Karmaba3D.
Wie entsteht so ein Forschungs-Projekt?
Es gibt vom österreichischen Wissenschaftsfond (FWF) ein Förderprogramm zu künstlerischer Grundlagenforschung (PEEK). Es werden Projekte von 2,5 Jahren Dauer gefördert. Das Tolle an diesem Programm ist die vollkommen ergebnisoffene Ausschreibung, als Forschende*r ist man also sehr frei in der Untersuchung von Fragestellungen. Wir haben uns als Gruppe von befreundeten ehemaligen Kommiliton*innen, zunächst zu dritt zusammengefunden, als wir die Themenstellung für den Förderungsantrag entwickelten, kamen die weiteren Team-Mitglieder dazu.
Der Ausgangspunkt war eine weitergeleitete Anfrage, ein Projektkonzept zu einem innovativen Klebstoff zu entwickeln. Durch die Auseinandersetzung mit dem Zusammenfügen von verschiedenen Materialien / Teilen (per Verklebung) kamen wir sehr schnell auf das Material Holz. Uns faszinierten einerseits die komplexen Materialeigenschaften und -formen, andererseits die vielfältige Kultur der Fügemethoden in der Handwerks- und Baukunst.
Ihr habt zur Recherche eine Exkursion nach Japan gemacht, was ist euch besonders in Erinnerung geblieben?
Besonders beeindruckend war wie gleichzeitig uralte Tradition und High Tech überall präsent sind. Die Einzigartigkeit der zeitgenössischen japanischen Architektur kommt auch daher, dass traditionelle mit futuristischen Ansätzen sich zu etwas Neuartigem verbinden.
Ein besonderes Erlebnis war wie traditionelle Zeder-Bäume aufwändig gezüchtet werden, um perfekt gerade Stämme zu bilden, diese Wälder wirken wie riesige Säulenhallen. Noch extremer ist die Kunst des “Daisugi”, einer speziellen Baumzucht, in der oben auf einer Art Mutterbaum gerade gewachsene Nebentriebe als Pfetten (eine Form von Dachlatten) für Teehäuser im spezifischen Sukiya-Stil wachsen gelassen werden. Herr Iwai, der allerletzte, der dieses Handwerk noch betreibt, hat uns großzügig in sein schönes uraltes Holzhaus zu einem traditionellen Tee eingeladen und Einblick in das alltägliche japanische Leben in einem Bergdorf nördlich von Kyoto gegeben. Überhaupt ist die Liebe zum Detail und zur Perfektion in allem spürbar.
Welches Potential seht ihr in der Verbindung von Handwerk und neuer Technik?
Wir glauben dass mit den Möglichkeiten von Computern und Technologie mit hoher Irregularität und Komplexität umgegangen werden kann. Es ist nicht mehr unbedingt notwendig in gleichförmigen Standards zu denken, individuelle Realisierungen von Räumen und Objekten als Unikate sind möglich. Durch Technologie wird ein neuer Zugang zu Material und Handwerkskunst möglich.
Daniela hatte mir im Vorfeld von "Robotic Production der Branch Formation" und "Augmented Reality Programmierung" geschrieben – Worum geht es hier genau, wie sieht der Arbeitsprozess aus?
Im Holzbau werden immer öfter computergesteuerte Maschinen und automatisierte Prozesse eingesetzt, diese ermöglichen eine komplexe Bearbeitung mit hoher Präzision. Solche CNC Maschinen, wie etwa eine automatische “Abbundanlage” werden dazu verwendet vorgefertigte Holzbalken herzustellen, die auf der Baustelle ohne grossen Aufwand montiert werden. Hauptsächlich werden so konventionelle ("konservative") Satteldächer hergestellt, wir sehen aber ein großes Potential für komplexe erlebbare Architekturen, die sich so realisieren lassen. Über die Dauer des Projektes haben wir verschiedene Prototypen von irregulären Stabstrukturen umgesetzt, einige davon sind in unserer Ausstellung zu sehen.
Heterogene Werkstücke wie Astgabeln lassen sich schwer mit herkömmlichen Maschinen bearbeiten, es gibt keine geraden Flächen oder gleiche Teile. Für diese Herausforderung ist die räumliche 7-Achs-Bearbeitung mit einem Roboterarm besonders interessant. Diese Maschinen kennt man vielleicht von vollautomatisierten Produktionsstraßen in der Autoindustrie, wo diese Roboter komplexe Arbeitsabläufe präzise ausführen. An den Arm können viele verschiedene Werkzeuge montiert werden.
Die Angewandte besitzt eine solche Maschine, wir haben für dieses Projekt eine spezielle Vorrichtung entwickelt, auf der Äste eingespannt werden. Nach einigen Versuchen hat sich ein Ablauf etabliert indem jedes Teil über drei Referenzpunkt eingemessen wird, wodurch die digitale 3D Geometrie mit dem physischen Objekt synchronisiert wird, anschließend wird mit einer Kettensäge bearbeitet. Vorrausgesetzt alle Dateien sind erstellt, dauert die Bearbeitung für ein Teil inklusive Befestigung und Einmessen 30 bis 40 min, der Roboter wird von einer Person bedient.
Als Alternative haben wir ein Verfahren entwickelt, in dem wir mit Hilfe einer Augmented Reality Anwendung auf einem Smartphone Äste von Hand bearbeiten können. Mit sogenannten AR Apps lassen sich virtuelle Informationen mit der physischen Umgebung überlagern. In unserem Fall haben wir dieses Werkzeug dazu genutzt virtuelle Umrisslinien der Verbindungsdetails auf die physischen Elemente zu projizieren, nachzuzeichnen und schließlich mit einfachen Handwerkzeugen (Handsäge, etc.) auszuschneiden. Dieser Prozess war sehr interessant für uns, weil wir darin das Potential sehen durch Computer Software mit einfachen, leicht verfügbaren Werkzeugen ein hochkomplexes Projekt zu realisieren.
Ähnliche AR Anwendungen haben wir auch verwendet, um die großen Gesamtstrukturen zusammenzusetzen und aufzubauen. Es gab keinerlei physische Pläne oder Zeichnungen, lediglich eine virtuelle Bauanleitung fuer ein 3D Puzzle.
The artistic research project Conceptual Joining investigates wood constructions in a series of structural and spatial experiments. By combining the intelligence of traditional craftsmanship with the potential of computational techniques different design methods and techniques are developed.
The exhibition focuses on two projects that explore the relationship between material, structure and space. Branch Formations is about utilizing naturally grown wood elements as components of a spatial framework. In Interlocking Spaces joining principles, derived from traditional Japanese Architecture, are expanded by digital systematics, forming complex configurations. The working process and results of 2.5 years of research are presented. Full scale installations, models, videos and Augmented Reality allow for an interactive experience of an architectural speculation.
Projektteam:
Leitung: Christoph Kaltenbrunner
Forschungsteam: Lukas Allner, Daniela Kröhnert, Philipp Reinsberg, Mechthild Weber
MentorInnen: Karin Raith, Anja Jonkhans und Clemens Preisinger
Ein Projekt gefördert von österreichischer Wissenschaftsfonds (FWF) / PEEK Programm
All Photos: Conceptual Joining
Questions by Eva Weber