Flotsam.Clouds

Flotsam has developed a machinic design methodology to utilize and interpret pointclouds spatially. The technique is driven by continuously modified scripting and offers an iterative and adaptive design process.

Machinic Studio/Design Research Laboratory/AA

The focus of Flotsam’s work is the development of a machinic process which parametrically integrates dynamic material systems and algorithmic organisational logic through a series of iterative procedures, aiming to maximise the intricacy and coherence of formal and spatial outputs. Along with the research into algorithmic formations and analogue computations, the concept of gradient organisations is developed as a potential technique for integrating spatial effects and building systems.

The design brief is to develop a proposal for the International Broadcasting Centre and Media Press Centre for the 2012 Olympics and its post-Olympic redevelopment, which will require the transformation of 100,000 square metres of media/office spaces into new kinds of creative, learning facilities and environments.

Strange Attractors

In dynamic systems, an attractor is a set to which the system evolves after a long enough time. A strange attractor is a collection of points such that each point is the function of the previous one, so each system’s state depends on the previous one. Strange attractors are objects generated by discontinuous mapping.

Flotsam Tools and Techniques

Flotsam’s tool and techniques focus to generate and organise various spaces in a network based distribution by using the underlying point clouds of Strange Attractors. Flotsam developed two fundamental codes based on this interactive, parametric and evolutionary character of strange attractors.

Flotsam Enclosure Tool

The first code focuses on distributing massing and/or circulation throughout the site. While Flotsam studied on the first code, it has been realised that there is more potential on using 3D points plotted by specific formulas if we start to explore more than the single trajectory provided by the original attractor. Therefore Flotsam designed what later has been called “Enclosure Tool”.
With this code each point of the Strange Attractor is connected to the hub points given within the code and continuous faces among the connections are created and later the characteristics of the faces are changed to create voids or filled surfaces. Flotsam have developed a library during explorations of different types of Strange Attractors and mainly focused on Polynomial A or C types of attractors because of the high level of information they provide.

Urban Scale Studies

Flotsam Enclosure Tool is used to create a spatial urban network which will also connect the building proposal to site.

Porosity Studies

Through varying parameters, Flotsam Enclosure Tool is able to control different levels of porosity and density in the structure.

Flotsam Component Tool

Flotsam's second code focuses on creating connected spaces inbetween spatial layers created by Flotsam Enclosure Tool. With the application of our component tool Flotsam created a catalogue of different results using different types of point clouds as well as components.
Parameters such as the even or uneven distribution of the points plotted by the attractor’s formula in combination with the type and the size of the components regulate the end results and provide us with a variety of possible outcomes.
By controlling the amount or percentage of openings of the components’ faces, Flotsam can further increase the variety of outcomes and start giving spacial characteristics to the overall result.

International Broadcasting Centre and Media Press Centre for the 2012 Olympics, London

A parametric spatial network, which merges Flotsam's building proposal with its site providing an added urban spatial quality and a larger scale of connectivity.