Abstract:

This paper reflects some aspects of research and innovation as part of the methods in the master in Sustainable Architecture and Urbanism at the Polytechnic of Alicante (Spain), used by the signing authors of this paper , which occasionally are focused in processes to foster simulations with parametric tools.
Some of the lessons in the Master expand the frontiers of knowledge traditionally given to one discipline and are able to interchange information between different contexts (eg economic, mechanical, biological and climatic).
During this Fall course (2011), all the practices have been related to three main contexts, called “Soft, Hard and Ethos” by Profesor Joaquin Alvado, who underlines the applicability of each proposal to the environment and fosters the design processes from subjectivity to ecology in different levels of compromise and complexity.
The lessons emphasize the transfer of energies, the adaptability of shape to changing loads (like the writer Julian Vincent explains in “Smart by nature” included in Beuker’s book “Lightness” from Delft University) in any sustainable process.
At the same time, practices tries to stimulate concepts like structural creativity or topology optimization by the analysis of some of the dymaxion patents (Fuller), the analysis of energy and mechanical equilibrium in the form of a crossbow (Leonardo), an hylozoic design (Beesley) or a dragonfly wing form (Michell lattice), among others.

Keywords:

Mechanical analysis, creative learning, phenomenology, sistemic structures.