Responsibilities: Façade Design, Façade and Structural Parametric Modeling, 3D Visualization, 3D Modeling, Physical Modeling.

LOCATION: Kaohsiung, Taiwan
SIZE: 40,000 sq. m.
DATE: 2010

The new Kaohsiung Marine Gateway Terminal designed by Asymptote is a new state of the art transportation interchange, an urban destination with both terminal and public facilities including exhibition and event spaces for the people of Kaohsiung as well as for national and international visitors. The project transforms the site from its industrial roots into a dynamic urban hub and a global gateway that bring a powerful and electric experience to the city 24 hours a day.

The port terminal as envisioned by Asymptote is designed to invigorate and activate Kaohsiung’s city edge at the water. The port terminal extends the urban realm from the center of Kaohsiung to the city’s waterfront and connects this new urban space with the vitality of the future Pop Music Center and other public recreational and commercial activities that are to be located along the planned park at water’s edge.

Key components of Asymptote’s design are two elegant towers, a sculptural terminal hall that is framed and hovers in an elevated position between them, and a plinth below that connects the towers and accommodates a new public urban space. This open plaza is an articulated yet continuous public space that is located at the very intersection of circulation paths that seamlessly draw the urban space of Kaohsiung into the heart of the project through to the water’s edge and back towards the city. These provide access to a number of important public spaces and programs as well as contribute to the dramatic entry sequence to the port facilities. This intertwining of public and private access as well as programming creates an activated public realm, providing a unique experience to ship passengers and city dwellers alike.

The curved form of the terminal hall sits delicately yet majestically above the large open plaza activated by the flow of people moving back and forth between the harbor and the city. From the city, the terminal forms an urban scaled aperture that frames the harbor and water beyond. The sculpted underside of the floating building provides shelter to the urban space from the strong sun and seasonal rains while at night it provides dramatic illumination for the ongoing public activities, events and celebrations. The interior of the terminal building provides a spectacular culmination; a soaring vertical space naturally lit from above leads up to the large clear span of the terminal hall with sweeping panoramas of the City and the Kaohsiung skyline on one side and of the Sea, the sky and the horizon on the other. These are experienced within a dramatic space defined by the sophisticated geometry of the curved shell roof and the lightweight sculptural panels suspended below where the geometric pattern of the assembly creates ever-changing spatial and light effects, celebrating the events of both arrival and departure.

Osteo Augmentation

Blending cutting edge technology and biomimetics, Osteo Augmentation is the next step in custom implants for cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. Through the application of 3D printing and advanced computer-aided design, Osteo Augmentation provides rapid turnaround of patient specific, anatomically accurate nasal and craniofacial structures.

The cellular structure of the device was designed to allow ingrowth of bone as well as to allow tuning of the implant’s stiffness. In addition, this structure provides the surgeon with many locations to anchor tissues with suture during reconstructive surgery.

Osteo Augmentation highlights the power of 3D printing in producing complex contours, empty spaces, and fine detail. Never before has a craniofacial implant been designed with this level of versatility, specificity, and functionality. Whether for cosmetics or reconstruction, our design presents a novel approach to craniofacial implants. Whereas many implants are nothing more than a curved plate, Osteo Augmentation is much more: it is a 3D construct that replaces the patients bone precisely while maintaining internal structures such as nasal passages and sinus cavities.

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Osteo Augmentation was a collaboration between Hines Dibrova Studio and Ben Klein to specifically push the boundaries of 3D printed biomedical implants and procedures.

3D Model of Implant [Download]

Note: May not work in google Chrome. Right click save as and view it on your desktop.

Background

Focused on Shanghai’s at risk urban periphery. Time was spent, locally and remotely, developing a body of research for Feng Xian, Shanghai, and successfully cultivating resources and relationships with academics, municipality leaders, and local officials. Underpinned by this analysis, the final thesis addressed the various built interventions that could be deployed from a highly analytic parametric model, effectively enabling Shanghai’s historically relevant towns to integrate modern, technology-rich, urban infrastructure, while still maintaining contextual relevancy.

Project

This at risk periphery is located in Shanghai, China at the merger of an old and new city and  it reveals many questions which can only be answered through a direct analytical analysis and synthesis of parameters for various parties and functions. These concerns have been assembled in to a manageable framework only possible with cutting edge digital technologies that enable these information flows to be process with speed and efficiency. The Thesis has revealed that socio-economics, urbanization, construction, computer programming, and emerging technologies analysis and implementation will effectively address many of the issues this at risk community faces today.

These parameters all need to be checked based in a quantifiable amount of time in order to ensure the optimal outcome for all parties involved. The parametric system, while rigid and narrow at times, can allow for a flexibility and insight in to the consequences of one’s actions at across varying issues and at many scales.

The Lodose passive and active solutions to reduce cell phone radiation exposure

LODOSE™

Creating awareness and reducing radiation from cellular phones since 2010.

www.Lodose.com

10% of profits are donated for cancer research

Our Mission

Our active and passive radiation reduction solutions are unparalleled. The Lodose product line reduces the risks associated with cell phone radiation by reducing your total radiation exposure time from Android, Blackberry, iPhone, and Symbian operating systems. The Lodose v1.0 application allows for the complete scheduling of radiation emissions. While our passive solution, the Lodose cover PR1.0,  actively shapes and redirects radiation, significantly reducing the associated risks.

The Lodose application is currently an application in development for the Android operating system that greatly reduces the risks associated with cell phone’s radiation exposure while at the same time significantly improving battery life. A full calendar scheduling system allows for a period of time to be determined by the application’s user, activating and deactivating all four cell phone radiation energy sources—antenna, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth. This technique limits exposure to both the known and unknown side effects of extended cell phone use.

One schedule many of our application users run is a schedule of 15 minutes off and 1 minute on, allowing Lodose to reduce radiation exposure by 9,408 minutes in one week or a total reduction of 93.33%! The application features a simple interface that allows users to customize their schedule as well as the ability to select specific radiation emission source to monitor. Lodose can be purchased for $2.99, 10% of which will be donated to cancer research. Currently, Lodose is developing the application for the iPhone 3 and 4 operating systems.

“The most recent science – while not conclusive – raises serious issues about the cancer risk of cell phone use that must be addressed through further research. [But we] can take steps to reduce exposure [now].”

- Olga Naidenko, Ph.D. – EWG senior scientist

“I never realized all the risks associated with cell phone usage!”

- Customer age 22

“Lodose has opened my eyes”

- Customer age 45

Lodose Cell Phone Radiation Emissions Analysis :

Period of Time	Check Rate (min)	Cycle On Time (Min)	Total Time of Radiation Exposure (Min)	Total Time of Radiation Exposure with Lodose (Min)	Exposure Reduction (Min)	Total Percentage of Radiation Reduction with Lodose
Day	15	1	1,440.00	96.00	1,344.00	93.33%
Week	15	1	10,080.00	672.00	9,408.00	93.33%
Year	15	1	120,960.00	8,064.00	112,896.00	93.33%
10 Year	15	1	1,209,600.00	80,640.00	1,128,960.00	93.33%

What Does Lodose Look Like?

Do Cell Phones Cause Cancer?

A pioneering non-profit organization called the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has published an important online consumer guide reporting in excess of 1,000 cell phones, PDAs and smartphones on how much radiation they emit.

“We would like to be able to say that cell phones are safe,” said EWG senior scientist and lead study author Olga Naidenko, Ph.D. “But we can’t. The most recent science – while not conclusive – raises serious issues about the cancer risk of cell phone use that must be addressed through further research. [But we] can take steps to reduce exposure [now].”

With 4 billion people on the planet talking on cell phones or 60 percent of the world’s population (according to the EWG), 270.3 million wireless subscribers in the U.S. or 87 percent of Americans as of Dec. 2010 (according to the CTIA) and recent studies finding “significantly higher risks for brain and salivary gland tumors among people using cell phones for 10 years or longer,” the question of your exposure is critical and prescient.

How Does Lodose work?

A cell phone’s SAR, or its Specific Absorption Rate, is a measure of the amount of radio frequency (RF) energy absorbed by the body when using a handset. All cell phones emit RF energy and have SAR ratings that vary with each cell phone model. In the United States, the highest legal Specific Absorption Rate is 1.6 watts per kilogram (w/kg). Many smart phones emit radiation near the maximum legal level. Motorola’s Droid 2 Global emits radiation at 1.58 w/kg; Motorola’s Droid at 1.49 w/kg; Apple’s iPhone 4 at 1.17 w/kg. Lodose has been developed in response to the high radiation rates of these popular devices.

Lodose turns off all four cell phone radiation energy sources—antenna, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth— limiting your exposure to both the known and unknown side effects of extended cell phone use. Another benefit of lodose is the conservation of battery life due to the reduction in signal broadcasting and reception, significantly lowering power usage. With a default schedule of 15 minutes off and 1 minute on, a user of Lodose reduces their radiation exposure by 9,408 minutes in one week or a total reduction of 93.33%! Also included on www.Lodose.com is a background section with links to additional content and source material that is used for development and awareness.

Who can use Lodose?

Any cell phone user who has concerns about his or her radiation exposure from cell phones can use Radiationblock, especially pregnant mothers, young children, average, high-use and “power” cell phone users.

What are the versions and costs of Lodose?

There is one version of Radiationblock on the market, compatible with the Android operating system. Currently, there are iPhone 3 and 4 versions of the application in development. Radiationblock can be purchased for $2.99, 10% of which will be donated to cancer research. The developer has plans to expand this application and to regularly add new features, which will be announced at http://www.Cancerblock.net.

Where can I find out more about Lodose?

You can find out more about Radiationblock and contact the developer at the following locations:

Email: Contact@Lodose.com

Website: http://www.Lodose.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Lodose

Responsibilities: Façade Design, Façade Parametric Modeling, 2D Detailing, 3D Visualization, 3D Modeling, Physical Modeling.

LOACTION: Zurich, Switzerland

SIZE: 115,000 sq. m

DATE: 2009 – Ongoing

Zurich AirSpace by Asymptote integrates elegance in design with a sense of timelessness, engineered precision, housing a a wide range of programmatic functions. The basic premise of AirSpace is the interplay of a wide range of functions centered on luxury commerce, state-of-the-art medical facilities, cultural venues and higher education facilities, all in close proximity to the active hub of the Zurich Airport. Asymptote’s architectural solution proposes a three story plinth abov

e the Zurich Circle roadway that adjoins the existing Airport. Above this plinth are four distinct towers, between which are ‘external galleries’ that connect AirSpace’s interior with the

surrounding landscape. The taught and elegant articulation of the towers is inspired by the powerful horizon surrounding the city of Zurich, with its snow-capped mountains and open sky. The changing quality of the horizon’s light and the panorama of its white jagged peaks play against the curvature of the glass facades and dichroic louvers.

AirSpace is designed to accommodate a highly dynamic set of programs housed within a bold and coherent architectural statement that responds to both the uniqueness of its program as well as its important location at Zurich Airport. The towers’ massing and articulation provide a scale that is tailored to the diverse identities of flight, transience, technological elegance and engineered functionalism, all key aspects of a brand such as Zurich Airport. The conceptual underpinning of AirSpace is the creation of an ‘activated’ urban experience located on the third level of the project, articulated as a public realm situated between the plinth and the towers. Acting as a spatial break between these two elements, this is an important public event space that connects the horizontal levels of the programmed space with the ambitious and open verticality of the atriums above. Asymptote’s design for AirSpace is a contemporary architectural solution that anticipates the evolution of the roles that airports play, serving not only as transportation hubs but as important urban environments utilizing the energy and action of flight, internationalism and glamour – in effect, addendums to significant and energetic spaces of the city.

Year 2008
Location Venice, Italy
Typology Urban Concept
Status Proposal

Along with shopping malls, petrol stations and branches of McDonalds, the old Chinatown renders all cities boring and alike. It is nothing more than restaurant streets and fake traditional buildings, representing a kitsch image of contemporary China with no real life inside. It is a historical theme park that poisons the urban space. There must be a shock therapy to remedy this situation.

Superstar: A Mobile China Town is MAD’s response to the redundant and increasingly out-of-date nature of the contemporary Chinatown. Rather than a sloppy patchwork of poor construction and nostalgia, the Superstar is a fully integrated, coherent, and above all modern upgrade of the 20th century Chinatown model. It’s a place to enjoy Chinese food, quality goods and cultural events; a place to create and produce, where citizens can use workshops to study, design and realize their ideas.

Equally important to what this neo-community contains is how it operates. Superstar: A Mobile China Town is a benevolent virus that releases unknown energy in between unprincipled changes and principled steadiness. It can land at every corner of the world, exchanging the new Chinese energy with the environment where it stays. It’s self-sustaining: it grows its own food, requires no resources from the host city, and recycles all of its waste. It’s a living place, with authentic Chinese nature and health resorts, sports facilities and drinkable reservoirs, even a digital cemetery to remember the deceased. It’s a travelling Olympic party that can journey to the host city every four years. The Superstar is a dream that’s home to 15,000 people. No hierarchy, no hyponymy, only a fusion of technology and nature, future and humanity.

The Superstar’s first destination will be the periphery of Rome. The Superstar will provide an unexpected, ever-changing future embedded in the Eternal past.

Welcome to the Superstar, the Chinatown of today.

Design Team: Zach Hines, Chen Shuyu,Fu Changrui, Zheng Tao,Fernie Lai,Tom James, David William Nightingale, Matthias Werner Helmreich,Bryan Alan Oknyansky

地点: 威尼斯，意大利
类型: 城市概念

MAD的“超级明星_未来中国城”在第十一届威尼斯建筑双年展的主题馆“非永恒城市”展出。该单元邀请了来自全世界包括MAD，BIG，WEST8在内的 十二位青年建筑师，针对日益丧失活力和特征的罗马郊区，为它的未来提供新的城市肌体组织。本届策展人为Aaron Betsky，主题是¡°ARCHITECTURE BEYOND BUILDINGS¡±（超越房屋的建筑），展览时间为2008年9月14日至11月23日。“超级明星_未来中国城”是MAD构想的一个新型中国城。

散布在全世界各个角落的中国城，和那里的商场，加油站，麦当劳一样，如同毒素，使得每个城市变得千篇一律，无聊透顶。而中国城里没完没了的餐厅，一 成不变的仿古建筑，附会着西方世界对中国的僵化想象。这里没有真实的生活，如同这个国家遗留在异乡的一座座陈旧的主题公园，毒害着城市空间和人们的理解 力。我们要想复活就必须以毒攻毒!

“超级明星_未来中国城”是MAD对这种过时并过剩的中国城所做出的回应。“超级明星”是一个整体、和谐、不断更新的未来中国城模型。它是一颗存在 着丰富真实生活的行星，人们可以在这里享受中国食品，享受有品质的生活，进行各种文化，教育，体育活动。这是一颗创造和生产的行星，人们可以在这里的工作 室学习，想象并实现他们的想法。

同时这是一个由它所包含内容驱动整个系统运转的新型社会。“超级明星_未来中国城”在不妥协地改变与固守原则的保守中爆发出未知的能量。它可以停留 在世界任何一个角落，与它所处的环境交换全新的激情和能量。它是一颗自给自足的行星：这里的农业中心提供所有的天然食物，不需要从地面环境中提取能源，并 且可以回收利用所有的废物。它是一个空中居所，有真正的湖泊，雪山和梯田等等自然景观，有养身中心，全行星的体育活动场所，以及饮用水源。这里的奥林匹克 中心可以每四年降落在主办城市，不需要再重复建设昂贵的体育设施。这里还有一个电子墓场来纪念在这颗行星中逝去的世界公民。“超级明星_未来中国城”是一 个梦想家园，这里没有等级制度，没有上下关系，而是一个技术与自然，未来与人文的混合物。

“超级明星_未来中国城”的第一站是罗马的郊区。它将带给这个永恒的过去一个无法预知，永远变化的未来。之后它将降落在纽约，迪拜，洛杉矶或某个不知名的岛屿，丛林，和草原。

欢迎来到“超级行星”，今天的中国城。

设计团队: Zach Hines, 陈淑瑜，傅昌瑞，郑涛，黎紫翎，Tom James, David William Nightingale, Matthias Werner Helmreich, Bryan Alan Oknyansky

Year 2008
Location Beijing, China
Typology Art Gallery, Hotel
Site Area 6,300 sqm
Building Area 46,000sqm
Status Design in-progress

Old Beijing is composed of Hutongs, closely woven districts of communal courtyard homes. The basic elements of these districts are one-storey buildings, that, repeated at dense scales, result in unique geometric patterns. However, this traditional urban fabric is increasingly under threat as entire neighborhoods are forced to make way for the larger, monumental modern architecture of Beijing today.

The site of this project presents this issue in microcosm. Located near the heart of old Beijing, close to historic monuments such as the Forbidden City and opposite the National Art Museum, the site presents a dual condition: while small scale Hutongs still border Western edge, the Eastern edge is bounded by a modern axis of major roads, shopping malls and hotels.

To solve this dilemma, MAD proposes a building composed of many small Hutong-scale pieces, but at the same time recognized as a larger overall volume. This is achieved by stacking and shifting different courtyard layers on top of one another, creating an ethereal, semi-solid piece of urban fabric, a vague geometric shape that maintains the spatial relationships and hollow core of the courtyards.

This proposal extends the city fabric from small to large, a gradual yet significant transition between two scales, and is a means towards reconciling the old and new Beijing. The building is an urban instrument, representing Beijing’s new aspirations to be a forward looking city that also respects its past.

Responsibilities:  Design, 3D Modeling, Fabrication Modeling, Construction Coordination, Construction.

American House 08, is the first in a series of ten prefabricated houses designed and constructed by William E. Massie — the award-winning Architect-in-Residence and Head of the Architecture Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art.

American House 08 embodies Massie’s drastically divergent practice from traditional architecture through his use of computer-based fabrication technology for efficient, precise, and customized fabrication. Constructed entirely within the architect’s 12,000 square-foot studio just minutes away from the historic Saarinen-designed Cranbrook campus, American House 08 was designed, in part, at full scale. By composing in real-time, Massie is able to negotiate between material and concept, relying on human reaction to the actual space and details. Utilizing computer-based fabrication technology for production, the house consists of a prefabricated steel frame, in-filled with manufactured structural panels all filtered through a process of digital fabrication.

The design of American House 08 is defined by two glass elevations, uniting the interior experience with the exterior landscape. The regularity of the box-like form is disrupted by a pair of volumetric anomalies and elliptical light tubes, stretching down to the floor, implying a shift in program.

Additionally, these complex surfaces capture light from multiple video projectors, creating a flexible ambient condition for the occupants, while dematerializing the object within the landscape. Without a specific client, Massie’s architecture becomes propositional, predicating its functionality solely on the human body and experience. Proposing material motivations for behavior, this series of houses by Massie dares to be truly provocative.

Organizer: Google + i-Materialise

Location: Bridge for Emerging Contemproary Art – NM, USA

Status: Competition Win + Completed 2010

Responsibilities: Digital Design and Visualization

Fabrication: Materialise

VOVA_Lamp_Description:

The initial driving mission of the VOVA Lamp was to push the boundaries of the selective laser sintering 3D printing technology. This allowed the VOVA lamp’s concept to be feasibly driven and developed using a minimal surface tiling algorithm optimizing the object’s form and the lamp’s function. Once a base module was formulated, the geometry was tiled radially 10 times and resulted in a continuous flow of material.

The design, shadow, and illumination led to an honorable mention and exhibition at the Bridge for Emerging Contemporary Art. Also, Google and the leading 3D printing fabrication company, Materialise, awarded and the Vova Lamp and sponsored the  first prototype of the design.

VOVA_Lamp_Material:

The material used to fabricate the lamp is a plastic polyamide: white, strong, flexible and ideal for lamps because of its high mechanical and thermal resistance. The selective laser sintering process can make very complex designs, both large and small. The VOVA lamp’s printable details push the limits of machine and material with the material thickness starting at 1mm thin.

VOVA_Lamp_Fabrication_Process:

The technique used to fabricate the VOVA lamp is through Laser Sintering a plastic polyamide. With laser Sintering designs are printed layer by layer by a laser that draws thin lines in a polyamide powder. The laser beam precisely places enough energy to melt the powder, bonding together to form a thin layer of the model. After a layer is placed down, a new layer of fresh powder is spread over the surface by a roller until the process yields the perfectly accurate VOVA lamp.