Neoplasmatic Design

Investigating the current groundswell of experiments and creative work that utilises design as a method to explore and manipulate actual biological material, Neoplasmatic Design presents the impact of emerging and progressive biological advances upon architectural and design practice. The rapid development of innovative design approaches in the realms of biology, microbiology, biotechnology, medicine and surgery has immense significance for architecture, being as important for their cultural and aesthetic impact as for their technical implications.

Featured architects include Peter Cook, Tobias Klein, Kol/Mac, Make, R&Sie(n), Neil Spiller and VenhoevenCS.

Longer contributions from medical practitioners, architects and artists: Rachel Armstrong, Marcos Cruz, Anthony Dunne, Nicola Haines, Steve Pike, Yukihiko Sugawara, and Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr/SymbioticA.

Features international research projects undertaken at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, the Royal College of Art in London, the University of Western Australia and the Nagaoka Institute of Design in Japan.

Editorial ( Helen Castle).

Introduction.

Manipulation and control of Micro–Organic Matter in Architecture (Steve Pike).

Contaminant (Steve Pike).

Growing Semi–Living Structures: Concepts and Practices for the Use of tissue Technologies for Non–Medical Purposes. (Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr).

Synthetic Neoplasms (Marcos Cruz).

Density Fields in Viscous Bodies (Tobias Klein).

Designer Surgeons (Marcos Cruz).

Human Cloning Clinic (Nicola Haines).

Cyborgian Interfaces (Marcos Cruz).

Comfo–Veg Club (Peter Cook).

Minimal Surface Geometry and the Green Paradigm (Sulan Kolatan).

Bodies Without Organs – BwO (Francois Roche).

Uto–Purification (Yukihiko Sugawara).

Algaetecture and Nonsterile (Steve Pike).

Living buildings (Bill Watts and Sean Affleck).

Wonderwall (Ton Venhoeven).

Artificial Evolution: A Hands–off Approach of Architects (Rachel Armstrong).

Designer Materials for Architectu4re (Rachel Armstrong).

Design for Debate (Anthony Dunne).

Ethics, Architecture and Little Soft Machinery (Neil Spiller).

World Expo 2008 Zaragoza (Mark Garcia).

Practice Profile
Pelli Clarke Pelli (Jayne Markel).

Building Profile.
Saatchi gallery/Duke of York Headquarters (David Littlefield).

Unit Factor.
Beyond White Walls (Oliver Domeisen).

Spiller′s Bits.
Getting Wt About Urban Design (Neil Spiller).

Userscape.
Horizons of User–centered Design (Valentina Croci).

Yeang′s Eco–Files.
Building Integrated Food Production (Ken Yeang and Michael Guerra).

McLean′s Nuggets (Will McLean).

Site Lines.
Kalmar Museum of Art (timothy Tore Hebb).

Marcos Cruz is a lecturer and tutor of Unit 20 at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, and a visiting lecturer and tutor of DS10 at the University of Westminster. He is also a co–director of marcosandmarjan, a London–based office that combines practice and teaching of architecture with experimental design research. He gained his diploma from the ESAP Porto, and a masters and PhD degree from the Bartlett. His research and office work has been published and exhibited widely, including at the São Paulo Biennial in 2003, the Venice Biennale in 2004 and the iCP 2005. In 2000 he was part of the design team for the Kunsthaus Graz competition with Peter Cook and Colin Fournier (first prize). He is co–editor of the publication Unit 20 (University of Valencia/ACTAR, 2002) and co–author of Interfaces/Intrafaces, a monographic documentation of the work of marcosandmarjan (iCP/SpringerWienNewYork, 2005).

Steve Pike spent a number of years as a designer before he studied at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, receiving a masters degree in 2003. He continues to pursue his research, founding arColony (www.arcolony.com), a forum for experimental architecture. His work has been included in a number of publications and international exhibitions. He is currently practising with Acanthus LW Architects in London.