Bronze A' Design Award in Generative, Algorithmic, Parametric and AI-Assisted Design Goes to Diffusive Habitats Mechatronic Architecture System by Sergio Mutis

The international grand jury of the 2022 - 2023 A' Design Award & Competition recognizes Sergio Mutis for generative, algorithmic, parametric and ai-assisted design

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 20, 2023 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Diffusive Habitats Mechatronic Architecture System by Sergio Mutis has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Generative, Algorithmic, Parametric and AI-Assisted Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2022 - 2023 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

The Bronze A' Design Award Explained

The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.

About Diffusive Habitats Mechatronic Architecture System

Diffusive Habitats is an architectural system that combines distributed robotics, reinforcement learning and an online platform so that spaces can be reconfigured over time. Robotic units move modular parts to change the layout of a habitat. The modular parts are made of CNC-milled laminated plywood with embedded 3D-printed connection interfaces. The robotic prototypes are 3D printed in recycled plastic. The platform organizes space according to inhabitant requirements, structural integrity and environmental performance. The aim is to reduce demolition and make dwellings more flexible.

Award Record

Sergio Mutis is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.

About the A' Generative, Algorithmic, Parametric and AI-Assisted Design Award

The A' Generative Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good generative designs from leading creators and designers worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to generative designers, algorithmic design professionals, ai-assisted design experts and parametric designers from all countries. Typical entries include algorithmic artworks, parametric architectures, generative graphics, ai-assisted illustrations, computational sculptures and procedural patterns. The awarded generative designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/generative

About A' Design Award & Competition

Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com

Press Resources

Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/145846
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/145846
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!145846
Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/301972
Further Information from the Laureate: https://bpro2022.bartlettarchucl.com/rc3-living-architecture

Media Contact

Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953

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Fact Sheet

The Work

Project: Diffusive Habitats Mechatronic Architecture System
Function: Mechatronic Architecture System
Category: Generative, Algorithmic, Parametric and AI-Assisted Design
Discipline: Design Strategy
Industry: Innovation and Design Industry
Colors: Sienna, Dim Gray, Peru, Dark Slate Gray and Dark Olive Green
Images: 5

The Recognition

Laureate: Sergio Mutis
Country: Great Britain
Recognition: Bronze A' Design Award
Edition: 2022 - 2023
Design ID: #145846

Credits

Team: Eric Hughes, Faizunsha Ibrahim Ghousiaa and Garyfallia Papoutsi.
Image Credits: Creator Eric Hughes, DH Little Girl Rendering, 2022; Creator Sergio Mutis, DH Reinforcement Training Arena, 2022; Creator Eric Hughes, DH Skylight Rendering, 2022; Creator Sergio Mutis, DH Robotic Reconfiguration Studies, 2022; Creator Eric Hughes, DH Speculative Urbanism, 2022

Design Details

Unique Properties: Diffusive Habitats (DH) is a resilient architectural system that builds upon the juncture of distributed robotics, reinforcement learning, and digital platforms to reimagine the way architecture is conceived and inhabited. Challenging traditional praxis, the project embraces constant spatial reconfiguration and distributed ownership. And, via the interplay of applied transdisciplinary research, DH critically explores a spatial system capable of self-assessment, organization, and improvement.
Inspiration: Unlike other crafts, arts, and industries, architecture has not seen significant developments during the upheaval of the digital revolution. Traditional praxis continues to produce buildings incapable of substantial programmatic flexibility, that become obsolete within the ever-accelerating change of the times, and quickly end up in queue for demolition. Diffusive Habitats challenges this unsustainable practice, instrumentalizing its technological juncture in the lookout for renewed solutions.
Research: Diffusive Habitats employs systematic heuristic research, with reinforcement learning and self-play frameworks for intelligence development. The main research objective was to explore an architectural system capable of self-organization, assessment, and improvement, that would embrace technological advancements to reimagine how we conceive and inhabit spaces. To do so, the project adopted a method of small attainable mechatronic, computational, material, and intelligence milestones that were quickly designed, tested, and analyzed to inform an upcoming iteration.
Challenge: Besides technological and transdisciplinary challenges, the shift in authorship paradigm was perhaps the greatest obstacle in the development of the project. Rather than the desires of individual designers, this research required a heuristic process of trial and error, where the design was the result of cascading iterations of parameter optimization. Once the team embraced that fundamental idea, the once slow and erratic project advanced swiftly beyond its initial research objectives.
Realization and Technology: The DH system consists of multiple correlated elements that were heuristically prototyped, tested, and redesigned. Its space generation platform was scripted in C-sharp for Unity3D with the ML Agents U3D reinforcement learning framework. Laminated plywood prototypes were CNC-milled and assembled with friction joints. 3D-printed PLA robotic prototypes were developed with a Unity3D digital twin environment, wireless Raspberry Pi communication, Dynamixel AX-12A motors, and Optitrack motion capture.
Operation and Interaction: Diffusive Habitats operates via an online platform facilitating plot search, habitat crowdfunding, collaborative design, and spatial reconfiguration. Behind its intuitive interface, the platform employs sophisticated algorithms to organize space based on inhabitant requirements, structural integrity, and environmental optimization. With it, a community is able to design their ideal habitat, see it constructed by robots, and adjust it to account for changing individual and collective needs.
Project Duration and Location: The project was developed as part of the Architectural Design M.Arch. at UCL in London, UK. It started in 2021 and culminated in late 2022 at Bartlett B-Pro Show Expo, where it received the Bartlett AD Gold Medal. The case-study is located in Brixton, London, and the design team comes from India, Colombia, the US, and Greece.
Specifications: Robot Prototypes 3.0. Dimensions: Width 100mm x Depth 100mm x Height 280mm. Composition: 3D-Printed recycled plastic (PLA). Weight: 420g. Parts: 5 links of 3D-printed PLA, 8 neodymium magnets 20dx3, 4 Dynamixel AX-12A motors, 1 LiPo 3cell Battery, 1 U2D2 Power Hub, 1 Raspberry Pi Zero. // Material Prototypes 3.0. Standard Dimensions: Width 140mm x Depth 420mm x Height 140mm. Standard Weight: 477g. Composition: CNC-milled laminated plywood with embedded 3D-printed PLA connection interfaces.
Keywords: Living Architecture, Distributed Mechatronics, Reinforcement Learning, Multi-Agent Systems, Generative Architecture