Dr Cecile Balmond Of Research, Processes And Data

Dr Cecil Balmond OBE, is an internationally renowned artist, architect and engineer, known to transcend the conventional boundaries of the discipline, working in the crossover between art and science. Before setting up Balmond Studio in 2011, Balmond was Deputy Chairman of Arup. He was also Chairman of Arup’s European Building Division, and ran the critically acclaimed design group, AGU (Advanced Geometry Unit). Balmond currently holds the Paul Philippe Cret Chair at University of Pennsylvania. He has also been Visiting Saarinen Professor at Yale University School of Architecture, Professor at LSE Urban Cities Programme, and Visiting Kenzo Tange critic, Harvard Graduate School of Architecture.

Architectural Design can be divided into three conceptual models; the Classical architectural theory, the Deconstructive theory and the Emergent theory. The traditional architectural model evolves from the Greek theory where a boundary is set around the work with a centre following a grid, which has been followed for over 2000 years with an emphasis on balance, symmetry and harmony we have an inherited legacy. In the deconstruction theory, the model is of a distorted form that displaces the centre, metaphorically, and leads to irregular spacing of structure and form to break the legacy of the box. Emergent theory or methods, where the centre metaphorically is no more within the restrain and organises itself as you go along. This theory opens ways for algorithmic design where information is fed to create new modules. The traditional design spaces the gaps while the emergent model compiles the interval.

The structural system for each of these methods is unique. The classical theory requires a simple post and beam structure, the deconstructed theory requires a distorted understanding of architecture while the Emergent theory which is more indeterminate requires a complicated study of the structure in synchronisation with the algorithms.