paukparl-LookingOutwards02

Digital Grotesque II - Michael Hansmeyer

"What is needed is a new type of design instrument. We need tools for search and exploration, rather than simply control and execution. We require tools that go beyond the fulfillment or optimization of simple functional requirements, and that allow us to investigate and advance more ambiguous factors of the design: soft criteria."
http://www.michael-hansmeyer.com/digital-grotesque-II

The above excerpt from the project description effectively summarizes the core value of the artwork. Digital Grotesque II is 3.5 meter high 3D printed structure that explores both form and design/manufacture process. I am not familiar with grasshopper or any other parametric modeling tools, so I'm not sure as to how this form came about, or how much of it would be generative. But even if the form weren't completely generated by computer, I believe the result is a proof of the architect's statement that the computer "expands the imagination of the designer." Computer much exceeds the human capacity for speed and complexity in thought.

I also love how the work falls right within the range of "effective complexity"--with both identifiable architectural details and incomprehensible chaotic distortions.