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| Semiramis, Tech Cluster Zug, 2019-2022 |
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Semiramis is an architectural installation designed with artificial intelligence that has been constructed in 2022 at the entrance of a new Tech Cluster Zug, Switzerland. As a herald for the increasingly interwoven collaboration between machines and humans, it aims to go beyond usual urban programs and it will rise as a vertical urban habitat reserved for plants and small local animals. By dwelling between the artificial and the natural, Semiramis has been established through a manifold of synergies and research projects in the fields of interactive computational design, machine learning, and digital fabrication. On a formal level, the structure is 22.5 meters in height without vegetation and is composed of five amorphous wooden pods sustained by 8 thin steel pillars.
Design and fabrication Thanks to a bespoke machine learning design method created by our chair in collaboration with the Swiss Data Science Center, the team could interactively extrapolate the most effective design variations for the generation of the overall spatial composition of Semiramis. The performance criteria were based on parameters such as sunshade, rain occlusion, and plantable surface. Parallelly, thanks to the cooperation with the Computational Robotics Lab, we developed a custom tool that has allowed us to optimize the single pods’ shape by interactively controlling their complex geometry while considering relevant material and fabrication parameters. For example, it maintains the individual panels flat and respects the possible range of their individual sizes while improving structural load capacity. |
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Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich In cooperation with: Müller Illien Landschaftsarchitekten, Timbatec Timber Construction Engineers Switzerland Client: Urban Assets Zug AG Collaborators: Sarah Schneider (project lead), Matteo Pacher (fabrication lead), Aleksandra Apolinarska, Pascal Bach, Gonzalo Casas, Philippe Fleischmann, Matthias Helmreich, Michael Lyrenmann, Beverly Lytle, Romana Rust Selected experts: Stelian Coros, Krispin Wandel, Bernhard Thomaszewsky, Roi Poranne (Computational Robotics Lab, ETH Zurich), Luis Salamanca, Fernando Perez-Cruz (Swiss Data Science Center), Chair for Timber Structures, ETH Zurich. Selected contractors: Erne AG Holzbau Industry partner: TS3 AG; Intrinsic |
| Copyright 2022, Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich, Switzerland | [Press Download] | |
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Gramazio Kohler Research
Chair of Architecture and Digital Fabrication ETH Zürich HIB E 43 Stefano-Franscini Platz 1 / CH-8093 Zurich +41 44 633 49 06 | Follow us on: Vimeo | Instagram | |