London Festival of Architecture 2010

Greetings! 

The NJIT Industrial Design class of 2012 is on a quest to revolutionize the world but we need YOUR help! Throughout the Spring ’10 semesters the students have designed parametric smart modules and now we have an amazing opportunity to display them in the NOUS Gallery during the London Festival of Architecture running June 19 - July 4th.


Our mission is to raise $20,000 so that ten of our students are able to buy materials, produce their modules, and afford to ship them to the Nous Gallery in London. Modules will be made out of poster board, foam, resin, or plaster. Here are some of the projects we worked on.


Evo Phizz by Philip Caleja
Evo Phizz was based on a modular origami called the phizz unit. Rules extracted from that were then manipulated to explore the capabilities of it and unleash its potential. It ended up being simplified into an easily mass produced module and also materials used were optimized without compensating what it can do. Also, the strengthened connections between the modules allow it to aggregate into bigger systems of unlimited possibilities.   

Hexis by Sara Jane Rin

Hexis was inspired by Richard Sweeney's paper sculptures.“Combining repetitive geometry, curved lines, and modularity, it was found that paper could be folded into a vast number of shapes and structures by slightly varying the folding template. By embracing a spirt of experimentation, elements of art, craft and design become merged.” - Richard Sweeney. Based off of hexagons, the laser cut paper net, folds into a 3 dimensional modular sculpture. With connections at each corner, Hexis is able to aggregate into infinite possibilities, from a screen wall to a hanging lighting fixture.

Z-Rose by Samantha Goldman
Z-Rose is a smart module that evolved from penrose tiling and interlocking chains. It has interlocking connections allowing it to form asymmetrical petterns. It is essentially a 3d interlocking penrose. 

Hooks by Samantha Tartaro
Hooks use their own weight and their strategically placed appendages to grow off of each other in every direction. They hang from each other to create many unforeseen systems that resemble plant life.

Jax by Monica Franco
Traits developed through the design process allow the Jax, smart module, to perform in infinite configurations through a hierarchy of interlocking connections. The modules begin to be link together by a sisterhood connection where one is always there to help the other one through the process of aggregation until they reach the shape or form the user would want to arrange them.

sTACKS by Avrami Rakovsky

sTACKS is an exploration of shared edges using one of the most basic of the five Platonic solids; the tetrahedron. By sharing the faces of the tetrahedron, duplicates can aggregate into an icosahedron. The icosahedron is a twenty-faceted shape made up of tetrahedrons that form a sphere using the most minimal amount of tetrahedrons. R. Buckminster Fuller is a well known designer that is famous for his research on this subject. After studying and exploring his research, sTACKS was born. sTACKS can aggregate in a continually expanding spherical form or it can be manipulated to branch out in random ways.

NOUS Gallery
Nous is an architectural pop-up gallery, and venue in London outside of the academic setting for up and coming architects and designers to showcase their work and discuss current topics. Nous sprung up around London with exhibitions, social events and panel debates. Nous has covered topics from digital design and fabrication to provocative architecture looking at social and physical borders.
Nousgallery.com

Nous Gallery

Nous Gallery
Spontaneous Schooling : International architectural workshops to date
Workshop Exhibition and Catalog during the London Festival of Architecture
June 18-July 18

Brief
Spontaneous Schooling is an exhibition and publication for the London Festival of Architecture on workshops and their role in the discipline. The event pairs with the launch of the NOUS 4M workshop space that includes a 5 axis milling machine and other fabrication machinery to be used by individuals, businesses, academies, and tutors running workshops.

Audience
As the exhibition will be held during the London Festival of Architecture, the amount of visitors and the traffic to the exhibition site could be in the thousands and include both professionals and interested public. There would be vast exposure of the exhibition site itself and high press coverage.

Exhibition
The exhibition will consist of large hanging spheres throughout the space of different sizes and heights. Each sphere will hold images and information of the participants work. Interspersed among the spheres will be 1:1 components or models of the outcomes of the workshops included. The exhibition itself will be visually stunning and compliment the images and information provided by the participants.

Catalog
The catalog will include the information from the exhibition to be used as a resource for those interested in producing their own workshop, or perhaps to find a better understanding the role of the workshop in the architectural discipline. The catalog will also include short essays from experienced workshop tutors and those who champion their value in architectural teaching.

Panel Discussion and Opening Event
A panel discussion will be held at the opening event of the exhibition where sponsors will also be heralded. This will include those individuals participating in the exhibition as well as those who are able to discuss the importance and furthering of the role of workshops in the discipline.


Information on Nous

Melissa Woolford
Founder and Director, NOUS
melissa@nouscollaborative.com
+44 7758961029
www.nouscollaborative.com
www.nousgallery.com

Nous is a London based collaborative that comprises a gallery, consultancy, fabrication space and studio. Our initiative is to promote, facilitate, and realize work and research by architects and designers.

Nous Founder and Director
Melissa Woolford is the Founder and Director of nous. She worked as an architectural designer for Zaha Hadid Architects for over three years. She received her Masters in Architecture with Honors from Pratt Institute in 2006 and architectural studies undergraduate from UMass Amherst in 2004. As well as participating on international panel discussions she has adjudicated at many prestigious London design schools and abroad.

NOUS Gallery
Nous is an architectural pop-up gallery, and venue in London outside of the academic setting for up and coming architects and designers to showcase their work and discuss current topics. Nous sprung up around London with exhibitions, social events and panel debates. Nous has covered topics from digital design and fabrication to provocative architecture looking at social and physical borders. We have produced eleven exhibitions in total in London, Florence and Kentucky.

As well as producing exhibitions and selling work through Nous Gallery, Nous also produces international competitions, conferences, and commissioned work. For 2010 and beyond Nous is producing a series of conferences that brings together architects, designers, economists, politicians, and local experts to discuss architecture in countries experiencing consequential change. The first one is called, ‘In Context: Alternative Initiatives in Brazil and Cuba’ and will take place in London this Autumn.

NOUS Collaborative
Nous is an international organization that becomes the center for exposure and promotion of up and coming talent. This is being achieved by advising clients and development companies on collaborations and commissions with new designers and architects. Advisory projects are currently underway.

NOUS 4M
Through a recent partnership with 4M of London, Nous will be able to offer access to a fabrication workshop with tools such as a 5 axis milling machine, open studio space for rent in a collaborative environment, and tutorials and workshops teaching fabrication methods, softwares, and support with running a small business. The aim of NOUS 4M is to create a resource for emerging practices who can benefit from the collaborative environment and share expenses, knowledge, and ideas.