P-Articulate

Studio Patrik Schumacher

Tutors Jose Pareja Gomez, Aswin Shah

Team Akanksha Bajaj, Berfin Ekinci, Jiawei Qi

The emergence of the virtual universe as a new social scenario provided new opportunities to reshape education, enabling for a more interactive and experiential learning. By leveraging recent developments in technology, this thesis suggests how we can truly explore the potential of virtual and augmented realities, ultimately breaking down geographical barriers and facilitating universal access to education. The ability to design in the metaverse, allowed us to explore possibilities which are not feasible in the physical world. We envision generative spaces which can be triggered by specific use- case scenarios, resulting in spatial organisational patterns dependant on user behaviour. Virtual spaces enable participants to directly engage with data and tap into the potential of scalability as a factor, offering access to even the minutest of details.  Our design comprises of two elements: The first being a parametrically generated skeleton or the permanent aspect used as a navigation medium to traverse throughout the space. The second part consists of internal spaces which are dynamic in nature, adapt according to the user needs, enhancing collaboration amongst them. In order to amplify their dynamic nature, the particles enable transitioning materials forming and reconfiguring the spaces. Such particle simulations morph to generate three dimensional spaces based on the semio-logical language, and predefined rule sets by varying factors including flow direction, size and opacity.  Drawing inspiration from the Bauhaus, our proposal includes the introduction of a preliminary course for a year. In this first year all students would learn design in a wholistic manner to better understand where their interest lies and to help them choose the discipline to specialize in, in their second year of the university. Additionally, students from different initial courses would be encouraged to work together in the same spaces to facilitate cross-collaboration and sharing knowledge between the disciplines.