MIES - Subtle Sobl

A Boat Factory off the Coast of the Adriatic

This is the work of Stephan Sobl, a very young architect who, in the summer of 2008, spent time designing for Greg Lynn's studio at SCIARCH. This particular design was Sobl's submission for a boat factory along the Adriatic Sea in Croatia. His goal "was to create an intricate system of long span industrial structure combined with the sophisticated design attitude of boatbuilders."

Early Conceptual Development by Rhino

The Computer-Generated Fiber/Grain Used for the "Muscle Tissue"

For design reference, Sobl used the muscle tissue - a common reference point among many designers who use algorithmic architecture (which emphasizes continuous strength and redundancy) - and considered three different stages of materiality:

• - alteration of fibers and solid elements
• - attributes provide solutions for transitions, crossings and connections
• - subdividing the overall appearance

Sobl's designs show a penchant for the overbearing - he has other designs which include an airport with far too many columns (appropriately labeled as such, too) and an inverted skyscraper within sight of the Hoover Dam.  Both of these designs, while interesting, don't capture the nuances of more established conceptual architects such as Hadid or Lynn.  Fortunately for him, this one gets damn close.

My impression from his work is that he's going to be a great designer.  The curves he employs as of the moment seems a little contrived.  However, for a warehouse or factory (where there is much space required for the construction of boats) this kind of design seems more practical.  Architecture deserves to have a sense of realism about it - you just can't dream everything up, unfortunately - but with designers like Lynn and Sobl, architecture can definitely afford to dream a little more as well.

Sections of the Boat Factory 

Site Plan of the Boat Factory 

MIES - The Integration of Greg Lynn

I fear I'll always be late to the party. Trends, movements, eras, styles - all could easily pass me by. But Greg Lynn? He probably defines them. And although I understand approximately 2% of what he does, my ignorance does not absolve me from being a responsible designer. Lynn's important. How do I know this? Well, it's easy to see:

In his book Folding in Architecture, Lynn discussed how calculus is changing architecture. Personally, I think it's the natural counterpoint that it's the CNC router, which can turn all these Jetsons-like designs into full-blown realities, that is changing architecture perhaps a little bit more. But whatever Lynn is doing, I'm paying attention.