Corazón De La Comunidad: Sequential Generation | Barcelona, Spain | Unit 21 | 2024
alexandros.photiou.22@ucl.ac.uk

Located on the “Aguas Park”, in the sequentially created Eixample district of Barcelona, this project proposes a novel approach to a community centre, in which the programme revolves around the creation of a community centre which supports and facilitates the cohabitation and interaction of children and the elderly. By utilizing a series of modular spaces, the proposal seeks to facilitate a variety of intergenerational events, which in turn will nurture and provide support to both age groups. In this way the building serves as a blank canvas to be painted and coloured through the interaction of different lifestyles and experiences. Furthermore, the building itself proposes a new approach to design, with it being intended to be constructed from a series of stacked wooden contours that would be cut and formed utilizing drones.
The design process for this project has revolved around the creation of a dialogue between man and AI, proposing a new future for architectural design methodologies. Through this iterative process, a feedback loop between my own drawings and AI generated abstractions has been created, resulting in the formation of a design that bridges the natural and artificial, as well as the past and future. In this way this design serves as a case study for a new way to conceptualize, design and experience a building.

P1 Design Methodolgy
Within P1, an iterative feedback loop was created between sketched designs and AI abstractions, resulting in the formation of a dialogue between man and AI.

Pix2Pix AI Model
A bespoke AI image generator was created and trained to be able to create a rendered image from a depth map using Pix2Pix. This functions by training the AI to translate one type of image to another, using a dataset of pre generated pairs. These pairs consist of an AI rendered image by a depth map made in Zoe-Depth, with Pix2Pix.

P2 Design Methodology
This serves as a further development of the methodology founded within the P1 project, integrating the Pix2Pix model to allow for further abstractions and developments

Building Contours
The building was abstracted into a series of contours that would then be lofted together, creating a fluid, organic form.

Final Plans & Section

Virtual Reality Distortion
By using a depth camera a set of wireframe models, based on spaces from the final design are distorted in real-time virtual reality. Through this, a new means in which to explore and experience space is created.

Final Building Film