Michael Hansmeyer is a post-modern architect who utilizes algorithmic architecture techniques, generative art mentalities, and

CAD software Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve co ...

to generate complex structures. He is currently based in the CAAD group at ETH's architecture department in Zurich. He holds an MBA degree from INSEAD as well as a Master of Architecture degree from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. He previously worked with

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...

J.P. Morgan JP may refer to: Arts and media * ''JP'' (album), 2001, by American singer Jesse Powell * ''Jp'' (magazine), an American Jeep magazine * ''Jönköpings-Posten'', a Swedish newspaper * Judas Priest, an English heavy metal band * ''Jurassic Park ...

, and at Herzog & de Meuron architects.

Architectural design projects

"L-Systems in Architecture (2003)" L-Systems in architecture applies Lindenmayer's

L-system An L-system or Lindenmayer system is a parallel rewriting system and a type of formal grammar. An L-system consists of an alphabet of symbols that can be used to make strings, a collection of production rules that expand each symbol into some ...

to mimic organic growth which is then adapted to architectural design requirements. "Platonic Solids (2008)" "The Platonic Solids project explores how a purely operations-based geometric process can generate complex form." Hansmeyer explains this approach in his 2011 TED talk "Building Unimaginable Shapes". "Subdivided Columns (2010)" Columns of incredible complexity and detail, made of thousands of stacked sheets of laser-cut greyboard or CNC-milled

ABS plastic Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) (chemical formula (C8H8)''x''·(C4H6)''y''·(C3H3N)''z'' is a common thermoplastic polymer. Its glass transition temperature is approximately . ABS is amorphous and therefore has no true melting point. AB ...

. Installations of columns were commissioned for the Gwangju Design Biennale 2011 and

Grand Palais The Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées ( en, Great Palace of the Elysian Fields), commonly known as the Grand Palais (English: Great Palace), is a historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located at the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arro ...

in Paris 2018. “

he columns He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

are an attempt to incorporate tools and technologies that can expand the scope of what is possible and what is imaginable and in the best case to create something that is not yet imaginable,” says Michael Hansmeyer in a 2011 article. "Digital Grotesque (2013, ongoing)" Exploring the dialectic between chaos and order, between the natural and the artificial, these full-scale, algorithmically generated grottos are fabricated out of 3D-printed sandstone. The first two grottos were commissioned by FRAC Orléans and Centre Pompidou for their architecture collections. An 18 meter wide, large-scale grotto was constructed for Romeo Castellucci’s rendition of the Magic Flute opera.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hansmeyer, Michael 21st-century architects Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people)