TEDGlobal 2012
Michael Hansmeyer: Building unimaginable shapes
Michael Hansmeyer：塑造不可思议
Filmed:
Readability: 4.1
927,090 views
受到了细胞分裂的启发，Michael Hansmeyer写下了拥有惊人艳丽的造型和无数刻面的设计运算法则。没人能将他们手绘出来，但他们确是可以被做出来--他们也可以向常规的建筑形态掀起思想狂潮。
Michael Hansmeyer - Computational architect
Michael Hansmeyer is an architect and programmer who explores the use of algorithms and computation to generate architectural form. Full bio
Michael Hansmeyer is an architect and programmer who explores the use of algorithms and computation to generate architectural form. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:16
As an architect, I often ask myself,
0
470
2449
作为一个建筑师，我经常扣心自问，
00:18
what is the origin of the forms that we design?
1
2919
2840
我们设计出来的造型的来源是什么？
00:21
What kind of forms could we design
2
5759
2905
如果不去参考别人的作品
00:24
if we wouldn't work with references anymore?
3
8664
2823
那么我们会设计出怎样的造型呢？
00:27
If we had no bias, if we had no preconceptions,
4
11487
3385
如果我们没有偏好，没有先入之见，
00:30
what kind of forms could we design
5
14872
2207
我们又会设计出怎样的造型呢？
00:32
if we could free ourselves from
6
17079
1600
如果我们将自己从
00:34
our experience?
7
18679
2136
积累的经验中解锢出来呢？
00:36
If we could free ourselves from our education?
8
20815
4734
如果我们能挣脱教育的束缚呢？
00:41
What would these unseen forms look like?
9
25549
3027
这些前所未有的造型会是什么样子的？
00:44
Would they surprise us? Would they intrigue us?
10
28576
3711
会让我们眼前一亮吗？会激起我们的兴趣吗？
00:48
Would they delight us?
11
32287
2415
会让我们感到愉悦吗？
00:50
If so, then how can we go about creating something that is truly new?
12
34702
3921
如果是这样的话，我们要怎样去创造真正新颖的东西呢？
00:54
I propose we look to nature.
13
38623
2392
我建议在大自然中找答案
00:56
Nature has been called the greatest architect of forms.
14
41015
4264
大自然一向被称为是伟大的造型建筑师
01:01
And I'm not saying that we should copy nature,
15
45279
3588
我意思不是去仿造大自然
01:04
I'm not saying we should mimic biology,
16
48867
2380
也不是去模仿生物
01:07
instead I propose that we can borrow nature's processes.
17
51247
3448
而是借鉴大自然的方法
01:10
We can abstract them and to create something that is new.
18
54695
4454
我们能取其精华然后创造出新的东西
01:15
Nature's main process of creation, morphogenesis,
19
59149
3878
大自然的主要造物方法，所谓的形态建成
01:18
is the splitting of one cell into two cells.
20
63027
3829
就是一个细胞分裂成两个
01:22
And these cells can either be identical,
21
66856
2057
这些细胞或者形态相同
01:24
or they can be distinct from each other
22
68913
2175
或者通过不对称细胞分裂
01:26
through asymmetric cell division.
23
71088
2064
而彼此形态各异
01:29
If we abstract this process, and simplify it as much as possible,
24
73152
3799
如果我们提取这个过程，并将它尽可能地简化
01:32
then we could start with a single sheet of paper,
25
76951
2233
那么我们可以从一张纸开始入手
01:35
one surface, and we could make a fold
26
79184
2496
在一个面上我们对折
01:37
and divide the surface into two surfaces.
27
81680
2936
使它形成两个面
01:40
We're free to choose where we make the fold.
28
84616
2263
我们可以随意选择在哪对折
01:42
And by doing so, we can differentiate the surfaces.
29
86879
4910
这样做后，我们就能制作不同的面
01:47
Through this very simple process,
30
91789
1894
通过这一简单的过程，
01:49
we can create an astounding variety of forms.
31
93683
3612
我们就能创造出无数种变化的造型
01:53
Now, we can take this form and use the same process
32
97295
2725
现在，我们用这种形式，用相同的过程
01:55
to generate three-dimensional structures,
33
100020
1992
来生成一个三维的结构
01:57
but rather than folding things by hand,
34
102012
2408
但不再是手工折叠
02:00
we'll bring the structure into the computer,
35
104420
2585
我们就在电脑里操作
02:02
and code it as an algorithm.
36
107005
2975
然后用运算法则写下代码
02:05
And in doing so, we can suddenly fold anything.
37
109980
3008
这样做的话，我们就能瞬间对折任何东西了
02:08
We can fold a million times faster,
38
112988
2159
我们能将速度提升到一百万倍
02:11
we can fold in hundreds and hundreds of variations.
39
115147
3161
我们能折出成千上万种变化
02:14
And as we're seeking to make something three-dimensional,
40
118308
2480
正因为我们试图做出一些三维的东西出来
02:16
we start not with a single surface, but with a volume.
41
120788
3216
我们没有从单一的平面入手，而是转向立方体
02:19
A simple volume, the cube.
42
124004
1353
一个简单的立方体--正方形
02:21
If we take its surfaces and fold them
43
125357
1720
如果我们将它的各平面对折
02:22
again and again and again and again,
44
127077
2056
并且不断地对折
02:25
then after 16 iterations, 16 steps,
45
129133
2863
反复进行16次，16个步骤后，
02:27
we end up with 400,000 surfaces and a shape that looks,
46
131996
3849
我们得到了400，000个面，和一个这样的形状
02:31
for instance, like this.
47
135845
2535
比如说，像这样。
02:34
And if we change where we make the folds,
48
138380
2712
如果我们改变一下对折的地方
02:36
if we change the folding ratio,
49
141092
1641
如果我们改变下对折的比率
02:38
then this cube turns into this one.
50
142733
3423
那么这个立方体就会变成这样
02:42
We can change the folding ratio again to produce this shape,
51
146156
4139
我们还能通过调节对折比率做出这种造型，
02:46
or this shape.
52
150295
1827
或这种
02:48
So we exert control over the form
53
152122
1623
所以我们能通过指定对折的位置
02:49
by specifying the position of where we're making the fold,
54
153745
3504
从而对造型进行控制
02:53
but essentially you're looking at a folded cube.
55
157249
4706
但事实上你们看到的只是一个经过折叠的立方体
02:57
And we can play with this.
56
161955
1064
我们也能这样做
02:58
We can apply different folding ratios to different parts
57
163019
2616
我们可以对不同的部位采用不同的对折比率
03:01
of the form to create local conditions.
58
165635
2745
从而调节出不同部位的特色
03:04
We can begin to sculpt the form.
59
168380
1943
我们就能开始进行造型了
03:06
And because we're doing the folding on the computer,
60
170323
2888
由于这些对折是在电脑上进行的
03:09
we are completely free of any physical constraints.
61
173211
3696
所以我们完全不收任何物理禁锢
03:12
So that means that surfaces can intersect themselves,
62
176907
2951
这也意味着这些面能相互交叉
03:15
they can become impossibly small.
63
179858
1489
也能变得极其的微小
03:17
We can make folds that we otherwise could not make.
64
181347
3601
我们能摆脱常规进行折叠
03:20
Surfaces can become porous.
65
184948
1878
表面可以变得多孔
03:22
They can stretch. They can tear.
66
186826
2729
可以延伸，也可以撕扯
03:25
And all of this expounds the scope of forms that we can produce.
67
189555
4635
所有的这一切都证明了我们造型的范围
03:30
But in each case, I didn't design the form.
68
194190
2750
但在每个实例中，我并没对造型进行设计。
03:32
I designed the process that generated the form.
69
196940
4601
我只是设计了创造造型的过程
03:37
In general, if we make a small change to the folding ratio,
70
201541
4488
总之，哪怕我们对对折比例做出小小的调整
03:41
which is what you're seeing here,
71
206029
1595
正如你目前所见到的
03:43
then the form changes correspondingly.
72
207624
3773
这个造型也会相应做出改变
03:47
But that's only half of the story --
73
211397
2256
但故事到这里只不过才进行了一半
03:49
99.9 percent of the folding ratios produce not this,
74
213653
4323
99.9%的对折比例产生的不是这种形态，
03:53
but this, the geometric equivalent of noise.
75
217976
4896
而是这种形态，在几何学上等同于噪音
03:58
The forms that I showed before were made actually
76
222872
2120
那些我刚展示的造型
04:00
through very long trial and error.
77
224992
1648
其实是经过了长时间的试验和挫折
04:02
A far more effective way to create forms, I have found,
78
226640
3216
进行造型时，我发现了一种效率极高的方式
04:05
is to use information that is already contained in forms.
79
229856
3888
就是利用已经包含在造型里的信息
04:09
A very simple form such as this one actually contains
80
233744
2655
在一个简单的造型里，比方这个
04:12
a lot of information that may not be visible to the human eye.
81
236399
3592
它就包含了很多我们肉眼看不到的信息
04:15
So, for instance, we can plot the length of the edges.
82
239991
2481
所以，我们可以标绘出边缘的长度
04:18
White surfaces have long edges, black ones have short ones.
83
242472
3336
白色表面的边缘较长，黑色的则较短
04:21
We can plot the planarity of the surfaces, their curvature,
84
245808
3577
我们能标绘出这些面的平面度和曲率
04:25
how radial they are -- all information that may not be
85
249385
4087
它们有多放射状--所有的这些信息
04:29
instantly visible to you,
86
253472
1947
不一定立马就能被你看到
04:31
but that we can bring out, that we can articulate,
87
255419
2425
但我们能发现它，我们能将之描述出来
04:33
and that we can use to control the folding.
88
257844
3376
我们能运用这些信息来控制如何折叠
04:37
So now I'm not specifying a single
89
261220
1959
所以我不再指定一个
04:39
ratio anymore to fold it,
90
263179
2176
单一的折叠率进行对折
04:41
but instead I'm establishing a rule,
91
265355
2552
相反，我确立了一个规则
04:43
I'm establishing a link between a property of a surface
92
267907
2436
我将一个面的属性和它怎样被折叠
04:46
and how that surface is folded.
93
270343
2973
给联系起来
04:49
And because I've designed the process and not the form,
94
273316
2951
也正因为我设计的是方法而非造型
04:52
I can run the process again and again and again
95
276267
2322
所以我能够一次又一次地使用这种方法
04:54
to produce a whole family of forms.
96
278589
2535
以此得到一个族系的造型
05:09
These forms look elaborate, but the process is a very minimal one.
97
293385
4443
这些造型看起来很精细，但制作的方法却很简单
05:13
There is a simple input,
98
297828
1129
一个简单的输入
05:14
it's always a cube that I start with,
99
298957
1952
我一直都从立方体着手
05:16
and it's a very simple operation -- it's making a fold,
100
300909
3576
而且操作也简单--就对折
05:20
and doing this over and over again.
101
304485
3952
不断对折
05:24
So let's bring this process to architecture.
102
308437
2280
所以我们不妨将这个过程引入建筑学
05:26
How? And at what scale?
103
310717
1600
怎么做？以什么准则？
05:28
I chose to design a column.
104
312317
1728
我决定设计一根柱子
05:29
Columns are architectural archetypes.
105
314045
3376
柱子是建筑的基模
05:33
They've been used throughout history to express ideals
106
317421
3067
纵观历史，柱子被用来表达
05:36
about beauty, about technology.
107
320488
5075
美感，科技
05:41
A challenge to me was how we could express
108
325563
1922
我遇到的挑战是我们要怎样
05:43
this new algorithmic order in a column.
109
327485
3296
在柱子表达这些新的算法
05:46
I started using four cylinders.
110
330781
2984
我一开始用了四根圆柱体
05:49
Through a lot of experimentation, these cylinders
111
333765
3776
通过大量的试验，这些圆柱体
05:53
eventually evolved into this.
112
337541
3135
最终进化成这个样子
05:56
And these columns, they have information at very many scales.
113
340676
4616
而且这些柱子蕴含信息的范围很广
06:01
We can begin to zoom into them.
114
345292
2518
我们放大来看
06:03
The closer one gets, the more new features one discovers.
115
347810
3555
你越靠近，就会越发现新特点
06:07
Some formations are almost at the threshold of human visibility.
116
351365
3672
一些构造几乎就要超出人类的视觉范围
06:10
And unlike traditional architecture,
117
355037
1952
这不像传统的建筑学
06:12
it's a single process that creates both the overall form
118
356989
2784
它只需一个简单的方法就能同时获得
06:15
and the microscopic surface detail.
119
359773
5345
整体的造型和显微的表面细节
06:21
These forms are undrawable.
120
365118
2691
这些造型是画不出来的
06:23
An architect who's drawing them with a pen and a paper
121
367809
3376
建筑师如果想用笔和纸把他们画出来
06:27
would probably take months,
122
371185
1792
可能要画上好几个月
06:28
or it would take even a year to draw all the sections,
123
372977
2384
想把各个部分，各个正面图都画出来
06:31
all of the elevations, you can only create something like this
124
375361
2304
甚至得画上一年，你只能通过
06:33
through an algorithm.
125
377665
2136
运算法则得到这些东西
06:35
The more interesting question, perhaps, is,
126
379801
2032
更有趣的问题，也许是
06:37
are these forms imaginable?
127
381833
2629
这些造型是可以想象出来的吗？
06:40
Usually, an architect can somehow envision the end state
128
384462
2635
大多数情况，建筑师都能在脑海里浮现自己所设计的
06:42
of what he is designing.
129
387097
1864
最终效果图
06:44
In this case, the process is deterministic.
130
388961
2825
而在这种情况下，起决定作用的是那个过程
06:47
There's no randomness involved at all,
131
391786
2359
毫无随意性的存在
06:50
but it's not entirely predictable.
132
394145
2007
也非完全可预见
06:52
There's too many surfaces,
133
396152
1576
有太多太多的平面
06:53
there's too much detail, one can't see the end state.
134
397728
3610
有太多的细节，谁也看不到最终效果
06:57
So this leads to a new role for the architect.
135
401338
3214
这也就赋予了建筑师新的角色
07:00
One needs a new method to explore all of the possibilities
136
404552
3611
他们需要一种新方法去探索各种可能性
07:04
that are out there.
137
408163
1776
而它们就在那里
07:05
For one thing, one can design many variants of a form,
138
409939
3232
一方面，建筑师可以设计出一个造型的不同变体
07:09
in parallel, and one can cultivate them.
139
413171
2214
同时，他又可以让它们发展出其他的形态
07:11
And to go back to the analogy with nature,
140
415385
2248
当回到利用大自然进行类比时
07:13
one can begin to think in terms of populations,
141
417633
2496
建筑师可以参照种群进行思考
07:16
one can talk about permutations, about generations,
142
420129
3528
他们可以从种群的变换，世代
07:19
about crossing and breeding to come up with a design.
143
423657
4863
相交和繁衍中寻找创意
07:24
And the architect is really, he moves into the position
144
428520
2385
而且建筑师真的变身为
07:26
of being an orchestrator of all of these processes.
145
430905
3432
整个创作过程的管弦乐演奏家
07:30
But enough of the theory.
146
434337
2344
理论说的足够多了
07:32
At one point I simply wanted to jump inside
147
436681
2527
我曾一度想跳进这个画面中
07:35
this image, so to say, I bought these red and blue
148
439208
3829
打个比方，我买了些红蓝3D眼镜
07:38
3D glasses, got up very close to the screen,
149
443037
2936
凑到屏幕前去看
07:41
but still that wasn't the same as being able to
150
445973
2072
依然得不到那种
07:43
walk around and touch things.
151
448045
2352
漫步其中亲密接触的感觉
07:46
So there was only one possibility --
152
450397
1903
所以就只有一种做法
07:48
to bring the column out of the computer.
153
452300
3097
把它从电脑里带到现实中来
07:51
There's been a lot of talk now about 3D printing.
154
455397
2920
其实现在有很多3D印刷的理论
07:54
For me, or for my purpose at this moment,
155
458317
2959
但对我来说，或就我目前的想法而言，
07:57
there's still too much of an unfavorable tradeoff
156
461276
3082
依旧是有太多在比例上不尽人意的权衡
08:00
between scale, on the one hand, and resolution and speed, on the other.
157
464358
6783
一方面，是比例，另一方面，则是分辨率和速率
08:07
So instead, we decided to take the column,
158
471141
2257
所以，我们决定把柱子
08:09
and we decided to build it as a layered model,
159
473398
2439
以层级模式给做出来
08:11
made out of very many slices, thinly stacked over each other.
160
475837
4128
以多切割，薄层叠的方式展现出来
08:15
What you're looking at here is an X-ray
161
479965
1897
你们目前看到的是刚刚那个柱子
08:17
of the column that you just saw, viewed from the top.
162
481862
2775
的x射线图，从上往下看的
08:20
Unbeknownst to me at the time,
163
484637
2000
我当时感到很新颖
08:22
because we had only seen the outside,
164
486637
2376
因为以前都是从外面去看
08:24
the surfaces were continuing to fold themselves,
165
489013
2160
那些面还在不停地对折
08:27
to grow on the inside of the column,
166
491173
2264
而且是在柱子的内部对折
08:29
which was quite a surprising discovery.
167
493437
2546
这个发现是个惊喜
08:31
From this shape, we calculated a cutting line,
168
495983
3614
从这个模型中我们算出了一条切割线
08:35
and then we gave this cutting line to a laser cutter
169
499597
3024
然后我们用激光切割机进行切割
08:38
to produce -- and you're seeing a segment of it here --
170
502621
3814
从而制造--你现在看到的是一个部分
08:42
very many thin slices, individually cut, on top of each other.
171
506435
4891
有很多相互堆积而成的很薄的切面
08:49
And this is a photo now, it's not a rendering,
172
513480
2813
这是一张照片，不是绘制出来的
08:52
and the column that we ended up with
173
516293
1800
在付出很多心血后，
08:53
after a lot of work, ended up looking remarkably like the one
174
518093
3047
我们得到了这个振奋人心的柱子
08:57
that we had designed in the computer.
175
521140
3710
就如同我们在电脑中设计的一样
09:00
Almost all of the details, almost all of the
176
524850
2121
几乎所以的细节
09:02
surface intricacies were preserved.
177
526971
3040
几乎所有的复杂平面都得以保留
09:08
But it was very labor intensive.
178
532626
2346
但这相当地耗费劳动力
09:10
There's a huge disconnect at the moment still
179
534972
2401
目前，虚拟空间和物理存在之间
09:13
between the virtual and the physical.
180
537373
2760
仍存在巨大的断层
09:16
It took me several months to design the column,
181
540133
2126
我们花了好几个月去塑造这根柱子
09:18
but ultimately it takes the computer about 30 seconds
182
542259
2718
而运算这个1600万个表面
09:20
to calculate all of the 16 million faces.
183
544977
2848
电脑只需简单的30秒就搞定
09:23
The physical model, on the other hand,
184
547825
1961
另一方面，这个实体模型
09:25
is 2,700 layers, one millimeter thick,
185
549786
4208
有2700层1毫米厚的叠层
09:29
it weighs 700 kilos, it's made of sheet that can cover
186
553994
4147
重约700公斤，是用可以覆盖这整个礼堂
09:34
this entire auditorium.
187
558141
2138
的薄板做成的
09:36
And the cutting path that the laser followed
188
560279
2088
激光所切割出来的路径
09:38
goes from here to the airport and back again.
189
562367
5117
够从这里到机场一个来回
09:43
But it is increasingly possible.
190
567484
1749
但这一切变得越来越有希望
09:45
Machines are getting faster, it's getting less expensive,
191
569233
2611
机器不断地在加速，价格也不断地在下降
09:47
and there's some promising technological developments
192
571844
2760
一些有希望有前途的高科技发展
09:50
just on the horizon.
193
574604
1783
也即将面世
09:52
These are images from the Gwangju Biennale.
194
576387
3072
这些是光州艺术展上的图片
09:55
And in this case, I used ABS plastic to produce the columns,
195
579459
3524
在那里，我用了丙烯腈-丁二烯-苯乙烯塑料来做原料
09:58
we used the bigger, faster machine,
196
582983
1854
我们采用了更大更快的机器
10:00
and they have a steel core inside, so they're structural,
197
584837
3057
柱子中心都内置钢铁核心，所以不单有结构性
10:03
they can bear loads for once.
198
587894
2976
还能负重
10:06
Each column is effectively a hybrid of two columns.
199
590870
2015
每根柱子都是两根柱子的混合体
10:08
You can see a different column in the mirror,
200
592885
3409
你能在镜子中看到不同的柱子
10:12
if there's a mirror behind the column
201
596294
2050
这些柱子后面的镜子
10:14
that creates a sort of an optical illusion.
202
598344
3072
能产生一种视觉错觉的效果
10:17
So where does this leave us?
203
601431
1831
这些都说明什么呢？
10:19
I think this project gives us a glimpse of the unseen objects that await us
204
603262
4468
我觉得这个项目让我们得以一瞥那些等待我们去发掘的前所未见的东西
10:23
if we as architects begin to think about designing not the object,
205
607730
3883
作为建筑师的我们不妨思考一下，我们不是要设计物品
10:27
but a process to generate objects.
206
611613
3393
而是去设计一种方法来创造物品
10:30
I've shown one simple process that was inspired by nature;
207
615006
3273
我已经展示了受大自然启发的一个方法
10:34
there's countless other ones.
208
618279
2848
但方法是无穷尽的
10:37
In short, we have no constraints.
209
621127
3447
简而言之，我们不受约束
10:40
Instead, we have processes in our hands right now
210
624574
3570
相反，此刻我们手中掌握着的是各种方法
10:44
that allow us to create structures at all scales
211
628144
4581
能使我们创造出以前不敢想象的
10:48
that we couldn't even have dreamt up.
212
632725
3032
不受任何比例的约束的构造
10:51
And, if I may add, at one point we will build them.
213
635757
4819
我希望，在某个时候我能将之付诸实践。
10:56
Thank you. (Applause)
214
640576
6623
谢谢（掌声）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Michael Hansmeyer - Computational architectMichael Hansmeyer is an architect and programmer who explores the use of algorithms and computation to generate architectural form.
Why you should listen
Classical architecture is defined by "orders" -- ways to connect a column to a building, to articulate the joining of materials and structural forces. Colloquially, these orders are based on elemental forms: the tree trunk, the plank, the scroll, the leaf. Michael Hansmeyer is adding a new elemental form: the subdivision algorithm. He turns his math and programming skills to making ornate, organic, hyperdetailed columns generated from lines of code and then comped up in cross-sections of cardboard, almost as if they're being 3D printed.
His recent work with cupolas and domes is even more mesmerizing, like looking deep inside an organic form of near-unbearable complexity. See images at digital-grotesque.com >>
Michael Hansmeyer | Speaker | TED.com