Liquid Architecture: Experimental Practices of Design in a State of Flux

Pierangelo Marco Scravaglieri

Dis 2023 · Taylor & Francis

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Liquid Architecture challenges the idea of architecture as a fixed, inert container and reconceptualises it as a body whose boundaries are rather blurred and ever-changing. This book moves away from form as the primary driver of spatial protocols and explores what the built environment might look like when viewed through the lenses of a ‘wet ontology’ that is attentive to fluidity, flows and territorial dynamism. A reconfiguration of architectural materials and authorship is thus considered, leading, in turn, to an exploration of the ethical dimensions of co-designing with natural systems (of various viscosities) through liquid paradigms.

The book examines a set of principles for practice-led discoveries that incorporate hybrid, mixed media with the author’s intersubjective relationship with liquid matter. Drawing from qualitative-based analytical investigation models, the text allows comprehension of the liquid phenomena via material contextualisation of an ever-becoming research setting. Through a practical and theoretical engagement with the ontology of liquids, the reader is exposed to a range of design-led experiments and creative propositions, visualisation systems, construction, and testing of physical models that collectively translate into a series of novel insights for architectural agendas.

This book will be of interest to architecture and design research students and academics because it advocates the need for a more symbiotic and resilient approach to natural systems, which could benefit from the integration of regenerating material flows into our buildings and urban settlements.

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Pierangelo Marco Scravaglieri holds a PhD in Experimental Architecture from Newcastle University’s School of Architecture, Planning & Landscape. His doctoral studies are concerned with fluid infrastructures and analogue computation performed at the intersection between architecture, arts, and technological innovation. As an Experimental Architect and former alumnus of the International Space University (ISU), Pierangelo is dedicated to exploring a) the conditions under which ecological principles can be incorporated into engineering solutions and space-based design; b) the impacts of architectural design shifts at a time characterised by climate changes; and c) the universal dimensions of architecture. He is originally from Catania, Italy, where he obtained a first-class honour Master in Architecture degree.