This project is focused on the exploration of the GAN’s (Generative Adversial Network) ability to generate an architecture project in Zurich. We wanted to establish different scenarios in which we could see very distinct approaches on how the machine would learn and generate it’s very own definitions of Zurichness. Therefore we fed the machine about 3500 pictures of facades of the altstadt in order to try and get the most diverse results. Three scenarios were then selected : Interface, Chameleon, and Anomaly which each scenario embraces it’s very own specification : The Chameleon tries to mimick a classic altstadt facade. The Anomaly tries to achieve the opposite. The Interface tries to connect them both and anchor them to the site.
The 3D models are all generated by a Grashopper definition that takes the abstraction of previous critical drawings and maps them on a face of the extrusion of the perimeter of the previous building laying on the site. The script transforms the façade into a shell, giving its’ wall a thickness, freeing its’ insides in order to welcome the programatic elements of the project.
The empty shell generated by the GAN is occupied by a cooking school, which is divided in 3 floors and a basement. On the ground floor lies the restaurant where the students offers their skills while practicing their craft. The first floor and the second floor are dedicated to the housing of the said apprentice, in a cluster typology : On the first floor, the single or double rooms are directly connected to a common space, with a common kitchen, chill spot, a living room and two bathrooms, while on the second floor, we have small studios that have their own kitchen and bathrooms. The inhabitants of the studios, however, can go freely to the first floor common space as well. In addition to this, the second floor is shared by a greenhouse where the cooks can grow their vegetables and aromatic plants, meanwhile the basement provides the space for the guest toilets, the cold storage room, and a little jazz cave. The GAN generated artifacts such as the tower or the tunnel forces the program to adapt to its geometry, leading to an unusual composition of spaces, giving this building a singular shape and use. While the outisde façade is in a very traditional Zurich plaster and stone combination, the inside is a mix of rough concrete for the shell, and a timber beam and wood panel combination for the decking and wall partitions.