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Flux-Lot

Project details

Programme

Cluster RC1

Year 1

Flux-Lot explores the political implications of informal structures in urban areas as spaces for the commons. The project evolves as a system to reinvent the allotment, a vernacular typology of community gardens in the UK. Underperforming industrial spaces are ideal sites for new urban development that features gardening as a community activity. A digital platform is combined with physical instruments to achieve maximum flexibility in planning and building, promoting community-based do-it-yourself (DIY) through collective decision-making and easy to assembly logics. Functioning as both a planner and a construction consultant, the digital platform evolves along with all architectural components on site and collects user input as the basis for future adjustments.

Students

Background and Setup

Conceptualising Informality

As a project based on informality, Flux-Lot faces two challenges: the ever-changing needs of its occupants and the constant pressure from capital-driven development. These challenges will be tackled through a flexible system and design concept.

Allotment and Brownfield

Studying allotments (gardening lands provided as social benefits) along with brown field sites (underused industrial lands in urban areas), allows the design to address informality and community empowerment at the same time.

Hyper-Local

Flux-Lot is a system that is designed to be adaptable to the context so that it can be deployed in multiple sites. The system prioritises the use of the most economic and accessible materials according to different conditions.

Material Library

By repurposing materials found on site and sourcing from local building material suppliers, a material database is created. These materials serve as the primary source for constructing common buildings and other smaller structures.

Site Analysis with Machine Learning

The system uses machine learning and multi-objective optimisation to analyse the site conditions and generate a rough layout.

Planning

To resolve the complex relationship between different design objectives, especially those which vary from personal to collective level, the project has a layered composition that juxtaposes heterogeneous architectural elements.

Collective Imagination — Common Buildings

Personal Imagination in a Collective Scale

As the first stage of designing as a group, users may upload photos of their preferred buildings to the system, the system will then analyse these photos with machine learning to obtain a depth map and 3D point cloud models.

Typology Database — Voxel Database

Selected models are be added to the typological database and encapsulated in 2m x 2m x 2m volumes known as voxels to serve the subsequent generation of ‘voxelated’ buildings. A voxel database is then generated by combining typology with material.

Wave Function Collapse (WFC) Filled Area Generation for Voxel

The main structure is made of common materials that are easy to assemble, a panel can be completed in 20 minutes and there is plenty of room for DIY.

WFC Multi-Result Generation

The Flux-Lot system will use a wave function collapse algorithm to generate multiple results based on the voxel library. Users can then browse the different results and use tokens (untradable virtual currency for Flux-lot) to vote on a final design.

Common Building Structure and Interior Space

As soon as a decision has been reached, the system will generate construction documents for all the structures. It will also order the material to be shipped to the site.

Participatory Construction

For larger buildings, a professional construction team will be hired for building the main structure and roof. Users, on the other hand, can participate in the building of the interior and start to earn tokens for their contribution.

Individual Imagination — Installation, Device and Plots

Installation

Installations are smaller structures that any individual can build. Unlike common buildings, which represent collective desires, installations express individual imagination and preferences.

Installation Template Library

The installation library offers ‘default’ configurations for installations, and categorises modules based on different qualities. These spatial qualities are directly related to the activities users intend to conduct.

Platform-Generated Building Manual

To make DIY construction more accessible, the system will generate a comprehensive construction document for the user once they design a new structure in the digital platform's blueprint mode.

Interactive Device

Flux-Lot employs a decentralised network structure that uses nodes to collect local information and then communicates with the platform via Wi-Fi. It is also capable of altering conditions on site such as access control and remote control.

A Scene of Zone One — The Commons

Zone One is accessible to all registered users, including those who have just signed up. Plot-owners in this zone are encouraged to be creative with their designs, often featuring a mix of informal structures and garden plants.

A Scene of Zone Two — The Private Gardens

Zone Two does not grant entry to users who are not interested in keeping a plot. The difference between the two zones allows users to choose a level of commitment they feel comfortable with while providing security for certain food growers.

Platform and Regeneration

Rules for Linking Components in the Game

By stitching functional modules onto the voxel framework, users can create more shed blueprints. They can also upload more components, complete, or modify voxels, to participate in expanding the library.

Videogame User Test

As a result of the player testing, unexpected and interesting results were obtained, with functions as varied as a mobile reading station, a small shed with beds, a long connecting porch, or an outdoor kitchen.

Iterations of Plots

While the common building may change at a slower rate, installations and plots will change much faster, especially when changing owner and when the owner changes their mind about how to use the plot.

Data Monitoring and Calculation

A series of parameters guide users towards more productive, community-centred, and environmentally friendly designs. The platform will also integrate data from sensors, platform inputs, and human feedback to provide reference data for users.

Axonometric View

This axonometric offers a potential layout for Flux-Lot. However, varying site conditions, user preferences, and cultural influences could result in entirely distinct outcomes.

Flux Lot

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