RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AT FOSTER + PARTNERS' SPECIALIST MODELLING GROUP

摘要

Hugh Whitehead set up Foster + Partners' Specialist Modelling Group (SMG) in 1998 as the practice was starting to harness the potential of computational design to achieve ever more energy-efficient forms. The group's objectives were to develop the techniques and expertise that would enable the practice to design and build a new type of geometrically complex, environmentally responsive architecture. SMG's early work was described by Whitehead in his seminal article 'Laws of Form',1 illustrated with projects such as London's City Hall (2002) and Swiss Re Headquarters (2004), and the Chesa Futura residences in St Moritz, Switzerland (2004). These buildings were pioneering in their scale and complexity, and in the pivotal role of parametric and digital design in their realisation. This article and the three project texts that follow it are intended to complement Whitehead's original essay, describing how SMG's structure and approach has evolved over the last few years.