envelope & skin

The possibilities offered by new fabrication technologies permit great freedom to give an organization to material first, which in a second step is conferring a new skin to objects. It seems another evolution with respect to the designs of two dimensional decorations, as one suggests three dimensional surfaces with aspects of dynamic and tactile repetitions of geometries, stimulating effects that often surprise and stir emotions.

Ornament is a part of the world, and it cannot help but but resurface, reinvented, with a strong communicative thrust. (Alessandro Mendini, Writings 2004)

The architectural production of recent decades can be characterized as striving to be autonomous and heterogenous in comparison with the anonymous and homogenous proceedings of a repetition of modern ideals.
You should localize the inherent characteristics in your design process of “repeating with difference”. In this sense one adheres to certain rules of an existing language or an pattern armature, but trangresses the underpinnings of the project referred to.

One precisely needs to define “the problem” to engage into the disciplinary discourse. The discourse of architecture often referred to a series of dialectics such as inside –outside, vertical – horizontal, center – periphery, frontality – rotation, solid – void, point – plane, figure - ground etc..

Note: A close reading of architectural examples (Palladio –villa Malcontenta, Corbusier – villa Garches, Mies – Glass house , Eisenman- Houses 1-10) helps to understand the discourse of other projects. This supports you to understand and delineate your design and clarify your employed formal design strategy.