Andrea Rossi + Hyo Wook Kim

1. Urban Context and Material Ecologies

Seoul is a city defined by continuous transformation. Urban spaces shift across the day, the week, and the seasons: streets become night markets, infrastructures are temporarily occupied, and informal architectures appear and disappear in response to social, economic, and climatic rhythms. Within this dynamic context, the workshop frames the city itself as a material resource. Rooted in the theme “Made in Seoul”, students will work with reclaimed and readily available urban materials, residues of Seoul’s historical, hyper-logistical and retail-driven metabolism. Material irregularity, variability, and imperfection are treated not as constraints, but as generative design drivers for discrete and combinatorial architectural systems.

2. Fast Digitization, Computer Vision, and Aggregation Logic

The workshop introduces rapid methods to capture the essential geometric and structural properties of non-standard parts using accessible tools, including smartphone-based scanning and computer-vision-assisted abstraction. Rather than pursuing high-resolution or fully accurate models, students will focus on extracting “good-enough” data—such as bounding geometry, connection interfaces, and material behavior—that can be immediately operationalized in design workflows.

These digitized elements will be organized into discrete aggregation systems using Wasp, a rule-based aggregation framework for parametric design. Through combinatorial logics, a single inventory of reclaimed parts will be used to generate multiple spatial configurations, allowing structures to shift in density, openness, and program over time. Time becomes an explicit design parameter, enabling daily, weekly, or seasonal reconfigurations without introducing new material. Tracking their geometry, materials and connections, the developed algorithms will link geometric form with structural performance, selecting different reuse elements according to local strength requirements.

3. Augmented Reality as a Construction Interface

Augmented reality is employed as a practical interface between digital design and physical assembly. AR tools will be used to guide assembly sequences, identify individual parts, and communicate connection logic directly on site, reducing reliance on conventional drawings and standardized construction details. In the context of reclaimed and non-standard materials, AR supports non-linear building processes, incremental decision-making, and reversible assembly strategies. Rather than acting as a representational layer, AR becomes an operative tool for coordination, learning, and construction.

4. Design–Build Laboratory and Outcomes

The workshop is structured as an intensive design–build laboratory combining urban observation, material scouting, computational modeling, and hands-on prototyping. Working in small teams, students will develop and test time-based architectural systems conceived as reversible frameworks rather than fixed objects. The workshop will culminate in physical prototypes and spatial installations that demonstrate how combinatorial design, reclaimed matter, and augmented construction can support new forms of temporary, adaptive architecture embedded in Seoul’s everyday urban life.

5. What you will learn

• Parametric Modelling with Rhino & Grasshopper

• Discrete & Combinatorial Design with Wasp

• Computer Vision and Object Recognition with Python & OpenCV

• FEM Structural Analysis with Karamba3D

• Guided Assembly with Augmented Reality on Mobile & Microsoft Hololens

6. Recommended knowledge

• Previous knowledge of 3d modelling in Rhino is highly recommended. 

• Previous knowledge of Grasshopper is not required (all tools will be provided and introduced), but previous experience could be beneficial.

• Recommended tutorials for preparation:

  • Grasshopper (English): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnUpabNzAM_6xD42LHlE_0oTdrk3vr9hb

  • Grasshopper (Korean): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdg7fiFIJsjhvJcyP9EGLd0XSYbTvvtY_   

  • Wasp #101: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCn3-_9Z4-E5A0EFluiMldlEbDufMiN1g

  • Karamba3D: https://karamba3d.com/