Meet the partners behind AMALTEA!
Etcetera is led by Ariane Stracke-Henderson and Rob Henderson. It is a model for the future of architecture and design. They take a lateral approach by collaborating with product manufacturers, developers, engineers, and researchers that are shaping tomorrow’s architecture. They are designers at their core, so elegant and meaningful form is essential to their work. They have a curiosity for social and technological challenges aiming to create human value, improve people’s lives and the world around us.
What is your role in the AMALTEA project, and why is it important?
Etcetera is guiding the strategy for building the AI driven facade design tool; using their broad experience to help bring together the aesthetic and technical design while synthesizing the input from the fabrication and installation phases of the project. This will involve computational design and iteration to train the AI model and then retrieve optimised responses from the trained model to be digitally reconstructed for fabrication. Additionally, they are a primary partner in the design of the curtain wall facade system of the project. That system will be used for the pilot facades which Etcetera will also be responsible for designing.
So Etcetera will be a guiding force through all the phase of the project, and the representation of the project through the completed AI design tool and the pilot facades is a very important aspect of the project to create broader awareness of the project and the work being executed through the Horizon Europe program.
What excites you most about being part of AMALTEA?
The AMALATEA project is an exciting test of the limits of specific AI in architecture and building construction. Synthesizing the complex information involved in the design, fabrication, and installation of a facade into a successful material result has been part of our work for many years. Now having the opportunity to work with leaders in the fields of AI and robotics to design and execute this process promises to be an unparalleled adventure.
