Methods In Complex Form Creation: A Fusion Of Surface And Structure Part 1 Dissertation 2001 Mark Sciberras Queensland University of Technology Brisbane | Australia ABSTRACT:METHODS IN COMPLEX FORM CREATION: AN ALTERNATIVE DESIGN PROCESSBy developing alternative design methods, which enable virtual ‘complex form’ to exist within physical architectural space, the vocabulary of creative discourse may be strengthened through the translation of abstract ideas into realistic strategies. Current digital technologies legitimise the development of an alternative design process as they enable the generation of new forms to be more experimental. As these new forms can describe complex space, the experience may only exist within a virtual medium. However, by recognising that this alternative design process involves strategies of rationalisation and fabrication of modular building elements, complex space can be translated into a physical experience. This strategy illustrates the basic framework for complex form creation. By employing the digital medium to generate new complex forms, the architectural product is encouraged to respond to the current technological culture. This technological culture is a result of the current developments in digital technology, which explains this shift from an industrial society to a society of mass communication. By applying a new method of architectural design, technology can be expressed within a future vocabulary of forms. As well as discussing how new complex forms relate to the context of a technological culture, this study also aims to identify how digital technology affects the way architecture is conceptualised and its forms are fabricated. By describing this alternative design process through current examples, these virtual methods of architectural production can illustrate that new complex forms may expand the possibilities of fluid architectural expressions. Tutors Statement Mark has undertaken this research project with the explicitly defined goals of investigating the possibility of establishing a methodological framework for architectural practice, and explicating the processes of design. The research examines the ambiguous nature of current design processes that have facilitated the manifestation of architecture to reinvent itself, becoming in part an exploratory study in hybrid architectural languages. His interest in the ‘image’ of architecture in the 21st century is being expressed as an ongoing evolution of technology in concert with the aesthetics of building. He has produced a well-researched and coherent argument that will contribute to the grounding of current debate within the professional community on the evolving process of design in the practice of architecture in the 21st century. I believe this thesis is of significant personal worth to Mark as a commencing professional in establishing a platform upon which to begin his architectural career. This area of research offers great scope for Mark should he wish to continue this line of inquiry in the future.