// bio_morphis : shapes of life // formes de vie
 
architecture practice / workshop / research studio

 

Leith Bridge, Edinburgh, UK
Guggenheim Museum, Helsinki, Finland
Bamboo pavilion, Shenzhen, China
Centenary Square, Birmingham, UK

Practice
Workshop
Research Lab

biomorphis is an architecture & design practice dedicated to a sensitive approach to architecture based on affordable systems, sustainability and art.
 
Aesthetic values

Architecture and art are now at the mid-point of innovative adaptations and articulated complexities. The tensions turn to forces shaping space and become fields of responsiveness.

 
New Design Media

We focus on generative design rooted in computational and practical methods and encourage a playful attitude required to keep exploring and generate affordable innovation.

The formal possibilities inherent to our design media are only limited by our imagination.

 
Artistic agenda

biomorphis aims to be at the forefront of cutting-edge technologies in order to provide flexible, adaptive & affordable design.

Design decisions reflect
comprehensiveness and our affordable approach to art, architecture, landscape & geology.

 

Welcome to biomorphis

The studio encourages collaborations with talented artists from multiple fields.

Our studio is located in an incubator of designers, painters, sculptors, filmmakers and many more..

Since we do not restrict our services to particular projects, we ensure that our teams are formed with the highest level of expertise for each project.

 

biomorphis 是一家注册的建筑师事务所，开展建筑设计业务，致力于基于自适应系统、可持续性和艺术 的敏感建筑设计方法。

我们的建筑设计着重于建筑性能，
并尝试引起人们的兴趣，使人们积极参与其中。

我们运用计算机和实用方法，集中于衍生式设计。
 

biomorphis is led by Pierre Forissier, Jack Green & Adriana Koluszko, qualified architects, experienced designers and architecture tutors.

They have gained extensive experience in UK and worldwide within a wide range of international practices and collaborations:

Zaha Hadid Architects
Kengo Kuma Associates
cre8architecture
jmarchitects
LDPInternational

 

 

 

 

biomorphis ltd

Edinburgh studio
Drill Hall, Studio 37
36 Dalmeny Street
EH6 8RG Edinburgh UK

Tel:+44(0)131 208 1165

Shenzhen studio
创意101国际孵化器入驻孵化协议
F518 IDEA LAND
Bao’an Central District,
Shenzhen China

mail@biomorphis.com


 

News!           >> SUMMER 2016 <<
             
 
 

Our September Archi School is now open for registrations. The course will be open for up to 10 students.

This 2 week intensive course is taylored for students already studying architecture and who want to get up-to-speed before the start of the new academic year.

Click here or on the banner for details and the timetables for the course.

  
         

 

News! >> 4th - 27th August 2016    

Design Informatics 2016 Pavilion
George St Edinburgh, UK
Collaboration with Designer Maker Mark Kobine

 
 

biomorphis has been commissioned by design informatics (The University of Edinburgh) to design and build with Mark Kobine a temporary pavilion for exhibiting research projects at the Digital Entertainment Festival 2016 on George St. The structure had to be assembled on site in under two days so prefabrication had to be maximised for speed and also affordability.

  
         

 

     

The LIVING - a new Housing Typology

 
 

The idea behind The Living is for the house to become a bright living room.

The living room spans the full depth and full height of the house. Bedrooms and kitchen are regrouped in one volume which looks like sitting in the living room under a translucent polycarbonate envelope. The living room is directly accessed from the entrance hall.

  
         

 

     

Kjempevesener - Kunstsilo Museum Proposal, Kristiansand, Norway

 
 

Proposal for a new museum in Kristiansand, with the refurbishment of the harbour existing historic silos. The museum aims at reconciling the tight site constraints while also giving space for a Cultural School and creating a new forum on the West side of  Sjolystveien. The future museum will be tall like a giant creature next to another giant.

  
         

 

     

Pavilion proposal for the Festival of Architecture 2016
Collaboration with Graeme Massie Architects

             
 

GHOST

Edinburgh is a city of stories and myths which lie somewhere between fact and fiction. Our proposal for a pavilion for Edinburgh at the pop-up cities expo builds on this narrative, and the temporary nature of the pavilion, to propose a ghost pavilion – a fleeting apparition, ephemeral and ethereal.
 
             


     

Berlin Museum of the 20th Century Art
Competition entry in collaboration with CNTXT studio


             
 

An act of remembrance

At the heart of the Kulturforum in Berlin, a new museum complex Neue Nationalgalerie - Museum of the 20th Century will enable the collection of the Nationalgalerie, to be presented in an adequate fashion for the first time in decades.
 
           
 
Next to the glass temple
The internationally important holdings of the Nationalgalerie of 20th century art, the Marx and Pietsch collections, the Marzona archive and works from the Museum of Prints and Drawings will be permanently and jointly exhibited for the first time.
 
             

 

     

County Theater extension proposal - Doylestown, Pennsylvania

             
 

A new curtain

The concept of the façade for the extension of the County Theater is to start a new conversation. So why a curtain? The curtain is possibly one of the most iconic elements of theaters all over the world. It hides and reveals, it builds up the excitement.
 
             

 

     

Proposed Extension Between the Alvar Aalto Museum
and the Museum of Central Finland

             
 

Revisiting Alvar Aalto
The museums of the Jyväskylä Ruusupuisto area, Alvar Aalto museum and the Museum of
Central Finland, are both significant works of the architect Alvar Aalto. The goal of the proposal is to create an extension to connect the two museums.
 
             
 
In-between two museums
The new extension connecting the two museums enables the versatile use of the spaces of both museums. A new shop will be situated in the extension and the connecting gateway will enable the accessibility of the Alvar Aalto museum.
 
             

 

     

Shenzhen F Pavilion
mobile showcase for F518 creators

             
 

Showcasing creators
A mobile pavilion made of interlocking bamboos. The structure is aimed at showcasing the work of designers and makers from F518 Creative Exchange. This provides a unique opportunity for the creators' work to travel China.
 
             
 
in Shenzhen
The bamboos contrast with the hi-tech displays and interactive exhibitions, while gently nodding to the load bearing timber frame Chinese tradition. The modules can be assembled in few days. This provides flexibility and affordability.
 
             

 

     

Guggenheim Helsinki competition entry
collaboration with Liz Thomas Landscape Architect

             
 

Superculture
A forest as a museum and a museum as a forest are the weaving themes which reveal our obsession to distinguish between the natural and the artificial. The project reflects on what a museum is and what a super culture could be..
 
             
 
Forest
The forest rebalances the senses saturated by an abundance of images and sounds in the museum. The forest reveals the nature of the wider city and is grounded in the tradition of Scandinavian fairy tales.
 
             

 

     

RIBA lounge proposal for MIPIM UK

             
 

Wrapping the lounge
The location of the RIBA lounge is quite particular as it is at the very end of the National Hall. It is a difficult space. We propose for the lounge to address this condition and create a surface wrapping just off the back wall and coming back as a ceiling.
 
             
 
In a timber drape
The continuous timber sheet would not only cocoon the visitors byt also provide a natural shelf for exhibiting and displaying models and drawings. It could turn into an informal sitting. It would also provide a natural storage space behind it.
 
             

 

 

     

Preston Youth Centre RIBA Competition

             
 

Remaking the bus station
Preston Bus Station is a monument and it needs to breathe. It wants a public space in front of it in order to regain its stature. Today it needs a front facade which should be quietly inviting, creating an esplanade.
 
             
 
in Preston
On that new esplanade, no new building could possibly compete in length or mass with the station’s immense presence. Therefore the proposed Youth Zone should go in one direction: up.
 
             

 

      Leith Regeneration - Leith Bridge

leith bridge
             
leith bridge  
...Leith regeneration
Cycling through Edinburgh in between roof-tops on the tracks of the former Caledonian Railway's Leith New Lines. The new route will provide a direct access from East Edinburgh to Pilrig park cycle tracks and the West..
  leith bridge
             
leith bridge  
... & The Leith Bridge

The bridge structure has been developped with an optimized pattern of simple straight timber boards suspended from two main kevlar cables. Simple complexity.
  leith bridge
             

    See the Leith Bridge on

 

     

Soar Island - International Open Ideas Competition

             
 

A fresh look at Soar island
Creating a unique opportunity for the city of Leicester to reclaim Soar Island and turn it into a new destination both locally and globally. The project aims at proposing a new Community Farming Hub on the island.
 
             
 
Community Farming Hub
The Hub will be a state-of-the-art facility acting as a community centre and a public space for Leicester. It will consist of 3 elements: the Farm, Market Hall and Market Square. It will function in semi-autonomy and aim at zero waste.
 
             

 

     

Centenary Square Birmingham competition entry

             
 

A manufactured countryside
The proposal aims at bringing back the historical identity of the Birmingham borough by revealing its wider context into a square at its heart, and making us feel as being from somewhere.
 
             
 
Scales
The underlying concept is a manufactured English countryside born from the collision of multiple scales, from cellular agricultural patterns to valleys, and the need for reconnecting the city networks as part of a new urban nature.
 
             

 

     

Bamiyan Cultural Centre UNESCO Design Competition

             
 

A citadel of culture
The proposed Cultural Centre is formed around a pattern of traditional public and private courtyards defined by a simple warm pallet of thick earth walls with deep carved openings and delicately crafted timber and glass screens.
 
             
 
Creating a vital centre
Fine arts, traditional crafts and musicians are brought together using adaptable spaces.The enlivened courtyards evoke the typical social nature of daytime and evening events.
 
             

 

Collaboration with Dr Chris Speed & Chris Barker     Digital Landscape Architecture Conference 2013, Bernburg, Germany

 
Mapping Bernberg
Workshop participants were invited to map the Bernburg / Strenzfeld Campus at the Biotechnikum, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Germany. The workshop was meant to disrupt mapping conventions and make us reflect on live Data mapping.
 
             
 
at the Biotechnikum

A combination of photographic, text and GPS data gaathered in real-time from smart phones produced a representation of peoples' movement across the campus. By taking photos and adding captions, delegates could post images to a central map projected at the workshop base.
 
             

 

      CSGN Ideas Competition 2014 finalist

syn
             
 

The Canopy
After 50 years of globalisation, agriculture has recently seen a boost from "local sourcing" in food production. Communities involved in this shift are seeking a reduction on their dependency on non-local sources od supply.
  synbio_show
             
 
Turning Waverley station into a temporary greenhouse
Waverley, with its simple glass roof unfolding under the North Bridge does not look like a train station: it rather looks like a giant greenhouse. So why not pretend for a while that it is a greenhouse along with a food market..
  syn
             

 

      Edinburgh International Festival
Commisionned interactive projection at
Edinburgh College of Art

syn
             
synbio  

Synthetic Biology:
Where Organic Meets Digital
Synthetic biologists, designers, artists, engineers and architects worked together at Edinburgh International Festival to explain key concepts of Synthetic Biology.
  synbio_show
             
syn  
Installation:
Interactive projection by biomorphis

The projection is a virtual articulated sculpture which unfolds when dancers scan a 3D printed model of a tRNA messenger. The sculpture represents a protein chain growing from a ribosome .
  syn
             

 

with cre8architecture & B3architects     Michael Woods Sports & Leisure Centre

             
 
A rock formation..
Completed in June 2013, the £19m new build Sports Centre in Glenrothes has been designed by Pierre Forissier & Adriana Koluszko with cre8architecture. It is one of the most striking Local Authority Sports and leisure facilities in the UK.
 
             
 
..in Glenrothes

The centre offers a huge range of Regional and National facilities including 3 swimming pools, 85 station gym, fitness studios, squash courts, sports hall, meeting facilities and cafe as well as a range of outdoor pitches and athletic track. 
 
             

 

with cre8architecture & RHWL     Port Hamilton

 
Passive energy offices..

Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment : Excellent

Edinburgh city Centre. Offices designed by Pierre Forissier, Adriana Koluszko & Lynn Algar with cre8architecture + RHWL. Speculative, passive energy responsive office building of 4,000 sq mtrs over ground plus four upper floors.
 
           
 
..in Edinburgh

With natural ventilation and a unique setting and environment the building will offer the discerning user an opportunity to enjoy a central Edinburgh location with exceptional environmental performance.
 
             

 

      Boreal House-Scotland

 
A house in the Highlands
The house is for an artist as a place to retreat from the world. The concept of the house is to experiment how nature spontaneous forces can shape in a boreal region of the world
   
             
 
Wild landscapes and fields of forces
The Scottish Highlands are geological formations where nature can be seen at its bare form: Wind, light and rocks. The house will be the pure expression of the intersections and layering of these elements, and still offer the ever changing vistas onto nature.
 

 
             
 
Moving event

The deep layering is expressed in the roof shape itself: a weave -within a weave- within a weave.

The view of the house for hillside walkers will be a moving event daytime or night-time when the house should be seen as an 'extra-ordinary' organism shaped by nature forces.

   
             

 

     

Holyrood Abbey - Edinburgh
The Machine - Temporary Art Installation

             
 

Visiting Holyrood Abbey
Holyrood Abbey was founded by King David in 1128. The legend says he was saved by a miraculous appearance from a charging hart. The idea is to represent both the end of a human-centric era and the beginning of a new one taken-over by 'mechanic systems'.
 
           
 
And finding a machine
The new arches are fabricated from folded flat metal sheets (otherwise known as flat quads) with an order imposed from without. The source of the structure apparent activity is not the whole itself but its meticulously folded parts.
 
             

 

with cre8architecture     Bathing Beauties Competition - Beach Nut

             
 

A Beach Hut

The Bathing Beauties project aims to reinvigorate the traditional English seaside experience with bold and dramatic architecture. It aims at creating a series of beach huts on a partly forgotten stretch of the Lincolnshire coast.
 
             
 
as a Beach Nut
The beach hut is as quintessentially British as fish and chips and the knotted hanky, but in reality is little more than a painted shed. Beach Nut is a new take at imagining a building form which has been often overlooked but that everyone loves.
 
             

 

with cre8architecture     Art Fund Pavilion
International Design competition - Commended Entry

             
 

A glowing organism
The concept of the pavilion is to experiment with a developmental pattern in the evolution of an organism, to let spontaneous forces go without mediation. This results into an organic structure that wraps itself with a protective membrane. The skin (Membrane) reveals life from the skeleton.
 
             
 
for The Art Fund
The pavilion is now one creature dipped in the real bio mass. The inside glow (i.E. Internal lighting) reveals a pulsating organism into the night. The permanent incompletion is the evolutionary change that rejects the idea of a prediction about its form of growth.
 
             

 

with cre8architecture     Entrance & Reception Pavilion for NHS Glasgow

             

 

Furniture     NEWYORK NEWYORK shelves

             
 

Hanging Metropolis
newyork newyork shelves are inspired by new-york city skyscrapers and are part of a series of shelves representing different cities in the world. They come flat pack and are assembled out of a simple system of interlocking folded metal sheets.
 
             

 

Architectural Design Studio
University of Edinburgh
ESALA

   

Digital Ecologies
Pierre Forissier + Lisa Moffitt


             
 
Small Data / Big Data
Digital Ecologies provides an introduction to the theoretical and practical technologies that underpin digital generative systems within the physical environment..
 
             
 
..in Dalgety Bay

The advent of ubiquitous computing including the streaming of data from
all aspects of the natural and built environment means that architects can access and produce raw measures of the environment.

 
             

 

      Cellular Habitat

 
A perfect mathematic structure..
The variety of forms in nature seems endless. Patterns can derive from mathematical rules. Patterns can derive from mathematical rules. Habitats can derive from patterns.
   
             
 
...transformed by a cahotic process
The pavilion is a temporary proposal for a historic hall. It reflects new built orders and hidden rules in contrast with those of its classical backdrop. 
   
             
 
Optimized compromise

A genetic algorithm is no guarantee of beauty but the outcomes can be striking. The matrix of self assembling timber cubes expresses the invisible forces of life and death that affect each brick.
   
             

 

     

Pier - Isle of Cres- Croatia
Collaboration with Bojana Vuksanovic

 
Pier on Cres island
The City of Cres in Croatia in association with the European Union is developping a new access to the sea from its main seafront promenade. The main purpose is to allow disabled people a safe way down to the water.
 
             

 

New Seascape
The pier is composed of two main elements: the carved stone ramps & a timber deck. The stone ramps slowly grade down to provide a smooth experience to all people and redefine the bay in 3 areas. Shallow-water bathing, Sunbedding and Rental Boats access.
 

             

 

with cre8architecture

    

RIBA & Norwich Union Flood Design Competition
Commended Entry


             
 
Flood tolerant design
Recognising that change happens we have conceived a house for the future – focusing upon energy efficiency, sustainability and social responsibility. The design should let the water in rather than pushing the water to the next area.
 
             
 
Water lily principles

The ground floor sits on a floating pad around a fixed central core that houses circulation and services. The height of the ground floor will vary and be taken up by the double articulated joint at first floor allowing all accommodation above this to remain completely unaffected.
 
             

 

with cre8architecture

    

RIAS Clydebank Bridge Canopy Competition
Commended Entry


             
 
Static water
The idea is to extract a shape from Clydebank’s ship-building heritage and abstract it into a dynamic new form that energises the canal. The canopy takes the ship propeller as an initial point of reference and abstracts the form through sinuous lines to reflect motion, rotation and cover.
 
             
 
Moving bridge

The apparent complexity of the canopy belies the simplicity of the repeated form. Only three components exist – the structural arch, the repeated propeller and the slender secondary structural lines.

 
             

 

 

    

Metropolitan Architecture Centre - Edinburgh UK

 
Two Edinburgh patterns
The idea is to propose a Museum of Architecture for Scotland, named the Metropolitan Architecture Centre (MAC). The museum's architectural language would emerge from the territorial patterns of Edinburgh's old town and the new forces at stake in the city.
 
       
 
The fold and the mask

The centre is designed as a folding machine: it expresses the strata which are still very active in Edinburgh.

Historical strata just don't simply lay on top of each other; they fold from one end to another. They are one continuous flow of a single layer with its accidents and events.

The capital's strata are topological in a way that they connect with time but they are also inherently non logical. They are the result of clashes of multiple forces, may they be geological, animal or social.

The mask is more than a separation between the centre and the outside: it conditions the continuity.
 
 
         

 

Feasibilitiy Studies    



 
Lagos Island
Park & Ride facility

Collaboration with Hylomorph.

Proposed parking facility to be located on Campbell Street / Catholic Mission Street in Lagos Island. Hybrid park & ride artefact expanding commuting network via Eko Bridge and Carter Bridge.
 
             

 
Fern Towers
An air fern is a name given to a product that is composed of a species of marine animals collected for curiosity. Despite a ressemblance to plants, they are actually shells, dried colonies. Fernlike structures are composed of many small chambers, where animals once lived. These are the Fern Towers
 

             
 
Khams Shamat - Syria Pavilion & canopy

Collaboration with GROSS.MAX.

Pavilion hiding under a canopy. two distinct objects for one project. Incidental disruption of a common walk in Khams Shamat park for a new cafe shading under a matrix.
 

 

Modelling behaviours     visit biomorphis work on www.nCodon.com