Corner Study

RESEARCH BACKGROUND
Triply-Periodic minimal surfaces are mathematical objects that form a continuous partitioning of three-dimensional space with a surface of zero gaussian curvature (cylinder). Through the soap-film models and the work of such architects as Frei Otto, minimal surfaces have a history as architectural structures. This project is one of a series that explores the architectural properties of the Triply-Periodic family of minimal surfaces.

RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION
This project by Paul Minifie examines the property of a Triply-Periodic minimal surface that partitions space in two. By applying the architectural dialectic of public/private space to this abstract figure, an architectural object is created that continually interleaves the space of the city with private residential space over a number of levels. This architectural proposition tests the traditional architectural debate between these two types of space with a novel formal arrangement. This is the first time such research has been attempted in architectural design and represents pioneering digital design.

RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE
Corner Study was exhibited at Archilab 2001: the 3rd International Architecture Convention and Exhibition held at the FRAC Centre, France, curated by Marie-Ange Brayer and Beatrice Simonot. The project featured in the catalogue accompanying the exhibition and has also been published by Thames and Hudson in Archilab's Future House: Radical Experiment in Living Space edited by Marie-Ange Brayer and Beatrice Simonot and in 10 x 10_2 100 Architects 10 Critics by Phaidon Press. It was also exhibited in Convergence: Hotspots Melbourne at the 2004 Architectural Biennale Beijing.