Blobitecture | Architectural Styles

Blobitecture (from the words “blob” (“drop”) and “architecture”), or blobizm (blob) – is a postmodern architectural style, characterized by a curved-rounded shape of buildings.

Structures built in this style have an organic external form with soft, freely flowing lines that, when combined with each other, form a complex whole.

However, the fact that a building was built in the style of postmodernism and has an unusual shape does not mean that it can be automatically considered an example of a blob architecture. The belonging of a building to this style is determined rather by the process of its design.

Blob-style structures are created using computer modeling programs, rather than by physical models. Thus, the creation of blob art objects is impossible without the use of software. With the help of design and visualization programs, architects create the shape of designed buildings, using various digital modeling platforms and manipulating them with algorithms, which is impossible in the case of using standard models.

The history of the blob

Historically, the design of buildings was limited to the characteristics of natural materials or materials produced by artificial means from existing natural.

Due to the modern technological capabilities of manufacturing completely “artificial” complex materials with unique properties, the range of possible design forms has grown significantly. Radical architects, such as representatives of the 1960s avant-garde architectural group Arkigrem (English: Archigram) or Richard Bukminster Fuller and deconstructivists, began to design unusual inflatable and ‘plastic’ buildings, whose design was based on the potential of new materials and sometimes it exceeded the constructive possibilities of its time.

However, it was not until the 1990s, together with the widespread introduction of CAD computer aided design, that buildings with unconventional geometric shapes became practical.

The first blob building was the Freshwater Pavilion (Eng .: Freshwater Pavilion) in the Netherlands, designed by Lars Spibroek from the Nox Architects architectural bureau and built by Kas Osterhuys in 1993. This structure, which became the first building, completely designed by means of computer simulation, stood until 1997. At the same time, the concept of blob architecture was presented to the masses only in 1995, when American architect Greg Lynn wrote an essay for ANY magazine entitled “Blobs, or Why Tectonics is Square and Topology is Groovy” (“Blob-style objects, or why tectonics is rectangular, and the topology is routine ”), in which he described his experiments using graphic software to create new, drop-like projects. Based on this essay,

The clearest examples of blob architecture

– The building of the Philological Library of the Free University of Berlin (English: Library for the Free University of Berlin) in Germany, designed by the architectural bureau Foster + Partners. It is one of the most iconic blob buildings, nicknamed “The Brain of Berlin” (English: “The Berlin Brain”), because it looks like a human brain from the outside and inside.

– Sage Gateshead Concert Hall, located in Gateshead, England, designed by the same architectural bureau

– The amazing building of the Graz Museum of Art (German: Kunsthaus Graz) in Austria, designed by English architects Peter Cook and Colin Fournier and nicknamed ‘Friendly Alien’, as it is a giant, ultra-modern structure, surrounded by historic buildings.

Blobitecture is only the first of the upcoming innovative architectural styles, as architects will continue to push the boundaries and think extraordinarily, creating bold and creative projects that will change the current look of urban landscapes.