Michael Weinstock RIBA

Director Research and Development

Director, Emergent Technologies and Design

Michael Weinstock is an Architect. Born in Germany, lived as a child in the Far East and then West Africa, attended an English public school. Ran away to sea at age 17 after reading Conrad. Years at sea in traditional sailing ships, with shipyard and shipbuilding experience. Studied Architecture at the Architectural Association and has taught at the AA School of Architecture since 1989. Founder and Director of Emergent Technologies Masters Programme.

Research Interests

Michael Weinstock’s research interest lies in exploring the convergence of Biomimetic Engineering, Architecture, Emergence and Material Sciences and has published widely on these topics since 1989. The potential of the convergence for the materialisation of intelligent materials, structures, and ultimately, the organisation of Cities, provides the motivation and suggests the long-term goal. Acadia Award for Excellence 2008.

Lectures and Educational collaborations have included

Keynote lecture/paper – 2009 International Symposium ‘From Insect Nests to Human Architecture’, European Centre for Living Technology, Venice

Keynote lecture/paper– Acadia 2008 ‘Silicon and Skin’, Minneapolis

-International Advisor and Board Member, Technical University of Delft, Doctoral Research programme.

-lecturer at Yale University,

-Visiting Professor at Universite Romatre, Rome,

-Visiting Professor to the Genetic Architecture research programme at ESARQ, Barcelona, Director of ‘Taller Vertical’

- and collaborations with Prof. George Jeronimides and the Center of Biomimetics at the University of Reading, Wolf Mangelsdorf and Buro Happold, and with Achim Menges at the Institute of Computational Design, Stuttgart University.

In press

‘THE ARCHITECTURE OF EMERGENCE - the Evolution of Form in Nature and Civilisation

WILEY ACADEMY, Michael Weinstock, London, (2010)

‘EMERGENT TECHNOLOGIES AND DESIGN - Towards a Biological Paradigm for Architecture’, Hensel, Menges and Weinstock, ROUTLEDGE, London, (2010)

Emergence is one of the most exciting new fields in architecture today, gaining interest from not only academics and students but also leading professionals, with directors from Fosters, Arup and Bentley Systems all attending the most recent symposium on the subject at the Architects Association, London. As a concept, Emergence has captured the zeitgeist, embodying the pervasive cultural interest in genetics and biological sciences. In the sciences, Emergence is an explanation of how natural systems have evolved and maintained themselves, andit has alsobeen applied to artificial intelligence, information systems, economics and climate studies. The potential of the mathematics of Emergence that underlie the complex systems of nature is now being realised by engineers and architects for the production of complex architectural forms and effects, in advanced manufacturing of ‘smart’ materials and processes, and in the innovative designs of active structures and responsive environments. The first book to provide a detailed exploration of the architectural and engineering consequences of this paradigm, and adetailed analysis of geometries, processes and systems to be incorporated into new methods of working. Sets out a new model of ‘Metabolism’ that uses natural systems and processes as a model far beyond the minimising environmental strategies of ‘sustainability’. www.architectureofemergence.om