About me
Chris Bosse is a German-born architect, resident in Sydney in Australia. He was a key designer of the Beijing National Aquatics Centre that was built for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Educated in Germany and Switzerland, he worked with several high-profile European architects before moving to Sydney.
For many years Bosse has based his work on the computational study of organic structures and resulting spatial conceptions. His research lies in the exploration of unusual structures pushing the boundaries of the traditional understanding of structure and architecture with digital and experimental formfinding. Chris Bosse's Masters’ degree dealt with the implementation of virtual environments into architecture.
The potential for naturally evolving systems such as snowflakes, spider webs and soap bubbles for new building typologies and structures informs Bosse’s work – the geometries in nature create both efficiency and beauty. But above all the human is the centre of his investigations.
Whilst Associate Architect with PTW, Bosse was a key designer of the Watercube for Beijing Olympics [winner of Atmosphere Award, 9th Venice Architecture Biennale] and was recognized in the 2007 AR Awards for Emerging Architecture, RIBA London.[1]
He co-founded LAVA the Laboratory for Visionary Architecture, with Tobias Wallisser and Alexander Rieck in 2007. LAVA has offices in Sydney, Stuttgart and Abu Dhabi As of 2010 Bosse works as an Adjunct Professor and Research Innovation fellow at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in Australia.
LAVA combines digital workflow, local solutions and the latest digital fabrication technologies with the aim of achieving MORE WITH LESS: more (architecture) with less (material/ energy/time/cost).
On October 7, 2008 at Dubai cityscape, Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher and LAVA presented the design for The Michael Schumacher World Champion Tower (MSWCT), the first in a series of seven towers to be built worldwide.[2] "The Tower marks a departure from traditional architectural thinking", state the architects Chris Bosse and Tobias Wallisser. “Inspired by the geometrical order of a snowflake and the aerodynamics of a Formula 1 racing car, the tower encapsulates speed, fluid dynamics, future technology and natural patterns of organization”.
LAVA architects won the bid to design the city center for the sustainable eco-city Masdar in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2010.[3] LAVA imagined an outdoor city-center based on traditional European public plazas that would encourage social interaction. However, Masdar’s arid climate leaves outdoor spaces subject to the blistering heat of the desert. To ameliorate this problem and create a comfortable place to gather and shop, the architects incorporated adaptive building technologies, and efficient use of energy and water — creating a rather dazzling sustainable city center. The project for the city centre includes a plaza, hotel, convention centre, entertainment and retail facilities. Masdar centre won the Special Award - Environmental Category in the 2009 Cityscape Dubai Awards.[4]
LAVA’s DIGITAL ORIGAMI TIGERS are currently traveling the world as part of the WWF year of the tiger campaign.[5]
‘Tower Skin’, a Zeroprize winning speculative proposal [6] for the UTS building in Sydney, re-purposes an inefficient and outdated building.[7] A
Projects
- CLASSROOM OF THE FUTURELAVA`s school relocatable is a learning space for the future. The classroom for 21st century learning is sustainable, integrates with the landscape, connects with the school environment, and is suitable for prefabrication and mass customisation. Relocatables are the decades old solution to changing demographics, remote community needs, and natural disasters. Unsightly, they are perceived as cheap and unpleasant spaces. This idea is upturned with spaces that are sustainable, practical, cost effective whilst making learning fun and exciting. Sustainable design includes prefabrication, eco-materials, symmetrical repeatable geometry, and small lightweight easily transportable modular elements. The modular façade system is manually operable, flexible for light and shade, enclosed space or open space, bringing the outside in or the inside out. Mass customisation is low cost, low carbon, with off-site prefabrication allowing responsive assembly, and adapts to varied climates, unusual configurations and topographies. The ‘three axis’ geometry design allows interlocking of various configurations to adapt to changing class sizes, learning clusters and future learning methods. The design by LAVA and Arup received a ‘Jury Special Mention’ in the Australian Future Proofing School competition.
- SEA SHELL FASHION SET, SYDNEYShells and sand were the inspiration for the fashion show set for Myer. Using the geometry of a triton shell, it was digitised, sliced into buildable components and CNC cut, with 2000 pieces put together. Summer in Australia celebrates the culture of the beach and it was fitting to set summer’s fashion within a symbol of the season. That is, the shell, that great expression of aesthetics and beauty. And so fitting for fashion, the modern day frontier for aesthetic expression, to be showcased in the fluid architecture of shells. Designed in three-dimensional modelling software, the shell form was made up of a latticework of sectional cuts arranged as a structural framework. Then, using computer controlled (CNC) milling the form was fabricated and constructed using recyclable timber materials. This allowed for exacting control over the final form of the catwalk and pavilion while reducing wasteland construction time. The catwalk plan was consciously a more organic form than the traditional linear expression allowing for greater choreography over the set piece, through and around the shell pieces, showcasing the diversity and craftsmanship of each individual item. The lattice framework created a dynamic and intriguing view through which the guests and media saw the tantalising reveal of the catwalk models and clothing. The lattice of the triton shell also worked to provide countless opportunities for back lighting and shadowing, increasing the dramatic potential for the show. LAVA’s Myer Spring Summer11 Collections Launch set transformed the traditional catwalk into a visionary design concept utilising the latest technology for the efficient and environmental manufacturing of a complex three-dimensional form. Partners: Amanda Henderson; Gloss Creative; Rizer; Staging
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Work history
Director
Associate Architect
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concept architect on many projects
incl Watercube Beijing
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Skills
- Interior
- Interior Architecture
- Design
- Urban Design
- Urban Planning
- Indesign
- Design Research
- Architectural Design
- Sustainable Design
- Comprehensive Planning
Education
Architecture Masters
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www.arc.usi.ch/en
http://enac.epfl.ch/en/architecture
www.uni-stuttgart.de/ilek/
https://www.fh-koeln.de/en/faculty-of-architecture_6807.php
Awards
list of awards
Awards
2004 Venice Biennale Award,
2005 Interior Design Award,
2006 I. D. Annual Design Review USA
2006 IDEA Awards, Overall Winner
2007 Bulletin Smart 100
2007 SMH