Abstract: "Blob Tectonics or Why Tectonics is Square and Topology is Groovy" By Greg Lynn

Greg Lynn offers a visionary discussion about the topologies of blobs in this chapter of his book. He states that "Blobs suggest alternative strategies of structural organization and construction that provide intricate and complex new ways of relating the homogeneous or general to the heterogeneous or particular" (169). The author suggests that this is a better way of viewing spaces and shapes which will solve the basic problem of tectonics which is tying the whole to the details of the form and having them interact successfully. Blobs have several characteristics that enable them to overcome this problem of tectonics. They are continuous surfaces that "possess neither a global form nor a single identity." (171). When they join with another blob they incorporate into each other seamlessly. This is because they are not considered solids but more "aqueous" forms that can merge and adapt according to the situation that they may be in.

The author also mentions two different theories about the way in which we can discover the basic characteristics of an object. According to Cartesianism, which is an older theory, the "constitutive identity" of a shape can be reached by breaking it up into its simplest parts. A newer more visionary idea is attributed to Leibniz which states that this identity can be found by changing the object and bringing it to a more complex state. The blob may be understood in this way because it remains as a single object or a whole but cannot be broken down to its basic parts because in itself, it is a basic part. The author believes that the Leibniz theory is "creative" and that is has a "vital elegance of combinatorial multiplicity."

The chapter continuous the discussion by applying the theory to more practical circumstances. Lynn describes the work of Alejandro Zaera-Polo and Farshid Moussavi especially the Yolkohama Port Terminal. The roof of this project is not a flat surface but rather an undulating, almost blob-like form which mutates at places where the slabs that are used change. The proposal by Reiser and Umemoto for this project can also be applied to these theories. Specifically, the author discusses the dynamics of the roof system in this scheme. It may be compared to a blob because it is a continuous surface that mutates according to the program that may be found inside it. This blob seams to glide across the large space seamlessly. With these specific examples we can begin to see a different way of composing the architecture of the future. Our way of life is, like a blob, continuous and seamless. By creating these kinds of shapes to surround our everyday lives we would be creating more comfortable spaces i which we can flow through. The technology that is available to us now will also allow this concept to be developed to a full extent in a near future.