Studio AirABPL 30048 ARCHITECTURE STUDIO AIR2015, SEMESTER 1, STUDIO 11 CAITLYNCHIU YI CHANG ANDY

Introduction

- About me

- Past Experience

Part A: Conceptualisation

- A.1 Design Futuring

- A.2 Design Computation

- A.3 Composition/Generation

- A.4 Conclusion

- A.5 Learning Outcome

- A.6 Algorithmic Sketches

- References

CONTENTS

About Me

Hello, my name is Andy Chiu and I am a 3rd year student studying Bachelor of Environments majoring in Architecture at The University of Melbourne. My mother is probably my biggest influence when talking about the field of Architecture as it was always her dream to become an Architect, she never had the chance to really pursue her own career in Architecture. I liked designing but it was never my first choice as I’ve always considered myself more of a commerce-type person. But as I entered university and started to understand the world of Architecture, I became fascinated by it and chose to continue pursuing a degree in the field of Architecture.

Up until now, I have been able to learn the basic of many design-relate programs like Photoshop, InDesign, CAD, Revit and Google Sketch-Up. I hope to be able to learn and improve my programming repertoire by adding Rhino and Grasshopper to my list, furthermore I hope to expand my knowledge about algorithmic designs.

I did not do Virtual Environments when I was in my first year in University. Therefore I was not exposed to much digital means of designing early on in university. It was until my second year when I was doing Studio Earth and water where I had to use designing platforms to really make it easier for me to present my work. Since my 2nd year I have continuously been learning more about CAD, Revit and Sketch-Up in order to help in presenting my work. Since then I’ve had some exposure to rhino and grasshopper and am eager to developer more of my skills in Studio Air. As I get better at utilizing these tools as a form of design I can expand my capabilities for designing even more. I believe Studio Air will also help me understand more environmentally friendlier design, with high efficiency and no wasted spaces.

Past Experience

CONCEPTUALIZATIONPART A

A.1 - Design Futuring

The concept of architecture has been a response to the social desire and need to create gratified spaces for people since the ancient times. Architects are charged to create such spaces using certain methodologies. Traditionally architects approached a design by creating and imaging spaces on a 2-dimensional plane, but as time passes and technology advances, society has stacked on more pressure on architects to come up with designs which are extravagant and spectacular.

In “Design Futuring”, Tony Fry explained that the trends of the current design industry is heading towards a “de-futuring condition of sustainability.” In recent years architects have been in a tug-of-war with nature, desperately trying to find a balance where both the natural and artificial landscapes can co-exist. Fry emphasized the lack of innovation in our current method of architecture and stressed the importance to find alternative methods to approach design processes. It seems as we moves towards the digital era, parametric modelling and other technological

tools can act as an incentive for more innovative and original responses to meet the ever present need for “sustainability”.

Architects design objects that may extend pass their current generation, therefore the standard to which their designs to need to fulfill is not only to current standards but also to future standards as well. Hence it is crucial that designers explore, recreate and re-define their current projects in order to create a sustainable environment, where further inspiration can be drawn upon.

FIG.1

Yorkshire Diamond designed by Various Architects is a very interesting collapsible, portable event space. It was originally created for a competition for a mobile performance space for Yorkshire Forward. The inflatable structure created is completely recyclable and generates all of its own energy.

Solar panels on the roof would gather energy as the Pavilion is collapsed and being transferred. The diamond grid façade allows it to easily collapse into a very portable sheet and can then be easily reassembled by simply pumping the air tubes with air. The innovative sustainable feature that can generate energy during transport and while being assembled, together with the recyclable materials used for the building shows the strong dedication

to the environment in the part of the Various Architects involved. The creativity and advance technology used to create this structure is truly what makes this building one of a kind.

The versatility of the building is one of its key features. Various Architects designed a pavilion that can be taken apart and transported easily to another location to serve its multiple purposes. I do think the idea of a multi-purpose pavilion along with its portable qualities is very interesting. People in every era often emphasize on the importance of efficiency recently the importance of convenience and portability has been increasing, with a project like the Yorkshire diamond, other architects may further investigate into building that can potentially be portable and moved to wherever it is needed.

Yorkshire DiamondVARIOUS ARCHITECTS

FIG.2

Water CubePTW ARCHITECTS

The Water Cube was built alongside with the Beijing National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) in 2008 for the Beijing Olympic Games. PTW architects combined their efforts with CSCEC, CCDI and ARUP to win the design competition to design the aquatic center for the 2008 Games, the result was the cuboid structure known now as the Water Cube.

The main structure comprises of a steel frame holding more than 100,000 m2 of Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene panels. These panels better known as ETFE panels are fluorine based plastic designed to have high structural strength alongside high corrosion resistance. This combination of qualities makes this material very good at allowing in natural light and heat to enter within the structure; this in turn

made the stadium more efficient reducing the energy costs of the structure by almost 30%.

The ETFE façade maximized its natural heating and cooling potential along with its ability to capture solar energy eliminating the need of standard HVAC needs. Back in 2008 this was a state-of-the-art facility. It was a very efficient structure both in economic terms and sustainable terms, gaining maximum interior space with the minimum structure required. The clad of this building not only serves its aesthetic purposes but also explores further possibilities of energy saving methods, and this idea of efficiency is one that still considered very important in today’s society.

A.1 Design Computation

A.2 - Design Computation

Architecture practices have gone through dramatic changes as we enter the digital era. Technology nowadays is almost a compulsory means to all practices of design including architecture. The challenge that persistently occurs is to find the balance of human and technological contributions. As we approach equilibrium of human thinking and technology designers will then be able to further advance the field of architecture.

Architectural design stems from the constraints of human imagination but it also needs to deal with other constraints, such as site condition, climate, functionality etc. each design is a solution to its context and therefore are unique from all other. While technology provides us a way to accelerate the design process, it is still up to architects to control the final outcome. Some computer software have been refined to the stage where they are able to contribute towards the design process in a more creative rather than machine like manner. They are able to pick out good attributes and incorporate them by tying their features into new ideas, by

refining certain aspects in order to create further outcomes. I believe in the future computers with their superior rational and search abilities will be able to assist human in achieving their creative potentials, architects can be unchained by the limitations of a 2-Dimenstional plane and express their creativity to better convey their ideas in a sense so that non-architects can have a better understanding of the concept.

Frank Gehry is an architect known for his hands on approach; he does not utilize any technological help when visualizing his concepts for each project. When Gehry began designing the EMP, his aim was to create a structure that “evoked the rock ‘n’ roll experience. With this in mind sketches were made where electric guitars are sliced up and pieced together to create the initial model design. Technology then stepped into the design process and took over, computerization techniques allows for the ability to mold 21 thousand individual pieces of stainless steel and painted aluminium together to create the unique shaped encasement. The need of computerzation tools in this design is evident throughout the project, without it the ability to find a form that perfectly balances strength

and stablity using 21 thousand pieces would be an incredibly daunting task for any human without technological skills. It seems that despite famous architects such as Gehry having limited capabilities with technology, nowadays it is without a doubt that most architects need to be somewhat profficient at designing tools in order to explore and more efficiently create better outcomes for each project. As architects improve their proficiency of designing tools this also expands their designing range and creativity.

EMP MuseumFRANK GEHRY

RCD designed this pavilion that demonstrates many parametric qualities, this project is very similar to the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing. It involves timber laths curving around itself creating its curved surface. Plywood are per-fabricated to their curved forms and then assembled on site. People may also consider this building a Green Project because of the material and construction method it applied. Pre-fabricated plywood are bound together on sight with screws and bolts, meaning it can be easily disassembled and moved to different location. Each curve has to be precise in order to be joined to form the final pavilion. Such precision is only reached with technological help, without technological advances constructing such a pavilion would become incredibly tedious and inefficient.

OnGreening PavilionRCD

A.3 - Composition/Generation

With the coming of the digital age, architects have been shown a wider range of design possibility than ever before. But just because of the advances of technology doesn’t’t mean new ideas will just appear out of thin air, architects still need to approach design processes rationally and understand fully the potential and limitations of computerization.

Stephen Wolfram is a British computer scientist that firmly believes in the ideals and potential of computation. He explains “It’s always seemed like a big mystery how nature seemingly so effortlessly manages to produce so much that seems to be so complex…it’s just sampling what’s out there in the computational universe.” He suggest computation as a tool we can use to sample such examples the universe/nature has provided us giving us better and efficient designs that may previously be deemed unfeasible or impossible.

Computers also assist architects in other ways, one of which is the communication between designer and his clients. Computerization can be used to help the clients visualize in a simulated environment what the designer has

installed for their project, this helps people that may not be familiar with the field to have a better grasp of the creativity and meaning of each design. Rarely do designers set out knowing exactly what they have envisioned for a project, it is more often the case that through the design process the designer slowly develops an outcome that best suits the task at hand. Yes, it is true that technology has made everything seem easier, and the design processes are also simplified, but it is still up to the architect to control limitations, boundaries and rules in order to find the best suited outcome, some have argued that because of our over-reliance on technology the originality of pure creativity has been lost. “When we over-rely on technology to do our thinking for us, not only are our cognitive skills losing their edge, but our creativity can suffer as well…” having said all this there is no doubt that technology is now a big part of every field in society and it would be foolish that it hasn’t helped the designing industry as well. The key now is to find the balance between true inspiration of humans with the superior rational and problem solving skill s of the computers.

A.4 - Conclusion

unexpected results in the future. Along with the advancements of technologies the awareness of the environment has also increased, this means that many designs aimed to lower their environmental impacts as much as possible and incorporate innovative alternative energy sources to cut down on electricity usage.

Moving forward our group aims to discover innovative energy generation methods that could be integrated within the aesthetic/form design of our sculpture, we prefer not to design a structure where afterwards solar panels can be just added to the top to collect solar energy. We want our energy generation method to combine with our structures form and prevent people from feeling like it is just an extra accessory similar to the Yorkshire Pavilion.

It is important to also note that as the awareness of people for a green sustainable future grows, so do our efforts towards creating more efficient and eco-friendly architecture.

Architecture is actually a combination of multiple disciplinary, when designing a building, architects do not just consider only aesthetics and not the practicality of the structure and vice-versa. Also history, Culture, Materiality and Spatiality are also numerous other things an Architect will have to consider when designing a building.

With the advancement in technology we have now found many new ways to design more complex and unique structures than those in the past. Computation and parametric designing tools have given us more freedom to explore further potential in the world of architecture. In a sense technology has acted as a bridge to connect us to a different area in the world of architecture, breaking the norm and defying conventions in architecture of the past. With the ability to incorporate computerization and computation into our design process I think this has expanded our potential of creativity and inspiration, this may allow us to even surpass the intellects of previous architects and grant us

A.5 - Learning Outcome

believe the design outcomes that can spring from technology may be limitless.

Being introduced to the world of computerization/parametric designs has been very interesting and exciting so far. Previously I wouldn’t know what parametric designs are, back then I would probably just describe them as futuristic looking structures.

Now with the understanding of parametric design and furthermore the definition of computerization and computation this has really expanded my knowledge in this area of architecture. Understanding the potential of what these design tools can provide us, how these tools have helped shaped many of the magnificent buildings we see today.

My take away from all this is simply understanding how useful computerization, computation and parametric design is to the future. Parametric design is set to be a very integral part of architecture in the future and this seems undeniable as technology continues to improve so does the reliance on these technology and I

A.6 - Algorithmic Sketches

References

1, http://inhabitat.com/yorkshire-renaissance-pavil- ion-by-various-

architects/

2, http://inhabitat.com/ bejing-water-cube-reopens-as- happy-magic-

water-park/

3, Kolarevic, Branko, Architecture in the Digital Age: Design and

Manufacturing (New York; London: Spon Press, 2003) Suggested start with

pp. 3-62

4, Ted Talk, Stephen Wolfram, 2010, https://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=60P7717-XOQ

5, Kalay, Yehuda E., Architecture’s New Media: Principles, Theories, and

Methods of Computer-Aided Design (Cambridge, MIT Press), 2004, p. 5-25

6, Fry, Tony (2008). Design Futuring: Sustainability, Ethics and New Practice

(Oxford: Berg), pp. 1–16

7, Oxman, Rivka and Robert Oxman, eds (2014). Theories of the Digital in

Architecture (London; New York: Routledge), pp. 1–10