Studio Air: Submission B

STUDiO AiR2015, SEMESTER 1, TUTOR: SONYA 6:15 TUESDAYJACKSON WYLIE 638578

B128-30 BiOMIMICRY

30-31 PRECEDENT - EUREKA PAVILLION//Nex Architecture

B2 32-33 CASE STUDY 1: - SEROUSSI PAVILLION//Biothing

34-36 ITERATIONS

B3 37-39 CASE STUDY 2: - BANQ RESTAURANT// Office dA

40 LOGIC DIAGRAM

41-42 LOGIC STEPS/PROCESS

B4 43 TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENT INTRO 44-47 MATRIX OF 20 ITERATIONS B548 TECHNIQUE PROTOTYPE

B649 TECHNIQUE PROPOSAL

B7 50 LEARNiNG OUTCOME

B8 51 APPENDiX & REfERENCES

2 CONCEPTUALISATION

A14-5 INtRODUCtiON

6-7 DESiGN FUtURiNG - Precedent # :1 Para Eco House

8-9 DESiGN FUtURiNG - Precedent # 2: Heydar Aliyev Centre

A2 11 DESiGN COMPUtAtiON

12-13 DESiGN COMPUtAtiON - Precedent #1

14-15 DESiGN COMPUtAtiON - Precedent # 2

A3 16-17 COMPOSitiON GENERAtiON

18-19 COMPOSitiON GENERAtiON - Precedent #1

20-21 COMPOSitiON GENERAtiON - Precedent # 2

A4 22 CONCLUSiON: PART A A5 23 LEARNiNG OUTCOME

A6 24-26 APPENDiX & REfERENCES

A1

TABLE OF CONTENTS STUDIO AIR 2015

A1

CONCEPTUALISATION 3

A1PART A:

4 CONCEPTUALISATION

INtRODUCtiON JACKSON WYLiE

My name is Jackson Wylie, and I am currently studying my 3rd year of my Bachelor of Environments course, majoring in architecture.

In my past two years as a student at Melbourne University I have had some previous design projects some of which were computer based, others more orientated around the more

traditional methods of manual sketches and drawings. My most notable project during my 2 years at Melbourne University was for the subject VIrtual Environments. This subject required us to get a pretty basic knowledge of the program Rhinoceros 5. This design project was a group project, my partner and myself were set the task of designing a ‘second skin’ that defines the individual’s personal space and also portrays the individuals mindset towards those around

them. Our approach to this task was to create a skin that could both defend one’s personal

space in times of reflection and thought and also allow for intimate interaction with others. Our solution to this was to create a semi rigid outer skin that was constructed of various different sizes of pyramids constructed of aluminium rods. These pointy shapes varied in size and the corresponding body part in which they protected. Regions of the body

regarded as more intimate and private had larger more protruding pyramids. The inner skin was a flexible fabric membrane that was connected to the points of the pyramids.

The purpose of this inner membrane layer was to allow for more intimate interactions others such as touch. This flexible inner layer permitted that, but only at the consent of the individual

wearing the skin. This project was the most successful of my design projects at Melbourne University and was invited to be apart of a student exhibition at the completion of the semester. One project that I was not particularly fond of was my design for Studio Earth. This brief for this project involved designing an sculptural or built architectural piece that revealed a ‘secret’

of the island through design. I believe my concept was strong however the translation of that concept into a design was weak. I wanted to reveal the history of basalt mining at the location and how it helped shape the city that exists today, my design was far to literal as it was simply sculpted basalt rocks with protruding rectangular columns mimicking the city

skyline. I believe I missed an opportunity on designing something much more experimental an creative as there were very few restraints for this project. Over the summer break in my own

time I also started to experiment with some very preliminary and basic renovation designs for my parent’s house. These are a working progress as I still have a very basic grasp of the design

softwares I am attempting to use to complete these designs. However during the next year I aim to complete some far more refined design options for the renovation of my parents house.

CONCEPTUALISATION 5

FIG.1: MY PAST DESIGN PROJECTS

DESiGN FUtURiNG - PRECEDENt # 1 “PARA ECO HOUSE” // TONGJI UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

6 CONCEPTUALISATION

The skin also provides wind cooling and irrigation for plants within the building’s skin and interior. The structure has a solar roof that has been designed through algorithms

that maximise performance. The actual living space is a modular structure within the outer skin that encorporates vacuum insulated panel thermal insulation and XPS thermal board and newspaper to improve the energy efficiency of the living quaters4. Perhaps the most impressive thing about this parametrically designed building is that it was constructed in just 2 weeks5. There is massive potential for this type of building in the future due to the ease of construction and ability to be replicated in different sizes and shapes according to client’s desire. I think it

is of upmost importance that parametric designing should be used not just for its aesthetic qualities but for the potential to discover more efficient, more sustainable

and thus environmentally sustainable ways of building/designing into the future.

My chosen precedence may not be the most glamorous or grandoise example of parametrically designed architecture however it is one of the more progressive and

groundbreaking designs I have stumbled upon. The “Para Eco House” uses parametric design to maximise the performance of the

outer skin which is a lattice structure constructed out of bamboo and other timbers1. This skin structure is able to regulate ventilation, lighting and thermal performance due to its carefully calculated design. This outer skin acts as a passive strategy of improving the overall energy efficiency of the building2. The outer skin also encorporates thin film solar cells that are able to capture and convert the sun’s energy into a usuable form,

the wester facade also encorporates a vertical gardef that provides extra shading from direct sunlight. Enclosed within the outer skin is a carefully divided space of which has a miniture wetland mimicking garden for greywater treatment and other gardens for

vegetables or other plants3.

I believe that if this prefab design is able to be commercialised and made affordable for the general public it could spark a massive movement toward more sustainable designing. One thing that I believe should be noted is that in order for people to desire this type of housing, there needs to be a large amount of flexibility in the design. People desire individuality, and thus it is

important that prefab houses like this are able to be completely unique whilst still maintaining the underlying sustainable qualities. I think that this type of housing

is going to be more successful in countries where the housing is more uniform and of course in places where regulations will permit buildings such as this.

This design or similar adaptations or improvements of it will I continue to be relevent in the future due to the growing need for more sustainable forms of living and in

rural or more low density suburban areas I could imagine designs like this being very functional. If this design were to be scaled up with the skin enclosing an apartment

block with multiple residence within it i could also see this type of parametrically designed skin being appropriate and relvent in a more densily populated, built-up

urban environment. I believe most of the ingenuity in this design is in the parametrically designed outer skin and this could potentially be relevent to any building type and

any scale. The way that the frames are angled to allow sun in during the cold parts of the day/year whilst shading during the hotter times when cooling is required is always going to be relevent as it is a passive approach to energy efficient design and we are

always trying to minimise energy consumption to both save money and resources.

CONCEPTUALISATION 7

DESiGN FUtURiNG - PRECEDENt # 2 “HEYDAR ALIYEV CENTER” // Zaha Hadid Architects

8 CONCEPTUALISATION

The last precedence I chose was an example of how parametric design can achieve improved functionality of a building. This example is quite different, as I believe this

design places much higher value on aesthetics, and in this specific example it is for good reason.

The Heydar Aliyev Centre in Baku, Azerbaijan is with its extremely fluid, futuristic appearance is symbolic of the countries independence from the Soviet Union whose

legacy can be seen in the more rigid monumental Soviet Modernism architecture of the past6. This building

gives Azerbaijan its own new identity and this is quite appropriate as this building is the nations primary cultural

centre7. The futuristic design of this grandoise building gives the people of Azerbaijan confidence of the nation’s future

prosperity. The design itself encorporates undulations, folds, bifurcations and inflections that all appear to

seamlessly rise out of this urban plaza landscape8. The architects aimed to make this buildings skin seem so fluid and continuous that it almost “appears homogenous”9. It

has been said that such fluidity could only be achieved using very advanced computation, this is one design that would have been virtually impossible to complete without

the aid of parametric design software. Yes architects could invisage buildings such as this in the past but the ability to actually accurately convert these drawings

and concepts into something that is actually able to be constructed at such a massive scale has only become

possible thanks to these advanced parametric computer programs such as Grasshopper 3D (Rhinoceros Plug-in)

CONCEPTUALISATION 9

10 CONCEPTUALISATION

A2

DESiGN COMPUtAtiON

The introduction of computation into the architectural world has dramatically transformed the design process. It has been argued that parametric design programs such

as Rhino/Grasshoper are actually detracting from the creative nature of Architecture. To some extent I believe

this to be true, but this is dependent on the nature in which the designer is using the software. As mentioned

by Stanislav in the Week 2 lecture some architects use the programs as a means to translate ideas or designs that

exist in rough sketch form into a digital 3D measured model that is actually constructable. This use of computation

does not effect the creative nature of concieving an idea, it merely translates the idea into a more useable from for production. Alternatively designing without a pre-

concieved idea that one is attempting to replicate is to me a less creative design process. When one enters algorithms

without an understanding of what form will be created is simply using the software to make design decisions for the designer. In my opinion to be ‘creative’ is the ability to make many decisions as a means to creating desired

form, some of these computer programs can dramatically reduce the amount of decisions that the designer needs to

make, thus reducing the autonomy of the designer.

Computation has enabled previously unconcievable architectural forms to be achieved, thus to date I would still

contend that design computation has actually enabled architects to become more creative. However as there is continuous demand for faster, cheaper and less labour intensive ways of developing designs I fear that some of the autonomy will be taken away from the designer and this could have detrimental impacts on the architectural

trade as raw creative ability could be devalued.

CONCEPTUALISATION 11

A2

DESiGN COMPUtAtiON- PRECEDENt 1 Landesgartenschau Exhibition Hall // University of Stuttgart Project


The Landesgartenschau Exhibition Hall utilizes design computation to create not only a visually pleasing product but also a very environmentally responsible design.

In this particular case, the use of one of the oldest building materials (timber) has been completely redefined through computational design10. It is a ‘biomimetic

design,’ meaning that properties from nature such as the structural properties from a honey comb have been borrowed11. The reason for biomimicry, is that nature often

finds the most material efficient way of constructing things and this is a common goal in the architecture/engineering and construction industries that are constantly

attempting to create cheaper12, more material efficient buildings. Interestingly, each piece of shell structure was constructed by robots, and in under 3 weeks, this includes 243 beech plywood plates with 7600 individual finger joints that provide this buildings overall structural integrity13. Each plate that makes up this structural

system is only 50mm thick thus very material efficient in comparison to a traditionally building of similar scale14. Due to the very precise designing and planning of this

project, come construction time it was able to be finished in only 4 weeks15. It is clear that computational design is not only transforming the way in which we design

buildings today but also the way in which they are built. Ofcourse without a life-cylce analysis this is insignificant information in regards to whether the use of robotics in the fabrication stage is actually a environmentally responsible way of building but it seems like if may be if these robots are functional for many years even decades

and able to fabricate the parts for entire buildings in only a period of weeks. This project is a prime example of the need for continual practice of

computational design into the future where demand for resources is growing and solutions for more sustainable practice are continually being seeked out. It seems that projects such as this with such a heavy reliance on computational design are almost more in line with with engineering than architecture, as the form is often a result of attempting to achieve a certain function, in this case efficient use of a renewable structural material. Unfortunately it is indeed true

that this design may not have come purely from raw ideas such as that of Frank Gehry’s but I believe there is definitely a place for this type of design as

it is moving humans toward more environmentally responsible building.

DESiGN COMPUtAtiON- PRECEDENt 2 Fondation Louis Vuitton // Frank Gehry


Frank Gehry’s Louis Vuitton Foundation Building is a prime example of how creativity is not lost at the hands

of computer aided design. If anything this example suggests that true creative designs have been made achievable thanks to parametric design software, as buildings with such non-linear abstract geometries would have been virtually impossible to fabricate

without these technological advancements.

Whilst this building exemplifies the creative potential for computer aided design, in my opinion it does not use the the design software to its fullest potential. I believe

that design computation has a greater purpose than just creating visually stimulating architecture, it should also

redefine the way in which we utilize materials. According to critics of this building such as Oliver Wainwright from The Guardian to him this building is merely “a hell of a

lot of steel columns and glue-laminated timber beams, thrown together in a riotous cradle of zig-zagging

struts and braths, props and braces16,” reuterating the innefficiency of its design17. I think that if projects such as this that do not in any way lack creativity or individuality.

A316 CONCEPTUALISATION

COMPOSitiON GENERAtiON

A3

Modern architecture faces many challenges, many of which are posed by the increasingly fragile environment

that humans are building upon. Yes, I believe that as designers we have a responsibility to create things that respond to the needs and requirements of the surroundings and in this day and age the most pre-

eminent human challenge is that of global warming.

Climate change, environment and resource degradation and other challenges such as shuman safety and well-being that validate the need for generative design in architecture. Generative design ensures that through

algorithms and rules these challenges are being addressed in a design18. Examples such as the “Para Eco House”

and the “Landesgartenschau Exhibition Hall” exemplify this. I appreciate the definition from this weeks lecturer

Dr Dominique Hes, who describes the architectural movement today that is inline with a new world view that

values sustainability and interconnectedness with nature19.

I believe that generative design has a place within this new paradigm that thumans are currently entering.

Rule based designs enable design techniques such as biomimicry that borrows patterns from nature to be

achieved, these nature inspired design often function better within the environment due to their more

efficienct use of materials with structural stability20. As mentioned in the lecture designs need to tick many boxes such as providing health, happiness to those

who use it, conserve energy through responsible design, ensure equity for users and also be visually

pleasing. It is generative design that prioritises these ‘imperatives’ through simulation and digital modelling, it is a more all-encompassing way of designing21, versus

the compositional style of designing in the past thats primarily focused on aesthetics and human suitability.


COMPOSitiON/GENERAtiON PRECEDENt 1 THE WATERCUBE//PTW & ARUP ENGINEERS

The Watercube built for the 2008 Olympic Games has been groundbreaking in more ways than one. This building is so remarkable as the parametric designed

skin and frame that was worked on by an integrated team of both architects (PTW) and engineers (Arup) has been tested as potentially one of the most earthquake

resistant buildings of that scale in the world22. This is yet another example of how parametric design can encompass so much more than just the physical

appearance of the building but also the structural integrity of the architecture as well. The structural shell of this swimming pool facility is actually derived from

the geometry of soap bubbles23. This is another example of the use of parametric design to emulate a time testest structural pattern from nature (bubbles).

The materiality of this building is also quite impressive, the extremely lightweight frames encorporates a very high performance ‘space-age’ plastic material ‘ETFE’ that spans the polyhedral frame with it’s cushion-

like appearance24. This material is in fact able to reduce the energy consumption of the pool by 30 per-cent due to its ability to capture more incident sunlight than the equivalent amount of photovoltaic panneling25.

Even more impressive is the fire resistance of this building, which is vital for a public building of this type. The ETFE material went through rigorous testing and it is perhaps one of the most fire suitable materials as is does not burn

butshrinks and melts allowing smoke to be quickly released from the building for an effective evacuation26. Sophisticated computation using digital modelling and simulation has enabled this building to address many of the challenges

that it faced whether it be earthquakes, fire and energy efficiency27. I believe that computer based generative design is of great benefit not only

to the preservation of the environment but also as evident in this case for the preservation of human life in the rare event of a fire or natural disaster.


COMPOSitiON/GENERAtiON PRECEDENt 2

KAZAKHSTAN NAtiONAL LiBRARY, ASTANA//Bjark Ingels

One of my most insiring generative architectural designs is the winner of the international design competition for

the Astana National Library in Kazakhstan28. This was won by Bjarke Ingels and from the digital images I believe it has potential to be an icon once complete. What I

admire about this design is its concern with the human engagement with the architecture. One of the most vital components of libraries is a sense of order and I believe

that it is ingenious that they have arranged it into a continuous circular ‘moebius strip’ (surface with one side and one boundary)that gives the interior a linear order29. If one was to enter this library and search for a particular book all they would have to do is follow the path of the

interior to navigate past each category. Being a continuous loop, there are uniquely no distant corners in the interior

of the library thus eliminating any heirachy and giving the entire interior of the building a sense of centrality30. Using such a complex, curved form such as a Moebius strip to

be reflected on this grand scale is something that has only recently become achievable with the introduction of parametric design31. Similarly to the earlier precedent of

Zaha Hadid’s Heydar Aliyev Centre, this building is aiming to achieve much more than fulfilling its ability to be a

well functioning library, it is also aimed to be a national icon, a cultrol centre and symbol for the development of Kazakhstan as a country32. What should be noted is that

the external panelling was also very carefully desired to regulate amounts of sunlight and heat entering the

library to ensure that it is a cofortable space33. This project in my opinion exemplifies the brilliance of parametric

design as a creative tool for architects, the ideas were still all original and fueled by the context of the task

rather than the capabilities of the computer software.


“What is a library but an efficient archive of books… and a path for the public to reach them” - Thomas Christoffersen, the Project Leader on the National Library


A4CONCLUSiON: PARt A

I believe that one of the most valuable things an architect can possess is originality. I appreciate architects that maintain a certain style throughout all of their designs. I believe

that this is because behind each of their designs is an extensive stage of conceptualisation,

ideas are generated, refined, eliminated and refined again all before they are processed by a computer. I think that it is vital for the

stage of conceptualisation to be undertaked in a traditional manor through sketches and

visualisation, rather than fiddling with parameter inputs via trial and error. I do not want to neglect parametric design in my own design approach

but i want to use it as a tool to translate my ideas into something that can be adapted

and created. I want to use parametric design to make my designs more material efficient. I believe that it can also be a helpfull tool to improve passive perfmance of my designs as

more critical analysis can be done in response to the surroundings (climate etc.). I believe that architects have a huge responsibility in the way

in which they design in today and in the future as it is clear that it is no longer adequate to design a building for purely aesthetic purposes as it is not equitable to design energy inneficient buildings

in a day and age where energy is in ever increasing damand. Parametric design is an all

encompassing means of solving potential design challenges to a great level of accuracy, closer

analysis of detail and greater control of variation.


A5LEARNiNG OUtCOMES

Throughout this module I have realised that parametric design is a valuable

tool for the modern architect. Originally I was of the opinion that the latest

movement toward parametric/computer generated architecture was for the

purpose of making more complex and sophisticated forms. I have discovered that it is much more than this. It can be used as a means to maximise lighting, thermal and sound performance. As

we discovered in the case of The Water Cube it is also instrumental in designing buildings that are safer and also more comfortable for users (passive thermal

design). Computer aided design enables us to use algorithms to calculate mroe efficient ways of using materials which I believe is a major requirement in this

day and age as we are constantly attempting to design buildings for

a cheaper price and in a more environmentally responsible manner. I believe that there is also a major need

for parametric design for the purpose of restoring and modernising old buildings which are often very energy innefficient. Simply by designing a second external skin for additional shading of interior

spaces or by other building modifications the passive energy performance of the building can be dramatically improved.


A5APPENDiX ALGORitHMiC iMAGES

Our week # 2 algorithmic task involved creating a tree with several branches using grasshopper. I created this tree via the use of perpendicular frames along curves, on each of these frames would be a pentagon. Loft was then used to create a piping surface. This appeared very synthetic in its appearance so in order to give it more of a natural ‘tree-like’ appearance I converted the surface into a mesh and ran it through the smooth mesh tranformation. This image was the outcome, as i reveresed the direction of the smoothing and it actually created a rougher, bark-like surface on the trunk and branches.

This example was actually a failed attempt of creating a random height surface box mesh on the trunk as whilst the surface box’ extruded outwards in a random manor on one side of the trunk, the surface boxes actually extruded inwards on the other side of the curve. I did however successfully use attractor points to decrease the size of the surface boxes on both of the smaller branches to mimic the way in which branches get skinner the further away from the trunk they are.

This final example was my successful attemt at creating a surface mesh on my week#1 sea sponge digital model. I believe this dramatically transformed these models into much more natural looking sea sponge models. I find the surface box tool really useful in creating interesting patterns that can closely mimic patterns found in nature (biomimicry).


REfERENCES 1-5 Furuto, Alison. “Para Eco House / Tongji University

Team” 12 Nov 2012. ArchDaily. Accessed 13 Mar 2015. <http://www.archdaily.com/?p=289503>

6 “Heydar Aliyev Center / Zaha Hadid Architects”

14 Nov 2013. ArchDaily. Accessed 13 Mar 2015.

<http://www.archdaily.com/?p=448774>

7 Oliver Wainwright, “Wave of Protest...” 1/7/2014, The Guardian, Accessed 13 March 2015 http://www.theguardian.

com/artanddesign/2014/jun/30/zaha-hadid-architecture

8-9 “Heydar Aliyev Center / Zaha Hadid Architects”

14 Nov 2013. ArchDaily. Accessed 13 Mar 2015.

<http://www.archdaily.com/?p=448774>

10-15 Ana Lisa, “Robots Built this Peanut...” 25/06/14, Inhabit, Accessed 13 Mar 2015 < http://inhabitat.com/stuttgarts-geometric-landesgartenschau-exhibition-

hall-is-made-from-243-prefab-wood-panels/>

16-17 Taylor-Foster, James, “Gehry’s Fondation Louis Vuitton in

Paris: The Critics Respond” 22 Oct 2014. ArchDaily. Accessed

13 Mar 2015. <http://www.archdaily.com/?p=559473>

18 Michael Bergin, “Trends in Generative Design” 31

March 2012. Archinet, Accessed 16 Mar 2015 http://

archinect.com/archlab/trends-in-generative-design

19 Dr. Dominique Hes, “Week 3 Lecture” 16/3/2015,

Studio Air, Melbourne University

20-21 Michael Bergin, “Trends in Generative Design”

31 March 2012. Archinet, Accessed 16 Mar 2015 http://

archinect.com/archlab/trends-in-generative-design

22-23 Rose Etherington, “Watercube by PTW Architects” 6 Feb

2008, Dezeen Magazine Accessed 17 Mar 2015 <http://www.

dezeen.com/2008/02/06/watercube-by-chris-bosse/>

24-25 Arup, “Gold for the Watercube” 09/6/2009, ARUP Accessed

17/3/2015 <http://www.arup.com/News/2009-06%20June/09_

Jun_2009_Gold_for_the_Watercube>


26-27 Tristram Carfrae, “Engineering the Water Cube”

01/07/2006 ArchitectureAU Accessed 17/03/2015 <

http://architectureau.com/articles/practice-23/>

28-30 Ridhika Naidoo, Big New National Library in

Astana, August 26th 2009. Design Boom Accessed 17

Mar 2015 <http://www.designboom.com/architecture/

big-new-national-library-in-astana-kazakhstan/>

31 http://www.technologyreview.com/

review/517596/new-forms-that-function-better/

32-33 Basulto, David. “National Library in Astana,

Kazakhstan / BIG” 25 Aug 2009. ArchDaily. Accessed 17

Mar 2015. <http://www.archdaily.com/?p=33238>

REfERENCES



PARTB

B1RESEARCH FiELD BiOMiMiCRY

Biomimicry describes an architectural movment that looks to nature to solve human challenges1. Through years of evoution, it is nature that has developed time tested methods of making extremely strong and material efficient, this is a common goal in architecture and construction, as we are always searching for cheaper, more sustainable ways of building equally rigid buildings2.

“Solutions to global challenges are all around us...3”

Architects have looked at many different facets of nature at almost any scale to inform their designs. From microscopic cellular structures in plants to patterns found in the weather and climate, inspiration can be found in all aspects of nature to inspire designs. Sometimes architects use biomimicry for purely aesthetic purposes where as othes use it to improve the functionality of a building4.

“A new science that studies nature’s models and then uses these designs and processes to solve human problems5”


PART

B1PRECEDENt EUREKA PAViLLiON//NEX ARCHitECtURE

The Eureka Pavillion by Nex Architecture was constructed as an installment for the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, London and its form is actually directly inspired

from the site context6. The Nex Architecture team studied plants on the microscopic level mimicking the cellular structure of

the the leaf to inform the structure of the pavillion itself7. The infill of the facade is

also inspired from a similar scale, and is in fact a representation of leaf capillaries8.

This facade treatment creates a fascinating shadowing affect within the pavillion

that is very ‘natural looking9.’ Due to the fact that this pavillion is more of an art installment rather than a building that

shelters or houses humans there is minimal functional benefits from adopting this

form, but rather it is more for an artistic affect and educational in a sense that users of the space will often have very

little understanding as to the microscopic building blocks of the organisms in this garden, and this pavillion illustrates a

representation of the plant cells10.


B2CASE StUDY 1.0 SEROUSSi PAViLLiON//BIOTHING

Seroussi Pavillion by BIOTHING, is an exploration of magnetic fields and the

effect they have on the sine curves11. I was particularly curious about this project as it is exposing an aspect of nature that we cannot see. This project is actually able to

illustrate the way in which magnets can influence form and the outcome is quite

aesthetically pleasing12. In my exploration of this design I want to alter the magnetic

field that acts on the curves and see what forms are made. This more of an experimental way of designing as I do

not have even the faintest pre-concieved idea as to what the resulting form will be,

so there is a lot of trial and error when altering the algorithms in grasshopper13.


ItERAtiONS: SPECiES 1: BASIC PARAMETER CHANGESB2


B2ItERAtiONS: SPECiES 2: CHANGING MAGNETIC FIELDS


ItERAtiONS: SPECiES 3 CHANGING GRAPH TYPESB2


B3CASE StUDY 2.0BANQ RESTAURANT//Office dA

Banq Resturant commissioned Office dA architects to help re-design the dining space to maintain flexibility for constant

seating and table rearrangements on ground level14 whilst also creating a design that conceals the not-so-attractive mechanics of the building such as plumbing, lighting, sound

system, and structural components that are all a visible part of the ceiling15. Office dA’s solution is to use sectioning.

It is essentially an enclosure of the ceiling that is porous permitting sound and ventilation whilst also obscuring the view of the mechanics of the building16. The curved nature of the sections exudes a sense of movement in the room as if the ceiling is slumping or drooping, structural members of the building no longer seem as though they are holding up the ceiling, but rather as if they are being suspended from the ceiling, this is a unique effect of this type of sectioning that simulates the melting of a material such as plastic17.


CASE StUDY 2.0BANQ RESTAURANT//Office dA B3


LOGIC DIAGRAM BANQ RESTAURANT//Office dA B3

set base geometry

surface divide

image sampler: to create pattern for later extrusion find extents of base

surface

create intersection frames: (perp frames)

amplify this pattern

solve intersection between nurbs

surface and defines plane, this creates

the “sections”

move points from pattern in z-axis to

create a nurbs surface


LOGIC BEHIND PROJECT BANQ RESTAURANT//Office dA

STEP 1: The base geometry upon which the sectioning will occur needs to be set. For the Banq Restaurant Ceiling, it will be a simple flat rectangular shape.

STEP 2 The surface must be divided to smaller sections, if greater resolution is desired then divide into smaller sections STEP 3 the extents of the base surface need to be found prior to creating intersection perpindicular frames that will define how the form will be sectioned

STEP 5 get an image that has a high level of contrast, in this case i used a black backgorund and erased white gradient patches. The pattern from this image will determine what parts of the section will droop further from the ceiling.

B3

STEP 4 perpindicular frames are created that define the plane of each section


STEP 7 the points from the surface division then need to be moved in the z-axis (vertical) in accordance to the pattern from the image (lighter parts project further from the base plane)

STEP 9 the final step is to solve the intersections between the nurbs surface created in “Step 8” and the planes defined in “Step 4” to create the sections

STEP 8 from these points a nurbs surface will be created

TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENT BANQ RESTAURANT// Office dASTEP 6

this pattern then needs to be amplified


B4TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENT BANQ RESTAURANT// Office dA

For my own design in Section C, I believe that sectioning could be an appropriate technique so i am curious as to how flexible

it can be by altering algorithms in grasshopper. In my process of developing my technique my first few iterations are from simply changing input values from within my algorythm, however later iterations are adopted from introducing new components into the algorythm, some of these I gained from other grasshopper

exlporations during the semester. I chose to use an image sampler in my grasshopper definition as this can create an almost infinite

amount of unique patterns from each unique image that is sampled. Another thing i wanted to explore in my development

of this technique is how the sectioning technique can be applied to different base geometries, for the last 5 iterations I had to use a completely different algorithm that did not use image sampling but rather a control curve that determinds how the geometry was sectioned, i found that is was a great way of

creating numerous different outcomes, however the resulting forms were less easy to predict and thus it was more trial and error.

SELECTION CRITERIA porosity - filtration - buoyancy/fixed - flexible


TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENTBANQ RESTAURANT//Office dA B4 SPECiES 1

CHANGING BASIC PARAMETERS


TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENTBANQ RESTAURANT//Office dA B4 SPECiES 2:

SPECiES 3: IMAGE SAMPLER CHANGES


B4TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENTBANQ RESTAURANT//Office dA

SPECiES 4: EXTRUDED CONTOURING OF NON-PLANAR BASE FORM

SPECiES 3: IMAGE SAMPLER CHANGES


B4TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENTBANQ RESTAURANT//Office dA

SPECiES 4: EXTRUDED CONTOURING OF NON-PLANAR BASE FORM


TECHNIQUE PROTOTYPESBANQ RESTAURANT//Office dA B5

FABRICATION PART 1: PROTOTYPE OPTIONS

Design Option #2 (FROM SPECIES 3)

For my second design option, the sections are flat, and thus they can be easily

arranged on a two dimentional template two be laser cut into each of their pieces.

On a larger scale, these pieces would most likely be cut in a similar way each coming

from a flat surface in an arrangement that minimises material wastage.

Design Option #1 (FROM SPECIES 4) This design is actually using sectioning as contours and thus each section is not flat, like my other design option. This makes the fabrication process for both the model or the actual scaled installment a little more complex as the sections are not ‘flat’ and would need to undergo ‘unrolling’ to be able to cut each section on the lazer or

card cutter. This may not be an ‘accurate’ way of fabricating this design especially on a model scale as the sections will not necessarily bend in the ways specified in

my digital design, thus to more accurately replicate the overall form of this design I have resolved to 3D print the model of this design using the ABS material. In this

fabrication method the sections themselves may not be ‘clean’ but the overall structure

will be in the form that I have specified in Rhinocerous, and I can later adapt the design for more seamless fabrication.


FABRICATION PART 2: ASSEMBLY DETAILS

Design Option #1 (SPECIES 4) RIBS

To make this structure plausible there is a few additional structural elements that

need to be added. Namely there needs to be perpendicular ‘ribs’ that span accross the sections and hold them all in position.

These ribs ensure that the spacing of each of the sections is correct, with small

checouts that match each section. SUPPORTS

As there are some cantilevering components within this design it is

appropriate to add in some small supports to ensure that these do not collapse,

ideally a material for the final product will be specified to be structurally capable

of bearing the loads, however during the model making process, small supports will

need to be added to reduce the chance of a collapse.

VOLUME The thickness of each section needs to be specified and this could be material

specific. SIMPLIFICATION

As this design is quite a complex, 3dimensional structure is requires

simplification prior to fabrication. So I divided it into a top and bottom half

and each half will be printed seperately and put together afterwards.

Design Option #2 (SPECIES 3) RIBS

This design option also requires perpendicular ribs or ‘sections’ and they

can be made either descrete, hidden within the structure or more visible as a component of the design. These will

prevent the sections from collapsing under lateral load forces from wind or water

movement. As the secitons are flat/linear, the perpendicular ribs/supports can be

arranged in a grid formation to ensure even distribution of load forces.

MATERIALITY The materiality of this section design is important, as it will affect it’s structural

integrity, durability and also importantly it’s aesthetics in response to the site context.


PROTOTYPE FABRICATION MEHOD & DIAGRAM

Design Option #2

Design Option #1

DEVELOP FUNCTIONAL DIGITAL DESIGN

ADAPT/CONFIGURE FOR FABRICATION

FABRICATE PROTOTYPE

REVIEW PROTOTYPE


Design Option #2

Design Option #1


FINAL REFINED PROTOTYPE

FORM, FEATURES & CONCEPT 3 Stages

STAGE 3 At stage three the

smaller pieces of litter are collected, this stage

represents the small undulations on the surface

of the whale shark’s gills which capture the smallest

organisms that need to be digested rather than dispelled with the excess water that they require to

breathe.

STAGE 2 State 2 captures the medium sized pieces

of litter, smaller pieces are able to simply flow through the gaps in the sections where they will be captured in stage 3

which has much smaller gaps in the sections,

permitting only minute pieces of debris to flow through with the river

water.

STAGE 1 This stage has the sections set

at very wide spacing capturing only the larges pieces of litter that pass through merri creek.

Clothes, plastic bags, and large pieces of debris will all be captured at this first stage of the litter capturer. Just like

the whale shark’s large mouth, all sized fish enter, however later stages of filtering will

determine which organisms the shark digests. Most litter will pass through this stage.

RIVER FLOW


TECHNIQUE: PROPOSALBANQ RESTAURANT//Office dA B6

SITE CONTEXT LOCATION & DESIGN RESPONSE

(Location 1&2)

My proposal is the installation of two of my litter collector designs in relatively close proximity to the stormwater outlet pictured to the

left. Whilst my design does not completely eliminate the

presence of litter in the merri creek ecosystem, its close proximity

to the stormwater outlet ensure that most of the litter that enters the system is almost immediately

captured and thus prevented from travelling further downstream to

the even larger Yarra River. Noteably this location is within

walking distance of Merri Creek Primary school and I think these

litter capturers could help to educate the students about

looking after the environment and in particularly nearby creek ecosystem as every bit of litter

disposed of incorrectly ultimately ends up in in the stormwater drains

before entering the creek, they will see this upon visiting this site

and observing the large amounts of litter captured on a daily basis

STORM WATER OUTLET

FLOW OF LITTER DOWNSTREAM


BIOMIMICRY CONCEPT the whale shark gill system

WHALE SHARK CONCEPT I was studying natural occurances

of water filtration and found that the whale shark’s gill system is extremely

effective at capturing the most microscopic organisms whilst filtering

out excess water18, this is essectially the same aim that I desire to achieve with

my design as it needs to capture rubbish and allow the passing of water with the

the creek’s current. Noticably, the whale shark’s gill system is essentially a series of flesh sections with

a corrugated texture19, this is where I gained the inspiration to use sectioning

in my design. Their gills have ‘rakers’ that are able to collect small organism and allow water and unwanted debris

to flow through,20 Being a litter collecter there are certain basic requirements of the design for it to

achieve its desired function. POROSITY

The design must be porous as it needs to let the flowing water pass through it

easily and without too much friction. This lead to the decision to use sectioning as an appropriate material system for my design. As water will move freely

through it. CAPTURE LITTER

Whilst water’s movement through the design should be permitted, litter should

be captured. It is understandable that some of the smaller pieces of

litter may pass through with the water however due to the litters buoyancy

and intentional placement and spacing of sections this can be minimalised to ensure that almost all of the litter that

enters the structure is captured.


DESIGN PROPOSAL concept, features & innovation

Whilst there is currently litter collectors in sections of the Yarra

river, there is very few in the upstream parts of the river system such as Merri

Creek. I have identified the need for a more versatile design thate

can exist in much narrower sections of river. The current litter collectors that block off large portions of the river and are simply floating buoys

containing rubbish21, that are visually very unnactractive and a are

commonly in the way of other boats. I believe that these rubbish collectors actually help to educate the society about the poor health of our urban river systems as these large piles of

litter highlight that all incorrectly disposed-of waste ultimately ends up in the river system22. Therefore I want my design to also lave the collected rubbish exposed, as i believe it is an important thing for people to see, and should not be ‘concealed.’

The issue with the current rubbish collecting buoys is that they have

no filter and will collect literally everything that floats. My design

borrows the fundamental principals from the whale shark’s gills to

seperate large pieces of litter from medium and small sized litter and debris. As it is able to be walked

upon, community members, visitors and students from the nearby

schools will be able to inspect the different types of litter that enter our waterways and thus educate

them about the need for improved waste management programs.


FINAL PROTOTYPE IN CONTEXT (Location no. 4 - up stream)


B7LEARNING OUTCOMES

The ‘B’ module of Studio Air I found contradictory in nature, as we were asked to

first explore a material system/ parametric design typology and then use that knowledge

to develope a design for the Merri Creek Site. I do not believe this is the way in which one should design, there needs first to be a

problem or need for an architect to create a solution to, using whatever tools they have at their disposal and deemed of assistance in achieving the desired outcome. It seems to be that in this module we we asked to start with the a preconcieved ‘solution’ prior to

knowing the problem that we are attempting to resolve, I believe that this was what lead to

many of the design flaws that were highlighted by the Grimshaw architects in regards to our

design proposals. This theme of aimless design is something I believe the world of parametric

design is riddled with as many of the parametric designs existing in the world today are sculptural

in nature and achieve little function but rather aim to inspire awe in the complex nature of

their form. I am firmly of the oppinion that one of the primary responsibilities of the architect, past and present is to solve problems, similarly to the engineer, there must be concern for the function, efficiency and emotive qualities of a design, and none of these should be neglected

to achieve a more ‘desireable’ aesthetic. I believe that if I were to restructure module B of Studio Air I would first get students to

identify a need or issue on the Merri Creek site followed by identifying potential ways to gain

a resolution, all prior to exploring the different parametric design typologies and material

systems, as then each student will have a much stronger sense of direction in their design. I felt that in the stage of my design proposal I was trying to find a problem that can be solved

by my material system, rather than a material system that can solve my identified problem.


B8APPENDIX ALGORITHMIC SKETCHES

SEROUSSI PAVILLION Playing with

magnetic fields....

In the B module I found the most intriguing forms in my three main areas of exploration, which were: Contouring, Sectioning and the use of magnetic fiels through the example of the Seroussi Pavillion. As i found out, there is almost endless possibilites in each of these areas as parameters, base geometries and all sorts of iterations can be made to either simplify or further complicate the design.

What i did find throughout my explorations is that complexity does not necessarily

equate to a good design, as often I had to simplify my algorithms dramatically to

come up with an appropriate design.


APPENDIX ALGORITHMIC SKETCHES

B8

SECTIONING exploring the applications

of sectioning

CONTOURING exploring the potential

of contouring


REFERENCES B1-5 What is Biomimicry? Biomimicry Institute, 2014. viewed 24/04/2015 <http://biomimicry.org/what-is-biomimicry/>

6 - 10 Times Eureak Pavillion, Arch Daily , 2011.

viewed 16/04/2015 <http://www.archdaily.com/142509/times-eureka-pavilion-nex-

architecture/ http://www.biothing.org/?cat=5>

11-13 Seroussi Pavillion, Biothing, 2007. viewed

23/04/2015 <http://www.biothing.org/?cat=5>

14-17 Banq, Australian Design Review,

2009, viewed 26/04/2015 <http://www.

australiandesignreview.com/interiors/661-banq>

18-20 Whale Sharks, Marine Bio, 2005. viewed

25/04/2015 <http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=47>

21-22 Litter, Cleaner Yarra and Bay, 2014. viewed 29/04/2015

<http://www.cleaneryarrabay.vic.gov.au/issues/litter>


Studio Air: Submission B

Documents

Transcript of Studio Air: Submission B