module 4georgia byrnes

student number: 586237 semester 2/2013

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M1 IDEATION

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M1 ideationanalytical drawing

through the study of the plastic bag it became evident that the plastic bag's shape and form was deter-mined by external forces - most prominently were the atmosphere, and the way in which i could person-

ally deform it with my hands. this property was a large focus in our final design.

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M1 ideationinitial model

american beauty, 1999

the initial model was more of an exploration of form, especially through looking at the seams, rather than

focusing on a concept. through the initial model

the idea of curvature was looked into. the model blew

up looking rounded, but simple - other dimensions could have been added for

a more dynamic look.

in this scene from ameri-can beauty, the plastic bag takes on its form from the external atmospheric force of the wind, and is a beautiful display of the properties of a plastic bag. it is a great portrayal of emotion through an in-animate object, and the movement of the bag can relate to personal space.

initial model

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M1 ideationrhino model

RHINO MODEL

initial

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M2 DESIGN

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M2 designpersonal space

personal space was explored through the idea that everyone has an outer and an inner personal space. the outer personal space is defined as the area where we are happy for strangers, friends and fam-ily to encroach upon. the inner personal space is defined as an area that is specifically for intimate

relationships or just a space for oneself.

INNER OUTER OUTER

the inner personal space was measured by the av-erage distance it took for a person to become un-comfortable with a friend in their personal space.

the outer personal space was measured by the

average distance it took for a person to become uncomfortable with a

stranger in their personal space.

all of the personal space measurements were much larger around the head than other parts of the body, especially extremi-ties (arms and legs).

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M2 designprecedence study and design sketches

suitaloon, 2005

beach ball, 2009

one of our largest influenc-es throughout the semester was the suitaloon, designed by mike webb. it created an enclosed space for the user that could be deflated and allow direct interaction with others, or inflated to create a strict personal space for the individual - this relates back to the theme of per-

sonal space.

another influence was the beach ball. this was more for practical purposes, to look at the way in which a beach ball is formed through

its different segments.

to further adapt our design and relate to our idea of an in-ner and outer per-sonal space, we de-cided that the idea of colour could make a good impact on our design. the images on the top and bot-tom display how the inner personal space is filled in (black), so that strangers can-not see into our per-sonal space. the outer personal space is see through, thus allowing people to see into that area of personal space and allow interactions.the image in the centre displays how the per-sonal space is dynamic due to the lightweight

plastic.

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M2 designrhino development

the rhino development began with two different series of curves, one representing the inner personal space and one representing the outer personal space. these series of curves were then lofted to create the dy-namic shell we were looking for. however this technique resulted in what seemed like curvature that would

have been impossible to recreate to make a plastic inflatable.

we then developed the design into a smoother shell that clearly showed the two distinct spaces. this strictly followed the measurements that we took, however this design was too simple and didn't imitate the randomness of movement of the

plastic bag.

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M2 designprototypes

this second prototype was testing materials rather than practicality. wire was used for the framing, how-ever it was decided that wire thick enough to support the 1:1 model would be too difficult to mould. the use of black and clear plastic created the effect that defined the two separate personal spaces. this also

showed how the outer personal space could be encroached upon.

this first prototype inflated in the round shape that we were looking for, however it was very rough and allowed us to understand specific details that needed to be refined such as using panelling tools to create

more structured and deliberate sections and finding a solution for the inflow of air.

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M3 FABRICATION

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M3 fabricationrhino development

our rhino model was developed on to create a more dynamic space that followed the random-

ness of the plastic bag.

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M3 fabricationfinal rhino design

RHINO MODEL

final

RHINO MODEL

panelised

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M3 fabricationcreating strips

our panelised surface was made up of 10 strips that were colour coded - like the beach ball segments. these strips were made up of 12 triangles. all togeth-er we had 120 triangles and over 300 seams. each strip of colour was unrolled to create a flat surface that was then separated into the 12 triangles to fit onto an A0 sheet of paper. when printed, the trian-gles each had a 0, 1 and 2 on each of their sides, we used these numbers to determine which seams joined.

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M3 fabricationexploded isometric model

RHINO MODEL

exploded isometric

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M3 fabricationprinting and cutting the triangles

when cutting out the 120 triangles, each was left with approximately 50mm outside each edge to allow for the soldering iron to strip away the excess - these excess parts had the 0, 1 and 2 labelled on them.

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M3 fabricationsoldering the triangles

the soldering process took over 4 days to complete. once all 12 triangles of each strip were soldered to create the ten strips, they were named by their colour as shown on rhino. all 10

strips were finally soldered together - multiple seams were joined at intersections.

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M3 fabricationinner shell skeleton

the skeleton of the inner shell was made with bendywood that was measured, cut, hot-glue-gunned and stuck together with masking tape. diagonal strips of bendywood were added to the

structure for extra rigidity.

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M3 fabricationassembly

once the skeleton was made, a large black garbage bag was placed over the top to create the inner personal space. a small opening was cut where the face was to be looking out and filled in with clear plastic. two small holes were cut on either side of the inner shell to allow airflow from the inner shell to the outer shell. the outer shell was then connected to the inner shell with duct tape to make it airtight.

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M4 REFLECTION

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M4 reflectiongeorgia byrnes

this semester the focus on a second skin and personal space made the design process somewhat difficult in terms of satisfying the brief. at first i struggled to wrap my head around these concepts while also trying to be free with the design and allow infinite opportunities to be viable options for possible con-tinuation with as the semester progressed. the way in which the tasks were structured into four separate modules made the learning experience easier, as i only had to focus on particular aspects of the design process at once time. this meant that throughout the semester there was clear development with the design that my group was working on, and the feedback from lyle and annie helped to discover new aspects of the design to work on. i struggled with the technological aspect of the subject but found that the tech sessions, readings and lectures all helped me learn and understand in different ways. the tech sessions were really helpful because they were hands on and i had to learn while i was there - they were also helpful because the instructor was able to answer specific questions related to our design that can now be applied in future. the readings that dealt with the idea of technology as a critical part of the design process, particularly lost in parameter space? (scheurer and stehling, 2011), really honed in on the idea that these skills are an important part of design and something that i will need to continue using in my future as a design student. the lectures were great with the technological aspect because paul was able to show us how the technology was used to create the finished product, such as the to and fro table, - it was good to be able to see this link between the computer and the end result. i really enjoyed look-ing at the way in which thomas heatherwick tackles the design process, the main message i got from him was to not conform to what is expected of a design, for example his design of the folding bridge which rolls up instead of conventionally parting in half. one of my favourite aspects of the semester was combining rhino with the fabrication to make the design and seeing how easy it is to transfer between computer and hard copy. choosing the plastic bag at the beginning of the semester, i knew it would be a challenge, however i loved exploring a new material and beginning to understand how it works. when we were combined together into the team we all worked really well together and weren't afraid to be criti-cal of other peoples work. georgie strachan was really great to work with, she was incredibly innovative and good at the computer. working with my boyfriend hugh was lots of fun and i found that when we bounced ideas off each other we came up with great new approaches to tackling the design. this led to a design project that i was really happy with and incredibly proud of. the final performance went really well and i believe that through the whole design process we were able to portray everything we wanted to

in our final performance.

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bibliography

american beauty 1999, edited film, dreamworks skg, united states of america. directed by sam mendes.

fierce 2009, 'participate in a beach ball conversation', weblog post, 17 january, fierce conversations, viewed 29 october, <http://www.fierceinc.com/blog/fierce-conversations/participate-in-a-beach-ball-conversation>.

goad, h 2013, 'module 2: design', undergraduate group project, university of melbourne, melbourne, australia.

sadler, s 2005, archigram: architecture without architecture, mit press, cambridge, massachusetts.

scheurer, f and stehling, h 2011, lost in parameter space? iad: architectural design, wiley, 81 (4), july, pp.70-79.

strachan, g 2013, 'inflata-bubble', undergraduate group project, university of melbourne, melbourne, australia.