ADS AIR WEEK 12 FINAL JOURNAL

A R C H I T E C T U R E D E S I G N S T U D I O A I RRHENDA CHONG 374209 ABPL 30048 2012 Semester 1

2

CONTENT

A. CASE fOR INNOvATION

ARCHITECTURAL DISCOURSE: 7-9

DIGITAL DESIGN 11-13

BIOmImICRY 15-17

B. EOI : CUT RESEARCH PROjECT 19-65

SITE ANALYSIS & DESIGN PROCESS 66-77

C. LEARNING OBjECTIvES & OUTCOmES 78-79

REfERENCES 80

3

‘SPECIAL THANkS TO mY GROUP mATES AmANDA

ANDREA AND jULIUS CHAISAR fOR YOUR

AWESOmE EffORTS AND kIND UNDERSTANDING

THROUGHOUT THE SEmESTER. ALSO, THANk

YOU jAS & ALLISON fOR ALL THE HELP AND COmmENTS

THAT HELPED US IN ImPROvING OUR PROjECT

TREmENDOUSLY.”

A CASE fOR INNOvATION

WEEk 1: ARCHITECTURE AS A DISCOURSE

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NATURAL ARCHITECTURE

ORGANIC HIGHWAY, DENmARkmIkAEL HANSON

‘NATURALARCHITECTURE IS A

’ mOvEmENT THATAImS TO CAPTURE

THE HARmONIOUSCONNECTION WE

SEEk WITH NATUREBY mERGING

HUmANITY ANDNATURE THROUGH

ARCHITECTURE(ROCCA, 2007).

THE mOvEmENT EmPHASIZES ON fORmS ARE STRIPPED DOWN TO THEIR ESSENCE, EXPRESSING THE NATURAL BEAUTY PRESENT IN mATERIALS AND LOCATION. TO mE, THE PROjECT RESEmBLES A DESIRE TO LOOk BACk INTO THE TRUE fORm Of ARCHITECTURE THROUGH LOOkING BACk AT A fRAmEWORk TO APPROACH BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES. THIS IS RATHER INTERESTING fOR mE AS THIS CONCEPT TAkES A LITERAL INTENTION AND TRANSLATES IT THROUGH A BUILT PROjECT. HOWEvER ALL Of THE WORkS IN THE mOvEmENT SHARE A CENTRAL ETHOS THAT DEmONSTRATES A RESPECT AND APPRECIATION fOR NATURE. HERE, I Am mORE INTERESTED IN THE CONCEPT AND IDEA BEHIND THIS mOvEmENT AS IT HAS A POTENTIAL TO LAYOUT THE fOUNDATION Of mY ARGUmENT fOR THE PROPOSED EOI. THIS IDEA SOmEWHAT SImILAR TO WILLIAm’S (2005) IDEAL Of ARCHITECTURE AS A SIGN, A SIGN TO SYmBOLIZE AND GUIDE ANY PERSON LOOkING AT ARCHITECTURE ITSELf.

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PERfORmING ARTS CENTER, ABU DABHIZAHA HADID

DIGITAL ARCHITECTURE AS A DISCOURSE

ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS IS A fIRm WELL kNOW fOR THEIR APPROACH TO BUILDING DESIGN WHICH mAkES CONSISTENT USE Of POWERfUL COmPUTATIONAL DESIGN TECHNOLOGIES AvAILABLE TODAY. THE DESIGN LANGUAGE Of THE ABU DABHI PERfORmING ARTS CENTER OR EvEN THE fIRm CAN BE SEEN AS CONSTANTLY PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES Of GEOmETRIC EXPRESSION WHILE DEvELOPING TECHNICAL CAPABILITY TO CAPTURE AND EXECUTE A DESIGN. THIS INTEGRATION Of THE DESIGN INTENTION AND ACCURATE, EffICIENT PROjECT DELIvERY IS ACHIEvED THROUGH A DIGITAL CODIfICATION Of DESIGN AS A SERIES Of PARAmETRIC GEOmETRIC OPERATIONS, THIS ENABLES DESIGN SOLUTIONS TO BE RAPIDLY GENERATED BY CONTROLLING ASSOCIATIvE GEOmETRIES AND DRIvING PARAmETERS. I BELIEvE THESE EXPRESSIONS ARE THE DRIvING fORCE BEHIND THIS UP AND COmING DISCOURSE. fOR mE, THROUGH OBSERvING ZHA’S LANGUAGE Of ARCHITECTURE I WOULD LIkE TO INCOPORATE PARAmETRIC mETHOD INTO mY UPCOmING PROjECT, I BELIEvE PARAmETRICISm WILL BE THE fUTURE Of DESIGN, IT ALLOWS US TO DESIGN NOT jUST A PIECE Of ART BUT RATHER A BUILDING WITH CONTEXT THAT fITS INTO OUR CULTURE AND SOCIAL REALm.

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HEARST TOWER , UNITED STATES fOSTERS + PARTNERS

SUSTAINABILITY AS A DISCOURSE

HEARST TOWER IS THE fIRST ‘GREE’N’ HIGH RISE OffICE BUILDING COmPLETED IN NEWYORk CITY, WITH A NUmBER Of ENvIRONmENTAL CONSIDERATIONS BUILT INTO PLAN. OvERALL, THE BUILDING HAS EARNED A GOLD DESIGNATION fROm THE UNITED STATES GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL’S LEED CERTIfICATION PROGRAm, BECOmING NEW YORk CITY’S fIRST LEED GOLD SkYSCRAPER. WITH GLOBAL WARmING BECOmING A mAjOR ISSUE AND THREATH TO OUR ENvIRONmENT, PEOPLE HAvEBEEN TRYING TO CHANGE THE BUILDINGS THAT WE INHABITATE ESPECIALLY IN AREA WITH A HIGH URBAN HEAT RATE. SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE ARE CURRENTLY SLOWLY EmERGING, IT WILL GRADUALLY SHAPE OUR URBAN ENvIRONmENT, fUSING IT WITH OUR POPULATION’S WILL TO SAvE THE EARTH. IN TERmS Of THINkING ABOUT WYNDHAm I THINk THAT SUSTAINABILITY mAYBE Of A GOOD DESIGN LANGUAGE TO BRING OUT THEIR UNIQUENESS IN ORDER TO BRAND THEmSELvES AS AN ICON. HOWEvER, ALTHOUGH SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE HAvE BEEN SLOWLY EmERGING, I PERSONALLY fIND THE ImPORTANCE TO DIffERENTIATE THE BUILT OURCOmES THAT ARE TRULY GREEN IN NATURE TO THOSE THAT CLAIm TO BE GREEN. A BUILDING TO mE HAS TO BE WHAT IT CLAImSTO BE.

WEEk 2: COmPUTING IN ARCHITECTURE

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BWm WELT, mUNICH, GERmANYCOOP HImmELB(L)AU

COmPUTATION AS A mEDIUm

‘WE CAN NOWPROvE THAT WE

CAN DO WHAT, AfEW YEARS BACk,WE WERE SAYING

WECOULD DO’.

fOR THIS PART, I Am INTERESTED IN fOCUSING ON THE DEvELOPmENT Of THE BmW WELT’S DYNAmIC SEmI-TRANSPARENT, GLASS AND STEEL STRUCTURE WHICH fEATURES A WAvY ROOf ENDING IN A TWISTING TWIN-CONE fORm, AND AN OPEN mAIN INTERIOR SPACE WITH A COmPOSITION Of mONUmENTAL STAIRWAYS, CURvED BRIDGES AND BALCONIES. fOCUSING ON THE RELATIONSHIPBETWEEN CONSTRUCTION AND TECHNOLOGY, IT IS APPARENT HERE THAT THE PRECISION WHEN fABRICATING COmPLEX TWISTS AND fORmS COULD BE ACHIEvED. I PERSONALLY BELIEvE THAT COmPUTATION CAN DRIvE A fORm AND PUSHING IT INTO DIffERENT HEIGHTS, BUT THE QUESTION IS WHETHER THE fORm ON A SCREEN COULD BE EffICIENTLY TRANSLATED INTO A BUILT OUTCOmE. THIS EXAmPLE BEST ILLUSTRATES THE POSSIBILITIES Of mERGING COmPUTATIONAL fORmS AND CONSTRUCTION TO PUSH ARCHITECTURE INTO THE fUTURE.

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SkY RAIL, SAN fRANCISCOmATYSYS

COmPUTATION AS A LANGUAGE

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SkY RAIL, SAN fRANCISCO USES A SERIES Of USERGENERATED GUIDELINES. THE SCRIPT BUILDS A IRREGULAR CELLULAR PATTERN Of APERTURES ON THE RAILING. BASED ON A fIELD Of ATTRACTORS, THE APERTURES ROTATE IN THE PLANE Of THE RAILING CAUSING THE ENTIRE RAILING TO OPEN TOWARDS CERTAIN vIEWS AS A PERSON WALkS UP OR DOWN THE STAIR. DOZENS Of SCRIPT ITERATIONS WERE EXPLORED BEfORE THE fINAL DESIGN WAS ACHIEvED. THIS PROjECT HIGHLIGHTS THE ABILITY TO USE A SERIES Of GRASSHOPPER ATTRACTOR DEfINITIONS TO fIND A POINT IN WHICH THE APERTURES ARE PLACE. I fIND THIS LANGUAGE Of DESIGN REALLY EvOCATIvE AND IT ATTRACTS mE IN A WAY THAT A DESIGN mUST BE jUSTIfIED IN A WAY TO CONvEY INfORmATION fOR THE OvERALL EXPERIENCE. IN A WAY, I ASPIRE TO ACHIEvE THIS DESIGN PROCESS AS IT COULD CONvEY A WHOLE NEW LEvEL Of SOPHISTICATION TO THE PROjECT. IT ALLOWS THE PROjECT TO RELATE TO THE SURROUNDINGS THEREfORE GENERATING A mORE BACkGROUND RELATED CONCEPT.

WEEk 3: PARAmETRIC mODELLING

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WATER CUBE, BEIjINGPTW ARCHITECTS

A LANGUAGE WITHIN ARCHITECTURE

THE WATERCUBE HAS AN OUTERSTRUCTURE Of A BASIC BOX WITH AN ORGANIC BUBBLE STRUCTURE THAT mAkES UP THE BUILDING CLADDING. THE BUBBLES ARE ORGANIC IN fORm AND HIGHLY SCIENTIfIC, CONSTRUCTED BASED ON ACTUAL ARRANGEmENT Of ORGANIC CELLS ANT THE NATURAL fORmATION Of SOAP BUBBLES. HENCE, BIOmImICRY. ALTHOUGH THE STRUCTURE APPEARS RANDOm, THE DESIGN PROCESS AND mATHEmATICAL ANALYSIS (ALGORITHmIC SPACES) USED TO PRODUCED TO CONSIDER THE OvERALL EXPERIENCES WITH WATER ARE INfACT STATE Of THE ART, THESE ARE ALL mADE POSSIBLE THROUGH TECHNOLOGICAL ADvANCEmENT IN ENGINEERING AND OffCOURSE, DIGITAL DESIGN AND COmPUTATIONAL TECHNOLOGY. ALSO, ONE Of ITS HIGHLIGHTS IS THE USE Of A LIGHTWEIGHT AND TRANSPARENT TEfLON (ETfE) WHICH IS ALSO USED IN THE OUTER fACADE Of THE ALLIANZ ARENA. WHAT INTRIGUES mE IS THE ABILITY TO TRANSLATE A INTENTION ONTO THE BUILT fORm THROUGH STRUCTURAL TRANSLATION AS WELL AS DESIGN INTENTIONS. THE SYmBOLISm Of CHANNELING CHINESE CULTURE INTO THE CUBE’S DESIGN IN THIS CASE IS SImILAR IN WHAT WYNDHAm IS TRYING TO ACHIEvE, THIS TRANSLATION Of LANGUAGE If PUT INTO GOOD USE WILL HELP WYNDHAm IN GAINING INSTANT STATUS AS SEEN IN THE CASE Of THE BEIjING WATER CUBE. OffCOURSE, INNOvATION AND ITS CONTEXT TO THE SITE WILL BE AS ImPORTANT INTO fORmING THE fINAL EOI ARGUmENT .

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PRImARY STRUCTURE:THE PRImARY STRUCTURE Of THE BUILDING IS A 3D SPACE fRAmE BASED ON A GEOmETRIC CELL mADE UP Of 12 PENTAGONS AND TWO HEAXAGONS THAT IS 3 DImENSIONALLY REPEATABLE WITHOUT LEAvING ANY EmPTY SPACES. THE fINAL STRUCTURE IS COmPRISED Of 22,000 TUBULAR STEEL mEmBERS CONNECTED BY 12,000 NODES.

BUBBLE DESIGN:THE BUBBLE GEOmETRIES ARE ANALYZED THROUGH fABRICATION mODEL INCREASING THE ACCURACY AND THE SUBSEQUENT fABRICATION Of THE CLADDING. THERE ARE 3 LAYERS TO THE BUILDING WITH THE mIDDLE LAYER fILLED WITH THERmAL AND ACOUSTICINSULATION.

fORm fINDING:THE fORm fINDING PROCESS WAS IN THIS CASE STRAIGHTfORWARD, AS THE mAIN CONCERN WAS TO mAINTAIN THE BUBBLE LIkE SHAPE IN THE CUSHION. AIR PRESSURISED TO 2OOPA WAS PUmPED INTO THE ETfE CAUSING TO YIELD AND DEfORm, THUS fINIDNG THE SHAPE ORGANIC. fOR THE LARGER CUSHIONS, fORm fINDING WAS TO fIND THE GEOmETRY Of THE fOIL TO PREvENT OvERSTRESSING. THE mETHODS USED POSSIBLE HERE ARE DERIvED fROm DYNAmIC RELAXATION ALGORITHmS. fROm HERE, THE NEXT STEP IS TO ENSURE THAT THE ETfE WERE NOT OvERSTRESSED.

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ALTHOUGH BIOmImICRY ALLOWS fORmS ANDSTRUCTURES TO BE ENHANCED AS OBSERvED fROm THE BEIjING WATER CUBE, IT mUST ALSO BE NOTED THAT THE ImPACT Of NEW ‘mASS CUSTOmIZABLE’ CONSTRUCTION mETHODS WHICH ENABLE A mUCH mORE ALGORITHmIC, GENERATIvE WAY Of BUILDING STRUCTURES. HENCE THE EmPHASIS ON THE TYPES Of STRUCTURE LIkE THE BEIjING WATER CUBE AND THE THE BmW WELT IN mUNICH TO NAmE A fEW; STRUCTURES WHICH ARE SOmETImES INDEED OfTEN INSPIRED BY NATURE, BUT WHICH CAN ALSO BE SImILAR IN TERmS Of OUTCOmES. THIS IS BECAUSE THEY ARE CONvERGENT SOLUTIONS TO SImILAR PROBLEmS. DESPITE SOmE Of ITS mINOR PROBLEmS, IT IS HARD TO DENY THAT USING ‘NATURE’ TOGETHER WITH TECHNOLOGY HAS BROUGHT BENEfITS TO OUR BUILT ENvIRONmENT AND THIS DISCOURSE WILL CONTINUE TO GROW AND mAYBE SHAPE OUR fUTURE. TO AvOID THIS PROCESS Of SImILAR OUTCOmE THROUGH ONE TECHNIQUE, IT IS STILL ImPORTANT IN A WHOLE TO RELATE THE LANGUAGE IN WHICH WE WANT TO TRANSLATE THROUGH ARCHITECTURE. TO mE, THIS IS THE mOST ImPORTANT ASPECT IN DESIGN, THE ABILITY Of THE BUILDING TO CONvEY AND SPEAk fOR ITSELf.

BIOmImCRY AS A WHOLE

EOI: RESEARCH GROUP

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CONTENT

A. CASE fOR INNOvATION

ARCHITECTURAL DISCOURSE: 22-23

DIGITAL DESIGN 24-25

BIOmImICRY 26-27

OBjECTIvES/ARGUmENT 28

B. RESEARCH PROjECT

CRITERIA 30

PRECEDENTS 31-33

CUT mATRICES 34-37

CASE STUDIES

vORONOI EXPLORATION 1 38-40

vORONOI EXPLORATION 2 41-42

vORONOI EXPLORATION 3 43-44

REfLECTION (1) 45

B. RESEARCH PROjECT REvISITED

ARGUmENT 49

PRECEDENTS 50-51

CRITERIA 52

EXPLORATIONS: vORONOI 55-57

EXPLORATION: CURvE 59-61

EXPLORATION: mERGE 63-65

EXPLORATION: fABRICATION 67-69

REfERENCES 70

REfLECTION 71

A. CASE fOR INNOvATION

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“NEW DIGITAL ARCHITECTURES ARE

EmERGING fROm THE DIGITAL REvOLUTION.

ARCHITECTS HAvE fOUND THEIR

EXPRESSION IN HIGHLY COmPLEX,

CURvCURvILINEAR fORmS THAT WILL

GRADUALLY ENTER THE mAINSTREAm

Of ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICE.”

GUGGENHEIm mUSEUm, BILBAOfRANk GEHRY

DIGITAL DESIGN AS A DISCOURSE

GUGGENHEIm mUSEUm IN BILBAO IS ONE Of THE GREATEST CREATIONS Of fRANk GEHRY. AN ARCHITECTURAL COmPETITION LED TO THE SELECTION Of CALIfORNIA-BASED ARCHITECT GEHRY, kNOWN fOR HIS USE Of UNORTHODOX mATERIALS AND INvENTIvE fORmS, AND HIS SENSITIvITY TO THE URBAN ENvIRONmENT. THEREfORE, DIGITAL DESIGN CAN BE AN ARCHITECTURAL DISCOURSE DUE TO DEmAND fROm THE ARCHITECTURE TO EXPLORE mORE IN IDEAS AND CREATIvITIES. fOR ARCHITECTURES, TO ACHIEvE SUCH BIG AND COmPLICATED IDEAS IN CREATING BUILDING INDEED DIGITAL DESIGN TO EXPRESS THEIR IDEA TO REALITY.

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SCHOOL Of ART, DESIGN AND mEDIA AT NANYANG UNIvERSITY, SINGAPORECPG CONSULTANTS PTY LTD

SUSTAINABILITY AS A DISCOURSE

THE HIGHLIGHT Of THE BUILDING IS THE vERDANT TURfED ROOf WHICH BLENDS WITH THE GROUND CONTOUR. APART fROm ITS vISUAL ImPACT, THE TURfED ROOf SCAPE IS A fUNCTIONAL SPACE WHICH IS EASILY ACCESSIBLE vIA SIDESTEPS ALONG THE ROOf EDGE, THEREBY ALLOWING THE ROOfTOP TO BE A SCENIC OUTDOOR COmmUNAL SPACE. ENvIRONmENTALLY, IT HELPS TO LOWER THE ROOf TEmPERATURE AND SURROUNDING AREAS. fURTHERmORE, THE BUILDING HOLDS THREE fACULTIES SUCH AS ART, DESIGN, AND mEDIA. THIS BUILDING HAS SHOWN SUSTAINABILITY AS ARCHITECTURAL DISCOURSE CAN BE CONTRIBUTED IN mODERN STRUCTURE TO BE mORE SUSTAIN IN SPACES AND fUNCTIONALITY AS WELL AS COmmUNICATING THE LANGUAGE Of DESIGN.

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DIGITAL SUSTAINABLE DESIGN: BIOmImICRY

mANAmA URBAN OASIS, BAHRAININfLUX STUDIO

THE DESIGN SEEkS TO DEfINE A STRONG LANDmARk ImAGE fOR THE STRATEGIC GATHERING PLACE Of mANAmA. USING BIOmImICRY, THE fLAT SURfACE Of THE CANOPY STRUCTURE IS SUPPORTED BY A COLLECTION Of TREE-LIkE PILLARS THAT PULL AWAY fROm THE ROOf AT vARIOUS POINTS. THIS CONvEYS TO OUR GROUP AS A SYSTEm Of LINkING vORONOIS. SLEEk YET ORGANIC, THE TRANSLUCENT SHELTER PROvIDES SHADE WHILE ALLOWING INDIRECT DAYLIGHT fROm THE NORTH PENETRATES ON TO THE DECk LEvEL. STREET-LEvEL TRAffIC AND CONGESTION IS RELIEvED BY AN UNDERGROUND BY-PASS AND PARkING WHICH ENHANCES PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION AND EAST-WEST CONNECTIvITY. COmPUTATIONAL DESIGN TAkES A BIG PART IN mERGING SUCH PATTERN AND fUNCTION IN DESIGNING A SUSTAINABLE STRUCTURE THIS IS RELEvANT AS kALAY QUOTED THE CREATIvE PHASE Of THE DESIGN PROCESS, WHERE THE ARCHITECT fORmS IDEAS AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS IN THIS CASE IN THE fORm Of COmPUTERS TO ADDRESS THE GOALS, CONSTRAINTS, AND OPPORTUNITIES WHERE ONE SUPPORTS ONE ANOTHER.

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SHINkANSEN BULLET TRAIN, jAPAN

TRAvELLING TOkYO-OSAkA BY SHINkANSEN PRODUCES ONLY AROUND 16% Of THE CARBON DIOXIDE Of THE EQUIvALENT jOURNEY BY CAR, A SAvINGS Of 15,000 TONS Of CO2 PER YEAR. COmPUTING Of THIS DESIGN REQUIRE SO mANY ASPECTS SUCH AS SAfETY mEASURE, SIGNALLING SYSTEmS, OR ROUTING. THEREfORE, PROBLEm ANALYSIS AND PROBLEm SOLvING CAN BE QUITE DISTURBING IN PROCESSING THE DESIGN. HOWEvER, THROUGH THE COmPUTATION THOSE PROBLEmS CAN BE SOLvED. COmmUNICATION ALLOWS ALL PARTICIPANTS IN THE DESIGN PROCESS TO BECOmE INfORmED Of THE EvOLvING GOALS AND SOLUTIONS, TO HELP GENERATE SOLUTIONS(OR PARTIAL SOLUTIONS), AND TO EvALUATE THEm WHICH IN THIS PROjECT INCLUDES THE USING Of BIOmImICRY CONCEPTS AND APPLYING IT INTO NURBS BASED SOfTWARES TO OPTImIZE THE STRUCTURE TO fIT THE NEEDS Of THE USERS. THIS APPROACH SIGNIfIES OUR DESIGN IDEALS.

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TECHNICAL STUDY: BEIjING WATER CUBE

WATER CUBE, BEIjINGPTW ARCHITECTS

“A SIGNIfICANTLY DEEPER

ENGAGEmENT BETWEEN THE

COmPUTER AND USER BY AUTOmATING

ROUTINE ASPECTS AND REPETITIvE

ACTIvITIES, THUS fACILITATING

A fAR GREATER RANGE Of

POTENTIAL OUTCOmES

fOR THE SAmE INvESTmENT IN

TImE”

THE WATER CUBE’S DESIGN WAS INITIATED BY A TEAm EffORT: THE CHINESE PARTNERS fELT A SQUARE WAS mORE SYmBOLIC TO CHINESE CULTURE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE BIRD’S NEST STADIUm, WHILE THE SYDNEY BASED PARTNERS CAmE UP WITH THE IDEA Of COvERING THE ‘CUBE’ WITH BUBBLES, SYmBOLISING WATER. CONTEXTUALLY THE CUBE SYmBOLISES EARTH WHILST THE CIRCLE (REPRESENTED BY THE STADIUm) REPRESENTS HEAvEN. HENCE SYmBOLICALLY THE WATER CUBE REfERENCES CHINESE SYmBOLIC ARCHITECTURE.

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PARAmETRIC DESIGN HAS ALREADY BEEN CREATED BY mANY DESIGNERS. HOWEvER, EvERY DESIGNER NEEDS AID fROm THE COmPUTATION SYSTEm. IT IS BEEN SET fOR SO mANY YEARS THAT SCRIPTING IS THE mEDIA TO AID THE DESIGNER TO ACHIEvE CERTAIN PARAmETRIC DESIGN. SCRIPTING TECHNIQUE HAS BEEN APPLIED TO mANY ‘mEGA STRUCTURE’ fOR THE PAST DECADE. IN OTHER HAND, SOmE DESIGNERS ARE AvOIDING THIS TECHNIQUE fOR CREATING THEIR IDEAS INTO REALITY. THEY BELIEvED THROUGH SCRIPTING IN CREATING PARAmETRIC DESIGN IS TAkING THE fREEDOm OR GIvE A LImITATION TO DESIGNERS TO CREATE mORE IDEAS. NEvERTHELESS, SCRIPTING IS ALLEGED TO INSIDE Of EvERY NEW DESIGNERS mIND SET IN THIS 21ST CENTURY.

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ARGUmENT: mERGING NATURE

Wyndham City is seeking design for an eye catching and exciting installation to cre-ate a gateway onto the Princes highway. Over the years, Wyndham has been striving towards creating and establishing a new image through aesthetics and technology. The city tries to focus on the idea of marrying nature with the built environment while pushing their town planning ideas towards the future. The local area is known for its natural signifi cance as it boasts an array of public parks as well as natural features. Inter-estingly, additional information about Wyndham has shown that the natural area has a variety of wetlands and through recent drought conditions; mud cracking has been a recent scene, this in an abstract way form a strong connection point between the past and present. Thus, the installation will serve to inform people about the signifi cance of change within Wyndham. It will also serve to inform the community and people about its natural signifi cance.

The project will focus on the possibilites of digital design and incorporating tech-niques and concepts examined from the selected cases for innovation to our group’s ideal. We are interested in developing the idea of fusing nature with the built environ-ment (BIOmImICRY) to create an installation that is abstract in form. furthermore, with the advancement of technology in the fi eld of biomimicry, we believe that the use of digital computation will further enhance the outcome of what the group is trying to achieve. Within nature more specifi cally, with relations to the mud crack formation of the wetlands, our group is interested in developing it’s possibilities and incorporating its system to our design. As so, the group has chosen to look into working with voronois in a broader context. moreover, the similarities of the formation of mud cracking pat-terns as well as cell formation systems in nature are researched to be identical to the formation of voronoi patterning.

Through merging digital software together with nature, breakthrough in architec-ture has been observed; one of the more famous examples is the Beijing Water Cube. The project has shown most importantly the use of nature within a built system and expanding it into an idea with the use of digital design. With relation to our project, our technique is to use grasshopper to merge the abstract form of natural and built systems and digital software. Grasshopper, in this case can help us in producing and looking at voronois in terms of concepts as a system of formation rather than individual rings within a plane. To certain extents digital software, Rhino and grasshopper also helped our group understand and produce an array of patterns and forms in a more effi cient manner especially during exploration process as well as fabrication manage-ment. furthermore, digital software can substantially aid in pushing our design to the next level achieving form explorations that couldn’t be achieved through traditional drafting by linking defi nitions of diff erent generated outcomes in grasshopper during the exploration process. Our outcome is formed through experimental and develop-mental stages.

B. RESEARCH PROjECT

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CRITERIA

After forming the argument, we have adopted a rule-based approach in design

(kalay, 2004) and identifi ed three crucial parts of to our concept developments,

they are:

-The Natural System,

-The Built Environment and

-The Combination of Natural and Built Systems.

These 3 main concepts will act as a guide within our matrices exploration process, this

is to ensure the production of a appropriate and defi nite fi nal outcome for the Wynd

-ham City project.

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PRECEDENTS: NATURE

Looking at natural processes and systems enabled us to form a framework in developing an understanding of the natural systems that we are looking closely at, this is more relevant in terms of voronoi formation and pattern-ing. from this, we identifi ed that voronoi occur in various triangulated, hexagonal shapes and work on an attractor point system. In terms of aesthetics, we are interested in untilizing this system as well as the pattern.

mudcracks

Leaf veins

Dragonfl y’s wing

The Giant’s Causeway (Ireland)

This is to form a fi nal outcome that is simple in a poetic and visual sense but could be able to blend with our ideals and as an outcome convey the characteristics of Wyndham.

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PRECEDENTS: BUILT

federation Square (melbourne), Lab Architecture

Studio

Beltline Installation (Atlanta), Tristan-Al-Haddad

melbourne Recital Hall and mTC Theatre (mel-bourne), Ashton Raggat mcDougall

Grocon Pixel Building (melbourne), studio505

from looking at the built examples, we delved upon the possibilities of manipulating the patterns within the natu-ral systems into various forms and volumes. The examples listed are a few of the known examples within sustainable architecture but common themes are also the use of ap-plying biomimicry into their design development pro-cess. The common characteristics of these built examples lies in the use of one occurring technique and exploring it with motives such as depth and gradient in which we are particularly interested in exploring. These elements as said provides us in terms of understanding the limita-tions and possibilities of our design and with relations to the project we would apply these concepts of exploration and motives as they are relevant to the advancement of design aesthetics and technology which Wyndham is as-piring to be.

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PRECEDENTS: NATURE + BUILT

Cactus Project (Doha), Aesthetics Architects GO Group

Porifera Skyscraper in Paris - 2011 Skyscraper Competi-tion, Nicolas jomain, Boriana Tchonkova

kartal Pendik masterplan (Istanbul), Zaha Hadid Archi-tects

flat Tower - 2011 Skyscraper Competition, Yoann mes-cam, Paul-Eric Schirr-Bonnans, Xavier Schirr-Bonnans

These examples mainly serve as a basis for our explora-tion outcomes, these examples of applying very direct connotations from the natural environment in terms of patterning and shapes into built outcomes. Our case study exploration is heavily infl uenced by these designs as they convey to us the concept of forms that highlights the use of biomimicry to draw attention of the viewers to the built form. Their form though simple has a consistent and direct theme in which the viewers can relate, this we think is relevant to what we want to achieve for our proj-ect outcome.

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overlapping patterns + surface grids + data driven shading

curve attractor + using sets

overlapping patterns + data driven rotation

surface grids + using sets + data driven rotation

surface grids + data driven rotation

overlapping patterns + sur-face grids + using sets + data driven shading

curve attractor + data driven rotation

overlapping patterns + surface grid + data driven rotation + data driven shading

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arbitrary points + attractor points + data driven compo-nents

arbitrary points + maths func-tions + data driven compo-nents

arbitrary points + stream-ing text fi les + data driven components

boolean patterning + at-tractor points + data driven components

boolean patterning + maths functions + data driven com-ponents

arbitrary points + boolean patterning + attractor points + maths functions + data driven components

arbitrary points + boolean patterning + attractor points + maths functions + data driven components

arbitrary points + boolean patterning + attractor points + maths functions + data driven components

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curve intersections + using surface normals + image sampler

multiple maths functions + data driven extrusion

using surface normals + data driven extrusion

curve intersections + multile maths functions

overlapping patterns + mul-tiple maths functions

using surface normals + mul-tiple maths functions

image sampler + multiple maths functions

curve attractor + image sampler + multiple maths functions

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As stated before, our matrices explorations are infl uenced by 3 main themes, further expanding the themes, our group have set out a framework in which the defi nitions are divided amongst the members to allow a in depth un-derstanding of working with a and/or a few defi nition and expanding them in a coherent 3 part manner to achieve the desired outcome. The outcomes are mostly focused on achieving an obvious set of outcomes that relates back to our criteria. Among our exploration processes we found out that we are particularly interested in the pos-sibilities of merging Attractor points, curve attractors and extrusions with voronois and manipulating it with the methods that were provided in the ex-lab tutorials. This formed our basis of our initial technique in forming the defi nitions for our case study.

for our fi nal outcome, we have decided to employ the technical concept obtained from the matrices exploration and redevelop the possible outcomes of the Tokyo Air-space façade. Our development tries to incorporate gradi-ent and depth to voronois and manipulating it to change into a form that would be perceived as a whole system. Using the fi nal outcome as a guide, we would then further manipulate the model during fabrication with pinki-sil and resin to relate it back to the context of Wyndham City.

jUSTIfICATION Of mATRICES

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CASE STUDY

AIRSPACE, TOkYOSTUDIO m/THOm fAULDERS ARCHITECTURE

Airspace Tokyo designed by faulders Studio strike us in the sense of its simple form but complicated pattern solid yet vivid façade. The digitally-generated overlapping voronoi pattern that represents the biomorphic cells of vegetation, suits our preferred digital technique exploration – biomimicry. Lightings are the essential eff ect for both external and internal space. Through the pattern, views are fragmented and create a unique experiment through diff erent angles. At night, the interior lightings passing through the perforations of overlapping voronoi make a mysterious feeling as it seems to move as we move.

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OvERLAPPING vORONOI

CASE STUDY: REvERSE ENGINEERING

Taking the concepts from our matrices exploration, we came up with a technique to produce an overlapping voronoi by generating random points of various centers within the voronoi mainly through multiple maths functions. The outcome is similar to that of our case study, Airspace Tokyo.

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CUBE vORONOI

fURTHER EXPLORATION 1

After the reverse engineering of the façade of Airspace Tokyo, we tried experimenting and viewing the voronoi as a volume rather than a 2-dimesional form making this concept cohesive to our argument. joining the 2-dimesional facades into a cube would be the easiest approach to achieve the stereoscopic sense of voronoi as a whole. Playing with light, the façades of the cube create shadows that overlapped each other and further fragmenting the voronoi.

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fURTHER EXPLORATION 2

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To take the design into a further development, the holes and the frame would be inverted as in the holes are fi lled and extruded while the frame is lowered. Each extruded volume is broken into 6 pieces of triangles. And the trian-gular forms are in diff erent heights that will make a wavy form 3-dimesionally.

The form made before is similar to that of mud cracks, and we are interested by this particular natural geomorphic signs. for the fi nal exploration, the mud cracks particularly The Giant Causeway in Ireland inspires us to build voronoi extrusion into diff erent levels

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fINAL EXPLORATION

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DURING THE PRESENTATION, IT WAS POINTED OUT TO US THAT OUR GROUP PROGRESS WAS UNCLEAR IN TERmS Of DESIGN DIRECTION AND jUSTIfICATION. AfTER RECEIv-ING fEEDBACk, WE REALISED THAT WE SHOULD LOOk INTO OUR ARGUmENTS AND RELATING OUR GROUP INTENTS TO WYNDHAm AT A mORE SOPHISTICATED LEvEL.. WHAT WE HAvE DONE IS AT mOST AN EXER-CISE TO PRODUCE vARIANTS Of vORONOI DEfINITIONS.

LOOkING BACk AND EXAmINING OUR ARGUmENTS, I RE-ALISED THAT WE HAvE NOT jUSTIfIED A CLEAR REASON WHY WE WOULD CARRY OUT OUR PROjECT IN THIS mAN-NER. AT THE NEXT SECTION, WE WILL BE LOOkING CLOSELY AT OUR fLAWS AND RETHINkING IN WHAT WAYS WE COULD PUSH OUR UNDERSTANDING Of THE BRIEf AS WELL AS THE TECHNIQUES IN WHICH THE COURSE WANTS US TO EXPLORE.

HOWEvER, THE POSITIvE SIDE ABOUT mAkING mIS-TAkES IS THAT WE CAN ImPROvE fOR THE BETTER.

WE HAvE TAkEN THE POSITION TO RE-THINk AND REPOSI-TION OUR ARGUmENT AND CRITERIA IN ORDER TO ImPROvE. OUR NEW jUSTIfICATION AND EXPLORATION OvER THE WEEk HAS BEEN REDOCUmENTED IN THE NEXT SECTION.

REfLECTION

EOI: REvISITED

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ARGUmENT: fIELD Of REALISATION

Wyndham City is seeking design for an eye catching and exciting installation to create a gateway onto the Princes highway. Over the years, Wyndham has been striving to-wards creating and establishing a new image through aesthetics. The city tries to focus on the idea of marrying nature with the built environment while pushing their town planning ideas towards the future. This project allows Wyndham who is strategically situated directly between the city and the rural outskirts a chance to provide a fresh new image to the community as well as the commuters travelling on the Princes highway each day. from looking at the vast possibility within this area, our primary goal is to brand Wyndham itself as a gateway through creating a fi eld of realisation. This fi eld of realisation will serve as a medium to abstractly inform the commuters of the move-ment from the city towards the rural outskirts and vice ver-sa. Every day, there is a considerable amount of population movement along the highway. This alone signifi es the shift of people from one destination to another. furthermore, there is a stark diff erence between the population density within the city and rural areas. Our group sees this popula-tion representation as vital information towards expressing Wyndham’s status through linking both the city and rural outskirts. Lastly to merge our intentions back to nature, we will look into the structural systems within nature to de-velop the scope of depth in our project. frei Otto argued that “naturalistic forms are no less a triumph of human de-sign and productive capacity than mechanistic ones.” We believe that these explorations of abstract movement and natural systems will serve to symbolize Wyndham’s prog-ress towards the future.

“Buildings can be considered as a fl ow of bodies and infor-mation through space, over time. The programmatic ele-ments were modelled as at-tractors on the site. visitors, information and exchanges were modelled as particles. Once the particles attracted, they started forming varying degrees of concentration. A halo of particles was fl oating over the site, suggesting an eventual architectural space.”

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PRECEDENTS

Similar to how the UN is formed by individual na-tions, the memorial entails a cube comprised of small-er “cells.” These cells, which are meant to represent the “collective nature of the UN’s identity” fuse togeth-er to create the fi nal shape.

The master plan principles for the Headquarters are based on the concepts of connectivity, clarity and community – concepts that are also vital to Aliba-ba’s e-commerce business these are all represented with voronoi patterning. These principles guided all design decisions from the single workstation to the greater workplace com-munity.

Airspace Tokyo is designed to establish a screened buff er zone, the design intention for the screen is to invent an architectural system that performs with similar attributes to the de-molished green strip and creates an atmospheric zone of protection.

AIRSPACE, TOkYOSTUDIO m/THOm fAULDERS ARCHITECTURE

ALIBABA HEADQUARTERS, HANGZHOUHASSELL ARCHITECTURE

UN mEmORIAL, SOUTH kOREAACmE

Roudavski (2009) argued that precedents do exist in nature where structurally complex living organisms have been adapting to their environments for millions of years. These researched projects in a whole demonstrate a successful implementation of a large-scale cellular structure in a project that is acclaimed for its visual impact and the translation of abstract intents. After identifying our arguments, we are particularly interested in using collective cellular structures and translating them into representational meanings within architecture; we looked at a number of precedents within this context and came up with our criteria that are specifi c to our site:

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POREUX, EvOLO COmPETITION SUBmISSIONDOmENIC CERANTONIO, mICHAEL WU, WILSON TANG

RECITAL HALL, mELBOURNEASHTON RAGGATT mCDOUGALL (ARm)

vORONOI HONEYCOmB SERIES, TAIWANNOIZ ARCHITECTS

Although unbuilt, this proposed project identifi ed out group’s intention of developing and translating our voronoi into an architectural language. The designers quoted “Programmatic mapping of existing surround-ings were conducted as a source of exploration in the observation of possible voronoi patterns. four main activities nodes (residential, recreational, commercial and transportation) were identifi ed and fed into a vo-ronoi script to generate overlays of patterns based on each activity nodes. The four diff erent nodal abstract grids were then superimposed to form a denser grid in an attempt to explore the possibilities of how an ur-ban informed voronoi map could inform architecture and urban spaces.”

This complex is described by its architects as ‘non-identical Siamese twins’ because they are co-located but each expresses a diff erent architectural identity. The use of voronois here clearly articulates the visual representation a building, using 2 diff erent ways of generating voronois, one using its structural ribs and one using plane patterning.

Using a honeycomb structure with a voronoi pattern as the initial layout. The honeycomb form allows the chair to support large loads even though the material is quite thin. This project displays the merging of de-sign and structure to produce a design intent, using these language to produce something aesthetically interesting.

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CRITERIA

After looking at a number of precedents, we are interested with the possibilities of voronoi patterning and their abili-ties to convey design intents and abstract representations through exploring depth, gradient and movement. We are interested in using these languages of voronoi algorithm and placing them in the context of creating a buff ered space (a fi eld to realisation) and thus, we have set out a number of criteria to explore ways to develop these voro-nois to merge with our argument:

Phase 1: In order to clearly show the realisation of move-ment, our group looked at ways to achieve a system in which the voronoi points are placed, these systems are then expanded to achieve an outcome that is most related to the group’s ideal.

Phase 2: To represent movement and gradient, we will look into ways in which a curved surface can be manipulated to fi t with the site context.

Phase 3: merging these two intentions to produce a justi-fi ed outcome.

Phase 4: Expanding this justifi ed outcome with transfor-mation defi nitions to give the voronois a more complex outcome, this phase will be experimenting with layering, depth and to allow the eyes to be attracted and slowly guided to a intended voronoi frame.

“The voronoi model of space is be-coming more and more important as a tool in the mathematical mod-elling of space for many application domains. In the voronoi model, space is neither an empty void within which can be found occasional objects (the vector model), nor a lattice of arbi-trary cells (the raster model). Rather, space is a continuous medium fi lled with proximity fi elds generated by ob-jects. This representation of space has important implications for domains where geographic space is endowed with cultural characteristics or values.”

EXPLORATIONS Of DERIvED fORm

vORONOI

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fORm fINDING: THINkING PROCESS

firstly, our group started of by rethinking of a technique of how to justify the driver of these voronoi points. Think-ing of using Wyndham as a starting point and looking it as a system in which we could set our explorations. The images on the left points out the basic technique of how our voronoi form is derived conceptually. Starting from a visual representation of Wyndham (fig1), plotting in input defi nitions such as (i) image samplers, (ii) multiple maths, (iii) attractor point to test out the points driven in terms of sophistication and position of our voronoi (fig 2). from our test voronois (fig 3), we extruded up the form to give it depth (fig 4), this is to allow futher exploration of the potential of each voronoi opening to convey a more com-plex language of sophistication. This will be discussed at a later part.

from this exploration stage, we decided to omit image samplers and multiple maths as a possible technique, we did not fi nd a direct or good correlation of what we were trying to convey of the site to the techniques said.

fig 1.

fig 2

fig 3

fig 4

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GENERATED vORONOI

Our group fi nal voronoi technique is derived from looking into a single attractor point and driving it by inputing a defi nition in which a point is move along a referenced curve, this curve is derived by looking at the statistics of Wyndham in a abstract map context, this will help us identify the major diff erences between the areas that we would want to explore. We are relatively satisfi ed with this technique as we believe it conveys more depth and sophistication in which we generate our voronoi, this solves our earlier problem of not being able to justify the points and our group’s weakness in ty-ing Wyndham, our argument and the said technique.

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fUTURE EXPLORATIONS

Our further explorations will include developing a sophis-ticated language interms of developing our abstract map concept. This might be explored in a number of diff erent methods:

(i) Obtaining statistics and plotting it onto the xyz-plane, making the driver a 3D form rather than a 2D plane.

(ii) Overlaying maps of various population statistics in all context to clearly map out the diff erence between the city, Wyndham and the rural outskirts.

(iii) Taking a direct approach and extracting contour lines between the intersection of the population distribution, population density and/or population movement within the larger area of our said target area.

CURvES

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Our next criteria was to look into a concept in which the overall form of our design will be derived. After looking at voronoi drivers at a larger scale, we thought of drawing our form fi nding technique back to a more specifi c scale. In this case, by looking at the site con-ditions (fig 1) itself is most suitable to merge our concept with Wyndham and the site. This tunneling structure and its defi nition was rather achievable, however, we might further this exploration in order to push this form fur-ther by manipulating the depth and structure of the form to fi nd a possible outcome.

THINkING PROCESS + POSSIBLE EXPLORATIONS

fig 1.

We furthered our explorations through look-ing at a number of ways to make our curved surface into a more interesting outcome. however, after critically observing the vari-ous formed outcomes. We decided to stick to the original curve beacause as a whole form, it tended to provide us with a range of pos-sibilities to further our theme of emotional impact and language translation in a more thorough way

vORONOI ON A SURfACE

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ANALYSING: OUTCOmE

After merging both explorations and coming up with a set direc-tion in which we are heading, I have decided to analyse the form. Surprisingly, after looking at the merged form as a whole, it has already achieved the concept of drawing atention which is what we wanted as a group, this is be-cause the arched outcome itself and the contouring of the site has already achieved a gradient in which the eyesight can already be channeled. By adding the vo-ronoi in will dramiticaly alter the fi eld of depth. We will be working on this closelty to come up with a fi nal formThis form is ideal for what we are achieving but we are still lacking interms of the lan-guage translation and fabrication process.

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EXPLORED OUTCOmES + POSSIBLE EXPLORATIONS

After merging both explorations and coming up with a set direc-tion in which we are heading, I have decided to analyse the form. Surprisingly, after looking at the merged form as a whole, it has already achieved the concept of drawing atention which is what we wanted as a group, this is be-cause the arched outcome itself and the contouring of the site has already achieved a gradient in which the eyesight can already be channeled. By adding the vo-ronoi in will dramiticaly alter the fi eld of depth. We will be working on this closelty to come up with a fi nal formThis form is ideal for what we are achieving but we are still lacking interms of the lan-guage translation and fabrication process.

Although at this stage we have already dealt with the initial stages of the design technicalities. At the next stage we will be looking into how to bring about in executing a good design. here, we will focus on provid-ing an experiencial quality within the tunnel structure that we have propose. This will then abstractly inform of Wyndham to the commuters through the site. This will be all about using the voronoi as a guide and using them to frame experience and emotional qualities through abstract representation of bridging the city to the rural through Wyndham. however, detaily the group is still working on to giving the voronoi ita smoother edge so that the design ourcome would be more integrated to the experiencial aspect of the design. This would be explored through grasshopper defi nitions of extruded polysurfaces and lofting them together to form smoother edges, one of the built examples is shown in my xase study.

fABRICATION CONCEPTS

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CURRENT & POSSIBLE CONCEPTS

The group is currently trying to think of a fabrication method in which 3d printing will be the last option. At this point, due to our complex curved form, we have been looking into a casting method. At this stage we have contoured the curve surface onto a base box as shown above and will be looking into fabricating the voronoi surface and casting it onto it. This at the moment might be possible through the use of silicone, however pinki-sil might be too liquid be-cause of our curved form, looking into a more dense material might be an option. however, at this point, we are still considering the accuracy of the curved parameters to the size of the voronoi printed. for the next few weeks, we will be looking at this matter in order to produce a model that works.

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fAILED ATTEmPT

Though still in an experimental stage, we have come up with a number of possible solutions. This will be tested throughout the next 4 weeks .

(I) using silicone as a medium, fabricating them with wire meshing bonded onto the structure. then placing it onto a contoured mould to form the curve. This in a construc-tional terms acts like a reincorcement to hold up its shape.

(II) disecting the structure in Rhino to pro-duce a more squared paneled outcome and fabricate it as individual pieces then reas-sembling them. materials considered for this method will be using polyethene sheets due to their bendable qualities.

Before looking into our current method, we experimented with contouring our model, we initially thought it would be possible, but due to the inconsistent sizes of the voronois and the doublecurved surface, the result is seen in fi gure 1 above. The cuts produced a lot of small individual pieces that will make fabricating the model a hectic process, not to mention it’s stability and constructional qualities of the model.

SITE ANALYSIS & DESIGN PROCESS

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DESIGN fOCUS

In summary, the overall form is achieved through looking at the relationship between the city, Wyndham and the rural out-skirts then zooming into the site itself to abstract a form that will make our form meaningful and truly contextual. Although the initial idea is to translate population density into voronoi patterns to show that distinct relationship, the group found that interms of plotting and abstracting these data into a parametric design takes a longer time to deal with, however, we do not have the luxury of time. We then worked from the comments and feedback from the EOI and fi nally decided to focus on the overall experiental aspect while using population density as a concept and abstractly translating it onto our form. from what we have during our EOI stage, the next few steps of our design process includes manipulating the curved form and voronoi patterns to match and bring out the experiental eff ect of driving from a dense metropolis to the open outskirts.

figure 1 shows a diagramatic change of our curved form, the initial form, a more streamlined outcome as seen in the EOI stage is gradually altered and shaped to highlight and show the true qualities of the experiental eff ect that the group is try-ing to achieve. These forms are manipulated through a series of trial and error tests. The commuters along the highway as well as achieving a form which will make a direct and dramatic impact are the priorities and driver behind our manipulating process. figure 2 shows our voronoi test process. As we have already referenced our driving source in which the voronoi will be manipulated in grasshopper, for this stage, we tested with the number slider. Setting the maximum to 10, we entered in specifi c number scales and waited for the outcome which often takes more than 5 minutes to generate. We fi nally settled with the numeric scale of 7.334. figure 3 is to illustrate the diff erence between our initial idea and form and fi nally manipu-lating and tying it back it with context and analysis to fi t the overall experience and realisation qualities that the group is trying to achieve.

fig 1

fig 2

fig 3

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DESIGN APPROACH: AN EXPERIENTIAL REALm

As explained in the design focus section, the overall project focuses on the experiential qualities. Hence, as a group we believe it is important to bring out this particular aspect in a realistic sense. We ensure this part was made possible though simple stop motion tests in rhino and also showing the ex-perience to our friends and some of our tute mates asking them over and over again to perfect that particular experience. Overall, the depth and height of the structure, form, voronoi and Wydham’s signifi cance all played a part in achieving the fi nal structure. We realised that we have to work with these factors not as an individual trait but as cohesive qualities to come out with a form that the group agrees on. In the earlier stages, we were stuck on high-lighting their individual trait that lead the project to look more like a mis-matched outcome rather than a wholistic one.

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jUSTIfICATION ON SITE

Zooming onto the site, we have decided to place our structure over all 3 sites, this is because we as a group thought it would made more sense for the structure to span and provide a longer duration of time for the commuters to “realise” the changes within the structure as well as the context behind. The overall structure in a 1:1 scale measure about 250meters in length, 50meters in width and 36 meters at its peak height. We also wanted all roads and freeways to be included within the experience. However, as seen from the site plan, each of these roads and freeways will have a dis-similar experience. This was to highlight hierarchy as well as to symbolise the diff erence of Wyndham as a city itself. All these aspects are considered and are intentional.

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DESIGN PROCESS: A SUmmARY

SITE MOVEMENT

CITY

RURAL

POPULATION CHANGE

DATA CONVERSION TO VORONOI

BASIC FORM DERIVED FROM LANDSCAPE

CURVES INTO A SURFACEexperiential change leading to Wyndham

FORM OUTCOME

In conclusion, the overall design process can be summarised into 6 easy steps as seen in the diagrams.

: Looking at movement within the site and population density within the larger context of melbourne to create a fi eld to realisation.

: Plotting out the population change abstractly on site as an initial driver for the voronois.

: Convert these driving voronoi points into a wanted outcome.

: Contextual form derived from site and land-scape pattern.

: manipulating curves and voronois to fi t the experiential change leading to Wyndham.

: Tying back all ideas to form a fi nal outcome.

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EXPERIENTIAL PASSAGE

CONSTRUCTION: AN OvERvIEW

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CONSTRUCTION PRECEDENTS & PROPOSED mETHOD

To translate our project into a built form, we looked into various projects that has a similar scale in terms of size. We looked at megastructures and innovative buildings, examining their construction methods and applying them to our project as a constructional suggestion. Two of the most relevant buildings and their constructional properties that could be apply to our structure are the London Olympic Stadium and the Guggenheim museum. The reason why we looked at these two in particular is because of their massive size as well as their use of layers and cladding within a curved structure. We are interested with how they incorporate steel members bolting and welding them to form lat-tices and surfaces in a 3D manner. Also, the materials chosen to complete both of their outlook also convinced us to look deeper into these choices. To our group, it brings out the complex form of their design but in a way making it look simple and clean with a seamless look. This is what we are trying to achieve in terms of constructional properties.

Our form will be built through pre-fabricated steel trusses, forming it into a lattice structure, and cladding it with brushed steel to give it a seemless metallic look. These steel trusses wil be constructed with a 3 tier sys-tem similar to the Bird’s nest stadium in Beijing. It will consist of a primary load bearing structure that will be connected to deep piles as well as tension cables to hold the structure down, the subsequent struture will be spanning beams of steel trusses and cantilevered sections.

LONDON OLYmPIC STADIUmPOPULOUS ARCHITECTS

GUGGENHEIm mUSEUm, BILBAO fRANk GEHRY

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UNDERSTADING TECHNIQUES: mODEL mAkING

Although we had our overall model 3D printed, our group still fi nd the importance in experi-menting with new forms of materials to achieve a breakthrough interms of understanding ma-terials that we were not familiar with. We chose Pinkisil a silicone based material. This is because our project requires materials to cope with dou-ble curved surfaces. We applied the technique of tension vS compression to construct our model.

We started with laser cutting aryclic sheets and using them as mould for to pour the pinkisil in. We stacked 2 pieces of similar 3mm sheets and stick them with contact cement to ensure that the joints are air tight and sealed. We then pour a fi rst layer of Pinkisil in equal parts to fi ll up about half the mould. While it sets, we embed wires about 2mm in diameter in between individual lines. We complete the model by pouring in the remaining batch of pinkisil and wait for it to set.

Our fabrication method only involved one sec-tion of the model in a 1:200 as in a smaller scale, the individual strips would be too thin for the pinksil to be removed from the mould. from this process, we understood the importance of executing our model making methods straight down to detail. Everything must be overlooked and must be carried out precisely. This understa-ding stems from the few failures we encountered during the model making process whereby the mould wasn’t placed properly or inaccurate por-tions of pinkisil were used etc.

This understanding is somehow similar to con-struction procedures in reality. I guess, the main purpose the course wants us to interact with model making skills is to inform us the impor-tance of constructional processes and that when we design, we have to think about its construc-tability as a whole. Additionally, from this, I have come to realise that designs can also stem from construction rather than just having and utilizing the construction theories to fi t structures them-self.

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This is phase two of ourr model making construction, we were told during the pre-sentation by a crit to look into how ten-sion and compression works out to form a coherent whole. We then went back and altered some of the major factors such as the pinkisil itself as well the thickness of the wires to experiment with the outcome.

With the fi rst image, we used the same wire thickness about 2mm and the same 1:1 portion of pinksil. The result was a fi rm and rigid structure with a fl exible bending ability.

In second picture below, we experimented with the tensional properties of the struc-tre. We minimized the diameter of the wire to 1mm and kept the correct proportion of the pinkisil. The outcome was still a fi rm and rigid structures. However, this might be due to the wire not being able to stuc-ture interms of staying at a certain point, the individual strips seem to have a habit in which it would return to a certain posi-tion after bending it.

for the last experiment, we tried to al-ter the compressional properties of the model. Hence, we modifi ed slightly the proportions of the pinki-sil mix to a 1.1 : 9 mix while the wire still maintaining it at a 1mm diameter. The result was a fail outcome as the pinkisil itself was to deli-cate to manipulate, the wires when bend would stick out and the whole structure would collapse due to its unstable nature.

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AN AfTER PRESENTATION REfLECTION

During the presentation, our group had swayed away from our design intentions and presented in a manner that did not convey our design focus and intentions. I was rather dissapointed with the fact that I have lost a chance for a real feedback that focuses on the overall design and process. The crits pointed out on fl aws that we post-rationalized. However, with the given amount of time, I am happy with our work and the outcome.

However, I believe with more time, we will be able to push our design further. I would personally look into the relationship between constructional processes and the natural system and applying them to this form. This will link and justify the reason for our argument in PART 1: A CASE fOR INNOvATION to our project in a more coherent manner. Also, I would also look into the possibilities of these indiviidual voronois to convey their own message through manipulating the angle of placement and their details to produced more play in shadow movement as well as its overall look. This I believe these are contrib-uting factors that will further strenghten the project contextually.

PART III: LEARNING OBjECTIvES AND OUTCOmES

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The amount of knowledge I gained throughout the course was plen-tiful. This is by far the toughest and most time consuming semester I have ever encountered. from feeling very lost during the fi rst few weeks and right up to the fi nal EOI presentation to the gradual im-provement and understading of the course content and requirements after, I can conclude that never had I been on such a roller coaster ride in any design subjects.

The reason to why I pointed out that the fi rst few weeks was the weak-est link to the learning outcome of my group mates and I is due to the topic that we chose and decided to hang on as well as the lack of clarity of how the course was put out. It was just too much, as various information was circulated around and expectations changing every other week. I was at that point very confused thus resulting in a very weak overall morale that refl ected in our EOI outcome despite the time and eff ort that our group members have put in.

However, the remaining weeks were more fruitful as our tutors had helped us out in sorting out our ideas as well as the course intentions. Aftter understanding the deliverables we then had a more in depth understanding of what we can achieve with what we had learned ear-lier during the semester. By then, applying grasshopper techniques and rhino skills seems to link cohesively to what we are doing. With these factors all sorted out, I then feel more motivated to engage with the course materials. Although I had gained insight to grasshopper and Rhino, I would like to experiment with these softwares in terms of applying these techniques to a full scale building project, it would be interesting to see how these techniques now applied in a more out-door context can be applied interiorly. maybe I will have a chance ex-perimenting with these newly accuqired techniques and skills next se-mester in ADS 4. Overall, due to the course requirements, other than parametric concepts, grasshopper and rhino, I have also understood more about the importance of softwares and presentation skills within architecture. I must say our group had done a good job in experiment-ing with photoshop, indesign, illustrator and even vray rendering as well as photography in diff erent conditions and lighting space. Last but not least, I have also improved interms of critical thinking and reacton response due to the amount of crits present during the fi nal presentation. This I feel was very useful as diff erent comments were thrown at our face, but I liked the fact that it was constructive com-ments that we can work on to further improve ourselves as a designer and as an architecture student.

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REfERENCES

Burry, mark (2011). Scripting Cultures: Architectural Design and Programming (Chichester: Wiley), pp. 8 - 71.

Patrik Schumacher, ‘Introduction : Architecture as Autopoietic System’, in The Autopoiesis of Architecture (Chiches-ter: j. Wiley, 2011), pp. 1 - 28.

Richard Williams, ‘Architecture and visual Culture’, in Exploring visual Culture : Defi nitions, Concepts, Contexts, ed. by matthew Rampley (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2005), pp. 102 - 16.

Yehuda E. kalay, Architecture’s New media : Principles, Theories, and methods of Computer-Aided Design (Cam-bridge, mass.: mIT Press, 2004), pp. 5 – 25.