Module 4

Virtual EnvironmentsModule 4Jinwoo Jung

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IDEATIONTREE BARK:DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH

The bark of a tree is consisted of 2 major parts; the inner and outer barks. The bark that we commonly refer to is the outer bark which are dead tissues that creates a protective barrier for the tree from the environment. The outer bark is formed due to its incapability to keep up with the pace of growth of the trunk.

and even among same species,influenced by external environments such as climate.

IDEATIONTREE BARK:DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH

Usage of critical drawing analysis to explore the pattern of natural process within the inner bark provided design form to be initiated;

Through exploring various processes such as the inner & outer bark, as well as the maturity and growth in the form of the outer bark over time, the concept of a 'timeline' of life was formed. The usage of ascending size and dynamics of panels represents the process of maturity that reflects back to human being as well.

IDEATIONFORM DEVELOPMENT

Initiating proper form development with the assistance of clay, sketch and Rhino.

Influence of inner bark is implemented more heavily at this point.

Exploration of Rhino: at this stage, I was still in the adjustment stage of getting used to the program. Techniques through the tutorials assisted in generating rough forms and idea generation.

IDEATIONFINAL CLAY MODEL

By placing the most dynamic side towards the front, it gives a sense of protection like that of an armour, which is basically what the purpose of an outer bark is.

Incorporating the characteristics ofboth inner and outer bark, along withthe concept of the process of life and

maturity, the lantern is worn over theshoulders and chest area to show a

dominant protective look, the panelsleading towards the heart, the centre

of life.

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DESIGNDIGITIZATION

Initially, parallel contour likes were plotted, but this resulted in unnecessary complexities in the digitization process due to the nature of the design form.

By using ring-like, non-parallel contours, accurate contour lines were able to be drawn into the clay model to create a desired digitized shape.

DESIGNPANELS

Various basic and customised 2D and 3D panel surfaces were explored, with the aim of an approach that can exemplify the course, rough nature of the outer bark and the soft, delicate spores of the inner bark.

Figure 1: John Curtin School of Medical Research- ANU. Very expressive design through the usage of digital rendering. The gradual shift of the glazed panels creates a sense of movement like that of a chronophotography- such motion is what is to be adapted into the lantern to represent the gradual transformation of the 'inner bark' to the 'outer bark'.

Figure 2: Times Eureka Pavillion. Discussed in the week 4 lecture, the precedent is closely related to the design contextual and conceptual wise. The influence of cellular structure that formed the pavilion provided good indicators oh how the panelling process could be approached, such as the use of ribs and offsetting of faces.

Fig.1 Fig.2

DESIGNFINAL

The transformation of the inner bark and the outer bark was achieved by the change of 2D panels into a double-sized 3D panel surface with the dynamics of the offsets controlled through point attractors.

Such design meant that not only will the physical model visualise the transformation of the stages of life, but so will the shadows formed by the lights.

DESIGNPROTOTYPE.1

The first prototype was built only for the purpose of testing out material and light exposure. Unrolling of the panels and organizing via colour allowed efficient construction without confusion. Vertical strips were unrolled separately, as unrolling the whole form created overlaps and difficulty in organization.

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FABRICATIONTEMPLATE

Double-layering of surface: Every second 3D panels from each column that constitutes the front half of the design are double-layered by using the neighbouring side of each panel as a tab to join it together. Although this was very time consuming as each panels had to be joined one by one and not in joint

columns, such method allows a clean model without any shades due to tabs and also plays an effect with the light, as the difference in thickness of the material means that when the LEDs are shone, the panels illuminate different intensities of light, creating another pattern in itself.

The final template that was to be printed out using the card cutter from the Fab Lab was efficiently placed into 5 pieces of 60x90 ivory cards. Each panels were labelled with numbers to avoid confusion.

During the construction process, it came to awareness that the base panel that was to hold and support the 2D and 3D sections together was in fact too weak to hold the model. Due to this reason, the base panels were re-printed, this time on a much thicker and stronger mount board

During the construction process, it came to awareness that the base panel that was to hold and support the 2D and 3D sections together was in fact too weak to hold the model. Due to this reason, the base panels were re-printed, this time on a much thicker and stronger mount board

FABRICATIONPROTOTYPE.2

The second prototype was very helpful in allowing many flaws and errors in the design to be identified and addressed, such as re-evaluating the scale of my model as the model was smaller than I expected, the methodology on joining the 2D and 3D panel surfaces, and a template error where some of the templates were actually flipped, resulting in issues with folding the cut-lines and resulting in unclean surface (wrinkles, loss of strength, etc.)

FABRICATIONFINAL

In addressing the issue of the lack of strength in the joint of the two surfaces, initially the base surface of both sides were printed on mount board; however, another issue was the fact that on one side, the size of the opening end was too small to fit the opposing end.

To resolve this, I decided to permanently join one side by adapting the same methodologies with the 3D panels by cutting out the triangulated panels on the remaining mount board and making them the tabs , allowing both strength and different light intensities.

FABRICATIONFINAL

The 3rd and final 1:1 model of the design proved to be much more challenging than the previous prototypes; whilst the many errors that was identified in the previous prototypes were addressed, the sheer size of the model and the remaining challenge of connecting the 3D and 2D panel sections together made the construction process very difficult.

The panel offsets allowed more convenience by allowing the paper clips to be attached to fixate the panels together. The paper clips allowed the glued sections to hold together whilst also ensuring it didn't give too much pressure which may distort the shape and destroy the cleanliness of the model.

FABRICATIONLIGHTS

9 LED lights were embedded into the model, as the ring-shaped design meant the lights had to be distributed all around to avoid any lights being hidden.

The areas around the joints where mount boards were used was placed with more light emphasis to ensure that there was not too much contrast in

light intensity with the surrounding panels.

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Reflection

Virtual Environments has been a truly inspiring and though-provoking subject that also taught me various skills and lessons that would assist me in my future years of studying. What really got me to engage with this subject started off with the fascination of the self-organisation of the natural world (Ball 2012). By engaging with such concept, I was able to go in depth and observe the natural processes around us beyond just the visible side of it, and motivated me to think creatively. Skills such as analytical drawings, described thoroughly by the journal entry by Poling (1987), as well as how to use Rhinoceros, the FabLab, and effective ways to present ideas all assisted me and equipped me greatly to complete the design process. Existing precedents such as the Times Eureka Pavillion and the John Curtin School of Medical Research also proved to be key influences that made impact on the decision-making process, allowing me to realise the importance of observing existing projects within the environment to be motivated and influenced from.

Another reflection that I undertook was, as mentioned in previous reflections, the importance of prototypes to act as 'bridges' to connect the virtual and the real world together (Fleishmann et al. 2012). Making prototypes allowed me to identify numerous problems and errors that would have otherwise been unforeseen and hence caused major disruption in producing the final model. By identifying and fixing these problems at a smaller scale, the final construction stages was able to be carried out quite smoothly. Overall, Virtual Environments allowed me to grasp the methodologies and strategies used during the design process, whatever the project may be. It also highlighted the importance of engaging with the modern technology in order to understand the various advantages and disadvantages it holds, and how it allows the designer to be able to control their own tools to create an efficient, innovative and original design.

Ball, Philip (2012): Pattern Formation in Nature, AD: Architectural Design, Wiley, 82 (2), March, pp. 22-27

Poling, Clark (1987): Analytical Drawing. In Kandisky’s Teaching at the Bauhaus, Rizzoli, New York, pp. 107-132

Scheurer, F. and Stehling, H. (2011): Lost in Parameter Space? IAD: Architectural Design, Wiley, 81 (4), July, pp. 70-79

Fleischmann, M., Knippers, J., Lienhard, J., Menges, A., and Schleicher, S. (2012): Material Behaviour: Embedding Physical Properties in Computational Design Processes, D:Architectural Design, Wiley, 82 (2), March, pp. 44-51

Loh, P. (2012). Fabricating Spaces II. Presented at University of Melbourne on 10th September 2012

Bibliography