Week 3

VIENNA CHEN

D e s i g n J o u r n a l

ARCHITECTURE

DESIGN STUDIOAIR

1.1 Introduction 1.2 Architecture as a discourse 1.3 Computational Architecture 1.4 Parametric modelling 1.5 Algorithmic Exploration

1.0

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C o n t e n t :

C a s e F o r i n n o v a t i o n

My name is Vienna and I am current ly in my th i rd year of the Bachelors of Environment, major ing in archi tecture. Before gett ing into th is course, I was studying Inter ior Archi tecture and Design in Singapore. So fur ther ing my studies into archi tecture is a ver y exci t ing exper ience for me. I have always been a strong bel iever of d ig i ta l designing, because i t a l lows us to do complex designs quickly and more ef f ic ient ly as compared to hand drawings or physical models.

The sof twares that I have used in the past was 3Ds Max and V-ray and s ince I have no pr ior exper ience wi th parametr ic model l ing I bel ieve th is module wi l l be a great oppor tuni ty to fur ther my knowledge into 3D designing.

1 . 1 I n t r o d u c t i o n s

1 . 2 A r c h i t e c t u r e a s a D i s c o u r s e

Archi tecture cannot be deduced as a col-lect ion of shapes, drawings or theor ies, I t is far more complex, i t has the abi l i ty to inf lu-ence cul ture and histor y.

Therefore to understand the best archi tec-tural solut ion for th is project , we wi l l need to f i rst understand the role of archi tecture in our society. Archi tecture has of ten been descr ibed as an industr y that involves de-signing and construct ing bui ld ings. These bui ld ings ser ve only a funct ional and aes-thet ic purpose. However Dutton and Man argues that “To make archi tecture is to map the wor ld in some way, to inter vene to s ig-ni fy: i t is a pol i t ical act .”

In order words, archi tecture is something that can be anything that generates discus-sion and discourse. I t does not have any pre-requis i tes, i t can be in the form of theo-r ies, sketches and does not a lways lead to a bui l t s t ructure to make an impact.

This t rend can be seen throughout h istor y. Examples of such are the modern-ist movement in the 1920s and the Soviet Union’s construct iv ist archi tecture. Al l of which had many designs that were never bui l t , but nonetheless extremely impactfu l , even t i l l present t imes.

1. Alberto Pérez-Gómez. (n.d.). Hermeneutics as architectural discourse. Retrieved from http://www.mcgill.ca/files/ architecture-theory/hermeneutics.pdf

2. (2008). Pour nous n°2 : Le hiéroglyphe métropolitain. (2008). [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.tumblr.com/ tagged/digital architecture

In the 21st centur y, we are now div ing into hear t of the digi ta l age, where archi tecture is becoming more and more inf luenced by digi ta l designing.

The new forms, mater ia l and new ways of conceptual iz ing archi tecture have given r ise to a new form of d iscourse. One that is forward th inking and taking inovat ion f rom al l sources, creat ing cul tural ly s igni f icant structure.

This def in i t ion of d iscourse is in l ine wi th the project br ief of the Gateway Project of “ The instal lat ion should create a focal point of iconic scale and presence and encourage a sense of pr ide wi th in the local community. The Western Gateway should propose new, inspir ing and brave ideas, to generate a new discourse.” In other words, to create a structure that is cul tural ly and physical ly impactfu l .

“To make architecture is to map the world in some way, to intervene to signify: it is a political act.” Dutton

Nuragic and Contemporary Art Museum, Cagliari, Italy

Zaha Hadid is one of the most celebrated archi tects of the 21st centur y. Her sty le is seen as bold, organic and innovat ive. She pushes construct ion technology to i t ’s fur thest l imi ts and she never designs some-thing ‘ordinar y’

Therefore I am referencing discourse to one of her award winning bui ld ing, the Nuragic and Contemporar y Ar t Museum.

This project a ims to create a cul tural node and ser ves as a s ignal which announces the ar ival to Cagl iar i f rom the sea. This was achieved through the interconnect ion of inner c i rculat ion spaces, green spaces and publ ic roads.

1. NMA Modern New Architecture. Nuragic and Contemporary Art Museum in Cagliari, Italy. Zaha Hadid. Retrieved from http://www.newarchitecture.biz/2010/12/blog-post.html

Much l ike any other bui ld ings designed by Zaha Hadid, th is bui ld ing fo l lows an organic form almost looking l ike concrete reef. On top of that , the scale of the bui ld ing appears ver y low to the ground al -most as i f i t has grown out of the land. This low and hor izontal prof i le creates harmony between nature and the bui l t environment.

The Nuragic and Contemporar y Ar t Museum is one of the many bui ld ings in the 21st centur y taking on an organic form, chal lenging the boundar ies of technology and the interact ion between people, nature and the bui l t environment.

Gardens by the bay is one of the largest c l imate control led plant conser vator ies in the wor ld, and i t is design by Wi lk inson Eyre Archi tects. I t has also recent ly won the overal l wor ld bui ld ing of the year award at the wor ld Archi tecture Fest ival (WAF) 2012.

This v isual spectacle that cost a whopping sum of one bi l l ion dol lars was the center of a huge debate among Singaporeans in 2012. Some bel ieved that i t was a waste of money and land, whi le others said that i t is a good addi t ion to the sky l ine. However ver y l i t t le was ment ioned about what was the government t rue intent ions of embarking on such a huge project .

Gardens By The BaySingapore

1. (2012). Gardens by the bay. (2012). [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.archdaily.com/324309/cooled-conserva tories-at-gardens-by-the-bay-wilkinson-eyre-architects/

2. ArchDaily. (2012). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.archdaily.com/254471/gardens-by-the-bay-grant- associates/

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Long said “This is just one example of how we are t ransforming Singapore’s l iv ing environment. I t may be a densely populated c i ty, maybe one of the densest in the wor ld, but we are determined that our people should be able to l ive comfor tably, p leasant ly, graciously.” In other words, the Singapore government wishes to create garden spaces that are easi ly accessed by the people in order to create a more comfor table l iv ing environment.

1 . 2 A r c h i t e c t u r e a s a D i s c o u r s e

1. (2012). Gardens by the bay. (2012). [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.archdaily.com/324309/cooled-conserva tories-at-gardens-by-the-bay-wilkinson-eyre-architects/

2. (2012). Contemporary Gardens by the Bay, Singapore (2012). [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.adelto.co.uk/ contemporary-gardens-by-the-bay-singapore/

Having said that , the Garden by the bay was designed with sustainabi l i ty as i ts key focus. For example, the 16 storey high ‘super t rees’ are embedded with technologies l ike the solar panels and rain water col lect ion systems to al low the t rees to funct ion exact ly l ike how a real t ree would work. These t rees also ser ve as an exhaust system to help cool the conser vator ies.

The archi tects and designer of the Gardens by the bay embraces technology and nature, making use of technology to create a more ‘natural ’ s t ructure.

This discourse shows us a gl impse of the future, whereby structures are no longer just energy consuming monsters, but instead a ‘sel f -sustaining’ ent i ty that ut i l izes sustainable energy.

1 . 3 C o m p u t a t i o n a l A r c h i t e c t u r e

In this current day and age, computers are now playing a huge role in the designing process in archi tecture as compared to just a decade ago. I t is now able to help design-ers produce not only presentat ion and con-struct ion drawings, i t a l lows the designer to analyze the construct ion feasibi l i ty and other concepts of a bui ld ing.

For the past few centur ies, archi tects have s lowly been removed f rom many aspects of archi tecture. Archi tecture has become a profession whereby the main job of the archi tect is to design, and ever ything else is handled by others. I t has reached a point whereby the creat iv i ty and imaginat ion of a designer is now l imi ted by.

restr ict ions made by the structural engineer, the factor ies that mass pro-duce construct ion mater ia ls and other people.

The thought of customizat ion is a scar y one, because i t meant breaking al l the ' ru les ' and i t of ten comes with a hef ty pr ice tag. However in recent years, computers has al lowed us to return to the role of the 'master bui lder ' i t a l -lows archi tects to analyze the bui ld ing and how i t may be constructed, hence removing the boundar ies set by oth-ers. On top of that wi th digi ta l fabr ica-t ion technology, i t a l lows designers to customise forms and structures wi thout incurr ing too much cost.

1. Zaha Hadid Architects-Pendik Masterplan, Istanbul, Turkey, 2006. (2006). [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.patrikschumacher.com/Images/Digital%20Cities/Istanbul_block-type_2_sm.jpg

“ the ant idote to standardisat ion forced by an ambit ion to lower product ion costs, rather than any more sophist icated

mot ivat ion: the previously e lusive oppor tuni t ies for mult ip le versioning and bespoke product ion can now be considered more

ser iously through the use of scr ipt ing”

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

1 . 4 P a r a m e t r i c M o d e l l i n g

Yorkshire DiamondYorkshire, United Kingdom

The yorkshire Diamond was a compet i t ion entr y for the yorkshire forward mobi le pavi l ion compet i t ion in 2005. This structure is constrcted f rom anetwork of inf latable tubes that are arranged in a pat tern der ived f rom the atomic structure of d iamonds.

This structure which has a land area of 400 meters square can be def lated and t ranspor ted easi ly.

The design was in i t ia l ly conceptual ised by sketch, however to make an inf latable structure of th is scale, The archi tects made use of parametr ic design to fabr icate the tubes.

1. Zaha Hadid Architects-Pendik Masterplan, Istanbul, Turkey, 2006. (2006). [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.patrikschumacher.com/Images/Digital%20Cities/Istanbul_block-type_2_sm.jpg

The tubes were precis ion cut by a computer control led CNC machine to create a wr inkle f ree product.

Al though th is project was not concived through computat ional design, scr ipt ing played a big role in the construct ion process of the Yorkshire Diamond

Taichung Metropolitan Opera HouseTaichung, Taiwan

1. Zaha Hadid Architects-Pendik Masterplan, Istanbul, Turkey, 2006. (2006). [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.patrikschumacher.com/Images/Digital%20Cities/Istanbul_block-type_2_sm.jpg

Taichun Metropol i tan Opera house is designed by Toyo I to. The f lu id cont inui ty of the bui ld ing wal ls are formed with 58 indiv idual cur ved wal l uni ts, th is created a maze of inter locking rei forcement steel bars and steel t russes.

The f lu id wal ls that were used in th is structure were three diment ional and i t was thought to be impossible to fabr icate.

However making use of parametr ic design, the structure engineers were able to design the steel bars and steel t russes to ser ve as the base form of the concrete what would eventual ly be the form of the opera house.