AIR
ABPL30048 ARCHITECTURE DESIGN STUDIO AIR 2015 | STUDIO 16 GEOFF KIMM AISHA DE BARROS LOPES 584518
CONTENTS Introduction....03 PART A. Case for Innovation....05 PART B. Design Approach....30 PART C. Project Proposal....59
Introduction About Me
I
am Aisha, a third-year Bachelor of Environments student at the University of Melbourne. Initially, I held a great passion towards the applied practice of Architecture, which involved the creation of designs. I saw Architecture as a means of expression, one that lied between the Arts and the Sciences. However, as I progressed through the degree I realised that Architecture was not just about the physical creation and the object itself. I learnt that it involves much more, it is so interdependent with social, cultural, political, economical and environmental factors. Furthermore, we have not been given a blank canvas, its historical matter is vast and expansive, guiding and influencing ideas. And it is with this realisation that I have begun to reconsider the direction I want to follow. My interest lies in the philosophical aspects of architecture, its history and its relationship with society and the environment. A more research based approach to the field.
Upon entering Studio Air, I was unaware of how important it is to understand digital design theory and how frequently it is required within the field of Architecture. In my opinion it has replaced the artistic, hands-on approach that used to be Architecture, and now relies heavily on technology, and new and upcoming software. Consequently, our ideas and designs are restricted and confined by the already prescribed theorems. Moreover, I believe that it reduces the fluidity of the work and the design process. Within this degree I have briefly been introduced to digital design tools beginning with Rhino3D, as well as how to use Autocad and Adobe Suite. Additionally, I have participated in work experience at Woods Bagot Adelaide where I familiarised myself with other means of producing and presenting design ideas, outside of the technological realm, using more tactile mediums. Although with little enthusiasm as to the way in which Architecture is now presented I look forward to gaining more experience and confidence in using Rhino3D and plugin-Grasshopper.
A.1. Design Futuring
A s a society we are continually looking inwards, worrying about our own selves as
individuals, and the present. We are too preoccupied with our lives and gaining immediate happiness. Instead, we should be looking outwards towards those around us, and the future. We are ignorant of our actions and are causing suffering to the planet and the environment. In searching for immediate happiness we act upon consumerism in order to distract ourselves from what we perceive as suffering without, but in turn this essentially encourages world suffering. In doing so, the future is being sacrificed. It is not only one person’s doing but as an individual one is influenced by the ways of thinking of the people around them. A form of collective consciousness, and it is this consciousness that designs the world. So as the reading presents as a society we must begin to not only design with a more conscious mind but also think with a more consciously aware attitude, one that encourages compassion.
According to Fry, design is the “Invisible Hand of God”, he also states that “problems cannot be solved unless they are confronted and if they are to be solved it will not be by chance but, as said, by design”. Both these opinions place a lot of emphasis on design as solving our problems to a sustainable future. Lets ponder and consider this: design still imparts the idea that it is okay to consume, especially to consume the amount that our society does in the 21st century. However, is it not better to change the way society thinks? This would, in turn, reduce our wants and needs to consume. Then lets think about the role of the designer. Should we limit design to being a line of work only permitted by professionals, as unlike the lay people they would be educated in sustainable practises? Do designers play such an influential role in our future if it is true that everything around us from the floor to the ceiling has been designed?
I
n today’s society we live in such an interconnected world that nothing is independent. There is a continual input and output system. A Buddhist Monk, Reverend Heng Sure, who I went to see speak at a seminar last week discussed the relationship between humans, nature and technology. He stated that “technology serves marketing, marketing in turn is the servant of greed”. Marketing has a consumerist driven goal, and consumerism is achieved through the endless designs that are created. And with creation there is destruction, a loss of sustainability. Furthermore, according to the author Gita Mehta, “we are living in the age of Kalyug, which presages the end of the world”. A Hindu word, Kalyug is characterised by speed. Our society functions rapidly, and it is speed that is driving production and the economy. Cheaper and free designs are being made which are less sustainable. We are more concerned with the quantity and aesthetics of a design rather than the quality and function of the design. How many phone covers do you have? How many cars do you own? How many bags do you want, why? In the end of the day what are you considering when you buy these objects, their function, their aesthetic appeal? Do you really need more than one?
In questioning the role of design, do we not in turn have to consider other similar artefacts such as Art? As some forms of design are merely art based. Should we make art sustainable too? In my opinion, it is not design that holds the key to bringing about a sustainable future and enabling the continuation of the future. It is “the value of what one knows and does that needs to be fundamentally altered”. It is not just realising the problem it is implementing change to counteract the problem.
Precedents BankQ Office dA, Boston, 2006-2008
O
ffice dA is a Boston based architectural firm who wavers amongst the typical American architecture. It sits in between generations, whereby it focuses less on computer generated forms and structures and instead designs in a way in which materiality is given precedence. From the beginning of its work materiality is of key influence, and rather than form and material being separate it is perceived as one, giving coherence to the overall design. Nonetheless, digital practices are emerging and with it Office dA has been able to assert itself in the construction industry. Foremost, the founder of the company Nader Tehrani, has acknowledged the beauty in digital design with its ability to unify technology and design together, as well as reunite the architect as a master builder and a designer. BanQ by Office dA is a design that highlights the juxtaposition between old and new. The stripped interior, the scattering of structural columns and the entanglement of services has encouraged the design to cleverly transform the void of the former Penny Saving Bank, which had been abandoned in the early twentieth century, to a sweeping array of timber ribs which appear to sway and undulate.
The design as a whole creates a sense of unity and awe as the ceiling transgresses into the walls and the floor, through the use of material and linear marks. The ceiling of the structure, although appearing seamless and suspended, contains a fixed program that is an essential element to the above infrastructure. Although, creating the impression of being an harmonious landscape the lateral view provides glimpses into the space above, which demystify the illusion and its fictional characteristics. Cleverly, however, the spaces between the ribs alter in width to uphold the visual density of the overall surface.
The design creates an overall calming and tranquil effect, providing the sense of being enclosed in a safe place rather than feeling trapped. The curvature of the structure, the colour of the timber and the use of light all add to the ambience of the space and justify it as a design worthy of imitation.
Centre for Ideas Minifie
van Schaik Architects, Victoria, 2001
Minifle van Schaik Architects are a Melbourne-based practice, with expertise in public building spaces. They work closely with stakeholders and provide a tailoreed and innovative approach to each project with the use of Computer Aided Design, Building Information Modelling and Digital Fabrication. In connection with design sustainability, nature and people, Minifle van Schaik’s recent projects have incorporated an underlying cultural heritage strategy and integrated envionrmental and ecological themes. The design of Centre for Ideas was established through a generative process, resulting in a form and spatial qualities that present a delineation from reality. There is a sense of movement from virtual to actual through texture and the reflective façade material. The design is made up of an algorithm through the investigation of the voronoi tesselation of a plane, represented in the metallic spheres of the facade. In my opinion the establishment of the voronoi diagram in this design is not clearly portrayed, and more cells would have developed the concept, providing more detail and complexity to the overall design.
A.2. Design Computation
CumInCAD Magazine
“Improvising “ Architecture: a Fractal Based Approach
Computer generated design technology has contributed to further removing the designer from the process of the design, whereby the forms are generated outside of their control. Rather than formerly creating the design, designers provide the intelligence to aid the computer in defining paramteres and identifying algorithms. The advantages of this new system of design is its generative abilities. Computers can provide multiple alternatives, generating a range of shapes, as well as having the capabilities of improvising. This improvisation is where the use of fractals arises. Fractal characteristics are defined by a mathematical parameter, which is called fractal dimension. And it is with fractal dimensions that one is able to create new forms. The increased use of fractal dimensions in computer generated architectural design has as a result supported the creative design process, whereby new architectural objects can be created. CADaFED, is an example of a computer software that allows for the use of fractal dimensions. It is important to aknowledge that the forms defined by the fractal dimensions are dependent on shape. However, they are also characterised by sociological, cultural and environmental factors of the site being examined.
Exploration of Urban Street Patterns
Amongst us are algorithms both natural and produced by human. Street patterns are based on formulae, which have either derived from natural and historical occurrences or have been purposely designed with an initial intent. These street patterns can be generated and evaluated through computer system methods. These patterns represent a spatial configuration, that can be measured by certain parameters. The research explained in this article presents three processes in the exploration of urban street patterns, these are generative modelling, Axial Line and the optimisation of street patterns using Evolutionary Algoritms, Generative modelling provides a set of techniques that are used to create range of street patterns. Axial Line is a method that focuses on the analysis of the existing street patterns rather than the synthesis of new patterns. And lastly, Evolutionary Algorithms allow large numbers of alternative designs to be considered. The generation of street patterns can also be created through the desicision chaun encoding method, whereby design moves are used . Essentially, a blank canvas is givem and different shaped urban blocks are added.
A.3. Composition/Generation
Architectural Design: Drawing Architecture
Emerging Technologies and Drawings: The Futures of Images in Architectural Design There continues to be an underlying discussion between the advantages and disadvantages of the traditional and historical means of architectural representation. Hand drawing enables a free-flow of ideas and a format in which one can express the process of design ideas. However, the emerging technologies are proving to outweigh the benefits of manual drawing. Nevertheless, that is not to say that manual drawing is becoming incongruous. Technologies are proving to be a platform in which initial drawing ideas can be further enhanced and defined. Technology is the integration of both the Sciences and Arts, and as a result it is providing a diverse range of possibilities for innovations in architectural design. Moreover, it is redefining the architectural language.
New Malacovia
Architectural ideas can be formed and influenced through a variety of means and experiences. New Malacovia by Pascal Bronner is the representation of a fictional city into a portable one, taken from the narrative description of Malacovia by Alberto Manguel and Gianni Guadalupi. It is the translation into a tectonic form, creating a new language and demonstrating the understanding of spatial compression and the working at micro scale. New Malacovia is a miniature landscape that combines the rural and urban settings. It has been made of everyday materials and demonstrates the transgression of traditional model making and drawing in architecture.
p.46
p.49
Spiller, Neil. Architectural Design : Drawing Architecture AD. Somerset, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, 2013. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 16 March 2015. (http://site.ebrary.com/lib/unimelb/reader. action?docID=10788049)
p.47
Citadels of Freedom: Lina Bo Bandi’s SESC Pompeia Factory Leisure Centre and Teatro Oficina, Sao Paulo
The difference of Lina Bo Bandi’s work is that it is designed not to be of a domineering nature but to be a form of living architecture. Bandi’s understanding of transgression is represented in the buildings’ design through a state of incompleteness, in which there is an impression of a “loose-fit”, to which the users are able to experience the space in their own way. The architecture does not construct itself; instead it is the visitors who construct the architecture. In her work there are underlying themes such as impermanence, loosening of control, the past, present and future, informal and unprogrammed. Bandi’s architecture, in regards to transgression, is described as being the “disruption of the controlling hand of the architect, and the subversion of existing separations and hierarchies between spaces, activities and roles.”
p.55 The art and crafts spaces of the SESC Pompeia Factory, with low walls allowing views beyond the enclosed space
p.56 The SESC Pompeia Factory, left: interior bringing together various activities, right: linkage between various elements on site
Architectural Design: Architecture of Transgression In Praise of Transgression: The Work of Didier Faustino/Bureau Des Mesarchitectures
Didier Faustino understands the concept of transgression as a means p.123 It is the evolutionary trait of survival. of human beings, as it is the result of our curiosity and the manifestation of our questions. Faustino’s work is all about this challenging and exploration of disruptiveness and the in-between space. The in-between is perceived as an area that contains the known and the unknown, and transgression is developed through the connectivity of this space. Lastly, architecture is based heavily on the request, commissioning and expectations of society. In order for it to reinvent itself it must go beyond the boundaries of judgement and appeal.
p.123
p.121 Described as a “loosely programmed interstitial zone”.
p.120 Didier Faustino/Bureau des Mesarchitectures, Alumnos 47 Foundation, Mexico City
Sara, Rachel, and Mosley, Jonathan. Architectural Design : Architecture of Transgression AD. Somerset, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2014. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 16 March 2015. (http://site.ebrary.com/lib/unimelb/reader. action?docID=10829283)
Refrences
ArchDaily. (2009). ArchDaily. Retrieved from BanQ / Office dA: http://www.archdaily. com/42581/banq-office-da/ Ediz, O. (2009). “Improvising� acrhitecture: a fractal based approach. Retrieved from CumInCad: http://cumincad.scix.net/data/works/att/ecaade2009_070.content.pdf Janssen, C. Z. (2013). Exploration of Urban Street Patterns. Retrieved from CumInCad: http:// cumincad.scix.net/data/works/att/caadria2013_198.content.pdf Minifie van Schaik Architects. (2001). MVS. Retrieved from Minifie van Schaik Architects: http:// www.mvsarchitects.com.au/doku.php?id=home:projects:victorian_college_of_the_arts Sara, R. a. (2015, March 16). ProQuest. Retrieved from Architectural Design : Architecture of Transgression AD: http://site.ebrary.com/lib/unimelb/reader.action?docID=10829283 Sokol, D. (2009, June 30). BanQ. Retrieved from Australian Design Review: http://www. australiandesignreview.com/interiors/661-banq Spiller, N. (2013, October). Architectural Design. Retrieved from ProQuest: http://site.ebrary. com/lib/unimelb/reader.action?docID=10788049
A.4.
T
Conclusion
he language, laws and the way in which society thinks about and perceives Acrhitecture has dramatically changed over time. With our relationship to Architecture having been always closely tied. The design process of today is domianted by the use of digital technology, which has developed a vocabulary that has been pre-generated, with the establishment of algorithms. Although, in my opinion this has reduced the free-flow of ideas within the design practise, it has allowed the creation of spaces and geometries that were not achievable beforehand. Furthermore, it has facilitated the ease of modelling and fabrication, through the use of Building Information Modelling and Digital Fabrication, reducing time, cost and labour.
A.5. Learning Outcomes Since the beginnig of the semester I have developed an awareness to the implications and contributions of architectural computing. It has not only changed the way we think and the process in which we work and learn but also the ways in which we collaborate with both stakeholders, clients and associates from other disciplines. It has significantly altered the built environment, with great respect to the social, cultural and environmental aspects. With the knowledge I have gained on computational design thus far, I have realised the benefits it has in speeding up productivity, as well as its clear representational abilities. Furthermore, the creation of different spaces and geometries would have allowed me to investigate and explore multiple design ideas that were restricted by free-hand techniques.