ARCHITECTURE STUDIO AIR Semerster 1 2013
Steven Andy Cheng Shin LI LIONG 546528
PAST EXPERIENCE My name is Steven Andy Cheng Shin LI LIONG but you can call me Andy. I am from Mauritius and currently studying my second year of architecture. My previous experience with CAD programs was last year during the studio water and also in virtual environments where I use rhino tin my design. Yet, I am still a very beginner in this software and would like to extend my knowledge. This makes studio air perfect for me with the introduction of grasshopper. I also intend to learn revit which I believe is also a great software. I think I am not a very creative person. Maybe I just need a something to stimulate my creativity and I think CAD programs are good stimulator. Trying and practicing is also the beat way to get work done and the more you work the more you enhance your creativity. I was struggling in the Virtual Environments studio at the beginning in trying to create some forms derived from natural processes but the use of Rhino really helped me to design and create an artefact. In addition, CAD programs make the fabrication of the artefact possible.
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CASE FOR INNOVATION ARCHITECTURE AS A DISCOURSE COMPUTING IN ARCHITECTURE PARAMETRIC MODELLING
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DESIGN PROPOSAL ...
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Architects today are not only the traditional artist who design building facades or the social worker who defines the urban experience. Richard Williams said that ‘Works of Architecture frame our lives; we inhabit them; they define our movement through cities; they moralise and discipline, or attempt to.’ He also stated that architecture is as much as philosophical, social or professional realm as it is a material one. Yet, architects are today even more than that with the development of digital technologies in the field of architecture.
“Digital technologies are changing architectural practices in ways that few were able to anticipate just a decade ago” -
Branko Kolarevic
“The implications are vast, as architecture is recasting itself, becoming in part an experimental investigation of topological geometries, partly a computational orchestration of robotic material production and partly a generative, kinematic, sculpting of space” -
Peter Zellner
Kolarevic, Branko, Architecture in the Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing (New York; London: Spon Press, 2003) Suggested start with pp. 3-62 Williams, Richard (2005). ‘Architecture and Visual Culture’, in Exploring Visual Culture: Definitions, Concepts, Contexts, ed. by Matthew Rampley (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press), pp. 102-116
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The new role of Architects with Technonology as a new Stimulus “It is the digitally based convergence of representation and production processes that represents the most important opportunity for a profound transformation of the profession and by, extension the entire building industry.” - Branko Kolarevic He also added that the digital technology as an enabling apparatus integrates conception and production in ways that are unprecedented since the medieval times of master builders where masons and carpenters design and build themselves the buildings of that time prior to the period of Renaissance. Architects are today able to provide all the details for the construction process of a building while also distributing all the information to other parties within the building industry, acting like a control tower. Branko Kolarevic further added that by digitally producing, communicating and controlling exchanged between the different parties, architects have a central, key role in the construction of buildings like the medieval master builders. Yet, do architects have the overall control of the construction process? More importantly, do they have the knowledge or are they capable of controlling every aspect of the construction process? They certainly have a central role in the building industry as well as a crucial place in the construction phase today but architects are neither engineers nor masons. They simply have more control over the building process but not the whole control of it. They have a broad knowledge in every aspect in the industry but do not master every one of them. “Architects are jack of all trades but master of none” With new means of conception and production, the product of the digital zeitgeist, the complex, curvilinear surfaces and their corresponding are transforming cultures, societies and economies. Branko argued that while technology enabled them to break the monotony of the orthogonal and the linear, an unknown geometry also emerged. Architects and their works are changing the norms of beauty and function as Eero Saarinen acknowledged that the new forms derived from new advances in the building technology are purely aesthetic driven. Architects are writing a new history and creating new concepts about aesthetics. Branko stated that the new architectural thinking is ignoring the conventions of style and aesthetics.
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Fig 1. Anti-Smog Project
As the world become more aware of the crucial importance of sustainability, the built environment can play an important role in promoting such concepts. Since architecture has the ability to transform cultures and reform social norms, its practitioners can act as leaders and role models, educators and social reformers. An architect has today the responsibility to tell and advise his client what and how to makes a building energy efficient, non-polluting and thus sustainable. Since the built environment has a great visual impact and can reflect a philosophy, architects must create awareness among the public through their designs. In 2006, the American Institute of Architects wisely adopted Architecture 2030’s “2030 Challenge,” an initiative seeking carbon neutrality in the industry by 2030. We believe we must alter our profession’s actions,” the AIA 2030 Commitment says, “and encourage our clients and the entire design and construction industry to join with us to change the course of the planet’s future.” (Lance Hosey, 2013)
Ali Kriscenski (2008), http://inhabitat.com/anti-smog-architecture-a-catalyst-for-cleaner-air-in-paris/ Lance Hoosey (2013), http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2013/03/19/why-architects-must-lead-sustainable-design
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Fig 2. Anti-Smog Project Fig 1 & 2. Anti-Smog Tower project designed by Vincent Callebaut Architectures http://vincent.callebaut.org/ page1-img-ourcq.html
Anti-Smog is a parasite project in Paris dedicated to promote the last innovations of sustainable developments in urban areas in terms of housing and transport. The project aims at inventing a new architecture able to disasphyxiate the area in which Paris is already set up. It consists of reducing atmospheric pollution of the area by capturing the CO2 and thus improving the quality of air. In addition, the Anti-Smog is in osmosis with its surroundings and is an architecture that interats completely with its context that is climatic, chemical, kinetic or social to better reduce our ecological print in urban area. The building offers recreational areas for the city such as gardens, pools, galleries, and commerce while the Wind Tower produces enough energy for the entire neighbourhood. Moreover, the tower adjust itself to a specific parameter which is the direction of the dominating wind. Such design technology will be discussed later in the paramatric modelling chapter. Besides this the building is a museum and a learning centre on renewable energies. Ali Kriscenski (2008) describes the prototype as more than just an example as sustainable design. She stated that Callebaut’s ‘Anti Smog: An Innovation Centre in Sustainable Development’ is a catalyst for cleaner air.
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Fig 3. Mobius House concept drawing
“Some architects are exploring the spatial reals of non-Euclidean geometries, and some are basing their spatial investigations on topology, a branch of mathematics..” - Branko Kolarevic With new design approaches such as parametric modelling and biological morphogenesis, architects are not artists anymore but rather a mathematician or scientist who design equations using parameters. Architects do not focus in the form making but on the relationships and interconnections between objects or parametric equations which define the resulting geometry. (Branko Kolarevic, 2003) Woodburry (2010) even said that to be able to master the new technological skills together with the new approaches developed, it requires architects to be part designer, part computer, part scientist and part mathematician. Some architectural projects were even named after their topological origins such as: The Mobius House (1995) and The Torus House (2001)
Kolarevic, Branko, Architecture in the Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing (New York; London: Spon Press, 2003) Suggested start with pp. 3-62 Woodbury, Robert (2010). Elements of Parametric Design (London: Routledge) pp. 7-48 Halldóra Arnardóttir, Javier S. Merina, http://storiesofhouses.blogspot.com.au/2006/09/mbius-house-inamsterdam-by-ben-van.html Fig 3, 4 & 5, http://www.unstudio.com/projects/mobius-house
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Fig 4. Mobius House concept drawing
Fig 5. Mobius House by UNStudio
Diagram of 24 hours of living The scheme to convey these features was found in the Möbius band, a diagram studied by the astrologist and mathematician, August Ferdinand Möbius (1790-1868). By taking a rectangular strip of paper and marking its corners, A -superior- and B -inferior- in one side, and C -superior- and D -inferior- on the other, the Möbius band is constructed by twisting and joining corners A with D, and B with C. The result is a strip of twisted paper, joined to form a loop which produces a one-sided surface in a continuous curve. It is a figure-of-eight without left or right, beginning or end. By giving the Möbius band a spatial quality, the architect has designed a house that integrates the programme seamlessly, both in terms of circulation and structure. Movement through this concrete loop traces the pattern of one's day activities. Arranged over in three levels, the loop includes two studies (one on either side of the house for the respective professions), three bedrooms, a meeting room and kitchen, storage and living room and a greenhouse on the top, all intertwined during a complex voyage in time. With its low and elongated outlines, the house provides a link between the different features of its surroundings. By stretching the building's form in an extreme way and through an extensive use of glass walls, the house is able to incorporate aspects of the landscape. From inside the house, it is as if the inhabitant is taking a walk in the countryside. The perception of movement is reinforced by the changing positions of the two main materials used for the house, glass and concrete, which overlap each other and switch places. As the loop turns inside out, the exterior concrete shell becomes interior furniture - such as tables and stairs - and the glass facades turn into inside partition walls. The contortions and twists in the house go beyond the mathematical diagram. They refer to a movement that has moulded a new way of life as a consequence of using electronic devices at work. Ben van Berkel has managed to give an additional meaning to the diagram of the Möbius band, where its new symbolic value - characterised by the blurred limits between working and living - corresponds to the clients' way of life. (halldóra arnardóttir) Moreover the spatial concept of the Mobius House was used for further experimentation to be later implemented in the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. This is the typical approach where precedents are used for inspiration.
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It is said that digital technology has changed architectural practices radically but in what way? Many people can only see the creation and also the possibility of manufacturing new and complex forms. It is true that new forms are emerging where the contemporary, complex curvilinear geometries are as easy as the traditional Euclidean geometries to produce. Branko described it as ‘in the realm of form, the stable is replaced by the variable and singularity by multiplicity.’ The question is how does computation impact on Architecture? In fact, digital technology has radically changed the design approach. “In contemporary architectural design, digital media is increasingly being used not as a representational tool for visualisation but as a generative tool for the deprivation of form and its transformation – the digital morphogenesis” Such phenomenon has opened up new possibilities for exploration. Architects and designers are exploring a fourth dimension where the main focus is the relations of the structures and interconnections rather than the form itself. This has triggered new architectural thoughts and new conceptual thinking to be developed during the design processes. “The emphasis shifts from the ‘making of form’ to the ‘finding of form’” -
Branko Kolarevic
Kolarevic, Branko, Architecture in the Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing (New York; London: Spon Press, 2003) Suggested start with pp. 3-62
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Fig 6. The Double Cone of the BMW WELT in Munich, Germany
The BMW Welt in Munich, Germany is a very good example where the design approach is performative towards various aspects of sustainability while also incorporating a metamorphic generation of forms, which is twisting in that case. The aim of this building is to save energy through efficient natural ventilation, heating and cooling. This aim is achieved by minimizing the mechanical apparatus for ventilation, heating and cooling. The gigantic Hall is thus conceived as a solar-heated, naturally ventilated sub-climatic area. The main feature of the building is the Double Cone. Two cones, one inverted on the other, seem to have been transformed, in this case twisted, to form the Double Cone geometry. BMW Group describes it as “Caught in a whirl of glass and steel, the tornado twists upward and ends in a roof that takes on the form of a floating, flying cloud. Generated by the dynamic twists of the two supporting strata, this tornado functions as the main bearing for the roof. Moreover this dimension and shape have been explicitly designed to have the required structural performance. The design process was thus also driven by its structural performance. “This situation necessitated close coordination at a very early project phase between those responsible for structural engineering, the routing of facility services and building technology.” This places Architecture again in a central role in the building industry as the architects have been dealing with engineers during the conceptual phase of the project. Design computation not only helped in analysing and assessing the performance of either structural aspects or sustainable features such as ventilation, heating or cooling, but also allowed a very detailed precision in the construction of the building. BMW Group stated that “The construction of BMW Welt required 4000 tons of steel and that every single one of the steel sections was manufactured with its own special template and every one had to keep within two millimetres of the design specifications.”
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Fig 6. The BMW WELT designed by Wolf D. Prix, Coop Himmelb(l)au Woodbury, Robert F. and Andrew L. Burrow (2006). ‘Whither design space?’, Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing, 20, 2, pp. 63-82
http://www.bmw-welt. com/en/location/welt/ architecture.html
http://www.archdaily. com/29664/bmw-weltcoop-himmelblau/
Moreover, digital modelling software has offered the possibility to designers to explored new shapes beings formed through transformations such as twisting and bending - metamorphosis. Various forms of analogies have also been developed. One example is the biological metaphors based on morphogenesis where specific data concerning different aspects in a biological object can be digitally represented and creates new forms. Frazer argued in his book Evolutionary Architecture, that architectural concepts are expressed as a set of generative rules and their evolution and development can be digitally encoded. Again different approaches can be developed from such concept. Another conceptual approach is the parametric design where the architect are not designing the specific forms of the building but rather a set of equations and parameters which define the geometry generated. This is the proof where digital technology has produced new architectural thoughts and conceptual thinking and thus leading to different and new approaches. Digital advancement in architecture not also speeds up the designing process and makes it more efficient and accurate but allows the architect and designer to explore design solutions based on precedents and related case studies previously resolved successfully. UNStudio has used the same spatial concept in the new Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuggart as the one in the Mobius House. Robert F. Woodburry referred it as different commands such as backup, recall and replay in his article Whither design space?
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Fig 7. Southern Cross Station, Melbourne, Australia designed by Grimshaw Architects
Southern Cross Station has a performative architectural approach. The design focus of Southern Cross Station is the dune-like roof that covers an entire city block whose form was developed from performative requirements of the station. The roof ’s form plays a crucial role as part of the environmental envelope ensuring that it is symbol of sustainable architecture developed in response to the hot external climate and the internal need for diesel extraction and ambient cooling via natural ventilation. (Grimshaw Architects) Fig 9. The diagram shows the stack effect ocThe peak of each roof vault is designed with integrated louvres to promote ventilation of exhaust fumes and airborne particles. The curing under the roof design uses crosswinds to produce stack effect in the roof. Alex Matovic from Grimshaw Architects acknowledges the use of 3DS Max was a crucial tool in their designing process. It enables them to adjust the form of the roof very quickly. The use of computation in design thus plays a major role in its conception. “It is maybe even more noteworthy because at the time of the design the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling (CFD) was not sophisticated enough to be used in the project. Despite the lack of CFD the project's stack effect, undulating, double skinned roof is a success.” - Lubetkin Prize Juror This statement explains that the use of today’s more advanced digital technology could have lead to better results or efficiency. The form of the roof can be associated with laws of physics and mathematics and the Lubetkin Prize juror further explained that the roof itself makes much of building physics. It is possible to describe the project in terms of structural forces, prevailing winds, and the ventilation of diesel fumes."
http://www.zigersnead.com/current/ blog/post/train-station-expels-fumespassively-and-wins-lubetkin-prize/ http://grimshaw-architects.com/project/ southern-cross-station/#
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Fig 8. conceptual development diagrams for the roof shape showing the effects of a flat roof as opposed as to that of an undulating roof
A new interesting approach has also emerged with the digital technology being able to quantitatively and qualitatively analyse, assess and evaluate the performance of specific aspect in a building where the performance is the driver to designing buildings. This is commonly known as performative architecture. “The processes of design and manufacture are, in some sense, conceptually separable. Yet the design process must be undertaken with an understanding of the nature of the production process. It is necessary, for example, for a designer to know the properties of the materials with which the part might be built, the various techniques by which the part might be shaped, and the scale of production that is economically viable. The conceptual overlap between design and manufacture is suggestive of the potential benefits of CAD and CAM and the reason they are generally considered together as a system” - Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd ed.
Fig 9, Southern Cross Station undulating roof
Architects of today have the ability and capacity through digital means to produce a single, cohesive and complete model contains all the information necessary for designing and producing a building as described by Branko Kolarevic. Such examples are the pre-fab buildings where almost all the parts are built in a factory and assembled on site. This allows better control over the production which results on less wastage. It is obvious that the advancement in computation is linked with the develepment of sustainable design. Despite all these benefits, computation in architecture has also its limitations. Terzidis, Kostas stated that it is possible to claim that a designer’s creativity is limited by the very programs that are supposed to free their imagination. He argued that by using a conventional program, and always relying on its design possibilities, the designer/architect’s work is sooner or later at risk of being imitated, controlled, or manipulated by CAD solutions.
Fig 10. The exploration and generative process of the roof shape in 3DS max.
Digital technologies in architecture will be beneficial according on who controls it and more importantly how its practitioners use it. In some cases, they can be only tools to represent the final design solution while in other cases it is a generative tool. What can be retained from computation in architecture is that they have done more good than bad by creating innovative approaches and also by making what was impossible, possible. Terzidis, Kostas (2009). Algorithms for Visual Design Using the Processing Language (Indianapolis, IN: Wiley), p. xx http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/small/Co-Di/Computer-Aided-Design-CAD-andComputer-Aided-Manufacturing-CAM.html#ixzz2OE4m0R1tw
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New digital advancement in digital technologies within the architectural domain has developed a new generative approach, that of parametric modelling. Such approach develops in the architect new conceptual design thinking which makes the designer to focus more on the concept and logic behind the design. Branko Kolarevic stated that architects are not designing the specific shape of the building set but a set of principles encoded as a sequence of parametric equations by which instances of the design can be generated and varied in time as needed. Woodburry attributed the potentiality and the designer’s ability to explore more ideas to the fact that the system keeps the design consistent with relationships which reduce the tedium of rework. On the other hand, some CAD programs works with the parameters of the standard geometric shapes already found in the libraries of the software. These can offer a limited use of the potential of parametric approach. GenerativeComponents (GC) was thus developed under the leadership of Robert Aish, the chief scientist of Bentley Systems, since it was claimed by many that 3D modelling programs are not enough to enhance the design thinking and capabilities in architecture. (Fulya ÖZSEL AKlPEK) Lawson, Bryan (1999) even stated that CAD might conspire against creative thought... by encouraging fake creativity. Since other CAD software are limiting architects creative thinking by the use of ready-made geometries in their libraries, GC does not provide any library of geometries, but a point. Each element can be created and is associated with the previous element with each depending on parameters defined by the user. This creates a set of elements linked together by specific relations. Changing a parameter will affect the whole system and this gives designers more control both over design and computation. In fact, GC is shifting the mentality and habits in design. It is opening up the potential advancement in computational thinking in architecture where its practitioners are concerned with the understanding of the geometry and its relationships or associative geometry where they will then have higher levels of control over the systems. The SmartGeometry Group (SGG) even stated that architecture is fundamentally about relationships. (Fulya ÖZSEL AKlPEK)
Woodbury, Robert (2010). Elements of Parametric Design (London: Routledge) pp. 7-48 Woodbury, Robert F. and Andrew L. Burrow (2006). ‘Whither design space?’, Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing, 20, 2, pp. 63-82 Kolarevic, Branko, Architecture in the Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing (New York; London: Spon Press, 2003) Suggested start with pp. 3-62 Kareem El Sayed Mohammad, A Discussion on the implications of parametric thinking on the Design process and the Designer (2012) http://www.academia.edu/1454680/A_Discussion_on_the_implications_of_Parametric_thinking_on_the_design_process_and_the_designer
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On the other hand, Branko Kolarevic (2008) claimed that the capacity parametric computational techniques to generate new design opportunities is highly dependent on the designer’s perceptual and cognitive abilities while others are questioning whether the designer is a coder but GC does not require its users to have knowledge of coding and scripting. Despite not requiring any basic knowledge, the cognitive load is increased at the beginning of the conceptual phase. It can even become extremely difficult to manage the complexity of the designed schema when too many different relationships are involved. Woodburry (2010) argued that conventional design tool is easier and quicker in creating models and even in erasing parts of the systems as they are all independent of other objects. It is however more complex to modify as compared to parametric modelling where the system acts as a whole. Yet, the creation phase is time consuming. Woodburry even stated that parameterisation increases complexity of both the designer task and interface as designers must model not only the artefact being designed but a conceptual structure that guides variation. Ipek Gursel Dino further added that the flexibility of parametric modelling is limited to the parameters that define the schema and that a drastic problem reformulation that requires algorithm alteration might cause the parametric model to collapse at once. Parametric modelling has a different approach from other generative systems by allowing a stepwise control over the design process which creates multiple solutions for explorations. Parametric modelling is not only useful in the design process but also during the manufacturing process. In these cases, objects are mass customised thanks to parametric modelling which support multiplicity and variation by allowing the production of many objects with a slight measurement differences while still belonging to the same family. A completed modul can thus be changed, modified and regenerated while conforming to pre-set conditions. The parameters can be changed without changing the relationship. (Fulya OZSEL AKIPEK) Ipek Gursel Dino stated that parametric manipulation of form is particularly valuable in performance-driven design processes while Branko describes it as essential. Through performative architecture, parametric modelling is a leading generative system as it acts as a role model. It integrates the performance analysis and evaluation with the design synthesis in a single process, making the building more efficient and thus sustainable. İpek GÜRSEL DİNO, Creative design exploration by parametric generative systems in architecture (2012) http://www.academia.edu/1821083/CREATIVE_DESIGN_EXPLORATION_BY_PARAMETRIC_GENERATIVE_SYSTEMS_ IN_ARCHITECTURE http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/small/Co-Di/Computer-Aided-Design-CAD-and-Computer-Aided-ManufacturingCAM.html#ixzz2OE4m0R1tw Fulya O.Akipik, Sebnem Y. Cinici, Tugrul Yazar, Computational design, Parametric modelling and Architectural education (2008) http://www.academia.edu/761446/COMPUTATIONAL_DESIGN_PARAMETRIC_MODELLING_AND_ARCHITECTURAL_EDUCATION_Sebnem_Y._Cinici_Fulya_O._Akipek_Tugrul_Yazar
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Fig 11. The Waterloo International Station designed by Grimshaw Architects.
The Waterloo International Station in London has a particular roof designed from a parametric approach. The design was modelled in the software I_EMS by Lars Hesselgren and afterwards re-modelled by Robert Aish with GenerativeComponents (GC). The roof structure consists of pairs of three pinned bow strings arches with the centre pin displaced towards one side to create the undulation in height from west to east. The structure is a long sinuous plan that narrows from 50m wide to 35m at the platform end. While being formed by two dissimilar curved trusses, the beams make up to 35 modules each varying in dimensions.
Notes: Rodrigo GARCIA ALVARADO, Jaime JOFRE MUﾃ前Z (2012). The control of shape: Origins of parametric design in architecture in Xenakis, Gehry and Grimshaw Fig 12. The Parametric development of the roof trusses.
The trusses were defined by a program that modifies the inner measurements of each module according to the proportional scale factor to the length by means of Pythagorean relation keeping the centres for the radial layout of the smaller pieces. By propagation of the formula, changing the wide of the structure (the chords of curves) and maintaining the central axis like a curved profile. Such produces a continuous surface with a variable section, with proportional heights of the beams according the lights of support. The mathematical description enabled the generation of each design by means of altering the numerical parameters (R. Alvarado, 2012)
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l w
Fig 13. The Pedestrian Bridge in Rizhao, China by HHD_FUN Architects
Fig 14. A side view of the pedestrian bridge.
Alongside the beach, the key feature of this park is its 50 year old black pine forest and the design challenges are to minimize the construction impact to the natural environment. The curved form was strategically designed to allow the 45 meters long bridge fit into the natural environment while at the same time provide a connection between the city and the beach park. Special steel structure was designed to fit the complex from at the same time create big span. Parametric design technique has been adopted throughout all design process i.e. form finding, structure optimization, facade penalization and construction documentation, which make sure the complex shape can be “made” by local low technology manufacturer. “Low Technology Parametric Design” is our strategy to face China’s current construction situation.
Fig 15. The variations in the bars are all relate by a parametric relationship.
In both situations, architects are acting more like mathematicians with all their parametric equations. However this has enabled them to create a smooth and continuous curved structure with many variations as each part of the curve is connected to each other by a relationshp. Moreover digital technologies has facilitated the manufacturing of such complex structures. Notes: http://www.archdaily. com/293031/pedestrianbridge-hhd_fun-architects/
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Fig 16. Beijing National Stadium, known as the Bird’s Nest designed by Herzog & de Meuron Architekten,
Fig 17. The Beij
the Water Cube
The Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube in Beijing, China are two buildings whose design, engineering and construction relied entirely on generative design, also known as parametric design. Such approach has enable multiple versions of the design to reach an optimum one. J Parrish, director of ArupSport, the division of Arup at the leading edge of largevenue design, and also a cofounder of SmartGeometry acknowledged the use of parametric being crucial in redeveloping the design. It also opens up new potential for innovations and in a very short time. “Using parametrics, I was able to investigate far more alternatives. We built version 34 because it was better. But version 1 would have worked fine. Generative design allowed us to get better results in a fraction of the time." “I could do in a morning what used to take me a month," Parrish added. The advancement in digital technologies enables more possibilities to be explored. “but to resolve a particular iteration using conventional CAD techniques would take so much time that, at best, just one or two versions would have been considered.” Combined with other new technologies such as real-time rendering and 3D printing, parametrically enabled rapid prototyping amounts to a new way of performing architectural design — arriving at optimum solutions using side-byside comparisons of multiple, slightly different versions, rather than depending on the "flashlight in the dark" of one designer's genius (Angus W. Stocking, 2009). Angus W. Stocking stated: “GenerativeComponents, a relatively new technology that facilitates quick exploration of what-if design alternatives that can result in free-form buildings incorporating innovative materials and assemblies.” The main questions again is how the development of GC technology is changing the approach to building design for many architects.”
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jing National Aquatics Centre, e designed by PTW Architects
Fig 18. The optimal design for the Water Cube was determined by analyzing multiple configurations of the thousands of steel members and connecting nodes.
A complementary approach also is possible. Rather than using multiple versions to decide what is best based on comparison, architects can instead use computing power to find structural solutions that are self-organizing; that is, not decided on by an individual but arrived at by genetic algorithms that iteratively apply relatively simple rules. The Water Cube's soap bubblelike structure is an example of this approach. Arup used MicroStation, MicroStation TriForma, Bentley Structural, and Bentley's generative design technology for its unique design based on a natural pattern of organic cells and the formation of soap bubbles. To manipulate this complex geometric system dynamically, Arup wrote parametric software that automated the drawing and analysis process. Based on specified design constraints and less than 190 loading scenarios, the algorithm iteratively checked the distribution of forces through the entire structure based on specific member sizes, allowing the team to test different design configurations and receive feedback within 25 minutes. The result was a spectacular building with a sophisticated structure that is optimized in terms of material weight-to-strength ratio, and it was achieved with relative ease. In addition to the structural advantages, Arup estimated that it saved $10 million on design costs alone compared with traditional design methods. Yet Stocking stated that “Generative design proponents agree that it isn't that architects are now using computers to do things that couldn't be done previously. Rather, computers are enabling architects to take on design tasks that would otherwise be inconceivably tedious. Does it mean that computers are now controlling and designing the process? I guess that computers can act as enabling tools to generate more alternatives with the new technology emerging together with new design approach. Angus W. Stocking (15 Act 2009), Generative Design Is Changing the Face of Architecture http://www.cadalyst.com/cad/buildingdesign/generative-design-is-changing-facearchitecture-12948
Fig 19. The ceiling over this pool showcases the Water Cube’s “soap bubble-like” structure, which was designed with parametric software specially written for the purpose.
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DESIGN STATEMENT
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Architectural practices have considerably changed with new roles emerging since the development of digital technologies in the field of architecture. Architects are today back into their central role within the building industry, mainly in the construction department. Architects are often referred as mathematicians or scientist due to the nature of their design approach where today the explorations of the relationships that linked various aspects or objects within the architectural artefact are more important than the generation of forms. Much advancement in the digital technologies has led to new design approaches and design thinking which offer a multiplicity of design alternatives in a shorter time. Since architectural practices are completely being absorbed by the digital world, some concerns have been raised about whether such technologies are beneficial or limit the creative thinking of the architect or designer. Innovative approaches have also led to better buildings being able to address one of the main global concerns the world is facing today, which is sustainability. My design approach to the gateway project will consists of incorporating the fourth dimension, that is, the explorations of relations and interconnections between objects within the system rather than the study of form. In addition, certain equations will be related to a performance criteria so that my approach is performative in the context of sustainability. Biological analogies and morphogenesis will also form part of the design process. The use of parametric modelling and the study of relations will broaden the scope of my research for the exploration of designs. The study of architectural computing helped me to develop awareness of the different architectural approaches and new ways of thinking the digital world is offering to architecture. I have a better understanding of how to use and manipulate digital technologies so that I do not limit my creativity and design skills. I have also a better knowledge of the capacity of some software and what is the difference in the design approach whenever they are utilised. Critical thinking and constant questioning developed in me, a new conception of the role of an architect and those that are emerging. If I was given such information before, I would have a different approach for my design in Virtual Environments Studio where I was only exploring the shape and form of the design while looking only into the physical analogy of a natural process so that it is incorporated in my design. I would have explored biological morphogenesis and other relations which could be linked to my design and natural process.
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