Digital portfolio for ITfD

ÁNGEL GAMBÍN Digital Portfolio

IT for Designers 2015/2016 - 15031641 Erasmus Student

CONTENTS Weekly Log 1 - page 4 Weekly Log 2 and 3 - page 5 Weekly Log 4 and 5 - page 6 Weekly Task 1 - page 8 Weekly Task 2 - page 10 Weekly Task 3 - page 12 Weekly Task 4a - page 13 Weekly Task 4b - page 14 Weekly Task 5 - page 15

LECTURE TITLE: Introduction lecture – What does an architect do?

DATE: 25-9-2015 TUTOR: Jonathan Bassindale THE MAIN ACTIVITIES WERE: What is the role of the designer in the design process and the wide range of techniques that can be used to comunicate the ideas (Drawings, texts, talks...). The architect must take into account which is the beast way to explain his ideas considering the kind of client and the person who is talking to.

There is also a need to understand the project level (in what stage the project is) and how to represent it according to it. The stages of the project are explained by RIBA and its Plan of Work.

I LEARNED: That although the design process is an individual role, it can express a similar logic, starting by idea and concept and finishing by detail and construction. The process is important as the same information has to be represented in a different way according to the stage. At the first stages it’s more important to represent in a more attractive way in order to persuade the client while at the final stages it’s more important to draw and represent in a more detailed way. In this workflow, the computer plays an important role, but we must use it to improve the result of our work. Using the computer does not implies that our project is good.

WEEKLY LOG 4

I AM STILL LEFT WONDERING: How to connect more the thinking design with the computer design. I am still not sure about until when should we use the handrawing in the project stages or when to start using computer to represent a project. I also think of the debate if computer representation is not a good tool to represent reality and its aim is just to ‘lie’ to clients and people.

I SHALL FOLLOW UP BY: Exploring the processes about designing buildings and how to mix them with computing and digital processes. Practising with both techiques can help me realise about it and also improve my architectural representation and drawings. Also look into different books about the topic and explore how the process work and how other architects work through the stages.

WEEKLY LOG

LECTURE TITLE: Drawing through the stages DATE: 9-10-2015 TUTOR: Jonathan Bassindale THE MAIN ACTIVITIES WERE: Explain the process of designing of the Gloucester Immersion Centre, a building destined to teach different languages through an immersion method. The building was part of a bigger masterplan for the area but it was not finished due to economical problems. The lecture started by explaining this masterplan and then went deeper to the immersion centre, showing conceptual ideas, plans, sections... and all the connections between them and how they all must work together.

I LEARNED: How the process of designing a building is and also some professional tips on how to deal with a client or contractor. I also learned the official stages of a project according to RIBA (A,B: primary design… E: technical design, F: construction drawings…). It’s very important to have a general vision of the project and know how to involve all the stages at a different level of importance according to how advanced you are in the project process. It is a goal for the architect to conciliate all these aspects and get a good final result for the project.

I AM STILL LEFT WONDERING: What is the best technique to show how the process works to people who is not really related to architecture and construction. They may see they drawings but the question is whether they understand it or not. When these drawings and information become technical, its reading may only be available for professionals of the subject. I wonder how could we show all this technical knowledge to clients and users and not being limited just to beauty.

I SHALL FOLLOW UP BY: Going deeper in the RIBA process and how to design a building in UK. Also find books which explain how all these processes work and look for examples from other architects and try to find my own method of project representation. Practice is the best way to eventually find your best way of representing and also to improve your skills day by day.

WEEKLY LOG

LECTURE TITLE: Architectural Computing and BIM DATE: 23-10-2015 TUTOR: David Littlefield THE MAIN ACTIVITIES WERE: Explain what BIM is and what it is used for. Explanation of the workflow and people involved on it, new dimensions added to the model (time, cost and performance), information overload… BIM is a collaborative way of working that tries to connect differetn professionals from different areas of knowledge in order to get a faster and more accurate result of the project process. The beginning of BIM was much earlier than we could ever think. Brunelleschi, for example, was the first one who had to put together different kinds of information into a building. He was the first modeller to test dome structures. Alberti split the role between designer and craftsperson. BIM process integrates all different areas and professionals and tries to make a coherence between them in order to build a co-working atmosphere and have an easier and more accurate workflow.

I LEARNED: How BIM works in general lines and what professionals take part of it. In BIM software, you do not work with lines or volumes like in other software such as AutoCAD or Rhino, but you use walls, windows, doors... that have their properties assigned so the process is easier and at the same time more accurate as you can add all sort of information to the model. But with BIM you can also design whatever you want and customize your own elements so you are not limited in any sense. It’s important to distinguish between the BIM process (the collaborative way of working) and the BIM software, which facilitates the process itself.

I AM STILL LEFT WONDERING: How to use BIM for more singular projects or installations or temporary architecture. This is a really powerful tool which will dominate the future of computing in architecture. But my question is if this sofware is so useful in not so big projects like restoration or a refurbishment of a flat, where not so many technical specifications are needed.

I SHALL FOLLOW UP BY: Contact someone who is in the BIM business and see how they actually work. People who is already involved in a process are the best way to learn about it because sometimes theory is not enough as you cannot face ral problems that appear in a singular process like this one.

5

LECTURE TITLE:

LECTURE TITLE:

Digital Fabrication and Computational Design

Presentation techniques of the “Starchitects”

DATE:

DATE:

13-11-2015

27-11-2015

TUTOR:

TUTOR:

John Harding

Jonathan Bassindale

THE MAIN ACTIVITIES WERE:

THE MAIN ACTIVITIES WERE:

Explanation of digital processes for parametric design and then fabrication of its physical model. It went from the beginning of the design to the actual building process and installation, going through the computer software used for it like Grasshopper. We went through some examples of projects like an installation for Belvedere Vodka, in which grasshopper was used to decide on the final form of the project. We also saw the Ongreening pavillion which was based on the division of circles and then split them with CAD. It has a geodesic design and during the process they combined parametric models with physical ones. We also explored some processes of growing geometry like tree and fractal structures and how they used Grasshopper for a project of BIG studio. The parametric design brings a completely new process in which some parameters are the cause of the final form of the project and the variations between these are the main point.

We watched some videos about an architectural contest for 425 Park Avenue, where four different architecture firms were struggling to win the competition by presenting their approaches to the client in four different ways. We could see several methods of presenting a project: models of the building, presentation boards with renderings, talks in different ways according to the architect’s interest... After the videos, we made a debate about architectural presentation and if it can help win a competition despite the quality of the building.

I LEARNED: How important are digital processes nowadays in architecture and what is the workflow from the beginning of the design until the actual installation of the project. The parametric design have many advantages as it allows to work with very complex shapes that would be really difficult to design with other software or design methods, and starting by points or other simple elements, the architect can build very optimized projects at issue of materials, energy, comfort...

I AM STILL LEFT WONDERING: How to have a criteria to decide on parametric designs and come up with the best final form. Sometimes a complex design is not the best option for an arhcitectural project, as you need to take into account other dimensions like structure, services, economy... and I wonder if parametric design could be used for some other purpose than creating a difficult and beautiful shape. In my opinion, although working with parametric design we should not forget about our own thinking and try to solve the project challenges with our own knowledge.

I SHALL FOLLOW UP BY: Looking for more references on projects and maybe start using parametric design software to understand it better. Learning from people who already use it and work with it is the best way to get familiar and grow my skills on this design process.

6

I LEARNED: That there are many different ways of presenting a project to a client, it only needs to be appealing to your public. Although your project is not the best one technically speaking or the design of it is not the best, a good and attractive presentation can be key to persuade your client and winning the competition. Everything can be useful to make your project easier to understand: drawings, talks, references,... and it’s very mportant to use them in a proper way so the client is interested in your project more then the others.

I AM STILL LEFT WONDERING: How important the representation of a project is and to what extent we should think of the design of the project before we get commissioned for a project. Sometimes it appears to be more useful to spend more time in making a good and appealing representation rather than thinking on the building itself.

“Love at first sight” plays an important role in architecture competitions and a good representation is key for that.

I SHALL FOLLOW UP BY: Learning this new dimension of arhcitecture and perhaps giving more time to this part of the process in my next project at university. Making a good representation means having a lot of skills with specific software but also having a good taste in creating smart and beautiful images that show our project in a utopic way. This part also implies having great skills at public talking and presentation. I think practising with all these aspects and looking at how architecture firms work is the best way to continue learning about this.

WEEKLY LOG

The Dox House Mjรถlk architekti

Exterior view of the house showing the south facade and garden.

WEEKLY TASK

Interior view of the house showing the kitchen and living room area.

WEEKLY TASK

7

Ground Floor 1:100

Contextual Plan 1:250

TASK 1 Drawings produced using AutoCAD and the original plans provided in Archdaily. Four different layers and thicknesses were used to make these drawings to show the different range of importance between the elements. The layout was set up to A3 and monochrome, defining 2 different graphic windows with a different scale on each one.

8

First Floor 1:100

WEEKLY TASK

Section 1:150

South Elevation 1:150

WEEKLY TASK

9

Axonometric section

Aerial view.

Detail of step with annotation.

Axonometric view showing the interior elements of the house.

TASK 2 These images were produced using Sketchup software. The 3D model was made out of the 2D plans I had from Task 1, and then applied different textures to elements and made some testing with shadows and views. These are the results:

10

List of textures used in the model (included 2 created by me)

WEEKLY TASK

Ground Floor

First Floor

South elevation

WEEKLY TASK

11

Shaded style view.

B/W perspective section 1.

Wireframe style view.

B/W perspective section 2.

TASK 3 Following the same process as in task 2, I made a 3D model of the house assigned, but this time using Rhino software. I had used Rhino before, so it was easier and faster for me to complete this task and add complexity to the model. After modelling, I tested different styles and viewpoints (using clipping plane as well) that could show my work in the best way.

12

WEEKLY TASK

SKETCH 1

Base drawing after desaturation and level adjustment.

Difference layer effect.

Vegetation.

Vegetation + person + house textures

Difference layer effect.

Sky.

Sky + person + house textures

SKETCH 2

Base drawing after desaturation and level adjustment.

TASK 4.A

For this task I made 2 sketches of my house from different angles and then made the adjustments to have a clean image and start working on them. After this, I applied different layer effects such as difference (as seen in the picture above) and painted some elements of the sketches and added textures to create a more realistic image out of the base drawing.

WEEKLY TASK

13

Cover masterpage.

Weekly log masterpage.

Fonts used: Steelfish Myriad Pro Helvetica Neue LT Std

C=57 M=0 Y=27 K=0

C=0 M=0 Y=0 K=100

TASK 4.B

General layout of my portfolio.

This task was about creating a document in inDesign thinking about this portfolio and how to arrange the pages and layout. I created 3 masterpages: One for the cover, another one for weekly task and the third one for the weekly log. In the last 2 ones I included page number and the little text located at the bottom corner.

14

WEEKLY TASK

Base exterior render.

Base interior render.

Exterior render after photoshop post-processing.

Interior render after photoshop post-processing.

TASK 5 In this task I used vRay to produce a base render, only using a few materials and colours for my 3D model as well as sunlight. After creating these base images, I imported them into photoshop for applying some further effects like lights, shadows, vegetation, people...

WEEKLY TASK

15