Student Portfolio
ARCH 473/3522 - DIGITAL DESIGN STUDIO AND WORKSHOP Zein Noaman Fall 2021
The American University in Cairo (AUC) School of Sciences and Engineering - Department of Architecture ARCH 473/3522 - Digital Design Studio and Workshop (Spring 2019) Student portfolio documenting samples of work submitted along the course, including research, experimentation, 3D modeling, digital fabrication, parametric design and modeling, physical model realisation and analysis. Student name: Zein Noaman Student ID: 900181555
© The American University in Cairo (AUC), December 2021
Zein Noaman Architecture Student
designs. This course is the perfect combination of logic and innovation which is why it has been a very enjoyable experience till now. Before embarking on my journey through this course I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this process including Dr. Sherif and Dr. Passant and their brilliant assistants. This wouldn’t have been possible without their input and feedback which helped me elevate my ideas from brain to canvas.
I am a Senior studying at the American University in Cairo. I have been in this Architectural Engineering undergraduate program for 3 years and currently going through my 4th year. I graduated Highschool in 2018 and declared Architecture here through my A-Level grades achieved in school. I took a Digital course in my second semester which was a less advanced version of this course. This course is my first experience with parametric design and learning about new digital techniques through a workshop experience. Grasshopper has been something completely new for me as well but I managed to recall a few mathematical concepts that I have learnt before which helped my thinking process when coming up with my
Learning from Materiality The Blank Facade Canvas
01 Material Exploration
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Phase 1: Research & Material Exploration In this experimental project, the objective is to physically explore with different materials and fabrication techniques to devise a unit prototype for a building façade. The first step was to investigate several material explorations that can support the process of our experimentation and move forward with an idea. For my project I wanted to experiment with positive and negative surfaces using bubbly textures and forms. I was inspired by many existing projects, demonstrated in these images, which portray the concept I wanted to move forward with. Each phase of this project added depth to this idea but the initial phase was basic experimentation with this initial concept. To start off, I selected a few materials found at home such as bubble wrap and children’s toys which I thought could help me kick start my idea while also testing the material itself. I decided to use gypsum powder because of its flexible concentrations and the fact that it is also flexible in control. For the materials themselves I used bubble wrap because very light and flexible which means I can control the shape easily depending on the fixed formwork. I also used a pop it toy as fixed formwork is something that would help me portray my idea of implementing a lot of positive and negative surfaces. The toy itself is made of rubber which means it is also flexible and can be controlled. Later on I used balloons which is something I will go into in the later phases.
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Existing inspiration designed by Greg Lynn
ARCH 473/3522 - Spring 2021
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4 Trial 1:
Popping the formwork to create a variety of positive and negative spheres.
Filling the formwork with the gypsum mix and leaving it to dry.
The gypsum took the shape of the different semi spheres and created the texture that was intended.
Reflection: One of the faces is flat so I can try to make the other face have a unique surface.
I put the rubber toy into a box so that I can fill up the volume and add 2 on top of each other.
I added another rubber to on top with the spheres on the bottom as well.
Reflection: Both sides now have positive and negative surfaces but the aim now is to create a larger shape. Chapter name
Trial 2:
I needed to change the consistency of the mix so that it wasn’t as watery. Portfolio
5 Trial 3:
Poured the mix onto the bubble wrap and gathered it in one point.
Folded the bubble wrap on top of the mix so that the texture is on both sides.
Reflection: The bubbly texture is present but the shape itself is too flat
I poured the mixture and taped the bubble wrap onto the cup.
Reflection: The bubbly texture worked on the dome and this technique can be used on 3d forms
Trial 4:
I placed the bubble wrap in a cup to create a semi sphere. ARCH 473/3522 - Spring 2021
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Phase 2: Material Exploration Development 1)
Steps: 1- Create the form desired using balloons and tape to fixate them together 2- Put the form in a container and pour the mix on the surface of the balloons 3-Leave the gypsum to dry and remove from the container when it is no longer hot 4- Pop the ballons and cut the remaining tape on the surfaces Reflection: The model held itself together well but I wanted to play more with the voids underneath. I wanted the surfaces to be more cantilivered from the ground and see more voids inside. The structure in between the ballons had to be more stable because it was holding itself using the edges of the different surfaces.
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3)
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7 Second Trial: For the second attempt I started to change the formation of the ballons and make it more volumetric in order to cantiliver some of the surfaces in the air. I left more gaps between them to test what that would do to the structure and repeated the same process. Reflection: The model held itself together much better than the first attempt which was a positive note. The change in formation gave more of a floating effect and more cantilievered surfaces which was more of what i wanted. I realized that the gaps between the central ballons are what help in creating the central structure which is an idea I took forward.
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Phase 3: Final Submission For the final submission I knew what I wanted to achieve from the idea of having a structure created by the gaps between the balloons and having cantilievered surfaces generated by the poured mixture. I tested this idea twice; once with a constant radius and another time with a variable radius and documented the differences. Constant Radius: Using the same radius would give me a stable form as well as a symetrical curvature which will vary depending on the amount of mixture poured on it. The mix will go between the equal sized balloons and take the form of the gap between them.
Process Reflection: The structure was very stable due to the fact that the balloons were all the same size which balanced the stability of the structure. The voids created were very interesting and there was a variety of form when it came to the cantilivers. It will be interesting to see if the same thing will happen if I change the balloon sizes.
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ARCH 473/3522 - Spring 2021
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10 Variable Radius: After a successful first approach I wanted to try changing the sizes of the balloons to create an irregular structure which can hold itself together. The different radii will give the ballons different heights and diameters which will effect the elevations of the cantileivers and change the shape of the form. The idea of the structure will probably remain the same according to the conceptual sketches but what should vary is the height of each side and its relationship to the one beside it. I kept the ratio of the mix the same so that certain variables are constant and it becomes a fair test.
Process Reflection: This structure was better than the one before because of the variety of cantiliever sizes and forms. The gypsum took the shape of the different sized balloons and created a very interesting cave like structure on all sides. The structure was also very stable and had better voids and cantilievers. The experiment went according to the calcualtions and conceptual design which was a success.
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ARCH 473/3522 - Spring 2021
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Phallus Indusiatus A Network Within A Network
02 Learning From Nature
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Maiden Veil Fungus Commonly called the bamboo mushroom. The fruit body of the fungus is characterised by a conical to bell-shaped cap on a stalk and a delicate lacy “skirt”, or indusium, that hangs from beneath the cap and reaches nearly to the ground
The life cycle of most fungi starts with the production of spores that germinate to form hyphal threads. Growth of the hyphae ultimately results in the formation and growth of the mycelia (mycelial network).
A mycelium is a network of fungal threads or hyphae. Mycelia often grow underground but can also thrive in other places such as rotting tree trunks. Taken together, myecelium composes what’s called a “mycorrhizal network,” which connects individual plants together to transfer water, nitrogen, carbon and other minerals. Portfolio
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Abstractions & Configurations
Parametric patterns
Use of solid and void
Emerging from one point
Patterns & Geometries ARCH 473/3522 - Spring 2021
Stages of growth
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Grasshopper Definition
Main Commands: -Voronoi 2D -Populate Geometry -Scale -Boundary Surface
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Surface Testing & Morphing
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Form Generation On Site
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Grasshopper: Pattern Generation
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Density Variation On Site
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Final Model
Placed on Site and the movement can be seen around it ARCH 473/3522 - Spring 2021
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Bloom Bank Double Skin Facade Location: Cairo, Egypt
03 Parametric Facade Facelift
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Project Brief In this project, the objective is to explore and parametrically generate a prototype for a building façade skin that takes into consideration issues of environmental comfort, spatial relations and human aspects using a passive approach. You are required to develop a parametrically driven building skin for the building shown below (Blom Bank Egypt SAE - Main Branch, South Teseen Rd, New Cairo). The main façade of the building is in a South/Southwest orientation, and so you are required to devise an appropriate envelope that provides adequate shading and sun protection. Your building skin designs should originate from your explorations in either Project 1 or Project 2. You should capitalize on ideas captured in the material exploration or natural inspiration exercise and develop conceptual approaches based on the derived parameters, rules and relationships so that you can define extensive iterations for a variety of design alternatives.
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Bloom Bank Site Plan
Site Analysis & Climate Charts
Location: Cairo, Egypt
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Design Inspiration For the design of my parametric facade, I took an idea from Project 2 and started to develop it further. I used the idea of controlling different densities as a parameter depending on the different functions in my building. I divided my building into three main categories: Public (Open Spaces), Semi Private and Private. This can be seen both on Plan and in Elevation as presented on the conceptual diagrams. Public
Semi-Private
Private
Project 2 Concept
Building Elevation Design Concept Portfolio
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First Floor
Ground Floor
Third Floor
Second Floor
Fourth Floor
Building Plans Design Concept Public
ARCH 473/3522 - Spring 2021
Semi-Private
Private
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Design Process
1- Attractors & Grid Creation
2- Grid Subdivision
3- Dividing Midpoint Line
- Attractors drawn on Rhino - Taking Function into considerattion.
- Attractors are used to control where the subdivisions are placed
- Line to created desired shape
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4- Line Extrusion at Normal
5- Loft & Planar Surfaces
- The line is moved up and down according to a sun attractor (Ladybug)
- Connecting all the lines to create the desired 3d form
ARCH 473/3522 - Spring 2021
6- Mesh Creation
-Thickness and extrusion - Pipes
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Previous Design Phases: Trial 1
Trial 2
Experimenting with 2 sizes Trial 3
Trial 4
Merging previous trials together
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Experimenting with 3 sizes
Utilized the roof in my design
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Optimum Design:
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Plan Schematic Drawings First Floor
Ground Floor
Second Floor
Semi public offices
Semi public offices
Admin
Atrium
Atrium Public Waiting Area
Public Seating
Fourth Floor
Third Floor
Semi private offices
Semi private offices
Atrium
Computer Labs
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Private offices
Private offices
Private offices
Managers Office
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Axonometric Study
Modified Slabs
Existing Glass Facade
Parametric Kinetic Facade
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Section Schematic Drawings
Section A-A
Section B-B
B
A
A B Portfolio
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Mechanism Details
Kinetic Top Panel
Glass Facade
ARCH 473/3522 - Spring 2021
Elastic Side material
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Kinetic Movement Iterations My parametric facade responds to environmental sun path movement across the day. The panels move up and down across the whole facade according to the angle between both the sun vector and the vector of the unit. They provide interior shading and prevent high radiation as well as keeping the view factor for the people on the inside. On the right you can see different iterations of how the facade reacts to different times of the day from an exterior perspective as well as an interior perspective in the GIF on the opposite page.
Site Plan
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Kinetic Movement Animation (GIFS):
Sun path
Interior Movement & Shading
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Solar Radiation Analysis Before:
+ After:
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Virtual Reality Evaluation
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As we approached the final stages of the project, we had the opportunity to visit the VR lab in our department. It was a very useful experience because it helped us dive deeper into the building and its real life impact. We were able to leave the class with many takeaways which we used to enhance our designs and interior experience. Positive Takeaways: -Testing scale of unit -Interior views Opportunities to improve: -Pattern gradient -Attrium Size
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3D Fabrication Evaluation
Changing the Thickness First Stage - No Thickness - Meets at a point - Not Stable Too thin (1mm)
Optimum (2.5mm)
Creating Supports
Second Stage - Added Thickness - Meets at a point - More Stable
Too much support (18 hours)
Second Stage - Added Pipe system to hold them together - More Stable
Tree support created on meshmixer (13 hours) Portfolio
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Final Fabricated Model
Waiting For 3D Printed Model
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Rendered Final Model
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Elevations
ARCH 473/3522 - Spring 2021
Interior Shots
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Inspired by Islamic Art Location: Cairo, Egypt
04 Algorithmic Facade Quiz
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Kinetic Unit Design & Iterations
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Design Process & Parameters -Scaling the Internal Hexagon -Sun Path Atrractor -Hexagonal Grid Size -Extrusion from Surface Normal
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Biblography
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