Student Portfolio
ARCH 473/3522 - DIGITAL DESIGN STUDIO AND WORKSHOP Mahmoud El Kady Spring 2019
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: Mahmoud El Kady Student ID: 900160959
Š The American University in Cairo (AUC), May 2019
Mahmoud El Kady Architecture Student
and of themselves to shape my design vision. Usually that would feel like a “cop out�, especially since my previous studio experiences have always emphasized the importance of never allowing BIM and parametric tools to give heavy direction to the design, for these are mere tools at hand that help architects represent their ideas and visions.
The Digital Design studio has introduced me to numerous thinking skills and design tools that I have always thought were out of reach or too advanced to fathom. Although I have always approached my design through a series of iterations, the injection of Rhino and Grasshopper into the process has disrupted my regular design approach. Instead of being driven entirely by my conceptual understanding of the design brief, I allowed the different computational and parametric tools to give direction and to shape my end product. I broke my regular pattern of searching for processes and structures in the tool that would help build my preconceived vision for the project, and I instead gave room to the tools in
By questioning that premise, I was able to use parametric design tools to my full advantage, producing a final design that is grounded in a sound logic and is responsive to the different parameters that my concept has laid out. All in all, I discovered that there is nothing to fear from parametric design as long as there are a set of guidelines carefully laid out before the parametric and computational tools are introduced.
Doris Sung’s responsive sund dial, made out of preprogrammed smart thermo bimetals Sung, Doris Kim. Formakers Bloom . www.topsim-
01 Learning from Nature
2 For the first week of the Digital Design studio, we were asked to identify a natural phenoemnon that responds to the enviornment as a launching point for our design project. My group decided to explore the different enviornmnetal adaptations of the cactus and how said adaptations manifest in the form of mechanisms. Through a series of sketches, we were able to flesh out ideas for architectural applications and we began to consider materiality and fabrication processes, albeit the later was a bit advanced for the stage. By looking at Doris Sung’s different applications, we identified thermo-bimetals as an important passive activator for enviornmental responses. The beauty of thermo-bimetals is that they can be “programmed” to respond in different ways; the same opening can respond to different ways to the same stimulus. We were missing the physical experimentation part of the process but that was only because we couldn’t get our hands on thermo-bimetal samples. At that stage we were excited as group to move on to the next step of choosing a specific adaptation/ mechanism of the cactus to indvidually abstract from design parameters and to further identify the variables and guidelines that need to be considered.
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Learning from Nature
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Mahmoud El Kady
4 The biological system that I chose to focus on was the stomata of the cactus, which are the openings that allow for gaseous exchange and are controlled by two guard cells that expand and contrat in response to sunlight, closing and opening the stoma as a result. This compromised the second week of design work; in which I was successful in identifying a certain environmental response of the stomata and I focused on studying the chemical and physical mechanisms behind the response. However, I was advised to focus more on the details of the mechanism; the lines of force, the shape of the cells before and after, and the direct conceptual abstraction were all missing from my deliverables. I was also advised to focus less on the possibilities of thermo-bimetals and to design a mechanism of movement first. Only then can thermo-bimetals be logoicaly integrated into my design I had also skipped the crucial step of creating a matrix of possibilities using my parameters and fell into the trap of focusing on precedent applications; the purpose was to come up with my own personal morphology for a facade design, not to apply already existing designs.
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Learning from Nature
Scanned with CamScanner
7 Preliminary site analysis exploring sun path and shade analysis
In an attempt to apply my instructors’ feedback, I began to probe the idea of analyzing lines of force in the stomata mechanism and to think in matrix diagrams. This is the point where I started considering context and I began analyzing the solar patterns of my site in order to predict the required response of my design. The process of representing my ideas using manual drawings was enriching and proved very useful for my analysis. However, the professor felt that I lacked real depth to my analysis; I was asked to push further and to reconsider the different typologies and morphologoies that can be produced from manipulating the different variables that play a role in the stomata mechanism. As I talked to Dr. Sherif, we started seeing the dichotomy that exists in the stomatal mechanism: 2 guard cells; 2 lines of force; and only two pure forces, compression and tension. The obvious conclusion was to work with tensegrity, which is a structural system that relies on pure compression and pure tension for its movement and statical stability.
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Tensegrity unit produced as a result of stomata abstraction. Unit was designed to be scalable but its application was changed further down the road
02 Capturing Mobility
14 After starting the design process straight on Rhino, I quickly realized that it is important to experiment throuhgh a physical model before anything tangible can be produced digitaly. The process was frustarting and required numerous iterations and research. A structure needs to comply to a certain list of criteria for it to be categorised as a pure tensegrity structure, which made the process restricting. I struggled to find sound logic on which to base my tensegrity strcuture, especially with the strict relationships set out by tensegrity. What should my basic geometry be and how many memebrs should I use were the questions I couldn’t find answers for. Instead, I simply went ahead with designing the most basic unit using the least possible number of members in hopes of creating a metaphorical scaffolding for future developments. Interstingly, this was a breakthrough in my deisgn process, and I was able to create several possibilities and different types of responses to the same stimulus using the same unit.
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16 I decided to build up my tensegrity units as an active shading device that is fitted in a second skin that encompasses my mass. The second skin was designed based on self shading and sun path The mass was first developed by studying the program and by creating the required spaces; curves and selfshading were added to enhance the effect of the shading units. The process was filled with technical obstacles and diffculties and I came out feeling frsutrated, tired, and unwilling to work further using parametric software
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Capturing Mobility
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21 Rhino model in site at the end of phase two
Although I was content with the level of design detail reahced, the fabrication part of the phase proved extremely diffcilut and time consuming. Since I had no prior knowledge of the struggles of 3D printing, my model was the least 3D printable of the entire class! The outer scaffolding and the numerous small units made their file size extremely huge and hard to manipulate. The lesson learned was the that it is important to think of fabrication from the very beginning or else model thicknesses and scale will most probabl
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Capturing Chapter Mobility name
23 Final Shape-shifting Facade Unit Design using Grasshopper in site
03 ARCH 473/3522 - Spring 2019
Patterns of Mahmoud Mobility El Kady
24 Phase 3 was all about focusing on building a parametric version of my screen on grasshopper.The aim was to convert my Rhino design into a shapeshifting element and to decide the paraemters for said movement. Although Grasshopper is a more complicated program to deal with, I enjoyed its strict yet straight forward logic. Suffice to say, the process was hard and filled with numerous trials and errors. However, it was only in this face when I was able to redeem myself design wise and materialize all of my research and design thinking into an actual responsive model. The Pictures on the left, along with their definition on the right, were early modeling experimentson grasshopper. With the help of Hesham, our always-around TA, I was able to deconstruct my unit into points and lines and to interpolate between them to create compression rods and tension fabrics. The challenges was modelling these loads on an existing surface, such as the one I had already designed on Rhino for phase 2. Moving Forward, through series of trials, I was able to conjure my designed tensegrity units perpendicular to my original Rhino surface, although some edits in its form were made along the way.
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Capturing Mobility
25 Preliminary Grasshopper Definition Testing
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27 Final Unit form generation definition and steps
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28 I considered further my chosen paraemeters and investigated the shape and shading of the tensegrity units if we were to subject them to the maximum (extreme end) scenario of maximum shading and achieving the maximum designed shading shape Intresetingly, all extreme paraemters when tested while keeping everytging else constant achieved an increase in shading except for the rotation parameter. That is because the rotation parameter is mostly a directional parameter, in spite of the fact that its contribution to changing shading is not negligible. The extreme scenario model shades mostly horizontal solar radiation, which is usually midday radiation that is considered the highest of the day. The default model covers wider angles with less shading per unit
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Learning from Nature
Isolating parameters
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Final Facade model and Ladybug Solar Analysis
Capturing Mobility
Overall Tensegrity Structure
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Mahmoud El Kady
34 I decided to build up my tensegrity units as an active shading device that is fitted in a second skin that encompasses my mass. The second skin was designed based on self shading and sun path The mass was first developed by studying the program and by creating the required spaces; curves and selfshading were added to enhance the effect of the shading units. The process was filled with technical obstacles and diffculties and I came out feeling frsutrated, tired, and unwilling to work further using parametric software
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Capturing Mobility
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36 Creating a manual blow up model of my shape shifting unit was a quick exercise in applying the form generation steps of my grasshopper definition. I was able to grasp what it would look like in reality if each unit were to be interpolated perpendicular to the surface of the facade Having used real tension fabric, I started playing with the model and began to manipulate it in the same ways my design parameters affect my shape shifting element
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Mahmoud El Kady
38 Documentation was another exciting part of the studio; I was very skeptical of desining in the abstract for so long and it ws happy to see that my design can be turned into functional architecture. Overall, the process started off frustrating and filed with disappointements, but little by little, I was able to make sense of the studio objectives and to deliver all requirements with a good understanding of what is expected and for what purposes. This is the phase where I started to alter my design drastically; conceptual thinking was replaced with architecural representation of windows, doors, slabs, structural systems and contextual considerations, such as the bridge that connects to the SSE’s first floor
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Capturing Chapter Mobility name
41 Final Shape-shifting Facade Unit Design using Grasshopper in site
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Documentation Mahmoud El Kady
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43 Detailed Cross Section Scale 1: 50
An important aspect of the digital design studio is to understand and to be able to design the workings of several materails and mechanisms together, and to be able to represent them diagrammatically. Luckily, I had kept that in mind since the start of the studio, and I was easily able to come up with a presentable and logical detailed cross section that lists the different materials of my design and how they relate to each other.
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45 Site Layout Scale 1: 500
Although I was content with the level of design detail reahced, the fabrication part of the phase proved extremely diffcilut and time consuming. Since I had no prior knowledge of the struggles of 3D printing, my model was the least 3D printable of the entire class! The outer scaffolding and the numerous small units made their file size extremely huge and hard to manipulate. The lesson learned was the that it is important to think of fabrication from the very beginning or else model thicknesses and scale will most probabl
ARCH 473/3522 - Spring 2019
Mahmoud El Kady
46 When dividing the interior spaces of my design, I shifted gears towards the more conventional way of architectural thinking. I have to say that I am surprised that I was still able to produce functional spaces that can accomodate a number of different activities in spite of the fact that architectural space division was never executed in any of the previous design stages. The ground floor has a varied and flexible program, and the rooms, circulation elements, slabs, and furniture reflect the unqique lines of the architectural form.
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Learning from Nature
47 Ground Floor Plan Scale 1: 200
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Capturing Mobility
49 Section Scale 1: 200
Thinking in section was also important for imagining my digital design as a functioning building. I first asked myself what kind of connections I would like to have between the different floors of my building, and what it would mean to the experience of my form, and parametric facade. Vertical circulation was an important element that affected the section design. Incidentally, I connected my building to the SSE bridge that leads directly to the architecture department.
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51 Elevations (Left, South elevation; Right, West Elevation) Scale 1: 200
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53 3D shots of model in context
ARCH 473/3522 - Spring 2019
Mahmoud El Kady
54 After starting the design process straight on Rhino, I quickly realized that it is important to experiment throuhgh a physical model before anything tangible can be produced digitaly. The process was frustarting and required numerous iterations and research. A structure needs to comply to a certain list of criteria for it to be categorised as a pure tensegrity structure, which made the process restricting. I struggled to find sound logic on which to base my tensegrity strcuture, especially with the strict relationships set out by tensegrity. What should my basic geometry be and how many memebrs should I use were the questions I couldn’t find answers for. Instead, I simply went ahead with designing the most basic unit using the least possible number of members in hopes of creating a metaphorical scaffolding for future developments. Interstingly, this was a breakthrough in my deisgn process, and I was able to create several possibilities and different types of responses to the same stimulus using the same unit.
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Biblography
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Specifier. (2019). Human Skin Inspires Doris Kim Sung’s Thermo-bimetals - Specifier. [online] Available at: https://specifier.com.au/human-skin-inspires-doris-kim-sungs-thermo-bimetals/ [Accessed 24 May 2019]. Aouf, R. (2019). Thermobimetal shutters by Doris Sung self-regulate the temperature of buildings. [online] Dezeen. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2019/04/19/doris-sung-invert-thermobimetal-shutters/ [Accessed 24 May 2019]. ThoughtCo. (2019). What’s the Function of Stomata in Plant Tissue?. [online] Available at: https:// www.thoughtco.com/plant-stomata-function-4126012 [Accessed 24 May 2019]. Sciencedirect.com. (2019). Stomata - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics. [online] Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/stomata [Accessed 24 May 2019]. https://study.com/academy/lesson/stomata-of-plants-function-definition-structure.html
ŠAll rights reserved, American University in Cairo (AUC) May 2019