Student Portfolio
ARCH 473/3522 - DIGITAL DESIGN STUDIO AND WORKSHOP Ziad Marei 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: Ziad Marei Student ID: 900181545
© The American University in Cairo (AUC), December 2021
Ziad Marei Architecture Student
A senior architecture student who has always been really interested in architecture and design for quite a while. I'm particularly interested in product design, and the coordinated between aesthetics mechanical operations of products.
01 The Blank Facade Canvas
In this stage, you are each asked to individually present your research of the specific fabrication approach you will be adopting with regards to casting or fabric forming, including history and background, different techniques, materials used, domain of application, and precedents. Using that background knowledge, you are asked to develop a physical model of the required volume using a selected technique (casting or fabric forming) and a selected material (for ease and practicality, you can work with gypsum and water, unless you have access to other materials).
Experimenting with Gypsum & Smocking
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In this stage, you are asked to develop your physical model based on the feedback you will be receiving. Based on this development and feedback, you are asked to reflect on your process, explicitly highlighting the following: • What are the specific lessons that you learned from the physical interplay of materials, as opposed to say a purely digital exercise to produce a similar design/ form? • What specific techniques did you use/learn from during your experimentation with materials and the casting/fabric form process? • During your experimentation, what are the specific variables, rules, relationships, or constraints that you implicitly developed in order to produce the required model? Please be as specific as possible, using analytical diagrams, sketches, images and sequences from your process.
Working Towards the Desired Design
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In this stage we are altering the previous designs with some edits that will eventually enhance our facade designs. Alterations might be of changing the geometries entirely, or crating perforations in some units, it might be also by coloring some parts of some units.
Creating Unit Variations
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Project Breif
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. Your approach should devise a parametric logic for the design of the façade skin based on environmental, spatial, functional, and/or aesthetic considerations. You are to assume functional and behavioral scenarios and settings during your investigation.
02 Learning From Nature
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Project Breif
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. Your approach should devise a parametric logic for the design of the façade skin based on environmental, spatial, functional, and/or aesthetic considerations. You are to assume functional and behavioral scenarios and settings during your investigation.
03 Parametric Facade Facelift
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GRASSHOPPER DEFINIITON
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GRASSHOPPER DEFINIITON
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Unit unfolds to cover more planar surface and protrudes in the normal direction
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Folds and unfolds gradually by a solar attractor
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VR Shots and Observations Units were too large Not coordinated with slabs Shift in sizes is sudden
Frames added with diagonal frames to infinitly adjust the panel sizes gradually from 1.5 m - 0.8 cm
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Sections
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Fabrication
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Full Facade didn’t fit on the printer tray When the two facade segments were vertical 19 Hours
Split Facade Fitted Made use of the small size of one segment and printed it horizontally 16 Hours ARCH 473/3522 - Fall 2021
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