Virginia Bassily

STUDENT PORTFOLIO

ARCH 473/3522 - DIGITAL DESIGN STUDIO AND WORKSHOP Virginia Bassily Spring 2020

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.

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Š The American University in Cairo (AUC), May 2019

Virginia Bassily Architecture Student

As archietcts, in my opinion, it is very important to be well-read and well-rounded. This will result in projects that are well-designed, well-resolved, and well-thought out.

All of this makes the learning process during design very important. It makes it necessary for us to focus on what we aim to learn and how we intend to achieve that. Reflecting on the process and the outcomes of each step results into a stronger design in the end.

I am a senior architecture student in the undergraduate Architectural Engineering program in the American University in Cairo.

In my opinion, Architecture is an extremely important platform that can be used to impact all aspects of life.

Arichitecture students in our program are very fortunately urged to look into not just other engineering fiels -like construction, mechanical, computer scince and engieneering- but also into art, philosophy, history, religion, music, anthropology, socialogy, etc. Architecture is a process of learning and applying what we learn on continuous basis.

In ARCH 473, we not only learned how to use Rhinoceros, but also how to design on it buildings that respond to real-life issues like homelessness and environmental issues. We also learned how to utilize the program to create interesting but not merely beautiful facades on the outside. We learned how to really design a facade, by which I mean create something that responds to the issues mentioned previously. We also learned the benefits of computational design when used alongside physical expirementations in terms of producing a precise design and focusing the bulk of time on the design itself and the issues it tackles rather than making the actual physical model of it.

CONTENTS 01 - MOBILE SHELTER FOR THE HOMELESS 02 - THE BLANK FACADE CANVAS 03 - THE PARAMETRIC FACELIFT

01 MOBILE SHELTER FOR THE HOMELESS

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3 Menya is one of the governerates of Egypt that lie directly on the Nile. This makes it abundant in greenery and natural views.

We first took off with this project by researching the site and it’s main design drviers. In this stage of the project, I had not yet learned or had an idea how we were to work with our ideas which are to come.

Nonetheless, we took off and started our first research task, which is around the site: Menya, Egypt.

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SITE SELECTION

UNICEF and the National Center for Social and Criminological Reasearch claims: 12 million people in Egypt homless, 3 million of which are children

Ministry of Social Solidarity claims: - 80% of Egypt’s homeless children are primarily located in 10 governorates in Egypt, 1 of which is Minya

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SITE SELCTION

Sun and Shading: - Summer months: extensive shading is needed - Winter: radiation is needed

Wind: - Comes mainly from the NNW - Highest Speed:: NNE

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NATURAL INSPIRATION IDENTIFICATION

The Diving Bell Spider is a very special kind of spider.

It is the only species of spiders that lives under water. This includes, catching prey, eating, resting, etc.

To replenish the air, the spider takes a trip to the surface and picks up oxygen

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NATURAL INSPIRATION IDENTIFICATION

Where it keeps repeating its process until the bubble grows

Traps it on its tiny hairs on its abdomen and travels back to the nest The bubble acts as its shelter and prey storage

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NATURAL INSPIRATION APPLICATION

Web-Making Rules: - Must have anchors - Must have a frame - Must have filling - Materials used are contextual/vernacular

Webs have the very convenient ability to be established anywhere. This is because of their ability to adapt to the surrounding conditions and the flexibility of the web-making process.

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NATURAL INSPIRATION APPLICATION

Reaches out to contextual anchors for structural stability

When the web is made, several points can often be pulled in different directions in order to clench to its surroundings for structural support.

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Breakdown of the web’s skin

Thin Thread for sun shading and wind catching

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Thick thread for structural support

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Flexible to be built anywhere (against 1 surface or between 2, 3 or more)

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Attempts of using and applying Rhino to thed esign: thin a

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and thick threads, overall form, cutting and rendering

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FINAL REFINE

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ED PROCESS

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02 THE BLANK FACADE CANVAS

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WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE PHYSICAL INTERPLAY OF MATERIALS

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“It uses the mock-up as a vehicle to study, optimize, and evaluate the design as well as to provide feedback for student learning and decision-making�

- ANDRZEJ ZARZYCKI

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Going back and forth between the virtual and the real world in the design process creates numerous chances to try and make mistakes, and therefore better-understand the material and the technique used. This creates for a more well-resolved design.

THE BENEFIT OF TRIAL AND ERROR

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WHAT TECHNIQUES CAN BE IMPLEMENTED TO EXPERIMENT WITH MATERIALS?

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GENERAL APPROACHES FOR DIGITAL FABRICATION

ADDITIVE

3D PRINTING POWDER PRINTING

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SUBTRACTIVE

LASER CUTTING

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CUTTING - SUBTRACTIVE

FOLDING - CAUSES SHAPE DEFORMATION

MACHINING - ADDITIVE OR SUBTRACTIVE

MORE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES

PUNCHING - CAUSES SHAPE DEFORMATION

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SHEARING - SUBTRACTIVE

WELDING - ADDITIVE

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HOW CAN THESE TECHNIQUES BE UTILIZED TO INFORM DESIGN INNOVATION?

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INNOVATIVE FABRICATED EXAMPLES CUTTING IN THIS EXAMPLE, IT CREATED AN INTERESTING PATTERN OF LIGHT PENETRATION

SHEARING IN THIS EXAMPLE, IT CREATED THE SLICK APPEARANCE THAT THE BUILDINGS CHARACTERIZED WITH

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FOLDING IN THIS EXAMPLE, IT ALLOWED FOR THE CREATION OF AN INTERESTING VOLUME WITH INTRUSIONS AND PORTRUSIONS

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FABRICATION FOLDING

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FIRST TRIAL

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SECOND TRIAL

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SECOND TRIAL

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REFLECTION PROS - You learn more on HOW the machine does it - It becomes easier to know what kin dof information you’ll have to give to the machine and why it’s needed - You start to get insight on how the material will react to the changes being made to it (especially if you’re working with the right material) CONS - Not precise - More time consumed on the production end of the process while it could be better utilized in developing the design.

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INSPIRATION - I thought of creating folded panels like these that could be combined one next to the other as a shading device in front of curtain walls.

- Selected triangle from each panel will be removed to allow for interesting light penetration inside the space.

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THIRD TRIAL

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REFLECTION - Calculations should be carefully considered - Folding was time consuming and mostly unsuccessful in the end.

- Folds around the center points created weak spots, which explains why during the real fabrication these points are hallowed.

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TRIALS TAKEN FURTHER

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VARIABLES MATERIAL

Formwork: - Metal sheets for sleek effect when casted over - Changing the material from paper to foam board made casting possible.

Final Product: - Concrete for easy casting and form molding

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VARIABLES GEOMETRY Single Module: - Enlarging the module and decreasing the number of modules in a single sheet allowed for much better folding results.

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VARIABLES GEOMETRY

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Pre-Planning: - Cuts must be planned before actually cutting so that the foam can bend in 2 directions, to get the right form

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VARIABLES GEOMETRY Overall Form: - Could be bent on itself to create a pavillion - This could allow for interesting connections between modules

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STUDIES

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LIGHTING

Instead of welding (in place of the hot glue), these could be slits that allow for light penetration

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FINAL PRODUCT PROCESS

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FINAL PRODUCT

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CASTED MODULE

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FINAL PRODUCT

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PROCESS

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REFLECTION - The plaster-water ratio was not quite right, which resulted in bubbles that appeared on the mold. Also it took so much longer for the cast to dry and it came out very weak and broke instantly while removing the mold.

- Because of the very loose resulted plaster, it had to be poured instead of spread which proved to be a wrong casting method.

- Also, the casting method was not precise, as the resulted module was a mirror of the intended module (the one created initially in the formwork)

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FINAL TRIALS

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FINAL PRODUCT CASTED MODULE

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FINAL PRODUCT

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CASTED MODULE

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REFLECTION - Using the right ratio for plaster and water made the module dry much quicker and be much stringer as was proved when removing the cast and in the cleaning process - Also, as mentioned, it coul dbe very beneficial to experiment with more careful casting methods so as to decrease the amount of polishing needed as a way to perserve the module - It could be very interesting to play and change in the grid a bit to allow for natural openings for light penetration (due to configurations, I mean) instead of hollowing ones from the existing ones.

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FOR THE FUTURE GEOMETRY

- For future casting trails, it was interesting to try changing the grid.

Different factors of the module were developed - However, when combing modules, the ‘1.5 module’ tended to come in the way making it very difficult for the to be a fitting configuration

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FOR THE FUTURE

GEOMETRY - By removing the ‘1.5 module’ and re-arranging the rest modules fit better together to create spaces in-between to allow for light penetration - It could be interesting to cast this new model and see what the outcome will be when combining several modules together.

- Another interesting idea to experiment with could be the angle by which the components of the module are folded, this could allow for a different kind of light penetration that could make facades more interesting

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03 THE PARAMETRIC FACELIFT

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SITE ANALYSIS

The site is in Share’ 90. The main facade overlooks the street directly and is a southwestern facade.

From the south it overlooks the main road, and from the west it overlooks a secondary road.

The main direction of wind of the area comes from the NNW direction. This is important for natural ventilation considerations for a pleasant experience inside the spaces.

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SITE ANALYSIS These results show that extensive shading is needed in the summer -especially for the south and west facades, which happen to both be the orientation of the bank’s facade.

Horizontal shading is needed in the south to protect from the rays of the sun coming from that direction.

And vertical shading is needed in the west to protect from the setting sun rays cominng from that direction.

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DESIGN PROPOSAL

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TECHNICAL DETAILS The inner skin serves to let the heat inside the building out. This is made possible through operable windows in the inner skin - a curtain wall.

The outer skin allows in sunlight for naturally lit spaces inside that creates a more pleasant environment. This is made possible through openings in the panels attached to the outer skin.

Casted concrete Existing structure Vertical shading for the west facade

Utilized curtain wall Operable window Panels fixed on a bigger screen creating complexity and variationn of angles & wind peneteration

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Biblography • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

 Aranda, B. and Lasch, C. (2006). Tooling, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, USA.  Balmond, C. (2007). Informal, Prestel.  Dunn, N. (2012). Digital Fabrication in Architecture, Laurence King Publishing.  Frederick, M. (2007). 101 Things I learned in architecture school, MIT Press.  Freyer, C., Noel, S., Rucki, E. & Antonelli, P. (2011). Digital by Design: Crafting Technology for Products and Environments, Thames and Hudson.  Hensel, M., Menges, A. & Weinstock, M. (2010). Emergent Technologies and Design: Towards a Biological Paradigm for Architecture, Routledge.  Iwamoto, L. (2009). Digital Fabrications: Architectural and Material Techniques, Princeton Architectural Press.  Jabi, W. (2013). Parametric Design for Architecture, Laurence King Publishing.  Kolarevic, B. (2005). Architecture in the Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing, Taylor and Francis.  Segaran, T. & Hammerbacher, J. (2009). Beautiful Data: The Stories Behind Elegant Data Solutions, O’Reilly Media.  Spiller, N. (2009). Digital Architecture Now: A Global Survey of Emerging Talent, Thames and Hudson.  Tedeschi, A. (2014). AAD – Algorithms-Aided Design, Le Penseur Publisher.  Terzidis, K. (2006). Algorithmic Architecture, Routledge.  Vysivoti, S. (2012). Folding Architecture: Spatial, Structural and Organizational Diagrams, Bis Publishers

ŠAll rights reserved, American University in Cairo (AUC) May 2020