STUDENT PORTFOLIO
ARCH 473/3522 - DIGITAL DESIGN STUDIO AND WORKSHOP NOURAN SOLIMAN 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. ra2yee and how it relates to other subs Student name: Nouran soliman Student ID: 900143255
Š The American University in Cairo (AUC), May 2019
Nouran Soliman Architecture Student
I have always been a strong believer in the ability of the architecture and research combined with design thinking for strengthing our societies and having a positive effect on the world. Only together we can build a better future. Therefore, I believe in the power of communication. It is now expected of architects to turn away from designing iconic buildings/objects and focus instead on creating engaging built environments; from imagining idealistic, form-driven projects driven by the artistic pursuit to focusing on downright pragmatic solutions. China, of course, holds a large mirror to these tendencies, as so many Chinese architects quickly produced exactly the kind of projects that critics favor – modest in scale, straightforward in their expressions, reliant on indigenous construction techniques, and with inven-
tive use of traditional materials. The results, however appealing, seem to lack both variety and risk-taking. There must be another way, not so formulaic. I always have this mixed feelings from whether I am overwhelmed by the amount of work and the amount of projects or whether I really do believe in what I am doing and that’s why I am always pressuring myself to do it with the maximum efficiency. Architecture has been a turning point in my life. It managed to change my life. To change how I think about life. To be able to turn an eye on every single detail and to enjoy very tiny details that I would not have noticed earlier. There is a small conclusion I have came up to and that you always need to be confident in your knowledge and experience. But then you need to realize that the only way to achieve high-level architecture is by taking it very personally and emotionally. Architecture should be treated as art. An artist by definition has social value because of what he brings to society. An architect has a responsibility but he has to elevate his work to the level of art. Of course, many people criticize this position. But that is what I believe in. Because the only way to be able to communicate with the society and the universe is to be true to yourself. Architecture can be very superficial if you simply address all the immediate needs and pragmatics.
Gravity is what holds our universe as we know it together.. learning from constellations and how they connect together can help us create buildings that grow and connect in a way that holds their inhabitants together
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LEARNING FROM NATURE
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LEARNING FROM THE GALAXIES
Our constellations that we see in the night sky seem so distant and detached from far away. similarly when dealing with each other as humans, we’re becoming less attached to each other than ever before. In Reality however we’re all just pushing and pulling each other in a tight circle.. and we all in the end connect to make our bigger picture that is the universe. Designing a shelter for the homless relates in a way to the concept of the lost lone star in the night sky. Full of potential and light yet lost in a wide vast universe with no anchors or family. The question here would be can we all be interwined with forces so strong that we finally understand that we are ultimately the only force able to realise the infinite world we live in?
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8 Wadi Al Hitan Site
Wadi Al-Hitan, Whale Valley, in the Western Desert of Egypt, contains invaluable fossil remains of the earliest, and now extinct, suborder of whales, Archaeoceti. These fossils represent one of the major stories of evolution: the emergence of the whale as an ocean-going mammal from a previous life as a land-based animal. This is the most important site in the world for the demonstration of this stage of evolution. It portrays vividly the form and life of these whales during their transition. The number, concentration and quality of such fossils here is unique, as is their accessibility and setting in an attractive and protected landscape. The fossils of Al-Hitan show the youngest archaeocetes, in the last stages of losing their hind limbs. Other fossil material in the site makes it possible to reconstruct the surrounding environmental and ecological conditions of the time
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The applications of tensegrity structures are employed in both civil and architectural engineering mainly in structures such as dome structures, towers, roofs of the stadium, temporary structures as well as tents.
TENSEGRITY STRUCTURE
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Tensegrity also called as tensional integrity or floating compression, involving a structural principle for the creation of complex systems which comprises of elements which are only in compression or tension. In a detailed manner, it consists of strings which are in tension and bars that are in compression. Strings have the property of being foldable, light but strong. This makes us clear that tensegrity structures gain the potential to be light but strong as well as deployable. The word has been defined by many researchers which are: “A tensegrity system is established when a set of discontinuous compressive components interacts with a set of continuous tensile components to define a stable volume in space�.
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BREATHING FACADES ARCH 473/3522 - Spring 2019
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BLOM BANK FACADE ARCH 473/3522 - Spring 2019
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FALL 2019 ARCH 473
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