S TUDENT PORTFOLIO
A R CH 47 3 / 3 5 2 2 - D I G I TA L D E S I G N S T U D I O A N D WO R K S H O P Rana Fatthelbab Fall 2019
The American University in Cairo (AUC)
School of Sciences and Engineering - Department of Architecture ARCH 473/3522 - Digital Design Studio and Workshop (Fall 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: Rana Fatthelbab Student ID: 900150505
Š The American University in Cairo (AUC), May 2019
Rana Fatthelbab Architecture Student
This is Rana, an Archtecture Engineering Student at AUC and in this portfolio i will be presenting the work of Digital design studio and workshop. in the past four months i got to a have a totally different design approach based on a series of logical steps. where we got to identify and study a problem and then decide the architectural character and intervention that will allow us to develop. even though its same process we always start-off by in all design studios, the help of digital tools like Rhino and Grasshooper eliminated all the contraints and raises the bar for imagination and creativity. this created a new definition of reality that allowed
me to experiment with unusual materials that you would never imagine they can be used for building. the notion of ‘building’ itself is always associated with heavy and massive structure, but the evolution of ‘fabrication’ as an architectural term is more convenient with the idea of exploring through materials and testing them on the real scale of structures like pavillions. Also the scope of the projects brought us down to earth and i see this as very beneficial because it allowed me to integrate between the fictional and dreamy side with the focus on the people behaviors, activities and needs to have an impactful design, not just an aesthatically appealing structure. the tool used promoted this flow of thinking, as you’ve to think in a bottom-up sequence to generate the models you aim for. therefore, the conceptual development doesn’t stop once we start modelling, however, it enhances more. the end product appears to be a reversable reaction between the conceptual phases, digital and physical, resulting in a totally inclusive, smart structure and at the same time, socially and enviromentally responsible. i think this affected me on the personal level and how i approach things and not a process done for the purpose of the course and that’s it!
T a b l e o f C o n t e n t
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01 Mobile Shelter For The Homeless
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02 The Blank Facade Canvas
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03
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The Parametric Facelift
01 MOBILE SHELTER FOR THE HOMELESS
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the aim is to develop several atlernative for a mobile shelter, with a language of formal expression that resonds to basic aesthetic and functional requirements. the main design inspiration is the natural phenomena of tides with a focus on tidal flats along with the mechanism of mobility and behavior of materials
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Portfolio
Chapter name
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NATURAL PHENOMENA
The chosen natural phenomena of the group is tides, which is the concept of change in water height based on certain controllers, as the sun and moon. the gravitational force that vary according to their movement is gives this idea of water stretching over on cntracting away from the shores. thus, it is respondent to different parameters and unexpectedly changing based on these controllers.
ARCH 473/3522 - Fall 2019
T I D E S
Rana Fatthelbab
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T I D A L F L A T S
Portfolio
COASTAL WETLAND WHERE SEDIMENTS ARE DEPOSITED BY TIDES LEAVING A DIFFERENT LAND CONFIGURATION AFTER EACH WASH
Chapter name
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I N S P I R A T I O N
ARCH 473/3522 - Fall 2019
Rana Fatthelbab
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-Rough to Smooth Transition -Outdoor communal Spaces -exposure vs fading away -Interactive
I T E R A T I O N S
-shaped by activity -personalized -natural patterns
-identity and personalization -sense of ownership -Response to climate changes -Adaptation
-Adaptation -Different Exposures -Multi-fuctional -Flexible
Portfolio
Chapter name
7 As inpired from the different tidal patterns that changes accordinf to forces and times of the day, the design is transormative for being sutle to more dynamic based on the need of the users
F O R M G E N E R A T I O N
ARCH 473/3522 - Fall 2019
M A T E R I A L S
TREATED STEEL TUBES TO PREVENT IT FROM CORROSION IN THE HUMID CONTEXT
Fiber Construction: light weight High tensile strength fabricated by robots
Rana Fatthelbab
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S C E N A R I O
Tensile Fabric
Smart Glass
tightens and loosen based on weather conditions. giving different enclosures and pattenrs
responsive to daylight. it changes all the way between opaque and transparent
The Extrovert -Public
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Portfolio
Chapter name
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S C E N A R I O
The Introvert -Private Unlike scenario i, the shelter is transformed to a more intimate one. it becomes more opaque and private with the kinematics of material and threads pattern.
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ARCH 473/3522 - Fall 2019
Rana Fatthelbab
02 THE BLANK FACADE CANVAS
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PHYSICAL EXPLORATION WITH DIFFERENT MATERIAL AND FABRICATION TECHNIQUE S TO DEVISE A UNIT PROTOTYPE FOR A BUILDING FACADE.
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EXPERIMENTATION I the start-off phase of experimenting with new materials, to sense the capabilities, characteristics, fabrication process along with trying to achieve innovative ideas on a scale of a single unit that will drive us to a facade design int the following project
C A S T I N G
M O D E L S
PLASTER PHASE ONE OF EXPERMENTATION WAS WITH PLASTER, AS AFORM OF CASTING TECHNIQUE TO TEST HOW MUCH SUCH A FELXIBLE MATERIAL CAN GIVE MULTIPLE EXPERIENCES DESPENDING ON THE MOLDING. WE TRYED TO FORM IT DIFFERENTLY; WITH OPENINGS, CRACKS OR VERY SMOOTHY, HOWEVER, IT TAKES TIME TO STRENGHTEN AND THIS DIDN’T ALLOW US TO PLAY WITH IT IN ORGANIC FORMS AND WITHOUT MOLDING. THUS, WE SHIFTED TO THE NEXT TECHNIQUE.
EXPERIMENTATION II The shift to tesselation allowed us to test how can we create multiple experiences using a single repeated unit. this was acheived by different arrangments, scale, overlap and densities.
ŠAll rights reserved, American University in Cairo (AUC) May 2019
T E S S E L L A T I O N
M O D E L S
Metal Coins experimenting with a single unit, positioned and aligned differently to test its characterstics and limitation. the main problem is no matter how shifting increased, its still precieved as a planar surface and need modifications of the multi-dimensional level.
Closed
Intermediate
Dependency
Open
Closed
Semi-open
Open
Application
Rails
Hexagonal layering
Tessleation is applied on the larger scale of 60cmx60cmx30cm. wherelayers of rail are placed and around each rail, the hexagons rotate. when they overlap the density of the shading increases and when it is a single layer it becomes more transparent.
rail movement
FINAL MODEL this a development of the previous phase, where the interplay extended to the third dimension and in-depth, rather that the planar level. the movement of the hexagon remained on the rail [X & y} and then broken into pieces that shifts on the Z direction.
The fabrication technique used in Lasercutting. where the hexagonal units are printed on Acrylic sheet imitating bio-plastics, the railing and the box are on MDF. the size of the frame is 60cmx60cmx30cm which is almost a unit size of a facade
F A B R I C A T I O N
Biodegradable Plastics M A T E R I A L I T Y
Made of Chitin; a fibrous polysaccharides responsible for hard shells, the most abundant organic material on earth after cellulose.
SPATIALITY HUMAN ACTIVITIES MOBILE RECYCLED
Dutch Eu Building
MADE OF 3D PRINTED BIOPLASTIC WITH A TENSILE FABRIC STRUCTURE TO INVESTIGATE NEW POSIBILITIES OF NEW EFFICIENT MATERIAL
Thermoformable Pavillion
RENEWABLE FLEXIBLE VARYING SIZES ENVIROMENTAL
DEMONSTRATE THE POSSIBLE ARCHITECTONIC APPLICATIONS OF BIOPLASTIC WITH TRIANGLE NET MADE OF ELEMENTS WITH DIFFERENT SIZES
P R E C E D E N T S
03 The Parametric Facelift
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Developing and fabrication a Real prototype for a parametrically driven building’s skin. it should take into consideration the envriomental and behavioral aspects of the users and the building’s function, which is Bloom Bank located in South Teseen Road, New Cairo
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The main idea driving the design is breaking through the monotonous corporate identity prevalent in this road, and focusing more on the human activity, to precive the natural elements rather than eeing thing as a one whole thing.
C O N C E P T
This is achieved through the transition of the pattern from the negative space, then its destruction to reform different spatial experiences. the variety within the single pattern allows for more personalized spaces : social, introverted vs. extroverted, relation between exterior and interior and transparency.
exterior and interior interaction
Transparency vegetation
Social Interactions
Enviromental
The enviromental aspect is considered. it’s a driving force that determines the size of the signle unit to control light entered to the space and ventilation. the extrusion is the thinnest when sun rays are not directly perpendicular and it starts to elongate and thicken with the sun path.
P a r a m e t e r s
Behavioural
then the movement of the skin as a whole is controlled byt the behavioral patterns of the users. where the expansion creates extra room for some spaces the intrusions acts as a room separators for multi-functions.
I N S P I R A T I O N
I T E R A T I O N S
I
the first iteration was mainly a trial of the units and the panels using different plugins on grasshopper to create this tesellation. after that w point were added to test the movement of the surface based on human behaviour the skin needed to be tested in relation with the building inteself. the extension of the skin was stiff and looks like broken peices, thus it needed to be more flowy
I T E R A T I O N S
II
flow of surface improved, however. it became fixed and not adjustable as intended. the exageration of the intrusions is not applicable as it must stick to a constraint of 1.5m
I T E R A T I O N S
III
the surface is interpolated using grasshopper definition which made it more fluid. the movement is more harmonious and not stiff as previous iterations.the needed modfications are the scale, gradient and outline of the surface itself.
F I N A L O U T C O M E
D E F I N I T I O N
S p a t i a l e x p e r i e n c e
Scenario i: the positioning of the skin allowed for full shading & inner space expansion to accomdate large number of users
Scenario ii: the positioning of the skin allowed for space separation and created an outdoor terrace.
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P R O C E S S
the flow of points determines the surface on the skin
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3
points are connected, interpolated in the X and Y directions
surface is created by this connection of lines
4 triangluar panels are formed on the surface and extruded
7 5
he panels are bounding to give this gradient effect, starting from nothing, which is the negative space
each unit of the panel is scaled according to the gradient, from within a starting point that emphasizes the negative and breaks down the the mass of the building in an unexpected way.
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Wind Rose
E N V I R O M E N T A L A N A L Y S I S
Lady Bug using ladybug, enviromental charts were generated, analyizing the sun path, solar radiation, wind speed and wind rose in the climatic zone of Cairo. the next step was to visualize the effect of these values on the building’s surfaces and skin to be able to see how much the the design intervene in providing human comfort for the users or whether it needs to be more developed.
Solar Radiation
Sun Path
The color coding simulates how the skin decreased the solar radiation transferred to the interior. along with the effect of the Sourten Orientation on the building as a whole.
the skin is extruded to increase its thickness, where the thinnest member should not be less than 3mm to prevent it from breaking during 3D printing
F A B R I C A T I O N
using Meshmixer: The skin is aligned to the bed, in the direction where the supports are needed, which is in this case the back of the surface to be stable
Supports are generated based on some values, the density of the supports, which controls the spacing between the members, the diameter on the tip or the base and the diameter of the truck itself.
The strength of the model is then measured using the same software, to determine the exact places where supports are needed, to save time and materials
the connection between the tip and the skin.
the connection between the support and the base.
Supports just stablize the model during fabrication and then they are broken once the process is done.
S I M U L A T I O N
Using 3D simplifier: this is a simulation for the process of fabrication, done by taking screenshots from a video genetrated by the software. it allows you to control the material and the machine type, along with its speed and therefore, you can watch the effect of these changes on your model