Student Portfolio
ARCH 473/3522 - DIGITAL DESIGN STUDIO AND WORKSHOP Mostafa Zahran Fall 2021
The American University in Cairo (AUC) School of Sciences and Engineering - Department of Architecture ARCH 473/3522 - Digital Design Studio and Workshop (Fall 2021) 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: Mostafa Zahran Student ID: 900181529
© The American University in Cairo (AUC), May 2019
Mostafa Zahran Architecture Student
An ambitious student with a passion for art and driving change. With architectural engineering essentially dealing with problems by transforming ideas into practical multi-faceted solutions, my experience in the major has been enriching and has changed the way I think and approach things. Whether I will go on to venture into the architectural field or something else, I am glad to be gaining the knowledge and skills that would give me the capacity to transcend the mundane.
Double skin facade designed for quiz.
Warped gypsum sculpture made with fabric formwork.
01 Learning from Materiality
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3 First successful attempt at solidifying gypsum by pouring it into fabric.
Project 1 required material exploration through casting and fabric forming. The first phase consisted of getting accustomed to the materials; trying out different ways to cast and form gypsum models. This project is meant to be informative of how variables in form creation would later inform digital parametric designs.
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4 Even in the second phase, there were several failed attempts for being too thin or too contorted (examples on the left). However, bearing in mind that the goal of these exercises is to investigate the algorithm and variables that allow the gypsum to be formed in a certain way, the third final phase consisted of a single concept only differing through a certain variable. The following pictures show how a gypsum structure would be formed in fabric with varying number of holes.
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Some attempts in Week 1.
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Some attempts in Week 2. In that week, the attempts were varied and produced highly different results, most of which failed completely. However, this exercise did not go to waste, as it showed me the potentials of each design and which ones have a better chance of displaying different forms through different variables. The challenge with these exercises is taking into consideration the physical variables that influence one’s design. As working digitally technically designs in a vacuum devoid of materiality or physics unless inputted by the user.
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The ‘Warped Wall’ example is what will lead to the following week’s experimentation with variables and their influence on form. The warped wall creates voids in the form by attaching two points on the fabric opposite each other together, so that once the gypsum is poured it does not fill these ‘pressure points’ and allows holes to be there.
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PROJECT 1 WEEK 3 - FINAL WEEK
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Unlike the previous weeks, this phase was no longer about experimentation, but to see how variables influence form as the next phase is all about parametric design, where variables are crucial to inform aesthetics and function. Using formwork in Project 1 informed a sense whether a design was feasible or not - many failing due to being too thin, or too contorted to support themselves. That element may have otherwise not been present if I had started with digital design.
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PROJECT 1 WEEK 3 - FINAL WEEK CONCLUSION
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Final iteration of a parametrically designed coral-inspired pavilion.
02 Learning from Nature
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19 Prefinal iteration of the parametric model.
Project 2 is the introduction to parametric design. The knowledge informed from Project 1 is applied digitally by approaching the task with the same logic. In this particular case, Project 2 requires inspiration from nature to inform the design.
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GROWTH OF CORAL REEFS
The growth of the sea fan (Gorgonia ventalina), a type of soft coral, was the precedent that informed the design, where its polyps grow to produce its roots that grow vertically, and from which branches form. This was taken into consideration along but with the parameters that should inform circulation and function in the pavilion’s site in mind.
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Result of Project 2 prefinal.
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1. Creating path of growth.
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2. Creating potential paths model can take.
3. Result of dominant element.
Result of Project 2 final.
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Blom Bank Egypt in New Cairo.
03 The Parametric Facelift
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27 Result of third attempt.
Project 3 requires the design of a double skin facade for the Blom Bank Egypt building. The projects demands a level of practicality and technicality that was not present in the previous project. It also incorporates an environmental aspect requiring consideration and analysis.
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Al Bahar Towers is a precedent of how double skin facades can be approached through parametric design. Its units actively open and close to mitigate heat by reducing solar heat gain while allowing natural light to go through.
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The units of a double skin facade, when generated, can take on many different shapes and forms. Depending on the architects’ logic or philosophy, certain designs may work better than others to achieve a particular goal.
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33 Environmental considerations.
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34 Precedents for the first attempt.
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Result of the first attempt.
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A COMPLETE SHIFT IN PARAMETERS
Creating shading guidelines (horizontal facing south and vertical facing west).
Generating random triangulations. Portfolio
Result of second attempt - triangulations follow guidelines to create form.
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In the following stage, the relation between the double skin facade and the building’s function was considered, it was still too premature, and lacked sufficient (or at least clearly distinct) variations of the units accordingly. It also lacked the practical considerations (i.e. proper structure and solidity) that would propel it beyond the conceptual phase.
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Result of third attempt. 39
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Instead of random triangulation, a proper grid for the units is created.
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PARAMETER CHANGES IN THIRD ATTEMPT
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Solar radiation and lighting control is achieved through the units’ opening size, instead of guidelines for shade, more akin to first attempt.
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With the next iteration, the logic of shading guidelines is reintroduced to stretch or compress the form of the hexagonal unit.
The shading guidelines acts as a attractor. Using fields, the hexagonal units follow along.
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PARAMETER CHANGES IN FOURTH ATTEMPT
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Result of fourth attempt.
Although fields allow the units to be formed in a manner akin to what is intended, there are unwanted instances of distortion. These may be aesthetically interesting, but provide little practical value. Yet, in this iteration the skin is given a solid texture that may provide a basis for its attachment to the building’s surface.
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A CLOSER LOOK: OBSERVATION THROUGH VR
To look at how the skin functions structurally and experientially, the model was taken into a VR (virtual reality) program and was observed at using a VR headset. While there are several programs that allow architects to navigate through their designs, there is a sense of realism that is lost due to the barrier of ordinary computer monitors. Through VR, one experiences the building’s exterior and interior as though it were, potentially, in its actual scale. The details delineating the relation between the skin and the building that are difficult to observe become noticeable. Notice the different experiences observed through the skin’s aesthetic in different areas (right and upper left images). The variations, besides being formed with an environmental basis in mind, convey a contrast in proportion and repetition. The issues pertaining to structure and connection are much clearer (right and lower left images), where proper connections need to be placed and the units should be scaled in accordance with the glass surface and slabs.
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PARAMETER CHANGES IN FIFTH ATTEMPT
With the previous iteration not properly fitting with the building’s infrastructure, the grid was recreated using a set of controllable points to achieve an appropriate scale.
Along with the introduction of a proper structural system, in this case space trusses, this iteration, although lost certain purely generative features, was the most practical and feasible one yet - relatively speaking.
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Result of fourth attempt.
Result of first attempt.
Result of fifth attempt.
With an iteration that is more feasible, and hence more realistic, the variables of control were considered regarding expansion and contraction. However, with the demand of a moving structure and highly tractive unit design, the prospect of an active design would be considerably difficult to achieve at this late stage. Therefore, the design, as its controlling variables may not be practically achieved, should remain static, at least concerning the variables of expansion and compression.
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48 Result of sixth (prefinal) attempt.
Establishing that the double skin facade be static for practicality. The form was altered to shift the west-facing units to block afternoon radiation.
This iteration had the first inclusion of optimization - in this case for radiation - and although would mitigate solar heat gain, the opening were too small to allow for sufficient light. On another note, the wind analysis (left) shows that fresh air is passing through the entirety of the double skin facade as intended. Portfolio
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Radiation analysis.
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Sunlight analysis.
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Wind analysis.
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MEANINGFUL VARIATION: THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
Third attempt section.
Fourth attempt section.
Fifth attempt section.
Sixth (prefinal) attempt section.
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Having the - then realized to be unnecessary - constraint of horizontality for the units had limited the double skin facade’s potential. That, and the lack of variation in the design along the building’s surface had cause the design to be rather uniform in nature. Also, the functions inside the building were not as well-devised as they should have been, also contributing to the stunting the project. These issues will inform the steps to be taken for the next, and final, design for Project 3.
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52 Results of previous attempts.
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53 Result of final attempt.
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MATERIAL AND ACTIVE COMPONENT
At this final stage, the pneumatic approach from the very first attempt is revisited. In this case considering the units will be made of EthyleneFetraFluoroEthylene (ETFE), a material that works well with pneumatic system as it can expand and contract, and is translucent so that allows for natural light to reach the building’s interiors. Each unit, when it expands pneumatically, makes its opening smaller. Hence, less direct radiation gets through. This system would aid in daylight control and heat mitigation.
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A real-life example of ETFE incorporated in 55 a pneumatic system.
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Radiation analysis.
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The final attempt uses units varied in scale, size and arrangement in accordance to spatial function, as well as slab extrusions and recessions. Rectangular units block out more light, but the pattern is broken in certain parts to fully allow sunlight to get though. They relate to regular offices and services, as through they represent a sense of professionalism in arrangement, while hexagons relate to non-office areas, with the exception of the administrative offices, and less rigid, making these spaces more lit and relaxed. It adequately reduces radiation, but now allows for sunlight to go through due to its larger openings that can become smaller through its active pneumatic system.
Perspective view inside entrance lobby. (units inactive)
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