Biomimicry in Architecture by Muhammad Rafay Mazher

BIOMIMICRY IN ARCHITECTU RE : NATURE AS MODEL , MEASURE & MENTOR

HISTORICAL MUSEUM NATHIAGALI , PAKISTAN BY

RAFAY MAZHER

BATCH 2002-2003 DEPARTM ENT OF ARCHITE CTURE AND PLANNIN G NED UNIVERS ITY OF ENGINEE RING AND TECHNO LOGY , K ARACHI

NOVEMBER 2007

B IOMIMICRY IN A RCHITECT URE , NATURE A S MODEL , M EASURE & MENTOR H ISTORICAL MUSEUM IN NATHIAGAL I BY

RAFAY MAZHER

A THESIS SUMITT ED IN PARTIAL FULFILL MENT OF THE REQUIRE MENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELO R OF ARCHITE CTURE

DEPARTM ENT OF ARCHITE CTURE AND PLANNIN G NED UNIVERS ITY OF ENGINEE RING AND TECHNO LOGY , K ARACHI

Thesis Supervisor

: Arch. Ravindar Kumar Ravi Dr. Faisal Arain

Thesis Advisor

: Arch. Ashraf Shanjer

_______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________

Acknowledgement First of all, I would like to thank Almighty Allah for giving me strength to complete this report. Secondly, I would like to pay thanks to Dr. Noman Ahmad, Chairman DAP-NED, Internal advisors Dr. Faisal Arain and Architect Ravindar Kumar, and class advisor, Architect Fariha Amjad Ubaid for their extensive support through out my thesis. I am deeply indebted to my advisor Architect Ashraf Shanjer whose help, stimulating suggestions and encouragement helped me in all the time of research for and writing of this thesis. My class fellows and friends supported me in my research work. I want to thank them for all their help, support, interest and valuable hints. My family who supported me throughout my thesis and gave me the space and time to accomplish my goal.

Abstract Rafay Mazher Bachelors in Architecture Department of Architecture and Planning Biomimicry in Architecture

The conscious emulation of lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s genius is a survival strategy for the human race, a path to a sustainable future. Living things are systems that tend to respond to changes in their environment and inside themselves, in such a way as to promote their own continuation. Animals, plants, and microbes are the consummate engineers. They have found what works, what is appropriate, and most important, what lasts longer on Earth. After billion years of research and development, failures are fossils, and what surrounds us is the secret to survival.

This thesis presents the study of natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s principles and its application with the existing human technology to develop conducive environment in extreme conditions. Bio-mimicry is a design discipline that explores natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best and tested ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve built environment problems. Since nature can adapt itself to any climatic conditions and evolve accordingly, hence our architecture should also be such a living entity. The transfer of technology between lifeforms and synthetic constructs is desirable because evolutionary pressure typically forces natural systems to become highly optimized and efficient.

What if we could combine architecture, nature and machine? Such architecture would be a living entity in itself, that it capitalizes to whatever conditions it is confined to and evolve accordingly. Such architecture would heal itself upon damage and would be smart enough to guide the inhabitants during routine tasks and emergency situations.

Eventually, the space being a bionic or biomorphic space could help retain the ecosystem that has been rattled up by the machine architecture of the 21st century. This paper sets the foundation for future research focusing on developing better architecture based on the

utilization of bionics. The study will benefit the architects, interior designers, planners and engineers involved with building projects. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you want to change the world, be that change.â&#x20AC;? Mahatma Gandhi

Keywords: Biomimicry, Nature, Living things, Respond, Ecosystem, Living Architecture.

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Acknowledgement ................................................................................................................i Abstract ................................................................................................................................ii List of Tables ......................................................................................................................vi List of Figures ....................................................................................................................vii Summary .............................................................................................................................ix Chapter-1 .............................................................................................................................1 1.1-Introduction ................................................................................................................1 1.1.1-Background..........................................................................................................2 1.1.2-Significance of Study ..........................................................................................2 1.1.3-Rationale of Study ...............................................................................................3 1.1.4-Research Problem ................................................................................................3 1.1.5-Research Objective ..............................................................................................4 1.1.6-Scope of Research ...............................................................................................5 1.1.7-Research Methodology ........................................................................................5 1.1.8-Thesis Structure ...................................................................................................6 Chapter-2 .............................................................................................................................8 2.1-Bionics ........................................................................................................................8 2.1.1-Definition.............................................................................................................9 2.1.2-Introduction .........................................................................................................9 2.1.3-Life/Living Organisms ......................................................................................11 2.1.4-Advantages of Bionic/Biomorphic Design........................................................12 2.1.5-Materials Inspired From Nature ........................................................................13 2.1.5.1 Water Repellent Glass: ...........................................................................13 2.1.5.2 Electro-Chromic Glass:...........................................................................14 2.1.5.3 Auto Door: ..............................................................................................14 2.1.5.4 Transparent Concrete:.............................................................................15 2.1.5.5 Self Healing Concrete:............................................................................15 2.1.5.6 Glowing walls: ........................................................................................16 2.1.5.7 Holograms:..............................................................................................17 2.1.6-Building Function ..............................................................................................18 2.1.7-Building Typology (Museum) ...........................................................................20 2.1.7.1-Definition....................................................................................................20 2.1.8-Types of Museums ............................................................................................21 2.1.8.1-History Museum .........................................................................................21 2.1.8.2-Art Museum................................................................................................21 2.1.8.3-Science Museum.........................................................................................22 2.1.8.4-Natural History Museum ............................................................................22 2.1.8.5-Zoos and Zoological Gardens.....................................................................22 2.1.9-Museum .............................................................................................................22 2.1.9.1-Galleries......................................................................................................23 2.1.9.2-Gallery Characteristics ...............................................................................23 2.1.9.3-Lighting ......................................................................................................24 Chapter-3 ...........................................................................................................................26 3.1-Case Studies..............................................................................................................26 3.1.1-Selection Criteria ...............................................................................................27 3.1.2-Case Studies.......................................................................................................27 3.1.2.1-Art Institute of Chicago ..............................................................................27 iv

3.1.2.2-USA Holocaust Museum ............................................................................31 Chapter-4 ...........................................................................................................................35 4.1-Brief ..........................................................................................................................35 4.1.1-Outcome ............................................................................................................36 4.1.2-Design Brief.......................................................................................................36 4.1.3-Display of Time .................................................................................................37 4.1.4-Design Brief.......................................................................................................37 4.1.5-Archeological Display .......................................................................................41 4.1.6-Contemporary Display.......................................................................................42 Chapter-5 ...........................................................................................................................43 5.1-Site Selection & Analysis .........................................................................................43 5.1.1-Site Selection .....................................................................................................44 5.1.2-Site Map.............................................................................................................45 5.1.3-Site Plan.............................................................................................................46 5.1.4-NathiaGali..........................................................................................................47 5.1.4.1-Introduction ................................................................................................47 5.1.4.2-Scenery .......................................................................................................47 5.1.5-Site Analysis ......................................................................................................49 Chapter-6 ...........................................................................................................................52 6.1-Theoretical Orientation of Design ............................................................................52 6.1.1-Concept..............................................................................................................53 6.1.2-Spatial Organization ..........................................................................................55 Chapter-7 ...........................................................................................................................58 7.1-Design.......................................................................................................................58 7.1.1-Form Generation................................................................................................59 7.1.2-Conceptual Sketches ..........................................................................................60 7.1.3-Design Layout ...................................................................................................62 7.1.4-Views of the Museum........................................................................................67 7.1.5-Details................................................................................................................73 Chapter-8 ...........................................................................................................................75 8.1-Conclusion ................................................................................................................75 Chapter-9 ...........................................................................................................................77 9.1-References ................................................................................................................77 9.1-Bibliography .............................................................................................................78 9.1.1-Works Cited...........................................................................................................78 9.1.2-Websites ............................................................................................................78 9.1.3-Books .................................................................................................................79 9.1.4-Journals..............................................................................................................79

List of Tables Table 2.1: Layout of the Conceptual linking of the topic and building function...............19 Table 4.1: Design Brief ......................................................................................................37 Table 4.2: Build Up Area...................................................................................................39

List of Figures Figure 2.1: Self Cleaning Glass ..........................................................................................14 Figure 2.2: Electro-Chromic Glass ....................................................................................14 Figure 2.3: Auto Door.........................................................................................................15 Figure 2.4: Transparent Concrete .......................................................................................15 Figure 2.5: Glowing Walls..................................................................................................17 Figure 2.6: Holographic Imagery........................................................................................17 Figure 2.7: Museum Lighting .............................................................................................24 Figure 2.8: Museum Skylight .............................................................................................25 Figure 3.1: Bronze Sculpture ..............................................................................................29 Figure 3.2: Audio Painting..................................................................................................29 Figure 3.3: Lionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gate Entrance ........................................................................................42 Figure 3.4: Painting Displayed in the gallery .....................................................................30 Figure 3.5: The Hall of Witness..........................................................................................32 Figure 3.6: Light cast in the Hall of Witness. ....................................................................32 Figure 3.7: View of Glass Bridge. ......................................................................................33 Figure 3.8: Crisscrossed steel trappings brace the north wall.............................................33 Figure 4.1: Archeological Sculptures .................................................................................41 Figure 4.2: Archeological Reliefâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s......................................................................................41 Figure 4.3: Ameen Gulgee ..................................................................................................42 Figure 4.4: Hobermann .......................................................................................................42 Figure 4.5: Santiago Calatrava............................................................................................42 Figure 5.1: Ariel View of the NathiaGali site .....................................................................45 Figure 5.2: View of the NathiaGali Site From Abbottabad ................................................45 Figure 5.3: View of Contours of the site ............................................................................46 Figure 5.4: Access to the site/ Site Map .............................................................................46 Figure 5.5: View of the Church ..........................................................................................48 Figure 5.6: The link road ....................................................................................................48 Figure 5.7: View to the valley.............................................................................................48 Figure 5.8: View of site ......................................................................................................51 Figure 5.9: Site ....................................................................................................................48 Figure 5.10: View towards the valley .................................................................................48 Figure 5.11: Sun Path & Orientation ..................................................................................49 Figure 5.12: Wind Direction ...............................................................................................50 Figure 5.13: Contours on Site .............................................................................................50 Figure 5.14: Linking Roads ................................................................................................50 Figure 5.15: Vehicular & Pedestrian Movement ................................................................51 Figure 5.16: Existing Structures .........................................................................................56 Figure 5.17: Views from the Site l......................................................................................56 Figure 5.18: Vegetation on site ...........................................................................................51 Figure 6.1: Different formation of pine cone ......................................................................54 Figure 6.2: Circular arrangement in a pine cone ................................................................54 Figure 6.3: Organization (A) ..............................................................................................55 Figure 6.4: Organization (B) ...............................................................................................55 Figure 6.5: Organization (C) ...............................................................................................56 vii

Figure 6.6: Organization (D) ..............................................................................................56 Figure 6.7: Organization (E) ...............................................................................................56 Figure 6.8: Organization (F) Final ......................................................................................56 Figure 6.9: Formation form 2D to 3D.................................................................................57 Figure 6.10: With play of light ...........................................................................................57 Figure 7.1: Bubble diagram / Zoning..................................................................................59 Figure 7.2: Zoning with respect to spaces ..........................................................................59 Figure 7.3: Master Plan .......................................................................................................62 Figure 7.4: Level Plan .........................................................................................................63 Figure 7.5: Basement Plan ..................................................................................................64 Figure 7.6: Zoning with respect to spaces ..........................................................................65 Figure 7.7: Section AA’ ......................................................................................................66 Figure 7.8: Section BB’ ......................................................................................................66 Figure 7.9: Section CC’ ......................................................................................................66 Figure 7.10: Section DD’ ....................................................................................................67 Figure 7.11: Section showing the air duct circulation ........................................................67 Figure 7.12: View of deck from road .................................................................................67 Figure 7.13: View of the Entrance ......................................................................................68 Figure 7.14: View from the Main Entrance to the Museum ...............................................68 Figure 7.15: Views of the steel ribbed pathway .................................................................69 Figure 7.16: Views of Contemporary Display Area ...........................................................69 Figure 7.17: Views of the Viewing Deck ...........................................................................71 Figure 7.18: View from inside of the Souvenir Shop .........................................................71 Figure 7.19: View of the roof of the Museum ....................................................................72 Figure 7.20: Dissolving the corner of the structure ............................................................72 Figure 7.21: Different views of the Museum ......................................................................73 Figure 7.22: Detail of Glass attached between wall and roof .............................................73 Figure 7.23: Stone Paving Detail ........................................................................................73 Figure 7.24: Rain water ditch detail....................................................................................73 Figure 7.25: I-Section detail attached to the wall ...............................................................74 Figure 7.26: Plan of the I-Section .......................................................................................74 Figure 7.27: Detail of roof attached to the wall I-Section ..................................................74

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Summary Nature is what surrounds us. Over the years it has found ways to instill in itself the properties and mechanism to survive in this environment without harming it. These changes have been over the, and living organism have found ways to evolve themselves. These changes or the characteristic of responsiveness of living organism is what makes them unique. By learning the responsive characteristic of living organism we humans can make our architecture behave like a living organism. We could learn how nature or living organism survive or respond to the climatic variations and adapt to it so that our architecture would also behave in the same way. By this we could create a living architecture that not only responds to the environment but also helps in giving back to nature rather than taxing it.

This thesis studies one of natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best living organism the pine cone. The end result is an architecture that works on the properties of a pine cone rather than taking the pine cone in its symbolic sense. Nature inspired materials have been used on the skin of the architecture because living organism responds by the action of their skin, their form, size and shape.

Chapter-1 1.1-Introduction

1.1.1-Background Take a look around you from where you sit. You will notice that everything in the room is "made": the walls, the computer table, the ceiling, the chair where you sit, the booklet you hold in your hand, the glass on the table and countless other details. None of them happen to exist in your room of their own accord. Even the simple loops of the carpet and the curtains were made by someone: they did not appear spontaneously or by chance.

A person who is about to read a book knows that it has been written by an author for a specific reason. It would not even occur to him that this book might have come into being by chance. In the same manner, a person who sees a sculpture has no doubt whatsoever that it was made by a sculptor. And not just works of art: even a few bricks resting on top of one another make one think that they must have been brought to rest just so by someone within a certain plan. Therefore, everywhere where there is an order - either small or big - a founder and protector of this order must also exist. If, one day, somebody came forward and said that raw iron and coal came together to form steel by chance, which in turn constructed the Eiffel Tower again by chance, would not he and those who believed him be regarded as insane?

Therefore, there should be a designer of the balance visible everywhere from our body to the farthest corners of the inconceivably vast universe. So, who is this Creator that ordained everything so subtly and created all?1 "in iniquity and arrogance, though their souls are convinced thereof" (The Qur'an, 27:14)

1.1.2-Significance of Study The selection of the topic â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bionics in Architecture: Nature as Measure, Model and Mentorâ&#x20AC;? was to study nature, its existence, and especially how it adapts itself to the extreme climatic conditions and evolve accordingly. Nature over the years have found 1

Harun Yahya International ÂŠ 2004. Signs of Allah: a guide to selected resources on Internet [online] Available at <URL: http://www.harunyahya.com> [Accessed 16 April 2007]

ways to exist in any type of environment be it a cold region or and extremely hot climate. Nature by way of life can be classified as living organism and non living organism be it humans and mountains respectively. After billion years of research and development, failures are fossils, and what surrounds us is the secret to survival.

The existing architecture is so overwhelming with machines that the very essence of architecture is dying out. More and more buildings are springing up looking like machines and in the process are also producing havoc to the environment. So learning from nature for better architectural solution is the key for survival and for a better environment. Climatic condition is one of the areas where the aspect of bionic can be looked upon, where nature adapts itself with the environment it is given upon. Looking at nature for better solutions for adapting to different climatic conditions can help us find answers to solutions which the human race has always looked for.

1.1.3-Rationale of Study Nature has all the responses to the architectural solutions we humans are still searching for. With bionics as a field of study architects and engineers can develop architecture and materials that fit their setting and that respond to changes in climate as a living organism does. This way the architecture that would develop would be a living architecture in itself. This would respond to the same condition like a bear living in an artic region does with the excess of fur it has on its body for insulation or which a chameleon does when it changes it color once it senses danger.

1.1.4-Research Problem The history of architecture in the 20th century can be looked upon as a history of buildings emulating machine and technology. Machines have allowed us to achieve comfort in climate, cover long distances and revolutionized everything from food to clothing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Houses are machines for living inâ&#x20AC;? Le Corbusier.

With machines as metaphor buildings took on the characteristics of clinical assembly line production. This machine like architecture also led to the extinction of the forests and the ecosystem of which we are a part of. What needs to be done is to take stand of on this machine assembly of buildings that are alien to the environment. This can be done by taking an insight on how nature survives and adapts itself in the environment without harming it, for nature over the years have found ways to adjust itself with the context. Nature itself is a machine and works on technology and is a sculpture in itself, but this machine does not contaminate or harms the environment as we humans do. Mankind with the advancement in technology can take a glance into how nature works, learn from its principles and then apply those principles into their architecture for a better and a safer environment. Waste is not what nature produces; it is what we humans do.

The problem that is highlighted in this thesis is how the architecture that humans produce could acclimatize with the surrounding context and at the same time is in synchronization with the setting.

1.1.5-Research Objective The present picture of architecture where machine impact has flustered the environment means, looking at nature to find solutions to the problems we humans are facing. The research objective that came out from this research was analysis was that how nature, a living organism when put into an extreme climatic conditions either tires to adapt itself with the situation or dies in the process. A simple example is of the ears of an elephant. One that lives in an African forest would have larger ears as compared to the one in our region of Pakistan. This is because the climatic conditions have evolved the ears of the elephant since it perspires more in a hotter climatic region as compared to ours. The inspiration came from nature, as to how it adapts itself to certain climatic conditions as my main research objective, for nature has all the answers we humans are still grappling for.

1.1.6-Scope of Research The scope of this research is based on how nature survives and tries to settle in extreme climatic conditions. This thesis tries to look on the physical aspects of natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s survival in the extremes of conditions. Apart from the physical aspects the materialistic aspect of nature has also been studied. Materials and technologies that have been used in the creation of a living architecture were derived from nature. This was done to best suit the context and to create an architecture that harmonizes with the setting and at the same time adjust itself to whatever conditions fall on to it.

1.1.7-Research Methodology The research methodology that was undertaken starts from the selection of the research topic Bionics in Architecture. The selection of this topic was based on inspiration from nature as a symbol of peace and as a piece of art and sculpture. Mankind has always tried to incorporate nature into the technology that is being created, like bionic arms, bionic eyes etc. What if we could blend nature with architecture for better architectural solutions? This research topic led to the problem human are facing, with a machine like architecture that is not capable of adapting itself to the setting and which is also depleting the environment. This research problem led to the study of nature and bionics in detail of how we could translate nature into our architecture and how our architecture could become a living entity. Literature on this topic was collected from various books and through the internet. This literature review led to the building type that best suited the topic of bionics and the function of it. The selection of the site was based on how bionics could be best applied and studied, and how the adaptation of nature could be applied to the function of the building. From the selection of the site generated the concept that was derived from the site and which was vernacular to it. The concept would be studied in detail looking at it from the physical aspect. The translation of the properties of the concept into the design would generate an architecture that best suits that particular area and which is responsive enough to adapt to the extremes of the climate.

1.1.8-Thesis Structure Chapter 1: This chapter deals with the introduction of the research topic. It talks about the background of choosing the research topic and the inspiration. It also looks at the importance and the relevance of this topic to the present day architecture and the problems that the present architecture is facing. From the research problem comes the research objective as to why this topic and how this topic could be the best of solutions. This chapter also looks at the research methodology that was conducted for the research topic.

Chapter 2: This chapter looks into the literature review of the research topic. It caters the research that was conducted on the topic and how the building function evolved from the research topic. Further this chapter justifies the link between the research topic and the building function or the building typology. The third part of this chapter looks at the building typology, its definitions and its function in architecture.

Chapter 3: The contents of this chapter tell how the case studies for the building type were selected. This chapter also deals with the analysis of the case studies to find out the advantages and the spaces that exist in the particular type of architecture.

Chapter 4: This chapter deals with the formation of the design brief that was conducted after the analysis of the case studies in detail. Further more this chapter tells the spaces that generated from the case studies and the area allocation of these spaces within the given site.

Chapter 5: This section of the chapter deals with the selection criteria of the site. Further more this chapter looks at the detail analysis of the site on different layers. It also looks at the pictures of the site for better understanding of the area.

Chapter 6: This chapter tells the concept that was generated taking into consideration the site. The concept thus formulated is discussed further in this chapter. The other section of this chapter deals with the spatial formation with the help of the concept. These spatial formations further generated the different spaces that were given in the design brief that have been looked on in this chapter.

Chapter 7: This chapter deals with the design development of the museum from the form generation to the final layout of the plan. Also shown in this chapter are the development sketches, the master plan, the level plan, sections, views of the structure and the detailing.

Chapter 8: This part deals with the conclusion drawn from the plan and the recommendations.

Chapter-2 2.1-Bionics

2.1.1-Definition

Wikipedia Bionics (also known as biomimetics, biognosis, biomimicry, or bionical creativity engineering) is the application of methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. Also a short form of biomechanics, the word 'bionic' is actually a portmanteau formed from biology (from the Greek word "βι ος ", pronounced "vios", meaning "life") and electronic.2

Tripod.com A conscious strategy by designers to observe and learn principles of design from nature.3

Biomimicry Institute Biomimicry is a new discipline that studies nature’s best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems. Studying a leaf to invent a better solar cell is an example of this “innovation inspired by nature. 4

2.1.2-Introduction Every living organism on Earth represents a perfectly functioning system, well adapted to the environment as a result of the millions of years of evolution. The structures of biological systems be they beehives, termite nests, the cell membrane or other organellesare available to humankind. The unraveling of the microcosms and macrocosms must provide new dimensions in architectural models and city planning. We may avail ourselves of nature as both an inspirational model as well as a view of the progress of bio-

Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Wikipedia: a guide to selceted sources on the internet [online] Available at <URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomimicry> [Accessed 16 March 2007] 3 Tripod Inc. Tripod.com: a guide to selceted sources on the internet [online] Available at st <URL: siliclone.tripod.com/books/history/H111.html> [Accessed 21 July 2007] 4 Biomimicry Institue. Biomimicry:Nature as Model, Measure & Mentor: [online] Available at <URL: http://www.biomimicry.net/biomimicryintroduction.htm> [Accessed 21 st July 2007]

materials and a means to break away from stagnant patterns and realize the expanded possibilities afforded by technology and bios-centered thinking.

During the seventeenth century, the relationship between humans and the natural world changed in several ways. The biggest change was when science evolved as a separate field from natural philosophy. This happened, in large part, because many natural philosophers began to do things, not just talk and philosophize about them. People began breaking down the complex web of systems that tie the natural world together. A classic example is William Harvey, who discovered the circulation of blood. Before Harvey documented blood circulation as a system, people had no idea what blood was used for or the relationship between the lungs, heart, and other vital organs.

The structures in nature are great lessons for human study. Only the most successful structural forms have survived. The structures have adapted themselves to survive in the extremes of the conditions. The resourcefulness of material use, conformity with mathematical proportion, underlying structural systems, and the profound capacity to respond to a variety of climatic and environmental forces, make natural forms tremendous exemplars to numerous fields of design. Close examination of structures in nature can be rewarding and surprising. As the following articles suggest “doing it nature's way” has the potential to change the way we practice design.

Plants and animals may also give designers new ideas about old materials. For example, any child can tell you that peacock feathers are brightly colored. What a surprise then to learn that the only pigment these feathers contain is the brown feather pigment melanin. The deep colors we see result from the directional layering of the feather’s keratin protein which, combined with the melanin background, causes the light to refract in such a way as to have us see the color. The “color” is structural.

Benyus a biologist by profession suggests that designers consider that birds pant and cool themselves by oscillating a pouch in their chests at an easily maintained resonant frequency. Perhaps windows could include a section of flexible slats that would oscillate

at a resonant frequency maintained by occasional short bursts of electricity or, better yet, by the wind or the sun's energy.

Flowers are marvels of adaptation, growing in various shapes, sizes, and forms. Some lie dormant through the harshest of winters only to emerge each spring once the ground has thawed, and others stay rooted all year roundâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;opening and closing as necessary to respond to changing conditions in the environment such as the availability of sunlight. They are the perfect metaphor for buildings in the future, because like buildings, they are literally and figuratively rooted in place, able to draw resources only from the square inches of earth and sky that they inhabit. The flower must receive all of its energy from the sun, all of its water needs from the sky, and all of the nutrients necessary for survival from the soil. Flowers are also ecosystems, supporting and sheltering microorganisms and insects like our buildings do for us. Equally important is that flowers are beautiful and can provide the inspiration needed for architecture to truly be successful.

In the future, the houses we live in and the offices we work in might be designed to function like living organisms, specifically adapted to place and able to draw all of their requirements for energy and water from the surrounding sun, wind, and rain. The architecture and design will draw inspiration, not from the machines of the 20th-century, but from the beautiful flowers that grow in the landscape that surrounds them.5

2.1.3-Life/Living Organisms "Living things are systems that tend to respond to changes in their environment, and inside themselves, in such a way as to promote their own continuationâ&#x20AC;?

Although there is no universal agreement on the definition of life, scientists generally accept that the biological manifestation of life exhibits the following phenomena:

Buckminister Fuller. The Living Building: [online] Available at <URL:http://www.informedesign.umn.edu> [Accessed 10th May 2007]

 Homeostasis: Regulation of the internal environment to maintain a constant state; for example, sweating to reduce temperature.  Organization: Being composed of one or more cells, which are the basic units of life.  Metabolism: Consumption of energy by converting nonliving material into cellular components (anabolism) and decomposing organic matter (catabolism). Living things require energy to maintain internal organization (homeostasis) and to produce the other phenomena associated with life.  Growth: Maintenance of a higher rate of synthesis than catalysis. A growing organism increases in size in all of its parts, rather than simply accumulating matter. The particular species begins to multiply and expand as the evolution continues to flourish.  Adaptation: This ability is fundamental to the process of evolution and is determined by the organism's heredity as well as the composition of metabolized substances, and external factors present.  Response to stimuli: A response is often expressed by motion, for example, the leaves of a plant turning toward the sun or an animal chasing its prey.  Reproduction: The ability to produce new organisms. Reproduction can be the division of one cell to form two new cells.  Replication: The ability to replicate one cell into another as such in a virus.

2.1.4-Advantages of Bionic/Biomorphic Design Good design means optimal design. The key lays in the following basic principles for natural construction,  Integrated instead of additional construction  Optimization of totalities instead of maximization of singular parts  Multi functional instead of mono functional  Adjustment to the environment  Energy save instead of energy waste

 Direct and indirect use of solar energy  Limited lifetime instead of unnecessary durability  Total recirculation instead of piling garbage  Network creation instead of linearity  Development through trial and error

2.1.5-Materials Inspired From Nature Nature in contrast to humans does not generate waste. It is what we humans do. Nature capitalizes on what materials it has and uses it to the best drawing every possible outcome from it without releasing any harm to the environment. Mankind from its very birth has been dazzled by the way nature works and the materials nature uses for its survival. From these inspirations and know how of nature’s materials in the recent century has compelled scientists to develop materials and technology that works in the same way as nature does and is in close harmony with it. Some of the materials inspired from nature are listed below;

2.1.5.1 Water Repellent Glass: Lotus blossoms are beautiful, and always immaculately clean. Water drops bead up and roll off of their water-repellent surface, washing away every speck of dust. This type of self-cleaning surface would be very useful to us as well.omposed of silica and alumina. is a microscopically-thin, virtually invisible coating of a special chemical compound bonded permanently to the surface of the glass. The surface coating has two important chemical properties which, combined, make the glass self-cleaning. First, it is photocatalytic: UV rays, abundant on even the cloudiest of days, cause the glass to react chemically with dirt and organic deposits, oxidising them and breaking their adherence to the surface of the glass. Secondly, it is hydrophilic: it attracts water, which slides down and off the surface of the glass without forming into separate droplets. In the figure 2.1 is the variation between the normal glass and the slef cleaing glass.

Figure 2.1: Self Cleaning Glass www.welshwindows.co.uk/graphics/self_cleaning

2.1.5.2 Electro-Chromic Glass: Electro chromic glass is an energy-saving component for buildings that can change color on command. It works by passing low-voltage electrical charges across a microscopically-thin coating on the glass surface, activating an electro chromic layer which changes color from clear to dark. The electric current can be activated manually or by sensors which react to light intensity. Glass darkening reduces solar transmission into the building. When there is little sunlight, the glass brightens, so that the need for the artificial light is minimized.Electrochromic glass has a liquid crystal layer embedded in the glass which darkens as current is applied. Electrochromic glass capable of turning opaque when charged with current to create a dynamic interactive, low-resolution screen. The figure 2.2 gives a clead difference when the electrochromic glass is switched on and off.

Figure 2.2: Electro-Chromic Glass www.architectmagazine.com/electrochromic glass

2.1.5.3 Auto Door: This door entails strips equipped with infrared sensors that open to the equipped with infrared sensors that open up to the approximate shape of the person or object

passing through, minimizing entry of dust while keeping precious air conditioning in. Figure 2.3 shows a person using the auto door. The door opens to the exact size of the person.

Figure 2.3: Auto Door www.istockphoto.com/autodoor/?id=181436

2.1.5.4 Transparent Concrete: The light-transmitting concrete created by LiTraCon in figure 2.4 is created by embedding thousands of optical glass fibers into concrete. These fibers lie parallel to each other forming a pathway for light to travel from one side of the concrete block to the other. In theory, a wall might be several meters thick without any loss of light between surfaces. As the light reaches the other side of the block unchanged, sharp shadows can be seen through the wall. The strength of the concrete is not affected by the glass fibers which make up only 4% of the content of the block and the concrete blocks can be used for both load-bearing and interior walls as well as pavements

Figure 2.4: Transparent Concrete www.concretedecor.net/Abstracts/CD404_Transparent

2.1.5.5 Self Healing Concrete: This type of concrete heals upon damage or crack. It works on the principle of how self healing of wounds on a human skin functions. In concrete panels the concrete

fibers are replaced with artificial glass fibers that are embedded with a healing agent epoxy and a catalyst.

When crack occurs in the concrete panel the crack breaks the glass fibers releasing the epoxy. The epoxy reacts with the catalyst and heals the crack. In this way the concrete panels self heal upon damage making their life more than a normal concrete panel.

2.1.5.6 Glowing walls: DigitalDawn is a reactive window blind with a surface that is in constant flux, growing in luminosity in response to its surroundings. It digitally emulates the process of photosynthesis using printed electroluminescent technology. the darker a space becomes the brighter the blind will glow maintaining a balance in luminosity. A natural, botanical environment appears to grow and evolve on the window lamp.

Light sensors monitor the changing light levels of the space triggering the growth of the foliage on the blind. The piece explores how changing light levels within a space can have a profound and physiological impact on our sense of well being. It also explores the ability and potential of fabric to flirt on the boundary of physical and virtual spaces as it plays with the ethereal quality of light in a continuous dialogue with its environment. Figure 2.5 shows the working of the digital dawn, as light reduces it starts to glow.

Figure 2.5: Glowing Walls www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/wall

2.1.5.7 Holograms: Holography is a process by which three-dimensional images can be stored and reproduced using laser light. The medium that stores the image--called a hologram--is nothing more than an exposed, developed, fine-grained piece of photographic film. However, unlike a photograph which records an image as seen from one particular viewpoint, a hologram is a record of an image as seen from many viewpoints. In fact, "holography" comes from the Greek word "holos" meaning "whole" and "graphos" meaning "message." A hologram does indeed record the "whole message" of an object. Figure 2.6 shows one such hologram.

Figure 2.6: Holographic Imagery www.holograms.cc

2.1.6-Building Function The main principle that nature banks on is its adaptation and respond to a particular setting be it in an extreme hot climatic region or a cold situation. The notion that living things can adjust with respect to their environment is what architects and scientist can take inspiration from. This inspiration would generate architecture or a spatial organization that would not only be harmonizing with the context since it is inspired from nature, but also would be a living architecture. This living architecture would adjust and survive according to its setting be it any climatic condition. This is what evolution in nature is based on, the fact that nature formulates itself to any given condition. The conception that nature would adapt to climatic condition is just one aspect of the story. There are many different levels to it, one being that in the cause of danger nature responds to or adapts accordingly. This adaptation or response in nature is because of its survival and the means to carry on forward.

The core focus of this research issue was climatic transformation and the changes that arise with respect to time. These climatic changes are over a period of time and nature reacts to these changes by evolving with time. So the building typology chosen or the function that instills in that space should represent this conception of time for example the past, present and the future. The building would accumulate these time frames in it and conceptually would accommodate these changes in time. Living things survives and adapt over a period of time to climatic variations and so the architecture produced should also survive like a living organism.

Living things have a property of survival and adaptation in different climatic variations and have done so in the past, present and will continue to do so in the future. So in terms of function the building or the architectural space would represent the conception of past, present and the future. Hence the representation of these time changes notion can be best fitted in a museum or a sculptural park, which would display artifacts and sculptures from these different time frames. The past would be preserved in terms of archives, archeological elements, sculptures etc, the present would be shaped up by the

contemporary works displayed and the future would be talked about and shaped up by the building entity.

The function chosen was conceptually based and to shape it or keep it in a vessel is what architecture is about. The architecture produced would be a living entity or a living building that would respond to climatic changes and adapt to it. This was what formed the basis of the selection of the building typology.

Table 2.1: Layout of the Conceptual linking of the topic and building function

2.1.7-Building Typology (Museum) 2.1.7.1-Definition

The Free Dictionary Museums enable people to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment. They are institutions that collect, safeguard and make accessible artifacts and specimens, which they hold in trust for society.6

A previous Museums Association definition was: "A museum is an institution which collects, documents, preserves, exhibits and interprets material evidence and associated information for the public benefit."

Wikipedia A museum is typically a "permanent institution in the service of society and of its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits, for purposes of study, education, enjoyment, the tangible and intangible evidence of people and their environment."

The English "museum" comes from the Latin word, and is pluralized as "museums" (or, rarely, "musea"). It is originally from the Greek mouseion, which denotes a place or temple dedicated to the Muses (the patron divinities in Greek mythology of the arts), and hence a building set apart for study and the arts, especially the institute for philosophy and research at the Library established at Alexandria by Ptolemy I Soter c280 B.C. This was considered by many to be the first museum/library.7

Farlex, Inc. The Free Dictionary: a guide to selected resources on Internet [online] Available at <URL:http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Museum> [Accessed 21 st July 2007] 7 Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Wikipedia: a guide to selceted sources on the internet [online] Available at <URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museuml> [Accessed 19th July 2007]

2.1.8-Types of Museums There are very many types of museums, from very large collections in major cities, covering many of the categories below, to very small museums covering either a particular location in a general way, or a particular subject, such an individual notable person. Categories include: fine arts, applied arts, craft, archaeology, anthropology and ethnology, history, cultural history, military history, science, technology, children's museums, natural history, numismatics, botanical and zoological gardens and philately.

Within these categories many museums specialize further, e.g. museums of modern art, local history, aviation history, agriculture or geology. A museum normally houses a core collection of important selected objects in its field. Objects are formally accessioned by being registered in the museum's collection with an artifact number and details recorded about their provenance. The persons in charge of the collection and of the exhibits are known as curators.

2.1.8.1-History Museum History museums cover the knowledge of history and its relevance to the present and future. Some cover specialized aspects of history or a particular locality; others are more general. Such museums contain a wide range of objects, including documents, artifacts of all kinds, art, archaeological objects. Antiquities museums specialize in more archaeological findings.

2.1.8.2-Art Museum An art museum, also known as an art gallery, is a space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art, and usually primarily paintings, illustrations, and sculpture. Collections of drawings and old master prints are often not displayed on the walls, but kept in a print room. There may be collections of applied art, including ceramics, metalwork, furniture, book art and other types of object.

2.1.8.3-Science Museum Science museums and technology centers revolve around scientific marvels and their history. To explain complicated inventions, a combination of demonstrations, interactive programs and thought-provoking media are used. Some museums may have exhibits on topics such as computers, aviation, physics, astronomy, and the animal kingdom. Science museums, in particular, may consist of planetaria, or large theatre usually built around a dome.

2.1.8.4-Natural History Museum Museums of natural history and natural science typically exhibit work of the natural world. The focus lies on nature and culture. Exhibitions may educate the masses about dinosaurs, ancient history, and anthropology. Evolution, environmental issues, and biodiversity are major areas in natural science museums.

2.1.8.5-Zoos and Zoological Gardens Although zoos are not often thought of as museums, they are considered "living museums." They exist for the same purpose as other museums: to educate, inspire action, study, and preserve a collection.

2.1.9-Museum Since the museum is responding to the changes in climate with respect to time so the display would be a combination of the past, the present and the not seen future. The museum would be accommodation different spaces by their function and usage. There would be a segregation of the public and the private spaces. These private spaces would be lined up near the main access route but inaccessible to the public.

2.1.9.1-Galleries Galleries vary widely according to the objects being exhibited. Discussed here are some of the most common gallery types: Art Galleries generally are well-finished rooms where objects are displayed to aesthetic advantage but with relatively little interpretive material. Art collections include paintings, sculpture, furniture, decorative arts, murals, architectural fragments and reconstructions, prints, drawings, and photographs.

Interpretive Galleries are simpler architecturally, but the environment is dominated by interpretive materials (historical reconstructions, photomurals, graphics, explanatory text, etc.). Interpretive exhibits cover subjects such as history and natural history and use techniques such as dioramas, period rooms, and dark rides.

Changing Exhibition Galleries are flexible galleries used for a wide variety of exhibitions, each installed for a limited period.

2.1.9.2-Gallery Characteristics Discrete Rooms: Galleries should be isolated spaces conducive to concentrating on the objects exhibited. The museum-viewing experience is a private one and should not be interrupted by other people moving on balconies, peeking in windows, etc. When the museum is closed, the galleries should become secure dark vaults.

Gallery Flexibility: Even "permanent" exhibitions change over time, and all galleries must provide an appropriate amount of flexibility. Traditional art museums achieve this by providing a variety of well designed, proportioned, and organized gallery rooms of different sizes and characters. A more modernist approach has been to provide open floor space, a modular ceiling system, and movable exhibition walls, so the space can be reconfigured at will. Gallery Proportions: Galleries with pleasing proportions provide the best exhibit spaces. Generally a rectangular floor plan is best. Ceiling heights should be proportional to the

plan size of the room and to the objects to be exhibited. Generally 11 to 14 ft is appropriate. Lower ceilings may be acceptable in certain intimate galleries such as those exhibiting old master prints, photographs, or other especially small objects. Ceilings higher than 16 ft are useful occasionally, but generally they are difficult to work with and tend to dwarf the objects being exhibited.

Gallery Finish Materials: Galleries must be finished as attractive working exhibit spaces. Floors, wall, and (ideally) ceilings all should be capable of having fasteners secured to them that can support considerable weight. Ceilings can be plain painted drywall or an acoustical grid. If the floor is hard, an acoustical ceiling is especially useful. Ceiling grids should be simple, orderly, and unobtrusive. Recessed lighting tracks are less obtrusive than surface-mounted tracks.

2.1.9.3-Lighting Gallery Lighting: Basic gallery lighting consists of a good track lighting system properly placed in relation to the exhibition walls. Concealed or shielded lighting sources are desirable. General lighting ordinarily is neither required nor desirable. Track lighting can be exposed, shielded, or concealed. The figure 2.7 illustrates the use of lighting on the pictures for illumination. It gives the angles at which the tract light must be placed for better illumination of the picture.

Figure 2.7: Museum Lighting Windows generally are undesirable in galleries because of glare, photochemical degradation, and visual competition with the objects exhibited, and security risks.

Sculpture galleries are a possible exception, since stone and bronze are essentially unaffected by light. Sky lighting can be effective, but must be fully understood and very skillfully designed. If used, sky lighting should be placed in the center of fixed galleries so that the light generally comes from behind viewers as they look at the exhibition walls. The figure below illustrates the use of skylight in a museum gallery. The use of skylight can help in the illumination of the picture or the sculpture. The use of skylight can help in bringing the natural light into the museum for a better feel of the natural surroundings.8

Figure 2.8: Museum skylight

Architectural GRAPHIC Standards [CD-ROM]. 1996 New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Chapter-3 3.1-Case Studies

3.1.1-Selection Criteria The case studies that were collected for the formulation of the desgin breif were based on the preidentified site and the climatic conditions. Two case studies were taken up that matched the site settigns. After an analysis of what features and what spaces a museum holds a design brief was generated keepign in mind the site,, the limitations and maximum installation of spaces. The case studies worked on are listed below.

3.1.2-Case Studies 3.1.2.1-Art Institute of Chicago

Introduction The Art Institute of Chicago is a fine art museum located in Chicago, Illinois. The Museum is overseen by President James Cuno. The Museum is known especially for its extensive collection of Impressionist and American art. It is located on the western edge of Grant Park, at 111 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, in a building designed by the Boston firm of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge (1892).

The building was originally constructed for the 1893 Worlds Fair as the World's Congress Auxiliary Building, with the intent that the Art Institute occupy the space after the fair closed.

History The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879 as both a museum and school, first stood on the southwest corner of State and Monroe Streets. It opened on its present site at Michigan Avenue and Adams Street in 1893. Built on rubble from the 1871 Chicago fire, the museum housed a collection of plaster casts and had a visionary purpose: to acquire and exhibit art of all kinds and to conduct programs of education. The collection now encompasses more than 5,000 years of human expression from cultures around the world,

and the school's graduate program is continually ranked as one of the best in the country. Within the next decade, a new complex will continue this process of growth Today, the museum is most famous for its collections of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and American paintings. Included in the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection are more than 30 paintings by Claude Monet, including six of his Haystacks and a number of Water Lilies. Important works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, such as Lunch at the Restaurant Fournaise (The Rowers’ Lunch) and Two Sisters (On the Terrace), as well as Paul Cézanne’s The Bathers, Basket of Apples, and Madame Cézanne in a Yellow Chair, are in the collection. At The Moulin Rouge, by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is another highlight, as is Georges Seurat’s Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte and Gustave Caillebotte’s Paris Street, Rainy Day. Non-French paintings completing the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection include Vincent Van Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles and Self-portrait, 1887. Among the most important works of the American collection are Grant Wood’s American Gothic and Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks.

However, the museum has much more than paintings. Fine sculptures from all over the world can be seen. In the basement are the Thorne Rooms. There are exact miniatures demonstrating American and European architectural and furniture styles. Also in the basement are galleries displaying its world-class photography collection. On the main floor is the George F. Harding collection of arms and armor reflecting armaments and armor throughout the Medieval period and Renaissance. A fine collection of PreColumbian Meso-American ceramic figures is another outstanding display. A special feature of the museum is a “touchable” statue for the blind, and for children. It is an expressive facial portrait of young St. Joan d’Arc.

The Art Institute’s famous western entrance on Michigan Avenue is guarded by two bronze lion statues created by Edward L. Kemeys. When a Chicago sports team makes the playoffs, the lions are frequently dressed in that team’s uniform. Just inside the eastern doors is a reconstruction of the trading room of the old Chicago Stock Exchange. Designed by Louis Sullivan in 1894, the Exchange was torn down in 1972. Salvaged portions of the original room were brought to the Art Institute and reconstructed. Leaving 28

the Art Institute through the east doors at the end of the driveway is the Stock Exchange entrance.

Figure 3.1: Bronze Sculpture http://www.artic.edu/aic/

Made of bronze and marble and representing different periods, the sculptures in the gallery all represent the human face. Through touch visitors can discover the facial expression, accessories, and style of dress as well as discern an artwork's form, scale, temperature, and texture in ways that sight cannot provide. The figure 3.1 shows one such sculpture that visually imparied people can touch and feel a sculpture. Similarly the figure 3.2 shows a women wearing an audio device through which one can listen to the concpet and the background of the picture displayed.

Figure 3.2: Audio Paintings http://www.artic.edu/aic/

Figure 3.3: Lion’s Gate

Entrance http://www.artic.edu/aic/

The above figure 3.3 shows the main entrance of the Art Institute of Chicago. This entrance is marked by a lion and is called the Lion’s Gate Entrance.

Figure 3.4: Painting Displayed in the gallery http://www.artic.edu/aic/

The above figure 3.4 shows some of the paintings that have been put on display on the main gallery in the Art Institute of Chicago.

Museum Spatial Organization After the analysis of the museum the spaces that came out to be in the museum are as follows:  Exhibition galleries.  Three Auditoriums.  Resturant.  Sculptural Court.

 Classrooms.  Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room.  Museum Shop.  Library.  Photography study Area.

3.1.2.2-USA Holocaust Museum Architect James Ingo Freed, of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, created an architectural relationship between the Museum building and the exhibitions within. To inform his design, he visited a number of Holocaust sites, including camps and ghettos, to examine structures and materials. The result is not a neutral shell. Instead, the architecture, by a collection of abstract forms — invented and drawn from memory — refers to the history the Museum addresses.

Architectural allusions to the Holocaust are not specific. Visitors make their own interpretations. The subtle metaphors and symbolic reminiscences of history are vehicles for thought and introspection. In Freed's words, “There are no literal references to particular places or occurrences from the historic event. Instead, the architectural form is open-ended so the Museum becomes a resonator of memory.”

Art And Architecture The Museum's first floor holds the Hall of Witness, a large, three-story, sky-lit gathering place. The figure 3.5 shows the image of the Hall of Witness. The elements of dislocation that are first introduced outside the building reappear here. Visitors who enter from the east — the 14th Street — side move through a canopied entrance and cross over a raw steel platform to enter the Hall of Witness. It is a transitional threshold that separates and displaces the visitor from the outside world.

The building employs construction methods from the industrial past. Old-fashioned techniques are clearly visible in the Hall of Witness: steel plates, bolted metal, rivets. The

raw brick is load bearing, turnbuckles connect tie rods, and structure is exposed. This architectural "language" is an ironic criticism of early modernism's lofty ideals of reason and order that were perverted to build the factories of death.

Figure 3.5: The Hall of Witness. http://www.ushmm.org/

Overhead, a skewed and twisted skylight lets sheets of unfiltered but fragmented light pass through a tensioned ribbing of heavy steel trusses as seen in the figure 3.6 below. The glass roof shears the building on a diagonal line. The skylight drops beneath the flanking brick walls to the third-floor level, pressing down upon the open space below even as it opens the visitor's view to the sky above. It is warped, deformed, and eccentrically pitched. The effect, Freed says, "tells the visitor something is amiss here."

Figure 3.6: Light cast in the Hall of Witness http://www.ushmm.org/

Above the skylight, visitors in the Hall can see spectral-like figures crossing overhead on glass bridges that connect the north and south towers, lending an unsettling air of surveillance. The figure 3.7 below shows the inside view of the glass bridge and from the outside of it.

Figure 3.7: View of Glass Bridge. http://www.ushmm.org/

Design features that fill the Hall of Witness and recur throughout the building summon more directly the tragic themes of the Holocaust. Crisscrossed steel trappings as seen in the figure 3.8 seem to brace the harsh brick walls against some great internal pressure. Inverted triangular shapes repeat in windows, floors, walls, and ceilings. The Hall's main staircase narrows unnaturally toward the top, like receding rail tracks heading to a camp. Exposed beams, arched brick entryways, boarded windows, metal railings, steel gates, fences, bridges, barriers, and screens â&#x20AC;&#x201D; all "impound" the visitor, and are disturbing signals of separation.

Figure 3.8: Crisscrossed steel trappings brace the north wall. http://www.ushmm.org/

Museum Spatial Organization After the analysis of the museum the spaces that came out to be in the museum are as follows:  Permanent and Temporary Exhibition Spaces.  Research Library and Archives.  Two theaters  Interactive Computer Learning Centre.  Class Rooms.  A Memorial Space.  Areas for discussion.

After the analysis of the casse studies a design brief was prepared keeping in mind the necessary spaces that a museum houses. Apart from these spaces more interactive spaces and entertainment spaces were provided in the design brief.

These case studies were selected keeping in mind the spaces that were necessary for the designing of a museum.

Chapter-4 4.1-Brief

4.1.1-Outcome A predefined design brief along with a defined site was given up following the architectural competition. This design brief was challenged up from the analysis of the case studies. The analysis of the case study reveled that almost all the sculptural park in the world were based on a site that more than an acre. The facilities provided were combination of open and build structures, play of solid and void and interactive spaces for the public. A site small as Nathiagali was given to justify whether a museum could well fit in. This was followed by a predefined number of artifacts and sculptures that were to be placed. These were from the past, present and the park was to shape the future.

Careful study of the case studies revealed that all types of spaces that exist in a sculptural park were more or less similar to what was provided in the design brief. This justified the fact that the existing site of Nathiagali was favorable to hold a msueum that was to be the first of its kind in Pakistan.

4.1.2-Design Brief You are supposed to develop a layout of a msueum, the space should be a composition of build structures and open to sky spaces; portable or fixed; pneumatic or kineticresponsive structure.

The museum would exhibit displays of different artist from the past as archeological display, contemporary catering the present, and the museum itself shaping the future. The museum would house around hundred archeological relief, twenty archeological sculptures and twenty contemporary sculptures. These displays keeping in mind the notion of time would be changed periodically. This place would be a great site for artist and sculptors to display their pieces. Once a year there would be a workshop where the sculptors would be work on the site and then display their works.

4.1.3-Display of Time The museum would be exhibiting the changes in time, the past, present and the future. The past would be represented by archeological display and artifacts that would be brought on to the site from the ruins of Takht-e-Bai. A few miles from Rawalpindi is Takht-e-Bai, which hosts numerous Buddhist shrines dating from the 1st to 7th B.C. Although the Buddhist civilization flourished for a relatively short time in Pakistan, it still influences the local cultures of the areas where it lived. It is important that we not forget these threads that have helped shape our culture today.

The contemporary art or the present day sculptures would be on display by our local sculptors like Ameen Gulgee and International sculptors like Santiago Calatrava, Hoberman, and Greg Lynn etc.

The future aspect of time would be shaped up by the park itself. The centre of the whole structure or the museum would be a barren area in which the steel braces would be protruding out with varying heights.

4.1.4-Design Brief The design brief thus prepared is as follows:

PUBLIC AREA

NON-PUBLIC AREA

 Ticket area

Museum Curator

 Souvenir shop

 Head Curator

 Public toilet

 Secretary

 Entrance foyer

 Assistant Coordinator

 Cloak room

 Waiting area

 Storage

 Documentation room

 Archeological display room

 Pantry

 Contemporary display

 Stationary storage

 Auditorium

Administration

 Viewing deck

 Reception

 Sitting area

 Waiting area

 Cafeteria

 Admin Head

 Coffee outlet

 Secretary

 Orientation area

 Accounts room

 Waiting area

 Transport room

 Hostel for working staff

 Plumbing room  Security Room  Mechanical room  HVAC  Cleaning Staff  Storage area  Generator room  Boiler Room  Server Room  Technical staff  Toilets  Work Out Area

Collection Area / Locked  Security  Storage space for artifacts  Loading deck  Freight elevators  Workshop  Carpentry Storage  Preservation Room Table 4.1: Design Brief.

PUBLIC AREA  Souvenir shop

280sq ft

 Ticket collection & Security

136sq ft

 Cloak room

35sq ft

 Public toilet

500sq ft

 Orientation Area

440sq ft

 Cafeteria sitting area  Cafeteria kitchen

1850 sq ft 500sq ft

 Archeological Display

11048 sq ft

 Contemporary Display

1920 sq ft

 Hostel

2870 sq ft

 Viewing Deck

1538 sq ft

ADMINISTRATION  Admin Head

130 sq ft

 Accounts Dept.

184 sq ft

 Secretary

45 sq ft

 Server Room

243 sq ft

 Security Head

158 sq ft

 Plumbing Head

158 sq ft

 Cleaning Staff

94 sq ft

 Workout Area

163 sq ft

 Transport Head

125 sq ft

 HVAC Head

158 sq ft

 Mechanical Head

158 sq ft

 Electrical Head

158 sq ft

 Toilets Gents & Ladies

310 sq ft

Museum Curator  Head Curator

124sq ft

 Secretary

48sq ft

 Assistant Coordinator

167sq ft

 Documentation Room

90sq ft

 Pantry

41sq ft

Museum Storage  Workshop

657 sq ft

 Preservation Room

461 sq ft

 Carpentry Storage

137 sq ft

 Artifacts Storage

1400 sq ft

 Security Check

52 sq ft

Other Facilities  Underground Water Tank

1100 sq ft

 Car Parking

3200 sq ft

Total Area

30678 sq ft Table 4.2: Build up Area.

4.1.5-Archeological Display

Figure 4.1: Archeological Sculptures http://www.sitara.com/pakistan/photo_gallery/index.html

Figure 4.2: Archeological Reliefâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s http://www.sitara.com/pakistan/photo_gallery/index.html

4.1.6-Contemporary Display

Figure 4.3: Ameen Gulgee http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amin_Gulgee

Figure 4.4: Hobermann http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobermann

Figure 4.5: Santiago Calatrava http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_Calatrava

Chapter-5 5.1-Site Selection & Analysis

5.1.1-Site Selection The physical aspect or physicality is what follows the selection of the building typology. The architecture that would be produced would be a living architecture and it should fit in conceptually and physically. The building would respond to the climatic variation by the way it functions. This function would come across from the concept that would be taken up from within the site, that would be vernacular or local to the context and that fits best in the framework. The architecture created would be a living thing so it should best fit in the situation where it is placed both conceptually and physically.

The notion of the architecture adapting itself to any climatic variation can be studied on many grounds be it the rocky hills of Afghanistan, in the cold valleys of Kashmir, in the scorching heat of the Tharparkar Desert etc. The best architecture would be how a space would adapt itself to these climatic variations and still be local to that area.

Following up these lines was when an architectural competition came where a predefined site, Nathigali was given. This site was sitting in the concept of working in extreme climatic condition where the architecture produced would embed itself with the surroundings without harming it. Since the design produced was to be local to that area and context, so the idea of pine cone arose as a concept. Pine cone are an extensive part of Nathiagali and shape up as a vernacular piece. The notion of pine cone as a living organism and adapting itself to the climatic variation that falls on it formed the basis of inspiration of using it as a concept. Followed was a design that was based on the properties a pine cone exhibited rather than taking it up in a literal sense.

Below are the site selection criteria

o Variation in climatic condition o Closer to nature o Attraction for the people visiting

5.1.2-Site Map

Figure 5.1: Ariel View of the NathiaGali site Google earth

Figure 5.2: View of the NathiaGali Site From Abbottabad Google earth

Figure 5.3: View of Contours of the site Google earth

5.1.3-Site Plan

Figure 5.4: Access to the site / Site map

5.1.4-NathiaGali

5.1.4.1-Introduction Nathia Gali or Nathiagali (Urdu: ‫ )یلگایھتن‬is one of the mountain resort towns of the Galyat area of Pakistan. Nathia Gali town also serves as the administrative centre of Nathia Gali union council. It is located in Abbottabad District, North West Frontier Province. At 2500m (8200ft), it is a popular tourist resort in the summer months. It is forested with pine, walnut and also oak and maple trees.

5.1.4.2-Scenery The church in Nathi Gali is a remnant from the period of British Government; it is totally made of wood. It is situated at the edge of the mountain from which there is a beautiful sight. Kashmir can be seen right behind this church, and is a wonderful scene. Nathi Gali has a mini bazzar. The nearest place to Nathi Gali is Kala Bagh. Mukeshpuri and Miranjani are two nearby high peaks.9

Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Wikipedia: a guide to selceted sources on the internet [online] Available at <URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathia_Gali> [Accessed 11 th July 2007]

Figure 5.6: The link road

Figure 5.5: View of the Church

Figure 5.7: View to the valley

Figure 5.8: View of site

Figure 5.10: View towards the valley Figure 5.9: Site

5.1.5-Site Analysis The site is located at around 2.5km from NathiaGali. It experiences heavy snowfall that lasts from December to March. The snowfall goes up to 6ft thick on the ground. The winter temperature of the site varies from -15’C to -20’C. The summer temperature goes up to 12’C-18’C. Rainfall here is also very heavy making this site an extreme climatic setting. The soil condition of the area is very loose that is being held up by the thick vegetation that comprises of mainly pine cones and also variety of maple, oak and walnut trees. This area does not lie direct in the earthquake region of Pakistan but measures have to be taken to ensure that the structures erected on the site do not become prone to the devastating effects of the earthquake. Below are the principles on which the site has been analyzed.  Sun Path / Orientation  Wind Direction  Topography  Linking Roads  Vehicular Movement / Pedestrian Movement  Existing structures  Views  Vegetation

Figure 5.11: Sun Path & Orientation

Figure 5.12: Wind Direction

Figure 5.13: Contours on Site

Figure 5.14: Linking Roads

Figure 5.15: Vehicular & Pedestrian Movement

Figure 5.16: Existing Structures

Figure 5.17: Views from the Site

Figure 5.18: Vegetation on site

Chapter-6 6.1-Theoretical Orientation of Design

6.1.1-Concept With a predefined site in hand the work on concept started. One situation that was kept in mind while building up the concept was that it should be local to the context and area and hence the architecture produced from that concept should be seen as symbol of that area. The idea of pine cone as a living organism and adjusting itself to the climatic deviation that falls on it on different times of the year formed the basis of inspiration of using it as a concept. Pine cone are an extensive feature of the NathiaGali site. These trees form the backbone of the area and can be termed as vernacular to the area.

The pine cone was taken as the concept for the building up of the building form and how that building form would adapt to the changes in climatic conditions with respect to time. The pine cone was not taken into its literal meaning, but its properties were listed down to be worked on. Upon analysis of the pine cone as a living organism it was found out that during the reproduction stage, when the wind strikes the pores of the pine cone as seen in the figure 6.1 the pine cone opens to let the seeds get dispersed and when you put the pine cone in water it closes itself. This property was a very vital feature of how a building could adapt itself to the climatic variation by opening up and closing upon certain conditions. One other property of the pine cone is the play of solid and void. This property was linked up to the design brief where play of open and build structures was to be undertaken. This solid and void are two extreme corners or contrast. The site is also on two extreme corners, the physical space and the non physical space. The physical space is the mountain where the site is located and the no physical space is the platform beyond it. This can be best understood if a mountain is drawn on a paper and then it is enclosed by drawing a rectangle around it. The mountain is the physical space and the left over is the non physical space. This solid and void is like the different times of past, present and future where you can see the solid space but you cannot see the void space but know that it is present.

The pores of the pine cone are arranged in a circle around a center core as shown in the figure 6.2, where you start from one point and end up on the same point. The core acts as a nucleus holding the pores in a circle just like in an atom a nucleus does to the electrons.

So the idea behind this is that once a person enters into the site and starts his tour he moves around in a circular path taking a look at what passes him by and ends up at the very spot where he started.

Figure 6.1: Different formation of pine cone www.istockphoto.com/pinecone

Figure 6.2: Circular arrangement in a pine cone www.istockphoto.com/pinecone

Taking up the concept further a number of cubes of different sizes were formed to study the spatial formation with respect to the concept. These formations helped in study the different spaces that were to be incorporated into the sculptural park. These spatial

formations were based on the idea that the core of the pine cone holds the pores in a circular arrangement. Hence the outcome generated from these formations was also circular in arrangement.

6.1.2-Spatial Organization The pine cone as the concept was taken one step further and translated using the spatial organization. This helped in determining the spaces solid and void and the play of heights with the structure. Below are some of the options tried out for finding the spaces. The options A, B, C, D and E were tried out keeping in mind the spaces so that a plan could be worked out. The final option thus selected as seen in the figure 6.8 was taken up as the final option that best fitted the concept of the pine cone.

Figure 6.3: Organization (A)

Figure 6.4: Organization (B)

Figure 6.5: Organization (C)

Figure 6.6: Organization (D)

Figure 6.7: Organization (E)

Figure 6.8: Organization (F) Final

The final option thus selected was based on the formation of a 2D space into a 3D space. This helped in the formation of the roof of the museum that followed the contour of the site and which transformed continuously. The figure 6.9 further illustrates the formation of the space. The model formed from the spatial organization of the cubes was tested with the play of light for better understanding of the shadows that fall from different angles as seen in the figure 6.10.

Figure 6.9: Formation form 2D to 3D

Figure 6.10: With play of light

Chapter-7 7.1-Design

7.1.1-Form Generation

Figure 7.1: Bubble diagram / Zoning

Figure 7.2: Zoning with respect to spaces

7.1.2-Conceptual Sketches

7.1.3-Design Layout

Figure 7.3: Master Plan The figure 7.3 shows the master plan or the roof plan of the museum. Along with are the linking roads that connect the site and the roof structure of the museum.

Figure 7.4: Level Plan

Figure 7.5: Basement Plan The above figure 7.5 shows the layout of the basement and the workshop area. The basement has the administration setup. The offices of the managing department of the museum are allotted in the basement along with a heating and boiler room that circulates the hot air throughout the museum in winter. This is done through the ducts that have been laid out throughout the museum.

Below in the basement is also the workshop for carpentry and repairing of the artifacts. The basement has also the storage facility for the artifacts that arrive at the museum before being displayed in the galleries. Also there is a preservation area where the paintings that get destroyed are mended by special use of chemicals.

Figure 7.6: Zoning with respect to spaces The figure 7.6 shows the layout of the ventilating ducts throughout the museum. These ducts transfer hot air from the boiler room in the basement to the galleries and other enclosed spaces. During the winter cold air is taken in from the steel ribs that stand in the centre core and transferred to the boiler or the heater in the basement. From that boiler room the hot air is circulated to the structure above to keep the temperature bearable for the user within.

Also in the above picture is the layout of the columns or the I-sections that have been used throughout the complex. These I-sections hold the roof of the museum as seen in the sections.

Figure 7.7: Section AA’

Figure 7.8: Section BB’

Figure 7.9: Section CC’

Figure 7.10: Section DDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Figure 7.11: Section showing the air duct circulation

7.1.4-Views of the Museum

Figure 7.12: View of the deck from road

Figure 7.13: View of the Entrance

Figure 7.14: View from the Main Entrance to the Museum

Figure 7.15: Views of the steel ribbed pathway

Figure 7.16: Views of Contemporary Display Area

Figure 7.17: Views of the Viewing Deck

Figure 7.18: View from inside of the Souvenir Shop

Figure 7.19: View of the roof of the Museum

Figure 7.20: Dissolving the corner of the structure

Figure 7.21: Different views of the Museum

7.1.5-Details

Figure 7.22: Detail of Glass attached between wall and roof

Figure 7.23: Stone Paving Detail

Figure 7.24: Rain water ditch detail

Figure 7.25: I-Section detail attached to the wall

Figure 7.26: Plan of the I-Section

Figure 7.27: Detail of roof attached to the wall I-Section

Chapter-8 8.1-Conclusion

The design outcome was an initiative towards a responsive structure that could survive and respond in the varying climatic conditions and envelop its users from it. The materials used in the structure were self healing and cleaning concrete and self cleaning glass. These materials though expensive in their initial cost would prove out to be more advantageous once they start to respond to the different conditions without taxing the environment and maintaining the structure.

The use of these materials would reduce the cost on the maintenance of the structure. The cost of the structure though high but the advantages it lists would help in making architecture closer to nature. This kind of living architecture inspired from the principles of nature will help reduce the taxation of the environment and help create an architecture that responds to its context as nature does.

With the existing architecture the natural environment is being depleted at an alarming rate. If the existing trend continues we could see the extinction of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s natural resources for the sake of architecture. It is up to the architects to choose what is best for the human race. Nature has all the answers to our problems and the human race has just to look at it and learn from it. The existing technology along with the natural considerations can help architects achieve what nature has achieved over its long run. With such learning a living architecture could be designed that could not only respond to the climatic variations but also help in reducing the taxation of the environment. Like the tree takes in carbon dioxide and gives back oxygen as a friendly gesture of nature our architecture could also help in giving back to nature what has been taken from it over this long run of human race.

Chapter-9 9.1-References

9.1-Bibliography 9.1.1-Works Cited Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Wikipedia: a guide to selceted sources on the internet [online] Available at <URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomimicry> [Accessed 16 March 2007] Biomimicry Institute. Biomimicry: Nature as Model, Measure & Mentor: [online] Available at <URL: http://www.biomimicry.net/biomimicryintroduction.htm> [Accessed 21st July 2007] Buckminster Fuller. The Living Building: [online] Available at <URL:http://www.informedesign.umn.edu> [Accessed 10th May 2007] Farlex, Inc. The Free Dictionary: a guide to selected resources on Internet [online] Available at <URL:http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Museum> [Accessed 21stJuly 2007] Architectural GRAPHIC Standards [CD-ROM]. 1996 New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Wikipedia: a guide to selceted sources on the internet [online] Available at <URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museuml> [Accessed 19th July 2007] Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Wikipedia: a guide to selceted sources on the internet [online] Available at <URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathia_Gali> [Accessed 11th July 2007] Harun Yahya International ÂŠ 2004. Signs of Allah: a guide to selected resources on Internet [online] Available at <URL: http://www.harunyahya.com> [Accessed 16 April 2007] Tripod Inc. Tripod.com: a guide to selceted sources on the internet [online] Available at <URL: siliclone.tripod.com/books/history/H111.html> [Accessed 21st July 2007]

9.1.2-Websites Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Wikipedia: a guide to selceted sources on the internet [online] Available at <URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomimicry> [Accessed 16 March 2007] Harun Yahya InternationalÂŠ2004. Signs of Allah: a guide to selected resources on Internet [online] Available at <URL: http://www.harunyahya.com> [Accessed 16 April 2007] Steve Lenhert, Quanteq, LLC. A Brief History of Nanotechnology [online] Available at <URL: http://nanoarchitecture.net/resources> [Accessed 16th April 2007] Buckminister Fuller. The Living Building: [online] Available at <URL:http://www.informedesign.umn.edu> [Accessed 10th May 2007] Benyus, Jane. Biomimicry: Inspired by Nature. Biomimicry.net.1997. [online] Available at <URL http://www.biomimicry.net/intro.html> [Accessed 10th May 2007] Tripod Inc. Tripod.com: a guide to selceted sources on the internet [online] Available at

<URL: siliclone.tripod.com/books/history/H111.html> [Accessed 21st July 2007] Biomimicry Institue. Biomimicry: Nature as Model, Measure & Mentor: [online] Available at <URL: http://www.biomimicry.net/biomimicryintroduction.htm> [Accessed 21st July 2007] Farlex, Inc. The Free Dictionary: a guide to selected resources on Internet [online] Available at <URL:http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Sculpture+park> [Accessed 21stJuly 2007] Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Wikipedia: a guide to selceted sources on the internet [online] Available at <URL:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sculptural_park> [Accessed 21stJuly 2007] Leo Mol Sculptural Garden [online] Available at <URL: http://www.partnersinthepark.org/leomol.html> [Accessed 21st July 2007] DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park [online] Available at <URL: http://garden.walkerart.org/index.wac> [Accessed 21 st July 2007] TourismsouthAsia.com [online] Available at <URL: http://www.tourismsouthasia.com/pakistan/history_cultural_pakistan.asp> [Accessed 23rd July 2007] Sijpkes, Pieter. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Architectural Structures, principles, history, methods, materials, joints, esthetics.â&#x20AC;? [online] Available at <URL: http://www.arch.mcgill.ca/prof/sijpkes/abcstructures-2005/Lectures-2005/Introlectures/cover-page.html>[Accessed 18 th April 2007]

9.1.3-Books Design Like You Give a Damn: Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises. Ed. Architecture for Humanity: Metropolis Books. Jay Yowell., 2007. Biomimicry and Architecture.Edmond, Oklahoma

9.1.4-Journals B.J Stanbery, CEO Heli Volt Corporation., 2005. Nanotechnology and Power Buildings. Austin, Texas Lance Hosey., 2003. In the cause of Architecture.