Module 2 Design-Week 4
YuanYuan Ye(Ariel) Student No: 613901. Semester 1/2013. Group 2
Response to the reading
TED talks by Thomas Heatherwick:
One of the projects is the openning bridge which made of steel and timber.Instead of pay much attention on its design, it focuses on the way of function. The two sides of this bridge would kiss each other in a normal speed to create a spatial effect. The most influencing project is seed cathedral, the UK pavilion in Shanghai Expo in 2010. Its amazing conception comes from the landscape of nature in city: trees and flower and then seeds. Heatherwick thought these tiny things could be made delicate through the idea that take 66000 seeds to cross precious optical hair to get through a box. In addition, there is nothing inside but just slience and cool temperature. How Thomas Heatherwick uses design to create spatial effect is to combine the idea of fabrication, structure and aesthetics which in order to create a new system of construction. Difference between Abstraction & Reduction:
Scheurer, F. and Stehling, H. (2011): Lost in Parameter Space? IAD: Architectural Design, Wiley, 81 (4), July. Abstraction is to simplify the complexity of a model from reality and then create it as less information as possible. A model is an abstraction of reality. However, reduction is in contrast to abstraction which means to find the opitimal way to transport the information of things rather than reduce the amount of information.
Relating to the article of Analytical Drawing written by Poling, its idea of creating the analytical drawing is similar to abstraction and reduction: the stages need to simplify, analyze and transform the actual structure of the object. Then use neat lines to contour the analytical drawing of the object.
Orthographic images of model
Front view
Top view
Followed by the first method in Appendix, I made the contour in respect to front view and top view of my clay model. After I finished the digitized model in rhino, I found that there are gaps between each part(the digitized model is separated by the contour lines), it means it's not a whole. And the grid are inside the model as well which is difficult to be developed with paneling tool. Thus I remade another emerging form.
Orthographic images of model
In the beginning I tried the first method in Appendix, but my first model isn't suitable because of the irregular shape, then I tried the second method. Followed by method 2 of appendix, I created the contour by putting the 3D model on the paper which has a set of parallel lines. The space between each lines is 5mm. Then tracing the lines on the surface of 3D model and finally put a scale mark near the model. In fact, tracing the lines on the surface of plasticine model is difficult, thus I put the ruler parallel to each line and then draw it. It's much easier to tracing the contour lines.
My digitized model
This is the digitized model followed by method 2 by using rhino. Firstly, scale it into 1:5 dimension. Then trace the contour lines on the photo in right view. Next move each lines in same distance and follow the overall shape(it should be executed in top view). Lastly, use loft command to make the digitized model.
Digital model developed in paneling tool
Loft model
2D Brick
2D Triangular
For 2D model(above), I watched the paneling tool tutorial to help me finish these models step by step. I used panel 2D grid to create the effect includes triangular, brick and box. For 3D model(bottom), I tried to make a totally different model in terms of panel 3D custom command and panel offset border. The second one is tricky because it's base on the effect of 2D Triangular, I spent lots of time on it. The effect I want to achieve could be more tridimensional with specific and complex shapes within the whole digital model. Thus I like the custom 3D pattern best because it's more tridimensional which consists of many pentagon solid.
3D Custom Pattern
3D Offset Border
Paneled lantern design 1 - 2D Brick
On the surface of my clay model, we could see it's not flat and it consists of some raised strips and the overall shape is rectangle. Thus followed by this rectangle shapes, I get the idea that to design the digitized model with many different size of rectangles by putting 2D Brick command in paneling tool. At the first time, after I finished the command it was lapped with the loft surface and I couldn't hide it. I think it was because I didn't put the loft surface into another layer then I tried to make the command again it works. On the bottom are its prototype, it contains 11 rectangle joined panels. I fold the rectangle into a shape like a circle and the rectangle could be lapped so when the light go through it, it may seemed more tridimensional.
Design of paneled lantern- Offset Border
In this case, I considered that what if make the hole inside the surface of my clay model. By using the offset border command and 2D triangular as the base in paneling tool, the digitized model is done. It also different from the clay model which consists of many triangle. The underneath is my prototype from paper. I like the effect set by light which get through the triangle hole of the big triangle. If I change the stand position of the prototype or control the light in different distance, we could see the shadow it's different which is quite interesting!
Design of paneled lantern- Custom 3D Pattern
This digitized model formed by many pentagon and it's more tridimensional. In relation to my clay model, I want to jump out of the general form of the clay model and instead by consisting of various shapes. In this model, we could see the relationship between each pentagon and they connect with each other. Similar with the second model, there is a hole inside the pentagon but we could find that the contour lines of the pentagon is very thin. So if we image the effect of the final digital model, the lantern will seemed very ‘empty’, it means the hole is too big and the light effect will not as good as the second model.