Tsung-Lun WU The Bartlett School of Architecture UCL
Tsung-Lun WU The Bartlett School of Architecture UCL
01 / Research Cluster II
Augmented Dexterity The status of craft and design, in contemporary society, is evolutionary. The form and content of artificial creations should reflect, in parallel with the factual circumstance of society, culture, economy and technology development for adapting to the real world (Bloch and Carlsson, 2013). Regarding digital fabrication, it has played a significant role in the process of design systems nowadays, especially the design thinking and output prospect. Designers can try to implement the conception of the craft and design by utilising digital tools with physical modelling and material testing (Bloch and Carlsson, 2013). As Bloch and Carlsson (2013) mentioned, “we believe that by seeking and using specific manufacturing and material misfits as a design opportunity, we will be able to generate that unique character within a digitally manufactured outcome”. This design thesis portfolio aims to explain the research and application of the ‘Wrapping and Inside the wrapping’ through the projects of Table design series, Airport social-furniture series, the architectural proposal Bring the sunlight into the Embankment underground, and the Mutant of the Eembankment station.
02 / The Misfit
Wrapping and Inside the Wrapping
Based on references “Kokon” furniture by Jurgen Bey and “Mutants” by Bart Hess, it can be seen that a brand-new object can be constructed from existing objects of various form and content, and the original objects are abstracted via the wrapping fabricative technique. From my perspective, the meaning of wrapping may not only blur and redefine the original object function inside of the skin, but may also generate unique derma geometry in each case – depending on what object is inside the wrapping. However, regarding the form created by the design method, In other words, by applying the system, the new object may narrate its background and history between itself and humans, and may respond to the rapidly shifting society for adaptation into the real world. In conclusion, the misfit of the wrapping system is that a new object can be generated from the objects inside the wrapping skin, and the objects inside the skin are abstracted through it. Hence, ‘wrapping and inside the wrapping’ is the main idea, and the transitional space between the objects, wrapping skins, and the objects and wrapping skins, would be the essence of the design research.
03 / Misfit in Furniture Scale - Table Series For me, a table symbolises a platform which connects humans with various activities, emotions and memories. In other words, the most significant character of a table, by my definition, is not only that it is able to collect human experiences, but also presents a narrative about human behaviour in a specific time. That is to say, philosophically, a table could be a media by which to record, recall, and reorganise human behaviour when it exists in a very specific space and moment. Therefore, in this task, a table is generated using the wrapping system. The purpose of the design mechanism during this phase is to create an original table by reusing the form of disused objects – therefore redefining its original functions and regenerating its existence and meaning.
Forming a table via wrapping the whole objects, stools
Generating a table through wrapping the two groups of objects
Reconstructing a table via wrapping the partial existing objects
Forming a table via wrapping the reconstructed objects, drawers, with the new attaching frame structure
03 / Misfit in Furniture Scale - Airport Social Furniture A series of airport social furniture aims to fulfil flight passengers’ demands – for instance, relaxing, working, eating, waiting, and socialising – at one station, and therefore it should be combined with the function of a chair, a bed, a table, and storage. In this project, however, trying to design the frame structure – which was created by the function-demand arrangement, rather than using the existing objects being applied to the wrapping system – is the concept of this task. The purpose of building the inside structure is to design a much more specific geometric language and functional performance. Creating the base frame structure for guiding the wrapping skin
03 / Misfit in Architecture Scale - Bring Sunlight into Embankment Underground This project aims to apply the wrapping system with the combination of mould and fluid systems, into the architectural realm for designing an ‘extension, addition, re-figuration or re-fabrication’ (Bloch, 2013) to improve the negative factors of a real-world existing building.
Mould system
Wrapping system
Fluid system
The misfit of the mould system of Yuyang Wang meant that the geometry of the soft mould was affected by gravity during the casting fabrication and it could be a supporting system to combine with the geometry formed via the hard mould.
the wrapping system may not only blur the boundary between the form and content of the original objects inside the skin but may also generate geometry of the skin.
In Yang Zhao’s fluid system, the misfit is caused by the viscous liquid which can create various types of geometry when it flows down from an object.
Based on this reference - Conical Intersect – Gordon Matta-Clark, what we can do architecturally via the new design mechanism is to deconstruct the existing building as a hard mould and reorganise, rearrange, and reconstruct the hard mould’s components – for instance, to reset the position of a chunk of the building’s space, or to rotate a part of the ceiling, wall or ground to adapt to the new functional demand. This process could respond to a part of the table and airport social-furniture design projects, organising the object’s position and creating the basic structure before applying the wrapping skin.
Based on this case ‘Taipei sale center’ by Oyler Wu, the second stage of the system application is to wrap the hard moulds by ETFE sheet to redefine the original architectural function between before and after, to blur the spatial boundary such as the relationship between interior and exterior, or to create a brand-new geometry or architectural language. Furthermore, the most significant character of the combination of wrapping and mould system is that the new geometry and space generated by wrapping the hard moulds could be seen as the soft mould, which can be injected concrete or another material to support the deconstructed architecture.
Inspired by this reference - The Cliff house – Kokkugia, the fluid system could be applied to the wrapping surface as the sub-structure for strengthening the structure of the ETFE skin, dividing the scale of the ETFE sheet, and creating a unique geometry and detail of architectural language.
03 / Misfit in Architecture Scale - Bring Sunlight into Embankment Underground Site: In accordance with the statement explained above, the Embankment station of the London Underground would be the most appropriate site for the application of the misfits mechanism. It is widely acknowledged that the London Underground, at 150 years old, is the first underground railway in the world, and its history, culture, and architecture are all symbols of London. The character of the site is complex and interesting. Based on the assessment of the LUL Northern Line Tunnel (Disused Loop) by Thames Water Utilities Limited, the Embankment station is a hub which connects the Northern, Bakerloo and District lines via different layers under the ground. Moreover, because the station was the terminal of the Northern line, there was a loop constructed in 1913 in order to make trains drive in the opposite direction. In parallel with urban development, however, the Northern line had to be extended to adapt to circumstances, and in 1926 that resulted in the closure of this loop until now (Thames Water Utilities Limited, 2013). Furthermore, the station is located near to the Thames and close to the Victorian Gardens, so both the abundant underground circulations and the rich natural environment form the unique site property. Hence, in the proposal, not only improving the light environment of the building – bringing the sunlight into the underground – but also connecting the disused loop by creating two new vertical circulations (one is from the station to the loop and another is from the garden to the loop individually) for regenerating the loop function for the public is the purpose of the misfit application.
Northern Line
Victoria Garden
Disused Loop Northern Line
Barkloo Line
Embankment Station
Embankment Station
Barkloo Line District Line
Thames Water
Deconstructed Chunk
Reconstructed Entrance
Sub-structure Inflated ETFE
Wrapped ETFE
Sub-structure After analyzing the tension of the wrapped ETFE via millipede, the sub-structure is applied for enhancing the ETFE supporting and dividing its size for frabrication.
Inflated ETFE Inflating some parts of ETFE which faces to the sunlight in order to generate more diffuse reflection, refraction and heat insulation.
Stress line of the wrapping surface
Overview of the reconstructed station, wrapping skin, and the sub-structure
Wrapping skin, sub-structure, and inflated ETFE
Overview of the reconstructed station with the new circulation
Lobby of the Embankment Station
03 / Misfit in Architecture Scale - The Mutant of Embankment Station
The “Mutant of the Embankment station” is a project applied by the wrapping techniques of the Table series(wrapping the existing objects) and the Airport Social furniture series(wrapping the newly created structure) to the existing Embankment station, as both a material system using ETFE, and a strategy for a hybridising programme. Moreover, with the aim of generating a “mutant”, both literally and metaphorically, the project is inspired by the concept of ‘Exquisite Corpse’ and tries to transform the nature of the space from an enclosure station to an open public domain, including, partially, a greenhouse.
Conception: The “Mutant of the Embankment station” is symbolised as a sort of architectural revolution so that its form and content could be evolved via changing its partly architectural language, such as attaching a new element, detaching the existing structure locally, or redefining the original spatial behaviour. In terms of the inspiration of Exquisite Corpse, it is a game created by a group of surrealists in 1925 ( 2000, Whitlock & Phillips) and it is a dynamic mechanism for players to assemble and collage their single word or image together by turns and sequentially so that the Exquisite Corpse would ceaselessly evolve its context by the rule during the game ( 2009, Lindgren). In other words, in this project, the Embankment station could be supposed as a part of the mutant body by analogy with the concept of Exquisite Corpse whose contexts would be reconstructed by applying another two design systems – wrapping the existing objects and wrapping the newly created structure, which can generate two distinguishable types of geometry, scale, and function in this project.
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Exquisite Corpse
system of wrapping the existing objects
the mutant body
system of wrapping the newly creared structure
Proposal: The existing Embankment station is going to evolve to a mutant and accommodate the adjacent Victorian Park . This is in order to convert the station property from closed to open and bring the greenery from the nature outside to the interior space. Morever, the ‘Mutant of the Embankment station’ is endeavouring to propose a network to integrate and co-evolve the existing building condition with the wrapping design system and its adjoining biosphere.
Victorian park
Botanical garden
Existing circulation
Mutant circulation
Reference: 01 / “The ‘On Space Time Foam’ suspended art exhibit by Studio Tomas Saraceno is composed of a transparent surface acc and the ceiling, earth and sky, and it compels them to lose their spatial coordinates.” ( Saraceno, 2012 ) As presented in the case study, the form and content of the volume generated by multiple layers of the transparent material is redefined by the alteration of its functional demand and spatial property, such as the space for sitting/walking or ceiling/ground. Hence, the characteristic of ‘On Space Time Foam’ could be regarded as the property of the mutant’s partial space formed by the system of wrapping the existing objects. In the ‘Mutant of the Embankment station’, some human spaces would be created by wrapping the concrete chunk detached from the existing building though ETFE whose geometry and architectural language would be distinguishable, depending on the objects inside the wrapping skin. 02 / “The project is an integral part of Singapore’s “City in a Garden” vision, designed to raise the profile of the city globally whilst showcasing the best of horticulture and garden artistry.” () In the man-made garden, the incredibly huge tree-like structures are the joints for connecting the various functional spaces, such as the exhibitive capacity for the horticulture, lighting, and acoustics, and ponds, woodland, and other recreational spaces ( Freason, 2012 ). Comparing the hybridising programme of the mutant with the Gardens by the Bay, the newly created structure is provided with the analogous function as the tree-like constructions. In the ‘Mutant of the Embankment station’, the new structure could control the region for the plants’ cultivation and connect to each part of the station in order to combine all of the architectural elements, which could be shone upon by the daylight, through the hybridising programme. Moreover, both of the structures can present the form and the content of the architecture by its unique geometry. 03 / Based on the work ‘Garment District’, this project discovers the relationship between geometry and human skin, aiming to represent the forthcoming fashion prospect. As the fabrication and design concept shown on the website Designboom, “A crust of wax crystallises around its curves and folds, growing architectural forms, layer by layer, like a 3D printer drawing directly onto the skin. Slowly the body emerges, encased in a dripping wet readymade prosthetic. It is a physical glitch, a manifestation of corrupt data in motion, a digital artefact. They hang from hooks like a collection of strange beasts and frozen avatars. Body prints, imperfect and distorted and always utterly unique.” ( Chin, 2013 ) It inspires a new potential wrapping technique for developing the mutant. The system of wrapping the newly created structure would be developed in the mutant of Embankment station to create even higher resolution geometry for the greenery space, rather than a single surface in the previous works. In the same way as the reference ‘Garment District’ of Bart Hess, both the wax and the wrapping skin could abstract the original object inside the surface because of its geometry. For this reason, in the project of the mutant of the Embankment station, the role of the new created structure may not only guide the form of the wrapping skin but might also generate a higher resolution geometric surface to design smaller-scaled architectural elements for the plants or spatial ornaments.
Mutant Chunks: 01
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Interior Pavilion: Mutant from the reconstructed existing architectural condition via attaching new frame structure for bringing the sunlight into the station inside
Interior Green Pavilion: Mutant from reconstructing existing architectural conditions via attaching new frame structure with wrapping skin for greenery growing
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Interior Pavilion: Mutant from structure with wrapping skin
new
frame
a Wrapping new structure and architectural elements for generating human space
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b Wrapping between surfaces for creating tubes for guilding the greenery growing
c Wrapping new structure for generating greenery space
New volumn 05
Column and New Canopy: Mutant from wrapping the new attaching structure and architectural element for regenerating a new volumn
Existing elements
+ Mutant element
+ Mutant structure with wapping skin
Abstract Facade: Mutant from wrapping new attaching structure and architectural element for rede ning and blurring the architectural language of the original facade
transitional part of the chunk 04 and chunk 05
Chunk 04 - scale and geometry
Wrapping between new structure and architectural elements for generating human space
Wrapping new structure for generating greenery space
Wrapping between surfaces for creating the tube for guilding the greenery growing
Greenery space
Mutant Chunks: 06 Roof Garden: Mutant from reconstructed builiding condition and new frame structure with wrapping skin in order to create a green house which can not only bring the biosphere into the station, but also add additional space for people. Second layer skin
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Detaching existing elements
a part of architectural
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Mutant frame wrapping skin
structure
with
Existing architectural elements
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Staircase to the botanical garden: Mutant from wrapping the architectural elements and Station facade
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transitional part of the chunk 06 and chunk 07
Greenery space
Roof garden
Greenery space Ground
a b
c d
Chunk 07 - elevation a. wrapping ETFE replaces the original building roof and transfers to the mutant skin b. a volumn for plant growing c. a tube for greenery growing to connect other chunks d. mutant frame structure transfers from column, roof to the structure which guides the geomerty of the garden space
Mutant Chunks: The botanical garden is formed by wrapping the existing architectural elements and newly attaching structure which not only generate the complex and unique architectural language, but also create a new intricate network of interior and exterior spaces by using multiple layers of wrapping surfaces.
09
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07
transitional part of the chunk 07 and chunk 09 In this project, one of the motivations for mutation is to overthrow the traditional cognition of an underground station, inviting everyone to walk into the mutant because the existing station is transferred to a public open space, and to transform the nature of the Embankment station from a concrete-constructed structure to a greenery-attached hybrid-space building.
Mutant Columns: In the project ‘Mutant of the Embankment station’, it can be said that the wrapping system can not only generate a high complex space but also can create ornament for human, greenery, and architecture itself. Additionally, it is a project that applies the system from the smaller-scale element to a larger-scale space and from the realm of object to architecture, and from architecture to landscape architecture.
Design sequence: With regard to the ‘Mutant of the Embankment station’, a project schemed by wrapping both the existing objects and new created structure with the hybridising programme and the inspiration of the Exquisite Corpse. Therefore it can be said that the wrapping system can not only generate a high complex space but also can create ornament for human, greenery, and architecture itself. Additionally, it is a project that applies the system from the smaller-scale element to a larger-scale space and from the realm of object to architecture, and from architecture to landscape architecture.
The existing Embankment Station
Detaching the existing building and relocating the architectural elements for the first layer of ETFE wrapping
Wrapping the architectural elements with first layer of new structure and attaching the second layer of structure for the third wrapping layer
Wrapping the third layer surface to redefining the spatial boundry
03 / Misfit in Architecture Scale - The Mutant of Embankment Station
The existing Embankment station is going to evolve to a mutant and accommodate the adjacent Victorian Park. This is in order to convert the station property from closed to open and bring the greenery from the nature outside to the interior space. Morever, the ‘Mutant of the Embankment station’ is endeavouring to propose a network to integrate and co-evolve the existing building condition with the wrapping design system and its adjoining biosphere.
Elevation with existing station facade
Elevation with abstracted station facade
first layer wrapping to generate the human space
second layer wrapping to create the plant space between the first and second ETFE layer
first layer + second wrapping layer
third layer for defining the boundry of the botanical garden
New circulation to the roof garden and the existing facade
Lobby of the mutant Embankment Station
Abstracted Embankment station facade
New entrance to the station lobby
03 / Misfit in Architecture Scale - The Mutant of Embankment Station
Based on the design and theory research of the “wrapping and inside the wrapping�, it can be said that every creation is evolutionary and its context should possess the property, competence, and responsibility to reflect in parallel with the evolution of the environment, biosphere, and society. In other words, both the existing object and architecture could be re-theorised, re-modi ed, and regenerate or not encountered with the future of being destroyed, desolated, and deleted. Subsequently, in terms of the wrapping design concept, a new object can be created from other existing objects and by contrast the existing objects inside the wrapping would be abstracted through the wrapping surface that could play the role for achieving the goal to evolve the existing world.
Entrance to the Botanical Garden from the Victorian Garden
Staircase to the botanical Garden from station lobby
Exterior of the botanical garden
Interior of the botanical garden