Air Sketchbook final Bec Mahoney

DESIGN STUDIO AIR SKETCHBOOK REBECCA MAHONEY

WEEK ONE WHAT IS PARAMETRIC DESIGN? Parametric design is a means of changing the way in which computational design is carried out. To design with parametrics is to use geometry and a set of algorithms to create a series of design variants which then determine the form of the desin. The use of geometry and algorithms allows for a huge amount of design parameters to be explored and created.

Parametric design can automatically generate a huge amount of variants that would have been very time consuming, it also eliminates possible human error. Parametric design allows for greater intelligence within design as well as creating greater formal possibilities.

The weekly task was to create a series of lofted curved using grasshopper. The lofts were then changed through a series of iterations that toggled the point placement, creating various forms.

CURVE x4

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LOFT

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UNDERSTANDING GEOMETRY

This task was modelled on the ICD/ICTE pavilion at Stuttgart University. The aim was to understand how to create custom sectioning planes from triangular geometry

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BREP

DECONSTRUCT BREP PLANAR DECONSTRUCT PLANE AVERAGE PLANE NORMAL AVERAGE

BREP

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SURFACE OFFSET

BREP| BREP SURFACE SPLIT SHIFT

PLANE | BREP BOUNDARY SURFACES

Through offsettting and intersecting two surfaces, and using surface split, i was able to make this contoured surface.

The driftwood tutorial required me to offset a curve and extrude the offsets through an exisiting geometry. The geometry is based on the Driftwood Summer Pavilion by AA. The surface geometry was the culled to leave the patterning texture of the driftwood only. This was my favourite exercise of the week becase it taught skills that would be useful in the design of out LAGI entry. It also demonstrated the use of computational design in existing pavilion design.

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BREP

CURVE PERP FRAME CIRCLE

PARAMETER

0.90

RADIUS

0.7

BREP| BREP OFFSET

OFFSET

0.19

LOFT REGION DIFFERENCE

WEEK THREE

CREATING A GRIDSHELL

This exercise required me to create a ‘gridshell’ in rhino. I lofted a series of curves, divided their geometry and from there the aim was to create a series of alterable geodisic curves.

CURVE

DIVIDE EXPLODE TREE ARC

DIVIDE EXPLODE TREE

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REBUILD CURVE LOFT

SHIFT SHIFT

GEODISIC x6 CURVE

WEEK THREE GRID PATTERNING

Grid patterning is one of the typical results of parametric design in architecture. Patterns have been used in design and architecture since the start of mankind, be it on the human skin in the form of tattoos or on building surface. Traditionally in architecture patterning has been used to represent a buildings ordering and symmetry 1 . Over time decorative patterning and ornamentation has disappeared from contemporary architecture, replaced by parametricism. Parametric patterning involves changing pattern parameters to fit the often double-curved host surface while maintaining a homogenous pattern. This exercise was a basic introduction into how to create a patten from a cartesian grid.

SURFACE

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SURFACE DIVIDE FLATTEN CULL EXTRUDE

U VALUE V VALUE 0 FALSE 1 TRUE 2 FALSE

10 34

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LIST LENGTH SERIES JITTER PARTITION

ITEM REGION UNION OFFEST

OFFSET DISTANCE -0.05

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FIELD FUNDAMENTALS + FRACTAL TETRAHEDRA

The filed fundamentals videos introduced me to the fundamentals of using point charges and visualizing these charges. A point charge creates a vector field from the origin as shown. By using the field direction parameter, the field vectors are displayed as colours on a 2D mesh.

POINT POINT CHARGE LINE CHARGE

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MERGE TENSOR DISPLAY DIRECTION DISPLAY

A

The demonstration video was based on the The Morning Line: Fractal tetrahedra by Amanda Lasch. The video showed how to use recursive subdivision on geometric forms as a brep, here I used a rectangle and a polygon.

POLYGON

√((x÷y)2-z2 ) EXTRUDE CAP

XY PLANE RADIUS 5 NUMBER OF SIDES 3 Z PLANE

DECONSTRUCT BREP SCALE TRIM SCALE FACTOR 1/3

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DECONSTRUCT BREP SCALE TRIM

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RESEARCH FIELD + CASE STUDY ONE- SEROUSSI PAVILION

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RESEARCH FIELD + CASE STUDY ONE- SEROUSSI PAVILION

CURVE DIVIDE

POINT CHARGE CIRCLE DIVIDE

COUNT

5

RADIUS

0.05

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FIELDLINE

STEPS

100

CURVE DIVIDE RANGE

COUNT COUNT

5 5

MULTIPLICATION FACTOR MOVE B VALUE

INTERPOLATE

-1.9

These four iterations were I feel were the most successful. Biothing was an interesting definition to manipulate because of the range of forms on base curves that could be created.

The selection criteria that we employed was aesthetic quality and how the form could be convereted or manipluated into a habitable spaces such as pavilions.2

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S A M P L I N G

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The image sampling task this week was based on the M. H de Young Museum in San Fransciso by Herzog and de Meuron. The pair punched and extruded a metal sheet with various patterns to create a textured metal surface. These were the principles used in the image samoking task. Two images were imported onto a surface and output as circles with smaller upward extrusions. The two circles could then be lofted to create the images above.

SURFACE SURFACE DIVIDE PICTURE INPUT

CIRCLE CIRCLE EXPRESSION EXPRESSION Z PLANE

U COUNT V COUNT

100 100

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GRAFT MOVE GRAFT

RADIUS 0.08 VARIABLE Y 0.15 EXP 1: (X x Y) + 0.1 EXP 2: tan(y)x (x-0.1) in RADIANS @ 45 DEGREES

LOFT

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x2

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CASE STUDY 2.0 SHADOW PAVILION

The process of reverse engineering the [C]Space Pavilion was rather straight forward.

Once the base curves were defined in rhino they had to be uniformely lofted to create the pavilion enclosure. After this the surface was divided into abritrary section that would then make up the fibre glass strips that are set at cross angles across the pavilion surface.

The divisons were then made into isocurves across the surface and finally the curves were extruded at a ‘plane’ normal angle’ to origin to create the bending strip formation of the original pavilion.3

CURVE LOFT

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SURFCAE DIVIDE ISOMETRIC

U COUNT V COUNT

99 34

ISOMETRIC EXTRUDE PLANE NORMAL

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CASE STUDY 2.0 CONE PAVILION

CURVE LOFT

SURFACE DIVIDE DIVIDE

SURFACE BOX

U COUNT U COUNT

20 20

U COUNT U COUNT

20 20

BREP MESH MORPH SURFACE DIVIDE DECONSTRUCT VECTOR

The Shadow Pavilion by Ply Architects was a self supporting structure created for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The pavilion was based upon phyllotaxies, which is the natural formation pattern of layering of petals, nodules and leaves. The result was a geometric, circular dome type pavilion immersed in the soil. it was constructed out of lightweight strips of metal bent into connected open cones. The cones allow varying light and sounds into the space to create a sensory experience for the user.4

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CONTROLLING DATA STRUCTURES

SURFACE SURFACE DIVIDE

GRAFT SIMPLIFY

SURFACE SURFACE DIVIDE MOVE SERIES Z PLANE

TREE STATISTICS TAG

This was a basic exercise to find out how to display input information by grafting and simplifying tree statistics

FLATTEN

TREE STATISTIC TAG ITEM

This task showed how to represent data in a grid and make this grid 3D. this system can be used to creae paths through data.

SURFACE

SURFACE DIVIDE PATH SHIFT AVERAGE

This was a really basic introduction of how to use path shift when controlling data structures.

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TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENT

The precedent we based this definition on was the Peace Bridge In Calgary, Canada again by Santiago Calatrava. The bridge as created to connect workers that travelled into the city daily for work. It required no piers and is cylindrical in form from bank to bank. 41 These iterations were interesting when we were able to change the base shape without the form becoming to far extracted and intersecting at chaotic angels. Where i could see the potential of this iteration going is to create a circular enclosure of thin tubes that could be covered in the thin photovoltaic cells. Finding a way of changing the base shape of the form was difficult and hindered our project. With further iterations the form stopped being aesthetically appealing and for that reason we decided not to progress to further development.5

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TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENT

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TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENT

CURVE LOFT SURFACE

HEXAGON CELLS ATTRACTOR WAVE CURVE

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SCALE MOVE

INTEGER DIVISION AMPLITUDE

U DIVISIONS V DIVISIONS

15 15

FACTOR

GRAFT GRAFT

0.59

POINT ATTRACTOR

The result of creating a parametric definition based on the honeycomb project was quite successful in its variation from the original. The forms created were made by lofting and extruding hexagonal cells from a surface. By changing the parameters of the surface and the extrusion height we were able to create an interesting and varied set of forms that i think could have potential with the LAGI brief. When considering the solar technology we have chosen (thin film dye sensitized cells) it has potential as the extruded surfaces offer a lot of available surface area and the variation in appearance could work well with changing cell colours.

LOFT EXTRUDE

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TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENT HEXAGONAL GRID POINT

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XZ PLANE UNIT X RADIAN

MOVE ROTATE

POLYLINE OUTER HEXAGON

x6

EXTRUDE OFFSET

OUTSIDE HEXAGO

MOVE LOFT INSIDE HEXAGON

XZ PLANE EXTENT X EXTENT Y

CURVE LOFT

FACTOR DEGREE

1 1

4 60

EXTENT X EXTENT Y

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SURFACE DIVIDE DECONSTRUCT VECTOR DIVIDE

UCOUNT

20

UCOUNT

20

1 1

SURFACE BOX MORPH

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MESH

UNIT Y FACTOR

1

NEGATIVE

1

UNIT Y FACTOR

1

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ON

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SOLID DIFFERENCE BREP

This was the second lot of iterations we developed for the hexagon definition, this time rather than having the honeycomb structure open out to the exterior, they curved like pipes along the surface.

This iteration was less interesting and more complex than the last and i therefore think it has lesx potential than previous.

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TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENT

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TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENT POINT POINT

VECTOR 2 POINT VECTOR 2 POINT CIRCLE

DIVIDE ARC ARC CIRCLE

PIPE DIVIDE UNIT Z

MOVE

Z COORDINATE

9

RADUIS

16

COUNT

6

RADUIS

16

RADUIS 16 FACTOR 0.5 RADUIS 16

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TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENT

These two pavilion definitions were not created with a precedent in mind, rather they are a free form result from experimenting with grasshopper parameters. I feel that these two prior iteration definitions have limited potential with the LAGI brief. This second iteration has potential as a covering pavilion structure and the first serves well as a space to be in, however I don’t think they are visually interesting enough. The first definition created i find to be too busy overall as well as being too analogous with the form of a sunflower, i feel that the users would take that visual away rather than the point of the entry which is to engage and create renewable energy. Where the first definition is too busy, the second is to simple in design and does not allow for much parametric manipulation.

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DOMAIN RANGE POINT

CIRCLE MERGE

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DIVIDE

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DIVISION NEGATIVE MERGE

CURVE LOFT

DOMAIN END DOMAIN END

0 0

DATA 2 DATA 3

100 18

B VALUE A VALUE

31 654

B VALUE

31

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ROTATE FLIP INTERPOLATE

PROJECT EXTRUDE

UNIT Z NUMBER SLIDER

ARE EXTR SUR

1.28

NUMBER NUMBER

EA RUDE RFACE FRAMES

R SLIDER R SLIDER

1 1

CULL FLATTEN CULL

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TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENT

AxB SINE

DOMAIN RADIAN RADIAN

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x6

REMAP -1 to 1

A+B A- B

DISTANCE 83 STEPS 368

B VALUE DEGREES DEGREES DEGREES DEGREES

60 80 100 100 30

x6

B VALUE B VALUE B VALUE B VALUE B VALUE B VALUE

x4 x2

2.4 3.6 2.75 2.6 2.5 4.1

PO

OINT ]

Sitting on a completely flat landscape, the Stazione Reggio Emilia high speed train station by Santiao Calatrava was our final strips and folding precedent to experiment with parametrically. The form of the station is created by using a sine curve to define to alternating lifts of the 10 meter tall steel members which are spaced at 1 meter intervals. The overall form of the station is dynamic, congruent with the function of the station. The sinusoid curved facade is undisturbed though the length of the station creating a beautifully undulating impression on the country landscape.

Our iterations for the station begun simple then morphed into more erratic and complex forms. Through modelling these forms we hope to understand the relationship an iteration of this form could have on its landscape and how it could be altered to fit the LAGI brief. 6

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MERGE YZ PLANE

x4

POLYLINE OFFSET END POINTS END POINTS

LINE LINE SHIFT PATHS

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MERGE LOFT

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TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENT

WEEK SEVEN

AA DRIFTWOOD FRAMES

SURFACE CURVE (INTERIOR) CURVE (EXTERIOR)

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DIVIDE CURVE CLOSEST POINT CONSTRUCT PLANE 2 POINT VECTOR PLANE SURFACE GRAFT MULTIPLY

BREP| BREP MOVE END POINT x2 POINT POLY LINE SHIFT PATHS REGION UNION

This task was an extapolation on the previous driftwood paivlion excercised, The aim of this was to use cull to create surface geometry that would create the framing components of the pavilion. I had to create vectors between points on the interior and exterior curve and create a closed curve around the interestions.

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V O U S S O I R

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POINT VORONI 2D CURVE

P A V I L I O N

REGION INTERSECTION

GRAFT SCALE MOVE GRAFT

FACTOR Z PLANE FACTOR

0.3 -2

LOFT DECONSTRUCT BREP MESH SURFACE WELD MESH MESH JOIN DECONSTRUCT MESH CLOSEST SMALLER CULL SMALLER THAN

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T POINT R THAN 0.02

X2

This video was the introduction to reverse engineering the voussoir cloud pavilion by Iwamoto Scott. The pavilion is a series of arch ways with flat voroni patternings. The first part of the video was demonstrating how to input a quad mesh onto the vaults.

F I N A L

F O R M

PARAMETRIC INPUT CURVE X 5

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] DIVIDE CURVE 3 POINT ARC

COUNT

30

EDGE SURFACE BREP] DECONSTRUCT BREP SURFACE SURFACE DIVIDE V COUNT U COUNT

12 82

PIPE SURFACE CURVE

PIPE RADIUS 0.2/ 0

C DEFINITION

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E ON CURVE X3

0.4

OFFSET CURVE X2 LOFT CURVE

OFFSET DISTANCE 1.0

REITERATING THE FORM T E S T I N G

S O L A R

R A D I A T I O N

LADY BUG LOAD EPW FILE GENERATE CUMULATIVE SKY MATRIX

LOAD COPENHAGEN EPW BOOLEAN TOGGLE TRUE

SELECT SKY MATRIX

INPUT ANALYSIS PERIOD PARAMETERS

INPUT BREP RADIATION ANALYSIS

GRID SIZE 2 DISTANCE FROM BASE 2 BOOLEAN TOGGLE TRUE

These test shapes displauy what the optimal shape for a surface should be according to Copenhagens annual sunlight hours and patterns. This analysis was calculated through the grasshopper plugin ‘LadyBug’ which uses real weather data to analyse existing grasshopper and rhino meshes as a means of direction design decisions. The above experimentation into form and radiation has shown that the optimal forms are those that have outwardly curved surfaces have the highest amounts of direct solar radiation upon them. Therefore when determining the form of our greenhouses we should consider the sun angle and the curvature of the form towards the sun.

REITERATING THE FORM T E S T I N G

S O L A R

R A D I A T I O N

By running a series of varied forms through Ladybug we could define a shape with the best kW/h solar conversion output. The final for we arrived at was a derivation of a highly folded surface based upon the folded structure of Mitochondria which, because of its fold has a high surface area to volume ratio for sun absorption. However through iterating our form with solar analysis, we found that rebuilding the folded forms created a greater active surface area for our solar panels.

Therefore the final form is the most effective and aesthetically interesting form for our greenhouses.

REFERENCES 1. umacher, P 2009, ‘Parametric Patterns: Patterns of Architecture’, AD Architectural Design, Vol. 79, No. 6, Nov/ Dec 2009 2. Repository of Computation Design, Biothing: Seroussi Palilion, 2010, last viewed April 2, http://www.biothing.org/?cat=5 3. [C]Space Pavilion by Alan Dempsey and Alvin Huang, DeZeen Magazine, last viewed April 9, http://www.dezeen.com/2007/11/04/ cspace-pavilion-by-alan-dempsey-and-alvin-huang/ 4. Andrew Michler, Shadow Pavilion Informed by Biomimicry, 2011, last viewed April 9, http://www.evolo.us/architecture/shadow-pavilion-informed-by-biomimicry-ply-architecture/ 5. DesignBoom, Top Ten Public Spaces, 2010, last viewed April 26, http://www.designboom.com/architecture/designboom-2012-topten-public-spaces/ 6. Architectural Detail, (2012), Perfect Wave: The New High Speed Railway Station in Italy, Last viewed April 3, http://www.detail-online. com/architecture/topics/the-perfect-wave-new-high-speed-trainstation-in-italy-021674.html