STUDIO: air
case for innovation
CONTENTS CASE STUDY 1
4-5
CASE STUDY 2
6-7
CONEXT
8-9
PRECEDENTS
10-15
OUR ARGUMENT
16-17
PROOF OF TECHNIQUE
18-19
FINDINGS
19-20
FUTHER GRASSHOPPER
20-21
JOINERY
22-22
MOVING FORWARD
23-24
CASE STUDY 1 Using grasshopper to manipulate the Voussoir cloud
CASE STUDY 2
INTRODUCTION TO GATEWAY PROJECT
My group consisted of Meg, Michelle and myself and we chose the topic of material properties. This was appealing to me personally as I have always been drawn to particular buildings often more so because of the materials used than the form, due to the experiential qualities created by materials. In particular I have always been attracted to natural materials and their ability to lend to an interior space a sense of the outside environment, as well as for softer aesthetic qualities and environmental reasons. The use of timber in particular is something which is become more prominent in modern architecture and design, eg. Melbourne Central station, the new Highpoint shopping centre design, “Crackerjack” Carrum bowling club. For this reason we decided to focus our project around the qualities of timber and exploring its potential but in ways which haven’t so greatly been explored. We wanted to challenge the general ideas of timber in terms of flexibility, movement and form. “In architecture and structural engineering, the anisotropic and hygroscopic characteristics of wood resulting from its internal cellular structure are traditionally seen as problematic and
disadvantageous compared to more homogeneous, impervious and stable, industrially produced materials. While it is commonly understood that any genuine design approach for timber constructions requires knowledge of its internal cellular structure, the awareness of its material makeup has been mostly employed to counterbalance its complex material behavior by the related crafts, timber industry, engineers, and architects alike. The more recent history of timber construction is littered with attempts of compensating for the supposed deficiency of wood, ranging from special construction techniques to the development of industrial wood products that seek to homogenize the material. Material architecture may revel in qualities – the subjective, unpredictable, porous and ephemeral – that are contrary to the solid, objective and respectable practice expected of a professional. Consequently, the architect, user, site and weather may be an author of architecture and an agent of ambiguity. Architecture is expected to be solid, stable and reassuring – physically, socially and psychologically. “ - Archim Menges
PRECEDENTS
CHRISTIAN KUHN + SERGE LUNIN DUKTA
IWAMOTO SCOTT VOUSSOIR CLOUD
ELISA STROZYK WOODEN TEXTILES
ARGUMENT
After looking through these precedents which dealt with material performance we became interested in the inherent characteristics of timber. In traditional construction we have found, timber has been used in a very rigid still way something which we wanted to challenge. Therefore we were prompted to draw on ideas established through these precedents but to extend the investigation and manipulation even further. We focused our explorations on pushing the traditional boundaries of timbers flexibility and discovered we were able to create something which is quite fluid and organic. We were very focused on ensuring the form was a result of the properties of the timber, rather than designing something and hoping that we are able to build it from timber. Another focus of ours was to avoid adding any extra materials, particularly in terms of the joinery. We wanted the joinery to be part of the from as an extension of the material performance. Due to our chosen theme we decided it was important to experiment with our material prior to trying to develop a design in grasshopper This led to many experiments with plywood with tests focussing on the ability to bend, twist and stretch the piece.
PROOF OF TECHNIQUE
FINDINGS Variables we experimented with: angles of the cuts length of cut width of cut distance between the cuts curve/straight cuts shape of the strips length/width of strip with or against the grain applying different amounts of tension to form
We discovered each prototype encouraged a different type of movement eg. Rolling, twisting, bending, stretching etc. Our final form will be a combination of the effects created by each trial. It was interesting to learn that the variables that had the most impact were the direction of the grain, the nature of the cut eg curved or straight and the length and width of cuts. As predicted, the more material that is removed, the more flexible the form becomes. This however was problematic as there was always a risk of removing too much material and causing weakness.
“The considerable difference in modulus of elasticity in relation to fiber direction is of particular interest, with the modulus of elasticity parallel to the main fiber direction (between 9000 to 16000 N/ mm2 for different kinds of wood) generally being approximately fifteen times higher than perpendicular to the fibers (between 600 to 1000 N/mm2). In other words, wood has the interesting characteristic of variable stiffness in relation to grain orientation.� - Archim Menges
GRASSHOPPER The next stage for us was to to use the information we found in combination with grasshopper to begin designing our final form. We were focussed on trying to use the algorithmic techniques we learnt in case study 1, such as applying forces using kangaroo, to manipulate our forms in order to try and recreate the movement which we witness in playing with the trials in real life.
Additionally, we were intrested in how other people had used grasshopper to create loops, ribbons and spirals as this was the direction we were thinking of takking our model in. We took these examples and tried to use them in our own way to manipulate our grasshopper models.
JOINERY
Something we have explored but which we would like to look into further is how we plan to join our stripes together. In figure 1 we trialled joining each strip by using small wooden links as part of the design which are cut from the plywood by the laser cutter. This, however resulted in a much less flexible form. We also tried joining seperate members by joining them together using the dimensions of the ply to our advanatge. We cut the incisions at a width of 2.7mm to mimic the width of the ply so they they slot together perfectly.
We found this to be quite strong in keeping them together and may further trial this technique. Additionally we have trialled weaving which was quite successful however we would need to design a more calculated system as to which parts are joined. We also discussed adding extra ornamental value to our form by allowing a pattern to form as a result of the joinery. We have also now discussed using a puzzle kind of connection to combine elements.
MOVING FORWARD`/LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The criticism we received was in general regards to how our approach is advantageous over another approach or a more traditional approach, in that we didn’t present this strongly enough in our argument. After discussing this within our tutorial group we concluded our technique was advantagous for the following reasons: 1. Due to the nature of our design it would be easily constructed on site as it could be flat packed. This would decrease transport and labor costs. 2. Additionally, because we are avoiding any extra materials in our construction, this also minimizes costs as well as optimization of the material in that it uses it to its full potential without the need of added assisting materials. 3. Using modern computational design methods to create something which benefits the site by providing experiential qualities. 4. Contributing something new to the architectural discourse by exploring the testing the properties of timber and presenting our findings in sculptural way which is accessible to the public. The path which we are now trying to follow is to combine the more dramatic of the trials we discovered and to join them together in a kind of mesh/skin. This will run alongside the highway and in a way mimic the journey of the cars and the way they change speed, turn, move lanes and continually move forward by creating a form which ranges in size and pattern and which transforms, it’s arrangement, looping, swerving and bending. As we are interested in the properties of timber we would like to allow the form to move through stimulation from wind and weather. Additionally we would like to experiment with movement by constraining the form in particular way, for example pinning down certain sections to prevent movement in some areas, but allow other areas to move freely.