Studio Air - Part C

.

STUDIOAIR P A R T

C E L I N A S U P U R N A M I YA P U T R A 813602 ISABELLE JOOSTE WEDNESDAY 6.15-9.15 P.M

C

D E S I G N

J O U R N A L

Co n t e nts .

Pa rt c DE TAI L E D D ESIGN C . 1 R e f i n e d D e sig n Co n c e p t C . 2 T e c t o n i c E le m e n ts a n d P r o to typ e s C . 3 F i n a l D e t a il M o d e l C . 4 I m p r o v e me n ts- F u r th e r F e e d b a c k C . 5 L e a r n i n g Ou tc o m e s C . 6 R e f e r e n c es C . 7 A l g o r i t h m ic S ke tc h b o o k

2 S e m e s t e r

2 0 1 8

A

FE E DBACK Initial project during the mid-semester review had little texture mimicry of a tree and in this final design we wanted to explore more on how our design can create a habitat integrated to the house of 12 possums as an extension of the final tree.

A summary of key points needed for further refinement: 1. Mimicing the complex texture of a tree with algorithmic control 2. Controlling the density in connection to the tree branch 3. Distance parameters of the extension between the two branches. Exploring possbilities of structure with distance.

A

C. 1 Re fi n e d Desig n con c e pt

We took account on four factors when deciding which parametric design we can use to create the final form: 1. Porosity -

3. Adaptability -

Created by the fibrous structure, is it large enough or small enough to allow smaller preys

The length of the structure should be logical

to latch into the structure to create effici ency

to as joint/connection to the tree. We need

in food hunting. As also mentioned in our

to show how this flexible stucture works

previous design, besides integrating fibers as

when it is reacting change- how will the base

tensile strength for the nest, we also needed

structure/ fibers are attached when branches

to control the amount of lighting entering the

are further apart or become larger or smaller

dwell ing as leadbeater possums are active at

in diameter.

night, therefore holes should be concentrated where the entrance is and food chamber.

4. Constructibility

2. Natural density-

In persuit of 3d printing the structure we needed to make sure our fibrous form was

Objective on achieving gradient, implying

optimised in Grasshopper. How can we

changes of pattern over the wrapping the

effectively use digital precision and maximise

branches to iterate the process of spatial

the form using imagination while still retaining

evolution. We wanted to have a natural density

qualities and detail of the sturcture?

that projects from the tree branches into

Taking into account limitations of digit al

structure- progressively becomes thicker

fabrication process, we plan to create the

and concentrate on the middle, as a tensile

structure using a different plugin as compared

strength to sustain weight of the possum

to the mid semester while still achieving the

family.

fibrous and rigid components. In final form to be constructed with rapid manufacturing of PLA printing.

C . 1

D E S I G N

C O N C E P T -

FI BRO U S H O U SE Rol a nd s no o ks This project expands from the techniques originally developed in the Fibrous Tower project in 2008, by increasing the population of strands and freeing them from the influence of a predefined surface. Unlike like latter, this project contains form emerging from its structure and articulated as a dense mas s of strands. This house has several flow of strands that wrap to enclose space and dissolve back into the landscape. Final form was created with an intentional mess, a wild assemblage that expresses its intricate internal order, without smoothing over or taming its process of formation. 1

Looking into how the strands form its own shape and creating an even more organic structure, we decided to go ahead and took the bridging form as a concept of connec ting the new iteration with the site. Using this natural behaviour of the fibers, we continued to develop the ideas that were occuring on the central and surrounding of the base structure.

1 https: / / www.kokku gia .co m / f ibr ous - hous e

P R E C E D E N T

O N E

Figure 1.1 External Shot of the structure, showing its organic form

Figure 1.2 Inner fibrous material articulated as a dense mass of strands.

C . 1

D E S I G N

C O N C E P T -

Organic Approach on Openings Openings are naturall y produced by the assemblage instead of manually created using points attractor

Textural Component Layering was used to create an impression of a deeply textural surface, articulating the growth patterns from the branch to the main sturcture without smoothing the surface.

Figure 2.1 External View of Digital Mode

el

P R E C E D E N T

O N E

R E F I N E M E N T

New Reverse Engineering Process Took the patterning and texture of the shelter, and the curve of the shelter structure as something that is developable in Grasshopper using Culebera plugin- behaviors for creating dynamic multi agent interactions.

Disregarding Old Metaballs Direct extension of the tree that we are going to use, this fibrous no longer borrows the frame of metaballs as the load distribution of these structures are in equilibrium

Algorithmic Control of Fibrous Assemblage Structural support borrowed from wrapping agents acting as connection from the nest to tree branches but we might have to redo the density and organisation of fibers.

C . 1

D E S I G N

C O N C E P T -

FURT HE R L I M I TATION S To fabricate the model in real life, an

Furthermore, using 3D printing as a method

interesting apporach was used due to the

to fabricate is also limited by the size of the

overtly complex fibrous assemblage.

3D printer that next lab provides, Replicator+

As creating complex parts or organic parts

with a print Area: 295mm L x 195mm W x

requires a lot of simplification on the 3D

165mm H. Another method, was providing

modeling process, only a portion of the

more high-quality and precision parts but

composite was fabricated and a transparent

limited to powder bed and inkjet 3D printing –

protective shell of the fibers was used for

which can also be very expensive depending

support whislist help to show the development

on what they are designed to be capable of.

of organic form.

Last limitation is the fact that most 3D That made us think that there were restrictions

printers can only print in selective materials

on printing and we had to restrict the inti rcate

at a time, which mostly composes of PLA

detail and size of the webbing design we have

plastic.

built on the mid term

Previous Webbing Design

C O N S T R U C T I O N

Figure 3.1 Fabricated model on site

C 1 . 2

F U R T H E R

R E S E A R C

Figure 4.1 Merri Creek Aerial View

H -

S I T E

A N A L Y S I S

For this client, the specific tree will be Eucalyptus tree- in specific the river red gum tree inside the Upper west side of Merri Creek- and has the landscape classification of EVC 851: stream bank shrub

Plantings in Stream Bank Shrubland attempts to recover local landscape character and habitat values by mimicking natural areas.

The wetl and contains approximately 1.4 hectares of biodiverse revegetation. It is a part of an 11 hectare patch of indigenous revegetation adjacent to Merri Creek between St Georges Road and Arthurton Road.

Figure 4.2 Map showing different areas of different vegetations in Merri Creek Source: Merri Creek Vegetation Committee

C 1 . 3

F U R T H E R

R E S E A R C

R e q u i r e m e n t -

C L I E N T

S i z i n g

Children 14 cm , Tail rest 10 cm Adult 17 cm , Tail rest 18 cm

12 possums in a family

Minimum of 175 cm length base

1 male 1 female 10 child possums

Nest height minimum height 40 cm

C H -

N E S T

R e q u i r e m e n t -

D E TA I L S

B R A N C H

A N D

N E S T

lots of leafy coverage and sturdy branches.

Adequate shading devices Places of rest

At least 2.6 m to 3 m from above the ground, avoiding

The base should lie against the main

areas of the tree that are

trunk, with the main entrance hole

bare.

facing southeas t, or as much away from the afternoon sun as possible (possums are nocturnal and sleep during the day).

Standarised Possum Nest Box The following factors should be considered when constructing a nestbox: Size and depth.

Shape.

Insulation.

Entrance hole dimensions.

Structurally effective

C 1 . 4

C L I E N T

R E S E A R C H

H -

L E A D B E AT E R

P O S S U M

C 1 . 5

D E TA I L E D

Figure 5.1 Self sketch of the proposed tree- dense crown of long leaves

-

R I V E

R

R E D

G U M

T R E E

Min 200 mm distance spot

- S H R U B L A N D Australi a is known to have about 3% of the world’s forest area, this is about 125 million hectares of land. Out of this total forested land, about 75% is dominated by genus Eucalyptus which is known to have over 700 species existing in Australia. Victoria is one of the states that contains vast land covered with both tall and medium open genus Eucalyptus forests. Tall and medium open forests consists of trees that are 10- 30 m high and have 30-70% foliage cover. These Eucalyptus forests of Victoria have been facing one main challenge, intense fires. These fires destroy a lot of tree species and lead to long term effects. In fact about 40% of Victoria’s forests was destroyed by wildfires between 2002-2009. The potential effects of these fires include reduction in the number of wild animals in the forests, reduction in water quality, loss of soil nutrients, soil erosion, climate change and loss of biodiversity.

C 1 . 5

D E TA I L E D

R E S E A R

Focusing on the idea of a fig tree wrapping around another tree, controlling variabkes in grasshopper and determining final nest form as if they wrap around each ot her naturally to provide a biomimicry effect

Figure 5.2 Stranglers wrapped around the trunk

C H -

T E X T U R E S

Addressing on the variety of ways on how a fig can wrap itself ‘also called as the stranglerer ’ The network of roots, resembling a tangle of writhing snakes, also fuse together (anastomose) forming a massive woody envelope or “straightjacket” encircling the host. Expansion of the host trunk as it grows may accentuate the death grip and subsequent girdling process. Eventually the host tree dies of strangulation and shading, and the strangler fig stands in its place. In many cases the host tree may actually succumb from shading and root competition rather than strangulation.

When strangler figs start in the ground, as in cultivation, their trunks develop from the ground upward like other “conventional” trees.

Figure 5.3 Sketches on how a bark peel off a river red gum tree due to environmental factors

C 1 . 6

F O R M

G RA S S HO P P E R E X P L O R AT I ONS

step 1- main structure generated using metaball node to give us the organic shape of the nest step 2- the openings for the animal have been cut out step 3-the part where the branches and nest intersect have been cut out as well step 4- then we used Culebra pluging to simulate the behavior of crowling(like a spider netting a spider web) the "pink lines" step 5- then we used the outcome of the "spider web" to generate the mesh

F I N D I N G

-

G R A S S H O P P E R

Video: (p l e a s e c o p y p a s t e lin k) https://youtu.be/XAskwa4v104

A

C. 2 TECTO NIC EL EME N TS AN D PROTOT Y P ES

FA B R ICAT IO N The form is further developed for fabrication.

From the mid semester review, we have developed five different prototypes and chose which one adheres best for the client- through digital and physical models.

We began to disect these and choose a number of different explorations, as seen in the following diagrams. These were based on the critera of being as similar as possible (Biomimicry factor) to the existing branches that was on the site, through site environments and now with more precise measurements.

C 2 . 1

P R O T O T Y P E S

U N F A B R I C AT E D

P R O T O T Y P E

For the first prototype we tried to test on the plugin culebra and cocoon. We managed to create a structure that was spawn using intersecting curves to see how far we can maximise the density of the whole system.

However, this first prototype had problems because given we cannot fabricate due to the uncontrollable amount of lines coming out of the structure, it was too dense for the client and does not respond for our design of sunlight. testing failed. - unfabricated prototype

E XP LO D ED A XON O M E T R IC 01 Structure to Tree Connection Fibrous Assemblage Calubra Plugin Trial 02 Base Structure- Iteration on Count, Seed, Radius 03 Experimentation Outer StructureSpawning using Calubera and Cocoon Plug-in 04 Experimentation Outer

S E C O N D

P R O T O T Y P E

Second prototype, we tried to test on how fibrous we can get as the previous prototype of fibrous tower had such intricate details that prints actually failed. The outcome was quite predictable. We liked how fibrous the base structure looked but the openings were not organic and further the process would not allow a control on the thickness of the structure.

testing approved - fabricated prototype

E X PLO D E D A XO N O M E T R IC 01 Structure to Tree Connection Fibrous Assemblage 02 Base Structure- Iteration on Count, Seed, Radius 03 Experimentation Outer StructureSpawning using Calubera and Cocoon Plug-in

A

C 2 . 2

D E TA I LE D V I EW

P R O T O T Y P E

P I C T U

U R E S

FRONT V I EW

C 2 . 3 T H I R D

R E f i n e d P R O T O T Y P E

Third prototype we tried on the expansion and flexibility of the main curvature of our base structure. Also shown previously on a video that we rec orded, this is how the base structure will change when we move from one parameter to another.

We also 3d printed this mesh which we deemed was to thick as a fibrous material but the maximum thickness created the kind of natural opening that we liked on the dwelling.

E XP LO D ED A XO N O M E T R IC 01 High Density Fibrous Assemblage 02 Base Structure Connection Between 2 Branches 03 Base Structure Iteration - Thicker Branch, Shorter Di stance 04 Base Structure Iteration Shortest Branch Distance 05 Base Structure Iteration Main Curvature, Branches Radius

p r o t o t y

y p e s

F R O N T

A N D

D E TA I L E D

V I E W

C 2 . 4

F o u r t h

p r o t o t y p e s -

D E N

P R O T O T Y P E

Intergrating fibrous assemblage into the base structure and creating different layers as trials of shift between densities between the tree branch to the client’s house.

S e c t i o n a l

m o d e l

Testing of timber filament Corkfill Colorfabb Timber 1.75 mm 750 grams

N S I T Y

E X P L O R A T I O N

EXP LO D ED A XON O M E T R IC 01 Base Structure to Tree Connection Fibrous Assemblage 02 Base Structure- Creating Main Opening Entrance for Possums 03 Multiple Layers of Fibrous Assemblage - Thickest Fibrous Structure 04 Transitioning Fibrous Structure 05 Thinnest Fibrous AssemblageFood Recapturing

C. 3 FIN A L PRES ENTAT IO N MODEL

DENSIF ICAT IO N VS R EDU CT IO N In this, we feel like we have used principles of the Org anic (biomimicry) form which promotes harmony between dwelling habitation and the natural world. We tried to explore the Integration of the dwelling chambers from one tree to next tree as well by embedding the qualities of tree branches to our chambers, and mimicing curvatures and textural qualities with varifying densi ties.

Swarm behaviour w ebs will act as a device and a second layer meant to catch smaller preys for food such as spiders, moths and smaller grasshoppers. This will provide efficiency for food gathering without having to expend energy by hunting it down. The smaller preys will be trapped from the webs into the openings of the structure, and this area is going to become the food chamber for the possum s.

E X PLO D E D A XON O M E T RIC 01 Base Structure to Tree Connection - Fibrous Assemblage 02 Base Structure- Creating Main Opening Entrance for Possums 03 Multiple Layers of Fibrous Assemblage- Thickest Fibrous Structure 04 Transitioning Fibrous Structure 05 Thinnest Fibrous Assemblage- Food Recapturing

C 3 . 1

P R O T O T Y P E

P I C T U R

D ETA I LED V IE W O F T IM B E R FIL A MEN T

Physical prototyping is another weak aspect

As a matter of fact, the performance of fibrous

of the project which needs improvement. Our

assemblages is still part of the ongoing

project relies heavily on digital fabrication due

research agenda at Kokkugia.

to the complex design. Previously, due to time and knowledge constraints, we ran into a few

Thus, the last part of our final design

road blocks before being able to select an

development will be the investigation of

appropriate material and a fabrication method

material properties and defect behavior for

to produce a model that could successfully

digital fabrication.

communicate the design idea and perform well in the given context.

R E S

A d j u s t m e n t s We will still be using the same swarm algorithm that is based on the self-organising behavior of animal swarms that was developed in part B to blur and ensure a successful negotiation between the main structure, the connecting fibres and respective parts of the tree in order to give the impression of a continuous whole rather than a collection of separate entities.

A

C. 4 IMPROVE M E N TS+ FURT HE R F E E D BAC K

PLA and ColorFavv woodFill Filaments were

Design wise, we also had a few problems that

chosen for the purpose of this particular

were informed to us by our critics during the

project for easier fabrication, biodegradability

final presentation. Mainly, it was to remove the

and visual appeal due to the intentional

base layer, but at the same time keeping the

chaotic nature of the digital model as well

fibrous quality and furthermore creating natural

as the original concept design’s specific

openings for the possum house.

aesthetic requirements. All the models w ere fabricated with the scale of 1:5. While the

Thus, for the next and final part of our

last prototype seemed to fulfill most of our

proposal, we have decided to remove the

requirements, several unforseen fabrication

original base surface to replace with another

and design problems persisted. When we

fibrous layer with greater mesh thickness

tested the woodFill model using different

to provide adequate enclosure, ventilation,

weights to test the strength, it proved to be

insulation and support for the whole

too fragile for our purpose.

structure.

C 4 . 1

F I N A L

F O R M A T I O N

EX PLO DE D A XO N O M E T R IC 01 Base Structure to Tree Connection - Fibrous Assemblage 02 Base Structure- Creating Main Opening Entrance for Possums 03 Multiple Layers of Fibrous Assemblage- Thickest Fibrous Structure 04 Transitioning Fibrous Structure 05 Thinnest Fibrous Assemblage- Food Recapturing 06 Fibrous Support Towards Branch

N 06

05

04

03

02

01

S E CTIO N A A

PLAN

A

C 4 . 2

F I N A L

M O D E L

R E N

N D E R S

A

C 4 . 3

F I N A L

M O D E L

P I C

C T U R E S

C. 5 LE A R N I N G O U TCO M ES

OB J ECT I V ES Working individually during Part A and as part of a group during Part B and C helped me to develop the ability to formulate a brief within a digitally enabled project on conditions having never learned Grasshopper before.

Through this subject, I learned thhat the key was to explore m ore than the parameters of parametric software in order to learn its capabilities, and hence develop a suitable brief which maximises the outcomes of an ideal design. Another issue raised during our project was the constructability issues of using plywood for the base and we had initially imagined on using a couple of different methods. However, after further discussion with our tutor and as a group, we decided that continuing with our explorations using 3d printing of PLA and Timber would be the best outcome.

As seen throughout the journal and the algorithmic sketchbook, I have developed the skill of generating a large quantity of iterations and design possibilities very quickly using Grasshopper. By using my newly learnt software, I have found parametric software incredibly efficient, as it has the capacity to change the entire design based on one minor parameter change.

C 6 .

R E F E R E N C E S

Dunne, Anthony & Raby, Fiona (2013) Speculative Everything: Design Fiction, and Social Dreaming (MIT Press) pp. 1-9, 33-45 Fry, Tony (2008). Design Futuring: Sustainability, Ethics and New Practice (Oxford: Berg), pp.

1–16 Kolarevic, Branko, Architecture in the Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing (New York; London: Spon Press, 2003) pp 3-62 Peters, Brady. (2013) ‘Computation Works: The Building of Algorithmic Thought’, Architectural Design, 83, 2, pp. 08-15 Schumacher, Patrik (2011). The Autopoiesis of Architecture: A New Framework for Architecture (Chichester: Wiley), pp. 1-28 Fry, Tony, Design Futuring: Sustainability, Ethics and New Practice [Oxford: Berg, 2008] Knippers, J. 2013. ‘From Model Thinking to Process Design’, Architectural Design, 83: 74-81 Menges, A. 2012. ‘Material Resourcefullness’, Architectural Design: 34-43’ Oxman, R., and R. Oxman. 2014. ‘Introduction: Vitruvius Digitalis’, in Anonymous Theories of the Digital in Architecture (London; New York: Routledge), pp. 1-10 Wayback Pana, ‘Eastgate Development, Harare, Zimbabwe’ https://web.archive.org/ web/20041114141220/ http://www.arup.com/feature.cfm?pageid=292

C 7 .

A L G O R I T H M I C

S K E T

C H B O O K

A

P A R T C T H A N K Y O U E A IM Y K H A IN G A N D ISABE L L E J OOSTE