Virtual Environments (ENVS 10008) Module One: Ideation - Week 3 Catherine Mei Min Woo 562729 Semester 2/2012 Group 13
Week 1: Natural Process Research “Creepers”
“Death”
Complex & intricate yet self sustaining design
Gravitationally inclined curvature during and after this process
“Stalactites”
Intricate structure with interesting potential when intorduced to light
Week 2: Sketch Proposals “Creepers”
“Death”
“Stalactites”
Precidents found in nature & sketch model for an epulette/scarf/shawl
Precidents found in nature & the built environment & sketch model for a head piece
Precidents found in acessories & the built environment & sketch model for statement piece
Natural Process: Death “Death” Occurs when a living organism/cell permanently terminates the biological functions that sustain the living organism The process whereby biological changes occur after reaching maturity is known as senescence/biological aging Structrual rigidity of plants reduce and cause them to appear limp/wilt due to structural changes caused by aging Humans experience the same structual changes to their bone and muscle structure
Figure 1.1
When an organism dies and lose structural control, gravity pulls them towards the earths surface, forcing cantelivering organisms to ‘bend’ downwards
Figure 1.2
Figure 2.1
Figure 2.2 Figure 1.1-1.2: Diagram of a wilting plant and the curvature that is found to exist in the organisms death, which is also seen in Figure 2.1-2.3: whereby the same pattern exists in other organisms eg. Humans.
Figure 2.3
Natural Process: Death Headpiece Inspired by the psychological ties connected to the process of death and the physical curvature of dead/dying organisms Death can be precieved as a looming shadow and unavoidable, hence ominous and threatening
Figure 3.1 Figure 3.1: Illustrates the difference in psychological perception towards the process of death. Both are contrasting as one can be considered a “looming/ominous” event that is physically represented as a shadow whereas it can also be uplifting and bright, like a lantern
The idea of shadows brings about interesting pattern centric possibilities for shadowing of the headpiece Death can also be precieved as the last stage of mortal enlightenment, hence ties into the lantern concept By adapting the curvature to the headpiece, traditional headpieces eg. hats can be reinterpreted into more elaborate deisgns and patterns for this task
Figure 5.1
Figure 4.1 Figure 4.1: indicates how the curvature can be reinterpreted as a “looming” or cantelivering structure, which allows the posibilitiy of creating “looming shadows” to tie in with the theme while creating opportunities for pattern implication
Figure 5.2
Figure 5.3
Figure 5.1-5.3: Examples of how the curvature can be adapted into the headpiece as inspired from the headpieces as pictured on the left
Natural Process: Death “Death� The curvature of dead/dying organisms is the primary structure that makes up the design by this theme The basic composition of the structure would focus on capturing the curvature of a dead/dying organism The pattern is further derived from dead/ dying organisms through the analysis of decomposition of organic matter Principles of paneling suggest creating seemingly random patterns through a systematic process, may be able to successfully translate the desired pattern onto the design
Figure 1.1
Precidents include decaying organic matter as well as facade mesh/screen patterns found in contemporary architecture in locations such as Pittsburgh
Figure 1.2
Figure 2.1
Figure 2.2 Figure 1.1-1.2: Images of existing architectural structures that make use of patterns Figure 2.1-2.3: further examples of decaying organisms and the patterns created
Figure 2.3
Natural Process: Death Headpiece Inspired by the psychological ties connected to the process of death and the physical curvature of dead/dying organisms Furthering the idea of “looming”, the affects of the shadows cast upon by the proposed sketch models successfull create the desired outcome
Figure 3.1 Figure 3.1: Sketch models displaying two sketch designs
Furthering the idea of “enlightenment”, integration of LED lights into the design would create interesting results after incorporating patterns By adapting the curvature to the headpiece, traditional headpieces eg. hats can be reinterpreted into more elaborate deisgns and patterns for this task
Figure 4.1 Figure 4.1: indicates how the curvature can be reinterpreted as a “looming” or cantelivering structure, which allows the posibilitiy of creating “looming shadows” to tie in with the theme while creating opportunities for pattern implication
Figure 5.1
Figure 5.2
Figure 5.3
Figure 5.1-5.3: Examples of how the curvature can be adapted into the headpiece as inspired from the headpieces as pictured on the left
Experimentation: Form Shadows Design 1
Design 2
Experimentation: Form Shadows Design 3
Playing with shadows to emphasize the idea of looming & enlightenment is possible with various designs
Design 4
Precidents: Pattern
Decaying leaf shadow
Physalis alkekengi
Existing light shadowing
Rovi Lau Sem 1 2012
Theory analysis Theories presented through the lectures and readings such as Ball (2012), Poling (1987), Ching (1990) and Yee (1997) provided separate but interconnected theories and introduced precedents that exist readily in nature and are adapted into structures and technology to be utilized by humans. Ball (2012) discussed the idea of “self-organization” in nature through natural processes, such as adaptation through naturally occurring environmental constrains and opportunities. This concept outlines the emergence of patterns that occur naturally, such as granular patterns and patterns that exist in chemicals. Granular patterns emerge from forces such as attraction, repulsion, mimicry and swarming, whereas chemical patterns emerge based on the forces of competition and achieving balance. Ball’s outline can be seen as an extension of the idea of emergence, whereby patterns that are seemingly formed at random, are actually the contrary and directly influenced by it’s environment. This ties in with the lecture that analyzed naturally existing patterns, which was the basis of the pattern and form analysis for the design of the lantern. Through observing decay and decomposition, as well as precedents of facades and meshes in the built world as well as the natural world, has inspired the creation of a pattern that would exist throughout the design which is further emphasized by it’s ability to create intricate shadow detailing. Upon reflecting the importance of mathematics and logical thinking in the design of structures, Kandisky (poling 1987) approached design derived from the principles of logic and mathematical calculations. He drew inspiration from analyzing the patterns and natural composition of existing environments for design through entities such as energy, movement and rhythm. The three stages of Kandisky’s analysis include, break down, tension and symbolism, respectively. The breakdown stage includes distilling and simplification of complex structures to simplistic forms for further analysis. The tension stage requires further deconstruction of the simplistic forms to isolate the relationships that exist within the form that are indicated through variations of simple lines and points of change or interest. Finally, symbolism, the more ‘creative’ stage whereby stage 1 and 2 coincide to create the key form that makes up complex structures. By utilizing this template of analysis and organization, the process of creating the form and pattern of the lantern has been greatly streamlined and simplified. Furthermore, the lecture on the extraction of ideas from nature not only serve as a reminder to create nonstatic designs, but also to utilize them as spatial devices as well as embrace emergence of ideas. Additionally, Ching (1990) and Yee (1997) provide informative insight into orthography, hence streamlining implementation into the student journal. the Rhino and InDesign tutorials have been helpful to a certain extent for further research and comparison of usage techniques, online and offline, have generated greater insight into full utilization of the programs.