air sketchbook diana.ong 7 0 1 8 3 2 m a t t h e w mcdonnell
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f i n a l p ro j e c t
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a p p e n d i x
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1 week 1-10 algorithmic sketches
week 1: lofted vases . native flowers GREVILLEAS: The curvy characteristic of this flower inspired me to create a swivel pattern for the vase. I started off by experimenting with basic transformation components such as scaling and size and then lofting them together. A swivel pattern is achieved with these effects.
BANKSIA : I tried to add variation to lofted surfaces to recreate the modulated and small "petals" of the banksia flowers by adding the hexagonal cells component. I also experimented with the pipe component to create a hexagonal holed- mesh.
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PRECEDENT: I attempted to recreate jon kleinhample's Trillip vase. This was achieved with basic lofting and scaling components.
http://blog.gessato.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/trilip-vase-series-jonkleinhample-1.jpg
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week 2: contouring & sectioning . study tables
Started off with intersections and splits using both Breps. The shift command also applied for a boolean effect.
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Exploration with Breps, range and offsets
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Exploration with contouring and Voronoi patterns.
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week 3: bookshelves.data MAPPING WEEK 3 | Bookshelves: For this week I explored the use data management in Grasshopper, involving components such as lists, series and domains. These parameters are then manipulated with components such as graph mappers and shift. I found it extremely easy to generate new forms and make iterations by using the graphs and domains, and the generation of outcomes was a very exciting process. Indeed, this process relates to my studies in part A.3 , where the form of designs are completely generated with a certain parameter applied through computable functions. With this accumulated knowledge, I hope I will be able to apply existing parameters of the final project at Abbotsford Convent and generate new forms according to the brief.
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week 3: bookshelves. Gridshells
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week 3: FIELD + CHARGES Changes made to the Biothing project.
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week 3: image sampling
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week 4: FIELD + CHARGES
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week 4&5: fractal geometries
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week 6: driftwood
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week 5-6: case study 1. form finding UNARY FORCE: By applying different sets of force on vectors, the overall form changes drastically within the vertical domain, whilst keeping within its horizontal parameters, ie. the length and width.
UNARY FORCE: -100 to 100
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variations . form finding
UNARY FORCE: -500 to 500
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week 6: iterations-voissior cloud
geometrical iterations
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exploration: kangaroo- unary force + plugins
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exploration: plugins -weaverbird & lunchbox
weaverbird window
Lunchbox diamond panels
weaverbir laplace low res
lunchbox skewed quads
weaverbird laplace
points of insertion 26
weaverbir stellate
week 7-8: reverse engineer-exotique CULLING OUT THE HEXAGONAL PATTERN
rd e+ st
rd FINAL MODEL
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week 10: project proposals
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week 10: exploration
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week 10: SPECULATIVE future ,MONTAGES
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2 final project
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WEEK 10-12 FINAL PROJECT CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
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design process summary agenda
outcomes/feedback
FEEDBACK FROM PART B - focus on one single strong concept instead of a combination of multiple ideas - experiment with prototypes to get familiar with materiality & its strength & weaknesses - get creative with ideas
- decided on the main concept - SOUND - decided that we would use machine operated fabrication techniques such as laser cutting and CNC milling to test out digital fabrication workflows
DATA COLLECTION & VISUALISATION - explored the Firefly plugin to write up definition for sound visualisation in Grasshopper - collection of sounds from Abbotsford Convent through first hand recordings and music tracks from Shadowelectric
- managed to solve definition to generate curves from soundwaves, deciding that it would be the main driving component for the final design - decided to use a combination of sounds from the site rather than just from Shadowelectric
DESIGN EXPLORATION 1 - TESSELATION - exploration with panelling & Lunchbox in Grasshopper - creation of canopy that morphes and merges with the ground plane - the play of two materials - sound absorbent material and glass to achieve a transition of sound space
- Feedback - too much components working together, complicate main focus - decided to leave the ideas regarding materiality and focus on soundwaves
DESIGN EXPLORATION 2 - SECTIONING - utilised base surface from previous attempts to create sections throughout the design
- Feedback -too simple as a roof, needs more variety to design
FINAL DESIGN - extruded main sectioning curves - added perforations on canopy membrane to improve sound quality of the space, ventilation & aesthetics
- Feedback - good integrated concept, consider joints & constructabilty issues
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SOUNDWAVES GENERATION PROCESS-FIREFLY converting data to curves
EXPLICIT SOUNDS
SOUNDS FROM SHADOWELECTRIC
IMPLICIT SOUNDS
FROM NATURE YARRA RIVER
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FROM THE CONVENT CAFES, STALLS, GENERAL ATMOSPHERE
FROM THE COMMUNITY COLLINGWOOD’S CHILDREN FARM
culling & combining curves
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culling & combining curves
RESULTING CURVES
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SCRIPTING - EXPLORATION 1 -PANELLING
grasshopper script-panelling
FINDING THE AVERAGE OF BASE LOFTED SURFACE & A REFERENCE SURFACE
LISTING OUT THE STEPS
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SCALE/ EXTRUDE FOR NEW ITERATIONS ITERATIONS - LUNCHBOX PLUGINS
END RESULT FROM DEFINITION
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base curve + reference curve averaging surfaces
gh script
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precedents for panelling
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iterations 1. panelling
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proposal 1
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elevations
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panelling - joints
EXPLORATION SKETCHES OF TYPES OF JOINTS
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site analysis & use
SITE ANALYSIS - EXPLODED AXO
FLOW OF CIRCULATION + USE AT SITE
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concept change & development
CONCEPT CHANGE
PRECEDENTS
SOUNDWAVES AS CONCEPT
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concept MONTAGES
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final design 54
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perforations detail attractor points
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Perforations function - to improve acoustic qualities of the space.
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iterations 2. SECTIONING
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iterations 3. SECTIONING
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final design
PERFORATIONS
BASE SURFACE
SECTIONING
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perforations detail image sampling
iterations 4. PERFORATIONS
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curve attractor
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Sectioning detail idea generation
graphical flow
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sectioning - varying extrusion widths
Find perpendicular frames to curves Sweep 1 command to loft sections together again Dividing each curve in to 4 sections
Varying the size of each section
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overall grasshopper DEFINITION
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function diagram
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sectioning - joints
Section cut of my sectioning.
Bolted rod joint we found at Bunnings.
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The joints that we designed for the project. 1) Clear Tab joint , 2) Rod joint, 3) Metal strips, 4) Tensioning bracket
sectioning - joints
STEEL-WOOD COMPOSITE
150mm Galvanised steel core
Wire in cable anchor Wire trunk
Laminated laser cut wood from sustainable sources
Bulb holder screwed to wire trunk Low energy LED bulb
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Extra research on timber bending One of the given during the interim presentation was that we could consider using only timber as the main material for the sections. Following this, we did some research regarding the use of timber and how it could be bent. After research, we considered the use of steam bent timber. Benefits of this method include maintaining the strength of timber due to cross grain and its economic value. The typical process of steam bending: 1. Selection of timber - preferably hardwood with high moisture content 2. Steaming/ soaking process - cuts of timber are steamed in boxes under controlled temperature (commonly 100 degrees Celcius) / soaked in water to make them more pliable 3. Bending - timber shaped into desired form with clamps & straps. 4. Post-bending - shaped timber is left to cool & set, typically for couple of days. <?>
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Fig.8 - Steamed bent timber beams Fig. 9 & 10 - Example of steamed bent timber beams in residential and commercial projects, used at a large scale.
Examples of companies which offer bespoke timber steam bending in Victoria include: - Australian Architectural Hardwoods-http://www. aahardwoods.com.au/ - Vicbeam - http://vicbeam.com.au/ - Dale-glass industries -http://www.dgi.com.au/ - The Timber Benders - http://timberbenders.com.au/ Suitable timber for bending include Blackwood, Celerytop, WA Karri, NZ Kahikatea and Spotted Gum, preferably air-dried rather than kiln dried as lower moisture content will increase the difficulty of it being bent. 2 Nonetheless, there has been multiple examples of bent Glulam timber used in Australia, thus proving this method feasible at a large architectural scale such as our design.
1. International Timber, "Steam Bending Wood", (2015), <http://www. internationaltimber.com/news/timber/steam-bending-wood--how-does-it-work->, [accessed 3 June 2017]. 2 Timber Benders, "Suitable Timber", (2017), <http://timberbenders.com.au/timbers-
Fig. 11 - Table of capabilities of curved beams & terminology.
The most significant limitation of this method is the chord length of the beam should increase according to the curve radius. This means that it might not be possible to fabricate a narrow / steeply curved timber apparent in some sections in our design. Thus, if this method was to be adopted, our design would have to be tweaked to satisfy the minimum requirements of the specific manufacturer/ fabricator. For example, Figure x shows the minimum beam size as well as chord length required by Hyne & Son Pty Ltd operating in Maryborough, Queensland.
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PROTOTYPES grasshopper defnition for waffle grid
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PROTOTYPES RHINO MODEL for waffle grid
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cnc milling layout out in rhino
results
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600.00
laser cut templates
Prototype 1 - Sectioning test out on MDF
600.00
900.00
Prototype 2- Laser cut perforations on polypropylene 945.00
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Final model sectioning - MDF
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planning the layout . final crit powerpoint presentation
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and we're done. :] thanks matt!
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3 appendix
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snapshots of my journey in air Significant moments of fun (and not fun) experiences in Studio Air that made it into my Instagram story. Thought it would be nice to share. Note the change of mood from the start till the end.
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CONVERSATIONS WITH GRASSHOPPER
Learning to script in Grasshopper was not an easy process for me with no computing background. There were lots of times where I met blocks and errors in Grasshopper definitions, or could not find suitable components that could match up. Luckily, with the help of Matt, the consultation tutors and my groupmates, I was able to successfully write up my own script in Part B and C and further iterate them according to my design direction and ideas. Nonetheless, I found the interactive component of Grasshopper very interesting and its interface extremely user-friendly, especially for amateurs like me.
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who's got your back
I am very fortunate to be in a group with Tat and Jaime, whom I could share ideas and communicate thoughts easily with. Although we have had disagreements and conflicts in design ideas, we managed to solve them through discussion and group reasoning, with the end goal of producing the best final design that we can in the dedicated timeframe. We were a very productive group, distributing workloads equally among ourselves and constantly setting reasonable deadlines despite having other subjects to cope with, to ensure that we were always on track. From this process, I learnt that communication and cooperation is the key for effective workflows in groups, which also saves plenty of time and effort while enabling the design to be pushed to its limits.
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taking the leap
Although I was exposed to digital fabrications in a second year subject - Digital Design and Fabrication, our group did not utiliise any digital fabrication techniques in for the final project. Thus, in Studio Air, I was extremely excited to try out the newest fabrication techniques available. After consultation with "gurus" at the Fabrication Workshop, we were given a few alternatives to proceed with prototyping. Combined with the enthusiasm of my fellow groupmates, we ended up trying all of the digital fabrication techniques suggested, such as vacuum forming and CNC milling. The process was an eye-opening experience for me and the results surprised me even further. After this studio, there is no doubt that I will continue to explore more digital fabrication methods and the various materials that go with them.
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A big thank you to my amazing groupmates Jaime and Tat for the cooperation, motivation and many sleepless nights, to my tutor Matthew for your patience and guidance, and to the subject coordinators for the splendid resources and many given opportunities to learn.
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