Architecture Design Studio: Air | Eaint Myat Noe Khaing @ Eaimy 2018
Design Journal
Pa rt A c o n c e p t u a l i s at i o n
Contents A.0
About Me
A.1
Design Futuring Precedent 01 Precedent 02
A.2
Design Computation Precedent 03 Precedent 04
A.3
Composition & Generation Precedent 05 Precedent 06
A.4
Conclusion
A.5
Learning Outcomes
A.6
References
A.7
Appendix
A.0
About Me
I am Eaint. I have been brought up Yangon; a city which, despite its booming economy and long-standing status as a cultural heritage site, is filled with buildings once considered ‘iconic’ falling into decay and disrepair, and citizens complaining about the poor local drainage and sewage system, regular power outrages, traffic congestion and rising property prices on a ‘hourly’ basis. As a child, every time I heard the adults talked or took car rides past these ‘ugly’ and moss-covered buildings, I told myself that when I grew up and made enough money, I would pay to fix them all. Of course, now that I am older, I have realised that protecting a few landmark buildings would not be enough, and to save, conserve and better this town that I love so dearly, we would need to undertake a holistic and sustain-
able transformation of the current city model. As a third year architecture student, I am undoubtedly more grown up now but still unsure of how exactly I am going to ‘fix’ things. Nonetheless, I believe architecture combined with technology would give me a chance to contribute directly to the problems many of the societies around the world are facing today and design a preferable way of living for the future. I am very confident with free hand sketches and my ability to improvise. I have learned to combine the skills I developed as an artist with computer aided design software such as Photoshop to generate realistic rendering. Though not directly related to architecture, I have also been exposed to the fundamentals of visual programming through the use of a program known as Max 7. However, I have very limited experience with other contemporary digital
modelling and design tools such as Rhino and Grasshopper. I certainly hope that Architecture Design Studio: Air would give me a chance to familiarize myself with the principles of digital design and develop proficiency in 3D modelling, 2D drafting techniques and photo rendering for documentation in order to convey and construct ideas and messages efficiently with purpose and confidence in my future designs.
Fig. 1
A.1
Design Futuring
The notion of sustainable development, which is all the rage at the moment, was first introduced in a report by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) as a guiding institutional principle that would assist in creating a balance between “economic and social systems and ecological conditions.”1 While this is a worthwhile pursuit, the term ‘sustainability’ is continuously overused in relation with claims about sustaining the environment which are so poorly defined that it has merely become an expedient marketing and a rebranding tool for those who wish to distract the consumer from greater and larger environmental impacts of a category as a whole, and ‘sustain’ their market shares. Meanwhile in the design and building industries, architects, especially with the growing trend of early contractor involvement, are caught in the rat race to achieve better environmental performance ratings in order to win a competitive edge. In the face of the impending environmental crisis, globalisation, rapid technological advancements and economic challenges, as design-
ers, we cannot do much to significantly slow down the pace of consumerism and the ways in which it has been serving as the context across disciplines. Then, we might ask how are we to successfully implement a design process in tune with the factors that inform current consumer trends with more sustainable outcomes. To do this, firstly, sustainability needs to be addressed holistically in terms of its ability to sustain.2 This idea is inspired by Tony Fry, an award winning designer and theorist. In his book, “Design Futuring: Sustainability, Ethics and New Practice”, Tony Fry manipulates and forms an interesting term ‘sustain-ability’ which beseeched us to reconsider our actions in time, their consequences, how it will affect the future and think of what is required to sustain every aspect of this world, namely beyond the reality that we all belong to the single species “Homo sapiens”. More interestingly, he also introduces two terms: ‘futuring’ and ‘defuturing’ to describe design. Defuturing describes the processes that are not sustainable which will inevitably lead to ultimate decline. He accuses present designs as being ‘defuturing’ in a sense that they reduce the chance of survival in the long term. Sustainability has become a fad. Design process has become a compliance. Fry has stressed importance on design saying “it names our ability to prefigure what we create before the act of creation, and as such, it defines one of the fundamental characteristics that makes us human.” 3
Lucas Seghezzo, “The Five Dimensions Of Sustainability”, Environmental Politics, 18.4 (2009), 539556 <https://doi.org/10.1080/09644010903063669>. 2 Tony Fry, Design Futuring: Sustainability, Ethics and New Practice (Oxford: Berg Publishers Ltd, 2008) 3 Fry, Design Futuring. 4 Fry, Design Futuring. 5 Anthony Dunner and Fiona Raby, Speculative Everything ([S.I]: MIT, 2014) 1
He further asserts: “As change has to be by design rather than chance, design has to be in the front-line of transformative action. But for design to be able to perform this role, the sum of all design practices, including architecture, themselves have to be redesigned.” 4 In this way, I surmise that design can be a powerful agent of change but only when it deviates from conformist, restrained, technocentric and stylistic approaches that we are so familiar with. Concerns about the gap between design and as-built performance are not new and Fry’s theory alone do not serve as a solution to the issue of unstainable development and design “problems”. Instead, “Design Futuring” is an attitude and what it would remind us are the commonalities and defects of thinking about design on its own, without placing it in a wider context and contributes to the discussion of what is halting the transition to global sustainable development. When Dunne and Raby mentioned “Critical Design” in Speculative Everything, they reinforced the idea of approaching design in a introspective manner, re-examining our motives, views and values through deliberately confronting ourselves with new questions and problems and presenting alternative perspectives.5 This encourages designer to work without seeking a market and thinking like a
mere aesthetic consultant. With this in mind, redefining design in accordance with the redirected design philosophy proposed by Tony Fry in his book â&#x20AC;&#x153;Design Futuring: Sustainability, Ethics and New Practiceâ&#x20AC;?, perhaps, could be a step in the right direction as this could let us to rethink about our roles as designers and forces us out of our anthropocentric thinking. In the following case studies, I will try to demonstrate possible points of intervention in the design of buildings, discuss the perceptions and actions of these designers in the context of redirected practice and how this would have helped expand the possibilities of design in the future.
Fig. 2
Precedent 01 Heal-Berg: Reverse Climate Changing Machine by Luca Beltrame & Saba Nabavi Trafreshi
eVolo Skyscraper Competition is first established in 2016 and is run annually to acknowledge the visionaries in the world today and encourage them to use their visions as a tool to make a positive change. It requires submissions to respond to a brief by producing a forward looking design for a sky-scraper “through the implementation of novel technologies, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organizations along with studies on globalization, flexibility, adaptability and the digital revolution.”6 Heal-Berg Reverse Climate Changing Machine by Luca Beltrame, and Sava Nabavi Tafreshi, which features a floating skyscraper, is among the selected entries for eVolo’s 2018 competition. “Our vision for Heal-Berg is to create independent complexes (in terms of energy and mobility), designed to cease, heal and reverse the process of climate change and its impacts on the earth. We went on a mission to collect some of the most recent innovative technology breakthroughs from all around the world, and combine them as elements of a greater embodiment operating as a whole to achieve a goal, survival. Our technologies are mainly functioning in four criteria, and have been proven possible in practice.” 7 With this model, Beltrame and Tafreshi hoped to present an alternative solution to the ongoing environmental crisis by imagining their building as a machine which will counter and reverse the damages caused by anthropogenic climate change. A surprising aspect about their approach is that they were not looking for just one piece
of winning technology that they would integrate into their building to ‘fight’ climate change as much as they were not looking at which contributing factor has been the most destructive to revolve their idea around. On the other hand, it is also not so surprising as it would only be sensible for designers to consider all aspects of design, from head to foot to where the foot is standing, how it is currently standing and how long would it take before it loses composure. I found their preposition to tackle CO2 particularly interesting. Efforts are being made all over the world to cease CO2 emissions. We have taken initiatives to grow more trees and use green vehicles. Beltrame and Tafreshi took a step further by saying that this is not enough, existing technologies are not enough and there is a need for something truly disruptive, which in this case takes the form of high energy vacuum ultraviolet lasers to ‘zap’ the harmful gases and facades made of material and composed of several elements which would store CO2 in its stable form. This probably still would not be enough to save the planet but could this inspire governments and energy companies to develop new strategies and similar approaches and could this, to an extent, decrease the scale of the issue that is required to be fixed? In my very personal opinion, designing a building is very much like writing a book. Authors may find it necessary to use tenths and hundreds of pages to onstruct a convincing argument and make it easier for the reader to grasp
“Winners 2017 Skyscraper Competition”, Evolo, 2017 <http://www.evolo.us/category/2017/> [Accessed 11 August 2018]. 7 “Winners 2017 Skyscraper Competition”, Evolo, 2017. 6
what they really want to say, especially when it is something so vague and hard to be understood. Nonetheless, a really effective argument may just comprise a few sentences. The very reason that I have chosen this particular project is that while it was not the winning entry, it managed to perfectly capture the essence of the competition theme. The model is not meant to be realised as a concrete structure but serves as the embodiment of the creative, speculative, and redirective thinking in design that we need in the sense that it has the ability to tell its viewer the story of a speculated future and parts of the truth about what is happening today and inspire designers to consider the ways in which design can play a role in shaping our future through not just its form but its approach to design.
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Precedent 02 Loblolly House by Kieran Timberlake
From afar, the building looks like a regular wooden cabin which takes the shape of a simple cuboid. However, studying it carefully, one can start to envision the alternate future that this house is proposing through its walls of perfectly trimmed and fitted pieces of wood, glass and metal. My choice to include Loblolly House as a case study is due to a number of reasons, with its seemingly simple and regular form being one of them. When one mentions “parametric modelling”, a lot of people will associate the term with extremely complicated, organic, doublecurved, or triangulated forms which continue to emerge in architectural designs today along with more and more tools being made available for use defining the principles of design and architecture. This is not essentially a bad thing, as long as some effort is put into the behavioural aspect of design as much as it is being put into the looks. Loblolly House, too, has illustrated the use of parametric modelling in which assemblies manufactured off-site were designed to fit very precisely in numerous configurations.8 What I wish to demonstrate here is that there is no certain way of thinking about design, especially concerning the subject of form and even using the words such as too ‘simple’ or ‘irregular’ can become misleading. I wish to further emphasise that neither form nor look should solely be the dictator of design decisions.
Most of all, the design of this house falls within the category of directive and speculative design on the grounds that it is extremely adaptable. It is an usual type of assembly which can be easily disassembled to be re-assembled into other configurations to adapt to different site conditions which symbolizes impermanence and evolution through its use and concept. Not only being a cheaper and faster type of construction, this type of flexible modular and prefabricated construction could become useful to meet the ever-changing needs of the society.
The designer of this house also placed a lot of emphasis on site and environment. For instance, the building is raised on structural pilotis to minimise disruption to site grounds and applied green technology to most parts of the building including the roof, walls, skins and windows to achieve natural ventilation. 9
Kiren Cilento, “Loblolly House / Kieran Timberlake”, Archdaily, 2010 <https://www.archdaily. com/64043/loblolly-house-kieran-timberlake> [Accessed 11 August 2018]. 9 “Loblolly House”, Nanawall <https://www.nanawall.com/applications/loblolly-house> [Accessed 11 August 2018]. 8
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A.2
Design Computation
As part of the strive for a really modern architecture that looks beyond the obvious and immediate information, several key technologies have emerged. Among them is “Computational Design”. Essentially, it utilizes artificial intelligence and algorithms in order to generate highly precise and resolved outcomes through rapid automation and iteration that would have traditionally be considered impossible.10 The emergence of computational design in architecture has significantly shifted the way design has traditionally been perceived and continues to play a significant role in the designing process from conceptualization to representation to fabrication. Computational Design has the following distinct characteristics: 1.)
Providing Design Alternatives
One of the main advantages of technology is how it has enabled creative ideas to become tangible in very short space of time. “Increasing creativity can also be attributed to the fact that computers can generate complex forms that could not be envisioned by human design.”11 2.)
Better Design Evaluation
What immediately follows the searching of alternatives in design is the evaluation phase. Traditionally, it would be entirely be up to the designer to think of ideas, decide upon his logic and work through to decide an arrangement to finally
then form ‘the design’, but now that we have access to creating virtual 3D models and with more details added to them, designers can gain a better understanding of the problem that is being solved and the implications of the assumptions when solving it. “Moreover, it can be also argued that allowing for designers’ inputs, which are based on experience and intuition, will increase creativity and narrow the design space to more accepted (for saythe designer) directions.”12 3.)
Differential accuracy
According to Oxman, this is known as “the potential for differentiation.”13 Highly specific algorithms are presented to the designer in a way that they can alter and direct the provided parameters to generate accurate and optimized outcomes that would otherwise require highly complex calculations and might have been tradictionally impossible due to the process being highly iterative and time consuming. To illustrate, when I was asked to draw an axonometric projection of a building in construction for my construction design subject, I did not have any training or knowledge on computational 3D modelling and design. Instead, I used “Photoshop”, which only allowed me to view things in two dimensions (I actually did it and my tutor called me crazy!) and merely acted as a replacement for a sheet of paper. Needless to say, the process was incredibly time consuming and I struggled to find the best way to visualise and translate the information I had on plans and
Rivka Oxman and Robert Oxman, Theories Of The Digital In Architecture (London: Routledge, 2014), pp. 1-10 11 Yasha Jacob Grobman, Abraham Yezioro and Isaac Guedi Capeluto, “Computer-Based Form Generation In Architectural Design — A Critical Review”, International Journal Of Architectural Computing, 7.4 (2009), 535-553 <https://doi.org/10.1260/1478-0771.7.4.535>. 12 Grobman, Yezioro and Capeluto, “Computer-Based Form Generation In Architectural Design”. 13 Oxman and Oxman, Theories Of The Digital In Architecture, pp. 1-10. 10
sections to a different perspective, especially when there were so many details and new information appearing every time I look at the drawings. This was when I had an exact idea of what I was trying to achieve. Imagine having to redraw every single component until we have the “best” fit. In the mean time, we have to take into account the external factors that would be introduced along the design process. I would most likely just stick with what I have come up initially. Computational design allows us to overcome these obstacles and generate variations of responsive virtual models which cannot be produced by a normal and static approach alone. Nonetheless, being a comparatively new field which has yet to develop its own formal framework, computational design is also the subject of criticism over merits of approach. While reading the works of Kalay14 and Kolarevic,15 it occurred to me that much of the existing research, design and developments have shown a tendency to cherry pick data and settle for lowhanging fruit approaches, which often prove to be inconclusive, fragmented and gestural. In the case of contemporary architecture, while the development of computer software might have been successful to a large extent in improving efficiency and productivity, a repeatable methodology for innovation that is very much in demand remains a conundrum.16 For instance, the pervasiveness of impressive and eye-catching skylines of “iconic” tall towers with glass walls are a testament to the power of
In continuing the discussion, I would like to pose the following questions: how can we ensure that emerging technologies are not limiting our creative process and maintaining a healthy balance between technology, sustainability and culture? I daresay the answer lies in the way we define creativity. I believe that it is how we can explore answers to our questions through careful application of computational technologies to the design process, not limiting it to aesthetics and form finding. It should be learnt as integral to craft and not simply as a skill of writing codes but to be used in conjunction with the sensitivity and passion of a real craftsman. Using the possibilities made through the development of computational tools to our advantage, we can contribute to securing a better future by applying them in socially, culturally and environmentally meaningful responses to exigent design problems. To further explore this complexity, I will investigate the following two precedents.
Yehuda E Kalay, Architecture’s New Media (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 2004). Branko Kolarevic, Architecture in The Digital Age (New York: Taylor & Francis, 2003). 16 Bryan Lawson, ‘Fake’ and ‘Real’ Creativity using Computer Aided Design. Some Lessons from Herman Hertzberger’, in Proceedings of the 3rd Conference on Creavity & Cognition, ed. by Enerst Edmonds and Linda Candy (New York ACM Press), pp. 174 - 179. 14 15
Fig. 8
of technology and computers in redefining design practice but whether this has been for the better or the worse is arguable. In the past, buildings often reflected the culture and uniqueness of a society but nowadays, cities have been gradually losing their identities by becoming alike, filled with buildings that look sophisticated but are culturally and environmentally irrelevant.
Precedent 03 Foundation Louis Vuitton Frank Gehry
Fig. 9
and wood to twelve huge, curved panels of glass that cover it like reminiscent of clouds or wind-filled sails of a ship, reflecting the Bois’s surrounding environment of sky and trees, and instilling the structure with the illusion of lightness and movement.14 The FLV also is made sustainable by structure and shapes of the roof and sails allows rain water to be collected and filtered so it can be recycled to be used in fountains and to water the landscaping around the premises. Its angles also improve the building’s geothermal power. that are aided with a host of aesthetic and technological innovations.
Fig. 10
The decision made by Benard Arnault to entrust Frank Gehry with the vision of creating an architecture masterpiece enabled the foundation Louis Vuitton to become one of the most defying buildings of the 21st century. This project is pushes boundaries on computational design and acted as a catalyst in innovation of digital design and construction as well as setting new benchmarks in advance digital and fabrication technologies. Fondation Louis
Vuitton is a complicated structured which was made possible by computational design. It is an example of how the architects are returning to designing with structures in mind. This project is an example of how digital fabrication could be used for performance resolutions. Nestled shallow basin of moving water, the Fondation’s central, white-clad tower “The Iceberg” is attached via elaborate webs of steel
Leslie camhi, “Why Paris’s Newest Art Museum—The Fondation Louis Vuitton—Is Like None You’ve Ever Seen”, Vogue, 2018 <https://www.vogue.com/article/fondation-louis-vuitton-art-museum-paris> [Accessed 11 August 2018]. 15 “Fondation Louis Vuitton - Arkitexture”, Arkitexture, 2018 <http://arkitexture.com/inspiration/ fondation-louis-vuitton/> [Accessed 11 August 2018]. 16 Steve Gustavson, “Designers Shouldn’t Be Afraid Of Using Computational Design”, The Next Web, 2018 <https://thenextweb.com/contributors/2018/07/21/computational-design-adobe-robot-designer/> [Accessed 11 August 2018]. 14
The complex designs that Gehry created required development of new softwares to fully comprehend and calculate as well new fabrication techniques using intelligent 3D digital shared technology to manufacture the 3600 curved glass panels and 19000 concrete panels required. A team of 400 people contributed to the design models and engineer rules and to realize this concept.15 The future of design will inevitably be paired with technology. By synchronizing computational principles with design thinking, we can bring human intuition and computational thinking together for greater agility and innovation to help extend capabilities of human centric design16 and maximize efficiency.
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Precedent 04 Project PS Canopy Ferda Kolantan and Eric Schoenenberger
This abstract canopy design is one that challenges conventional architecture and explore new ways of form finding thru the aid of digital computation. The designers explored the morphogenic concept from biologist sean b caroll’s work “body part”. He stated that in the cellular development process, a “gene toolkit” generates an algorithm for the cells to create different body parts using the same instructions. These various forms challenged the conventional definition of the architectural elements we see everyday. Different iterations can be created with similar algorithm thru the use of the “gene toolkit” which allows us to explore the performative design potentials. Variable local conditions will result in discrepancies in shading qualities of the roof. This case study shoes the importance of computational work which allows us to explore the new expression in architecture. This new approach enabled us to understand the implication of our actions beyond the immediate solution of the problem at hand.
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A.3
Composition and Generation
Generally, people believe that computation and algorithms generation innovations enfranchise architects by allowing a superior cohesive architectural design to producing forms. Although this seems to be an exciting promise, there is no clear plan set up for ensuring the achievement of this objective. In this section, I would like to further access the degree to which computation and algorithm support modern design methods and advances integrated production procedures in architecture. In the recent past, computational systems have developed to be an essential foundation in architectural design, signalling the shift to another study area that deals with computation, design, understanding, and generative standards in current design practice. Jose Sanchez outlined two significant areas for the advancement of Computer Aided Design (CAD). They include “the generation and representation of geometry and topology of designed items” and “the representation and utilization of awareness to boost the blend of designs.”17 The first class relates to the general use of stored CAD
tools that target to expand the proficiency or mean to computerize architectural and design activities. The second category led to proper generative methods that perceive computation as a bridge to the design process that allows the investigation of design ideas. Generative design structures facilitate the development of both formal and theoretical complex compositions, va the execution of a necessary arrangement of activities and parameters. This recent knowledge signals the rise of inventive methods of design thinking. The main hurdle here lies in the development of computation as a device that supplements the architect’s abilities in the conceptualization and generation of design antiques in the modern architectural dispensation. Parametric Design Systems Parametric design systems mainly depend on algorithmic principles, as explained before. Consequently, it is essential to first define the role of algorithms and algorithmic thinking in design and architecture. This also allows further discussions on parametric systems. An algorithm is a definable set of commands that aim to achieve a well-outlined objective in a determinable number of procedures.18The potential of algorithms lies in their capacity to fix a broad realm of computational challenges including combinatorial issues, computational geometry, data system
Jesus Pestana, Paloma de la Puente, and Pascual Campoy, A reliable open-source system architecture for the fast designing and prototyping of autonomous multi-UAV systems: Simulation and experimentation. , Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems, 84(1-4) (2016), pp. 779-797. 18 Szilard Pall and Berk Hess, A flexible algorithm for calculating pair interactions on SIMD architectures, Computer Physics Communications, 184 (12) (2013), pp. 2641-2650. 19 Roland Snooks, Behavioral formation: multi-agent algorithmic design strategies (2014). 20 Snooks, (2014). 17
system operations, numerical issues (including random number generation) and searching and sorting. Regarding systemic workflow, the three primary control instructions that execute critical operations include (1) iteration that involves repeating instructions either linearly or recursively, (2) selection that consists in picking specific instructions to perform based on conditional if-then statements and (3) sequence which comprises in executing instructions orderly. Both algorithmic design and algorithm thinking have a connection to the notion of generative design. Roland Snooks contends that the inductive policy of algorithms can analyse generative procedures or reproduce compound events.19 Suffices to say, algorithms can be treated as supplements to the human mind and can smoothen a jump to the areas of uncertain possibilities. Roland proposes two incentives for use in architecture and design. They include (1) expanding productivity to repeat faster and (2) individuals gaining design control to free themselves from the constraints of black-box modelling software.20Algorithms can computationally produce and control design elements such as data systems, design variables and geometric forms that contain geometrical or numeric ingredients, clear articulations and tasks, and coherent activities. This level of design control
in a three dimensional modelling environment permits the architects or in this case engineers to expand usefulness or access specific situations and react adequately. Consequently, an algorithm can successfully manage the difficulties of design far past form with accuracy and transform them into structural properties. Parametric design is a sub-group of algorithmic composition and is entirely based on algorithmic development. Computationally, both algorithmic and parametric systems are similar. Algorithms follow parametric commands, and a parameterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s structure crucial element is the algorithm. Nonetheless, as opposed to an algorithmic design, a parametric structure underscores the direct control of parameter values to trigger new design artefacts. This difference between the algorithmic and the parametric model is only evident in the design process, where the parameter values are altered by the architect to control the design geometry in search of the final design approach.
Fig. 14
Precedent 05 Plethora Project Series Jose Sanchez and Sergio Irigoyen
Plethora project series is an architectural and design practice that is affiliated to research on investigating the future of a set of online opensource knowledge. Not only has computer technology employed in plethora project gave a chance for acceleration of computational literacy in design and architecture through its ability to offer a set of repository knowledge and design variations, it has a potential to be used as a medium for communicating architectural and design ideas in a rather unconventional way through projects like Block’hood, which takes the form of a gaming software. Today, the project seems to have been abandoned. However, I am inspired by how this project was initially intended to contribute to a larger cause by promoting a enterprising and interactive approach to the development of a design practice. In fact, the developer takes a different direction from the dedicated designing method, “parametric design” and adopts a method known as “combinatorial design” as the mode for design experimentation. To illustrate the different between the two modes, I will be using “Bloom” as an example of the latter (see Fig 15,16). Bloom is an interactive installation which is based upon the development of identical linkable units which can be used to generate complex forms and discrete geometric derivatives beyond the pre-described to a finite degree.21 This is opposed to the former because “parametric design” is mostly based on the concept of making a variation of variables by merely changing
a value. The composition and generational approach of the plethora projects portrays that humanistic approach to design makes humans responsible for their decisions amid questioning decision-making algorithms. On the other hand, it relieves the pressure off the designer having to assume responsibility alone while working within an unpredictable system . It makes sense as most of the design tools that exist today were developed by those who wanted to make their jobs easier, looking something to aid them, not as a tool to limit the designers from creating beyond what the features would allow them to do. In a way, this could help us to get rid of “unsustainability” and “defuturing” from our dictionaries in the future. The second shift and implication of the change are connected to the intelligence of augmentation in the use of digital platforms. There is a platform for serialized parts which enhance affordability and custom components to be defined in various patterns which are immaterial and sharable. It does not focus on physical production. The social aspects of this approach makes the project an interesting case study.
“Bloom”, Plethora Project, 2018 <https://www.plethora-project.com/bloom> [Accessed 11 August 2018]. 21
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Pr
Kok
Rolan
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recedent 06
kkugia
nd Snooks and robert stuart-smith
Kokkugia is said to be an experimental design that is research-based concerning the exploration of generative designs which are supposed to be developed from a set of complex structures. The use of generation in architectural designs mostly with Kokkugia portrays that there is a massive connection to self-organizing behavior of material, biological and social designs. As opposed to the previous case study, this will demonstrate the potential of parametric modelling as a futuristic and helpful design tool. iSaw (Fig 18) is one of the ongoing research developments of Kokkugia. “iSaw is an algorithmic strategy that weaves together disparate programs in the redevelopment and hyperdensification of Warsaw’s urban center. The project plays with normative notions of figure ground and posits a programmatic topology which enables two mutually exclusive programs – such as a brothel and a monastery – to coexist, unaware of each others presence. This can be thought of as a thickening of the walls, the subversion of one program from within another.” 22 iSaw illustrates a potential use of computation to as an instrument for structural optimization to reach satisfactory agreement between searching of maximum efficiency within a pre-determined framework and formal outcome. The model presented has a lattice like form gener-
gorithms are a form of numerical models which seek replicate the processes of cell aggregation of natural organisms. In this case, precision and control of variables enabled by paramatric modelling has allowed the designer find the best distribution of material within the given design space to create skins that could both divide and create habitable spaces and overcome the barrier between structure and design. Urban Agency (Fig 19, 20) is another research project by Kokkugia which demonstrates another possible use of algorithm: the generation of forms. The project brief has asked for “a networked headquarters for an organization set up to explore biopower – comprising agencies from the UN, NATO, medical research organisations etc.” 23 The proposed design is based on the swarm behavior and self-propelled particles. Rather than proposing a fixed form with predetermined properties, they suggested the idea of “an organism” which would attempt to find its form through self-organising properties as it drifts through space as a way of responding to the site. Algorithms are determined by the changing parameters. For this project, parametric modelling is extensively used in each evolutionary stage of the experiment, to look for a prototype with properties that could be further refined by the information gained from the ‘organism’ itself, illustrating the expression of an articulated system of rules set by nature and experience.
“Kokkugia”, Kokkugia.Com <https://kokkugia.com/> [Accessed 11 August 2018]. “Kokkugia”, Kokkugia.Com. 24 Pall and Hess, A flexible algorithm for calculating pair interactions on SIMD architectures. Szilard Pall and Berk Hess, A fxible algorithm for calculating pair interactions on SIMD architectures, 22 23
The Kokkugia design approaches are affiliated to the operation of complex systems which tend to establish hierarchical operations in architecture. The shift brought about various advantages in the long run. The most advantageous aspect of the approach is that it focuses on behavioral design process which is mindful of local behavior.24 Imposition of simple architectural designs which are concerned with distributed systems of autonomous computational entities. Another advantage is that it gives rise to collective intelligence at the global scale which will become useful when solving complex problems.
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A.4
Conclusion
The use of computers for architectural design formation has offered a chance for achieving tremendous and extremely sharable designs across the world. Virtual drafting has been widely accepted since it makes the architects to be made liable for their models. Scripting language has provided grounds for protecting the virtual work from reaching unauthorized hands. Algorithmic thinking offers a chance for making an interpretive role which also includes the light for understanding the codes generated in exploring new options Even though the computational theory of the mind still considers the algorithmic architectural process to be a ghost command, the ap-
A.5
proach is viable in making a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;perfectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; structure. Imaging model of architecture has been proven to be an emerging hybrid model for software engineers. The uprising software programs are the ones that are challenging the efficacy of composition and generation of architectural practice. In summation, computational systems have developed to be an essential foundation in architectural design, signaling the shift to another study area that deals with computation, design understanding, and generative standards in current design practice. Jose Sanchez outlined two significant areas for the advancement of Com-
Learning Outcomes
During the first three weeks of Studio Air, I have really begun to understand how to incorporate 3D modelling into my design, both in theory and in practice. I have found the readings especially useful as they have expanded my knowledge and redirected the opinion I had on design and the use of digital software in a completely new direction. I cannot say that I am an expert in computational design at this stage and I still think I have to a long way to go before I can master the tools and use it to my advantage because I am still exploring the technical possibilities and getting myself accustomed. However, technology is always evolving and
I believe I am already on the learning curve.
puter Aided Design (CAD). They include the representation of geometry and topology of designed items amid the representation and utilization of awareness to boost the blend of designs. It has also been found out that the first class relates to the general use of stored CAD tools that target to expand the proficiency or mean to computerize architectural and design activities. The second category led to proper generative methods that perceive computation as a bridge to the design process that allows the investigation of design ideas, CAM.
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References
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Image References 1. https://frontiermyanmar.net/en/yangon-in-pictures-then-and-now 2. http://www.evolo.us/heal-berg-reverse-climate-changing-machine/ 3. http://www.evolo.us/heal-berg-reverse-climate-changing-machine/ 4. https://openhousebcn.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/climbing-trees-architecture-loblolly-house-kieran-timberlake-taylors-island-usa-openhouse-barcelona-shop-gallery/ 5. https://kierantimberlake.com/pages/view/20/loblolly-house/parent:3 6. https://kierantimberlake.com/pages/view/20/loblolly-house/parent:3 7. https://kierantimberlake.com/pages/view/20/loblolly-house/parent:3 8. https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ec/55/98/ec5598b353efac7da20714f11a8e7bd0.jpg
9. http://www.ensatt.fr/images/documents/Direction-des-Etudes-et-de-la-Production/Annales-et-bibliographies/Annales_concours_Scenographe/CONCOURS2017_SCENOGRAPHE_sujet%2 Culture.pdf 10. http://www.huftonandcrow.com/projects/gallery/louis-vuitton-foundation/ 11. https://www.archdaily.com/555694/fondation-louis-vuitton-gehry-partners 12. http://www.suckerpunchdaily.com/2011/02/21/ps-canopy/ 13. http://www.suckerpunchdaily.com/2011/02/21/ps-canopy/ 14. https://www.plethora-project.com/ 15. https://www.plethora-project.com/ 16. https://medium.com/design-manifestos/design-manifestos-jose-sanchez-of-plethora-project-9e0452de6587 17. https://www.kokkugia.com/ 18. https://www.kokkugia.com/ 19. https://www.kokkugia.com/ 20. https://www.kokkugia.com/
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