{ } Module 4 Evelyne Setiono
Student no: 579870 Semester 2/2012 Group 3
{ } Ideation
An analysis of a natural proess using drawings and physical scale models to develop a series of three-dimensional forms and pattern arrangements
Ideation- Exploration of Idea Exploration of idea and concept is the most important process in achieving ‘good’ design. Although the end product usually obtains the most credit, the concept behind it is not less important as it foregrounds the end product. After some brainstorming and calibration of idea of suitable natural process, I decided to use effervescence process as a basis for my lantern design. Effervescence reaction is defined as a reaction which emit small bubbles of gas. I looked at several aspects of this process. They are: 1. Effervescent reaction of effervescent tablet 2. Flow patterns of bubbles 3. Effervescent reaction in champagne
Figure 1. Phenomenon of effervesecent tablet dispersing in water and creating chains of bubbles
I found the third process from the list above the most appealing to dig deeper as I can identify the pattern evolves from the process. Gerard Liger-Belair explains this matter extensively in his book called “Uncorked: The Science of Champagne”. This book reveals the science behind the taste and charm of champagne by analyzing the formation of bubbles in micro-scale. From intensive research that I’ve done, I simplified the elaborated process of this process into three stages which are: 1. Nucleation of bubbles 2. Motion of bubbles upward 3. Bursting of bubbles Figure 2. (a) A glass of champagne (b) Close up view of bubbles inside the champagne
Ideation- Nucleation of Bubbles Effervescence in champagne begins when there is interaction between CO2 and the cellulose fibers on the surface of the glass whih are casted off from the cloth or paper in the wiing process. The cellulose fibers act as bubble nucleation sites, which resemble cylindrical pipes.
The process is broken down into two main keywords: nucleation and velocity
Figure 3. Bubble nucleation site (cellulose fiber) with CO2 gass bubble on the wal of the glass when champagne is poured
NUCLEATION Inspired from Kadinsky’s principal of simplicity and his theory about analytical drawing, simplification of complex and realistic form was made by reducing redundancy and creating simple and abstract form. Therefore, the concept of “nucleus” and “pipe” as individual concept to a combination which further emphasise simplicity and abstract form. VELOCITY The theory suggests that the velocity of the bubbles increases as the time increases. When graph is drawn, it shows a curve graph between velocity and time which means that there is acceleration. I represent this theory with bended shape as shown in figure 5. Figure 4. Sketches of “nucleation” concept
Figure 5. Sketches of “velocity” concept
Ideation- Motion of Bubbles Upward Some keywords to summarise this process are: Random motion, bigger size and random direction RANDOM MOTION The motion of bubbles inside the champagne show fascinating result in which it transforms from an orderly manner into chaotic manner. The cellulose fibers were recently found to experience a very complex rhythmical bubble regime, however, through further research this orderly pattern of bubble train was disrupted and abrupt transititon occured overtime. BIGGER SIZE
Figure 6. Time sequence showing motion of bubbles overtime
Figure 7. Bubbles are greater in size as they rise up
Another observation of bubbles’ formation suggest that as the bubbles rise up, the size of the bubbles increases. They swell up because they absorb other chemicals in the champagne. This differs greatly from my original notion which is smaller bubbles are found as they rise up. RANDOM DIRECTION Bubbles are in random motion as they usually follow the shape of the glass where the champagne is poured. The move in every direction. Figure 8. Close up on particles acting as Figure 9. RMIT building 22, Swanston Street, bubble nucleation sites
The form generated from this process is inspired by the decorative facade of RMIT building 22 as it gives a sense of lightness and bounciness as bubbles.
Melbourne
Figure 10. Form generated from this process
Ideation- Bursting of Bubbles Bubbles tend to gather at the surface before they burst and disappear. This is because bubbles are lighter and less dense than the liquid. They will burst out a rate depending on the buoyancy which tends to make them emerge from the surface of the liquid, viscosity, which is a quality to resist deformation, and surface tension. Capillary force also maintains the bubbles below the liquid surface, but slightly emerge from the surface. The bubble-cap, the slightly emerge part of the bubble, is very sensitive distrubances, for example temperature Figure 10. Photographs of bursting and collapsing of bubbles on the surface of the and vibration, therefore as it is about to burst, a complex champagne hydrodynamic process ensues and it causes the submerged part of the bubble collapse and burst into tiny droplets. COLLAPSING
BURSTING
Figure 11. Diagrams of collapsing process and form generated from this process over a period of time Figure 12. Diagrams of bursting process and form generated from this process overtime
Ideation- Final Clay Model
A process can be decribed in unity. We tend to see process as several stages and therefore, individual parts. However, process is actually seen as a whole picture. From here, we can generate pattern or form based on that process and our own interpretation. Thinking thoroughly about the process and how they interlink with other processes may give better insight about the form that will be generated.
Ideation- Final Clay Model
Figure 13. Images of the final clay model
Figure 14. Images of potential position for wearing the lantern
The final clay model shown above is a result from thoughtful consideration and intrepretation of the natural process which I have decided. This is a form which is generated by a context or content. In many cases, form, which is a visual description or communication of a subject matter, can interpret the context behind it. After viewers see the design, they may create a meaning of the design that the designer wants to communicate using their perception. At other times, context can generate form, which is used for this design project where a common theme is used as a basis for creation. An example of this is using the concept of mathematics to generate three-dimensional form, such as using fibonacci sequence inspired from nautilus shell to form complicated models as described by Henry Segerman in one of the lectures. In conclusion, form and context are interrelated and they are very important aspects to consider in designing.
{ } Design
Design development from using orthographic projections and contouring techniques into three-dimensional computational representations
Design- Initial Digitalisation “ Design computation provides the possibilities of intergrating physical propertiess and material behavious as generative drivers in the architectural design process.” (Fleischmann, 2012) Design process is taken to a new level in which the clay model is computerized to achieve fluidity and smoothness of the final model before fabrication. The method I use for digitalisation is contouring method. A series of lines of 10 mm interval were drawn on the refrigerated clay model, then the clay Figure 15. Front view of the contoured clay Figure 16. An image of arranged and numbered model was cut into pieces according to the model sections embedded in Rhino contour lines. I numbered the sections for better assembling in Rhino for digitalisation. First trial: I stacked the sections 10 mm on top of each other without giving sign for the center position. This resulted in abstract curved form which doesn’t resemble the original model. Second trial: Using reference images, I aligned the sections according to the bars or contoured lines on the image. After that, I lofted it to create a smooth 3D surface. This was not successful as the images wasn’t in the right scale. I ended up having an elongated verFigure 17. Picture frame of the contoured sion of the original model. model in Rhino
Figure 18. Lofted model of the second trial
Design- Further Digitalisation Refinements are made to enhance the smoothness and accuracy of the model. The picture frame was set to the right scale and the alignment of sections was done inside the picture frame. Using record history command, any changes would be automatically adjusted on the lofting. This trial lead to a successful formation of the three-dimensional model which resemble the clay model. Figure 19. Refining the model by arranging te sections inside the picture frame
The final lofted model is divided into 3 sections: head, body and tail. This is used for better reference in paneling and fabrication process.
Head
Body
Tail
Figure 20. Final lofted model divided into 3 sections: head, body, tail
Design- Panelling Process Panelling process is an important part of designing the lantern model as it determines the functionality as well as a ‘statement’ or identity of the lantern. The patterns chosen for the design must relate to the original concept and must not disrupt the function of lantern as lighting. Therefore, the size and position of the opening matter for the lantern.
Trefoil
Sphere
Figure 21. Experiments using panelling tool on the final lofted model
Design- Outcome The model shows panelling pattern of basic triangulation with differing sizes on different section. The concept of pressure inside the champagne bottle where it moves from high pressure to the lower pressure suits the pattern generated. Big holes represent higher pressure and vice versa.
The head part uses 3D panelling to enhance depth and using bigger triangles for the opening to suit the concept of pressure inside the champagne bottle.
The body part uses 2D panelling and has smalller triangulation than the head part. The tail part also uses 3D panHoles are effective in describing a lanelling for greater depth as the tern as the projection of light is an imporlight will shine through the head tant feature of a lantern. This panelling is part and tail the most. It has the inspired by Middlefart Savings Bank desmallest holes. Figure 22. Panelling outcome with triangular holes signed by 3XN Architects and Arthouse Cafe designed by Joey Ho which uses triangulation to define form and space. In Middlefart Savings Bank, triangulations are used for the roof to allow natural lighting inside the bank and create a comfortable atmosphere in the building. Both of the examples are related to a lecture given by Proffessor Bharat Dave that triangular patterns can form any other form according to the divsion of the surface. Smaller divisions means smoother surface. Moreover, how light penetrates through the openings Figure 24. Arthouse Cafe on the roof present an idea of how to pro- Figure 23. Middlefart Savings Bank ject light through the lantern.
Design- Final Digital Model
The head part remains the same with big triangular openings, however, shades were added to reduce the light coming out of the openings
The body part is fully covered with no openings.
The tail part also remain the same with smaller triangular openings. Figure 25. Final digital model
Design- Prototypes
Figure 26. Prototypes of the head and tail part of the model
Prototypes are useful in trying out the material to identify its behavior. This is explained by Moritz Fleischmann in his section of the book called Material behavior. A quote in the book states that “Material behavior computes form” (Fleischmann, 2012) which suggest that by knowing the properties of the material the form can be determined without having to generate the form individually. “Material computes” means that material behavior unleashes its capacity to generate, organise and structure, thus more investment is given in developing the design computation and simulation process rather than the execution of the physical design. For this prototype, 200 gsm black card is used as it is quite elastic and can be easily manipulated, however it also has strength quality when the strips are bonded together by glue or other bonding materials.
Design- Final Digital Model Media has powerful effect in the outcome of the design. This is observable in this project that media is dominantly take control of the design process. In fact, it is the driver or the generator of patterns and forms. At the early stage of the design process, sketches are made to express ideas about the design. This method heavily rely on the designers’ skill in drawing or sketching to understand the central idea of the design, however, progressing through different design processes, the design evolves into much more complicated and ‘refined’ model. This is done by the digitalisation process where three-dimensional model is generated and it shows complexity and accuracy of the model. Refinements are easier and more practical to be made for the final product. Such design project is rich context where the designer can apply scientific inquiry to develop and test explanations for his or her design’s performance. To support the design inquiries that the designer might have, several tasks adopt facilitative role and make decisions for the outcome of the design. One of them is prototyping. The goal of making prototypes is not just to produce good design, but to be able to explain how the materials and the construction of the design contribute to its performance. The designer can gain experience to identify different materials, explore the nature of strength and stiffness and test different materials’ properties of strength and stiffness in order to design and build prototypes which are compatible with the three-dimensional model generated. Finally, the designer has opportunity for iterative redesign where he or she can apply the findings or investigations made during the process to improve the outcome of the design.
{ } Fabrication
Creation of self-supporting paper model by unrolling the digital model using computer software and cutting it using computer based technology
Design- Unrolling “Event as generator of form� introduced by MacFarlane suggests that the context or function defines the form which will be generated. The same concept is explained by Gershenfeld as digital fabrication technology allows the designer to focus on function in the design process, ignoring concerns for form and manufacturability. Therefore, the final product solely represent the concept thought by the designer. After the final model was generated, unrolling process was initiated. The head and tail are unrolled by color coding the strips. Each strip has different color and they are also labelled by using numbers and words. The strips are made manually by using several commands in Rhino, including outlining the unrolled strips, eliminating the surfaces and making the tabs by using lines. Manual unrolling is used to give flexibility for the designer to change and adjust the shape of the unrolled pieces as the shapes are asymmetrical and diffcult to unroll properly, for instance overlapping of lines and twisting lines within the unrolled pieces.
Figure 27. Unrolling of head and tail part of the model
Design- Unrolling Unlike the head and tail part, the body part is unrolled using a program called Grasshopper which enables instant unrolling and ‘tabbing’ of the strips. The script for this process can be seen in figure 29. Grasshopper is used for the body section because it is simpler than the tail and head sections as it has no openings or triangular patterns on it.
Figure 28. Unrolling of body part of the model
Figure 29. Grasshopper script for unrolling and tabbing of body part
Design- Fabrication of Final Model
Figure 30. Fabrication process of the final model
Design- Final Model
The final model shows the complete package of the seeparate sections: head, body and tail. The lighting placed inisde the lantern illuminates the lantern especially in the head and body part. The light is significant to the lantern as it is the main feature of the lantern, as well as a shadow creator. The projection of light from the head creates triangular patterns of shadow. The shape of the lantern clearly reflect the concept of effervescence as it moves from the tail part where the bubbles formed are small to the head part where they get bigger in size. The spikes represent the collapsing and bursting process at the surface of the champagne. Overall, the final lantern model is quite similar to the digital model and it represents the effervescence process quite clearly.
Design- Analysis Fabrication, nowadays, is more practical than it used to be before the development of fabrication technologies, such as computer-controlled cutting tools. It is time-effective and more accurate than hand-cut. This innovation leads to great advantage for design industries which produce large-scale products or massive amount of materials which need to be fabricated. As used for this project, laser cut is one of the innovation for digital design manufacturing. Laser is an amplifier of light, that is, it takes a little bit of light and turns it into an intense beam, which can be focused on a tiny spot and can burn, melt, evaporate or ablate away the material it encounters (Gershenfeld, 2005). Laser cut allows quick implementation of fabricating and accurate result, however it can only work along the x- and y-axis. Some other innovations are additive fabrication technologies which reduce the waste of materials used. While traditional manufacturing method have many limitations and restrictions in its application, digital fabrications aren’t. Practical manufacturing technologies can eliminate constraints that have ruled over product designs. Today, designers might not concern themselves with manufacturability, therefore leading to freedom in design. However, there are some limitations of of fabrication technologies, for example laser cutting. The machine produces fumes which can be toxic which means that it needs to be placed in a well-ventilated environment. It costs a lot of time and money to create it. Laser cutting cannot be used for all kinds of materials, for example brittle and transparent materials, such as glass and crystal, cannot be cut using this technology, however for this project, this wasn’t a problem. Another major limitation is the energy consumption. A huge amount of energy is required to keep the laser cut running and it is dependent on the type of laser, how much is being cut and the thickness of the material.
Figure 31. Laser cutter
{ } Reflection
A critical analysis of specific learning outcomes achieved during the course and includes relationship to lecture content and reading materials
Reflection- Analysis I’m interested in natural growth patterns, and the beautiful forms that only nature creates. How that flows through me and how that comes out is what I’m trying to understand.” (Ross Lovegrove, 2012) The lantern model is considered as a representation. Specifically, it is a representation of the theory or concept behind it which is effervescence process. It is also a representation of source of light as the lantern gives off light. In architecture, the lantern may represents material and structural behaviour as it is made up of different media and materials. Hence, the idea of representation is very vast and sometimes abstract or undefined. In the early design process, the model was represented as drawings and sketches. These were two-dimensional representation of the lantern. At this stage, the model looked ‘raw’ and unrealistic. The final product still couldn’t be visualised clearly. The materials were yet to be chosen or considered which means the behaviour of the materials were not discovered yet. As the design went to more physical and three-dimensional representation, for example clay model and digital model, the model can be ‘seen’ a little clearer. There were texture, flow and depth which contribute to the realisation of the concept.
A designer needs all of these factors to create the idea on his mind and re-create it in the real world. Moreover, in the process of making threedimensional representation, the materials used to construct the end product have to be thought carefully so that the materials didn’t stand in the way of realisation process. Constructing prototypes is a good way to achieve this. At the last stage, which is fabrication process, the digital model is translated to physical model which can be touched or worn. From these elaborate processes, a clear relationship can be seen between representation and material realisation. They are mutually dependent on each other. Without defining the representation, the end product and the materials used also cannot be defined. Therefore, in design, both of these concepts have to be thought thoroughly early in the process, for instance in brainstorming and ideation process, to avoid any hindrance in realisation process.
Reflection- Learning Outcomes Virtual Environments has opened my eyes to the things I have not discovered before. This subject has given me new perspective in designing and reveal to me a true identity of a designer. Tom Wujec, an innovative practitioner of business visualisation, once said that, “Design truly is a contact sport. It demands that we bring all of our senses to the task, and that we apply the very best of our thinking, our feeling and our doing to the challenge that we have at hand.” I agree with this statement as I have experience these things in designing the lantern model for this project. My senses are challenged to visualise an abstract model from natural process. This leads to new challenges that need to be conquered. Henry Segerman, in one of his lectures, taught about 3 categories of mathematical designs: modelling real world shapes using maths (lots of human input, maths generating shapes guided by human and purely mathematical shapes (not much human input). This first category is best-fitted to this lantern model project. Although the concept from nature is used, the process is strongly induced by the designers and the form created are not purely generated from nature. His lecture also gives me boldness to create abstract and wild shapes for the lantern as long as it represents the concept of effervescence.
I was inspired by a quote from Yves Behar in one of his presentation in TED Talk which states that “...as designers we need to really think about how we can create different relationship between our work and the world... because I think everybody agrees that as designers we bring value... and they can be about function and beauty... but designers are really the glue that brings these things together.” I realised that the work that I do right now has value and it can give impact in the future. This concept is also related to this subject as a whole as we focus on the value or function or content to define the work or form generated. Digitalisation of three-dimensional model is a new lesson for me. Working using programmes, such as Rhino and Grasshopper, give me insights on how I see technology nowadays. MacFarlane, in his book called “Software: New Genius of Place in e-Topia”, explained about how technology have taken over the world. He states that “In the design of smart things and places, form may still follow function--- but only up to a point. For the rest, function follows code”. This might be true if all things are computerised, therefore the concept of “form follows function” might alter into “form follows (computer) codes”.
In the context of the lantern model making, the model is generated in computer as well in conventional media. I think it is important to work with both of these media by going backward and forward to reduce implications and limitations between these two media, hence achieving better result and enriching skills and knowledge. This subject gives me a strong foundation to work based on concept. The multiple perspectives, which include scientific, technological, artistic and personal perspectives, have broaden my view on design and architectural principles that I might be doing in the future. MacFarlane once commented that, “Digital architecture will be completely useful when it works with cultural, social economic and ecological concerns.” This comment is really suited to what this subject has offered me. Therefore, I will continue pursue my dream with the foundation that I have built from this subject.
Reference List Build A Tower 2010, video, TED Talk, USA Fleischmann, M., Knippers, J., Lienhard, J., Menges, A., and Schleicher, S. 2012, ‘Material Behaviour: Embedding Physical Properties in Computational Design Processes’, D: Architectural Design, Wiley, 82 (2), March, pp. 44-51. Gershenfeld, N 2005, ‘Selected extracts In Fab: The coming revolution on your desktop - from personal computers to personal fabrication’, Basic Books, New York, pp 67-76, pp93-101, pp103-113 Liger-Belair, G, Beaumont, F, Jeandet, P & Guillaume, P 2007, ‘Flow Patterns of Bubble Nucleation Sites (Called Fliers) Freely Floating in Champagne Glasses’, Liger-Belair, G, Polidori, G & Zéninari, V 2012, ‘Review: Unraveling the evolving nature of gaseous and dissolved carbon dioxide in champagne wines: A state-of-the-art review, from the bottle to the tasting glass p.2-3’ Macfarlane, B. 2005, ‘Making Ideas. In Architecture in the Digital Age’, B. Kolarevic (ed.), Spon Press, London, pp. 182-197 Mitchell, W 2000, ‘Software: New Genius of Place In e-Topia’, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, p. 42-68 Ross Lovegrove Shares Organic Designs 2005, video, TED Talk, USA Voisin, C 2012, ‘Quelques aspects de la nucl´eation des bulles de Champagne dans une flˆute et de leur ascension a petits nombres de Reynolds’, p.15-16 Yves Behar: Designing objects that tell stories 2008, video, TED Talk, USA