Context of digital design

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Context of digital design Anca Trestian


Digital design techniques for an adaptive system: Infinite form Abstract

Adaptability – diversity

This paper discusses the relevance of digital design techniques the process and computational methods that developed an adaptive geometry as a design solving problem. Furthermore it highlights potential strengths of the approach by creating a brief parallel to traditional technologies.

The program will take into consideration the width of the pavement for its external form, as for the interior will self organise by the number of people, ticketing, etc. Therefore the output should be different every time, but the difference would only improve its adaptation giving an overall appearance to each object created. Looks

In his book The Architecture Machine, Nicholas Negroponte debates the involvement of the computer in the design process. He segregates the architect and architectural machine by describing two different processes that create the building. Moreover, the difference is described in the terms of a dynamic system dependent upon understanding the environment as opposed to a design artefact.

In principle, any type of travel can be simplified to a distance between at least 2 points (those points would be any 2 bus stops). Translated into geometry, a bus trip links a start and an end, and can be represented as a segment defined by 2 points. Therefore, this segment will be the basis for the structural pattern of the bus stop, and symbolizes any rectilinear movement through space. This element will be self organising to accommodate the behavioural goals, criteria and constraints established by the needs of a particular area.

matches experiment

The scope at the stand of my project was one that would accomplish a design based on the best pragmatic answers to an evolving set of questions. Therefore, the design responses would grow and change along by the complexity of the initial problem. My dialog with the machine would not only set the technical boundaries but also would develop a unique and novel design aesthetic, each time the program is running.

Design Distinct shape Starting with the idea that a better, more interesting design would encourage more people to use public transportation, I have tried to develop a drawing machine that would create a uniquely shaped bus stop that would also add to London’s distinct identity. Along with the double-decker, London’s new bus stops will be distinguishable from any other city similar constructions.

graphic image from processing script

“A design machine must have an artificial intelligence because any design procedure, set of rules, or truism is tenuous, if not subversive, when used out of context...” *1

I have created a small model that shows my aesthetic intentions as well as testing the structural power of the object. As a result, I chose to develop a system that would further the aesthetic theme and reorganise the structure according to the place and number of people that would use it.

Building the program Regarding the size constraints stated at the beginning of the brief, I have simulated a structural pattern that stands as the new design for the bus stop. I have placed a multitude of points, invested with velocity, inside a cube, restricting their movement not to exceed the volume of this shape. Also the points aimed to become equally spaced, and would create a line when they have reached a certain distance from each other.

*1 Nicholas Negroponte, founder and Chairman Emeritus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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This distance could be manually changed with a slider, allowing control over the length of the lines that create the overall pattern. Having an evenly distributed mass, the seating area as well as the waiting space is scooped out by placing magnetic fields that repel the vertices, making holes that can also be manipulated in size. Setting out the rules that organise the pattern is the actual design, whereas the overall object is the result of circulation, number of people that use it, and sitting area. This system is evolving alongside of these factors, therefore the size and position of the holes dictates the output shape, simulating a different object for each bus stop location.

Setting up new ground for architectural tools, computer aided programs are evolving also for production. Therefore by creating software designed for architectural needs, robots that were before used in automotive and metal industry to food and plastics can be used in construction. One of these robots is produced by Kuka Robotics Corporation, and it is mainly used for car production. It can perform a large range of tasks and can move to 4 or 6 axis. Using these, opens a new way in using construction materials, which come in standardised shapes, restricting form. Cutting, welding or bending can now achieve a very fine level of detail.

The same aesthetics can also be obtained by traditional tools, however the testing proAlthough setting up the program took a considerable amount of time, the shape obcess is much more time consuming and the great scale that today’s buildings have make tained can be assigned to any area, creating a dynamic design that takes into considera- it impossible to be feasible. tion multiple inputs. Furthermore, using a form finding process for designing an object On the other hand, obsessed by the efficiency of the software that helps in representing changes the relationship architect - design, switching from an active interaction with the design, sometimes a simple model can reveal just as much as sophisticated software form to an anticipation of a process. and might be less time consuming. Even though parts of the design are easy to manipulate manually at the end of the process, they are projected from the beginning and therefore malleable to a certain extent within the program. Consequently, the more complex a program is the more decisions about design need to be clearly specified in its script.

Digital design tools Computer aided design provides the user with tools, specialised on different type of actions that inform the output shapes. Most of the buildings produced today, wear the mark of the program that they were created with. Consequently, producing a tool that meets the exact needs of the concept would be the natural step for staying ahead of the curve redefining the drawing process to meet new aesthetics.

The tools used for architectural drawing have many capabilities, but there is no software or method that can easily transfer any idea to drawing. Therefore an architect would always experiment, every project being new and different from the ones before, whereas the drawing techniques need to evolve along with the building experience. Trying to express a different aesthetics and a new approach to architecture, Gaudi was one of the pioneers that by a meticulous study of his ambitious creation felt the need to adapt and improve construction, from the way that it was regarded until then. Therefore he integrated in his architecture a series of crafts, in which himself was skilled. To obtain the correct angles for his curved design, he ran a series of stress models that would simulate the correct distribution of stress. Today, these tests are made by computer, which simulates more effectively forces that are applied to a structure, being much faster and sometimes more rigorous and detailed in the analysis.

Related works

Traditional techniques

Testing and optimization

Digital design techniques opened new doors for architecture and design. Before the Renaissance, architects were often associated with the masons and the carpenters because, in the act of creation, manual labour was implied. A new, much higher status was offered to architects when drawing started to be the mean of communicating ideas. This began a fusion of the three visual arts, a position that they were near before accorded.

The Bone Chair was one of the first furniture designs that used an algorithm for applying the complexity, proportion and functionality of a human bone and tree growth to a chair. By using the algorithm, first used in the car industry, the chair design was improved by optimizing weight and stability, while minimising material input. The software that was used for creating this series is based on the finite element method, which determines all the design modifications that meet a new condition.

The way of drawing changed along with the technology, today’s blue prints being 3-dimensional shapes, with the help of computing. In spite of this enormous evolution, architects draw surprisingly uniformly, this in part is due to generic accepted symbols that were implemented for understanding a project by anyone that knows the code.

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Following a simple principle that is adding material where strength is needed and taking away material where is unnecessary, the structure of the chair is also set free. By using this bio-mimetic technique the result is substantially more efficient than traditional tools and also has a standout elegance.

Using not only the form finding process but also testing it and refining the design by a natural algorithm would represent an improvement for some of the structural shapes that I have designed in the past. Imitating natural growth was one of the goals of some of my projects, but the novelty that this design tool brings is also testing and readjusting the model, making it efficient and preparing it for production.

Testing and free sketching Sketch Chair is also a computational design, created using Processing. By applying a 2-dimensional sketch based interface and design validation tools, Greg Saul introduced a program that enables users to get their own design from one elevation of the object, keeping the same structure through all inputs. Also, the parts that are needed for fabrication are prepared for laser cutting. Both of these designs are preparing the final output for fabrication, testing and optimizing its shape in the process. Furthermore, this second project has evolved a user friendly interface to the program, making it easy to use and accessible to everyone, while having a pragmatic answer to all changes involved in the design. The interface used for Sketch Chair is giving more opportunities for interaction, balancing user and computer input to the design. Therefore, optimising and developing the interface for my project would also give me more control over the result. However, setting up too many constraints at the beginning of the project would also restrict the growing of the subject. Therefore, the interface should be used for details only when the concept has already finished shaping the design.

Structural ornament and self organisation Malgorzata Mozolewska has created a new type of material which is produced through a generative process, which embeds algorithmic aesthetics into a structural logic.

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Her words:

Their words: “Big Bambú is a continually growing and changing sculpture that will be constructed during the run of the installation from thousands of fresh-cut bamboo poles—a complex network of 5,000 interlocking 30- and 40-foot-long bamboo poles, which will be lashed together with 50 miles of nylon rope. Doug Starn states: “The reason we had to make it so big is to make all of us feel small—or at least to awaken us to the fact that individually we are not so big. Once we’re aware of our true stature we can feel a part of something much vaster than we could ever have dreamed of before.”

“My degree is about searching contemporary ornament which at the same time acts as structural material from which an object is made. Such ornament arises on the verge of order and chaos, mathematic calculation and chance, but once achieved, it may serve to shape any object you like. Structural ornament is generated by a purpose-made software that takes into account the shape of a desired object, loads and pressures therein and adds a component of chance so that the structure obtained, while functional, is different each and every time and not entirely foreseeable.”

The difference between these methods is the control of the overall shape. In the first case, the design can be tested and controlled by simulating natural context and direct an exact prototype for fabrication, whereas the other method is meant to be an experimental display of structure that evolves and changes without being tested or mediated by a computer.

Following the same path, my bus stop searches for a structural pattern that forms the shape of a bus, but lacking in refinement and detail. Having a preview on how my structure would look, there is many other ways in expressing the line that forms the coat of the bus stop. Therefore there are many ways of refining this structure but essentially it is an elegant way of expressing structure.

The program used for producing the bus stop walls needs to be a very precise simulation of the structure, there are of course other means to experiment the concept. Big Bambú is an installation that simulates the idea of form finding that evolved by adding piece by piece and also being continuously tested by climbers, as they need to ascend it to be able to add in height.

Minimal volume and virtual softness Using a combination of 3D tools and Artificial Intelligence, Al stool was created to achieve optimal strength and intelligent softness. The software that creates it, knows where to create sufficient support. The script also prepares the object for fabrication, enabling it to carry a load of 120kg on a sitting surface at a height of only 40 cm. It also analyses and generates virtual softness. The first fabricated model, achieved the optimum requirements by using only 1/3 of the anticipated material. Having the opportunity to also test the pattern created, design can be manipulated with the restriction of being able to support a certain weight. Dealing with the bus stop, both roof and sitting area should be tested for being able to support weight that can be increased or decreased for a different number of people.

Water motion simulation and evolution The design of Fluid vase is describing, through a water motion simulation, the action of fluid. This shape aims to reproduce the content of a vase that is usually displayed as an interior layer, as the exterior shape. Users can create their own vases, by playing with the speed and volume of the water and by freezing the simulation at their content for a 3d print.

STRUKTURAL ORNAMENT

STRUKTURAL ORNAMENT

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Fluid Forms designed a breed of jewellery, which extends the metaphor of Darwinian evolution, making a design tool that tests the capacity of being produced. Every input

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creates a different object that is subscribed in the overall design.

ng beauty. This time the environment that changes the graphics is sound. When playing a song, the colour and the curvature changes according to the sounds of the tune played. . Furthermore, sound can also shape 3-dimensional matter, and might perform as well as it does with graphics.

Customisation potential, easy & quick assembly, low paper waste Snowflakes is an application that generates a unique snowflake shape from somebody’s name, producing a 2d drawing for laser cutting that would eventually be assembled in a 3d snowflake. This program was meant for the celebration of Christmas, creating easy assemble shapes that have a unique pattern for each individual. Karsten’s words: “I started looking into existing modular origami techniques & tessellations able to produce full 3D forms. The modularity would satisfy easy assembly as well as potentially keep the number of unique structural elements low. The customisation & uniqueness of each snowflake could be achieved through symmetrical ornaments applied to the edges/fold lines.”

Digital design tools Digital tools not only changed the way that design is expressed and shaped nowadays, but also how we achieve and test products. Drawing evolved first by being digitised and the next step that naturally followed was 3 dimensional representation. Nowadays, through advance simulations, designers can explore, not only the volume of the building but also understand how it will perform. Therefore, digital tools enable not only a sophisticated visualisation of a building but also can simulate concepts, analyse the structure, manipulate design and go all the way to buildings demolition and recycle. All these can be controlled, speeding up the design process and making it more efficient.

Both of these designs have a clear image of the resulting shape, therefore design is already decided when creating this new tool. Many instances of this one idea can be produced, no two being identical. Therefore diversity in repetition is one of the strengths of this process, and also the means of controlling more or less the changes of the simulation.

Art Moving Brands has created an audio responsive installation, based on Processing for the launch of Muon Speakers. They have created a program that lights a 5/ 10 meters floor panel following a graphic pattern which changes due to sound interaction. The graphic design of the pattern and the selected sounds are the only intervention in this case, the program linking the two together for the light show.

FLUID VASE

AL STOOL

This is another example that shows how a shape can evolve alongside a stimulus, creati-

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Readings:

1.

MGX Catalogue, 2008, by Materialiase, pp. 56-58

2.

Kilian, 2004, Linking hanging chain models to fabrication, eds. S Williamson, P Beesley, N Cheng, ACADIA, Toronto

3.

Gramazio & Kohler, 2008, Digital Materiality in Architecture. Lars M端ller Publishers

4.

Robert Sheil, 2006, Design through making, Architectural Design, vol. 75

5.

Michael Hensel (Editor), Achim Menges (Editor), Michael Weinstock (Editor), 2009, Techniques and Technologies in Morphogenetic Design, Architectural Design, vol. 76

6.

Hensel, M & Menges, 2008, Designing morpho-ecologies, Architectural Design, vol. 78

7. Sylvia Leidecker, 2008, Nano materials in Architecture, Interior Architecture and Design

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