AIR DESIGN STUDIO AIR HAN LI
CONTENTS
ABOUT ME
I was born on an extremely hot summer day in 1990 in a city of north China. My mother said my nature will just be like the passionate sun of that day. For almost two decades I doubt this superstitious statement until I encountered the notion of architecture design. I joined in the University of Melbourne, School of Environments in 2012, pursuing my dream and my mother’s prophecy. Architecture for me is not only a university course, but a constant experience to interact with the world, since I deeply believe that architecture forms the human society. Especially because of being born as a Chinese and exposed to traditional culture, I am craving to be able to introduce traditional philosophy into modern architecture, and therefore provide an influence on human’s future, no matter how little it is. I understand architecture as an interactive emotion generator to the user. Happiness, solitude, excitement, peacefulness, can be passed to the user through interacting. I have been trying to explore this understanding with some of my previous works. I experimented to create different means of interaction between users and architecture, such as circulation, visual vividness, and so on. Computational design is almost alien to me. This journal will document my first experience with parametric design to my further study of the interactive emtion generator. As you flip to the next page, my ship has sailed away from my comfort port, and into uncharted waters. Please enjoy!
PREVIOUS PROJECT
PART A. CONCEPTUALISATIN
A. 01 DESIGN FUTURING
PRECEDENT
ABSOLUTE TOWERS MAD ARCHITECTS
A
bsolute Towers was proposed by MAD architects in 2006 and built in Canada. The project comprises two high-rise residential towers that adapt the same method. Each tower uses same floor plan from the bottom to the top, but is rotated by different degrees. Therefore, each family unit enjoys a balcony with a 360 degree view fully exposed to the sky. The design process of Absolute Towers was aided by computation, to realize the controlled rotation and to optimize the rotation degree. Consequently, the second tower could be rapidly produced after the construction of the first one. In this case, parametric designing method is adapted to design not only an element for the project but a carefully tested system which is responsive to the site and desirable satisfaction. The faรงade is a spontaneous outcome, rather than an arbitrarily ornamental skin. Or maybe there is even not a faรงade.
PRECEDENT SERPENTINE PAVILION 2013 SOU FUJIMOTO
D
esigned by Sou Fujimoto, Serpentine Pavilion of 2013 is one the most sought-after architecture in recent years. “I tried to create something between nature and architecture, melding nicely into its surroundings�. The architect achieved this cloudlike blurry geometry by manipulating something rather rigid and solid ---- steel grids. However, these grids were duplicated by over 26,000 times so that the whole started to lose its shape and erase its boundary. The whole process of the design was heavily relied on parametric
geometry generation technology, especially to finally realize it in terms of fabrication and construction. Structural solution is paramount in parametric process. Polycarbon disks and panels are wisely inserted to the steel grids to provide sheltering and platforms. Spaces were created and varied with in the architecture to cater various activities, such as having a drink, meeting friends, and even just finding a nice spot to kill time. Therefore, this project is an excellent demonstration of democratic design that allows each individual to embrace it in various ways.
A. 02 DESIGN COMPUTATION A systemic approach Aided by the computation technology, the architecture design approach will be reconsidered as a bottom up approach, considering design as a system that is built up by individual components. I have been constantly wondering about an architect’s position, since I am always asked by friends and family members that “so you architects build houses or design the appearance?” It seems architects are positioned in an awkward position in the general public’s eye. For centuries there was not a profession called architects. Buildings were realized by the hands of highly experienced craftsmen. It is argued that architect was finally regarded as a separate profession in 1450s. Not until recent years, architects were only use computers as a visualizing tool. Terzidis pointed out the difference between computerization and computation, as computerization is a duplication of designer’s mind yet computation is a designing tool. Aided by the computation technology, the architecture design approach will be reconsidered as a bottom up approach, considering design as a system that is built up by individual components. Computational algorithm allows architects to form the building with accumulated data which can be managed individually within reasonable time. The opportunity provided by this enables architects to take consideration of the smallest components and manipulate them by imposing a rationallythought rule of processing. It seems that a building is no longer a bulk or a skin, but pixels performing as a system. Namely, the design process is shifted away from a top-down to a bottom-up approach. This benefits the design in three ways. Computational algorithms optimize the combination of rationality
and creativity of the design process. “For the first time perhaps, architectural design might be aligned with neither formalism nor rationalism but with intelligent form and traceable creativity.� It is self-evident that computation algorithms can process a low of data which human brains are not capable of, and therefore visualize it. Thus designers are able to push their boundary of creativity regardless of the limitation of human brain data process. However, as a constructed object, a building has to be designed with rational evaluation process, such as structural performance, environmental design aspect. Algorithms are a stepwise method to allow parameters of rationality to be inserted into it in a controlled manner. Therefore, creativity and rationality can have dialogue and reconcile with each other, and optimize their combination as an outcome. Computational algorithms act as a universal language across multidisciplines that sustain the communication between architects, engineers, consultants and constructors. Hence a healthily controlled design to fabrication flow is ensured. Computational algorithms celebrate the value of individuality and encourage democratic design. Starting from small scaled components and simple rules of the inter-relationship, the space quality and performance of each component (which could be a residential unit of a skyscraper for example) is respected and investigated through the design process. Rather than dominated by a arbitrary form imposed from top down, components dictates the overall form through algorithms.