MODULE TWO DESIGN --------------
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS S2 2013 HARRIET CRAIG, YINGLI LIU, ABBY ZAPLAN
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS STUDENT JOURNAL WEEK THREE - DESIGNING IDEAS
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS S2 2013 HARRIET CRAIG, YINGLI LIU, ABBY ZAPLAN
2.2 SKETCH DESIGN
Hands are usually associated with intimate interaction with other people such as holding hands with a lover, placing one’s hands over a loved ones’ (family, friend etc.) to offer comfort – all of which are conducted with those who are to some extent “emotionally close” to the person. Other forms of contact with unfamiliar people include handshakes, but these are only momentary and are usually seen as an act of obligation rather than one of desire.
Research findings indicate that hands are one of the most sensitive parts of the body [1] – in particular the fingertips, due to the amount of nerve endings located at the fingertips. Forearm was found to have less nerve endings than fingertips and the whole hand in general [2]. [1] Oracle Education Foundation. 2013. Sense-Sational Facts. In: Your sense of touch. http://library.thinkingquest.org/3750/touch/touch.html Forearm-hand image (coloured) and [2] Abbott Laboratories. 2010. Why is Alternative Site Testing Less Painful? In: Alternative Site Testing. http://www. abbottdiabetescare.ca/adc_ca/url/content/en_CA/20.10.30:30/general_content/General_Content_0000321.htm By making the link between ‘sensitivity’, ‘social norms’ and ‘personal space’, we have come up with a design proposal. Since there is an increasing amount of sensitivity starting from the area below the elbow until the fingertips (most sensitive), we have produced the following structure of the 2nd skin. It would be the narrowest at the top, widest at the wrist area and would be worn around the forearm. Also, it would be worn on both arms.
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS S2 2013 HARRIET CRAIG, YINGLI LIU, ABBY ZAPLAN
2.2 SKETCH DESIGN The exposure of the hand means that others will be able to see it and that it can still hold and be held by other hands. However, the proposed 2nd skin’s structure – composing of the inflatable system and “spike” appearing panel and fold system – and its shape, gives viewers the impression that the area from below the elbow and hand of the individual wearing the 2nd skin has an increasing need for personal space and thus should be approached or held in caution (the hand(s)).
This is an explaniation of the object that will be paneled on the cloud. We began by imagining an object with three folds, however we soon realised that this wouldn’t be as symmetrical and logical as a square with four folds. The final outcome would look like a pyramid.
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS S2 2013 HARRIET CRAIG, YINGLI LIU, ABBY ZAPLAN
This is a sketch of the final design idea. The inflatable clouds cover the lower part of both arms, just below the elbow. The bottom heavy shape provides personal space as it creates a larger personal area that others can’t walk into than without the clouds.
2.2 SKETCH DESIGN
The arms are an important part of any person’s personal space as they can help create boundries and limit other people’s involvement in a space. As you can see in these sketches, the volume that the clouds create keeps other people at a comfortable distance.
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS S2 2013 HARRIET CRAIG, YINGLI LIU, ABBY ZAPLAN
These are renders of the sketch design in rhino. The arm cloud is to scale (20cm high and diameter of 20cm at the widest points).
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS S2 2013 HARRIET CRAIG, YINGLI LIU, ABBY ZAPLAN
2.2 RHINO MODEL
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS S2 2013 HARRIET CRAIG, YINGLI LIU, ABBY ZAPLAN
2.2 RHINO MODEL
Above is the rendered image of Harriet produced using 123D Catch. Unfortunately, the final mesh of photographs didn’t work out properly after several attempts and the arms were not to proportion.
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS S2 2013 HARRIET CRAIG, YINGLI LIU, ABBY ZAPLAN
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS STUDENT JOURNAL WEEK THREE - DESIGNING IDEAS
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS S2 2013 HARRIET CRAIG, YINGLI LIU, ABBY ZAPLAN
MODEL MAKING - A SINGLE COMPONENT
This is the first model we created, it is an exploration of of the inflatable component in our design. After creating the triangular shape, we learnt that making a template for a desired shape may be difficult, as when it is inflated (see second picture) the shape is warped. This knowledge can be useful when we create firstly our prototype and then our final design as we will understand the difficulties that come with creating an inflatable system.
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS S2 2013 HARRIET CRAIG, YINGLI LIU, ABBY ZAPLAN
Above is the panel and fold system that we designed to be on the exterior of the inflatable system. Through making a physical model we realised something that we didn’t incoporate into our design - that you need to create a flat 2D surface with one side with a tab that can be attached to another side to build the final 3D object.
MODEL MAKING - VOLUME
The second task was to use clay to make the model for the wooden mannequin. In order to make model fit the mannequin, we have to choose the dimensions accurately, instead of determining it roughly in the sketches. This task it's also very helpful to refine our design, since it can test how the model works on human body, especially when people move. By putting the model to the wooden mannequin, we knew that the top opening of our design should be wider to let the arm go through and the bottom opening should be narrow enough to make it stay on the arm. When we put the clay to the mannequin, I found it is difficult to keep it still, which helps us to improve the design. And it is also very valuable for us to know how much space it literally takes up. This task, making model for the mannequin, is really different from the digital model-making, it allows us to roughly predict whether the design works and how it works in reality.
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS S2 2013 HARRIET CRAIG, YINGLI LIU, ABBY ZAPLAN
MODEL MAKING - MOVEMENT We were asked to create a rough representation of our second skin design using the materials given. We attempted to make the inflatable component of our design, to scale. To complete the task, we also added on triangular “spikes” made of paper; the panel & fold system section. As with what was done with the initial triangular inflatable, we made sure to leave a gap at one end for air to enter through and for all other From this exercise we were able to see how we might construct our final model to ensure that our inflatable had a hollow centre for the arm to be inserted through. It also gave us an idea of where the seams might be and how we might go about minimizing the amount of seams. Since our proposed second skin design wasn’t a simple cylinder shape like the one we had created for the sketch model, we realized that it would be a challenge to create the actual shape of our design proposal.
Lastly, we were to demonstrate “movement” in our system model. To achieve this, we simply deflated and inflated our already constructed inflatable and panel & fold system to show how our second skin transformed into a different form and shape when air was blown into and sucked out of it. From this exercise, we were further able to see how the appearance of the deflated version of the model differed from that of the inflated version. We also observed that the arrangement of the panel and fold system component may change too as the inflatable changes shape/form (given that the panel and fold system is attached to the inflatable). After seeing the effects of air on the movement of the material systems, it gave us an idea of how our second skin design may be adjusted to reduce or increase the amount of air inside, depending on the amount of personal space the person wearing it may want (i.e. more air inside = more inflated = more personal space required).
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS S2 2013 HARRIET CRAIG, YINGLI LIU, ABBY ZAPLAN
LECTURE AND READING RESPONSE WEEK 4 LECTURE response: The lecture talked considerably about personal space and in particular, not having a “preconceived notion” of personal space and of a second skin design. We were encouraged to challenge the conventions of space and skin and of the idea of making use of something in an unusual way. An aspect of personal space, which we were told to consider, was the fact that it can shift and change depending on the body part and side of the body in focus. Other considerations included the idea that the body is static and that we may want to design a second skin that encloses sound or own space – to “create an atmosphere”. It was shown how different design effects could be achieved by taking a single object and multiplying it (for example a pattern). THOMAS HEATHERWICK TED TALKS VIDEO response: In this TED Talks video, Thomas Heatherwick who, as a child, made a lot of crafts and inventions on a smaller scale saw how the material of buildings (bigger scale) was “soulless and cold”. For each of the three projects he talks about, he attempted to think of design ideas which broke free from and went against the preconceived idea of that object (for example instead of a bridge opening by being broken in half like in usual designs, Thomas designed an opening bridge which lifted from one side and rolled up into a ball). He also strived for ways to make designs that are more efficient. For Thomas’ pavilion project in particular, he uses design to create effects by using optic – with plant seeds trapped at the ends – to bring light into the centre of the pavilion and expose the seeds in an interesting and unique way. The use of the material, optic, for the design gives the effect that allows the building to move with the wind. He also designed it so that the inside of the pavilion is silent and cool, and that the sky and even passing clouds could be seen passing from inside. LOST IN SPACE response: Abstraction is modelling reality - i.e. through meshes or models. It inherentley involves abstracting the shape of one thing. However, refactoring is altering reality or changing, cleaning up a model that has been created. In Module 1 we undertook tasks that involved creating measured drawings of our given object and we were also asked to rexamine these objects and create something new using the same system.
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS S2 2013 HARRIET CRAIG, YINGLI LIU, ABBY ZAPLAN
2.5 DIGITISED MODEL FURTHER DEVELOPED IN RHINO We decided in order for us to further explore our first model in Rhino, we had to explore both the paneling system and inflatable system on their own. We changed the object that was panelised (two of the sides verticle to eachother are now holes). Furthermore, we made our second skin longer to now cover up to just beneath a person’s armpit. This means that the second skin would become more like a sleeve and protect the wearer more than before.
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS S2 2013 HARRIET CRAIG, YINGLI LIU, ABBY ZAPLAN
2.5 DIGITISED MODEL FURTHER DEVELOPED IN RHINO
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS S2 2013 HARRIET CRAIG, YINGLI LIU, ABBY ZAPLAN
2.5 DIGITISED MODEL FURTHER DEVELOPED IN RHINO
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS S2 2013 HARRIET CRAIG, YINGLI LIU, ABBY ZAPLAN
2.6 PRECENDENT STUDY - PANELING PRECEDENT RESEARCH: PANELING & SPACE
The Bloomberg pavilion by Akihila Hirata The 'bloomberg pavilion', an outdoor installation designed by japanese architect, Akihila Hirata. The pavilion could be described as a triangular enclosure with a folded sky. The form of pavilion is derived from the structure of a tree. The paneling is comprised of isosceles triangles. And a triangular footprint connects the 'branches' together, and with crisp planar walls begins to unfold at the roof plane into a series of pleats.
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS S2 2013 HARRIET CRAIG, YINGLI LIU, ABBY ZAPLAN
2.6 PRECENDENT STUDY - SLEEVE TYPES
Since our proposed design for our inflatable and panel & fold material systems resembles that of a sleeve, research was conducted on the different types of sleeves that already existed. The #20 sleeve on this image, in particular, interested us and we decided we could develop our second skin design to adopt its “shirring” and “sectioned” characteristics.
Source: http://pinterest.com /julieinleeds/sleeves/
Source: (left) http://pinterest.com/pin/268456827759104763/ (right) http://pinterest.com/pin/268456827759104732/
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS S2 2013 HARRIET CRAIG, YINGLI LIU, ABBY ZAPLAN
Here are other examples of existing inflatable designs related to clothing (sleeves and other areas). They further gave the impression that sleeves needn’t be a single, uniform form – that it could be composed of visually separate sections but still be one system. They also gave us the idea of the type of shape the inflatable components of our design could have.
2.6 PRECENDENT STUDY - ELIZABETHAN SLEEVES/ 18th CENTURY SLEEVES
Source: http://www.elizabethancostume.net/gallery/1569.html Our second, more refined model represents a sleve. One precedent that can be used to describe the form of this second skin is Elizabethan sleeves. These sleeves are puffy at parts but not all parts and are puffy and large at the wrists. This can be seen as a representation of our own idea of personal space and the sensitivity of hands. Furthermore, these sleeves were created to protect young women’s modesty by being long and covering bare flesh. Thus protecting their own personal space and morals. This idea is also communicated in our own design - however we aren’t covering up bare flesh to ensure people’s morals are intact, instead we are hoping to giver the wearer more personal space.
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS S2 2013 HARRIET CRAIG, YINGLI LIU, ABBY ZAPLAN
Source: http://faybruno.blogspot.com. au/2011/02/18th-century.html
Source: http://18thcenturyblog.com
Also, this idea of a sleeve that is wider at the wrist can also be seen in 18th century fashion. However the sleeves here were much less structured at the wrists, instead the wrists were more flirty and feminine because of the materials used (such as lace). In our own design we haven’t tried to make the sleeve restricting and cover all of the arm, like seen in the pictures above we have created a second skin that has holes and reveals.