Hengrong_Architectural Narratives_Aesthetic Indifference by Stanley H. Ni

AESTHETIC INDIFFERENCE HENGRONG NI

AESTHETIC INDIFFERENCE AESTHETIC INDIFFERENCE is an attempt to deconstruct the relationship between social hierarchy and the aesthetics, through technological re-interpretation of cultural materials, to re-build the social equality in society. Based on a cultural sociological critique of the contemporary society, AESTHETIC INDIFFERENCE seeks the possibility at the intersection of computational design (technology) and archeology (culture), and applies that possibility to design for the disadvantaged. By adopting the cultural materials as generative elements, architecture not only regains its cultural identity, but also is enabled to communicate with a wider public. My goal is to augment architecture’s ability to serve and shape a public by reducing its disciplinary exclusivity and redefining the sociological meaning of its aesthetics.

Social Hierarchy

Aesthetics

Aesthetic Indifference

CONTENTS 01 Gothic Re-Generation

02 Forbidden City Un-Forbidden

Project 1

Project 2

Project 3

Gothic Regeneration

Forbidden City Unforbidden

Altered Efficiency

French Gothic Patterns

Chinese Roof Forms

Chinese Window Patterns

Glass Laser Cutting

Fiber Glass Tectonics

Mesh Relaxation

Cultural Materials

Social Housing Facade Design

Technology

Temporary Shelters in Forbidden City

03 Altered Efficiency

Lattice Window Design

Social Equality

Other Projects 04 Möbius Bench

05 The Cooperators

Robotic Rod Cutting Workflow

Community Library Design

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Preface

01 Gothic Re-Generation Paris, 2019 Advanced Studio: Other Modes Individual Work Instructor: Jess Myers

Considering the rich history and culture of Paris, the opportunity to insert social housing in the historic and wealthy neighborhood requires a careful study of the city’s aesthetics and history, in order to promote good social mix, dignifying low-income people, as well as revitalizing the neighborhood. According to French policies, Paris aims to have 25% of social housing in each arrondissement. Because currently the social housings are not equally distributed, there’s an urgent need to build more social housings in wealthy neighborhoods, particularly for low-income people. After thorough background research, the conclusion is that, what architecture can do is demonstrating an INDIFFERENCE towards the hierarchical nature of aesthetics, providing a well-designed façade with rich historic and cultural elements, like the buildings in the neighborhood, as well as a sense of the future. In my proposal for the social housing, I adapted existing French Gothic elements as an example of on-site cultural materials, and re-interpreted them with computational design method inspired by generative art, producing a façade with modern glass fabrication technology.

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Gothic Re-Generation Josette, 90 ans, Vision 80, Esplanade de La Défense, France, 2013. Photograph: Laurent Kronental

Mixité in Paris

Social Housing / Principal Residence

Mixité and Social Housing in Paris

1-9%

Mixité is the French word for social mix. In Paris, social housing is regarded as the most effective tool to promote Mixité, therefore the income limits for applying social housing is pretty high.

10-19%

As part of its sustainable urban planning agenda, the Paris municipality has established a target increasing the availability of housing which is both low energy and affordable, and Paris aims to have 25% of social housing in each arrondissement.

Social housing would lower the value of our apartment...

20-39% 40-90% >90%

However, social housings are still not equally distributed in each arrondissement. More specifically, there are much more social housings in lower average income areas than wealthier areas. As demonstrated in the mapping on the right, the deeper the orange shadow, the wealthier the arrondissement. Several projects were developed to build more social housing, and Eco-district was one of them, some of which are listed below the mapping on the right. However, researches demonstrate that they “green“ housing for the poor are being subverted to retain or attract middle class, thus becoming a gentrification of lower class neighborhoods, as showed in the mapping. Mixité has therefore come to mean “more middle class and less poor people”.

Discriminated Social Housing Residents in Wealthy Neighborhood Therefore, there’s an urgent need to build more social housing for low-income people, particularly in wealthy neighborhoods, to meet the 25% social housing requirement and promote Mixité. The site is located in the 7th arrondissement, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Paris, with hardly any social housing. The surroundings of the site are mainly Haussmannian Neoclassical architecture, designed and constructed 150 years ago, whose facade well decorated with pediments and colonnade.

Local shops are too expensive... Children are not welcomed in schools... People on the street give us side-looks...

During the research phase, an interview with people in the social housing in wealthy neighborhood complained about being discriminated and not feeling fitted in this environment. Thus, I realized that, besides considering the size and the function of each unit, there’s a more intricate problem when dealing with social segregation: how to make low-income people feel dignified in the wealthy neighborhoods, instead of discriminated and alienated?

Aesthetics, Facade & Dignity What the residents want is not an Utopian society with absolute equality, but they want to be treated with dignity, that they can also share piece of history and culture of Paris.

Eco-Quartiers in Paris Gare de Rungis

Claude Bernard

Clichy-Batignolles

Fréquel-Fontarabie

The original residents of wealthy neighborhood also complain that the social housing is bad for the image, and inserting more would lower the value of their apartment. While this is such a complicated political problem, when it comes to the architecture design, it can be responded by carefully consider the aesthetics of the facade. Both sides are longing for a good “image”, a proper appearance that both fits into the environment well and gives its residents a sense of dignity. Therefore, studies of the historical, cultural and aesthetic background of Paris is required, before designing the facade.

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3400 housing units: social housing units: 50%. Urban park (10 ha) Various public equipment (23,700 m2) Commercial and services buildings (17,800 m2) Office buildings (109,400 m2)

Private for sale 30% Private rental 20%

Social housing upper-middle class 15% Social housing middle class 25%

Social housing low income 10%

34,000 m² of housing; 460 housing units (296 social rental housing, 164 private dwellings). Elder house, School, Kindergarten Public garden 4000 m2 of commercial buildings Three offices buildings(41,000 m2) Cinema

Private for sale 25% Private rental 25%

Social housing upper-middle class 25% Social housing middle class 20%

Social housing low income 5%

13,000 m²; 180 social housing units, 95 private dwellings, 65% social housing. Kindergarten Elder house Communal gardens Social center Sports ground

Private for sale 35%

Social housing upper-middle class 41% Social housing middle class 21%

Social housing low income 3%

9150 m²; 106 social rental housing units, 100% of social housing; Kindergarten: 1071 m²; Public garden: 320 m²; Commercial buildings: 320 m².

Social housing middle class 95%

Social housing low income 5%

Gothic Re-Generation

French Aesthetics: Chronology and Hierarchy The city of Paris has notable examples of architecture of every period, from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. It was the birthplace of the Gothic style, and has important monuments of the French Renaissance, Classical revival, the Flamboyant style of the reign of Napoleon III, the Belle Époque, and the Art Nouveau style. The great Exposition Universelle (1889) and 1900 added Paris landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower and Grand Palais. In the 20th century, the Art Deco style of architecture first appeared in Paris, which took its name, short for Arts Décoratifs, from the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) held in Paris in 1925. As demonstrated in the chronological diagram of French aesthetics on the right, the “styles” are for the people from higher classes, because the old hierarchical norm that people must have the senses that match their condition. According to French philosopher Jacques Rancière, historically, aesthetics was defined as establishing hierarchies, associated as it was with taste and power. Based on Rancière’s theories, architect Mark Foster Gage claimed Aesthetics Equals Politics, bringing a more encompassing framework for human activity. While modernism advocated the aesthetics of simplicity and ornaments were largely left out, postmodern architects are rethinking the use of aesthetic ornaments as a tool for social discourse. Therefore, the egalitarian pursuit for aesthetics becomes a symbol for a more equal society.

French Utopias: From Symbolism to Aesthetics In order to develop an architectural response for the aesthetics and hierarchy, several existing Utopian projects in France were studied. Coined by Sir Thomas More in 1516, the word Utopia is an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its citizens. The collages on the right examine how the idea of Utopia were presented in architectural language: 1. Ledoux supports his vision of a dependent democracy with a formal plan relying on geometric symbols of neo-Platonic ideals;

Housing for Clergy, Nobility & Bourgeoisie

Housing for Common People

Garnier at Lyon

Ledoux at Chaux

1904

1804

“If our structure remains simple, without ornament, without molding, bare everywhere, we can then dispose of the decorative arts in all their forms,” he wrote in Une Cité Industrielle (An Industrial City). His socialist beliefs are revealed in the banishment of private property and walls, the absence of churches and army barracks, police or court buildings.

With the Director’s House in the central position, the Saltworks by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux shows the idea of a dependent equality marked by a benevolent hierarchy. On the other hand, the walls of Director’s House and workers’ quarters share the same flush ashlar masonry, suggesting the equality of the participants in the enterprise.

2. Godin centers his vision of a cooperative society on a radical new building type, the familistere, which relies on the buildings’ plan and section to encourage the personal interaction of its inhabitants;

Bofill at Paris

3. Garnier bases his vision of a socialist democracy on the civilizing force of the city itself.

Godin at Guise

4. Bofill’s inversion of architectural symbolism intends to reinstate a kind of classical grandeur in social housing of large scale for working class, using modern construction techniques.

Influenced by 19th-century Utopian theorist Charles Fourier, Godin’s Familistère (Social Palace) in Guise is meant to assist the inhabitants in their climb up the social ladder by encouraging cooperative effort through social interaction. The form, phalanx, was drawn from the Palace of Versailles in an effort to place ”the equivalents of wealth”.

From this analysis we could conclude that, the architectural language of Utopia, a more equal society, was changed from symbolism, reflected in geometrical structure of urban planning and architecture, to aesthetics, enjoyed by people from all social classes.

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1859

1982 “Daily life should not be banalized, but exalted to become rich and meaningful.“ Bofill contends. For in counterposing an image of nobility to the banality of the grand ensembles, the first generation of French post-war housing estate built according to the tenets of Modern Movement, Bofill poses the paradox of proletarian aristocrat. Also, pre-fabricated concrete techniques were used to reduce the construction cost.

Gothic Re-Generation

Aesthetic Indifference: A Postmodern Gothic Facade

Frame Generation

Tourism Tourism in Paris is a major income source. In 2018, 17.95 million international, overnighting tourists visited the city, mainly for sightseeing and shopping. Among the top sights, Gothic church Notre-Dame Cathedral has the highest number of visitors. There are plenty of remnants of medieval Paris still to be seen: traces of scholars, monks and knights in vaulted cellars, fragments of castles and palaces, as well as Gothic churches reflecting the style that, unlike imported classicism, was “an art born in our country” – the words of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, an ardent Gothic revivalist and the man who restored the rundown cathedral in 1845.

Gothic Vault

Projection

Therefore, for the original residents, a facade generated by Gothic elements could fit in the surroundings very well, and can also bring in more tourists, thus improving the image of the neighborhood. Separation

Rotation + Mirror

Combination

Unit

A Sense of History and Culture Inspired by Bofill’s work in Paris, which employed historical motifs to give new allure to conventional building programs and were aimed to “exalt the daily life”, a facade generated from Gothic elements is aimed to dignify the residents by enabling them to share a sense of history and culture, thus more related to the society.

Collage: A Postmodern Gothic Facade

While Bofill’s projects in Paris failed mainly because of their large scales, lack of shops and the location far away from city centers, this project is more active in helping the residents integrate into the society.

Learn From Relief Projection Relief is a sculptural technique where the sculpted elements remain attached to a solid background of the same material, which is very common in Gothic architecture. The rule of parallel projection is adapted to reduce the thickness of the wall while creating the relief. Inspired by this, the frame of the facade is generated from projecting the Gothic vault, deconstructed and combined to a new basic unit, that make up the whole facade. 3 variations are created and evaluated by their spatial performance and aesthetics.

Fig. Parallel Project

Facade Variation 1

Fig. Gothic Relief

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Facade Variation 2

Facade Variation 3

Fig. Gothic Vault

Gothic Re-Generation

Gothic Patterns Re-Generation

Gothic Patterns Morphology Studies

Gothic Architecture and Patterns

Morph

While originally religious in nature, Gothic architecture has had a much richer and fuller existence over the past millennial than only being used in our most famous cathedrals. For example, Gothic Revival architecture was used not only for churches and cathedrals, but also non-religious institutions including schools, universities and buildings for government.

Rotate

In this project, Gothic elements are used as generative elements for the facade of the social housing, giving it a sense of history and culture.

3D Geometry from 2D Patterns Gothic patterns are clearly layered, from foils, daggers and mouchettes to cusps, and I reinterpret this feature to a dynamic geometry generation process morphing from the outer layer to the inner ones. Rotation is used to add dynamics and randomness to the 3D geometry. As symmetrical properties of the geometry is very crucial while rotating it, the Gothic patterns are made into a taxonomy of 5 types, according to their symmetrical properties. The results were then applied a transparent material to examine its aesthetic potential.

TYPE 01

TYPE 02

TYPE 03

TYPE 04

TYPE 05

Rule 1 Rotate on Center of Gravity Rule 2 Rotate on Symmetry Axis Rule 3 Rotate on One Inner Point Analysis of Gothic Patterns

Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

Y 0 TYPE 01

Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

Y 4 TYPE 02

Y 0 TYPE 01

Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

Y 4 TYPE 02

Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

N 1 TYPE 04

Y 4 TYPE 02

Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

Y 2 TYPE 03

Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

N 1 TYPE 04

Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

N 1 TYPE 04

Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

N 1 TYPE 04

Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

N 1 TYPE 04

Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

N 0 TYPE 05

N 1 TYPE 04

Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

N 0 TYPE 05

Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

Rule 4 Rotate on One Outer Point N 0 TYPE 05

N 0 TYPE 05

Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

N 0 TYPE 05

Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

N 0 TYPE 05

Rule 5 Rule 4 Polar Array

N 0 TYPE 05

Rule 6 Rule 4 Mirror Twice Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

Y 4 TYPE 02

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Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

N 1 TYPE 04

Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

N 1 TYPE 04

Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

N 1 TYPE 04

Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

N 0 TYPE 05

Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

N 0 TYPE 05

Central Symmetric: Symmetry Axis:

N 0 TYPE 05

Taxonomy of Gothic Patterns

Gothic Re-Generation

Glass Fabrication

Glass Fabrication Process

Learn From Came Glass work The use of Gothic window tracery allowed for smaller, more precious, pieces of glass to be supported and protected, affording new opportunities for the extensive use of stained glass. Traditionally, the fabrication process includes assembling pieces of cut and possibly painted glass using came section.

Geometry

Nowadays, colored glass is usually achieved by the addition of metal oxides to the glass. The metal ions absorb certain wavelengths of light, varying depending on the metal, leading to the appearance of color. The diagram below shows the result after applying different color glass to the generated geometries. Using this method, the top view of 3D geometry is then carefully analyzed to produce a window with 3 layers of glass, fabricated by laser cutting glass of 16 different shades of color. Finally, the glass is placed in the frames to complete the facade.

Glass Material

Fig. Gothic Church Window

Frame

Fig. Came Glass Work

Trim

Top View

Glass of Different Transparency

Laser Cutting

Fig. Glass Laser Cutting

Glass Color Diagram

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Gothic Re-Generation

02 Forbidden City Un-Forbidden Beijing, 2019 Making Discourse Project Individual Work Instructor: Carl Lostritto

This project explores how temporary architecture react to social events, by generating forms from traditional architecture with tectonics of new material. With deep concerns for the disadvantaged people in society, this project proposes temporary shelters in the Forbidden City, for the homeless tenets forced out of their homes during the gentrification campaign, with forms aimed to deconstruct the hierarchical nature of traditional Chinese architecture. On Nov 18th, 2017, a fire broke out in an illegally constructed apartment in Beijing and killed 19 people, followed by a city-wide 40-day gentrification campaign, where tenets of illegal apartments were asked to move out in a very short period of time. After thorough research of traditional Chinese architecture, forms of different hierarchies were extracted and mixed together through a series of fibrous morphology studies. This project is aimed to show the potential that, design enables advanced technology to promote more social-political engagement of architecture.

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Forbidden City Un-Forbidden Why Parts of Beijing Looks Like a Devastated Warzone, Beijing, 2017. Photograph: Bryan Denton

A Gentrification Campaign Triggered by A Fire On Nov 18th, 2017, a fire broke out in an illegally constructed apartment in Beijing’s Daxing District, killing 19 people, eight of them children. After the tragedy, the government started a Beijing city-wide 40-day special campaign to investigate, clean up, and rectify potential safety hazards. During this campaign, most of the tenants were asked to move out within a short period of time, having no places to go in the cold winter. This evictions are part of the largest demolition campaign the city has seen since preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The clearances have renewed concerns that the government wants to accelerate the gentrification of old Beijing.

Temporary Shelters in the Forbidden City struction were demolished to make space for new infrastructure, according to municipal statistics, mostly in the city’s center, displacing up to 1.5m residents.

This project proposes temporary shelters in Forbidden City for those who were asked to move out of their homes during the campaign, with the main purpose to dignify and show the concerns for them.

The safety inspections have hit China’s e-commerce sector particularly hard, as many of the workers for on-demand services such as ride-hailing and food-delivery apps are migrants who frequently bunk in crowded apartments like that which burned down in Daxing.

The site, Forbidden City, is a palace complex in Beijing, with a total area of 720,000 square meters. It used to be the former Chinese imperial palace from 1420 to 1924, and now houses Palace Museum, a national museum with over 1.8 million pieces of art, mostly from the imperial collection of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The evictions have sparked an outcry from within China and raised questions about the country’s urbanization policies. Many criticize that the campaign is too harsh and rather inhumane.

In 2006, in the run up to the Olympics, 45m square meters of illegal con-

Tenents Only Have 48 Hours to Move Out

Forbidden City was picked as the site mainly for two reasons:

and is now still a very important place in Beijing. The proposal subverts its hierarchy exclusivity, demonstrating the social value of equality for all. Second, there are many large, open and vacant spaces in the Forbidden City, which could be the ideal place to build temporary shelters. The mapping below shows the possible locations for the shelters. When it comes to the design of the shelter, its aesthetics aimed to dignify the residents is as important as its requirement of rapid construction. Therefore, using the Aesthetic Indifference method, I extract elements from the roof geometries and adopt robotic fiber glass fabrication technique.

First, as the name suggests, it used to be unaccessible for common people,

Beijing Nov. 2017

Forbidden City

Proposal: Shelters in Forbidden City

Notification Asking Tenets to Move Out in a Short Time

Tenents Without Anywhere to Go

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Accident: Fire in Illegal Apartment

Illegal Apartments Got Demolished

Forbidden City Un-Forbidden

Traditional Chinese Roof: Tectonics and Hierarchies Traditional Chinese architecture strictly follows the hierarchies. The building’s size, form, material, height, color, decoration... All of them must obey the rules made by Gong Department, a construction department of the central government. Those who dare to violate it would be heavily punished, even get killed. For example, roof forms are categorized into eight typologies, depending on the hierarchy, as demonstrated in the diagram on the right. The aim of this hierarchy system of the building forms is to reflect the social hierarchy of the users, which is derived from Confucian ethical and aesthetic ideas. Among those typologies, whether there’s a conspicuous ridge on top of the

roof distinguishes an official’s house from a commoner’s house, because the ridge makes the house look more majestic and dignified. As demonstrated on the right, houses with ridges has sharp sections (from 1st to 6th), while houses without ridges has rounded sections (7th).

Hierarchies Diagram Hierarchy 1st 重檐庑殿顶 Ridge

Section

Function

People

Religious

Emperor

Palace

Scholar/Knight

Bureau

Farmer

Utility

Worker

Residential

Businessman

Garden

Other

Accordingly, the wooden structure varies with different forms. The common structural feature that every form share is called Juzhe, which refers to using polylines to build curved roofs, which is explained further below. Combined with a feature called Shengqi, which refers to lifting the corners of the roof, the roofs of traditional Chinese architecture are designed to look both majestic and elegant.

悬山顶

扶脊木 Ridge

脑椽花架椽檐椽

Ridge

(5th)

Wooden Tectonics of Traditional Chinese Architecture (Ranked 5th 悬山顶 as an Example)

望板

2nd 重檐歇山顶

飞椽

3rd 庑殿顶

Ridge

4th 歇山顶

Ridge

博缝板

小连檐大连檐

脊瓜柱角背

檐檩

三架梁

燕尾枋

金瓜柱

檐垫板抱头梁穿插方

五架梁随梁枋

檐枋檐柱

5th 悬山顶

Ridge

悬山顶 Structural Diagram

Formula of Juzhe

举折

The formula on the right is developed by me, from analysis of construction diagrams in the Yingzaofashi, an architecture guidebook written 1000 years ago.

Formula of Juzhe

(Developed by me)

6th 硬山顶

Ridge

L: half the length of the section. H: the height of the roof. m: number of beams under one side of the roof.

No Ridge

H5 = a5 * H

H/80

H3 = a3 * H

H4 = a4 * H

H/40

H/20 H1 = a1 * H

The aesthetic feature created byJuzhe is that, it makes the towering roof look more majestic, as well as more elegant, as if the roof is floating on the rooms below.

H2 = a2 * H

Second, it creates more space below the periphery of the roof, because the bottom of the roof is smoother.

7th 卷棚顶

H= 2/3 L

First, it enables the rain and snow to slide off faster from the roof, as the top of the roof is steeper.

H/10

While it became an aesthetic feature of traditional Chinese architecture later, this method was created with functional concerns.

None 攒尖顶

Roof Section Juzhe Diagram when m = 6

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Forbidden City Un-Forbidden

Aesthetic Indifference: Roof Forms Made of FRP

Project Diagram Event

Wood vs. Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Wood was originally utilized in the construction of Chinese architecture as a primary building material because it was very common. Also, Chinese people believe that life is connecting with nature, so wood was favored as opposed to stone, which is considered less lively.

Fire Accident

Illegal Apartments

Event

Gentrification

Tenents

Fiber-Reinforced Plastic (FRP) is gaining more attention with the development of computer-aided design, with the increasing desire for free-form surface and the industrial revolution with robotic fabrication.

AESTHETIC INDIFFERENCE

Homeless

Design Studies

Proposal

Shelters

Forbidden City

Fiber composites are considered intrinsically formless, dependent on the external frames or scaffoldings.

AESTHETIC INDIFFERENCE Technology

Function

Dignity

Frames Extracted from Roof

Design

Cultural Material

Proposal

Site

With the intention to subvert the hierarchical nature of Chinese roof forms, two types of sections representing different hierarchies are extracted and serve as the frames for the fibrous tectonics, aimed to generate novel forms that demonstrate the Aesthetic Indifference towards traditional Chinese architecture.

Cultural Material Traditional Chinese Architecture Roof Forms Emporer

Extract

Commoners

Hierarchies Majestic

Humble

Aesthetics >

M √

Fibrous Tectonics Morphology Deconstruct

t=0

t=6

Ridge

Structure

Study 1 : Offset

No Ridge

Mix

Metal Frame Study 2 : Reverse

Scafolding

Three studies are developed step by step to explore the possibilities of fibrous tectonics. While the frames ensure the resemblance to the traditional Chinese architecture, different computational methods of the lay-up and filament-winding process of FRP lead to surprising formal results. For example, in the first morphology study, t represents the offset value of the FRP lay-up, resulting in different curvature of the roof, as demonstrated in the diagram below.

Juzhe

Wooden Tectonics

Because natural and human-made fiber composites share many physical properties and structural logic, many studies of the application of FRP in architectural design are related to biology. This project, however, proposes a new approach of culture and aesthetics. With the frames extracted from traditional Chinese roof sections, the morphology studies of FRP are aimed to generate new forms that resemble the traditional forms from some perspectives, while breaking its the hierarchical taboos by combining different typologies.

With Ridge

Glass Fiber Offset

t = 20

Reinfrocement

Carbon Fiber

Structural Layers

Material

Reverse

t = 40 3 Reverse Computational Winding Method

Bio-Inspired Fibrous Tectonics

t = 60

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t = 80

Robotic Filament Winding

Technology

Robotic Fabrication Study 3 : 3 Reverse

Design Studies Forbidden City Un-Forbidden

𝑁𝑁 = 80 Fibrous Structure Morphology Study : Offset 𝑎𝑎!

Traditionally, the beams of the roof are horizontal and support the secondary wooden structure and ceramic tiles on it.

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In the offset morphology study, there are two frames, both of them the type with ridge. The lay-up of FRP is offset by t on one frame, as demonstrated in the diagram below. The result shows the incoherence 𝑎𝑎!"# between the outer layer, which maintains the original form, and the inner layer,

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𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑎𝑎!"#

{𝑎𝑎! }

The physical models shows 𝑏𝑏!the situation when t equals 6. With the increasing value of t, the incoherence between the outer and inner surfaces {𝑎𝑎! } continues to grow, and the space available below for functional purposes shrinks accordingly. 𝑎𝑎!"#

𝑏𝑏!

𝑎𝑎!"$ 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

!"$

𝑏𝑏 {𝑏𝑏! }

𝑎𝑎! 𝑏𝑏!

𝑎𝑎! 𝑎𝑎!"%

𝑎𝑎!"$ 𝑏𝑏!"# 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏! 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑎𝑎!"# 𝑏𝑏!"%"#

𝑎𝑎!"#

𝑏𝑏!"%

!"#

Section 𝑁𝑁 = 80: With Ridge 𝑏𝑏!"$

𝑁𝑁 = 80

𝑎𝑎!

𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑎𝑎 {𝑎𝑎! }

𝑎𝑎!"$ 𝑏𝑏!"% 𝑏𝑏!"# 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"% 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

{𝑏𝑏𝑎𝑎! } !

𝑁𝑁 =𝑏𝑏! 80 𝑎𝑎!"#

𝑎𝑎 𝑎𝑎 !

!"$

𝑏𝑏!"# 𝑏𝑏! 𝑏𝑏!"$

𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎!"# !"%

!"% 𝑎𝑎𝑏𝑏!"$

𝑏𝑏!"%"#

𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏!"# !"%

𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"% 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

{𝑎𝑎! } {𝑏𝑏! }

𝑎𝑎! } 𝑁𝑁 = {80

{𝑎𝑎! } {𝑏𝑏! }

𝑁𝑁 = 80

{𝑏𝑏! } 𝑎𝑎! Section : With Ridge 𝑎𝑎𝑁𝑁! = 80 𝑏𝑏!

𝑏𝑏! 𝑎𝑎!

𝑎𝑎!"#

𝑎𝑎!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"$

𝑏𝑏!"$

𝑏𝑏!

𝑎𝑎!"# 𝑎𝑎

!"#

𝑏𝑏!"#

𝑏𝑏!"# 𝑏𝑏

!"$

𝑎𝑎!"% 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑎𝑎!"% 𝑏𝑏

!"%"#

𝑏𝑏!"%𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑎𝑎!"$

{𝑎𝑎! } {𝑏𝑏! }

𝑁𝑁 = 80 𝑎𝑎! 𝑏𝑏!

𝑏𝑏!"#

𝑎𝑎!"#

𝑎𝑎!"%

𝑏𝑏!"#

𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

...

𝑎𝑎!"$ 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"% 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

Forbidden City Un-Forbidden

{𝑏𝑏! }

Fibrous Structure Morphology Study : Reverse Inspired by the first study when t reaches its max value, the second study explores the situation when the lay-up order of both frame is reversed. In the second study, one of the frames is with ridge type and the other is without ridge type. The lay-up logic of the FRP is demonstrated in the di-

𝑡𝑡 = 6

...

𝑎𝑎! } 𝑏𝑏{&'!

𝑏𝑏! } 𝑎𝑎{&'!

𝑁𝑁 = 80 𝑏𝑏&'!'# 𝑎𝑎! 𝑎𝑎&'!'# 𝑏𝑏! 𝑎𝑎!"# 𝑎𝑎!"$ 𝑏𝑏!"# 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"% 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

HENGRONG NI

agram below. The result shows an highly overlapping area in the center of the roof, as well as an ambiguity whether the roof has a conspicuous ridge. However, the area below with roof covered is divided into two slender obtuse triangles, which might be hard to satisfy the daily functions of a {𝑎𝑎! } house.

𝑡𝑡 = 6 𝑏𝑏&'!

𝑎𝑎&'! 𝑏𝑏&'!'#

𝑎𝑎&'!'#

{𝑎𝑎! } {𝑏𝑏! }

𝑁𝑁 = 80 𝑎𝑎! 𝑏𝑏!

𝑎𝑎!"# 𝑎𝑎!"$ 𝑏𝑏!"# 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"% 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑎𝑎&'!

{𝑎𝑎! } 𝑏𝑏&'!'# {𝑏𝑏! } 𝑎𝑎&'!'# 𝑁𝑁 = 80 𝑎𝑎! 𝑏𝑏!

𝑎𝑎!"# 𝑎𝑎!"$ 𝑏𝑏!"# 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"% 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

{𝑏𝑏! }

𝑁𝑁 = 80 𝑎𝑎! 𝑏𝑏!

𝑎𝑎!"# 𝑎𝑎!"$ 𝑏𝑏!"# 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"% 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

{𝑎𝑎! } {𝑏𝑏! }

𝑡𝑡 = 6

𝑏𝑏&'!𝑁𝑁

𝑎𝑎&'!

𝑏𝑏&'!'#

𝑎𝑎&'!'#

{𝑎𝑎6 𝑡𝑡 = !} {𝑏𝑏! } 𝑏𝑏&'!

Section = 80 : No Ridge 𝑎𝑎𝑁𝑁&'!

= 80

𝑎𝑎!

𝑏𝑏 𝑎𝑎! &'!'# 𝑏𝑏! 𝑎𝑎&'!'# 𝑎𝑎!"# 𝑏𝑏! 𝑎𝑎!"$

𝑎𝑎!"# 𝑎𝑎!"$ 𝑏𝑏!"# 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"% 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"# 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"% 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑁𝑁 = 80 𝑡𝑡 = 6 𝑎𝑎! 𝑏𝑏&'!

𝑏𝑏

! 𝑎𝑎&'!

𝑎𝑎𝑏𝑏!"#

&'!'#

𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎&'!'# !"$ 𝑏𝑏!"# 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"% 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

{𝑎𝑎! }

𝑡𝑡 = 6

{𝑏𝑏! }

𝑁𝑁 = 80

𝑏𝑏&'!

: With Ridge {𝑎𝑎!Section } 𝑎𝑎! {𝑏𝑏! }

𝑎𝑎&'!

{𝑎𝑎! }

𝑏𝑏&'!'# {𝑏𝑏! }

𝑏𝑏𝑁𝑁!= 80

𝑎𝑎&'!'# 𝑁𝑁 = 80

𝑏𝑏!

𝑎𝑎!

𝑎𝑎!"#

𝑎𝑎!

𝑎𝑎!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"#

𝑎𝑎!"#

𝑏𝑏!"#

𝑎𝑎!"$

𝑏𝑏!"#

𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"%

𝑎𝑎!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"% 𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"#

...

𝑎𝑎!"$ 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"% 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%

Forbidden City Un-Forbidden

𝑏𝑏&'!

Fibrous Structure Morphology Study : 3 Reverse Inspired by the second study, the third study explores the situation with 3 frames, with lay-up logic reversed.

{𝑎𝑎! }

In the third study, there are three frames, two of them are with ridge type and one without ridge type. Each cycle of the lay-up has 12 steps, as demonstrated in the diagram{𝑎𝑎 below. The result is similar to a stadium, with an open !} air area in the center. In the front view, the form highly resembles the imperial palace, with a section of lower hierarchy in the middle.

{𝑏𝑏! }

𝑁𝑁 = 80 𝑎𝑎!

...

𝑏𝑏!

𝑎𝑎!"# {𝑎𝑎! } 𝑎𝑎!"$ {𝑏𝑏! } 𝑏𝑏!"#

𝑁𝑁 = 80 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎! 𝑎𝑎!"% 𝑏𝑏! 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑎𝑎!"# 𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑎𝑎!"$ 𝑏𝑏!"% 𝑏𝑏!"# 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"% 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑡𝑡 = 6 𝑏𝑏&'!

𝑎𝑎&'! 𝑏𝑏&'!'#

𝑎𝑎&'!'#

𝑡𝑡 = 6

Fig. Taihedian, an imperial palace in forbidden city

𝑏𝑏&'!

𝑎𝑎&'!

𝑡𝑡 = 6 𝑏𝑏&'!

𝑏𝑏&'!'#

𝑎𝑎&'! {𝑎𝑎! }

𝑎𝑎&'!'#

{𝑏𝑏! } 𝑡𝑡 = 6 𝑏𝑏&'!'#

𝑁𝑁 = 80 𝑏𝑏&'! 𝑎𝑎&'!'#

𝑎𝑎&'!

𝑏𝑏&'!'#

𝑎𝑎&'!'#

𝑎𝑎! 𝑏𝑏!

𝑎𝑎!"# 𝑎𝑎!"$ 𝑏𝑏!"# 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"% 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑡𝑡 = 6 𝑏𝑏&'!

𝑎𝑎&'! 𝑏𝑏&'!'#

𝑎𝑎&'!'# {𝑎𝑎! } {𝑏𝑏! }

𝑁𝑁 = 80 𝑎𝑎! 𝑏𝑏!

𝑎𝑎!"# 𝑎𝑎!"$ 𝑏𝑏!"# 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"% 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

HENGRONG NI

𝑎𝑎&'!

𝑡𝑡 = 6 𝑏𝑏&'!

𝑎𝑎&'! 𝑏𝑏&'!'#

𝑎𝑎&'!'#

{𝑎𝑎! } {𝑏𝑏! }

𝑁𝑁 = 80 𝑎𝑎! 𝑏𝑏!

𝑎𝑎!"#

{𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎!"$ !} {𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏!"# !}

𝑁𝑁 𝑏𝑏=!"$ 80 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎!"% ! 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏!"% !

𝑏𝑏𝑎𝑎!"%"# !"# 𝑎𝑎𝑏𝑏!"$ !"% 𝑏𝑏!"# 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"%

{𝑏𝑏! }

𝑏𝑏&'!'#

Section : With Ridge

𝑁𝑁 = 80 𝑎𝑎! 𝑏𝑏!

𝑎𝑎!"# 𝑎𝑎!"$

𝑡𝑡 = 6

𝑏𝑏!"#

𝑏𝑏&'!

𝑎𝑎&'! 𝑏𝑏!"$

𝑎𝑎𝑏𝑏!"% &'!'#

𝑎𝑎&'!'#

𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑐𝑐&'!

{𝑎𝑎! }

𝑐𝑐!

{𝑏𝑏! }

𝑁𝑁 = 80 𝑎𝑎! 𝑏𝑏!

𝑎𝑎!"# 𝑎𝑎!"$ 𝑏𝑏!"# 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"% 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑡𝑡 = 6 𝑏𝑏&'!

𝑎𝑎&'! 𝑏𝑏&'!'#

𝑎𝑎&'!'# {𝑐𝑐! }

𝑐𝑐&'! 𝑐𝑐!

{𝑎𝑎! }

𝑁𝑁 = 80

{𝑏𝑏! }

𝑎𝑎&'!'#𝑁𝑁 {𝑐𝑐! }

{𝑏𝑏! }

= 80 𝑎𝑎! 𝑏𝑏!

𝑎𝑎!"$ 𝑏𝑏!"# 𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑡𝑡 = 6

𝑏𝑏!

𝑎𝑎&'!

𝑎𝑎&'!'# {𝑐𝑐! }

𝑏𝑏&'!'#

𝑐𝑐&'!

𝑎𝑎&'!'#

Section :𝑏𝑏With &'! Ridge 𝑡𝑡{𝑐𝑐=! }6

𝑎𝑎!"#

𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑎𝑎!

𝑏𝑏&'!

𝑎𝑎&'! 𝑎𝑎!"#

𝑎𝑎𝑏𝑏!"$ &'!'#

𝑎𝑎&'!'#

𝑏𝑏!"#

𝑡𝑡{= 𝑐𝑐! }6

𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑏𝑏

𝑐𝑐&'! &'!

𝑎𝑎&'! 𝑐𝑐! 𝑎𝑎!"%

&'!'# 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑎𝑎&'!'#

𝑏𝑏!"%"# {𝑐𝑐! }

𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑐𝑐&'! 𝑐𝑐!

𝑏𝑏 𝑐𝑐&'! &'!

𝑎𝑎&'! 𝑐𝑐! 𝑏𝑏&'!'#

𝑎𝑎&'!'# {𝑐𝑐! }

𝑐𝑐&'! 𝑐𝑐!

𝑐𝑐!

{𝑎𝑎! } {𝑏𝑏! }

𝑁𝑁 = 80 𝑎𝑎! 𝑏𝑏!

𝑎𝑎!"# 𝑎𝑎!"$ 𝑏𝑏!"#

𝑡𝑡 = 6

𝑡𝑡 = 6 𝑏𝑏 Section &'! : No Ridge 𝑡𝑡 = 6 𝑏𝑏&'! 𝑎𝑎&'! 𝑏𝑏 𝑎𝑎&'!&'! 𝑎𝑎&'! 𝑏𝑏&'!'# 𝑏𝑏&'!'# 𝑎𝑎&'!'# 𝑏𝑏&'!'# 𝑎𝑎&'!'# {𝑐𝑐! }

𝑐𝑐&'! 𝑐𝑐!

𝑎𝑎&'!'# {𝑐𝑐! }

𝑐𝑐&'! 𝑐𝑐!

...

𝑏𝑏!"$ 𝑎𝑎!"% 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%

𝑏𝑏!"%"# 𝑏𝑏!"%

Forbidden City Un-Forbidden

Technology in Critical Conservation

Fig.Notre Dame in Assassin’s Creed Unity

Besides being a reaction and a critique of a social event, this project discusses the role of technology in critical conservation. Cutting edge technologies are now widely used in preservation and conservation of cultural heritage. Now we are able to witness brilliant exhibitions using AR or VR devices, with the digitization of historic architecture. For example, a level artist on Assassin’s Creed Unity spent around two years modeling the Notre Dame Paris, and the game was given away for free after the tragic fire at the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. However, besides the archaeological value for historic studies and the economic value for tourism, its architectural value as source of inspiration is not fully explored. Many architects claim that its structure is not efficient and its ornaments are not appropriate in contemporary architecture. If we learn from the gaming and film industry, where cultural materials are often used in conceptual arts to create background settings and certain atmosphere, we architects can creatively reinterpret them with new materials, modeling and fabrication technologies. Consequently, it can also be the answer to the lack of identity in modern cities.

Rethinking on the Symbolism To learn from historic architecture requires the comprehensive understanding of it, particularly the knowledge of the symbols in it. Symbols in historic architecture are a means of complex communication and express the social values, philosophical ideas and even religious concepts, thus any misuse might result in serious misunderstanding by the public. Modernism avoided this problem by getting rid of the ornaments in architecture, creating a efficient way of mass production but resulting in the loss of identity in the mean time. By “reinterpreting” the cultural materials, it doesn’t refer to simply use them in architectural design, but means showing our understandings of the old social norms, values and philosophical ideas. In other words, we have to be ideologically sensitive towards the symbols in historic architecture. Therefore, it calls for interdisciplinary cooperation, to develop the comprehensive understanding of cultural materials and creatively use them in design, due to the complexity of historic architecture. For example, Chinese architecture has allusion to various cosmological, mythological and other symbolisms. Perhaps all architectural styles and forms should be considered as living structures, vibrating with continued life, and ready to be reinvented by the cooperation among architects, artists, archaeologists and so on...

Morphology Study 1: Offset

HENGRONG NI

Morphology Study 2: Reverse

Morphology Study 3: 3 Reverse

Forbidden City Un-Forbidden

03 Altered Efficiency Shanghai, 2020 Individual Work

This project is a critique of the inhumane algorithms in current efficiency-oriented delivery apps. A lattice window for pure aesthetic purposes is designed to be a symbol of humanizing the digital labors in an ideal post-Internet society. A heated discussion was sparked that delivery workers have become a high-risk occupation, as delivery workers are encouraged by the delivery apps to risk their lives to increase their efficiency. With the idea that the pursuit for aesthetics is what distinguishes human from machines, this project analyzed the aesthetic aspect of minimal surfaces, and made them into pure ornaments for the aesthetic experience of the delivery workers. By portraying an utopia where ornaments are carefully designed to provide aesthetic experience for digital labors, this project emphasizes the concerns for humanity in the development of technology, calling for a more egalitarian distribution of wealth and power in the future.

HENGRONG NI

Altered Efficiency Delivery Worker in Heavy Rain, Shanghai, 2020. Photograph: Hengrong Ni

Higher Efficiency, Higher Fatality?

Delivery vs Consumer

According to a series of statistics released by the traffic police department, a heated discussion was sparked that delivery workers have become a high-risk occupation. For example, in Shanghai, there’s an average of 1 delivery rider casualty every 2.5 days.

User

Delivery

Receive Food

Finish Order

Restaurant

The client-oriented delivery service gives the consumers power to report the delivery worker if not satisfied, while chances are that the ETA provided by the apps is not accurate. For example, the consumer might have entered a wrong address, or delivery is delayed due to heavy rain. In a shopping mall in Wuhan, a consumer had a fight with a delivery worker over the quality of the food, eventually getting killed.

The direct cause is the algorithm behind the delivery apps. With machine learning technology implemented, the apps have the ability to gradually reduce the ETA of delivery. This, for the creator, is praiseworthy progress, and a reflection of the AI intelligent algorithm deep learning capabilities. In the Meituan App, this real-time intelligent delivery system is called Super brain, enables the arriving within 28 minutes on average. “This is a good reflection of technology,” the CEO of Meituan said.

Traffic Accidents The delivery workers will never be able to fight the time allocated by the algorithm on their own, and what they can do is to increase their “efficiency“ as much as they can, which usually means breaking the traffic rules.

For the delivery workers who practice technological advancements, however, this can be very crazy and fatal. In the system settings, delivery time is the most important indicator, and overtime is not allowed. Once it happens, it means bad reviews, lower revenue, or even fired. Besides the dangers on the road, conflicts between the delivery workers and clients, delivery workers and restaurant clerks occur frequently. For restaurants, there are many situations where they can’t finish cooking within the time predicted by the app, like too many customers in restaurants. For many clients, their work schedules are very tight, so the overtime of the delivery is very frustrating.

ETA

Speeding

Arrive At The Building

Retrograde

Fig. Traffic Accident of Delivery Worker

Traffic Safety Faster

Run the red light

Higher Fatality

Pick Up The Food

Reataurant

Delivery

User

Faster

Diagram: ETA and Algorithm

Every delivery worker has to balance the safety and income, while the delivery apps are pursuing profit maximization.

Conflicts between delivery workers and restaurant clerks occur frequently. Some restaurants are very famous, so during the dining peak, they are not able to finish the take-out orders in time. For example, because of the meal issue, a Jinan take-out rider had a big fight with a Heytea store clerk. While in Wuhan, a rider stabbed the clerk in an argument, and the clerk died later in the hospital.

Service Fee

Machine Learning in Delivery Apps

For example, in February 2018, a delivery worker was in a hurry and speed in the driveway and hit Li Mouqiu, a titan of emergency medicine in Shanghai and one of the founders of the emergency departments of Ruijin Hospital and Huashan Hospital, who died 1 month later. In June 2019, a delivery worker crashed into a Porsche while running a red light, and his whole right leg was knocked off.

Delivery vs Restaurant

Accept Order Service Fee

The move of these delivery riders to challenge the traffic rules is a kind of reverse algorithm, a labor practice that the riders have to make under the control and regulation of the system algorithm for a long time, and the direct consequence of this reverse algorithm is that the number of traffic accidents involving delivery workers has increased dramatically.

Finish Cooking

Arrive At Restaurant

Shorter Reward ETA

One worker described his craziest experience of riding 1 km to deliver the food in 20 minutes. Although the distance was not far, he needed to finish picking up, waiting for and delivering the food in 20 minutes, and that day, his e-bike was so fast that his butt bounced up from the seat several times.

Accept Order

Place Order Diagram of Delivery Service

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Altered Efficiency

Delivery Store 2.0: Humanized Digital Labors

“Altered Efficiency”: Lattice Window Generated by Minimal Surface

This collage shows a delivery store in an ideal society, where human labors are mostly replaced by robots and drones. Though delivery service by human is still available, the delivery workers no longer work for money, but for pleasure and self-actualization: visiting new cities, meeting new people and connecting with others.

Why did the algorithm create such an evil system, where delivery workers are encouraged to risk their lives to increase their efficiency? By designing a lattice window purely for aesthetic experience, this project questions the ethics behind the efficiency-oriented algorithms in delivery apps, with the idea that the pursuit for aesthetics is what distinguishes human from machines. The patterns of traditional Chinese lattice window and the minimal surface are combined together to a metaphor of “Altered Efficiency“.

The store consists 4 parts: drone tower, storage, human service center and entertainment center. Delivery men and women rest in the entertainment center, socializing with other people and enjoying the city view from the lattice window.

Historically, the grids on Chinese lattice windows were used to hold the oiled paper, letting the light in while keeping the privacy and warmth. Later on, as people add more ornaments and put it in the gardens, the lattice window became a pure ornament for aesthetic purpose, without the oiled paper on it.

Lenin, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov

Minimal surfaces are part of the generative design toolbox used by modern designers because they unlock nature’s maximum structural efficiencies. Similarly, this project turns minimal surfaces, generated from Chinese lattice window patterns, to a pure ornament, for the aesthetic experience of the delivery workers, the humanized digital labors.

1. Chinese Lattice Window

7. Naked Points As Anchors

2. Extracted Geometry

8. Kangaroo Mesh Relaxation Simulation

The method to generate minimal surface from Chinese lattice window patterns is a 2D to 3D process realized by mesh relaxation, as demonstrated in the diagram below. The geometry is extracted from the patterns of Chinese lattice window patterns and creates the basic meshes. Then some meshes are added or deleted according to different needs of the study, and all combined into one mesh. With the Weaverbird and Kangaroo plugins for Rhino/Grasshopper, the mesh is “relaxed“ into minimal surface, whose grids are eventually made into lattice window. 3. Extrude + Top & Bottom Surfaces

9. Mesh Frames Extraction

4. Delete Or Add Meshes

10. Mesh Pipe & Subdivision

5. Combine To One Mesh

Drone Tower

Storage

Entertainment Center

Human Service

Drones have replaced the delivery workers to be the main working force, and the drone towers are the main entrance and exit for drones.

Below the drone towers is the storage space, which also serve as the command center for the drones, all managed by artificial intelligence.

Entertainment center is the main building of the delivery store, which is designed for delivery workers to relax and socialize with others.

Human delivery service is still available, if the customer prefer face-to-face interaction with humans, usually for social purposes.

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6. Weaverbird Subdivision

11. Analysis & 3D-Print Result

Altered Efficiency

Mesh Relaxation Study 1

Group A

A-1

A-2

A-3

A-4

A-5

A-6

Group B

B-1

B-2

B-3

B-4

B-5

B-6

Horizontal Meshes The first mesh relaxation study explores how deleting the horizontal meshes on the 1st and 3rd layer can influence the overall form of the result. From the results in Group A we can conclude that, deleting the horizontal meshes can create new naked points as anchors, thus “relaxing“ the nearby mesh greater, like in the A-3, A-5 and A-6. Among the results, A-5 is regarded as the most representative one of the original form.

A-3

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Altered Efficiency

Mesh Relaxation Study 2

Group C

C-1

C-2

Group D

D-1

D-2

Group G

G-1 (C-1)

G-2

C-3

C-4

E-1

E-2

G-3

G-4

C-5

C-6

Vertical Meshes The second mesh relaxation study explores how adding or deleting vertical meshes on the 2nd layer can influence the overall form of the result. From the results we have several conclusions: 1. Deleting the existing vertical meshes can separate the nearby horizontal meshes further from each other. 2. Deleting the existing vertical meshes can result in loss of original forms extracted from the patterns of Chinese lattice window. 3. Adding vertical meshes on the peripheries can pull the nearby meshes much closer, because it reduces the anchors of naked points on the edge. 4. Holes can be created with all the vertical meshes but no horizontal meshes, like a tunnel, as demonstrated in G-6.

Group E

Group F

F-1

F-2

Among the results, G-4 is regarded as the most representative one of the original form. G-4

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G-5

G-6

Altered Efficiency

Mesh Relaxation Study 3

Group H A-3

H-1

B-5

H-2

G-4M

H-3

G-4

H-4

G-6

H-5

B-5

H-6

A-5

H-7

5-Layers of Meshes Based on the former two studies of mesh relaxation, the third one explores the morphology of mesh with 5 layers, created from the basic meshes in the former two studies.

3-1: Mirror

A-3M

One basic mesh is mirrored by the horizontal plan and combined with itself to create the new 5-layer basic mesh. The mirrored basic mesh is marked with an M in its name.

A-3

G-4

G-4M

G-6

B-5M

A-5R

The results are mostly very similar to directly mirroring the results of the original samples, with the third layer in the middle horizontal.

3-2: Combination Two basic meshes with a shared horizontal layer are combined into the new 5-layer basic mesh. One right view is added in each result to better illustrate its geometrical characteristics.

Group I

F-2

I-1

A-3M

I-2

B-7M

I-3

A-4M

I-4

A-3

I-5

A-3

I-6

F-2

I-7

The combination method I-7 creates many unexpected results like I-4 and I-6. Among the results, I-7 is regarded as the most representative one of the original form, because it has enough complexity while creating large holes, increasing the visibility as the lattice window.

3-3: Reduction G-4

Based on the former studies, the last study further explore the mesh relaxation by reducing the vertical meshes.

G-4

G-5

G-6

A-3M

Among the results, I-7 is regarded as the most representative one of the original form, because it has holes from both the front view and the right view.

Group J F-2

J-1

A-3M

G-4

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J-2

B-7M

G-4

J-3

A-4M

G-5

J-4

A-3

G-6

J-5

A-3

G-6

J-6

A-3M

Altered Efficiency

Against a Cyberpunk Future Cyberpunk is a sub-genre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a “combination of low-life and high tech”. The first Cyberpunk game was written by Mike Pondsmith in the 1980s, who now claims that, “From cyberware to instant communications and massive corporate control, we’ve got it all now.” Indeed, many times we feel like we are already in a Cyberpunk world, because the developing technology is making the life of most people worse. The like buttons have made teenagers less confident about themselves, resulting in much higher suicide rates. The information technology failed to discriminate fake news and made the society more divided, instead of uniting it; Many Internet giants use machine learning and artificial intelligence to further exploit the digital labors... This project is intended to emphasize the concerns for humanity in the development of technology, calling for a more egalitarian distribution of wealth and power in the future. Only then will technology begin to be marshaled toward human needs.

J-2

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Altered Efficiency

04 Möbius Bench Hangzhou & Shanghai, 2018 Robotic Fabrication Workshop Group Work Team: Chidi Wang, Jingyi Wang, Chenxian Wu, Jiale Qin Instructor: Shu Chuan Yao, Hao Meng, Lin Chen Contribution: Research, Material Experiment & Design

Möbius Bench Project explores how the advanced fabrication techniques affect the design process, and aims to find a universal workflow of metal casting with robotic rod cutting technique. Started from the investigation of cutting edge robotic fabrication techniques and traditional metal casting methods, we came up with the workflow that combines the advantages of both fabrication methods, with Grasshopper scripting, to build a metal bench.

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Möbius Bench Robotic Rod Cutting, Shanghai, 2018. Photograph: ROBOTICPLUS.AI

Robotic Rod Cutting Workflow

GH Scripting of Rod Cutting

Möbius Bench Project explores how the advanced fabrication techniques affect the design process, and aims to find a universal workflow of metal casting with robotic rod cutting technique. While the conventional machines rely on straight wires and are thus limited to creating piecewise ruled surfaces, users are now able to produce the complex double-curvature surfaces by synchronizing two industrial robots, with the EPS foam cutting plugin in Rhino3d Grasshopper, developed by ROBOTICPLUS.AI.

Flexible rod cutting requires knowledge from different fields, including mathematics, physics and computer science. In this project, the whole digital definition was from studying the elastic features of a rod, and metal blades to define the parameters. The geometry was divided into several pieces to be fabricated individually before assembled together. Each pieces were then exploded into several surfaces, which were the input data for the Grasshopper scripting. The Grasshopper scripting of EPS foam cutting has 4 main parts: input surface analysis, rod curvature simulation, cutting process settings and robots settings. First, the input surfaces were analyzed and calculated into the paths for rod simulation. Then the paths were translated into the movement of the robots. Finally, the fabrication process settings were added and the KRL files were generated to both of the master robot and slave robot.

This project started from the investigation of cutting edge robotic fabrication techniques, as well as traditional metal casting methods. During the research phase, discussions were developed around the potentials of fabrication techniques within the discipline of architectural design. Projects like Structural Stripes by THEVERYMANY and the Stressed Skins by CITA deepened our understanding of the materiality of metal, and we came up with the workflow that combines robotic rod cutting and sand casting.

Define Boundary-Box & Divide Input Surface 1

Simulate Rod Curvature to Generate Path 2

1 Output KRL File 2

Advanced Settings for Cutting Process Robotic Rod Cutting, Zhejiang University

3 4

Process Research

Design

Simulation

Rationalization

Robotic Rod Cutting

Assembly

Casting

Sanding

Fabrication Process Settings

Tool Case Study

Material Experiment

Rhino

Grasshopper + Millipede

Output

KUKA Robots

Glue

Foam Pieces

Foam Model

Sand Mold

Sand Paper

KRL Method

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C# For GH

Initial Design

Improved Form

KRL Files

Raw Metal Result

Final Result Möbius Bench

Experiments & Design

Final Product & Further Discussion

Before designing the final product, there were two key questions: how to cast metal from the foam model, and what are the formal limitations of the rod cutting technique?

Never before have there been so many techniques and methods at our disposal, where lies the potential to push the boundaries of architectural design. To explore the potentials of each advanced technique requires the contemporary designers to comprehensively understand its advantages and limitations, and use their design skills to bring different disciplines together in the design process.

A material experiment was conducted to figure out the first question. Learning from the traditional sand casting method, we proposed a similar method that lets the melted metal directly burns and replaces the foam model, since the foam models could be quickly fabricated by the rod cutting technique. The experiment succeeded and therefore we could start the fabrication process.

Although the project was limited with double curvature surfaces this time, there’s the possibility that more complexity might be achieved by using multiple double curvature surfaces to fabricated more complicated geometries. Till now, there’s already a research developed in ETH Zurich, RoboCut: Hot-wire Cutting with Robot-controlled Flexible Rods, that used surface approximation to achieve great freedom of shape.

After communicating with the software team, we were informed that we could only use double-curvature surfaces in the design process, which set the formal limitation for this project. Then we came up with the design of Möbius Bench, and used Grasshopper Milliepede plugin to analyze the structural stability and optimize the form.

Diagram: Robotic Rod Cutting,by ROBOTICPLUS.AI

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Möbius Bench

05 The Cooperators Providence, 2019 Core I Studio Individual Work Instructor: Jacqueline Shaw

This project adopts a morphological approach to architectural design of a public library, with the idea that architecture’s significance is derived from its humanity. The prototype space is developed around the understanding of the compromises among cooperators. By aggregating the basic space, putting different programs and eventually developing it into a public library, this project explores how to spatialize abstract ideas into actual architecture project. With subject matter that is largely abstract and core to the discipline of architecture, it inspires methods of creative practice that are professional, technical, research-based, and scholarly

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The Cooperators

The Cooperators of Compromise

Morphology Studies

“It’s not always rainbows and butterflies. It’s compromise that moves us along.” -Maroon 5, She Will Be Loved

A series of operations are then applied to aggregate the prototype space. After each operation, analysis is conducted to evaluate the opportunities that specific operation provides and denies.

This core studio explores how space can represent the characteristics of a given figure, and then be developed into an architectural project. The Cooperators was the figure assigned to me, and the prototype was developed from my understanding of the relationship among the cooperators: Compromise. The prototype space is developed from the interaction of two tunnels, created by one section sweeping along two different paths, after a series of morphology studies. It is a compromised space, an effort to reach an agreement despite the difference. By exploring the in-between space, it tries to describe the process of finding the solution together, with each one’s advantages and preference.

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Mirrored, stacked, stretched, scaled, rotated and arrayed... The morphology studies explore the potentials of the prototype unit to accommodate different programs, as well as generating novel spatial characteristics. Boolean is commonly used in the morphology studies to reduce the overlapping structures and make the results more integrated.

The Cooperators

Programs

A Community Library

The form of the section is further developed into symbols of a home, two quadrilaterals that mirror each other. By scaling and displacing the sections, more architectural opportunities are created in the in-between space of tow sections, forming an elegant curved roof with strong sense of direction. A new prototype space is developed after carefully studying the ideas of spatial relationships, aggregation, site, and position as it related to the figure.

Based on the previous studies, the project is eventually developed into a community library on the shore. During the design process, the programs of community library and the geographical contexts of the site play as crucial roles in shaping the overall design.

Placing the programs in it allows me to think about how the public interacts with the figure, and what kind of spaces are necessary to facilitate the interaction. Some spatial operations are made to create larger public spaces, as well as to separate smaller private rooms.

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With the intention to present the complexity of the site, where there are three different axises. The prototype space starts to rotate, merge and extend, creating a an organic sense and fitted swiftly in the surroundings. In the inner space of the library, programs are arranged according to different flows of the people with varied intentions. After examining several variations, the final design is an integrity made up with in-between spaces.

The Cooperators