Digital Design Module 2 Journal Lloyd Hsieh

DIGITAL DESIGN - MODULE 02 Semester 1, 2019 Lloyd Hsieh - 996484

Shiqi Tang - Studio 31

Critical Reading: Kolerevic B. 2003. Architecture in the Digital Age

Kolerevic described three fundamental types of fabrication techniques in the reading. Outline the three techniques and discuss the potential of Computer Numeric Controlled fabrication with parametric modelling.

Kolerevic defined the three fundamental techniques of manufacturing three-dimensional objects as subtractive, additive, and formative fabrication.

Subtractive fabrication involves the deduction of volume from a solid material. For instance, with CNC milling, the machine takes coded instructions and removes material from the main mass until the remaining form is sculpted to the desired geometry. Nonetheless, this approach is restricted by the axes that the machine is capable to process the operation.

On the other hand, additive fabrication is an incremental process of forming objects. Machines such as the 3D printer add the material layer-by-layer to form a volume. It is useful for producing curvilinear geometries that are otherwise infeasible with the subtractive technique. While this method also enables less material waste, it requires long production time, which also limits the scale of tasks.

Lastly, formative fabrication is the approach where the machine utilises steam, heat, or mechanical forces to deform the material. i.e. bending of the material. The process allows larger-scale manufacturing with high precision.

Computer numeric controlled fabrication provides accuracy and precision in the final physical outcome. This is important in complex design systems that require a small margin of error. Furthermore, digital and parametric modelling tools give designers the opportunity to explore numerous iterations of designs in a generative manner. It grants designers faster workflow where they are able to change variables within the system without starting from the beginning. Ultimately the technologies help to eliminate or reduce many limitations such that it bridges the relationship between designers’ conceptions and the production.

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SURFACE AND WAFFLE STRUCTURE Surface Creation

The script begins with a 150x150x150mm cube as a bounding box for the two surfaces. The command - Deconstruct Brep then breaks down the cube into its edges, with the edges then been divided into coordinates points along the line.

A single surface is created by connecting two points with a Line and Lofting two lines. The script allowed me to easily manipulate the surfaces by altering the coordinates of the corners of the surfaces using the Number Sliders. I created several iterations of two surfaces before deciding on my final design.

My emphasis was on the interaction and relationship between the two surfaces.

With every iteration, the notion was to establish a sense of flow/movement. I attempted to create the effect by converging the two surfaces closer at one point, giving the illusion that the two surfaces are approaching each other and attracted towards a single direction. I was also interested in the space in between that is framed by the two surfaces and how this can be interpreted from a functional perspective.

For the waffle, I reduced the number of Z contours/fins with the number slider such that there is only a total of 4 - one in between each panelled grid for the 5x5 panels to be glued on to the waffle afterwards.

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Surface Set 1

Surface Set 2

Surface Set 3

Surface Set 4

The two surfaces have their highest points in opposite corners such that they appear to move toward contrary directions. As the faรงades taper inwards, they come together at the top where they seemingly collide. This composition is, however, difficult to make with the waffle structure. It also lacks the dynamic quality that I want in my design.

While one surface extends across space and attempts to wrap around the second surface, the other twists itself in a more extreme manner. The two surfaces converge and turn together towards one direction. I liked the design overall, but I thought I could develop upon the contrast between spatial expansion and compression by narrowing the gap between the surfaces more on one end.

I decided to maximise the space between the two surfaces at the base such that the structure has greater functional potential. The transition towards a narrower gap at the top is rather sharp and linear in comparison to previous iterations. The spacing between the surfaces is strictly parallel, highlighting how the surfaces transform from a more free-formed composition to an ordered/uniform arrangement at the top.

I combined some of the notions of the second and third iterations.

One surface is more free-formed as it wraps around the second surface while the second surface is twisted and compressed. The point where the two surfaces converge towards is further away from the surfaces themselves compared to the second iteration. This means the faรงades are more tilted, which creates a shelter/shaded area under one of the them.

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SURFACE AND WAFFLE STRUCTURE Surface Creation

Flat

3D I wanted my panelling to reflect and compliment the design intent of my chosen surface creation. I decided on using triangular geometries for my panelling, which I created several iterations before my final design. The triangular geometry emphasises on the notion of surface convergence as it creates a directional illusion and a sense of motion with the collective form. For the first surface (see photos above), I utilised a point attraction to direct all the panelled geometries towards the top corner where the surface converges with the second one. This resulted in the illusion of dynamic motion in the structure itself as the arrangement provides a sense of uniformity, and more importantly, flow.

Part of the designing process was to consider an effective approach to successfully integrate the flat and the three-dimensional panels. I discovered that it is difficult to design a seamlessly smooth transition from the flat to the high, hence I decided to go entirely against the concept of a grid panelling. Instead, I panelled the surface with the flat and high geometries in a diagonal arrangement. By completely separating them and having the flat next to the taller panels heightens the sharpness and other characteristics of the taller panels. Furthermore, the diagonal arrangement also breaks the formality and offers a greater dynamic in the rhythm of the pattern visually. The diagonal movement follows the direction of the triangular geometries and the direction of the surface convergence. Moreover, the openings on the panelling also guide the direction of the movement, drawing the eyes to move with the surface. (see photos on later pages) The second surface where it is twisted and compressed, I wanted to create a different quality to the first. For that, I used a curve attraction instead, to guide all the geometries towards a central line, which accentuate the compression concept. The solidness (or lack of opening) gives the appearance of strength and aggression and which contrasts with the light dynamic flow of the first with those intentional openings.

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Isometric View

SCALE 1 : 2 on A3

The distinction between the flat and 3D panels is not obviously viewing from certain angles as the flat panels sometimes blend in / hide behind the 3D panels. This exploded isometric view gives a clear view of how the flat panels sit next to the 3D ones. The high and low gives a violent and dangerous appearance to the surfaces.

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SURFACE AND WAFFLE STRUCTURE Laser Cutting

I made sure that I tested out the geometry’s ability to unroll during the designing process. It is crucial that the geometry is developable and it would not overlap on itself when it is unrolled. In addition, I had to separate the module (grid) into two triangular panels for my design, but it is also the fact it would not unroll properly if I had combined several modules when I use the command Unrollsrf.

The unrolled surfaces all look very similar since they are the same geometry with variations. Since I have a hundred unrolled surfaces the easiest approach to reference them was to make a table with the corresponding grid. However, this meant I did waste much of the paper space and didn’t try to fit everything on one sheet for my laser cutting job. The etched references were on the sides to keep the model itself clean.

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SURFACE AND WAFFLE STRUCTURE Matrix and Possibilities

Lofts

1.1

1.2

1.3 {135,150,150}

Key

1.4

{20,26,0}

{0,0,0}

{150,150,120}

{150,150,150}

{150,45,150}

{105,150,150}

Grid Points

{35,101,150} {150,150,75}

{35,101,150} {35,101,150} {20,26,0}

{0,0,150} {20,26,0}

Paneling Grid & Attractor Point

2.1

{120,0,0}

{0,0,75}

{15,150,0} {120,0,0}

{150,0,0}

2.2

{0,0,0}

2.3

2.4

{79,-25,166}

{17,157,0}

Paneling

3.2

{150,0,0}

{177,36,91}

3.1

{30,0,150}

{15,150,0}

{35,101,150}

{0,15,150} {150,150,0}

{75,150,0}

{35,101,150} {0,135,0}

{45,0,150}

{0,30,150}

{30,0,150}

3.3

3.4

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Attractor / Control Points (X,Y,Z) Attractor / Control Curves

{150,90,150}

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SURFACE AND WAFFLE STRUCTURE Photography of Model

When I started making the physical model, I soon realised that some of the unrolled surfaces were inside out. I had to be very careful to ensure that I glued together the panels correctly so the panelling could match the waffle structure.

Also, the very flat (3D) panels had little gaps for the tabs which made it difficult to fold and glue the ivory cards. Nonetheless, I managed to produce a clean model with the UHU transparent glue.

The panelling creates interesting shadows on itself. With the light coming from certain angles, the flat panels are in shade, hiding behind the taller ones while the defined/sharp geometries of the taller panels reflect the lights. Again, the alternating pattern between flat and tall panels gives more space for the taller panels to extend their forms without crowding out space, which gives a stronger visual definition of the geometries.

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Visual Scripting of Parametric Model

The script starts with a 150x150x150mm bounding box that is subdivided into Cellulite 3D grids, where I could control the number of subdivisions using the number sliders corresponding to the different planes of the bounding box. I added an attraction point to distort the skeleton of the grids and controlled the strength of the distortion by changing the magnitude. The geometries are anchored of at the centroid of each of subdivided cubes. To create more variations in the arrangement, I also rotated the geometries about their centroids with the command rotate as well as scaling the sizes of the geometries using another attraction point and the number sliders.

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SOLID AND VOID Surface Creation

Sphere

Icosahedron

Cylinder

I created the first iteration with the geometry from the workshop. Spheres create interesting thresholds and atmospheric qualities. Due to the nature of spheres, the voids give a strong sense of intimacy. The smaller the sphere, the more intimate space becomes with less exposure to the external space. The gradual transition from larger to smaller spheres guides the spatial experience.

The complexity of the geometry blurs the horizontality and verticality of negative space. It appears to be multi-dimensional where the space almost loses the sense of dimension entirely. It creates similar effects to the spherical design but has more variations in the shapes of where geometries intersect among themselves. It also has arguably more potential from a functional perspective.

Cylinders create distinctive ground planes, generating spaces that are more architectural. The elevated and depressed horizontal planes dictate the spatial definition.

Simultaneously, the curvatures of the walling also provide gradual transitions between spaces. The design allows framing of space with the vertical sections of cylinders. When a cylinder is cut off vertically, it creates a rectangular frame, while a horizontal section gives a circular framing effect (ceiling). From the previous spherical design, the orthographic sectional view remained the same. i.e. the vertical and horizontal sections of a sphere are both still circular. In contrast, the vertical section of a cylinder is a rectangle. I wanted to explore the concept that when the negative volume is cut off at different sections, the orthographic view can be very different from the original geometry.

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SCALE 1 : 1 on A3

View 1 This is the cube extracted from my final iteration. I used the tetrahedron geometry from the Lunchbox plugin on Grasshopper. I continued exploring the idea of framing. The pyramid form generates different shapes when it is cut at different sections.

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SOLID AND VOID Isometric view

SCALE 1 : 1 on A3

View 2 This is the back view of the final design (front view isometric is on the previous page)

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Amphitheatre

Section

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SOLID AND VOID Matrix and Possibilities

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Physical Print Iteration 1 (Sphere) After having studied the Radix Pavilion, I wanted to explore further into the idea of intersecting spherical volumes. I manipulated the magnitude of the attraction point to make all the spheres congregate closely. The idea is to make the geometries intersect more closely such that it becomes intelligible that the carved out space is derived from spheres. The result looks more like a continuous wave of curvatures. This creates a rhythm where the curves almost like water waves. When it’s laid flat, it looks more like a topography.

When it’s upright, it creates interesting shadows but lacks functional qualities.

Physical Print Iteration 2 (Icosahedron) The complex geometries create interesting lighting and shadows between the solid and voids. The planes and edges set boundaries between spaces in which the structure has distinct thresholds and a clear sense of transition.

The individual icosahedrons touch on the edges and join to create a series of spaces all connected that spirals around the cube. The spaces are semiprivate yet all related. The user’s experience is also different in the separate spaces. While some are more opened and larger, some are smaller. The heights of the different spaces also suggest a hierarchy.

Physical Print Iteration 3 (Cylinder) The form is very architectural, suggesting the potential for many intuitive functional purposes. With the cube oriented in the way that it is presented in the 2nd picture, the stepping planes guide the user to the elevated private space. The cylinder sections create openings that frame the spaces strategically. That highest area has two frames that create openness. The curvatures of the walls also provide a sense of intimacy that soften the space.

The overall design is very minimal with a strong presence of the horizontality

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and verticality that is visually similar to modern architecture.

SOLID AND VOID

Photography of Model

Final Print I tried to develop upon some of the ideas from the previous three test prints. I was interested in the relationship between two-dimensionality and three-dimensionality.

With the pyramid rotated and terminated at different sections, I created a variety of shapes that frame the cube. E.g. rectangles, diamonds, triangles, and the slits (long narrow rectangles). Seeing the four sides of the cube in orthographic view, the voids almost lose that sense of volume and look like two-dimensional frames.

Framing was an important concept of the design. The users can see all the way through the cube with the two diamond-shaped openings aligned in the front and back. Also, a large triangle opening frames the largest internal space from one side of the cube. Furthermore, I established openness and closure with variations in the scale of the volumes. Light penetrates through the openings that linked the spaces.

The key concept of the design is about light and shadow. The main inspiration was the famous double slit experiment in quantum mechanics. The experiment displayed the fundamental characteristics of light waves, where it demonstrated the idea of wave-particle duality and the interference pattern. A single slit shows the diffraction of light. I imagined the main internal void as a prism. The slit allows the light to penetrate through and hit the prism which will diffract and create the “rainbow”.

Obviously, this is just the concept as the inside is hollow. Nonetheless, the light passing through the slit will hit and illuminate the internal space differently through the day.

In a way, it can almost function as a clock telling time using the sun path. The gradual transition of the intensity of the diffracted light also creates spatial atmospheric variations within space. One particular source of inspiration that I looked at was The Church of the Light by Tadao Ando. Similar to that building, my design is about the “silhouette” of the light, instead of the shape of the shadow.

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Point Attraction (for surface no.1) - direct all the panels towards one point

Curve Attaction (for surface no.2) - direct all the panels towards the curve that is placed in the middle (compression...

Iterations of modules for the panelling

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Appendix

Process

Glued the panels together roll by roll

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Appendix Process

Different iterations created with different grid configurations & geometries

SOME ABANDONED IDEAS...

-- Explore the thresholds that are direct vs. difficult to pass through -- Cutting through the grid horizontal vs. diagonal

-- Created some sort of arch -- Explore the idea of openness, closure, and thresholds -- Some parts are too thin and fragile to print the physical model

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Appendix

Process

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Changing Line-weights

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L l o y d

H s i e h

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