Digital Design - Module 01 Semester 1, 2019 Lloyd Hsieh
996484 Shiqi Tang + Studio 31
Week One
Reading: Zeara Polo, A. 2010. Between Ideas and Matters.
According to Zeara-Polo, the diagram does not play a representational role in the design process but provides an organisational and can have a performative quality depending on how it is deployed. Explain how Diagram is different from Signs and Symbols?
Signs and symbols explore the connections between notions and forms such that they provide suggestions. Their lack of materiality implies that their presence is only an abstraction. The two disengage with the actual physical matters in space. Sign, as a stimulus image with embedded meanings, articulates the qualities of dynamic objects. Meanwhile, a symbol encapsulates the influence and concepts of a certain object while often having associations with cultural knowledge or/and visual resonance. On the other hand, a diagram is a mediator between the real form and the ideas on an organisational level. It serves a pragmatic purpose instead of a representational role. In a structuralised approach, it allows designers to express hierarchical information of the components that make up a design. We establish the spatial correlations through expressions of the performances in space. While a composed diagram can be comprehended in various ways, it generally gives a sense of a specific movement, space, or/and location at a temporal time in a reductive form.
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Week One
Precedent Analysis
1. Create the volumes with accurate dimensions using the given plan and sections 2. Boleen difference to curve out the voids 3. Project the rib lines onto the curved surfaces
Francisco Aires Mateus & Manuel Aires Mateus designed the Radix for an international architecture exhibition back in 2012. Located at the Docks of the Arsenale, in Venice, Italy, the pavilion frames the view of the canal. Modelling the Radix in Rhinoceros involved generating and subtracting intersecting volumes. The simple form is the result of the presence and the absence of objects. I obtained all the dimensions from the given plan, elevations, and sections. This allowed me to pinpoint the size of the box and the ellipsoids, but also where they overlap. I used the Boolean difference command to obtain the remaining mass of the structure.
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Week Two
Reading: Hertzberger H. 2005. The in-between and The Habitable Space Between Things, from Lessons for Students in Architecture. Herzberger discusses how design should not be extreme in its functionality. Use your precedent study to explain how the pavilion allows for an appropriation of use.
Herzberger discusses how a pure concentration on functionalism can hinder the potentials of architecture as it limits the flexibility and minimises any other forms of utility in the imagination. The presence of thresholds allows transitions and give connections between spaces such that the architecture offers ambiguity and dialogue in architectural terms. The notion of “pleading for form and space� suggests spaces become more receptive to the various circumstances. Users often utilise surroundings to fit their situations, which often leads to unexpected opportunities discovered apart from the design intent. In other words, there is freedom to the user. This is a qualitative requirement for architecture as it accommodates the people. Aires Mateus’s Radix is an evidential example that demonstrates the ambiguity of in-between spaces. The design of circulations in relation to the openness of the structure and the confined spaces results in varying spatial experience for exploration. The simple, geometric form lacks a defined functional intent, which enables interpretations of the use. Furthermore, the establishment of thresholds through the strong contrast of solid mass and voids generates different volumes of spaces with varying degrees of intimacy. With open spaces and scattered thresholds, the structure blurs the distinction between what is outside and what is inside.
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Week Two
Isometric
Aires Mateus’s Radix in Rhino This isometric illustration conveys the structural form and the atmospheric qualities of the Radix. Throughout the drawing, I utilized different line-weights to clearly present the three-dimensionality of the object in a two-dimensional projection. The use of dashed lines indicates the hidden lines underneath the structural mass. Furthermore, I chose a translucent copper colour to show the rustic surfaces and materiality of the pavilion. The low saturation ensures that the chosen colour does not overpower the emphasis on the structure. The structure is derived from three different intersecting voids. The result is an abstract composition created from purely geometric volumes. The spherical walling offers a sense of protection and closure. Simultaneously, the scattered thresholds and the open nature of the space in terms of connections to the outside allows free movements and flexible circulation paths. Moreover, there is a very vague distinction between the inside and the outside as it changes throughout the day with the change in direction of the shadow/shade from the structure. The sheltered areas vary in heights. The two thresholds that are anchored at the lower heights in the centre establish the transitions between spaces. Passing through the arch, the person experiences an expansion both vertically and horizontally as they enter a different space underneath the mass. With no distinctive entrance and lack of indicative directions, the pavilion suggests open circulation. The radix displays a contrast between the very heavy quality and the lightness with its mass and voids. The rib lines on the internal surfaces of the spherical voids provide a sense of dynamic movement in terms of circulation. The architectural language of the repetition of arches is consistent with the existing buildings and the context of the site. Hence, it naturally creates a organic flow. The stairs lead to the edge of the canal, the main attraction. As an attractor, the water edge affects the circulation of the ground movement. Bounded by the canal and circular dorm, the space naturally exhibits a strong sense of intimacy.
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Week Two Diagrams
Openness/Closedness
Public
Private
Spatial Depth/Height high
low
Anchor point(s)
N
Circulation Path(s)
high
low
Shadow/Shade
Density/Crowd
Morning Mid-day Afternoon
Canel
Concrete Canel
Ciculation (Connectivity) Diagram
Threshold (Permeability) Diagram
The diagram demonstrates the circulations in different layers. In the upper layer the graphic highlights how the varying volumes and heights of the spaces affect the atmosphere, spatial experience but also where people congregate. In the base layer, the arrow lines show the ground movement of people in space. In conjunction, the gradient shows that people densely populate near the canal.
The diagram breaks down the structure into its primary components to show the surfaces, masses, and the spaces of the pavilion. The openness of the space determines how private and intimacy the atmosphere of space. The shade/shadow throughout the day also acts as thresholds and affects how people locate themselves. Furthermore, materiality of different surfaces also differetiate spaces hence the hatching to display the surface quality.
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Appendix
Process
Import the template of plan and section and arrange them to visualise the object in 3D
Making a base with the canel with reference from Google Earth
Mark out the centre of the sphere and the ellipsoid so they intersect at the correct coordinance
Use ArrayPolar command to mutiply poline line > Project the polyines on to the curved surface
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Appendix Process
Breaking down the design into layers and make2D to export to illustrator
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Appendix
Process
Edit line-weights and fill in surfaces with translucent colours
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