a i r i n d i a
m c k e n z i e
A
p a r t
contents
A.0 introduction A.1 design futuring A.2 design computation A.3 composition & generation A.4 conclusion A.5 learning outcomes A.6 appendix A.7 references
A.0 introduction
After a small international hiatus in 2015, I’ve returned to my studies this year to get a handle on parametric modelling to advance my skills in an increasingly technological age of employment. I have a great passion for the power of spaces to improve the quality of our everyday lives and I see a future for myself in sustainable design. My approach to my studies is multi-disciplinary and I hope that in this subject I will be able to combine a logical architectural approach with my appreciation of nature. In the past, my lack of experience and confidence in my CAD skills have limited the level of complexity and scale of my projects and it is my hope that this course will expand and amplify my own creativity and allow me to create something that I currently cannot imagine. I adhere strongly to a spatially driven mode of designig with an emphasis on quality of materiality and craftmenship rather than achieving a desired aesthetic or form. The parametric designing process will challenge this inclination as it is inherently form driven. I anticipate that the fabrication process will be the most rewarding for me as I exhault in the tangibility of construction and the realisation of well resolved design outcomes. India McKenzie Bachelor of Environments Architecture Major
A.0
A.1 design futuring: precedent 1
Centre George Pompidou Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers 1977
The externalised infrastructure of the centre allows for uninterruted interior spaces. The various service are colour-coded which allows us to understand the structural and functional rationality of the building as a whole.
The use of speculative architecture1 to create hypothetical imaginings allows us to create a world better than our own without being constrained by the logic of reality. Theoretical architecture has long been a source of architectures compelling desire for the future, such as Etienne-Louis Boullee’s neoclassical designs of monumental proportions. In the 1960’s, Archigram, a group of british neofuturists, rose to fame for their revolutionary hypothetical futures driven by technology2. Whilst these unbuilt designs may never be realised in their entirety, they allow us to ‘suspend our disbelief’ and consider situations, variables and alternate realities to the future that lays before us. The process of designing is constrained by limitations of our existence; physical space, budget considerations, environmental conditions, current technology, materials and construction methods. Theoretical architecture can be used to overcome these constraints to strike at the core of design; what is good architecture. The Centre George Pompidou is a fine example of this subversive architectural trends that was inspired by Archigram’s technology driven theoretical ideals. Designed in the 1970’s by architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, this high-tech structure with externalised mechanical and structural systems to increase interior space was revolutionary in it’s approach to function and it’s futuristic functionalist aesthetic stands in stark contrast to it’s historic surroundings in Paris.3
1Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby, Speculative Everything (MIT Press, 2013). 2 Archigram, 3 Adelyn Perez, “AD Classics: Centre Georges Pompidou (ArchDaily, 2010)
A.1
The prominence of this futuristic building within the urban landscape reinforces how revolutionary this building was amongst a historically conservative landscape.
A.1 design futuring: precedent 2
Vegetable Nursery House 1+1>2 International Architecture JSC 2013 A key aspect of Fry’s concept of ‘design futuring’ is the complicency of ‘design intelligence’ in the consciousness of all global citizens. In highlighting the misguided tendency to reduce architecture to its aesthetic qualities, this small-scale community project asserts that form derived from materiality are prime functions independent of architecture’s visual effect. Designed and implemented on the ground by 1+1>2 International Architecture JSC, this project involved local communities in the design and construction phases that saw a bamboo frame and over 2000 recycled plastic drink bottles used to create a light-weight, portable, renewable green house. Although we face a challenge of how to apply these concepts to larger scale projects, this vegetable green house is able to recreating from the products of our own destructive behaviours. It’s curious aesthetic is but a part of the success of this project as it is indicative of a future beyond traditional architectural projects.
Cross section of the design showing the rain catching mechanism of the roof structure. A comprehensive knowledge of the tensile properties of the bamboo shows how materiality can dictate the form. (Source: ArchDaily)
The recycled plastic drink bottles are an innovative and resourceful alternative to the more commonly used glass. (Source: AD)
A.1
I appreciated the design strategies for form-finding and materiality for this project and the scale is applicable to that of the Merri Creek Context. (Source: AD)
A.2 design computation: precedent 1
Waterloo Station International Terminal Grimshaw Architects 1993 Whereby theoretical architecture allows us to overcome physical barriers of reality, we may also overcome the limitations of our imagination with algorithmic modelling and other CAD programs that allow us to augment the intelligence of creator to produce a design that integrates high levels of complexity with rationality. The tools that we select as designers have the ability to shape our products. That is not necessarily a critiscism but an unavoidable fact; input goes through a medium to produce a result and being aware of how the selection of medium can impact the result will be essential in the design process for the brief. The ‘input’ in this equation differentiates computerisation from computation. The former relies on a preconceived vision from the designer whereby the medium is selected by it’s ability to reproduce the original idea or design ‘input’ in digital form. However, in the process of computation, a selection of ‘input’ variables
that when put through the algorithmic medium, generate unexpected results of ‘complex order, form and structure’ 1 . A prime example of this process of computation is the International Terminal at Waterloo station whereby a solution was resolved by the input of variable datasets that was able to deal with the highly complex hierarchy of interdependencies. The use of parametric modelling in the project illustrates the changing roles of the designer. This new process calls for a realignment of the integration of architects, engineers and builders as algorithmic modelling is changing not only the design process and the physical architecture but restructuring the entire industry. The role of the designer has changed and this new way of designing calls for a ‘rejection of fixed aesethic solutions for an exploration of infinitely variable potentialities’. 2 1 Peters, computation works, the building of algorithmic thought, pg 10. 2 Kolarevic, 2003, Architecture in the digital age, design and manufacturing.
Grimshaw, Cross section of Waterloo Station showing the spanning over the railways.
A.2
(ABOVE) Kolarevic, Diagram of the dimensionally different but identically configued three- pin bow string arches. (BELOW) Grimshaw Architects, The International Terminal at Waterloo Station
A.2 design computation: precedent 1
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Frank Gehry 1997 In contrast to the generative design processes of the previous project, Frank Gehry’s office uses parametric modelling in the computerisation method to digitise the physical models developed by hand by Gehry. The sketch quality ofw Gehry’s design process is used as a means of avoiding formula or repetition as a result of programmable form1. This illustrates an awareness of the medium as an influencer of the design outcome, however, in contrast to computation, Gehry provides the ‘input’ in a sketched design that is then computerised to achieve constructable outcomes. Kolarevic describes the integration of computer modelling in assuring ‘developable surfaces’ and the use of the ‘Gaussian Analysis’ to assess the degree of curvature of surfaces when designing the Guggenheim Museum of Bilbao 2.This iconic Gehry building is representative of a design process that manages to incorporate complexity of form to fit the designers form aspirations derived from the sketching process. 1 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/frank-gehry-sketches-of-frankgehry/602/ 2 Kolarevic, Architecture in the Digital Age, pg. 47
Preliminary sketch by Frank Gehry
A.2
The Bilbao Guggenheim Museum by Frank Gehry
A.3 composition & generation: precedent 1 View down
Euronews Jakob + MacFarlane Architect 2015, Lyon, France The use of parametric modelling to develop the buildings form is apparent particularly in the diagram below. We can see the beginnings of a monolithic cube followed by the subtraction of the conical tubes with the boolean technique to create light and air wells that enhance the user’s experience of not only the building but the external environment around it. The building envelope combines glass facades with a perforated aluminium skin whereby the pattern has been develoepd by abstracting the flows of the nearby river and mimics the flowing pattern. This gives a reflective and ever-changing internal light effect. The composition of this building is simple but the use of generative design patterns creates an almost unsettling range of various forms that, combined with the vivid green colouration, makes a striking architectural impression on the landscape. The role of CAD is critical in this process in ensuring the surfaces are developable. The relationship of simple composition with symbolic and abstractive generative design methods creates an effective response to the design conditions.
Diagram of form composition
Interaction of voided spaces with monolithic forms.
A.3 the central light well emphasising the internal negative space
Application of patterning to the external cladding adds to visual interest.
Fig x. The street view shows the full extent of the boolean operations
A.3 composition & generation: precedent 2
Contrast of generative and compositional design methods are evident in this view of the undulating store front and cubic office spaces.
A.0
Elevation view exemplifies the contrast of design methodologies
Dior, Soeul Christian de Portzamparc 2015 The smooth undulating waves of the exterior surface emphasis the use of generative design techniques to create organic forms in large scale designs. The sweeping curves are fabricated as long, moulded fibreglass shells fitted together onsite to create a seamless, billowing effect. The compositon Whilst the form of the arcs and curves have been generated through CAD systems, the compositiion is complimented by the adjoining cubic forms with hexagonal cladding patterns. The contrast of the two techniques creates an expressive yet functional design that achieves both a captivating effect on the street scene in order to attract customers into the store as well as performative in providing adequate spaces for neccesary functions such as the office and store room spaces. This rationale may assist us in the design of a generative yet constructible design that is dually expressive and functional. Whilst form explorations need not be bound by forces of reality, the development of form will no doubt require simplification of the desired form in order to ensure efficient construction. Portzamparc techniques of framing and moulding may be applicable in this large-scale, high end construction, however, our chosen design is likely to be more cost and time effective with a more repeatable pattern without compromising the complexity of the design. Formation of individual curved surfaces in the workshop
A.4 conclusions
The most critical aspect of the lecture and reading materials has been the interaction with technology and creativity and the manipulation of various forms of input, whether that be concepts of form or data sets, that through the technological medium, can create highly complex and original designs. My experience of designing has typically been one limited by tool subset. The acquisition of technological skills will allow me to involve myself in generative thinking and allowing myself to be engulfed by the novel design process and disconnect myself from the limitations of my own imagination and preconceived ideas of form. Whilst generative designs are often percieved as ultra futuristic in form, the underlying principles and datasets, particularly when abstracted from nature or the geographical context of the site, prove that nothing new is ever actually created. Energy is simply transferred from one form into another and we can use the information of the world around us to create a new way of living with what we have. The world is a finite resource and architecture stands at the cusp of a new era that will be governed by sustainability. The success of our generation of architects will be in the degree to which we can respect the natural rhythms of our planet and create meaningful spaces to enhance our lives.
A.5 learning outcomes
Through the studies of precedents, I have developed a greater understanding and appreciation of parametric modelling and CAD as a key aspect of not just the documentation and construction processes but at the heart of the design process. My design experience has been one dictated by computerisation of preconceived concepts, however, through the video tutorials with Rhino and Grasshopper, I have been able to see a window into the world of generative design. The challenge will ultimately be the application of accurate scaling and representation of my algorithmic designs. In the past, the disjunct between the virtual world and the reality of making and creating has deterred me from investigating this relationship and I anticipate it will be a trying but rewarding process as I attempt to represent my virtual designs in a real life context. In relation to the brief, there are a number of contextual variables to play with; the various landscapes of the site, extensive variety of users and potential clients, the myriad of natural systems in play- there is alot of potential ‘input’ variables that, once I can actively manipulate through the medium, will ensure I am capable of produces a meaningful and complex design that fulfills the requirements of the brief and enhances the function and aesthetic of the site.
Voronoi components
A.6 appendix
B A
Iteration A: Switched data input from original curves to create elongated lines along the length of the curve. To create a tigher coverage I increased number of points using a number slider and then piped with a small pipe radius to create a spaghetti like effect. Iteration B: Similar process to above but used number slider to decrease points along the reference arc to create a more variable gap differentiation. The effect on the interior of this covered walkway would be more sunlight between the rails. Iteration C: Using both the original arcs between the two reference curves and the switched data points along the arc, I used a pipe command to create a network of pipes. This was the most refined of the designs but is perhaps too reminiscent of a basket/playground net equipment. Iteration D: I transferred the curve component to a polyline to create units of regular form that could be fabricated more simply. This is a useful tool to remember when attempting to simpify a design for fabrication.
D C
A.6
Experiment with offset planes
Octree in technical view showing the cubic form of simplified data
A.7 references
Adelyn Perez. â&#x20AC;&#x153;AD Classics: Centre Georges Pompidou / Richard Rogers + Renzo Piano â&#x20AC;&#x153; 11 Jun 2010. ArchDaily. <http://www.archdaily.com/64028/ad-classics-centre-georgespompidou-renzo-piano-richard-rogers/> Archigram: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/archigramwalking-city-living-pod-instant-city/ Dunne, Anthony, and Fiona Raby, Speculative Everything (MIT Press, 2013) Oxman, Rivka, and Robert Oxman, Theories Of The Digital In Architecture (London; New York: Routledge, 2014) International Terminal, Waterloo, Grimshaw Architects: http:// grimshaw-architects.com/project/international-terminal-waterloo/ Vegetable Nursery House, 1+1>2 International Architecture JSC: <http://www archdaily.com/484661/vegetable-nursery-house-1-12-international-architecture-jsc> Kolarevic, Architecture in the digital age- Design and manufacturing, 2003. 3- 62pp. Bilbao Museum, Frank Gehry: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ americanmasters/frank-gehry-sketches-of-frank-gehry/602/ Kolarevic, Architecture in the Digital Age, pg. 47 House of Dior, Christian de Portzamparc: <http://www.archdaily. com/775902/house-of-dior-seoul-christian-de-portzamparc> Euronews, Jakob Macfarlane: <http://www.designboom.com/architecture/jakob-macfarlanegreen-cube-euronews-headquarters-lyon-confluencefrance-10-16-2015/