STUDIO AIR PART A
INGRID AAGENAES 618713 SEMESTER 1
INTRODUCTION
I am a 22 year old girl originally from Norway. After studying fashion management in New York for half a year I decided to use my creative side in a different way and go over to study architecture in Melbourne. In year 1 and 2 of my architecture degree I have been using Rhino as my main modelling tool. For enhancing the quality of rendering in Rhino I find that V-ray is what gives the best result. To create presentations and make my sections, elevations and perspectives more “lively� I have used Photoshop. Other than that I have used AutoCad 2D for some floorplans.
Figure 1: Studio Earth. Master - Louis Kahn.
As this semester introduces Grasshopper, a program I have never used before, it will allow me to enhance my skills and hopefully come up with some interesting designs that I have not been able to model before. In my earlier design studios all my final designs have been simple geometric forms based on cubes and rectangles. I am excited to take my design this semester to another level with Grasshopper. As the architecture industry is changing and more and more projects is based on parametric design, I know I can go out in the workforce and be confident that I have the skills needed and required.
Figure 2: Virtual Environments. Second skin .
A.1 - DESIGN FUTURING
PETER ZUMTHOR - THERMAL VALS
Therme Vals is a hotel and Spa in the Swiss Alps. It opened in 1996 and Peter Zumthor, soon after its opening, became recognised as a contemporary architect (1). Zumthor develops concepts that are rooted in ideas of making space and construction. His work lies in his ability to find abstraction through construction (2). He comes up with solutions that are both sensual and abstract (2). The Baths are built to meet all our senses. Zumthor stated: “You can have a lot of sexy things with stone, stone and naked skin; the feel of it when you walk barefoot, and how it feels if you go over it with your hands. Pleasant for the body comes first”
Figure 3: “Light” Peter Zumthour
References: 1. Back Matter, Design Issues, The MIT Press, Vol. 23, No. 4 (Autumn, 2007) P. 12 2. Chipperfield, David, Architectural Association School of Architecture, Thermal Bath at Vals by Peter Zumthor: AA EXHIBITION GALLERY, 16 FEB RUARY – 22 MARCH 1996. AA Files. No. 32 (Autumn 1996), pp. 72-75 3. Murphy, Orla. “Zumthor’s Baths — a sensual guide”, Architectural Association of Ireland, Building Material, No. 12, morality and architecture (autumn 2004), pp. 44-47
Zumthor has a craftsman’s knowledge of construction and uses this to find new ways to work through technical problems. In the Building he uses the roof as a series of “tables”, expressing the roof as a constrictive idea (2). This also creates “light lines” along the roof and allows natural light into the building in a different way. The concrete building has is in one way a heavy, mass feel but Zumthor breaks this feel by adding the openings in the roof and creates a more light and open space. The use of carving as a concept throughout the building gives it a natural feel. Hence insertion of “roof tables” and “the block structure” introduces construction to the carved form(2). Zumthor overlaps ideas and makes every system work together as system. The baths have a rare ambiguity between carving and construction, space and element, mass and light (2).
Figure 4:Therme. Peter Zumthor. http://www.therme-vals.ch/en
A.1 - DESIGN FUTURING
SNØHETTA - NORWEGIAN WILD REINDEER CENTER PAVILION
Snohetta is one of the leading architecture firms in Norway and are recognized all over the world. The firms name comes from the Norwegian mountain “Snøhetta”. The Pavillion is overlooking this mountain and is located in Dovrefjell National Park (2). This Pavillion is a representation of not only Norway and its nature but also the architect firm. Frank Lloyd Wright wrote, in 1908 about Organic architecture; how a building should be a representation and fit in with nature (1). In his opinion everything from forms, colours and shapes should be organic (1). Today, over 100 years later, this concept is very much still used by architects.
The Norwegian Wild Reindeer Centre Pavilion is in one way a very organic building as the shapes are rounded and organic, the materials inside is a representation of the outside and it opens up to the surrounding and views so you get a feel of being in nature when you are inside. Snohetta designed the building intentionally to promote this feel and aesthetic. The building is based on a contrast between ideas: rigid outer shell and soft, organic inner core (2). The inside is made of wood and the organic forms were achieved by using the latest 3D computer programming.
References: 1. Franl Lloyd Wright, ‘ In the Cause of Architecture”, Robert McCarter, ed, On an By Fran Lloyd Wright: A Primer of Architectural Principles, London: Phaidon, 2005. First published in The Architectural Record, March 1908 2. Snohetta. “Norwegian Raindeer Pavillion”. 2015. Snohetta, Opened 12.03.2015 at http://snohetta.com/pro ject/2-tverrfjellhytta-norwegian-wild-reindeer-pavilion
Figure 5: Norwegian Reindeer Pavillion. Snohetta
A.2 - DESIGN COMPUTATION
ZAHA HADID - HEYDAR ALIYEV CULTURAL CENTRE
Architectural and engineering design is becoming more and more computerized practice, that has led to more distributed activities within and across disciplines and involves embedding intelligence in the formulation and actualisation of spaces(2). Zaha Hadid promoted in 2008 “parametricism” as a new stylistic term (2). Parametric design allows for curved and organic surfaces especially. This practice is especially used to build the Heyday Cultural Centre. The building has smooth curves and a shell-like form both internally and externally. The structural part is hidden and the surfaces are clean curved lines. It is a complex two layer space frame beneath a fiberglass-reinforced polyester sheeting (1). Zaha Hadid stated:
As mentioned the building interior is also made up of curves and organic shapes. The auditorium fits 1000 people and repeats the curvaceous exterior (1). Backlit oak panelling immerses the room with a warm feel and is a contrast to the white walls used mainly throughout the building (1). Even though this building is not the first to be using parametric design tools, it pushing the limits to extreme engineering (1), and this is why it has become one of Hadid’s most recognised buildings. It has become a monument and a symbol for the city Baku and promotes an emergent national culture of a newly liberated country (3).
“We wanted to take the plaza and shape it into an architectural environment, to create a continuous flow between inside and outside, to create a certain infinity,” (3)
Recourses: 1. “Britannica Book of the Year 2014”, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1 Mar 2014 - Juvenile Nonfiction – p. 197 2. Distributed Intelligence In Design (Google eBook)Tuba Kocatürk, Benachir Medjdoub. John Wiley & Sons, 14 Jan 2011 Technology & Engineering – p. 65 3. Joseph Giovannini. Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center 17.Sept.2013. Found 12/03/15 at: http://www.architectmagazine.com/ government-projects/heydar-aliyev-cultural-center.aspx
Figure 6: “Heydar Aliyev” http://www.architectmagazine.com/government-projects/heydar-aliyev-cultural-center.aspx
A.2 - DESIGN COMPUTATION
ReD M-CITY EXHIBITION @ THE KUNSTHAUS IN GRAZ
This project is highly affected by computer tools. They used computer programs and analyses to drive the design project. The exhibition centre does not have any permanent walls so that each exhibition is set up differently. For this exhibition ReD’s first intervention was to interact with the building as much as possible (1). A test was done on how they could control the ceiling light and create different circulation paths to create an interface between the exhibition content and the building (1). So instead of coming up with a design by drawing and exploring different geometries etc., they used a computer program to analyse something relevant to the site and the computer came up with the best response. So computing can be used to re-define practise as it focuses upon a logic of associative and dependency relationships between objects and their parts-and-whole relationships (2).
Figure 7: RED RESEARCH + DESIGN, MARTA MALÉ-ALEMANY, JOSÉ PEDRO SOUSA HTTP://DIVISARE.COM/AUTHORS/55886-RED-RESEARCH-DESIGN 1. 2.
Branko and Klinger. Manufacturing material Effects, Rethinking Design and Making in Architecture. Routledge, 2010, 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY10016. Page 140-144. Oxman, Rivka and Robert Oxman, eds (2014). Theories of the Digital in Architecture (London; New York: Routledge), pp. 1–10
The outcome came out differently for 1st and 2nd floor. On the first floor a light grid with attached soft covers of various lengths to each light, creating a ceiling topography. In order to control this topography they had to make their own “design tool”. The geometries created in this projects would be difficult to create 20 years ago, or it would take a very long time. Computing in architecture have created flexibility, opportunity and effectivity for the architecture industry. Despite the complex geometry of the final topography in this project, the flexibility of the design process allowed changes to be incorporated right up to the fabrication process(1). The second floor installation entailed the creation of six cones creating enclosures in order to get the best possible light for the exhibition. The cones were extracted and created by a three-dimensional model and made of double sided stretchable Lycra layers (1). The use of data from the digital models controlled the CNC fabrication which gave highly precise production at a very short time (1).
Figure 9: “Lights” RED RESEARCH + DESIGN, MARTA MALÉ-ALEMANY, JOSÉ PEDRO SOUSA. HTTP://DIVISARE.COM/AUTHORS/55886-RED-RESEARCH-DESIGN
Figure 9: RED RESEARCH + DESIGN, MARTA MALÉ-ALEMANY, JOSÉ PEDRO SOUSA HTTP://DIVISARE.COM/AUTHORS/55886-RED-RESEARCH-DESIGN
A.3 - COMPOSITION / GENERATION
THE BLOBWALL BY GREG LYNN
Architectural practise have gone from conveying information through pen and pencil to draw a design in a 3D modelling program and today we make a computer program respond to a set of complex situations and create the best design regards to what the computer have given us(1). We are also facing climate change and are in highly need to find new sustainable solutions when it comes to infrastructure and building techniques. Computation, as it is called, allows designers to extend their abilities to deal with highly complex situations. It augments the intellect of the designer and increases capability to solve complex problems (1). As early as 1990s, the architect Greg Lynn observed that each pure element of quantity- like a binary algorithm, was determined in qualitative form by neighbouring forces (2).
An algorithm is a set of instructions given by codes and used in computer programs to form an outcome (1). Greg Lynn used computation as an attempt to redefine architectures most basic building unit– the brick (3). The wall consists of several “blob” units made of low-density, recyclable, impact-resistant polymer. The design of the wall was created with help of computer numerical control technology (3). This allowed each individual blob to intersect and create a freestanding wall. Computation let architects think outside the box and design in respond to datasets of information so we can create new environments Computational abstraction surpasses the representation or simulation of space in which to explore designs and simulate performance, both physical and experiential (1). The Blobwall is just a
Resources: 1. Peters, Brady. (2013) ‘Computation Works: The Building of Algorithmic Thought’, Architectural Design, 83, 2, pp. 08-15 2. Luciana Parisi. Contagious Architecture: Computation, Aesthetics, and Space. MIT Press, 2013 - Computers. Page 99 3. Blaine Brownell. Transmaterial 2: A Catalog of Materials That Redefine Our Physical Environment. Princeton Architectural Press, 2008 - Architecture. Page 91
Figure 10: Greg Lynn. Blobwall. 2008. http://www.glform.com/blobwall.pdf
Figure 11: Greg Lynn. Blobwall. 2008. http://www.glform.com/blobwall.pdf
A.3 - COMPOSITION / GENERATION
GANTENBEIN VINERY FAÇADE
The main difference between parametric design and not parametric design is how the design process is driven and what the design is based upon. A project can be driven by a thought of a shape and modelled in a 3D program, but it does not make it a parametric design because the design project was not driven by a response using a tool to investigate the best outcome. The Gantenbein Vinery in Switzerland has a façade that looks like a basket filled with grapes (1). The architects behind the design created an information generation process that produced an impression of a precisely controlled result (1). Using the buildings concrete frame structure as a massive basket, and filled it with balls (1). The digital elevation image of the basket was then used to design a 3D brick wall pattern (1). The result was a dynamic surface that processes a sensual, textile softness (1). As this project was designed by using digital design tools throughout the process it is a good example of parametric design.
“We are moving from an area where architects use software to one where they create software.”(2) No project will be the same, so the ability to create a software for each individual design project is highly needed. Algorithmic thinking the key to parametric design as it is recognised as a role to understand the result of the generating code and being able to modify it and turn it into new design thinking (2)
Recourses: 1. Branko and Klinger. Manufacturing material Effects, Rethinking Design and Making in Architecture. Routledge, 2010, 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY10016. Page 108-109. 2. Peters, Brady. (2013) ‘Computation Works: The Building of Algorithmic Thought’, Architectural Design, 83, 2, pp. 08-15
Figure 12: V”inary”Thomas Schröpfer. Material Design: Informing Architecture by Materiality Walter de Gruyter, 1 Jan 2011 - Architecture – Page 56
Figure 13: “Composición de esferas – “Gantenbein” winery”. Judit Bellostes. http://blog.bellostes.com/?p=2392
A.4 - CONCLUSION
This part have introduced us to computation and how it works. It have changed architecture and design tremendously from what it used to be. It is more effective, accurate and it allows geometric forms. Not only has computation changed architecture, but also material fabrication and engineering, so architects and their entities have to work closer together and collaborate in another way than what they used to. Algorithmic thinking is giving us the opportunity to work and think on another level by responding to the environment. As Peters ( 1) states:
‘“The processing of information and interactions between elements which constitute a specific environment; it provides a framework for negotiating and influencing the interrelation of datasets of information, with the capacity to generate complex order, form, and structure.”(1)
1.
Peters, Brady. (2013) ‘Computation Works: The Building of Algorithmic Thought’, Architectural Design, 83, 2, pp. 08-15
A.5 - LEARNING OUTCOMES
All of the previous design studios I have done have been based upon what I will call the “traditional” or “old” way of designing. This subject have so far opened up a new way of thinking about design. I now understand the difference between computation and computerization. Not only have we been introduced to how to use grasshopper but understanding how algorithmic thinking can be used to form a project. It is no longer about creating random forms and put them together to a pretty building, but hopefully be able to respond to the environment in the best way possible with the help of computational tools. Today we are in an area facing many challenges due to global warming and overpopulation. It is our job as architects to be creative and find new solutions and create possibilities and hopefully we can be a part of making a difference.
RECOURCES :
Back Matter, Design Issues, The MIT Press, Vol. 23, No. 4 (Autumn, 2007) P. 12 Blaine Brownell. Transmaterial 2: A Catalog of Materials That Redefine Our Physical Environment. Princeton Architectural Press, 2008 - Architecture. Page 91 Branko and Klinger. Manufacturing material Effects, Rethinking Design and Making in Architecture. Routledge, 2010, 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY10016. Page 108-109. Chipperfield, David, Architectural Association School of Architecture, Thermal Bath at Vals by Peter Zumthor: AA EXHIBITION GALLERY, 16 FEBRUARY – 22 MARCH 1996. AA Files. No. 32 (Autumn 1996), pp. 72-75 Frank Lloyd Wright, ‘ In the Cause of Architecture”, Robert McCarter, ed, On an By Fran Lloyd Wright: A Primer of Architectural Principles, London: Phaidon, 2005. First published in The Architectural Record, March 1908 Luciana Parisi. Contagious Architecture: Computation, Aesthetics, and Space. MIT Press, 2013 - Computers. Page 99 Murphy, Orla. “Zumthor’s Baths — a sensual guide”, Architectural Association of Ireland, Building Material, No. 12, morality and architecture (autumn 2004), pp. 44-47 Oxman, Rivka and Robert Oxman, eds (2014). Theories of the Digital in Architecture (London; New York: Routledge), pp.1–10 Peters, Brady. (2013) ‘Computation Works: The Building of Algorithmic Thought’, Architectural Design, 83, 2, pp. 08-15 Snohetta. “Norwegian Raindeer Pavillion”. 2015. Snohetta, Opened 12.03.2015 at http://snohetta.com/project/2-tverrfjellhytta-norwegian-wild-reindeer-pavilion