Building for Broadcasting: Architectural Technology by James Thompson

This group will take the theme of appropriated technology to investigate systems, materials and structures re-appropriated. The technology project will investigate the technologies of broadcast and amplification to consider how to intensify/magnify/augment/boost the message of the activist in the urban landscape

TEAM MEETING 3 - 25.10.13 The meeting started off with the appointed new leader , James Thompson and Freya as Graphic Designer. Oliver presented on sound waves while James presented a mock up model to experiment foldable structures. The team then developed even more into the design and came out with mock up models to further explore the ideas. Through the mock up models, the team exchange ideas and feedbacks to further improve the design focusing on amplifying the sound and its mobility of the structures on the A10. Eve presented a mock up model with an umbrella concept to the pavilion which also acts as a shelter. Oliver presented his idea on an adjustable pavilion using tension to hold the structures on site. It is multipurpose which acts as an amplifier and shelter for the public to use. Freya presented her idea on a sound amplifier that transmit sound through centralized horn system. Matthew showed his idea on a foldable structure. Everyone participated during the discussion and feedbacks. The teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advisor, Mrs. Kirsty Sutherland advised the team on fabrication and acoustics while the guest advisor, Mr. Tom, advised the team on integrating the design with the locality of the site context through food culture and its mobility. He questioned the users of the pavilion, who controls it and the scale of the pavilion. The meeting ended with each member given a set of tasks by James and expected to deliver in time. Next meeting expectation would be on testing the ideas using different materials and structure system before finalizing a design for the project.

RESEARCH - VINYL PLAYER/PROJECTION

The story of the flap-o-phone and card talk A flap-o-phone is a portable player which is made of a cardboard folded into 3 with a pin attached.(2) The idea was invented by a missionary by the name of joy during the 60’s. She wanted to spread the word of God in areas that did not have electricity. Joy took records of the bible in the local language into the remote areas and used her card talk to communicate. Many years later Kid Koala, (1) promoted his new record ’12 inch blues’ by packaging the record in a card talk so that it could fold up and become a make shift gramaphone. Other examples of hand made record players. Livia Ritthaler’s Gramaphone Ritthaler is a german designer who created this minimalistic gramaphone (3 and 4) which works like a spinning top. Here are some multi arm examples by tattoo artist jeremy justice (5 and 6).

Here is a basic overview of the essential parts that make up a turntable: · Plinth- the plinth is the base of the turntable · Platter and bearing- the platter is the part the record sits on, supported by a spindle which sits in the bearing. · Tonearm- the tonearm is the pivoted arm that allows the cartridge (needle) to track the record. · Motor- for this article we will be using external variable speed motors available online.

RECORD PLAYER RESEARCH

TEAM MEETING 4 - 30.10.13 During the meeting, the team mainly discussed about organization of tasks by each team member. This is due to the communication and networking not properly handled. Hence, a proper organization to transfer information were discussed to ensure smooth information transfer.

RESEARCH - BEN DAVIES - FREYA LAING - BEN SPONG [WRITER]

[DRAUGHTSMAN]

[GRAPHICS + DOCUMENT]

The group discussed further into their research topics into testing the idea itself. Oliver, Eve, Katya and Angie were given the task to test the ideas given in the workshop. Mainly working on different materials such as paper, wood, plastic and metal. Each of the materials are then to be tested using different joineries and hinges as well as folding technique to further develop the concept into final design. Katya will be recording the whole process through photographs and videos as part of the documentation. Ezer presented her research on record players, its history and components that she would be developing further on its mechanism to generate a record player. She would be looking into two different methods of assembling a record player. Matthew showed his research on audio signal and record player. He would look into the drawings to build the record player as part of the documentation and laser cutting for testing. His research mostly came from the book â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Structure & Fabric Part 2â&#x20AC;&#x2122;. He looked into how to produce audio using vinyl and record player itself. The group also discussed on inserting the element of recycling and reusing into the project. They talked about using records as the structures, the concept of reusing into the project. Though, there was a debate on valuable information loss and how to properly reuse the items. The idea of diminishing information was related to books and hence, became a debate with a few of the team members. Another debate was on the research and testing ideas whereby, Ben wanted researches to be done before testing the ideas while the testing team did not agree upon the idea. But, the team resolved with producing basic drawings on materials and joints for documentation before testing the idea in the workshop. The group talked about obtaining the materials and how it will affect the financial account of the team ensuring all the items used are easily obtained and cost effective. All the team members were given a set of tasks to produce before the coming meeting which would focus more into testing the materials and ideas to finalise the final design of the broadcasting pavilion.

INITIAL FORMS FOR SOUND TEST MODELS

Without the use of power and/or electricity it can become difficult to find methods of sound amplification. One method that could be used is the use of cone shaped objects. Sound amplification through a cone works by the sound being projected from a small point going to a wider point. If this cone amplifier is pointed in the direction of the audience then the sounds will become a lot clearer as they will get less distorted in the air than without an amplifier. As well as amplifying sounds through objects, the design and shape of the space that the user is in can have a big impact on how well the sound waves travel through the area. For example this can be seen in lecture theatres where the shape of the room projects the sound brilliantly that is only coming from one point. The shape of lecture theatres uses similar principles to a cone amplifier. When designing our project it is important to take into account that different materials will have an effect on how well sound can be projected. For example materials such as fabrics will absorb sound, whereas ma terials such as hard woods and plastics will help to reflect the sound waves instead of absorbing them.

MATERIAL EXPERIMENT MODELS

ALUMINIUM

CORROGATED CARD

PERSPEX

MDF

THICK CARD FABRIC

Materiality of objects will largely affect the way in which sound waves travel through a space. Dependent on the material and structure of an object sound energy will either be absorbed or reflected away. Materials such as soft fabrics, furnishings and even human bodies are all materials that will absorb sound waves easily. The reason for this is because the soft materials and flexible structures allow the sound waves to transfer from the particles in the air to the materials easily. However hard and rigid materials such as ceramics, wood, and plastics will not easily absorb sound waves because it is difficult for the particles to oscillate as they are fixed in a ridged position. Whilst these materials will not absorb, the sound will still need somewhere to go, which means that these surfaces will reflect and bounce sound waves away. In order to increase the amount in which a material reflects sound waves a process called dampening will need to be used. Dampening will reduce a materials capability to oscillate, which can be seen by the process of lamination in materials such as wood and plastics. But a parabolic concave surface will reflect a sound wave back to a point where it will seem louder. An example of this can be seen in whisper galleries, where the only time a whisper will be audible is at the opposite side of the room. Although a rough and jagged wall surface will reflect sound waves in multiple different directions, which will therefore distort the sound and give it a â&#x20AC;&#x153;livelyâ&#x20AC;? affect. Whereas a smooth surface will reflect sound in much fewer directions, therefore creating a purer and fuller sound.

FOLDING TECHNIQUES

The concept behind the model is using the contours of the landscape as inspiration for the layering is to shape the human ergonomics. The layering is also intended to be flexible in terms of ease of transportation and as light weight as possible that is why corrugated cardboard is chosen for the proposed material. Sound projection cones based on the idea of gramophones to project the sound are slotted in between the contours of the layeringâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to allow sound going out of the space. The proposed cone could be made out of concentric cylinders for flat pack purposes. The space is intended to be enclosed, a cave like space to allow intimacy and privacy within the inside of the pavilion. The entrance to the space will be small, you will have to crawl or bend down to enter. The faĂ§ade of the structure should lie flat with the facades of the surrounding buildings as to slot in with the street. The cones however will protrude into the street as to be seen from far away and draw your attention and curiosity.

TESTING THE 3D PRINTER

Tech week gave us the opportunity to learn how to use new programmes, and open our eyes to what we can achieve if we embrace technology. In this week we used the 3d printer and the laser cutter. The 3d printer almost turned into an experiment rather than just a test. Using it design cones obviously led to quite complex shapes being formed, producing angles that the 3d printer couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t possibly produced, the effect of this is what is shown in the next image. This fault opened our eyes to could this be a design proposal, could we let sound escape through a wall, just like it would through the broken speaker. We became familiar with programmes like rhino, vectorworks and cinema 4d. We also produced an animation of the possible sites for our device.

NEW DESIGN PROPOSALS AFTER NEW BRIEF

This is a foldable structure in two parts. Part a and b join together to make a 6 panel adaptable wall. All panels are attached to the other by hinges. The two parts can fold and flat pack, making them easier to carry. The wall can be both completely open, for the purpose of a stage and completely curved in a spiral. Each panel is a different height with the first, smallest one being a childs height and the internal walls being taller than a person. When standing on the outside of the spiral wall it is impossible to see inside. However the sound is well projected from the center where the record player is, as the inside is like a vertical tunnel. An adaptable roof is proposed which could change or disappear completely depending on the landscape. We would be able to bend the sound to our taste. The six panels could all be made of different materials. The internal panels should be made of wood as this is the best material for projection. The other panels could be made of much lighter materials, as their purpose is to act as a shield. Here we could be very playful with materials and affect the aesthetics dramatically. We could make the panels from frames with unusual wrappings. The first panel could be a

DESIGN PROPOSALS AFTER NEW BRIEF - MODELS

The model itself was a progression of Eve's idea of layering a series of individually formed layers into a compression state where they would be used as a seating area, a place to listen to music, and a record swapping space. The dimensions were based around standardised measurements of seating heights and ceiling heights, and the curvilinear form influenced by the termite pavilion. The design would consist of 40mm layers, which would be erected until 1.6m high, encouraging the occupant to crouch into the space. There would be cones projecting out of the space to project the activist voice.

FOLDING THE STRUCTURE

We decided our structure will be layered and transportable; this model is the first attempt to link the both features: the booth is sectioned and the sections sandwich with each other when not in use. The folding is enabled by poles linking two sections. This process minimises the amount of the material we need and thus its weight and volume but also makes the structure adaptable to its users' needs.

TEAM MEETING 7 - 6/11/13 The team meeting started off with ICT workshops being lead by James McAdam. James talked about using different computer technologies that could assist us with our design. For example James showed us the basics of Cinema 4D, which will be a good tool to use when producing computer representations of our design. Also we were shown the basics of using the Laser Cutter, which has already proven to be a very helpful resource for our team. After the workshop, the team continued with the progress meeting and James, the leader, had given the group instructions to produce a design for the project individually based on the brief he had set up to refine the existing brief even more. Katya started off by presenting her model of a central structure to project sound. She talked about having a cone structure in the centre that will project the sound from below towards the above acoustic panels. Feedback include the scale of the model as well as the materials used. Ben presented his sketches and idea of multiple sound projections and interactions using a single structure. Also Freya presented her idea on an organic structure, which played around spatial explorations incorporated within the structure along with the sound projection element. The feedbacks include its materiality and spatial usage, which does not relate clearly to the brief. Eve presented her idea using model of a wooden based structure and cardboard layerings. Her idea of layering the cardcard boards into spaces with sound projecting cones connected within the fabrics of the structure. Her idea focused on fabrications and how it is integrated within the structure to produce spaces and incorporating the record player. Feedbacks include portability and integrating ideas with Katyaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. The meeting continued with Oliver presenting his idea of an organic structure, which, played around sound projections. He uses sketches and visual drawings to communicate the ideas. Feedbacks include the level of form and organic shape, which would require a higher level of construction and skills to produce within such a short time. Ben Davies presented his idea on slotting system for the structures to enable the users to assemble the structures using a basic manual while Angie presented her model on an acoustic roof. Afifah presented her idea of structure based on the Mihrab, which is incorporated in the mosque design for the Imam to preach every Friday. She uses a 3D model to produce visually the idea and showed the relationship between the structure and sound projections. The team had decided to follow on Eveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s idea of a wooden based pavilion with layering of cardboard and integrating her idea with other materials, structural ideas and spatial concepts to further develop from the mock up. The team are interested to integrate more communication ideas to make the structure interactive not only for activism but for the community such as the children.

TECHNICAL DRAWINGS 1:20

TESTING PHASE - BUILDING DAY 1

On the foll owing day w e had split some of us the duties: were prepar while ing the nex studio, the t timber laye others were r s in the making the were workin record play g in the wo er or rkshop to d seating. In esign and c the end of r e a te a the day the ed connecti teams met a ng those el n d e m starte nts: not wi ties. Once thout any d we had ensu ifficulred that al is fixed, w l the incom e put all t p a t i h bility e elements them: this together an time they a d tested ll fitted t sion by the ogether. Th end of the e conclubuilding pr we are not ocess was: fully satis although, fied with t ture works he design, in its prin t h e strucciples and work effici the buildin ently toget g team can her.

On the following day we had split the duties: while some of us were preparing the next timber layers in the studio, the others were making the record player or were working in the workshop to design and create a seating. In the end of the day the teams met and started connecting those elements: not without any difficulties. Once we had ensured that all the incompatibility is fixed, we put all the elements together and tested them: this time they all fitted together. The conclusion by the end of the building process was: although, we are not fully satisfied with the design, the structure works in its principles and the building team can work efficiently together.

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REWRITING THE BRIEF

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WHAT JOINTS, WHERE ?

THE CHOSEN JOINT

Investigating the joints to determine a uniform junction to use for joining the main timber frame. After researching into dovetail joints, groove joints and socket joints, we chose to use a type of corner joint which was not dissimilar to a dovetail joint. The difference with the joint we have decided to use is that it would require two bolts that would form a cross shape in plan, which would tighten the joint, thus tightening the frame. The frame has to be strong as it would have to support the timber columns and hold the cone in place, so therefore these junctions would have to remain tight and attach the timber columns to the base.

1:1

MAKING THE CONE

The cone was to be a pivotal part of our design, If it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t project the sound, the project would of failed. The first part of making the cone was to 3d model it in vectorworks. The form follows an old analogue speaker from a vinyl player. Modelling the cone on card first allowed us to see if what was producing could possibly go from computer to a real object. The next challenge was scaling it up, we had to consider what materials we were using because not only did it have to project the sound but it also had to be self supporting. Galvonised steel was the perfect material for us, although it was hard to bend and hard to fix it was still the most workable and structurally sufficient material to use. After drawing the templates out on the steel shets it became a matter of bending the sheets in equal increments, and then bending the end tabs in the other direction so they could be later rivetted. After rivetting it was just a matter of fixing them to one another, we resorted to more rivetts, they provided a strong and fixed hold between the forms.

THE DRAWINGS THAT WERE TOO GOOD TO SCAN IN

AXONOMETRIC 1:50

SECTIONS 1:20

STORY OF THE TENSIONERS

The tensioners were very useful in keeping the cone in a fixed position. Each tension cable was wrapped around each of the four columns (Fig. 1) and threaded through an eyelet (Fig. 2) which fixed the wire in place. The wire was then threaded through a tension bolt (Fig. 3) and repeated the other side. This process occurred for each of the tension wires and after they had all been fixed to the timber columns, they were put under tension using the wire tensioners. This held the cone in position well, and, although the tension pulled the timber columns inward, due to their warped nature, the tensioners pulled the columns in too much, which resulted in having to put timber bracing at the very top of the structure to keep the columns perpendicular (Fig. 4). The eyelets that held the cable around the columns also began to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;slipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; when under tension. This was due to the wire being too thick which resulted in the cables losing tension, and this meant the cone was only being supported by the plywood base which was not stable. This however was easily resolved as we used thinner wire that could fit through the eyelets and did not slip, maintaining the tension.

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED

As the cardboard laye rs underneath the ca rdboard wall were not uniform, the card board wall would not remain vertical when fixed to the ca rdboard layers. To re so lve this, we would have to fix the wall itself to the wooden co lumns using small bolts and nuts. (as the larger bolts woul d have deformed the cardboard)

The lack of galvanised ste el resulted in the use of cardboard for a segment of the cone. This didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t reflect the sou nd throughout the steel struct ure and resulted in a less amplified sound structure. To res olve this, we could have fou nd more galvanised steel to rep lace the cardboard, but if we couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find more galvanise d steel we could have used the cardboard as the top segmen t of the cone, so that the sou nd resonated through the majori ty of the structure.

The timber columns were from the wood reclaim centre and were already warped when we bought them, this meant that the measurements we initially pro duced had to be altered corresponding to the warped factor of the timber.

It proved problematic when we had to push the cone through the two holes in the plywood. It took us longer than we had anticipated to fit it through, and the holes had to be accurate enough to hold the cone whilst the tension wires were fitted. To resolve this, we could have either put the cone together in segments onto the structure, or installed the cone and fitted the boards on after.

WHY THE WHEELS WENT WRONG

Whilst we were sure the bracing and joints that would withstand the overall weight of the design we failed to predict its effect upon the wheels. The four wheels positioned at either corner were industrial grade, steel framed tough plastic wheels. When the structure was pushed, when the wheels were facing the direction of travel, there was no problem. Changing direction was difficult, the friction between the wheel and floor along with the force of us pushing caused the wheel to twist and pull at its screws. The weight of the design then caused the wheel to buckle and pull out all its screws. In addition, the timber columns were directly above the wheels which caused an even larger amount of weight pressing directly downwards onto the wheel causing the fault. (Fig.1) If we reduced the weight of the design and adjusted the position of the columns then there would have been less friction and less force to cause the wheel to buckle.

WHY WAS IT BENT ?

The A10, the heart of Hackney. This book is the documentation of studio 10â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attempt to project the voice of the activist groups along this culturally, politically and socially complex road. Everything from the team meetings to final technical drawings are evident in this documentation. By reading this book you will understand and progress through the project in the same way the group did, chronologically, so as you can expect the project moves backwards and forwards throughout the document, just as it did in practice. In short, this is studio 10 designing a building for broadcasting.