Module Four
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS
Joshua Stellini 539699
Semester 2, 2011 Group 10
Module ONE
ENGENDER
MODULE 1 ENGENDER
COMET I thought exploring the cosmos would produce interesting designs and broaden my scope of thinking from immediate, more common natural processes. The first natural process I explored was a comet flying through space. The comet would always release a gaseous tail deflected away from the sun. I found comets particularly interesting because of the spectacular tails they produce. I wanted to replicate the form of the tail and explore the concept of reflection and the expansion of a single point. I also thought that it would be interesting to experiment with light at the head of the comet form as it is generously the brightest region of the comets themselves
The lantern would be placed on the arm with the comet head being held in the hand and the tail extending up to the shoulder However, I quickly began to realise that my designs and inital sketches were becoming too literal, (that is they were looking too much like a comet). I wanted to abstract my lantern so ther would not be such an immediate connection
Above: Sketches of comet design placement Below: Design experimentation, chalk drawing and clay model
MODULE 1 ENGENDER
WATER DROPLET IMPACT I decided to explore a different avenue closer to home. I found the idea of the instant a water droplet hits a surface. The impact of the water droplet created some interesting effects by separating into a crown like shape which I thought could inspire interesting geometry when designing the lantern. This was something I wanted to replicate in my design. This natural process also allowed me to explore the idea of velocity, collision and scattering of smaller isolated droplets. To get a better understanding of splashes and water impact, i decided to get some heavily diluted paint and splash it against an A3 paper. At the beginning i was allowing single drops to fall from my paintbrush to the paper to simulate a raindrop. I found that flicking the paint onto the page produced a better result as it had a higher velocity upon impact.
The best results were achieved by throwing large quantities of paint at the page and as this larger scale amplified the outcome. One major problem I had with the water droplet process was the ability to find a workable form. I was also faced with a important aesthetic challenge. I wanted my design to be informed by the shape of the droplet impact, however I did not want to be too literal as was the case with the previous design
MODULE 1 ENGENDER
3D representation of a collapsing armpiece. The rings getting denser and more intense towards the center.
BLACK HOLE FORMATION Once more I looked to the sky for inspiration and became fascinated with the stars themselves. The enormous bodies of fire and gases were interesting within themselves, however I was more interested in the process of a dying star and black hole formation. A black hole is formed when a star collapses in on itself, a process that could potentially produce some interesting design ideas and lighting effects. Additionally to this, it was a unique and intriguing natural process
As little is precisely known about them black holes are difficult to conceptualise. I experimented with several uncommon techniques when generating ideas. One of these techniques involved scrunching up a paper and redrawing it. The paper is somewhat collapsing in on itself like a black hole and helped me visualise an otherwise difficult process. This fuelled my imagination further and allowed me to focus on the collapsing element of the process.
MODULE 1 ENGENDER
How do different kinds of media impact creative design development A designer is constantly looking for inspiration and ideas to fuel their imaginations. Often at times during the first module I found myself struggling to peruse any particular direction. Using new (somewhat unusual techniques and media became a major catalyst for the development of my design. In relation to our initial direction, within the brief it was stated that the lantern must be informed by a natural process. This was a very broad constraint and gives rise to complex forms and various ideas. Looking to nature for inspiration is certainly not uncommon in the design world, particularly in architecture.
Endless Ocean Endless Sky by Matsys is one such example of a designer taking inspiration from natural processes. They looked at recreating the pattern effects of ice which lead them to produce a pattern at various scales. However this was not done so literally as I had been doing initially. EOES utilizes some of the natural rocess aspects such as ice sheet patterns and the way they diffuse light to remove thehorizon and create a singular experience.
In some ways choosing a difficult process to visualise actually helped me achieve something similar to EOES and take elements of the natural process and incorporate these into the design to create a desired outcome. to visualise actually helped me achieve something similar to EOES and take elements of the natural process and incorporate these into the design to create a desired outcome.
Endless Ocean Endless Sky
Depicting natural processes and forms is much easier with the introduction of digital technology. The curvilinear forms of some natural phenomenon in the world can now be quickly and easily portrayed in the digital realm and manipulated very easily, a feat that was previously very difficult with traditional analogue methods of designing. The rise of digital media in designing introduces an entirely new media and techniques. As with all techniques computer aided design technology comes with both strengths and weaknesses, many which I would discover later in the design process.
Module TWO
DIGITIZATION
MODULE 2 DIGITIZATION
COUNTOURING METHOD Designers are constantly faced with the transference from their ideas into reality. With the introduction of computational design designers must take an additional step and transfer their initial sketches, models and thoughts and into the digital realm. This proved to be one of the various hurdles of my design process and indeed one I shall observe well into the future as CAD technology becomes ever more prominent in the designing world. To do this I cut my scale model into contours which were imported into rhino and lofted together. I quickly found remarkable inconsistencies with my physical model and my digital one and perused another direction entirely.
MODULE 2 DIGITIZATION 2D PANELLING
ATTRACTOR POINTS
3D PANELLING
CUSTOM PANELLING
PANELLING TOOLS Panelling tools allowed me to quickly create, compare and contrast different panels on my design. This in a sense is the essence of digital design methods. Fast, effective and instantaneous customization with alterations able to be made with the push of a
allowing for the designer to instantly see what works and what doesn’t. I experimented with various options with panelling tools including 2D and 3D normal and custom panelling options as well as varying panel sizes with attractor points. I found the
best results were the ones where I had most control over which allowed me to communicate something unique and different. This lead me towards an arrow shaped custom 2D panelling with attractor points to vary the sizes of the panels. The arrow heads
would point downwards to convey a sense of movement throughout the design.
MODULE 2 DIGITIZATION
DIGITAL MANIPULATION The contouring method did not accurately portray the depressions and inclines in my original clay model. I decided to start from scratch and model my design digitally as I would have greater control of the finished product.
Using control point editing to create the desired form
I smoothed back my previous attempt until it was essentially a tube. From this I used point editing to create the desired ridges. I used point editing modes such as Move UV normal to expand certain points in the V direction which helped give a similar form to that of my original model and Edit Control Point Weight to accentuate the curves and create sharp points. Also by dragging control points downward and smoothing them off, I managed to create the look of a structure compressing and collapsing in on itself.
MODULE 2 DIGITIZATION
RATIONALIZING PANELS The panelling I had previously opted for (left) was impossible to fabricate from unrolled paper. I thought about opting for a different shape of panelling however, I did not want to loose the arrow effect and its connection to my natural process.
Instead I created the same shape using a triangular mesh (above). This was a square shape that when panelled created the illusion of arrows. With the panels now remodelled as triangles, they would not bend in two directions as they did previously while still creating the same form. I found out first hand that designers often have to make sacrifices or alterations in order to nrealise their ideas in the physical realm. This is true on a small scale such as in our assignment and on much larger architectural developments.
MODULE 2 DIGITIZATION
TOP
FRONT
RIGHT
PERSPECTIVE
MODULE 2 DIGITIZATION
How do different kinds of media support technical design development and refinement? The introduction of CAD technology allows for quick and easy design experimentation. Designers can now create extremely complex geometry while still optomizing it for construction/manufacturing. An example of such complexity can be seen in Matys C Wall project. This is extremely relevant and quite similar to this project as the designers are utilizing the same programs and skills that I have been familiarising myself with throughout the course. The C Wall is an excellent example of pattern variation, something that I never got to fully engage in as much as I would have liked. The combination of clustered and disperesed cells casts interesting variatiable shadows onto the floor, however this seemingly complex structure was produced quite easily using a parametric designing program and unfolding segments out and reassembling them as one peice. Similar techniques are being used in the design world today which will undoubtedly produce some interesting and increasingly complex buildings in the years to come.
Given the time constraints I did not fully explore the range of functions available and the enormous flexibility Rhinoceros offers. Gradually with more experience I can learn some advanced techniques and be able to add ever increasing complexity into my work. Were I to redo the project I would have definitely explored ideas on creating a more complex form with some variation, whether it be in the panelling or even cut-outs allowing light to escape.
Module THREE
FABRICATION
MODULE 3 FABRICATION
Strips 1-9
UNFOLDING With my design perfected on the computer it was time to recreate it physically. To do this surfaces would be unrolled using the panelling tools command. While it took a while to determine the most effective way to do this, surfaces were unrolled using a seam and strip method. Unrolled surfaces would be joined to the seam before being connected to one another via tabs. Additionally to this eas of the unrolled surfaces were
Strips 10-14
assigned a number and a colour in order to cross reference my physical model back to the digital form. Such labelling is a common and indeed very necassary paractice in design as it communicates construction method to those assembling the design.
Strips 15-20
I thought the best approach would be to construct my design in three sections, bottom, middle and top. This would help me from getting overwhelmed by the overall size of the model as well as dealing with less peices and cut outs ant any one particular time. Once each peices was completed I would join them together with exactly the same technique as all the other panels.
MODULE 3 FABRICATION
MODULE 3 FABRICATION
CONNECTION GUIDE
MODULE 3 FABRICATION CONSTRUCTION OF FINAL MODEL
MODULE 3 FABRICATION FIRST PROTOTYPE My inital plan was to have the tabs on the outside. This required me to unroll my surfaces using a different technique. By unrolling in this manner I could join tabs on the outside resulting in an outer skeleton in the shape of downward arrows (seen digitally right) Despite this plan working in theory, I had great trouble with fabricating a prototype. This can be atributed to the initial shape of the panel being square and not in the form of an arrow. Despite this, I learnt a number of lessons from the experience. Most noteably was that I needed to increase the size of the tab sand the thickness of the paper to be over 100gsm as this was not a sufficient strength
SECOND AND THIRD PROTOTYPE I unrolled the model in a strip and seam format with a seam. I printed the first four unrolled surfaces for a prototype construction on 100gsm A3 paper. After a mediocre second attempt I was confident that the third protoype would work well on a full sized model.
MODULE 3 FABRICATION FINAL MODEL
MODULE 3 FABRICATION FINAL MODEL
MODULE 3 FABRICATION
MODULE 3 FABRICATION How do different kinds of media support fabrication and construction I discovered first hand when trying to fabricate my model that it would be no easy task. In order to make my design feasible for construction I had to alter the shape, size and panelling of my lantern. While sacrifices and compromise will always exist in the design world, the introduction of computers in the process has made the ability to change and amend mistakes simple and almost immediate. Traditional methods would have required extensive time redrawing plans to correct any errors while with parametric design technology such as Rhino, I amended clashes with a click of a button. Also with the introduction of Computer aided manufacturing (CAM), technology can assist in the fabrication process through the use of laser cutters etc. This is something I did not experience whilst doing this course. I constructed my lantern by hand which was indeed a long and vigorous process at times. utilizing the fablab could have reduced the time taken to cut and score my panels and I would have been able to create prototypes much faster than if i were to do it by hand. This would have been reflected by having a cleaner final model.
Indeed this is becoming ever more common fabrication technique in the industry. Dominik Holzer’s lecture illustrated to me one example of this. Nox’s WetGrid is a temporary gallery space which was built about 12 years ago. It uses CNC cutting to cut a contoured skeleton for the gallery which is draped in cotton. The availability of technology which can cut out sections allows construction to be quick and relatively cheap which was important as the project did not have an extensive budget. This notion of prefabrication is becoming ever more prominent in the world of architecture in particular as it means construction can be fast with peices being assembled elsewhere and then shipped and assembled on site. Nowadays it is even possible to see prefabricated housing.
NOX WetGrid
Module FOUR
REFLECTION
MODULE 4 REFLECTION
How do the techniques introduced in this course impact contemporary professional design processes? While the introduction of digital technology is becoming more and more accepted in the field of architecture, traditional methods of designing are still very prominent and ever present. Change can be daunting, however it is a necessary step we must take in the contemporary era. Computer aided design allows for us to design more complex buildings with an efficient use of materials at generally a faster pace. One challenge still remains is that historically (and even today) architecture has been communicated through 2 dimensional drawings. A plan. Digital technology enables designers to design in 3Dimensions, quickly and effectively however sometimes communicating this to developers and construction workers can be difficult as it is not the norm. This could result in the physical presentation of the design not being as accurate or detailed as the digital model
MODULE 4 REFLECTION
What are the learning outcomes of this course and its relevance to your further studies and creative work Virtual environments has really given me the opportunity to learn and develop my skills as a designer by expanding my scope of thought. I have discovered interesting architects, buildings designers and projects that I had never been exposed to before. Being introduced into an different way of fabrication that is the essence of this course has really illustrated to me the important role computational design has in the future of designing. In particular this course has exposed me to new digital software and parametric design. At the beginning of the course I had very little knowledge about CAD software, opting to use Google Sketchup as the primary program for the portrayal of 3D digital models and generally relying on analogue methods. Virtual Environments has given me the skills and experience to
confidently use rhino and panelling tools. This course has given me a really good foundation with digital design software, something that other architecture students do not experience until much later in their design careers. These skills are transferable and will no doubt assist me in future projects both as a student and as a professional designer. I still have much to learn with Rhinoceros and indeed other software, but now having some experience in computational design, learning new CAD programs will become a less daunting task. This subject has really reinforced the importance graphic design plays in the portrayal of your design. Week after week I have continuously impressed myself at the quality of work I have been able to produce which was made available with InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop. I consider
skills a very powerful asset to my designing artillery as presentation is a key step in the acceptance of any design. I value Virtual Environments very highly for teaching me so much in so little time. It is different in other subjects which you learn something in preparation for an exam only to forget what you have learnt several weeks later. Virtual Environments has equipped me with the skills to digitally design, fabricate and present my projects, which are necessary skills which I will retain and utilize in my future career as an architect.
Rhino digital model (left) referenced with physical model (right)