ARCHITECTURE DESIGN STUDIO
AIR Semester 2 2013 514464 Kailing Wang
Contents Self Introduction Part A: Case of innovation A 1.0: Architecture as a discourse A 2.0: Computational Architecture A 3.0: Parametric Modeling A 4.0: Algorithmic Exploration Conclusion Learning Outcomes
Self Introduction
My name is Kailing Wang. I come from Beijing, China. I am a third year student studying architecture in the University of Melbourne. I finished my high school study in Beijing, and I have been to Melbourne two years ago. I didn’t have any of the design experience until I come to the University. However, I am interested in arts and I like to use marker to represent the building and the surrounding environments.
When I begin to study architecture in the University, I am quite confused about how to show my idea through my design and how to make my design idea more conceptual, or how to convert my conceptual idea into my design. The first time I began to use design software was in the virtual environment class. I found it is difficult at the beginning, but if you know how to use it, it should be more convenient than hand drawing. The picture above shows my project of virtual environment, it is a light and I finished that with Rhino. The original idea of my design is the wave of the ocean.
Compare to software, I am more confident of my hand drawing, because I attend drawing class during every summer holiday. However, to be a good architect, design software is as important as hand drawing. Usually, hand drawing is more suitable for the initial idea, because the speed is very important during this stage. However, in the following stages, software can make a better presentation than hand drawing, for instance, the AutoCAD and Photoshop. Therefore, I will try to put more effort on the design software during the air studio because it is a good opportunity to practice more on the software.
A 1.0: Architecture as a discourse
“Drawing may lead to building. But writing may lead to drawing, building may lead to writing, or drawing may lead to drawing, for example.” ---Jonathan Hill
According to my early experience, I think architecture is just to design a building related to clients’ need. However, when I begin to design by myself, I found architecture is a discipline that includes many knowledge come from other discipline. Every architect seems to be an artist and he makes an effort to design the building as a piece of art, not only a refuge that can protect people from the environment. As Frank Lloyd Wright illustrated that a good architecture should not break the surrounding environments, the environments should look better than that before the building was built.
In my opinion, the idea of architecture discourse is roughly about how to represent the conceptual idea through drawings and books. Usually, client can’t understand a building with only a picture of the final stage of the project. He should understand it through a lot of presentation, which include a lot of draft and text to explain more about the building. Over the years, the drawing became very important to architecture practice and almost each good architect begins his idea of the design with drawing, for example, to use little parti to demonstrate his initial idea and lead him to the further design.
The first time I try to show architecture as a discourse was in the designing environments. We have a concept idea of the site, but in that time, it was quite difficult for me to illustrate that idea through the drawings and design. However, I try to discuss my idea with my tutor and she helps me a lot. Then I have some experience about how to draw some conceptual diagrams. Even in the virtual environments, the idea of convert the natural processes into design patterns is also confused at the beginning. However, after I search a lot of good precedent, I found that the natural processes are good examples of the initial ideas because the building should be harmonious with the surrounding environments.
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion
Above (figure 1): The Pavilion
The flow of the parametric structure is based on the landscape of the park.
Right (figure 2): The cafe inside the pavilion
The furniture of the cafe are harmonious with the structure of the pavilion.
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion Name:
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion
Location:
London, England
Date:
2005 (temporary work)
Designer:
Alvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura with Cecil Balmond The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion is mainly a structure that based on the landscape of the parkland. The aim of this project is to look more natural on the site. This is a good example to illustrate the relationship between the nature and the structure. Basicly, the flow of the structure is quite coherent with the landscape of the park. The material of pavilion is timber and it is a natural material of the site. It also help the whole
structure looks natural to the site. Moreover, the facade of the pavilion is a corrugated grid and it use 427 wooden beams joined together. And it also use a lot of polycarbonate panels to create some shading to the inside cafe during the sunny day. As a discourse of architecture, the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion is quite successful to combine the structure and surrounding environments. It uses the language of architecture to illustrate the properties of the site. In addition, the furniture of the pavilion are also made with timber and it shows a good relationship with structure. As a temporary work of the site, the architects use the parametric design quite well to show the context of the site, and it also uses the innovation materials mixed with the tradition.
Above (figure 3): Detail of the structure
The main structure was made by the laminated wood and it was covered by the polycarbonate panels to create some shading.
Seattle Public Library
Above (figure 4): The open space of the Seattle Public Library The different colours of carpets defined the interior space of the library, such as the reading areas and the bookshelves.
Seattle Public Library
Seattle Public Library Name:
Seattle Public Library
Location:
Seattle, USA
Date: 2004
Designer:
OMA and LMN Architects
Below (figure 5): Conceptual diagram
Seperating interior space with soft furnishings.
This is the Seattle Public Library and it is located in Seattle, USA. It was designed in 2004 by OMA and LMN Architects. This is a good example to illustrate the relationship between the architecture and the materials.
Referring to Koolhaas idea of turning nature into culture and culture into nature, the interior space of the library was divided by the soft furnishings. At the beginning of the design, the architects have a question: “what, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, is a library for?� Because of the technological innovations of the twenty-first century, they want to design a library that quite different compare to the past ones. The individual areas of the library are defined not by walls and rooms, but through the use of ornament and texture. You can find that in the open space of the library, there are the huge graphic carpets delineate areas of the library, such as bookshelves and reading spaces. As a discourse of architecture, this public library use a very different method to represent these different areas in the library. It seperates the interior space using different patterns of carpets and it is a quite innovated language of seperating spaces in the architecture.
A 2.0: Computational Architecture
The computational design is now a very innovational design idea in architecture. The computational design is not limited in the software design, it is more about to convert the conceptual world into real world, and to illustrate the conceptual ideas with the drawing or modeling. Moreover, the computational design is not a technology that architects use to design buildings, it focus more on the meaning of the architecture and the conceptual idea of the architecture. For instance, as the experience in the virtual environments, the aim is to transfer the idea of a kind of natural process into a real lantern design include the pattterns of the natural process. I have learnt a lot from the virtual environments about how to digitized the model from the conceptual idea. Actually, it is a beginning of the computational design, it is focus more on the design intent rather than what technology you use.
Beijing National Stadium
Above (figure 6): The facade of the Beijing National Stadium The structure, surface and the space are work as a whole
Beijing National Stadium
Right (figure 7): The steel structure of the National Stadium
the grid of the load-bearing structure support the entire load of the stadium
Beijing National Stadium Name:
Beijing National Stadium
Location:
Beijing, China
Designer:
Herzog& de Meuron The Beijing National Stadium is a kind of computational monumental architecture because it is the main stadium for the 2008 Olympic Games and it was designed by a computational design group: Herzog& de Meuron. At this time, the group decide to design something with the Chinese traditional elements. Therefore, the structure of the stadium, which we find also in the Chinese traditions. For instance, the patterns of the structure can be found in the Chinese grid type of windows, or in hte surface of porcelain of vases, where you have these cracks, which
are like very fine grade. These Chinese traditional patterns inspire them a lot of the structure of the stadium. The structure,surface and the space are the main compoments of architecture, and the most interesting and creative idea of this is to make these components falling together in one. As a monumental architecture, the national stadium has a size from south to north of almost about 326 metres, from east to west, it spans appreximately 313 metres and nowhere in sight do we have any columns or anything holding the whole stadium up. This kind of size and this scale, a structure like this has never been done before. To fulfill the aesthetic goals of the Bird’s Nest has brought tremendous challenges to the constructors. To meet the mechanical requirements of such a large steel structure, 700
tons of high strength rolled steel was used in the construction of the Bird’s nest. The connection of the steel components of it wothout the use of a single rivet, it was accomplished through welding. To achieve this, the chief evaluated and formalized 206 welding techniques, thus effectively providing accurate parameters for complicated welding in constructing the stadium. Therefore, it is a monumental design of China and it is also a very significant design to represent the computational architecture in the world.
Absolute World Tower
Above (figure 8): Absolute World Tower
The facade and the twist structure of the Absolute World Tower.
Absolute World Tower
Absolute World Tower Name:
Below (figure 9): Conceptual diagram of Absolute World Tower
the rotation degrees in each floor of the Absolute World Tower one with 56 floors.
This is a computational design architecture because its twist strucAbsolute World Tower ture. The tower twists 209 degrees from the base to the top, making Location: it very similar to Turning Torso Mississauga, Ontario in Sweden. The structure design was done by Sigmund Soudack& Date: Associates, a Toronto-based almost 2012 40-year-old structural engineering firm. Designer: As a monumental design, this MAD Studio and Burka Architects building became the landmark architecture of Mississauga. MoreThe Absolute World Tower is loover, its amazing structure is a very cated in Mississauga, Ontario and its successful computational design, construction stage was completed in especially with such a 56 floors’ 2012. It is a residential condomini- skyscraper. um twin tower skyscraper complex. This project was designed by MAD Studio and Burka Architects. The both twist tower are around 160 metres to 180 metres with 50 to 56 floors. And the recreation centre is around 2800 square metres.
A 3.0 Parametric Modeling
Parametric modeling is a very important stage in computational design. It is quite different from the traditional design, it uses equations and digital method to realize the design in a parametric way. According to the parametric modeling, the challenge computational design can be digitized into the computer software easily and finally, the physical model can be made with laser cutter or 3D printer. The very important aspect of the parametric modeling tool is to convert the conceptual idea of the computational design into a easy way that help the clients understand the design easily. According to the examples that mentioned before, the structure of the design cannot be successful without any parametric calculation and modeling. Therefore, the parametric modeling can help the computational design looks more clear about its structure and composition and it also helps the design to be realized successfully.
Honeycomb Morphologies
Above (figure 10): Honeycomb Morphologies Model
The honeycomb model with offset edges parametric modeling tools.
Honeycomb Morphologies
Right (figure 11): The conceptual diagram
The conceptual diagram of the offset edges parametric modeling tools to test the structure of the honeycomb morphologies.
Honeycomb Morphologies Name:
Honeycomb Morphologies
Location:
London, UK
Date: 2004
Designer: MATSYS
The central aim of this honeycomb model is try to apply the natural resource into the design. And also to develop the degree of the integration between the material and the performence.
During this stage, the parametric modeling tools is very important because it can digitize the natural resources into a real shape by offsetting the edges. This project becomes a very important precedent of parametric modeling, because it illustrate the very important relationship between computational design and parametric modeling. A very complicate strcture cannot be realized without any of them, because the paremetric modeling will help the designer testing the whole structure with some equations and parametric calcultion. Alwanys, the parametric modeling, such as this design helps to calculate the distance between each side of the honeycomb and
how can these elements join together. Moreover, the distance that the edges offset also determine the wave of the whole honeycomb structure. Therefore, the parametric modeling tools is quite significant in the computational design.
Santa Caterina Market
Above (figure 12): The roof of the Santa Caterina Market A very interesting colouring roof with parametric modeling tools
Santa Caterina Market
Above (figure 13): Roof plan of the Santa Caterina Market
The plan of the wave and colouring roof
Santa Caterina Market Name:
Santa Caterina Market
Location: Barcelona
Date:
1997-2005
Architects:
Enric Miralles, Benedetta Tagliabue The Santa Caterina Market is the iconic architecture of Barcelona because its interesting and colouring roof. The roof of this market use the parametric modeling tools to create the wave and moreover, the parametric calculation also help the architects to calculate the angle of the wave. When it expands into a 2D plan, the roof of the market forms an irregular shape.
Another very interesting aspects of the roof is it represents the properties of the market. The colouring roof of the market represents that the market is a colourful space that sell a lot of different products and that can help the consumers feel delight and relax during the shopping. When applying the colour on the roof, the parametric modeling tools also helps a lot, it can test the compositional of colours to reach a aesthetic value of the roof. Therefore, the parametric modeling is wide used in the architecture design, especially in the computational design. It is a good idea to realize the design idea with the parametric modeling tools.
A 4.0 Algorithmic Exploration
Below (figure 14): The component expansion after single lofting element.
figure 15 During the first three weeks, I start to learn some basic knowlegde of grasshopper and I find it is quite challenge to me. The picture above and on the right are illustrate the lofting with the grasshopper.
figure 16 The picture on the left illustrates the selter that was created by grasshopper and it was completed by lofting the arches that created from the curves in the figure 15.
figure 17
Conclusion
In conclusion, architecture is a best way to represent the contemporary world. Nowadays, the architecture will focus more on the development of technology. The computational design of architecture is a kind of new idea of architecture but it is wide used in recent times. Because, the computational design can illustrate the conceptual idea of architecture and then transfer these ideas into design. To relaize these design idea, the parametric modeling tools is another important idea, which can help architects test the digital data about their design and finally to make a physical model of it. Therefore, the computational design and the parametric model are very significant in architectural design, especially to realized the conceptual ideas.
Learning outcomes
According to these three weeks study of Rhino grasshopper, although I have some experience about Rhino, I also fine that the grasshopper is quite chanllenge to me. However, in this stage the computational design and the parametric modeling is quite important because it will help me a lot about the further design of the gateway. Therefore, It is very important to make an effort on learing the Rhino grasshopper in the coming weeks.
Reference
Brooker,G. Interior Architecture: elements/ objects 2010 London: AVA Book pp. 58-59 Brooker,G. Interior Architecture: elements/ objects 2010 London: AVA Book pp. 56-57 MATSYS, HONEYCOMB MORPHOLOGIES http://matsysdesign.com/category/projects/honeycombmorphologies/ 2009 Santa Caterina Market http://www.barcelona.com/barcelona_directory/monuments/mercat_santa_caterina Beijing National Stadium http://www.herzogdemeuron.com/index/projects/completeworks/226-250/226-national-stadium.html 2002 Ansolute World Tower http://www.dezeen.com/2012/12/12/absolute-towers-by-mad/ Image: figure 1-13: Google image figure 15-17: Rhino grasshopper