KP MA Architectural Design Portfolio by kasthuri priya

PROTOTYPE CITY

KASTHURI PRIYA G C MAAD- ROUTE ‘C’ Reg no.160129726

01 Knowledge Space

03 Future factories

1. INTRODUCTION 2.RESEARCH QUESTION AND DESIGN PROPOSAL 3.KNOWLEDGE SPACE 4.UNDERSTANDING THE SITE 5.MICRO CLIMATE ANALYSIS 6. THE KNOWLEDGE OF WIND 7. THE PROTOTYPE 8.FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT 9.INFORMATION IS WEALTH 10.MASTERPLAN ANALYSIS 11. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES

1. INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH QUESTION -PAGE 82 2.STAKEHOLDERS 3.DESIGN INTENT 4.PROTOTYPE DESIGN 5.APP CONCEPT 6.EXHIBITION 7.MESTERS WORKS

02 Responsive systems of Sensory components 1. INTRODUCTION- EXPERIMENTAL ARCHITECTURE -PAGE 28 2.RESEARCH BY DESIGN 3.PROJECT NETWORK 4.DATA COLLECTION SITE 5.SOUND, MOVEMENT AND STEAM 6. PRECEDENT STUDY 7. THE TEAM AND THE INTENT 8.RESEARCH QUESTION 9.TIMELINE OF EVENTS 10.THE CELL...PIXEL 11. IDEATION 12.DESIGN MONTH AND LA STRADA 13.PROTOTYPE I 14.SITE ANALYSIS AND DESIGN 15.RULES OF FUNCTIONING 16.OTHER CONTROL SYSTEMS 17.EVOLUTION OF FINAL PROTOTYPE 18.2D SIMULATION OF EVENTS 19. THE PLAUSIBLE REALM 20. THE POSSIBLE REALM THE END

01 Knowledge Space

DESIGN PROJECT I I am part of the digital strand, ROUTE ‘C’ of the MA Architectural Course. It is named ‘Prototype city’ as the intention of the studio is use digital technologies to understand and alleviate design challenges in cities through prototypes.

INTRODUCTION ‘Sheffield is a dynamic and vibrant city with an ever changing urban grain. Pockets of the urban fabric can become disconnected and consequently forgotten, neglected and perhaps even lost. The Spirit of Sheffield is inspiration, invention and creativity, through this productive vitality the city thrives. The goal of the studio is to document, analyse, and propose alternative futures for selected sites within the city. The Artefact or intervention proposed should re-invigorate or catalyse the lost and forgotten space’- STUDIO BRIEF We therefore, had to chose a theme and a site befitting the theme to carry forward the intention of the STUDIO. The theme we chose was knowledge space.

Cognizance

Association

Apprehending truth

The intention here is therefore, providing an experience, information and sense of association.

SNOW LANE

PARADISE SQUARE

STUDENT UNION CONCOURSE PARKHILL APARTMENTS

SIDNEY STREET

THE SELECTION OF THE SITE: After visiting all the available sites indicated in the map, we decided to select the STUDENT UNION CONCOURSE as our ideal canvas for prototyping. The reason for this are as follows: A survey of pedestrian walk patterns was undertaken by Travel Plan Services in December 2012 whixh identified the most frequently used pedestrian desire lines around the campus. The student union concourse was identified as the major route with nearly 3591 people per hour from the University’s Students’ Union buildings under the concourse towards the Arts Tower.

POSITIVE MOVEMENT Pedestrian and cyclist connectivity

A SUSTAINABLE CAMPUS A landscaped character defined by sustainability

GREEN SPACE A route defined by existing and new green spaces

LEARNING SPACE Outdoor learning connecting teaching faculty

The University of Sheffield’s student union concourse serves as a transition space connecting several parts of the campus and is used on an almost every day basis and therefore, would not technically qualify for the ‘abandoned’ status. However, the level of neglect is what has transformed this potentially dynamic place into a mere space for utilitarian purposes.

All this provided the site with the potential to reflect what I truly believed was knowledge: experience, conversations and collaboration 7

RESEARCH QUESTION AND DESIGN BRIEF As mentioned earlier the University of Sheffield’s student union concourse serves as a transition space connecting several parts of the campus and is used on an almost every day basis and therefore, would not technically qualify for the ‘abandoned’ status. However, the level of neglect is what has transformed this potentially dynamic place into a mere space for utilitarian purposes. Therefore, there is a need to revitalize the space... Therefore, the RESEARCH QUESTION is:

How can we give it its own sense of identity, to PAUSE and PONDER? - How about an intervention that facilitates conversation, stimulates imagination while (subconsciously) providing orientation?

THE PROPOSAL: This requires a design proposal for an audio visual experience that would enhance the place’s perceived value and identity by taking into consideration all the below factors: - The nature of users and their expectations and needs. - The micro-climate of the space - Exploring materiality, structural and technological systems that would enhance the experience. - Ensuring that current activities are not disrupted. Understanding the potential of the space our proposal would explore the creation of multi-sensory spaces that enhances the experiential quality of the space. • Thus, within the spectrum of ‘audio visual experience’, we aim to explore the options of providing a dynamic wind sculpture which would take cues from the microclimate and hopefully create the much needed ‘pause’ moments. • This would further, be complemented by series of interactive lighting design options that not only provide the necessary assurance of safety but, also information. METHODS AND METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH AND DESIGN: But, before undertaking the actual design, we aimed to analyse qualitatively and quantitatively the student user groups. • Developing a questionnaire to understand the needs and perception of the user group. • Recording the activity in the concourse at different times of a typical working day (also from different angles). Understanding the micro-climate and its effects on activity: • Video analysis of the physical character in different weather conditions • Using an anenometer to get Technical and quantitative data. The design process would involve simulation and iterative feedback loops to the research methods in order to arrive at the most efficient proposal whose deliverables were aimed to be the following: - Data Analysis through coding (In addition to the necessary site analysis,etc.) - Design schematics and iterations - Virtual 3d models - Simulation/Animation - Prototyping : Scaled model to better understand the spatial qualities and the impact of the design.

CONTEXT ANALYSIS OF CANVAS THE HISTORY OF THE STUDENT UNION CONCOURSE: The space has a rich history, it has been the starting point of many a student protest (as Andy Price worded in his theory forum presentation ‘PROTEST FOR PROGRESS’). Further, it has already been used as a canvas for artstic purposes: Local artist Paul Evans made the installation in 2012. This made us feel that it had added potential as a ‘KNOWLEDGE SPACE’- Art and movements tend to create memories. Despite all the above it failed to register as a ‘PLACE’ for most people. (This is revealed in the analysis that is followed) #Further, it is the official convening point for all students in arts tower during Fire drills and in the case of an actual fire. PROTEST FOR PROGRESS

ASSOCIATION WITH DIVERSE ACTIVITIES

THE WISDOM OF BIRDS INSTALLATION- PAUL EVANS

MOVEMENT: Mapping of the circulation path revealed the flow of traffic through the concourse as well as the activities that took place underneath the space. As a team of 5 we took different viewing positions and recorded the movement of people over the course of a week. The above diagrams are the screen captures of the video data which were used to translate the movement of the highlighted person onto the plan.

TEXTURE OF THE CANVAS: The first official documentation was of the visual characteristics of the canvas that we had selected. This also helped understand the space in its entirety owing to the 360 degree capture of the space further, it also allowed us to get familiarized with a new software called agisoft that would prove to be very useful in bridging virtual design to real world simulation.

CAMERA POSITIONS

SIDE VIEW

TOP VIEW

Creating the photogrammetry model was a tedious process that required patience and repeated visits to the site. The camera angle should be perpendicular to the ground plane and each photo should have an overlap of minimum 60 percent with the previous one. Nearly 600 photographs were necessary to create the above model.

UNDERSTANDING THE SITE AND ITS USERS THE NATURE OF USERS, THEIR EXPECTATIONS AND NEEDS: The close proximity to a number of university buildings allowed the concourse to be frequented on a daily basis by mostly students. This in a major sense was a democratic public space, therefore, I felt the surveys we conducted were crucial in understanding our user group. The questions were formulated in such a way that they analysed the qualitative aspects of the space. The concentration was on the feelings and emotions that the space evoked. This was necessary especially for our theme of knowledge space as I believe the project should therefore enhance the experience and emotions felt in that space. THE QUESTIONNAIRE: 9 Questions that analysed the quality of the space. 55 users were interviewed - Student, staff and other pedestrians Most of them did not have any important memory of the place. Responses tabulated and analysed using PYTHON. The physical conditions of the space prevent it from being enjoyed as a place. PYTHON:

The computational tool python served to be very useful as it allowed proper and unbiased analysis of the data given. We asked people to describe the space in 5 words. The result of the computation allowed me to understand the most pressing problem with the site. This proved to be crucial in moving towards ideation.

Sample of the most interesting answers we received of the 53 interviews that were done in the initial stage:

MICRO CLIMATE ANALYSIS TOO COLD AND TOO DARK TO PAUSE The two anemometers obtained from professor Abigail Hathway helped me to quantitatively analyse how cold it is to stand under the concourse. We conducted the experiment over a week, at different times of the day to arrive at a mean variation in temperature between the supposed exterior and interior of the concourse. I was shocked to see that the temperature was sometimes as far as 3 degrees lesser and the wind speed almost as high as 3m/s. During this time an analysis of the lighting was done through photomapping to understand the lighting potential of the space and whether the utilitarian lighting provided did anything to improve the ambience of the space. The unfortunate answer was â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;NOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. It was no wonder that people did not wish to pause under the bridge we were going to have to do a lot more to facilitate conversational spaces. THE EQUIPMENT The Anenometer allowed us to record samples of upto 5 second differences and the data recorded were input as excel sheets into our computational software.

Above: Wind simulation done based on the data that was recorded as well as the available wind rose for SHEFFIELD Below: The below diagrams are the screen captures of the simulation done with the help of vasari software

KNOWLEDGE OF THE WIND THE WIND CURTAIN Understanding the potential of the space our proposal would explore the creation of multi-sensory spaces that enhances the experiential quality of the space. • Thus, within the spectrum of ‘audio visual experience’, we aim to explore the options of providing a dynamic wind sculpture which would take cues from the microclimate and hopefully create the much needed ‘pause’ moments. • We believed this would also provide a visual cue to how strong the wind was while providing comfort under the bridge

NO WIND

MODERATE WIND

HEAVY WINDS

THE CONCEPT Inspired by the mechanism of the umbrella and combining it with the potential of the micro-climate, this installation aims to combat the tunnelling effect of the wind underneath the bridge. This was an essential part of our aim to improve the spatial quality of the place. There were a few concerns that I had of the feasability of the idea, one which I shared with the second round of interviewees... having broken two umbrellas in Sheffield’s weather already! However, when we proceeded with the simulation and building of the prototype, we became more confident with the positive results.

IDEATION

CONCEPTUAL SKETCHES

Adding an air tube to collect and channel the wind at right angles to the incoming high wind aims to slow them down and provide better micro climate underneath.

NO WIND

MODERATE WIND

HEAVY WINDS We designed the arrangement and mechanism using Rhino and Grasshopper. It took many iterations to arrive at the proper arrangement. And then, the design was tested using the wind simulation tool Vasari; we were very glad for the positive results. Special thanks to my teamate, Yingran Sun for the major effort in this analysis.

THE PROTOTYPE

CONSTRUCTION DETAIL

THE BUILD The construction of the prototype proved to be quite challenging as it had to move, deform and conform according to design. We brainstormed several ideas on how to get it to physically work, exploring many techniques including origami. The actual build is credited to Yingran sun, who formed it as part of his â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Parametric Architectural Module submissionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. This helped us in many ways as we were directly able to both virtually and physically validate the design concept. The physical build required a lot of brainstorming in terms of design as the primary and secondary frames had to work in proper conjunction. The prototype is a geometric contraption of sorts, allowing the desired movement. In addition to the virtual simulation and testing of our ideas, it was this build that gave us the confidence of moving forward. We discussed materiality and possible ways of strengthening the design, now that we were sure of the working principle.

Above: The different stages of opening and closing of the prototype

FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT

EXISTING CONDITION

DAYTIME POSSIBILITY

THE PROJECTION OF THE SKY: This idea stemmed from the need to create a better ambience under the bridge which could make people pause, wonder and discuss about the space in addition to providing light. The existing skylight provided some comfort on the best of days; unfortunately owing to Englandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dreary weather, the light provided during the day seemed negligible and the floodlights in the night seemed harsh and utilitarian. I personally felt the student union concourse was claustrophobic.. a view I shared with many. Therefore, I believed the projection would create the illusion that there was no restrictive concrete ceiling at the same time providing subtle ambient lighting. The changing projections would create a dynamic environment that would capture peoplesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; interest and would encourage them to use the place more creatively than just for transition. THE POSSIBLE EQUIPMENT: The existing concrete underbelly of the bridge provides a unique canvas for the projection from synchronised LED projectors connected to the existing electric lines. This would be complemented by LED screens for the notice board and column strips.

NIGHT TIME POSSIBILITY

INFORMATION IS WEALTH THE INTERACTIVE NOTICE BOARDS: The intention was to allow for guidance and information. In the questionnairres that we did in the early stages of the design proccess, many students new to the campus found it difficult to navigate and identify university buildings, even with the aide of google maps. The interactive notice board is threffore, meant to act as a rich repository of information. The interactive map would allow for proper orientation, specifically identification of university buildings that differ in architectural language as well as wayfinding. These elements were identified as crucial for the external realm of the university in the proposed masterplan as well.

SOCIALS: The student union is not frequented on a daily basis. The concourse interactive notice board can help advertise upcoming events to those transitioning through the space. This can in turn promote conversations among students and can complement the existing activities such as plant/poster sales: the ones that attract the most audience.

DAYTIME INTERACTION:

The map would be different from the google map in that it is particularly tailored to the University buildings thereby, avoiding any confusion.

NIGHT TIME INTERACTION:

Live twitter feed and update on social as well as community events would make paper posters redundant (YES...SAVE PAPER) and help people promote their socials or events better. 22

THE SITE PROJECTION VIDEOS: The projection videos were not meant to be whimsical; I selected them from ‘www.youtube.com’ specifically with the notion of making aware that UK weather can has it’s better days! I was also very intrigued by the video of the northern lights as seen in SCOTLAND! Scotland actually lies at the same latitude as Stavanger in Norway and Nunivak Island in Alaska so, during the winter months we can see the ‘aurora borealis’....It was a very personal revelation as well; having come from the sunny south of India, I find the weather in UK daunting. However, finding these beautiful videos of amazing weather and skies in UK allowed me to move past my prejudice!

And while interviewing, I felt many people felt the same. We tried to get equipment for the actual projection of the videos on site, however, unfortunately we couldn’t as the media lab was not in a position to lend it’s equipment for outdoors and we did not have a power source either. This made me think of a rather whimsical idea, I bought a battery operaed star projector and used it at the site. It was the perfect wingman as it allowed me to interact with the students who paused to take notice of it and I showed them the videos on my tablet which proved advantageous in its own way as it allowed me to play the video with music(Beethoven). This led to an interesting development where some of them liked the music better and said it had a calming effect. An interesting possibility in providing a better ambience??

Unfortunately, given its small size, the projector could not work as effieciently as the below picture(my room) in the concourse(all pictures above), however, it proved useful nontheless. 23

MASTERPLAN ANALYSIS AND REFLECTION This Analysis was done both at the beginning to understand the possible future of the concourse as well as at the end to reflect whether the design intent and proposal facilitates the inclusion of the future inputs of the master plan. MASTERPLAN ANALYSIS: The primary objective of the MASTERPLAN is to integrate the eastern and western part of the campus through the outside realm. This they aim to achieve through a sustainable method of increasing landscaped public spaces and promoting more pedestrian traffic- an important aspect of the concourse which provides more opportunity for interaction and cross-disciplinary ideation.

IDENTITY THRESHOLDS The proposal aims to highlight the main thresholds to the university quarter- points of arrival as heirarchy of entrances. Landscape plays an important role in achieving the above through a combination of specimen tree planting, quality paving and street furniture. LANDSCAPE The proposed new landscaped public spaces along with the existing ones aim to create a seamless thread of streets, squares and gardens linking together the EAST and WEST campuses.

CARS: MOVEMENT and PARKING The most important need for promoting safe pedestrian traffic is by eliminating obstructions and possible dangers from vehicular traffic. This is proposed by moving all parking from the pedestrian zone to a collective car park in Durham street

NOTE: All the diagrams and images in this spread are enhanced/ improved works based on the raw images available in UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD MASTER PLAN 2014- pdf #Reference:http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/campusmasterplan/download 24

IMPACT TO THE EXISTING CONCOURSE There are three main proposals in the masterplan that will directly affect the concourse. This has been analysed by the virtue of the proximity of the sites of implementation of these changes to the concourse as well as the diversion in possible pedestrian traffic that would follow as outcome.

WESTERN BANK PEDESTRIAN CROSSING Three pedestrian crossings have been proposed which would form better connection between the northern and southern halves of the Western Bank campus. This would also considerably reduce the use of the concourse primarily for transition and would allow for more creative purposes.

Above: Masterplan showing the three main crossings which will affect the traffic flow through Arts tower Left: Rendering of the transformative potential in front of the Arts Tower. Below: Plan of the proposed Arts Tower front court. ARTS TOWER FRONT COURT The proposal aims to create a public space befitting the grade II listed building which serves as a major attraction for the university. This would utilize the space that would be available after the removal of the existing surface car parking allowing for a better environment for pedestrians and cyclists.

FUTURE POSSIBILITIES THE MASTER PLAN PROPOSAL FOR CONCOURSE: The proposal aims to consolidate the concourse and student union spaces and give them enhanced connections to the University Gold Route by bttttt5tttoth a widened pedestrian route to the NORTH of the HICKS building and an activated ground floor frontage to the ALFRED DENNY building. EXPLORING POSSIBILITIES A combination of materials such as colourful paving as well as lighting are being considered to improve the ambience of the space. Potential ideas such as a cafe, terraced seating as well as green walls and seating will be explored with the Sheffield City council. Therefore, they may or may not be fully realised in the actual site but, are being considered in terms of this design project as future possibilities STUDENT UNION CONCOURSE Future plan

STUDENT UNION CONCOURSE STUDENT UNION CONCOURSE Current activities

CONVERSATIONS AND COLLABORATION The idea of our design elements/prototypes from the theme of knowledge space was to create an ambience that would sparke curiosity, conversations while providing necessary comfort from natural forces. I believe the ideas have the potential to enrich the space without hindering the current activities, complimenting the future possibilities and allowing for democratization of the space. The dynamic information provided would create interest, spark conversations and allow for creating a real memory of the space and its experience.

COMBINING IDEAS Combining the ideas and sketches from my live project and design project to visualize possible future uses for the concourse. In my conversations with both the interviewees and my team mates I have realized that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;knowledgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; means differnt things for different people...In that sense we had to think beyond its normal definition. In that sense, I believe true knowledge lies in the experiences that one gathers through conversations and collaboration which was the intention of this design and my live project. In that sense I believe both proposals have facilitated a purpose and gone beyond their definition.

02 Responsive systems of Sensory components

DESIGN PROJECT II INTRODUCTION EXPERIMENTAL ARCHITECTURE: Our Studio, Prototype City’s theme for the Second Design Project was Experimental architecture. It is defined as the branch of architectural discipline concerned with the development of conceptual projects challenging conventional and consolidated practices. Its main objective is to explore original paths of thought and develop innovative design tools and methodologies. (Woods, Lebbeus (1990). What Does It Mean?, in Cook, Peter. RIEA: The First Conference, New York/Berlin: Princeton Architectural Press/AEDES)

Woods, Lebbeus Walls Of Change, Havana, 1994 The proposal was to build ‘Hi-Tech’ walls that could structurally support the deteriorating 16th Century buildings in La Habana Vieja, while serving as urban batteries into which individual dwellings could plug, as self-sustaining urban units. Lebbeus Woods’ drawing of the proposed projects shown to the left is to be understood only as an aid to thinking and not as a stringent prescription. It is therefore, within the CONCEPTUAL realm of Experimental Architecture

AUSTRIA STYRIA

GRAZ THE CITY OF GRAZ -Cultural capital of Europe 2003 - Time capsule of historic architecture - Embraced Technological inventions and both co-exist- Experimental/Avant-Garde architecture was DELIBERATE in perfect contrast to the historical background.

MURINSEL Artificial island in the Mur with Amphitheatre, playground and cafe

Exhibition hall of Contemporary Art KUNSTHAUS

-The contemporary and the historic forming a stark contrast in the skyline, could be easily distinguished. -This made both styles recognizable and had identities of their own.

HAUPTPLATZ

Due to its distinguishing above merits a public square in GRAZ was chosen as our site. THE GRAZ SQUARE The Hauptplatz (Graz public square in front of the Rathaus) was therefore, an opportunity to test out experimental ideas and methododologies that were born within the studio. It was a means of exploring experimentation within a context at the same time identifying concepts that could prove universal and could potentially transcend the site. Being â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;PROTOTYPE CITYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; our objective was to create prototypes :the first, original, or typical form of something; from which other forms are developed.

NARRATIVES DYNAMIC SENSORY ARCHITECTURE SQUARE AND THE CROWD

SMART

RESPONSIVE ARCHITECTURE

PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOUR

SOFTWARE

SENSOR COMPUTING HUMAN BEHAVIOUR

BIOMIMICRY ARDUINO BASIC ELEMENTS KINETIC

CONCEPTUAL

EMERGENCE VR -As a design tool

ASSEMBLY

PHYSICAL PROTOTYPING

PARAMETRIC DESIGN

RESEARCH BY DESIGN

NARRATIVES

Analysis of events In order to better adapt the design to context, we have analysed several events that take place in ‘Graz Hauptplatz’ and worked out the various combinations in which the components can function and perform during the events.

PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOUR

SENSORY ARCHITECTURE Response to Motion The components can change based on human interaction . Development of other control systems for the response such as APPs and computer programs.

RESPONSIVE ARCHITECTURE BASIC ELEMENTS

Multiple Realms By aiming to explore the speculative futures as drawn out by Stuart Candy, our proposals address the real and the conceptual.

INTERACTION Response is routed in sensory perception of interaction. It is therefore, an important element that allows for communication between the elements, their stimuli and their responses.

ORGANISM Contrast to conventional architecture, our design proposal is an organism, it’s basic component- derived from biomimicry is therefore, crucial for design evolution.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

PHYSICAL PROTOTYPING Prototyping An essential part of the design process as the theme is experimental design. It uses are two pronged- research by design and proof of concept.

CROWDS and EMERGENCE Our design is for a PUBLIC square with human interaction being the driving force of the design, it has to therefore, understand essential patterns of behaviour.

ARDUINO The responsive nature of the project necessitates the use of physical computing to understand available technology and possibilities.

ASSEMBLY

The design project was a symbiotic and iterative process that combined research methodologies from both conventional and experimental realms to propose an intelligent responsive system.

DATA COLLECTION AT SITE SITE VISIT Our visit to the Hauptplatz square on a cold February morning required us to register as much of the context as physically and virtually possible within the available time. Therefore, the studio became one shared knowledge hub with different sections taking full responsibility for an aspect of data collection. This was intriguing as it allowed us to behave like one single organism.

In the vast square it was interesting to observe people forming gathering niches at specific spots.

Therefore, multiple methods of mapping were employed simultaneously to understand the site and its immediate surroundings. We began with CONVENTIONAL methods of empirical research such as Walking, Taking Photographs and Videos, Sketching, Recording Materiality, understanding the architectural language. This allowed us to understand both the site and its City in better context.

The square has incorporated modern elements out of necessity -(the stalls and the tram stations), they felt out of place in the historical context of its buildings.

ESSENCE AND EXPRESSION As we recorded the activities that took place within the square in that particular morning, we got a glimpse of the essence of the site, its public CHARACTER and many components lent to it - human and otherwise.

Birds were a common sight among the customers. They were not afraid and thrived on the titbits that they got from the shops.

Pencil sketches at site: Sketching as a method of capturing the essence of the site and our own memory of the space.

A protest was staged in front of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Rathausâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; or the town hall. It lasted merely minutes and was quiet, peaceful but, powerful. It showed that the square was place for PUBLIC EXPRESSION

DOCUMENTATION The cumulative data was saved in the form of a shared GOOGLE EARTH file. That allowed us to share information essential for making sensitive design decisions in the project that was to follow. Refer to the Google Earth file in the attached pendrive for more information. Narratives Material Palettes Sculpture (Past- fountain) Stalls

Physical model of the stall done to understand their their capacity for being demountable or portable.

SOUND, MOVEMENT & STEAM WALKING AS A METHOD OF MAPPING I was part of the groups involved in the Narrative of the site and its Virtual build. I therefore employed walking as the first method of investigating the vicinity of the site. (Videos captured throughout each walk - used for analysis). The Below diagram shows some of the different paths that I took for the above reasons and the site being a major tram stop the most interesting observation I made was the considerable change in the soundscape when moving away from the site in the below directions.

WALK

THROUGH GASSE

HERREN-

The sound from the church clock at regular intervals added to the soundscape of the environment. This church is located to the end of the Herrengasse street before the MTC â&#x20AC;&#x201C; museums and Technologies.

WALK

THROUGH FRANZISKANERGASSE

It was clearly seen how the soundscape changes as we moved more towards the interior of the street. The loud sounds of the tram decreased considerably and one could hear the chirping of birds and the banter of people outside the Jakobikapelle church.

SITE VIDEO ANALYSIS Having mapped the vicinity. I was part of the team that video recorded the activities at site , at intervals of 20 min from 9 am till 12.40 pm. My position at Site

- MOVEMENT The square was primarily used for transition and witnessed both pedestrian and cyclistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; traffic continuously. Video Analysis allowed for the assessement of the soundscape as well as the overall ambience of the space.

The food delivery trucks arrived in the morning between 9.00am to 9.30 am on that particular day. They were stationed in front of the Auer Bakery and the unloading of the utilities formed another layer of activities and also contributed to the soundscape.

- SOUNDS WITHIN THE SQUARE PEOPLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BANTER: The statue podium was used multiple times as a background for photographs as seen from this picture where a large number of tourists gathered in front of it for a group picture. MISSING SOUND: An interesting thing I discovered about this is the fact that this used to be a fountain until 2012, when the fountain was shut down due to freezing of water. It was interesting as I found out later that it was feature that many missed, especially the pleasant SOUND of its water.

THE VIRTUAL SITE The virtual site was built using steam destinations workshop tools by integrating the models created using Photogrammetry. Refer to the video 01 in the pendrive for the full process. (Credits to Ziquan Du for the video editing). We were unable to add sound to the files however, it was a good learning platform as it allowed me to seek out a better VR creation platform such as Unity in the next stage of the project. All the information collected gave us the opportunity to experiment and explore in the context of GRAZ from here in Sheffield. They were therefore, great tools in connecting DISLOCATED SPACES.

Screenshots of the Steam Destination Workshop Tools interface while creating the Virtual site. Above: Looking up at the Rathaus Below: Looking towards the fountain and Rathaus after teleporting to the opposite end

Precedent Study INDIVIDUAL EXPLORATION During our group work of building the shared knowledge hub of the SITE, we were encouraged to explore one of the given list of precedents that we believed could enrich the EXPERIMENTAL project. I chose to do VR as I believed it had the potential to connect spaces and simulate futures. The given precedent was SECOND LIFE, I decided to pit it against a gaming environment such as ASSASSINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CREED so that I could understand the full potential and limitations of both ends of the spectrum. In addition, I also explored the interfaces that could enhance the sensorial experience of the VR platform as I believed this would serve to give a holistic understanding of the virtual environment. The next 3 spreads are a brief summary of that work.

VIRTUAL REALITY PRECEDENT STUDY REFLECTION OF THE PRESENT Second life is a virtual world that was created by a firm called ‘LINDEN LAB’ in 2003. It puts forth real life scenarios and activities that could be done individually or in interaction with virtual avatars of real people. It allocates initiation in a location closest to the users’ identified location for example: my avatar (DigiKat9) was allocated to London. The world operates on its own currency (which can be exchanged for real world money) and has rules for its users ‘like what’s done in the government. It is therefore essentially, a congregational mini- world aping the actual world.

Despite its graphical shortcomings Second Life has been used for educational simulation such as in the case of the NOVA Southeastern University which has utilized it as a platform for practising on virtual surgeries. It has also been used for flight simulation and nursing programs

Built into the software is a 3D modeling tool based on simple geometric shapes and procedural scripting language, that allows residents to build virtual objects and add interactivity to them.

INACCESSIBLE AREA

Rules and boundaries restrict users from impinging on areas intended by others to be their own private space- a virtual real estate is in place. 42

REFLECTION OF THE PAST

To contrast with the low graphical nature of the Second Life interface, I decided to pit it against the virtual game Assassin’s creed syndicate. The reason for choosing this particular game is essentially is it’s storyline which has metamorphical similarity - It is based on futuristic machine called ‘ANIMUS’ that taps into the DNA of the user and transports them into the memories of their ancestors. (In this particular game the user (from year 2050) is transported to Victorian LONDON). Thus, the location allowed for drawing parallels with the Second Life interface. The game allows the user to gain abilities in the virtual world that are quite empowering and as an architect it allowed me to experience architecture in a different perspective: Never can this be done in real life and it was VICTORIAN LONDON to top it off.

The movement hrough space and time to another era reminded me of our site in GRAZ - it seemed like a time capsule : Historic buildings superimposed with modern day innovations.

Further, the ergonomic interface between the user and the virtual world that I used for experiencing both case studies made me aware of the opportunity provided by VR equipment to connect experiences in dislocated spaces.

CONNECTING DISLOCATED SPACES

SENSORY RESPONSIVE SYSTEMS The esssential drawback of the previous case studies of VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS was the lack of sophisticated sensory perceptive interfaces. I believe these are crucial for providing enhanced and closer to real world experiences. Therefore, The next part of my research concentrated on the accessories that aided in stimulating the human senses by physical simulation. HAPTICITY - Touch and physical feeling, KINESTHESIA - Movement and gesture, and SYNESTHESIA - associative identification, stimulating memory; These are the key components of a multi-sensory system. They are therefore, essential for creating a holistic experience.

All the above gaming consoles, though providing an interface between the user and the virtual world have simplified response mechanisms - pressing buttons to move forward. This allows for easy interaction but, does not give full real world perception.

VIENNA

During our Field trip to Graz we had the opportunity to visit other parts of Austria such as Vienna . The images to the left are of my colleagues from the Msc DDIBE course interacting with a Game in the atrium of a museum. Here, Motion sensors allowed for input in the form of human motion forming an interface with the Gaming environment.

We also had the opportunity to visit the VIRTUAL REALITY Media Lab in the Technical University of Graz where all of us had the opportunity to interact through the VR headset and dual hand control systems. Left : Colleague from Msc DDIBE using the equipment to play the Star wars VR game. Below: My interaction with a virtual interior site - Kitchen of a home where interactions included cutting, cooking and storage of utensils. The most unique feature was the TELEPORTATION option that allowed for transitioning quickly to different spaces

NEW TECH - GLOVE ONE

A Haptic device - allows for the perception of touch through pressure output that translates virtual world interactions into real world sensory output. TESLA SUIT

Based on my experiences and previous case studies I started to research devices that allowed for better sensory perception. Out of the many in development, the above two- Glove one and Tesla suit stood out for their ingenuity and similarity to real world perception. Therefore, I started to explore systems that could be developed by individuals to output results similar to the above. This is when I came upon the ARDUINO system as a powerful DIY kit that I believed would give depth to our design project right from ideation to proof of concept. Left: Youtube tutorial for creating a arduino based hand control system as an interface for a First Person Shooter Game.

MOTION

SIGHT

SOUND

TOUCH

Combination of several sensory stimuli enhances the depth of perception and provides a more HOLISTIC experience. This I believe is the common thread in both the REAL and VIRTUAL WORLD. 45

PRECEDENT STUDY OUTCOME RULES

Virtual Reality allows for

Flights of Imagination and Ability

therefore,

Requires rules and boundaries to prevent CHAOS!

SIMULATION

Interior Design Firm using VR to Design

PHYSICAL REALIZATION

IN ARCHITECTURE, the immersive tool would provide the opportunity to communicate design intents lucidly; I was reminded of one of my favourite quotes â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I prefer drawing to talking. Drawing is faster, and leaves less room for lies.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;(Le Corbusier) The immersive quality of VR, I believe make it the drawing tool of today and it is far more impressive than the pencil as it gives a glimpse into the reality of tomorrow. Simulations of different scenarios would be possible for understanding the potentials and limitations of adapting the design.

It was necessary to combine the Virtual simulation to the below process to translate the simulation and sensory perception into physical reality. X-Box Kinect Identified the potential of X-Box Kinect to reflect gestures and human motion.

PROGRAMMING

+ Arduino Kit MOTION Motion was identified as a more universal sensory perception and also could be easily interfaced in the physical and virtual mediums of Design. 46

COMPUTER

PHYSICAL OUPUT

REFLECTIVE READING -Speculative Everything, Dunne & Rabby Read during the course of the precedent study analysis, it is a refreshing take on Speculative design. The most interesting topic of discussion for me was the diagram of POTENTIAL futures by futurologist STUART CANDY. It represented different levels of likelihood.

PREFERABLE

Adapting it to design - The probable cone represents the one conventionally used by designers, to address immediate futures.

The next cone is the plausible, this covers the foreseeable future, that which requires vision and planning.

The final cone is the realm which requires foreseeing beyond the perceived normal (For example, I pointed out that flight and lack of injury to be a major flaw in the Second Life interface but, my professor said that it is something that is not possible ONLY TODAY, future can prove to be different.

EXPERIMENTAL Architecture, the theme of our studio, therefore, I believed should explore all the above cones to truly justify the preferble cone which is the one that it most suitable. Further, the EXPERIENCE of a space is the key notion of its design, therefore, the question that arose is whether experience could define the spatiality of design?

Design of Spatial Container

Design of Experiential Nodes

Experience

Multiple definitions of Space

THE TEAM AND THE INTENT RESPONSIVE SYSTEMS OF SENSORY COMPONENTS We had the opportunity to review and learn from each other’s precedent exploration. It allowed us to find common strands of interest as well as brainstorm the combination of ideas that would enable the project to move forward. This is when I found concensus with certain core ideas of Yingran Sun’s precedent study on the Brooklyn Pigeon project and Zhong Ming’s Study on Em Tech systems. Each of our precedents had key emphasis on design strategies that we felt if combined could lead to the design of a wholesome responsive sytem. And thus, our team was formed.

VR + ARDUINOT Combination of Virtual and Physical compting emphasing on the experience.

EM TECH Systems: The example explored was the March Dissertation of Matthew Johnston, February 2005 - It showed a sytem of lattices that were inspired by the Phototropic simulation of Charles Darwin in 1880 achieved its STRUCTURE form through physical computation.

VR + Arduino Physical Computation

EM Tech Biomimcry

EXPERIENCE + MECHANISM + MOVEMENT + STRUCTURE 48

THE BROOKLYN PIGEON PROJECT: Described as an experiment to map the city of Brooklyn in an unconventional method as seen by a flock of birds, Benjamin Aranda and Chris Lasch used trained pigeons to record the city with attached wireless video and microphones. ‘Their flight paths captured unconventional portraits both of the city below and of flock motions’ and gave a new perspective on sensing data.

Pigeon Satellite View All images ref: h t t p : //a r a n d a l a s c h . com/works/the-brooklyn-pigeon-project/

RECIPE FOR FLOCKING -Swarm Intelligence

Avoid crowding local flockmates. Steer to keep a minimum distance between each agent and the ones around it.

Align towards the average heading of local flockmates.

Cohere to the flock, move toward the center of the local flockmates.

Brooklyn Pigeon Project Data and Feedback Swarm Intelligence + SENSING

RESPONSIVE SYSTEMS OF SENSORY COMPONENTS 49

RESEARCH QUESTION

EXPERIENCE + MECHANISM + SENSING + MOVEMENT + STRUCTURE – How to incorporate in the square ?

TABULA RASA – It was therefore, important to strip the square of its modern appendages and provide a clean canvas for ideation…. -The blank canvas allowed for imagination, why should the square be thought of as a mere physical space?.... -This thought led to the following research question....

What if the square is designed as an organism? Responding to the people, sensitizing them to the possibilities of what could be while gently reminding them of what has been.

SEED -Our installation would be a seed for germination Like any organism it can either grow to include the entire square or wither and die joining the legacy of what had been. But, our hope is that it grows and evolves in intelligence(internet of things + emotions(rather than motion)) and physicality (More transforming capabilities) and becomes a reality for future cities.

TIMELINE OF EVENTS AND THEIR ACTIVITIES

STYRIATE FESTIVAL The Dance of Life

MOTHERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DAY MARKET

EASTER MARKET

DESIGN MONTH

SPRING FESTIVAL

The descision to design the square as responsive organism required understanding of the scenarios that it would have to respond to. We started off by researching the events that frequented the square, the results were quite interesting. History allowed us to recount the siteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former glory and the internet proved to be a valuable resource in identifying its current use, this along with reliable tourism documentation (from Government organisations) allowed us to establish a lucid timeline of the events that take place in the square year round. These events were the scenarios that our design had to address; they transformed the square into a platform for public expression and entertainment. It was therefore, necessary to imbue their essence within the fabric of the design.

CHRISTMAS TREE Lighting up Ceremony

AUFSTEIRERN celebrating ‘Styria’ region of Austria

LONG TABLE OF GRAZ Food festival

KRAMPUS AND PERCHTEN PROCESSION

CHRISTMAS MARKET

LA STRADA Street theatre festival

Celebrates“Perchten”, evil demons and St Nicholasses

THE CELL ... PIXEL The events identified defined the transformations necessary at the square. Their activities, some unique and some common to one another, require efficient, performative and aesthetic components. It also made us wonder about the time in the square inbetween the events when NO PROGRAMMATIC function had to take place. Our intention to design the square as an orgainism therefore, required us to identify its basic component that would respond to people in all the above scenarios . We therefore, identified two precedents that helped us to identify the basic component and move forward to ideation.

THE REDDIT PIXEL Social Experiment Credits to my team-mate Yingran Sun for identifying the precedent Reddit performed a social experiment on April foolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s day by creating an interactive platform for its users to change 1 pixel within the canvas every five minutes. In the 72 hours that the experiment lasted, around 1 million Reddit users participated and though it started off as a bleak portrait with time and interaction it emerged into a form of public expression. It showed the power of a single pixel and how collective emergence could have surprising and creative results.

Humour, History and Art were some of the themes that contributed to the whole cnavas. Above: Germany tries to CAPTURE FRANCE (as in World WarII) Left: Their intersection becomes the UNITED NATIONS flag (to denote the formation of the World Organisation aimed at peace)

It would have been hard to imagine initially how the first picture to the top left corner could transform into what is towards the immediate left. Alas, it sometimes it only makes sense when you look back. 54

MIT TANGIBLE MEDIA At the MIT Media Lab, the Tangible Media Group believes the future of computing is tactile. Unveiled in 2013, the inFORM is MIT’s new scrying pool for imagining the interfaces of tomorrow. Almost like a table of living clay, the inFORM is a surface that three-dimensionally changes shape, allowing users to not only interact with digital content in meatspace, but even hold hands with a person hundreds of miles away. Created by Daniel Leithinger and Sean Follmer and overseen by Professor Hiroshi Ishii, the technology behind the inFORM is a modified contraption from easily available components: a fancy Pinscreen, one of those executive desk toys that allows you to create a rough 3-D model of an object by pressing it into a bed of flattened pins. With inFORM, each of those “pins” is connected to a motor controlled by a nearby laptop, which can not only move the pins to render digital content physically, but can also register real-life objects interacting with its surface using the sensors of a hacked Microsoft Kinect. Ref: https://www.media.mit.edu/groups/tangible-media/

Both Precedents allowed us to understand the importance of the basic component and we decided to adapt the powerful pixel to form the componets of our organism in the ideation stage. The aim was to explore the cell of the orgainsm as a pixel in two ways: The PHYSICAL and the VIRTUAL.

IDEATION WHAT COULD BE: The intention of creating a responsive square is to provide a tabula rasa- a clean slate for stimulating the imagination of the people while maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the site by literally bringing the installation down to earth (Flushing it to the ground). The ideation allows both the physical and virtual pixels, (the cells of the organism) to achieve this using sensor based activation and movement

URBAN FURNITURE >> LANDSCAPE

ENCLOSURES

MOTION

FUNCTIONAL

STREET FURNITURE

KINETIC AND TACTILE

HOLOGRAM>> PIXEL FOUNTAIN >> POSSIBILITIES

EMOTION

PHYSICAL AESTHETICS

URBAN LANDSCAPE

CONCEPT

VISUAL AND AUDITORY

WHAT HAS BEEN: The intention of creating a hologram was initially motivated by the fact that the water fountain was the spirit of the square and a hologram would bring back its essence without the need for water.(This was inspired by the pixel fountains found in yesteryear games) However, this idea could be extended to any physical entity that provides aesthetics or information.

A world of possibilities: The combination of the above two components to form the basic element of the square would allow for a world of possibilities. The realization of the project would therefore, involve designing the mechanism and opportunities for experience rather than the spatial container. –Would this give the opportunity for multiple definition of the space? The conceptual idea can lead to chaos- is that positive or negative- Can there be such a thing as CONTROLLED CHAOS? We took cue from the pixel precedents to answer the above two questions- rules were necessary to prevent chaos but, they should not curtail creativity.

The aim therefore, was to move away from Conventional Architecture’s ‘Platonic metaphysics of unchanging ideality, abstract space, and purity, to a Heraclitean view of a world in constant flux’. (- Stanley Mathews on Cedric Price’s Fun Palace)

DESIGN MONTH Having finalized the basic element of the system, we decided to simulate how they could perform in the two most diverse events that take place in the square. Designmonat Graz 2017 started with the exhibitions SELECTED and The Orange Age. Their motto-‘Yes to Design’ extended into the entire city center of Graz: through exceptional staging, and modern urban furniture they intended to create temporary retreats, in the middle of the urban landscape - ‘Yes to Smart Urban Privacy’! Taking cue from the above, a combination of the two ideas of urban furniture and holographic displays are put into scenario for some of the possible activities of the Design Month event of Graz.

RAMP WALK The ramp could respond to the models’ movements and lend to the perfomance.

PRESENTATION The holographic screen is used for the presentation while the urbanfurniture creates the stage and seating.

GROUP DISCUSSION

The holographic screens can be both informative and provide partial enclosures. POP-UP CAFE/BAR

EXHIBITION Combination of holographic and responsive display and partitions.

LA STRADA EVENT

The festival for street and puppet theatre, contemporary circus and community art in Graz aims to bring movement to the city, bring life to squares and streets, change perspectives and flip what is orderly upside down. It attempts to render visible that which is unusual in the everyday and to invite the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inhabitants not only as guests at, but also as participants in the festival. Thus, the La strada street festival requires components that are both funtional and performative. Therefore, the below sketches conceptualize in aiding the performance of the festival events.

DIGITAL ARTS The holographic screen can be used as a dynamic prop for theatrical performance.

3D VOLUMETRIC PROJECTION Moving 3d displays their interactive features - activated by proximity

PERFORMANCE ARTS

ACROBATICS Moving components of the urban furniture could lend to the dynamism of the act with the furniture behaving as extensions of the performer. STREET

PERFORMANCE THEATRE The responsive furniture could combine with traditional props to enhance the performance.

SCALED MODEL In order to understand better, we did a scaled (1:45) model of a small section of the site and part elevation of the Rathaus to give context. It proved to be an interesting scenario game of sorts with us playing with different configurations. This was also the stage when we realized the need for a proper site design to incorporate the initial part of the design.

EVALUATION OF AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGIES 1

It was necessary for us to prove our concept of creating a motion responsive system. Therefore, we explored available technologies to create and actuate a scaled prototype. We therefore, explored the Arduino system in combination with C++ Coding and then, the firefly interface with Rhino Grasshopper. In addition we explored different control systems: - using the potentiometer - Using App OSC - Using motion Capture of X-Box Kinect All these were tested in actuating a servo motor - THE TRIAL RUN

3 Refer to the 02 video in the pendrive attached for the full process

1. Preparing the Arduino System 2. Controlling the digital output with potentiometer. 3.Controlling the servo motor with APP 4. X-Box Kinect Motion Capture - used to identify the points for hand gesture contol. 5.Hand Gesture programmed to actuate the servo motor.

STAGE I PROTOTYPES We combined our studio project to our ‘ENVIRONMENT and TECHNOLOGY’ core module to give depth to the project. We therefore,explored various mechanisms that would help the component to rise and compress with motion. We took inspiration from a basic crank lift to make our first prototype.

Pictures of the Scaled diagrams done for the module.

Basic Concept G.L

LEARNING OUTCOMES It was apparent that the mechanical design we had done did not function on their own, they required support. Further, the code I had written for the stepper motor allowed it to move only clockwise. We therefore, used these drawbacks as learning experiences to better our next prototypes: The Mechanical design underwent considerable modification I identified a component for the arduino system that would allow it to move clockwise and anti-clockwise- This was necessary to allow for the prototype to rise and compress Refer to Video 03 and Video 04 in the pendrive attached for the full process for each prototype.

Hologram

We also did our first prototype to test out the holographic component of our design. During this process, we also researched the available technology that could translate it on a larger scale. Unfortunately, this is still in development stage. No technology had fully resolved it. Hence, we made the desicion to explore this concept conceptually and believed it belonged beyond the ‘probable’ spectrum of our future exploration. 61

Activity Area

Tram Area

Camera Positions

Food Stalls

Tram stops

Detailed Analysis taking cue from the group preliminary analysis was done to arrive at the best possible location of the initial proposal. We utilized the videos that we had recorded in combination with the livefeed of the square from its tourism website to make the analyses. Above: The various stages that helped in arriving at the design of the site. Below: The Design of the initial proposal for the site. It has taken into consideration only the urban furniture as the first prototype rendered the holographic proposal conceptual. Further, the first stage has avoided interfereing with existing structures, as the organism is still in the nascent stages of development and could tackle with the existing infrastructure as it evolves.

Analysis based

Stall Area

sectioning of area

Analysis of Pedestrian movement

Gathering points observed

Appropriate area for installation

SITE ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

Pedestrian Movement

PROPORTIONS We realized that the routes frequented by pedestrian traffic could not accommodate the basic component (triggered by motion sensors). This would prove to be a hindrance for movement as well as result in chaotic simulations. Therefore, we decided to make the components on the pedestrian paths (indicated in red) to be bigger. They would not be controlled by sensors and the public but, rather by computer programs operated by officials who could customise them for the need/event. This therefore, required ideation in terms of rules and control systems by which the component could function effectively.

Minimum required for seating

Multiples of the basic component

RULES OF FUNCTIONING ERGONOMICS Taking the ergonomic example of Sou Fujimotoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wooden House, we determined the movement increments that would best serve a variety of functions.

Bench

Table

Counter

Wallw

RULES FOR RESPONSE

Hover over the component for 3 seconds

Green light indicates activation of component

The user will then be able to control the square

Formulation of rules that would govern the responsive movement; Like all our precedent studies, this was necessary for preventing chaos as well as accidents. Though our prototype explored only motion through gesture, we wanted to extend the rules such that they would work in EVERYDAY scenarios as well. We wanted to explore rules that would allow for intelligent response systems for common behavior of users towards normal furniture - The square rises spotaneously when it recognises the motion of a person trying to sit down.

It will not go down under pressure as this indicates userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presence.

Once the user walks away, pressure ceases

The component will go down after 1 mintue of inactivity

SAFETY In addition to gesture and behaviour we wanted the system to be aware of the capabilities of a human being, thereby not allowing for accidents even in the case of experimentation. This is reminiscent of the Sci-Fi movie ‘I-Robot’s’ first law of Robotics‘A robot cannot harm a human being...’ We were making sure, our organism ensured the same.

In order to ensure the user’s safety, the three steps do not go down despite the lack of pressure

COMBINATION OF SENSORS

A combination of sensors (motion, pressure, proximity, etc.) would allow for more data to provide intelligent responses that in turn could initiate feedback responses from users This would allow for the creation of interesting clusters of different activities and could also inform the NOVICEs on their existense and function

OTHER CONTROL SYSTEMS The square was a place that hosted several events, therefore, we identified the need for quick transformations based on previously recorded permutations of the component that best served the event or activity. To avoid chaos, these control systems would initially be with only the official organisers of the events. This therefore, could be achived through two systems.

APP Having explored the app control system to actuate a motor, we believed this could extend to presets that would overide their motion sensor response and allow for quick transformations

COMPUTER SYSTEMS Since the APP control system showed the efficient presets, we wanted to explore the performative capabilities of the components through the computer control system. With the help of MiDI controlled Grasshopper interfaced systems, we believe the below performance could be achieved. This we believed would serve well in the case of the events such as STYRIARTE and SPRING festivals, both of which celebrated music and dance.

Left: Here, the component is envisioned as one whose each corner has an independent lifting mechanism. Below: The Components have been simulated to move to the notes of the song- â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;City of Starsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; -Credits for the simulation belong to team member, Zhong Ming.

Refer to Video 05 for the full simulation.

The components alternate between highs and lows based on the note. -This row of components rising high in response to the highlighted high note in the song.

h t t p : // w w w . m u s i c n o t e s . com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0170976

EVOLUTION OF THE FINAL PROTOTYPE

Simulation using X-Box Kinect and Grasshopper

PROTOTYPE II Evolving from the conceptual prototype I, the second prototype though successful in the VIRTUAL simulation, failed to perform in the physical model, the single crank shaft led to uneven weight distribution and the prototype could not support itself properly. However, this was also the time when we started refining the arduino code to actuate the motor required for movement. Refer to the videos 06 & 7 of the prototype.

PROTOTYPE III Understanding the need for symmetry for balance we designed a 3 gearsystem such that the centre driven by the motor actuatel the gears on either side simultaneously and symmetrically. This served as a proper stopping mechanism as well.

Refer to the video 08 to view the actuation of the prototype using the arduino system.

COGS in the Machine Prototyping proved to be an essential part of the workflow as our ideation was rooted in experimental design. This was an interesting phase as it fed into two major aspects of our studio approach- research and proof of concept. Transforming the intangible idea into a tangible physical form required solving several components of the design process individually and in combination with others. Afterall, any organism is a complex system- failure of one system could render the whole organism useless.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Without manual skill, theories and scholarship amount to shadows without substanceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. (Allen, S. (2009). Practice: Architecture, technique + representation)

SENSORS

COMPUTATION/CONTROL

INTERFACES

ASSEMBLY

The final modification involved using PIR motion sensor to actuate the stepper motor. The Arduino code and the circuitry I made helped achieve it.

CIRCUIT Fritzing Diagram

LED indicator L293D Motor Driver IC Bread Board PIR Motion Sensor Digital Input Output

Arduino Uno Micro Controller Unipolar Stepper Motor

Analog Input

2D SIMULATION Having proved our concept we used this opportunity to SIMULATE some of the other events that take place in the Graz square as PHOTOMONTAGES. We also explored certain aspects of the transformations unique to the context. Further, we felt the need for a feedback mechanism that would allow us to understand usage of the components.

In one of our reviews, we were told that events such as CHRISTMAS thrive on the anticipation it builds with the week long setting up of stalls and such, therefore, we decided not to use our components for enclosures in the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;PROBABLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; spectrum of simulation.

THE LONG TABLE OF GRAZ: On this day, the historic centre of Graz will turn into a giant open air restaurant. This therefore, would require particular transformation - cube to table The sides that did not require the lifting mechanism could flap open to form the table top.

#Conceptual data

The Fashion Show during design month.

e ag

FEEDBACK

Data Collecting Sensor Such as UNI BOX- transmitting data to a mainframe monitoring sytem A data collecting sensor was proposed in addition to the motion sensor, which would collect data regrding usage, health of mechanical components as well as electrical and response systems. This was essential to ensure that ‘dead cells’ were replaced and ‘unused cells’ were transferred to aid other areas and functions. - Moving towards the PLAUSIBLE realm of exploration.

Unused Clusters -Transferred outside the square to its vicinity to provide street furniture as seen below.

Dead Clusters -Can be sent for replacement

Credits for the photo montage Yingran Sun

THE PLAUSIBLE REALM Earlier we explored only the urban furniture component as the holographic component could not be achieved with the currently available Tech (Holographic screens and fountains require a physical entity upon which the hologram is projected- it is not a individual entity in its own right). Now exploring the plausible realm, we can consider futures that can be plausibly envisioned - Therefore, assuming that the Technonology develops allowing for the component, we have simulated a scenario that sheds new perspective on the performative aspect of the component. A HOLOGRAPHIC FASHION SHOW that is projected live from MILAN in Adapted from forever 21â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fashion Show Refer to Video 9 for the entire simulation.

The projection rendered the urban furniture component simulated for the Design month ramp walk redundant.

VIRTUAL REALITY

The Hologram is envisioned as a collection of Flickering Virtual Pixels

To move ahead of simulations and to truly test the interactive capacity of our proposal, we decided to use the Unityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s VR platform to simulate first person interaction with the components. Basic combinations were used to first analyse the potential of the platform

VR As a Design Tool Different response systems were designed in the VR environment to help aid in the design process. For eg. The holograms were initially meant to be triggered by programs and not human motion. But, the simulations in the VR environment showed how that design would be more organic and interactive. Further, The algorithms written in the coding languages aid in designing the rules that will govern the process. Left: C# code written for initiating the holographic components by min-distance evaluation. Middle: Visualization of the code workflow process. Right: Java Script code written for actuating the urban furniture components. These are actuated by contact with a sensor (Collider). Below: A variation of the above was tried with one holographic component Refer to the video 10 and 11 for workflow.

The next stage of the design would be to add physical interaction to the components and it could then be subjected to social experiments such as the PIXEL project in the form of a GAME to arrive at unexpected outcomes. Collider/ Sensor

Holographic screeen appears on Contact

Remove contact

Screen Disappears afte 5 seconds

THE POSSIBLE REALM EVOLUTION Empowered by our freedom to explore the spectrum of sutures, we started to push the boundaries further, after all our proposal was to design an organism, we wanted to show how we believed it could evolve. Using Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, there were two scenarios that could play out: First Scenario: What if only the physical component is favoured over the virtual, thus the latter (hologram) fades away and the former (urban furniture) evolves? Thus, taking cues from the photomontage works of SUPER STUDIO, we decided to transcend the site to explore the spectrum of possibilities that the component would be capable of...

“...if design is merely an inducement to consume, then we must reject design; if architecture is merely the codifying of bourgeois model of ownership and society, then we must reject architecture; if architecture and town planning is merely the formalization of present unjust social divisions, then we must reject town planning and its cities...until all design activities are aimed towards meeting primary needs. Until then, design must disappear. We can live without architecture...” -Adolfo Natalini, Super Studio founder

SUPER STUDIO

REIMAGINING THE OPEN WATERS: What if we could traverse continents without planes and could create our own private pool within the ocean?

ONE AMONG THE BIRDS: Skyscrappers are the trees in a concrete jungle... Reimagining tree houses, bird houses and more...

REIMAGINING THE THAMES: ‘The City is a world within itself’ - D. Morrier Evans remarked this about LONDON in The City, 1852.... What if it could extend to its River? At 215 km long, it could very well be a mini-city.... Credits for the phot montages - Yingran Sun

Second Scenario: What if both components are favoured and they evolve into a single component that is driven by energy, like a force field (afterall we are exploring the POSSIBLE realm, imagination is key). We felt the square should have character- personality. Narrating that idea seemed best in the form of a story (Read the spread Clockwise - Refer to the FORCEFIELD gif for the animation.

It was another peaceful day in the hauptplatz... Actually night........

URBAN GRID is transformed into the grid for the force field

Sniff..If only there was a cop nearby... My hard earned salary... Laters baby... No hard feelings!

NOOO

OO!!!!

Why?.... is this really happening???

Alternate Ending...

The thief thinks that he has managed to get away.... Activating Force Field:

A young maiden decided to brave the night on this cold day. She was late from work....

Ah...My next meal, time to go for work!

Almost there... Come to papa

Engulfs the villain- He is incapacitated.

HOORAY!!

THE END The idea was to follow in the footsteps of Cedric Price’ Fun Palace’- it was envisioned as a spacewith no SINGULAR FORM but, could reprogram and re-configure itself to accommodate an endless variety of functions, much like an intelligent organism. ‘Architecture is events in Time rather than objects in Space’- Cedric Price. We therefore, decided to explore TIME, its speculative futures as our approach to the ‘EXPERIMENTAL’ theme of the studio. Uncertainity in design was initially alarming but, our curiousity and ‘creativity was sustained through a delight in the unknown’ and our design has embraced the inevitability of change.

On exploring the different realms of future as prescribed by STUART CANDY, we have realized there is no absolute design that is preferable to all. Reality is unpredictable, therefore, our proposal is not a completed design product but rather, an organism that is in continuous flux and can evolve and change with the interaction between the real and the virtual. This embodies the notion of our studio ‘PROTOTYPE CITY’- Original ideas that go through processes of iteration and keep refining their blueprints to evolve. Some believe that Architecture cannot accommodate ‘flights of imagination’ as it incorporates life (Simon Unwin, Analysing Architecture 2002) while others believe that imagination is the seed for innovation and design should be used as a means to speculate how things could be (Dunne Rabby, Speculative everything 2013). The above contrasting ideologies find consensus in the fact that in both scenarios people are not mere spectators to be entertained, they are contributors and participants, whose activities define and are defined by what we as architects create. The digital strand has leant towards the latter however, the digital tools and methodologies of research we employed were not simply to mechanise the design but, to explore better ways to HUMANISE it; make the design more responsive, more interactive,more efficient and in that I believe lies its merit.

03 Future factories

LIVE PROJECT 2016 I was part of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Future factories live project. The live project is a wonderful opportunity for us to work with real clients and the following are our clients who gave us their respective research questions!

INTRODUCTION CLIENT NAME : PATRICK MURPHY ORGANISATION : MADE NORTH LOCATION : CITY CENTRE

MADE NORTH provides a creative platform that actively encourages and promotes understanding of contemporary NORTHERN design in the United Kingdom. It represents a network of Designers/Makers who they collaborate with to showcase the finest quality contemporary designs, materials, skills and products the NORTH of England has to offer. They carefully curate their selection and seek out designers/makers and objects that illustrate a sense of PLACE, PERSONALITY and PROVENANCE from the region and its accepted values of HONESTY, INTEGRITY and INNOVATION. MADE NORTH brings together the industry in an annual design conference that brings together designers, design thinkers and manufacturers for a day of thought and debate provoking talks and networking. They also curate and programme Sheffield Design Week and curate work for display in a range of venues including the MADE NORTH design gallery in the heart of Sheffield With the above stellar portfolio, they posed the following research question to us: 82

How does COLLABORATION happen?

CLIENT NAME : SARA & OLLY ORGANISATION : MESTERS WORKS LOCATION : KELHAM ISLANDS, BURTON ROAD

How can we improve our COMMUNAL spaces?

MESTERS WORKS is a collaborative network of offices, workshop space and venues which aims to encourage and support young social enterprises, cooperatives and community groups. Working predominantly, but, not exclusively within the creative arts environment. Mesters Works offers space, support and a hub for NETWORKING and COOPERATIVE working. At Mesters Works they want to see a new world emerge, one in which they support each other and work collectively rather than spend their time trying to get the better of each other. They believe that by working together they will get further than they would by standing alone. To this end they aim to offer high quality office, work and eventsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; spaces as cheap as possible, as well as supporting other enterprises in their aims of effecting SOCIAL CHANGE. Their needs were more in terms of tackling a current problem, they posed the following research question to us:

STAKE HOLDERS FOR THE PROJECT

INTERVIEWING MAKERS IN SHEFFIELD: Having three different clients and an ‘open’ brief of sorts, the first step we took in understanding what‘s essentially missing in today’s factories/mesters’ workshops, was interviewing various makers from a wide range of design fields and methods of expression. Their perspectives were refreshing, unique and individualistic. However, the point of consensus for all was the lack of opportunities for COLLABORATION.

DESIGN INTENT

COLLABORATION

Taking the inputs from the interviews as well as the needs of our clients into consideration, we formulated the brief such that it envisioned our design intent: Provision of tools that facilitated collaboration. This we felt required both a physical as well as virtual manifestation as we perceived it as a need that transcended the makers community of SHEFFIELD alone. The provision of a virtual platform for sharing of ideas had the potential to become a global initiative thereby, allowing COLLABORATIVE INNOVATION to grow and evolve wihout boundaries..

PROTOTYPE DESIGN The design of the actual prototype was carried out after multiple iterations and it was aimed at being simple, modular, and transformable. It had to be versatile enough to promote a multitude of activities.

VIRTUAL TOOL FOR COLLABORATION

APP DESIGN: An essential part of our proposal, the concept for the app was to provide a virtual platform for makers/ artists/craftsmen to connect and collaborate. The design takes inspiration from the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;pinterestâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; app and facilitates networking.

Search by key words

FILTER Filter your wall results to suit your interests

WALL Browse through ADs & Post from other members and get involved in collaboration within the virtual community of creatives HOME

Choose your location

AREA EXTENT Adjust your results based on the extent of the radius for specified location and see results on MAP

Create your own profile to list your skills and portfolio

CRITERIA Specify the nature of your post and share it on the wall

CREATE

Create an AD to find collaboration for your new project whether it is an object event or a workshop

FURNITURE ASSEMBLY AND EXHIBITION AT PORTLAND WORKS CUBE COLLECTIVE- THE BUILD: Hands-on experience can never be replaced; it was during the actual build that we realized the potential and drawbacks of the material that we chose. This led to on the spot brainstorming sessions and innovation to physically realize the design. One of the problems that we encountered was the tapering and sagging of the larger sections under stress. we combated this by giving them additional support in the form of strut reinforcement in the middle and tied the ends with steel cables for cross-sectional reinforcement.

The whole build was completed in a span of 3 days owing to the efficient planning and organization that we followed in numbering and aligning the pieces together. This was prioritized from the initial design stage allowing for smooth transition during execution.

CUBE COLLECTIVE- THE EXHIBITION: The exhibition allowed us to test our design in a real world scenario and in many ways was empowering as it validated our design intent. Though the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;barâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; arrangement at the very end was the one that garnered the most audience, overall it was a successful test-run for all possible arrangements of our prototype.

MESTERS WORKS RENOVATION

THE FACE LIFT: The communal space in Mesters Works was in very poor condition with the wall paper peeling, dirty flooring, broken furniture and torn furnishing. The space was being used merely as a transition for the kitchenette which in turn was being used out of necessity. The space required a literal facelift as it had the potential to serve as meeting space for all the makers that were currently working in Mesters works. It was a pity that many of them confessed that they did not use the space at all and hardly spoke to each other despite some of them working there for years.

Our prototype : THE CUBE COLLECTIVE was designed keeping this space in mind as its final destination. The prototype was well received with many of the Mesters we interviewed genuinely interested in using the space more now. Our hope was for it to spark conversation and collaboration. The process was two-fold: Tearing up the past and making way for the future! We spent a three days removing wall paper, flooring, painting, and transporting the prototype from the exhibition in Portland works.

PLAN OF THE LAYOUT