DESIGN STUDIO AIR 2015 J
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KE DING 621338
TABLE OF CONTENT
PART A CONCEPTUALISATION INTRODUCTION
A.0 DESIGN FUTURE
A.1 DESIGN COMPUTATION
A.2 COMPOSITION/GENERATION
A.3 CONCLUSION
A.4 LEARNING OUTCOME A.5 APPENDIX - ALGORITHMIC SKETCHES
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PART A CONCEPTUALISATION
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INTRODUCTION
My name is Ke Ding, I’m the third year student in the
One thing I am now very regret is that I didn’t
university of Melbourne and major in architecture.
learn about the visual environment on the first year of uni. Therefore, it is quite hard for me to use
I was looking forward to being a designer when I was young. No matter it is architectural designer or other designer. Every day when I walked on the street, I felt so strange that how could these buildings be all different from each other? My interesting of architecture was greatly influenced by the transformation from the classic architecture
the digital designing software. The most design software I used through the uni is the sketchup. Be different from the Rhino and Grasshopper, it is much easier to get the model for me. And I do have to put more effort on the new software such as the Rhino and Grasshopper or it should be the big challenge for me to complete the subject.
to the modernism. And I am really shocked by the different masters’ architectural work.
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A.O DESIGN FUTURE BEIJING NATIONAL STADIUM ARCHITECT: HERZOG AND DE MEURON LOCATION: BEIJING, CHINA YEAR: 2003 The design of the stadium is based on the nests of birds, not only aesthetically but also at a structural level. The architects were thinking about the requirements which included the ability for post-olympics use, a retractable roof, and low maintenance costs for the designing1. The stadium has two independent structures which includes a red concrete seating bowl and the outer steel frame. The stadium is considered to be the world’s largest enclosed space and it is also the world’s largest steel structure with 26km of unwrapped steel used. The innovative structure was designed by herzog & de meuron architekten, arup sport and the china architecture design and research group2. The circular shape of the stadium represents heaven as the chinese believe that the heaven is round and the earth is square. It can be contrasted with the beijing national aquatics centre which is formed by the cube. The stadium has been described as a bird’s nest with its pattern inspired by chinese-style pottery. A series of cantilevered trusses has been designed to support the roof, shading the seats as the trusses are very stable to carry the load3.
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As china is surrounded by some of the deadliest fault lines and beijing is located in one of the world’s most seismic zones, the stadium should be designed to avoid the earthquake with too much damage. It is quite useful to divide the concrete building structure of beijing stadium into 6 parts for safety. To be isolated, each part of the structure could move easily and independently in earthquake so that it could get the energy by its free movement, instead of being broken into pieces by this energy. Then it is able to be surrounded by metal bow. Therefore, if the concrete fails, the steel would not be affected and could support the structure frame4. Also, the interior of the stadium is covered by the special membrane called ETFE which stands for the ethylene tetrafluoroethylene. This kind of membrane is a fluorine based plastic, it could help the light get through the inside directly and it is designed to have high corrosion resistance and strength over a wide temperature range. The national stadium continues being appreciated as the culture related to the design and the stadium could be used not only for the sports, but also for the concerts. It is a quite functional architecture and not just limit on the tradition.
Fig 1 BEIJING NATIONAL STADIUM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Beijing_National_Stadium
Fig 2 BEIJING NATIONAL STADIUM http://stadiumdb.com/stadiums/ chn/beijing_national_stadium
Fig 3 BEIJING NATIONAL STADIUM http://www.worldstadiums. com/stadium_pictures/asia/ china/beijing_national.shtml
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VILLA SAVOYE ARCHITECT: LE CORBUSIER LOCATION: FRANCE YEAR: 1931
Fig 4 VILLA SAVOYE http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Villa_Savoye
Villa savoye was a kind of indicator of Le Corbusier’s “five points” of new architecture, the villa is representative of the bases of modern architecture, and ‘it is one of the most easily recognizable and renowned examples of the International style’5.And it had great influence on the international modernism.
The ribbon windows are required in the five points of architecture as the façade can be cut along its entire length to allow rooms to be lit equally. And finally the flat roof can be used for a domestic aim while providing the essential protection to the concrete roof. These are the theory of “Five Points of Architecture”.
Le Corbusier designed the villa savoye by demonstrating what he termed the “precision” of architecture, where each feature of the design needed to be justified in design and urban terms1. He did use his “Five Points of Architecture” for contributing to the new thinking of architecture.
Villa savoye was come out by the five points of architecture which was related to the natural environment. Roof garden is the great example that relate to the natural environment which are surrounded the building.
Using the grid of columns to replace the supporting walls for carrying the load of the structure is the basis of the new aesthesis. As the result of replaced walls, the house is under the free designing of the ground plan. The façade becomes free as the exterior of the building is separated from its structural function.
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It is quite influential for the future architects to follow Le Corbusier’s Five Points of Architecture. As it was the new thinking of architecture and made the architecture much more related to the nature.
Fig 5 VILLA SAVOYE http://www.hotelswelove.com/villasavoy-le-corbusiers-weekender/
Fig 6 VILLA SAVOYE http://thepositive.com/sounds-andlights-animate-the-machine-for-living/
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A.1 DESIGN COMPUTATION
Computational design makes the support for the designers to use the digital techniques on the architecture or the design process. These digital technologies are changing architectural practices in ways which could allow the designers to deal with the complex forms much easily. ‘The dominant mode of utilizing computers in architecture today is that of computerization; entities or processes that are already conceptualized in the designer’s mind are entered, manipulated, or stored on a computer system. In contrast, computation or computing, as a computer-based design tool, is generally limited5.’ Computing becomes more and more useful on the architectural process as the computers allow the architects and designers to use the computer as the basis to come up with the complex designs directly and quickly. The programs such as the Rhino and Grasshopper help the designers explore and create much more flexible and complex ways of the computational design through the architectural process.
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The current transition from Computer Aided Design (CAD) to Computational Design in architecture represents a profound shift in design thinking and methods which have an impact on building design and construction process6. As the CAD was mostly used for speeding up the construction drawing and the computational design does focus on generating the design through the architectural design process. With the use of the digital technologies, the information of the design is one of the construction. An architect’s work includes the visually represented data mostly. Problems are often outlined and solved in a graphical way. Only within the computation, it serves as a basis for work and discussion. Therefore, the designer are able to have maximum visual control over the processes taking place within the design continuum7.
RIGHT - MOBIUS HOUSE ARCHITECT: UN STUDIO LOCATION: HET GOOI, NETHERLANDS YEAR: 1995
BOTTOM - MERCEDESBENZ MUSEUM ARCHITECT: UN STUDIO LOCATION: STUTTGART, GERMANY YEAR: 2006
Fig 7 MOBIUS HOUSE http://www. adgnews.com/ mobius-house/ gallery
One of the example of computational design is Mobius House by UN Studio (Ben Van Berkel and Caroline Bos) in 1995. It is directly named after its topological origins. It is a kind of smooth architecture which under the linear system and the illustration of how the architects’ thinking has specified its power through the technology8. The Mobius House was designed in the much more systematic way. “I discovered that the Möbius was typical of a new system where the organisation could turn itself back onto itself, and that the system would have no dead ends, like in a grid system,” van Berkel9 says. “It would create a new form of coherence beyond the collage.” As the architecture was named after its topological origins, the architects found that the Mobius strips and their 3D analogue, the single-surfaced Klein bottle are well-suited to the internal circulation10. The twisting forms of the Mobius House were created into a doublehelix system of pathways come through a trefoil design, a three-lobed approximation of a cloverleaf highway exchange11.
Mercedes-Benz Museum could be another example of the computational design by UN Studio. To be different from the Mobius House, Mercedes-Benz Museum is designed in a much more parametric system. The Museum is under the sort of complex geometry synthesizes structural and programmatic organizations leading to a new landmark building. The geometric model is designed in terms of the trefoil system. It is the really complex structure that you cannot see the trefoil from the museum12. The building’s program is designed over the surfaces which goes up incrementally from the ground level and revolves around a central atrium. The cloverleaf structure is mathematically formed by three overlapping circles and formed into a triangular atrium13.
Fig 8 MERCEDES BENZ MUSUEM http://www.benzblogger. com/2013/03/autoweekvisits-the-mercedesbenz-museum.html
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A.2 COMPOSITON/GENERATION “Generative Design is a morphogenetic process using algorithms structured as not-linear systems for endless unique and un-repeatable results performed by an idea-code, as in Nature” Celestino Soddu, 1992
The architects always try to apply for the form or concept of rhythm, proportion and symmetry to create the balanced and interesting compositions for their design. And some other ordering principles in architectural composition are also related to symmetry, rhythm and proportion such as the repetition, transformation of shapes14. Generally speaking, composition in the architectural design is a kind of approach for architects to compose their design well.
Generative design is a sort of design approach which could be generated by a set of rules or an Algorithm formed by using the computer program15. Therefore, Generative design could also refers to the computational design in architecture. It is normally used as form-finding processes and for the simulation of real world. Be different from the architectural composition, Generative design focus more from the static models towards a computational logic. By then, the emphasis shifts from the ‘making of form’ to the ‘finding of form’16.
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To be the very important digital design method, generative design does great related to the parametric modelling and scripting. As the scripting is a way for the designers to adapt or completely reconfigure the software on their own mind and favourites. The use of generation could make the architects or the designers fully generate or control their design process no matter how complex it is and deal with the complexities of design much over form with precision. Also, as the generative design is under the computational logic, it allows the architects to do their design very fast and much more efficient. However, as it is a kind of algorithm thinking process, once the part of the parameter is wrong, the constraints would slow down the design process and make the whole crap and it could not offer the unlimited flexibility through the architectural design process.
THE RE SWISS TOWER ARCHITECT: NORMAN FOSTER LOCATION: LONDON YEAR: 2003
The Re Swiss tower which designed by Norman Foster in London could be one of the example of the use of the generative approaches in the design process. The form of the tower is from the generation of the profile curve and uses the different circular arches to be connected with each other by a geometric relation among their centres. This is a kind of computational logic process as the architects use the profile curve to form the structure. The produced proďŹ le is revolved around the axis of the building in order to generate the draft surface17. The aerodynamic form of the tower allows the wind to flow smoothly and softly around this high-rise building18. It can also make a sort of efficient structure by reducing the wind loads on the structure and cladding. The spiralling form of the tower is used for generating the difference of pressure to avoid the natural flow of the air. In general, the Re Swiss tower is greatly supporting the use of the generative approach through the design process no matter from its computational logical form or the form of consideration of the wind.
Fig 9 SWISS RE TOWER http://spirals.homestead. com/Culture/Architecture/ Architecture.html
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Fig 10 SWISS RE TOWER http://www.educationalresource.info/ london-england/48-swiss-re-tower.htm
Fig 11 SWISS RE TOWER http://www.academia.edu/8109045/ Morphogenesis_and_panelling_the_use_ of_generative_tools_beyond_academia._ Case_studies_and_limits_of_the_method
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RESEARCH PAVILION 2013-14 ARCHITECT: ICD-ITKE LOCATION: STUTTGART, GERMANY YEAR: 2014
Fig 12 RESEARCH PAVILION http://aasarchitecture. com/2014/07/research-pavilion2013-14-icd-itke.html
Another example of the use of the generative approaches in the architectural design could be the Research Pavilion 2013-14 which designed by ICD-ITKE University of Stuttgart. This kind of design did show the simulation and fabrication processes in architecture. It is quite obvious to find that the design is paying attention to a parallel bottom-up design strategy for the natural fibre composite shells19. To form the natural lightweight structure, the designers did the biomimetic investigation.
In order to make the highly material efficient structure, the protective shell for beetles’ wings and abdomen was considered. The structure of the design is under the geometric morphology of the double layered system. With the development of the computational design and the generative approaches, the biomimetic principles and the robotic fabrication characteristics are combined in the design process simultaneously20. Building materials such as the glass and carbon fibre reinforced polymers were highly used due to their high performance qualities which could carry the high pressure of the structure. Fibre reinforced polymers could be easily employed to the complex geometries. The designers used the generative approaches to create the highly efficient structure to show the logical system of the architectural design process.
Fig 13 RESEARCH PAVILION http://www.archdaily.com/522408/icd-itkeresearch-pavilion-2015-icd-itke-university-of-st uttgart/53b2136dc07a80790f0001c9_icd-itkeresearch-pavilion-2015-icd-itke-university-ofstuttgart_icd-itke_rp13-14_image25-jpg/
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Fig 14 RESEARCH PAVILION http://www.archdaily.com/522408/icd-itke-researchpavilion-2015-icd-itke-university-of-stuttgart/
Fig 15 RESEARCH PAVILION http://www.archdaily.com/522408/icd-itke-researchpavilion-2015-icd-itke-university-of-stuttgart/
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A.3 CONCLUSION With the use of the computational design, architects and the designers have had the new technology or approach to deal with the designing and construction. It is not hard to find the relationships among the computational design, parametric design and even the generative design. These design approaches are innovative as they allow the architects and designers come up with the new form of the structure or system and technologies. My intended design approach is going to focus on the generative approach. It is innovative due to its computational logic. The structure could be formed or simulated from the real world or nature so that we can easily find out what our design could be in the future. The architects and the designers could be benefited by the generative approach because it is a good way for them to deal with the several complex designs quickly and efficiently. It is quite hard to say which approach is better as they actually related to each other and have their own benefits.
A.4 LEARNING OUTCOME I actually never consider that there are so many architectural designing approaches before this course. I am now really learning a lot from the theory and practice of the architectural computing. I understand that generative design could also refers to the computational design. But more computational logic are required in the generative design. And I realize that the computing is a really good technology for the architectural designing process as it could help the designers outline the new forms, geometry and so on through the designing. And sort of software could give the expression to these kinds of architectural designing approaches.
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A.5 APPENDIX ALGORITHMIC SKETCHES OCTREE EXCERCISE
Lofting the curves to form a geometry.
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Change the slide number to make the change of the points inside the grasshopper.
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REFERENCE LIST 1. Designbuild-network, “Beijing National Stadium, ‘The Bird’s Nest’, China”<http://www. designbuild-network.com/projects/national_stadium/> [Accessed March 10th 2015] 2. Aboutcivil, “Beijing Bird’s Nest National Olympics Stadium” <http://www.aboutcivil.org/ beijing-birds-nest-national-olympics-stadium-construction.html> [Accessed March 10th 2015] 3.Aboutcivil (2014) ‘Beijing Bird’s Nest National Olympics Stadium’ <http://www.aboutcivil.org/ beijing-birds-nest-national-olympics-stadium-construction.html> [Accessed March 10th 2015] 4. Designbuild-network, ‘Beijing National Stadium, ‘The Bird’s Nest’, China’ <http://www. designbuild-network.com/projects/national_stadium/> [Accessed March 10th 2015] 5. Terzidis, Kostas. Algorithmic Architecture. (Boston, MA: Elsevier, 2009) 6. Menges, Achim, and Ahlquist Sean. “Computation Design Thinking.” WILEY (2011). 7. Kolarevic, Branko. Architecture in the Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing. (New York; London: Spon Press, 2003) 8. Kolarevic, Branko. Architecture in the Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing. (New York; London: Spon Press, 2003) 9. designbuild-network, “Interview: Ben van Berkel - Design by Numbers” < http://www. designbuild-network.com/features/feature1559/> [Accessed March 10th 2015] 10. designbuild-network, “Interview: Ben van Berkel - Design by Numbers” < http://www. designbuild-network.com/features/feature1559/> [Accessed March 10th 2015]
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11. designbuild-network, “Interview: Ben van Berkel - Design by Numbers” < http://www. designbuild-network.com/features/feature1559/> [Accessed March 10th 2015] 12. arcspace, “Mercedes Benz Museum” < http://www.arcspace.com/features/ unstudio/mercedes-benz-museum/> [Accessed March 10th 2015] 13. arcspace, “Mercedes Benz Museum” < http://www.arcspace.com/features/ unstudio/mercedes-benz-museum/> [Accessed March 10th 2015] 14. “Refinement and Adaptation: Two Paradigms of Form Generation in CAAD,” Oxman, Rivka E. and Oxman, Robert M., Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, http://cumincad.architexturez.net/system/files/pdf/e2d1.content.pdf 15. wikipedia, “Generative Design” < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Generative_Design> [Accessed March 10th 2015] 16. Kolarevic, Branko. Architecture in the Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing. (New York; London: Spon Press, 2003) 17. academia, “Morphogenesis and panelling, the use of generative tools beyond academia. Case studies and limits of the method” < http://www.academia.edu/8109045/Morphogenesis_and_panelling_the_use_of_ generative_tools_beyond_academia._Case_studies_and_limits_of_the_method> [Accessed March 10th 2015] 18. Kolarevic, Branko. Computing the Performative in Architecture. (University of Pennsylvania, USA, n.d.) 19. archdaily, “ICD-ITKE Research Pavilion 2013-14 / ICD-ITKE University of Stuttgart” < http://www.archdaily. com/522408/icd-itke-research-pavilion-2015-icd-itke-university-of-stuttgart/> [Accessed March 10th 2015] 20. archdaily, “ICD-ITKE Research Pavilion 2013-14 / ICD-ITKE University of Stuttgart” < http://www.archdaily. com/522408/icd-itke-research-pavilion-2015-icd-itke-university-of-stuttgart/> [Accessed March 10th 2015]
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