LANA JIA XIN YUAN_GRADUATE THESIS 2022_ON SOFT DIGITAL SIMULATION by lanayuan

DIGITAL SOFT OF THE EVERYDAY

LANA YUAN ADVISER: JACKI HAH BLOOM HT CONSULTANT: MARCELYN GOW

THESIS

UTOPIA._.PLAY_SPACE

This thesis experiments with digital simulation and soft form making. It positions digital simulation as a form generating methodology: everyday materials were given opportunity to do unexpected things with the application of digital simulation, thus creating new possibilities for flexible “digital soft”(=soft form + soft material). Scene animation is a visual representation technique exploring how an occupant experiences and interacts within and outside of the everyday space created by the simulated forms.

SOFT HAS ATTITUDE: SOFT MATERIALS MISBEHAVE, SOFT OBJECTS DON’T GET CONFINED TO ANY ADDED ON BOUNDARIES, SOFT BY NATURE IS NONSTOP GROWING, SOFT BUILDINGS CAN STAND FIRMLY, SOFT VOLUME CAN CONTAIN, SOFT REPRESENTS MINORITY, SOFT STANDS UP FOR SOCIAL GROUPS THAT DOESN’T FIT IN TO TRADITIONAL NORM, SOFT GIVES OPPORTUNITIES FOR SURREAL SCENES, SOFT PROVIDES STAGES FOR BODY INTERACTIONS, SOFT IS RESISTANT, SOFT INTRODUCES OPPORTUNITY AND INSPIRATION, SOFT HAS POTENTIAL TO BE THE NEW EVERYDAY LIFESTYLE. A POET ABOUT SOFTNESS. LANA YUAN. LOS ANGELES. 06.20.2022

CURIOSITY STATMENT 01-02 PROVOCATION & EXPERIMENTS 04-13 PROCESS & PROJECT 14-end

THESIS

PROVOCATION How would digital simulation techniques impact how iconic modernism housing is experienced? What would “soft” version of the houses in 2022 looks like from outside and feel like from inside? What are the new "soft" formal and "soft" phnomeno possibility of everyday scene, if happens at the modernism homes? CURIOSITIES / EXPERIMENTS 01/05 ON MATERIAL 02/05 ON FORM 03/05 ON SCENE 04/05 ON EXTERIOR FORM AND ON INTERIOR SCENE 05/05 "SOFT ARCHITECTURE" = "SOFT FORM" + "SOFT MATERIAL" = "SOFT EXTERIOR" + "SOFT INTERIOR"

EXPERIMENT #00

CURIOSITY NUMBER 01

Experiment #00: Mundane, every-day, and commonly found construction materials were closely examined for their intrinsic qualities, characteristics of their origins, their stories, their modules, method of assembly, as well as their tectonic constructability and systematic application. New material possibilities were then proposed and digitally simulated to make the seemingly mundane materials behave in unexpected ways and perform with new characteristics. This implies a new possibility that is transferred into familiar everyday materials, altering their tectonic assembly system and constructability.

01/03

EXPERIMENT #01

CURIOSITY NUMBER 02

Experiment #01: Forms were digitally generated from these everyday materials found on the construction site and in the domestic household. Through the application of anti-physics simulation technologies, the methodology of “digital making” alters the intrinsic tectonic and material quality of the expected mundane, thus allowing everyday materials to misbehave. This allows new opportunities for conceptual form finding: Hard materials generate smooth forms with chamfered egdes, light-weight materials construct volumes, supple materials assemble modular weaves, rigid becomes the new relaxed, firm objects post loose postures, the structural performs as the pliable. The new “digitally soft” materiality results in more formal possibilities for both the exterior and the interior, allowing occupants to occupy and interact with space in different ways.

02/03

EXPERIMENT #02

CURIOSITY NUMBER 03

Experiment #02: Take the simulated forms and interpret them interiorly as stages for a series of architectural scenes, constructed mono-materially. Be it based on a narrative of construction site and or a narrative of domestic lifestyle. Each scene is constructed with one specific altered material or one catalogue of materials as well as their simulated version studied in Experiment 00 and Experiment 01. The altered materiality changes our expectations of the role of specific materials in architectural space and allows us to rethink conventions and occupy space in new ways. (“For instance, when rigid wood framing becomes supple, its structural role shifts from that which supports to something that requires support. The idea of framing becoming like a textile or curtain would lead to new approaches to subdividing spaces and rethinking interior/exterior qualities. In the case of the bond stacked bricks becoming inflated and puffy, the new puffy brick-like objects present novel ways of thinking about fenestration and enclosure.” – from Marcelyn Email June 20th, 2022) Scenes are represented digitally with animations and physically with analogue models.

03/03

EXPERIMENT #03

CURIOSITY NUMBER 04

Experiment #03: The scene-narrating process and the form-finding process then dialogue and negotiate with each other back and forth to perfect the architectural story. Through both the means of analogue model making and techniques of digital simulating. Finally, acknowledge a collection of rigorous yet tasteful architectural assemblages. KEYWORDS 01/05 DIGITAL SIMULATION AS METHODOLOGY 02/05 SOFT FORM MAKING/SOFT FORM FINDING 03/05 MATERIAL/ ALTERED DIGITALLY SOFT MATERIAL 04/05 SCENE ANIMATION FT. SOFT MATERIAL 05/05 "SOFT ARCHITECTURE" "SOFT FORM" + "SOFT MATERIAL"

PROCESS PROCESS 01/05 RESEARCH AND OBSERVATIONS (WHAT?) 02/05 ANALYSIS / PSYCHO-SOCIO REASONS (WHY?) 03/05 METHODOLOGY / TECHNICAL / APPLICATIONS (HOW?) 04/05 MT OPERATIONS / MY OPPORTUNITIES (3 EXERCISES) 05/05 OUTCOME / FINAL RESULT "SOFT ARCHITECTURE" = "SOFT FORM" + "SOFT MATERIAL" = "SOFT EXTERIOR" + "SOFT INTERIOR"

Galo Canizares Digital Fabrications designer stroeis for a software based planet

RESEARCH

WHAT?

Research & Observations: (What are the “Soft” out there? Possibilities?)

construction and their "digitally enabled soft" possibilities

1. “Soft” possibilities on construction material (vimeo “Lana first look”) 2. “Soft” possibilities on daily objects (Genesis Belanger at Perrotin, curated sculptured objects, Wang & Söderström’s work) 3. “Soft” possibilities from nature (a field of flowers, clouds, waters, fur, 3d digital art from sixandfive, mue studio) 4. “Soft” possibilities on create houses exterior (formal studies) 5. “Soft” possibilities on represent houses interior spaces (output: render/animation) (Ref: Simon Fujiwara, everyday object and main occupant sitting in a scene, you know the person so well by looking though her dairy and daily object, but scene is untouchable. Representation of interior as scene.)

1. SOFT POSSIBILITIES ON CONSTRCUTION MATERIALS?

blocks bricks/cmu - soft body

concrete - perforated and corrugated

panels

metal/foam sheet - rolled up and bendy

glass - melts like jelly

wood stud straps and drapes

framing

glass 2 - shrink wraps

wood panels - cloths

dotted board - dot rotates and shifts ard

ribar - wiggles and noodles

dotted board - dot moves and shifts ard

Jelly mosaic tiles inflates/ or pops

sandbags and concrete bags - inflates and shrinks in

Lana Yuan First look, looking at "soft" possibilities on normal constrcution site materials.

Digitally simualted wood stud framing becomes drapes-ilke soft.

Digitally simualted bond stacked bricks become inflated soft.

Digitally simualted tilt-up concrete panel becomes curtain-like soft.

Digitally simualted bond stacked bricks become inflated soft.

2. SOFT POSSIBILITIES ON DAILY OBJECTS?

Wang & Soderstrom, digitally simualted daily objects.

Wang & Soderstrom, a collection of forms from daily objects simulated digitally.

Genesis Belanger, physical representation of daily objects, mix media.

3. SOFT POSSIBILITIES BLURRING BOUNDARIES OF NATURE ?

MUE Studio 3d art, "soft" possibility of nature through digital simulation.

sixandfive, "soft" possibility blending nature and interior through digital simulation.

4. SOFT POSSIBILITIES AS FORMAL STUDIES

5. SOFT POSSIBILITIES FOR INTERIOR SCENE

Lana Yuan, Hernan Diaz Alonso, Covid Home project searching for form of home with apratures.

Digitally simualted bond stacked bricks become inflated soft.

OBSERVATIONS

WHAT?

Research & Observations: (What are the “Soft” out there? Possibilities?) 6. “Soft Architecture” can be structural (soft forms made by glass and steel, spaceframe -Kenzo Tange Expo 70 Osaka) 7. “Soft Architecture” can be hard (soft forms made from plaster; Sculpture of “David”; Rachael Whiteread, plaster, and steel frame, sculptural)

Rachael Whiteread plaster sculpture

"Soft" forms as architecture, facade enclosed by etfe and alumni clapping. Kenzo Tange, Expo 70 when he was trying to achieve structural "soft" form.

"Soft" forms as architecture, structural achieved by glass and steel.

ANALYSIS

WHY?

Analysis and Psycho-Socio Reasons: (Why are they “Soft”? What does “Soft” represent?) 8. “Soft” can be achieved by modular assembly (soft forms made by weave) 9. “Soft” because of enlarged details (Matthew Au, Mira Henry work) 10. “Soft” can represent female strength (traditional fabric maker/weavers from Guatemala, T’nalak, Southern America, Mexican, etc.) (“Soft Schindler” curated by Mimi Zeiger) 11. “Soft” can represent fluidity, queerness, or social groups that don’t fit in traditional norm (David Eskenazi, Bathhouse) 12. “Soft” symbolizes futuristic, progressive, and utopian. (Michael Webb &Archigram, Suitaloon and Cushicle -inflatable environments-, Wolf Prix Bubble; R&Sie - Dusty Relief/BMu -furry building from dust-)

Lana Yuan, Fillipino Town community center design where "soft" facade was woven by weaving modular assembly.

Matthrew Au & Mira Henry, current interest, an artist house design, "soft" on the facade was achieved by enlarged details.

Mimi Zeiger, "Soft Schindler" curated show, soft were used to represent female strength.

David Eskenazi, Bathhouse project where "Soft" were used to represent fludity, queerness, or social groups that dont fit in to traditional norm.

Mimi Zeiger, "Soft Schindler" curated show, soft were used to represent female strength.

David Eskenazi, Bathhouse project where "Soft" were used to represent fludity, queerness, or social groups that dont fit in to traditional norm.

Mihcael Webb & Archigram, Suitaloon and Cushicle project, a study about inflatable environments; "Soft" symbolizes futuristic, progressive, and utopian dreams.

Wolf Prix, Bubble; "Soft" symbolizes futuristic, progressive, and utopian dreams.

R&Sie, Dusty Relief/BMu, a fury building from dust; "Soft" symbolizes futuristic, progressive, and utopian dreams.

METHODOLOGY

HOW?

Methodology/ Technical/ Applications: (What techniques were applied to achieve the “Soft” in Architecture? How were they achieved? First two are of interest in this project.) 13. Digitally simulated “Soft” (formal studies “representation of looking from outside”) 14. Animated, scene, surrealism “Soft” (render/animation “experience of being inside”) 15. Representational Analytical “Soft” (circulation diagram studies done by Greg Lynn, digitally simulated map-out of mass circulation inside a space) 16. Phygitally “Soft” (Testa+Weiser, phygital studies)

Juicheng & Linzi, work at Testa & Weiser studio. Phygital "soft", imaging digital and physical of material, and the application to architecture.

Liu Xin & Yuting, work at Testa & Weiser studio. Phygital "soft", imaging digital and physical of material, and the application to architecture.

Liu Xin, work at Testa & Weiser studio. Phygital "soft", imaging digital and physical of material, and the application to architecture.

OPERATIONS

EXERCISE

Operations/ Opportunity: 17. “Soft” opportunity on 10 famous architectures. EXERCISE #1: Arrange three digitally simulated materials/forms in one scene. Make multiple scenes. EXERCISE #2: Model out 10 famous architectural precedents and make “soft” simulation test on them, maybe material gets softened, maybe form gets softened.

Juicheng & Linzi, work at Testa & Weiser studio. Phygital "soft", imaging digital and physical of material, and the application to architecture.

EXERCISE #3: Exterior formal soft – pair with interior scenario soft

01/05

Juicheng & Linzi, work at Testa & Weiser studio. Phygital "soft", imaging digital and physical of material, and the application to architecture.

Lana Yuan, a scene of existing digitally manipulated common materials. Imaging how digital simulated "soft" forms can be curated to mke a scene of daily life at the construction site.

Lana Yuan, drape cloth form on an existing house. Imaging how digital simulated "soft" form can be applied to existing iconic modernism home.

Lana Yuan, drape cloth form on an existing house with digital brick material. Imaging how digital simulated "soft" form and material can be applied to existing iconic modernism home.

10 iconic modernism home

Eames House

Lana Yuan, Miro board, quick collage of 10 iconic modernism home that impact residental architecture and set the tone for domestic lifestyle during and post modernism. Imaging how digital simulated "soft" form and "soft" material can be applied to the icon, create new domestic lifestyle opportunties, introduce new ways of experiencing home and domestic lifesyle scenes post-covid

FINAL RESULT

PROJECT

Outcome/ Result: (Final results/outcome I am expecting to produce.) 18. (Part. A). “Soft” opportunities by Lana: “Soft” possibilities on houses exterior (formal studies, façade texture modules stretch and contracts, columns walls, windows, ceilings, floor, making “soft” moves) 19. (Part. B). “Soft” opportunities by Lana: “Soft” possibilities on houses interior spaces (rendered animation, showcasing moving curtain, stepping on soft floor, how soft wall hugs the body, how occupant interact with the soft interior)

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The process explores “soft” formal possibilities created by digital simulation techniques on iconic modernism housing, testing out phenomenology moments within and outside of the house. The end project takes precedent and site on modernism residential work Eames House, creating a “soft” version of the house, presentation will be a collection of scenes within and outside of the No.2022 “soft” house.

PROJECT

LANA J. YUAN @ SCI-ARC

GRAD THESIS 2022