M3 JOURNAL

Foundations of Design : Representation, SEM1, 2017 M3 JOURNAL - PATTERN vs SURFACE Lauren Thomson (911599) Hana Nihil + Studio 22

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WEEK 6 READING: SURFACES THAT CAN BE BUILT FROM PAPER IN ARCHITECTURAL GEOMETRY Question 1: What are the three elementary types of developable surfaces? Provide a brief description.

(Maximum 100 words) Cylinders, cones, tangent surfaces of space curves. Cylinders, though round are ‘formed by a family of parallel lines’ when used as a developable surface. Cones have similar properties to pyramids, though feature a circular base. Like cylinders, parallel lines are used for development. Tangent surfaces of space curves are more custom and can be altered by the number of vertices – which influence both the faces and the edges. Intersection points can be both sharp or curved, defining the surfaces.

Question 2: Why is the understanding of developable surface critical in the understanding of architectural geometry? Choose one precedent from Research/Precedents tab on LMS as an example for your discussion. (Maximum 100 words) A seen in the Greenhouse by Plasma Studio, without the understanding of developable surface, the geometry would not align properly. Larger triangles are used as a border for smaller ones, something that seems so simple yet is so hard to align without the proper understanding.

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PANELLING 2D PATTERN

2d Panelling, Pattern: Triangular From the begining of the assisngment, I was aware that a complicated 2D panelling design would be difficult to use when it came to unrolling and folding, and so, tried to limit my designs to ones that used triangles and other unrollable shapes.

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3D PANEL TEST PROTOTYPE & TEMPLATE

Though I had used clear lines (dashed and bold) thoughout my template, it was often hard to tell how to fold. It was once I begun to construct the model that I realised I hadn’t labeled the panels properly, giving me no clear indication where they were suppossed to go. I used my rhino image as reference and placed similar shapes in similar places to the original once it was constructed but this led to the 2D panelling not aligning properly.

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WEEK 7 READING: DIGITAL FABRICATION Complete your reading before attempting these questions:

Question 1: What is digital fabrication and how does it change the understanding of two dimensional representation? (Maximum 100 words) Digital fabrication is a way of using ‘digital data to control a fabrication process’. An essential now used by almost all architectural designers, digital fabrication is often done towards the end of the design process but can aid in every step. This type of computer aided design (CAD), is one way of removing possibilities for human error, and is a faster and more precise way of designing.

Question 2: Suggest two reasons why folding is used extensively in the formal expression of building design? (Maximum 100 words) When using folds extensively, materials gain the ability to become ‘self supporting’. Sturdiness being a main objective of building design, this can be very appealing. A large amount of folds can also add a complexity to buildings that can be quite aesthetically pleasing.

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EXPLORING 3D PANELLING

Many shape designs were trialled though most resulted in unrolling issues. Eventually I decided on the pattern shown to the right, that uses 5 different shapes, the focus on the four panels at the very centre, who’s design is most intricate.

The shapes above were my favourite panels that I tried to use but was unsuccessful in rolling them.

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PANELISED LANDSCAPE

Though the pattern is interesting, it came out rather messy. I realised after it was made that some panels had been put in different places than the original rhino terrain, adding to the messiness. If I were to redo this module, I would make better use of labeling with numbers to avoid this issue again.

Though ideally I would have rather the model be very clean cut and precise, from this angle, the messiness gives it texture and more variety in height. Tasmania in real life is very much untouched by man and the model has that same raw feeling. I’m still unsure why, but some nets required me to fold them so that not only the outside was showing, but the underside (base) was aswell, resulting in some cut and fold lines from the net being visible and making it look less professional.

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APPENDIX

Beggining to cut and fold nets.

Close up of final terrain, the jagged edges and grid lines visablle.

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Re-unrolling to help with the folding of nets. As I had not labeled the nets properly, I unrolled each panel individually again to find what net went where.