Cloud Living Combinatorial Subscription Living: Own Nothing, Access Everything. Robotically woven, lightweight timber structures for infill sites in high density cities. Cloud Living proposes subscription living as a model of collaborative consumption, where the cost of living is not borne by an individual, but rather negotiated within a larger group. The aim is to build a dynamic community in Inner City London which is fostered by technologies which enable data-driven design and combinatorial spatial customization. This yields a contemporary living model which adapts to the increasingly complex lifestyle of the subscriber in high density cities. Cloud Living explores the benefits of subscription, including scalability and exchangeability of home functions which are transformed by data collection on usage and peer-to-peer space exchange.
PRIMITIVE SELECTION The primitive selection encompasses the following steps: • Tailoring the primitive according to dimensional metrics and user requirements. • Ability to host a variety of living functions such as bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and living. • Ability to aggregate in a combinatorial logic while retaining connectivity and accessibility.
Dimensions
Primitive Envelope
Hyperbolic Paraboloid
Desired Furniture Configuration
Adequate Furniture Configuration
P R I M I T I V E E VA LUAT I O N: Hosting Programme Triangular Prism
Cubic Prism
Hexagonal Prism Bedroom
Bedroom
Bedroom
Bedroom
Unfit !
Pentagonal Prism
Unfit !
Unfit !
Unfit !
Unfit !
Unfit !
Kitchen
Kitchen
Kitchen
Kitchen Unfit !
Unfit !
P R I M I T I V E E VA LUAT I O N: Spatial Connectivity Cubic Prism
Spatial Connectivity: Face-to-face
Pentagonal Prism
Spatial Connectivity after Removal of Primitives
Spatial Discontinuity
Spatial Connectivity: Face-to-face
Spatial Connectivity after Removal of Primitives
Cloud Living | Leo Claudius Bieling, Basant Elshimy, Ariadna Lopez Rodriguez | Nahmad-Bhooshan Studio 2017/18
Spatial Continuity
Panel No. 2/9
COMBINATORIAL SUBSCRIPTION MODEL Cloud Living implements seven subscription categories, which are derived from BBC’s social survey of 2011. Each subscription category is physicalized based on lifestyle requirements. The spatial manifestation of these subscriptions follows a combinatorial logic in which the spaces are able to change in terms of size and geometrical complexity.
S U B S C R I P T I O N S PA C E S
Sociable Size: 26m 2 Bedroom: Bathroom: Kitchen: Living Room:
Shared Shared Shared Shared
Extensive Size: 90m 2 Bedroom: Bathroom: Kitchen: Living Room:
Private Private Private Private
Standard Size: 27m 2 Bedroom: Bathroom: Kitchen: Living Room:
Private Private Private Shared
Comprehensive Size: 63m 2 Bedroom: Bathroom: Kitchen: Living Room:
Private Private Private Private
Detached
Moderate
Essential
Size: 36m 2 Bedroom: Bathroom: Kitchen: Living Room:
Size: 9m Bedroom: Bathroom: Kitchen: Living Room:
Size: 9m 2 Bedroom: Bathroom: Kitchen: Living Room:
2
Private Private Private Shared
Private Shared Shared Shared
Shared Shared Shared Shared
T R A N S F O R M E D BY D ATA C O L L E CT I O N
Households: 1 Shared Peer-To-Peer: No Communal Spaces: No Comprehensive: 63m 2 Shared: 0m 2
Households: 3 Shared Peer-To-Peer: No Communal Spaces: Yes Comprehensive: 36m 2 Moderate: 9m 2 Detached: 9m 2 Shared: 18m 2
P E E R-TO-P E E R S PA C E E X C H A N G E
Households: 2 Shared Peer-To-Peer: No Communal Spaces: No
Households: 2 Shared Peer-To-Peer: Yes Communal Spaces: No
Comprehensive: 63m 2 Moderate: 9m 2 Shared Peer-To-Peer: 0m 2
Comprehensive: 36m 2 Moderate: 9m 2 Shared Peer-To-Peer: 27m 2
Cloud Living | Leo Claudius Bieling, Basant Elshimy, Ariadna Lopez Rodriguez | Nahmad-Bhooshan Studio 2017/18
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SITE CRITERIA Cloud Living targets underutilised plots dispersed through East-Central London requiring phased construction to exploit the potential of infill sites. The proposal makes use of infill sites to create a progressive architecture that meets the demands temporal living in high density cities.
Location: 54 Mount Pleasant. Size: 16 m x 30 m
Location: 16 Northington St. Size: 13 m x 6 m
Location: 15 Eyre St Hill. Size: 17 m x 54 m
Location: 5 Topham Street. Size: 15 m x 17 m
Location: 69 Margery Street. Size: 13 m x 10 m
PLANNING ENVELOPE The Planning Envelope will serve as follows: • Provide an open framework which can accommodate combinatorial logic of spaces corresponding to the subscription categories. • Provide spatial qualities which are specific to each subscription category. • Establish a non-orthogonal geometry network of developable surfaces which create a lightweight structural system.
R U L E S O N S I T E: Creating the Planning Envelope
Rule #1 Height equals 2 times the surrounding average
Rule #5 Primitives not facing the front are selected for staircase and elevator
Rule #9 Each primitive is translated to the structural system
Rule #13 Low polygonal strips are subdivided and extended
Rule #2 Initial primitive is placed at the center of the street facing edge
Rule #3 Following primitives are added face-toface within the site boundary
Rule #4 Primitives with only 2 face connections are potential vertical circulation
Rule #6 Social primitives are placed according to given ratio. One has to be adjacent to the staircase
Rule #7 Not street facing, peripheral primitives are assigned for private primitives. Social primitives get connected by circulation
Rule #8 Social primitives are placed as an initial condition on each floor
Rule #10 Face-to-face polyhedra encasing the primitive
Rule #11 A line network out of the polyhedron face normals is created
Rule #12 Faces of the polyhedron define the profiles. Triangular or quadratic.
Rule #15 This method gets applied to all encasing polyhedra
Rule #16 Nodes serve as connection points for hyperbolic paraboloid weaving
Rule #14 All strips get trimmed by each other
Cloud Living | Leo Claudius Bieling, Basant Elshimy, Ariadna Lopez Rodriguez | Nahmad-Bhooshan Studio 2017/18
Panel No. 4/9
Zip ties replaced with wood screws and washers
Adjusted finger joint
Asymmetrical node
Labeled pieces
Eliminate unnecessary openings Alignment marks
Added openings for weaving
3 layers of Birch veneer Wet bending in a formwork
Full loop assembly
Additional holes for weaving and tensioning
Connection and bending
3 mm plywood, wet bending 3 mm finger connection Connection using zip ties Face-face connection
5.5 mm finger connect Connection and bending
5.5 mm plywood, wet bending Zip tie holes
1.5 mm plywood, dry b ending 1.5 mm finger connection
1.7 mm zipper connection
1.5 mm zipper connection
1.9 mm zipper connection
0.7 mm polypropylene Merging two surfaces
Bent using formwork
• Use lightweight materials efficiently, leading to a construction process that doesn’t require high-skill or large equipment.
Dry bending Screwed together
The priorities of digital fabrication within the context of Cloud Living are:
1.5 mm plywood, scored Arbitrary connection size
DIGITAL FABRICATION OF PLANNING ENVELOPE
• A hybrid system made up of reinforced fibreglass components that get delivered to the site in combination with on-site assembly of flat-packed developable surfaces.
A R C H I T E CT U R A L C O M P O N E N T: Hollow Timber Node
Assembly of Bent Developable Surfaces
Interlocking Fingers for Weaving
Timber Weaving
A R C H I T E CT U R A L C O M P O N E N T: Reinforced Fibreglass Hyperbolic Paraboloid
3D Linear Weaving for Doubly Curved Surface
Hyperbolic Paraboloid Connected to Node Fingers
Reinforced Fibreglass Hyperbolic Paraboloid
A R C H I T E CT U R A L C O M P O N E N T: Reinforced Fibreglass Opening
2D Linear Weaving for Facade Opening
Detail of Weaving Pattern
Opening Weaving attached to Timber Structure
Cloud Living | Leo Claudius Bieling, Basant Elshimy, Ariadna Lopez Rodriguez | Nahmad-Bhooshan Studio 2017/18
Panel No. 5/9
OCCUPYING THE PLANNING ENVELOPE The Planning Envelope is occupied as follows: • A total number of subscription households is determined by the total area of the chosen plot size. • The total subscription categories are classified between those who are spatially capable to exchange home functions and those who aren’t. • A ratio of 1:2 is established between those subscriptions that are spatially capable to exchange space and those that are not.
Longitudinal Section
0m
Cloud Living | Leo Claudius Bieling, Basant Elshimy, Ariadna Lopez Rodriguez | Nahmad-Bhooshan Studio 2017/18
1m
2.5m
5m
Panel No. 6/9
Further Iteration: Spatial Qualities
Further Iteration: On Site
Cross-Section
0m
Cloud Living | Leo Claudius Bieling, Basant Elshimy, Ariadna Lopez Rodriguez | Nahmad-Bhooshan Studio 2017/18
1m
2.5m
5m
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Further Iteration: Public Ground Floor
Further Iteration: Public Groundfloor
3rd Floor Plan
0m
Elevation of the Main Facade
1m
2.5m
0m
Cloud Living | Leo Claudius Bieling, Basant Elshimy, Ariadna Lopez Rodriguez | Nahmad-Bhooshan Studio 2017/18
5m
1m
10m
3m
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Cloud Living Combinatorial Subscription Living: Own Nothing, Access Everything. Robotically woven, lightweight timber structures for infill sites in high density cities.