Geometry and Resolution of Fibrous Systems Matthew Pratt Unit 20
Transient Geometry of Landscape and Sky
Geometry and Resolution of Fibrous Systems The project began with an examination and appreciation of the silk carpet. A system rich in complexity of fibres across a multitude of scales and resolutions; from the macroscopic behaviour of the individual fibres, up to the woven Islamic pattern of the threads, to the resulting intricate and lightweight carpet, acting as a landscape for this fibrous activity. This lead to an intensive testing of fibrous environments across a range of scales, each testing the transient geometric condition between 1D, 2D and 3 Dimensionality. The relationship between the ground and the ceiling was a significant architectural feature found in studies and visits to both Islamic and Christian Architectures. This relationship of
ground and ceiling was explored in the project both symmetrically and asymmetrically, Further studies then moved to the scale of the individual fibre, looking at both the geometric and material properties of the individual fibre. This structural exploration generated ideas of bundling, weaving, and bending as a means of achieving structural stability. The idea of bending sheet material was explored thoroughly in application to the brief of a church mosque in the Kigali, Rwanda. Material performance became an important consideration in the low tech/high intelligence ambition of the design. The resulting building considered local aspects of material such as compacted earth, as
well as religious precedent of Gothic architecture. Here the relationship between floor and ceiling was expressed more distinctly as a heavy stepping contoured landscape, providing a platform for the light, ethereal roof to sprout and extend towards the Sky, and towards religious orientations of both Mecca and the East. Final studies looked towards the transition between surface and strand, and how sheet to form can create a morphological geometry blending layers of quantity and porosity. Next steps will focus more on fibrous interplay of weight and mass, found in nature. Matthew Pratt Unit 20
200µm
200µm
Kisladag, Turkey
Muruntau Khazakstan
Mines
Kounrad, Khazakstan
Capital
Shaft
Base
Fibrous Symmetry Exploring rotational symmetry to produce interlocking columns
Church Mosque Exploring Formal language in the context of a typical church and mosque plan
Muscle Fibres
Fractal Fibrosity Exhibiting a repeating fibre cross section that displays at every scale.
Omni-directionality Experimenting with directionality of the fibres within the field
Omni-Directionality Turbulence patterns control gradual differentiation in strand orientation
Arrayed Pipes Direction of pipes centres around nodes of activity
Radial Gradient Densification pattern of Arrayed Pipes, creates varying levels of porosity
Bend Introduction of the bend to utilise the flexibility of the strand
Gothic Tracery Reference to gothic tracery whereby interesecting single gothic arcs create the gothic arch
Christianity
Mecca
Religious Twisting Gesture Twist in column bend direction, creates an aesthetic link between the two religious orientations between the direction of Mecca, and the traditional Layout of easterly facing churches
Angular Roofs Further directionality expllored in the roof Directions
Interlocking Twist Rigidity to the structure by addition of opposing direction of structure
Interlocking Twist Paper model testing the rigidity to the structure by addition of opposing direction of Fins. Model also tests light shadows filtered through the pattern of the structure
Weaving Geometry Development in plan of Weaving gesture to emphasise the curvilinear geometry of the columns
Site The project is located in Kigali; the capital City of Rwanda. The city has been the economic, cultural, and transport hub of Rwanda since it became capital at independence in 1962. The city is built in hilly country, sprawling across about four ridges and the valleys in between.
Minbar Mosque
WC Muslim Entrance Main Entrance
Mosque overďŹ ll space
Wudhu Foyer
Communal space
Christian entrance
Teaching space
Shared Park Church overďŹ ll space
Church
WC Sacristy
Church Needs to provide space for around 50 people. the space should be flexible to allow for weddings, christening, and will also be a useable space for Choral singing, and live music
Mosque Needs to provides space for Salah, for 20-30 people. with expansion potential for friday prayers
Shared Park The ambition of the project is to bring as much of the external environment into the programme, and have a space that can be shared by both muslism and christians.
Teaching Space This space should be flexible for about 10-15 people to sit in, and provide a space for teachings of religious practices between both chrstians and muslisms
Wudhu The cleansing ritual undertaken before a muslim enters a mosque. needs to provide foot taps for around 10-15 people
Brief : Church Mosque The Brief we have received from our client, is for a religious building to facilitate the religious practices of both muslisms and christians. A highly contentious project, the ambition is to create a building that can weave these two religions together. The building must be open to the public, and those outside of religious doctrines, whilst still providing the privacy and sanctuary for all those who practicing their respective religions.
Main Stairs
Disabled Acces WC WC
Classroom
Plant Room Sacristy Wudhu Church
Female Prayer Room
Mosque
Pools
Pools
Mecca
Mecca Transept
Church
Christian and Muslim orientation Primary design move
Axial corridor divides two spaces, and connects internal and external environments
Grid define linking two spaces and pedestrian flow through the building
Ambition to weave the spaces
Woven plan defined
Adjusted and tweaked to suit programmatic function
Reference made to Rwandan stepped Landscape
Roof Geometry seeks the floorbundling the geometry towards the base.
Site Strategy and Organisation The ambition of the plan, is to have space that echoes the gesture of the traditional kigali woven basket, in which all spaces are threaded together, and accesibble to all, both muslim and christian. The main strategy is for a central corridoor that bridges both the internal and external environments, and also links the two wings of muslism and christians.
Variation To create variation across the design, density of both column and shading systems is varied across the site
Ground Floor Plan 1:300
Roof Plan 1:300
Sections 1:300
142
4m
Bending Radii of steel And important consideration to be made throughout the design is the ability of the steel to bend into the proposed radii. The difficulty is in finding a steel
∞
Curvature Using Grasshopper, It was possible to asses the geometry for high areas of bending stress and adjust the parameters, whilst also making sure the curve achieved the correct amount of curvature so as not to interfere with head room.
~1m
Elastic Region
Stress
Plastic region
Strain
Young’s Modulus Youngs modulus is the measure of elasticity off a material. When subjected to enough force, the Steel will move from the elastic range to plastic deformation. It is important that the Force of the roof subjected to the Steel does not exceed this Yield limit, and that the material works within the elastic phase of the material
Internal Bending Forces It is the mass effect of all these small instances of force that will oppose the stiffness of the roof top beam
Structural Stabilisation To Stabilise the structure, the arrayed bent steel in the columns is arranged in two layers. Each layer is directed in an opposing direction to the other, and linked via two points of connection at the top and bottom, and a further two points of fixed connections along each of the fins length. This creates a continuous helical Structural line, which adds stability,
Rope Shading System
PTFE Fabric Roof
External Shading Fins
Enclosed Room Fins
Primary Internal Steel Fins
Enclosed Rooms Enclosed Room Ceilings
Fabric Clerestorey Windows
Compacted Earth Facade
Church
Pools
Mosque
Structural Axonometric Influenced by historical religious buildings variation has been a key consideration in the design.
External Rope Shading Devices To extend the Programme, external shading devices are used to blend the internal environment with the external. The level of shade governed by each of the 25 pods can be varied based on the amount of nodes present in each of the patterns, and the resulting amount of rope connections that can be made.
Rope 20mm
Steel 5mm
Main Pod The Main unit used is designed to allow for a ptfe rood to be stretched between an upper beam. In certain places within the programme, An opening towards the centre of the pod allows for the collection of rainwater, to be used for internal and external evaporative cooling. The Number of fins varies throughout the programme to achieve some variation, and respond to secondary levels of shading
PTFE Fabric
Steel 5mm
Partitioned Rooms At specific locations the geometry of the main unit spreads out to accompany the provision of insulated pods. These have various programmatic functions, for areas where a secondary level of privacy is required. The Pods feature an ETFE roof which allows for light to reach into the spaces. The compacted earth walls, create a thermal and sound barrier to the other spaces
PTFE Fabric
Steel 5mm
Compacted Earth
Compacted Earth Walls As a counterpoint to the light weight and visual appearance of the roof and columns, for the facade and interior walls a local technology to Kigali of rammed earth is proposed. This environmentally friendly material has a variety of properties that make it a good choice for insulating the main space.
Compacted Earth
Architectural Components
Concrete
Top Fabric Connection
PTFE Fabric
Central Ring
Roof to Floor Tension Cable
Bottom Fabric Connection
Bottom Fabric Connection
Inner Clockwise Steel Fins
Inner to Outer Fin Connection
Outer Anti-clockwise Steel Fins
Steel Base Plate to Concrete Foundation
Water Channel
Pod Axonometric Structural Organisation
12 mm x 110mm Bolt 100.00
Top Formed Steel Fabric Connection
20.00 12.00
16mm Bent Steel Tube
3.00 3.00
1.5mm PTFE-coated glass-fibre fabric
16.00
3.00
3.50
Bottom Formed Steel Fabric Connection
Internal Fin External Fin
110.00
94.00
Top 8mm Steel Beam
5.00
3.00
5.00
8.00
3.00
5.00
5.00
Rubber Seal
Top 8mm Steel Beam Intenal Fin
12.00
External Fin
20.00
12.00
12mm Bolt Connection
Fabric Connection PTFE Fabric Central Ring Inner to outer fin connection 5mm Steel
Roof to Floor Tension Cable
Outer Anti- Clockwise 5mm Steel Fins Inner Clockwise 5mm Steel Fins
Fabric ceiling Bottom Connection
8mm Steel Base Plates Water Channel
400mm Ground floor build up
Rope Shading Pattern External shading devices are used to blend the internal environment with the external. The level of shade governed by each of the 25 pods can be varied based on the amount of nodes present in each of the patterns, and the resulting amount of rope connections that can be made.
3D Details Selection of 3d Details
Delivery System Due to the unrolled nature of the steel fins, large amounts of steel will be able to be delivered in each lorry. Careful consideration has been made to the maximum dimension of the steel section, with the largest being 10.5 metres. A typical lorry has a cargo length of 15.65
2-STEP FILTER
PLANT ROOM
Wudhu
Rooftop Collection Solar-Powered Water Pump
Evapourative Pools Underground Cistern
Rainwater Collection During the Rain season, the Roof profile funnels water into channels which guide the water to external pools. These Pools Assist with evaporative cooling. The overflow from these pools is channelled further to an underground Cistern. The water from here is mechanically pumped back to the plant room where it is processed and filtered.
Excavation of the ground for the concrete foundation and underground services
Casting of concrete floor plates with recessed hole for Steel fin base plates. Pad foundations laid for perimeter steel fins Earth Collected from the site along with concrete, is poured into plywood framework and compacted. Steps repeated until wall height made to full height. Top 200 mm cast in concrete. Internal and external bracket for roof installed.
Shipped steel fins positioned and bolted into the respective positions within the base plate
Roof sections placed in position and raised to correct positions with he use of scaffolding. Steel fins are bent and bolted into correct position
Fabric roof and Clerestory windows placed into correct positions on site. Rope shaded structures assembled
Construction Sequence
Exterior External shading devices produce a gradual transition between internal and external
Interior Lighting Porosity and Quality of light are an important consideration
Surface to Strand Transient geometric condition between 1D, 2D and 3 Dimensionality
Material Elasticity Slitting the material to expand from the 2 dimensional to the 3 dimensional
Sheet to Form Testing the applicability of slitting the surface to produce Form
Point to strand Paper Model Exploring singular point directionality, observing the evolution from central point to strand
Front
Back
Surface to Strand Exploratory Model Nickel Silver model exploring the transition from surface to strand to volume. The model begins to examine the material properties of elasticity vs. plasticity
Strands
Gradient Transition
Porous
Surface
Points to Strands Conversion between Rasterisation and Sliting
Strand to Strand Desnification Achieveing Gradient through Densification of the Fibre