D.D 2018 portfolio

Digital Design - Portfolio Semester 1, 2018 Megan Corbett

914475 Xiaoran Huang - Studio 3

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Reflection: Digital design since its beginnings in aircraft design, has become more and more integrated into every design field it has been applied to. Through the digital design course in 2018 I have developed my skills into areas I had not come into contact with before, such as modular coding and parametric modelling. What I had not thought about was the theory behind the course opening discussion about the interconnectedness of many design areas

Content:

email: corbettm@student.unimelb.edu.au

that are overlapping with the aid of digital programs; the opportunities

Education:

technology behind them. With the ability to live render and parametrically

2017 - current 2010 - 2015 03

Bachelor of Design Canberra Girls Grammar School

Precedent Study - SANAA Work Experience:

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Generating Design Through Digital Processes

that will provide in the future, and the importance of understanding the develop designs, it is easy to utilise the intuitive interfaces many programs like grasshopper offer without knowing the specific mathematics or coding working from behind the scenes.

As a designer and architectural student, I prefer thinking through the

2016 - 2018

Admin GastrotrACT

site conditions, function, and meaning of what I hope to design before

2016

Design workshop, Sydney

picking up a pen to sketch. This course has tested my typical practices as I was astounded by the speed at which people can pump out results using

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Task 1 - Waffle and Surface

Awards / Exhibition:

the smooth workflow of grasshopper -> rhino -> unreal. While I did enjoy the

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Task 2 - Solid and Void

2015

IB 2015 Fine-Art Expo, CGGS

new capabilities, I have gained - as being able to live render and more

2017

FOD:R Exhibition, AFLK Gallery

accurately visualise how a design could be realised is impressive - I am

2018

MSDx, MSD

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Queen Victoria Garden Pavilion - Sky Well

concerned how much the limits of the technology we use will become more of a design block than that of the materials we use to build structures.

Skills:

This has made me wish to continue to learn about the programs that are

Rhino Grasshopper

so important to the work done by architects and designers today. In terms

Unreal

skills need improvement. I fell back on the familiar where photoshop was

Photoshop

involved. Also, I would like to become better accustomed to grasshopper

Illustrator

with a deeper understanding of data streams.

Indesign

Overall, I think the Pavilion I produced has been enjoyable to make and

Fabrication

quite successful at producing the effects I wanted to produce. The aid

Model Building

of grasshopper was essential, manually imputing forms I built would have

Hand Drawing

been tedious, and the normalisation of it meant less problems to solve in

of where I think I can improve in the work I produced, my unreal editing

the long run.

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Diagramming Design Precedent

SANAA 2009 Serpintine Pavillion

Sanaa’s Pavilion design was composed of an undulating reflective aluminum canopy, suspended on top of thin metallic columns. This allowed the pavilion to both appear to float and nestle into the surrounding park bounded by concrete with pebble accents. Interestingly, the patch tool created panels almost exactly as the drawings of the pavilion suggested. This demonstrates how the use of digital programs actively impacts the work.

The attention the pavilion paid attempting to immerse itself into the surrounding environment influenced my later work.

Pecedent Study Isonometric - SANAA

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Diagram 01 - Circulations

Diagram 02 - Thresholds Structure

Canopy

Primary Circulation Space

Structural Elements

Main Circulation Paths

Ground Material Variance Pebble Accents Concrete Boundary Gravel Path

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Generating Ideas Through Process

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Task 1 - Design Matrix

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Suface and Waffle Perforations on one face form windows, letting light into the volume

Joint edge allows for the struture to have interesting possibilities,

Task 1 - Design Isonometric I chose to develop surface 1.4 with both panels 3.3 and 3.4, with the attractor points and random generator seen in 2.4. The fabricated form came out well, the built panels fit the waffle easily and attach to each other. My decision was based upon how the surfaces share a side making the waffle an interesting shape Its form mimics that of an opening, outreach shape, almost like an awaiting book.

Waffle Structure defines the main access points into the volume while casting interesing light patterns Closed 3D Pannels give on side of the volume a clear boundary. The extrusions’ alternate the way they face creating an interesting shadow play.

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Task 2 - Computation Workflow

Two double curved surfaces genterated with a connecting edge. A box was exploded then its lines were lofted to produce the end result below.

Two panels generated - one 3d the othe 2d - both were randomised and used alternating patterning of cells.

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The Waffle was generated through a series of lines produced by lofting contours of the surfaces with their offset partners.

Task 1 - Fabrication Process

Laser cutting is a familiar form of digital fabrication as many opportunities have already arisen to utilise the universities facilities.

While one can unroll the panels in grasshopper, the output has too many overlaps, so unrolling in rhino was necessary. The waffle layout however was completely generated in grasshopper, from the spread of the pieces to even the text, but they too had to be manually adjusted for efficient nesting in rhino.

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Generating Ideas Through Process

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Task 2 - Design Matrix

Lofts

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

Key

Attractor / Control Point

Attractor / Control Curv center Points

Paneling Grid & Attractor Point Paneling

{Grid Mesh}

{Grid Mesh}

{Grid Mesh}

{Grid Mesh}

2.1

2.2

2.3

2.4

{cernter points}

{cernter points}

{cernter points}

{cernter points}

3.1

3.2

3.3

3.4

{shapes}

{shapes}

{shapes}

{shapes}

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Solid and Void

Reclining nature of solid suggests that its nesseled into a steep landscape and is blending in with the environment while making it habitable.

Task 2 - Design Isonometric The Iso is a segment of the generated boolen shape, showing the angular stages it forms. This feature of the solid would enable sitting, leaning or climbing depending on scale. while in terms of atmospheric qualities, there is perhaps an opportunity for acoustics or an interplay of shadows across the model.

When nestled into a landscape, sunken into the earth it could produce an enclosed cave like atmosphere if fully enclosed with a roofing element.

While mainly solid, there are numerous portals trough the model, acting as draining points for water, the entryways for light or areas for plantation.

The solid when laid flat mimics mountainterrain.

The solid form can be interperated as rugged terrain/staged seating, or considered a built form in and of itself.

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Task 2 - Computation Workflow

The inital box - from which all of the

Taking the altered centre points,

The final renditions of the polygons

following masses are produced and booleened - is scripted and altered through a sequence of pattern generators.

polygons are then scripted, entered and scaled to produce the solids shown below.

are baked, then boolened out of the inital box producing the shown result.

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Task 2 - Fabrication Process

The boolened form holds more complexity in its construction, so the moduÂŹlar coding of grasshopper became essential in the generation of these shapes. This feature enables one to take out, replace, exchange and adjust all determining factors of the shapes, creating extreme potential for forms one cannot begin to imagine until stumbled upon.

The complexity of the shapes produced ties in with the method selected to fabricate the model. 3d printing allowed for the realisation of the trimmed boolened shape, using PLA with the replicator + machine.

Makerbot File.

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Generating Ideas Through Process

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Queen Victoria gardens are situated between many of the main bustling parts of Melbourne but set off the axis it shares with the arts precinct, leaving the pavilion in a site of frequent visitation with an ideal setting in a park. This as well as the Yarra river bordering the site inspired me to produce an immersive experience pavilion called the Sky Well. It includes of an enclosure that can accommodate functions including a lunchtime gathering or an evening quartet performance as examples due to the feature steps that double as a stage and the surrounding seating. A stepped ground articulation beckons people to enter, pass through or stay a while and ponder the beautiful light patterns that change throughout the day.

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Sky Well

Sky Well Translucent waved contours produce a intricate light pattern across pavilion, creating atmophere and intrigue.

Interlocking Bone structure produced using gravity simulating paired with t-splines in Rhino.

Openings of the arches act as thresholds, while also framing the surrounding environment.

Impermiable pannels within the stucture provide shelter with the added comfort of benches set beneth.

The inner steps act as transitions. One gradually decends into the main space, to rise again and reach up towards the skywell.

The step-down allows for access from all sides into the pavilion.

M3 - Isonometric 17

M3 - Iterations

Insired by the first projects I began designing for the final pavilion. Taking from the waffle structure the intrigueing light patterns, and from the solid shape, a sense of immersive enclosement.

The first iteration consisted of sunken steps made up of multiples of the boolened shape with a capping that held a wave form ceiling to cast shadows. While succseful in generating light patterns and the atmospher I wanted to attempt somthing more open.

The second is my first try at a bone structure to replace the simple capping. It generated a more otherwordly experience for the viewr but I still wanted to create a more complex structure by increacing the meshes weaved together.

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Sky Well

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M3 - Computation Workflow

Bone structure generated through

Seating generated using biarchs

Waffle cap generated through

Steps generated through a series

relaxing interweaved meshes with kangaroo.

between guide curves contouring the result.

contouring a sine inteferance pattern.

of projected lines off bone structure, scaled / offset then slabed.

and

curve

2D surface pattern box morphed to allow for boolen extraction.

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Sky Well

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M3 - Fabrication Process

In the process of creating the model for M3, a mix of 3D and laser cutting techniques were used. While 3D printing and the laser cutting for the base elements were simple, half of the organic bone structure had to be laser cut. This resulted in a very interesting cut file, as well as a very hands on construction.

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M3 - 360 Image Output

Digital Design Semester 1, 2018 24