Architecture Design Studio: Air Mohammad Haziq Hassan, 780615 2018, Semester 2 Tutor: Isabelle Jooste
PART: A conceptualisation
TABLE OF CONTENT A.0 Introduction A.1 Design Futuring A.1.1 Case Study 1: Montreal Biosphère 1967 A1.2 Case Study 2: Dolphin Embassy A.2 Design Computation A.2.1 Case Study 3: Water-Based Fabrication A.2.2 Case Study 4: Louisiana State Museum A.3 Composition / Generation A.3.1 Case Study 5: Ninety Nine Failures A.3.2 Case Study 6: Silk Pavilion A.4 Conclusion A.5 Learning Outcomes A.6 Appendix
A.0 INTRODUCTION
I am Mohammad Haziq Hassan. Third year undergraduate of Bachelor of Environments, major in Architecture. Born and raised in Brunei Darussalam. A brief introduction of architecture in Brunei, the industry is heavily influenced with local traditional and Islamic architecture. The prevalence of classic Islamic architecture is evident in the ornate domes, minarets and arches. The extravagance of the Islamic architecture caught my interest during my adolescent age and caused me to pursue architecture. I believe architects have the power to shape and mould the way people live. Ultimately, the vision is to aid the nation by providing the optimal environment for growth. But in the period of studying this course, I have developed an appeal towards arts. As I came from a science stream background, thinking creatively was quite a struggle but exploring and expressing with arts is addictive. I took lessons on painting, in which I enjoyed immensely, and now venturing into architecture. In the first two years of the program, I found learning various tectonics and turning it into architectural expressions in Studio Earth is enjoyable. In Studio Water, I was invested in the study of a master architect, Tadao Ando, which I found even more enjoyable. I became fond of his philosophy in architecture and it gave me an admiration towards nature. I have also explored the possibilities of digital fabrication in a subject Digital Design & Fabrication. I am looking forward to learn further into computational design.
Architecture Design Studio: Earth
Digital Design & Technology
Architecture Design Studio: Water
A.1 DESIGN FUTURING
Design Futuring is focused on rethinking and the reconceptualisation of design practice, In order to tackle the issue of the defuturing condition of unsustainability. In order to have a future for humanity, we have to ‘design’ the future. The current practice can be irresponsible and destructive because humankind is oblivious to the state of the world and to the depletion of resources. Tony Fry, in Design Futuring, 2009 describes design as an ability to prefigure what we create before the act of creation. Prethinking political, ethical, social, ecological and practical aspects of a design can benefit humanity, specifically the future of humankind. Despite having other factors which also contribute to unsustainability, such as political and economical factors, design plays an equally large role to create a positive response to the issue of unsustainability. Designers should embed a sense of respect towards nature and take responsibility towards its preservation and development.
A.1.1 Case Study 1 Project: Montreal Biosphere Architect: Buckminster Fuller Date: 1967 Location: Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Sustainability is concerned with a functionalist approach and generally free from aesthetic values. But some may argue that this approach by no means lacks in beauty whereby beauty is embodied in its simplicity and purity. The core purpose is seeking maximum efficiency with minimum amount of resources and effort. This requires an innovative intervention. Richard Buckminster Fuller, a visionary inventor, engineer and architect with a philosophy focused on exploiting technology to improve humanity. He believes architects are the mediators between a complex interrelationship of society, technology and environment. He predicted that the world is an accumulation of every person’s experience. In a sense, it means that the world bears the consequences of human actions and conducts. From this point of view, he views the universe as an organization of regenerative principles. The Montreal Biosphere is a lattice-type geodesic dome structure, which comprises of a simple modular icosahedron geometry composed of equilateral triangles formed from interspersed pentagons in a hexagonal grid. The Montreal Biosphere is an epitome of Fuller’s vision of the future of technology and sustainable design, intended to exist closely with mankind and nature, benefiting from each other. It relayed the notion of salvation through technology within a giant ball and the message of technology as something that is being informed by nature and not overriding it. This is the realisation Fuller’s philosophy, proving that every design discipline can be inspired by what exists in the natural environment to produce solutions to human problems.
The Dolphin Embassy, Ant Farm, 1974
A.1.2 Case Study 2 Project: The Dolphin Embassy Architect: Ant Farm Date: 1974 Location: unbuilt
The dolphin embassy is a research project attempt by Ant Farm in 1974 to create an interface which enables communication between humankind and the Delphic civilisation. This attempt is a step towards a larger cultural field and an attempt to promote social transformation. It may have been perceived as a bold proposal and receive scepticism from the world, naturally. Despite the reaction from the world, it was recorded that the dolphin embassy was a full-fledged proposal, which received funding from the Rockefeller Foundation and showcased at SFMOMA. It was continued by Doug Michels until Ant Farm was disbanded in 1978. Unfortunately, the dolphin embassy remains paper architecture due to insufficient support and subsequently, insufficient fund. The dolphin embassy project challenges designers to divert away from conventional design rules to accommodate for not only human comfort, but also the comfort of dolphins and the way the two may coexist and interact with each other. This project explores design beyond humankind everyday needs and into a wider biological scope. They diversify study fields, designers response to new issues and the development of technology.
A.2 Design Computation
Many architectural practice has benefited from the emergence of computer. Computers have gradually shift the design culture from ‘Computerisation’, which involves the utilisation of computers to represent and visualise form, to ‘Computation’, which is the process of conceptualising generation of forms. In the earlier age of computerisation, Computer Aided Design Programs were limited to digitising preconceived forms with accuracy. Architects would rely on intuition and past experiences in design processes. But more recent software such as Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Non-Uniform Rational Basis Spline (NURBS) such as Rhino allows a more optimised design decisions. The final result isn’t necessarily the goal, but rather the processes it undergone to get to the results. Computation design tools changes the way designers work by harnessing the abilities of computation in design processes, offers efficiency and opens up endless possibilities of design which are capable to solve more complex problems.
A.2.1 Case Study 3 Project: Water-Based Fabrication of Large-Scale Sustainable Structures Architect: MIT Media Lab Date: 2014-2015 Architect Neri Oxman leads the Mediated Matter is a very critically thought out method of fabrication. Focused on the intersection between architecture and biology, she and her colleagues find inspiration from nature and how nature ‘grows’, contrasting to majority view of architecture where objects are assembled. Oxman and her group diverts away from traditional materials and production methods and explores ecologically sustainable materials derived from nature and fabrication methods. Computational design allows Oxman not only create complex organic forms with ease but also allows the creation of variations of material behaviours. For instance, in 3D Printed Water-Based Fabrication where her team fabricated a 12 feet long wing structure out of a single part. Using Chitosan paste in different concentrations, they achieved different properties from a single biodegradable material, creating infinite possible outcomes. Computation design equipped with different concentration of material and proper extrusion nozzle diameter can create different structural properties; from strong to flexible. This manipulation of chitin concentration allows the deposition of composites with a variation of functional, mechanical and optical gradient across the scales from only one material. Computation aids to the seamless workflow for the design and the digital fabrication of heterogeneous material organizations.
A.2.2 Case Study 4 Project: Louisiana State Museum & Sports Hall of Fame Architect: Trahan Architects Date: 2013 Location: Natchitoches, Louisiana Louisiana State Museum & Sport Hall of Fame is an example of a building that was completely conceived and developed through computational design tools and BIM software. The architects provided the surface geometry which comprises of Maya-modeled subdivided surfaces and a series of NURB surfaces, which are sculptural interior form that is made up of over 1,100 unique cast stone panels. This explores the possibilities of new forms for the material which was not possible before. The geometry was taken by Method Design and Case, Inc. to develop an integrated system for the sculptural interior form which is made up of over 1,100 unique cast stone panels. There are 4 to 15 connections per panel which shoots out in different directions. Prior to computation, it would be impossible to design such detail but the process of developing the underlying structural system was accelerated with the use of Rhino + Grasshopper by algorithmically ‘growing’ the structure onto the inherited geometry. Computation improves efficiency and the performance of the building by providing a high level accuracy for construction. The complex form of the Museum cannot possibly be conceived through 2-dimensional abstract representations such as drawings and sketches. For instance the skin cannot be drawn in elevation because it is never orthogonal. Computation allows the shift towards 3-dimensional means of visual representation which allows the visualisation of the complex internal space prior to construction. Together with its ability to envision the ecological qualities that penetrates into the internal spaces such as light, computation allows us to picture the spatial experience of the void. Through a series of new digital design tools the virtual design can be realised easily realised using automated digital fabrication methods such as 3D printing and CNC milling. Computation essentially minimises the amount of thinking and labour required while at the same time allows designers to produce projects with such geometrical complexity.
A.3 Composition / Generation
It is clear now that computation allows new ways of thinking, increase efficiency and enables more responsive design outcomes. For a long time, architects rely on personal experiences and interpretations of spatial qualities, functions and form. This method of compositional design has been the standard design process in the architecture discipline. But with the emergence of computation, which allows the integration of different areas of knowledge and analysis such as material performance, tectonics and parameters of production, approach to design problems are no longer the same. Generative design is a method of form finding which is dictated by a set of rules and algorithms, which can produce various outcomes by changing the parameters. The shift towards generative design via algorithms is crucial because it is a more accurate and effective way of responding to various problems. Generative design is the link between the complex factors of the physical environment and using them in the virtual design environment. Thus, allowing immediate modifications to be done in the virtual space and arrive at the best outcome.
A.3.1 Case Study 5 Project: Ninety Nine Failures Architect: The University of Tokyo Digital Fabrication Lab Date: 2013 Location: Tokyo, Japan The process of generative design is highly experimental. This is the case with Ninety Nine Failures by The University of Tokyo Fabrication Lab, where their main objective is not only the conclusion of the project but to examine experimental design, fabrication and construction processes and explore the production of new set of problems to come up with new solutions which can catalyse more innovative architectural design and expand the architectural discourse. One of the most important advantage of shifting towards generative design is the ability to simulate a structure digitally and match it to the physical reality ensuring a smooth coordination between components, structure and production process. Ninety Nine Failures is an example of a project that utilises digital simulation tests to complete the project to find the stable form of the 3-dimensional which was constructed from a flat, 2-dimensional structure. The pavilion is made of 255 unique compressive components which are combined with algorithmically integrated structure. The inflated metal pillow components are made of 3 layers of stainless steel sheets welded together and hydraulically inflated after simulating it digitally to act as a compressive structural element. The pavilion is an exhibition of the power of generative design by algorithmic scripting to produce a fluid form which is logically generated by the input parameters, while at the same time maximising the porosity and minimize wind load. With the data being analysed digitally, errors are kept to the minimum and undesirable outcomes and conflicts can be modified virtually prior to construction.
A.3.2 Case Study 6 Project: Silk Pavilion Architect: MIT Media Lab Date: 2013
Generative design is an exploration of form by modifying the parameters from a set a set of algorithm creating various species of unique outcomes. Similarly can be found in nature from the large growth of tree branches to as small as the division of cells. These patterns in nature can be interpreted as a set of rules or in computer terms, algorithms. The Silk Pavilion by MIT Media Lab is an exemplary integration of generative design, biomemimetic construction and scientific research. It combines the two algorithmic processes of computation and biology, and digital and biological fabrication of the generation of silk by the silkworm Bombyx mori. “Our research integrates computational form-finding strategies with biologically inspired fabrication” The project proves that generative design links information technology and biology. Computation allows generative design tools to mimic the blind instinct of silkworm by analysing the cocoon construction process, informing the construction of the pavilion. It was constructed out of robotwoven threads wrapped around steel frames and further wrapped with silk threads by 6,500 live silkworms. The project’s algorithm is programmed to integrate the geometry with the ecological qualities for the silkworms to thrive. Generative design tools are used to map the solar trajectories which dictates the location, size, orientation and density of apertures of the structure to control the porosity of the pavilion for the survival of the silkworms. Thus, the project also explores the silkworms as entities to ‘compute’ the material instinctively by creating the perfect conditions for the silkworms.
A.4 Conclusion
With the evolution of digital technology, architecture has become more interesting and exciting, since architecture has transitioned from computerisation to computation, and it will keep on evolving. Designing from factual data and algorithmic parameters creates endless possible design outcomes to choose from. Architects have control over every decision; form, material, production method, etc., and it should be directed towards achieving optimisation of sustainability, cost and environmental impacts.
A.5 Learning outcomes
For the past architecture design studios, digital design tools has always been used for the purpose of representation and never seen as a generative tool of form finding. Part A - Conceptualisation gives an understanding of the transitions happening within the architectural discipline and the direction it should be going. Analysing the case studies and the different architectural discourse arising from computation, it gives an alternative to shift away from the conventional design process towards a more effective and responsive means of design. Perhaps the big lesson is algorithmic design is not only about increasing efficiency and design workflow, but it is about exploring the interconnected rules and boundaries and understanding the consequences of these decisions and the relationship with nature.
A.6 Appendix