Extractive Flowers, Shoichi Nakagawa

Section title

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Extrative Flowers

by Shoichi Nakagawa

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Extractive Flowers

CSA Research Report

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Project Details Project Lead:

Shoichi Nakagawa

Design Tutors:

Sam McElhinney, David Di Duca

Title:

Extractive Flowers

Type:

Research Project & Installation

Location:

UCA Canterbury Campus Foyer

Project Dates:

29 September - 03 October 2015 Collaborative build workshop October 2015 - February 2016 Structure open to public 19 February 2015 Collaborative tear-down

Support:

UCA

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Extractive Flowers

Section title

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Research Agenda and Process Overview My project research is that exploring the new kind of concrete surface and texture and swarm behavior to create new kind of architectural behaves. In semester 1, I made over 80 concrete samples mixing new material which have never been used for casting a concrete. As a result, those can provide a diversity to people who want to represent new kind of surfaces and textures as a material. In semster 2, I researched swarm behavior and mechanisms how they organise themselves in a swarm. The aim of researh in semester 2 is that to unravel the principle of swarm to creat new kind of structure or space using them. As a result, I combined those two development to create a installation as a project in this year.

Research Questions 1.

How I can create new kind of concrete surface and texture mixing new materials which have never been used ?

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How I can adopt those conrete as building surface or material to produce designing a space ?

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How organisms organise a swarm by themselves ? Is there any mechanism to organise a swarm ?

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How I can create new behave which is based on swarm behaviors or mechanisms ?

Fig.01 (previous page) Ball Joint: Ceiling Units

Research Statement

Significance and Contribution Concrete material experimentation can provide a lot of choices when people want to make something as a building material or a material for creation.

Elucidation of sarm behavior and their mechanism, and adaptation of them to architectureal context can provide new kind of system or methodology for space configuration.

Methodologies 1.

Casting concrete samples with new materials along categorised 13 groups such as natural materials or artificial materials.

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Research some mechanisms or rules of a swarm and adopt them to physical space configuration.

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Design some kind of structure or system which are changeable or flexible itself.

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Combine two development of cocnrete material experimantation and exploring swarm behavior to create final out come.

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Design Proposal I combined two developmets of concrete material experimentation and exploring swarm behavior and mechanism to one outcome as the final project proposal. The concept of final proposal is that extraction of scene. I chose four locations in Canterbury to deploy Extravtive Flowers which represent the essence or element in each locations. It means that Extractive Flowers is crystallised of each locations.

Extractive Flowers has mainly two different parts. One is the folding structure is made by MDF and 3D printedd connections can be opened and closed by change of

temperature like a flower. Another part is solid shape of concrete base to support the structure and represent the eccence or element in the location.

I have made two Extractive Flowers for each locations to behave at daytime and night. When the flower is opening at daytime, the another flower is closing. It means there are two kind of flowers for different situations.

Key technological outcomes of proposal 1.

The concrete surface and texture along each locations as representing the essence and element.

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The folding structure to open and close by change of temperature using wax piston.

Fig.02 (right) A flexible Jumping formwork, 2011 (Students of UTS Sydney)

Proposal & Context

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Design Research Context Field of Work

Work by others

Material experimentation of concrete has already been done a lot of times ever. But many of them is basically that to explore new shape of concrete or ability which can absorb CO2 and emit O2. I think there is still enough possibility to create more new surface or texture by mixing new materials. And I believe this experimentations can provide a lot of choices as a building material or material for any creation.

Some students of University of Technology, Sydney had been doing series of concrete expetimations on 2012. Their experimentations were that casting new shape of concrete by doing new methods such as flexible jump surface concrete or fabric concrete. In terms of casting complex shape of concrete, they developed the method of casting concrete to next stage dramatically.

As a result, there were some new concrete surfaces at same time.

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Design Methodologies In the concrete material experimentation, I chose some natural materials and artificial materials as a mixing resource such as wood chip and pigment, metal powders etc. And the, I categorised them to 13 groups.

There is also different method which is changeable materials and non-changeable materials. For example, the surface of the concrete is mixed with metal powder can be changed by rusting. In contrast, the surface of the cocnrete is mixed with waterproof liquid will not be changed. In this way, I have made those samples along two kind of methods as comparative study.

Testing of connection which can be adopted to three dimentions to behave freely and flexibly, was one of the methods in the stage of exploring swarm behavior. Because the connection between individuals in a swarm is very important as a mechanism of it. So the exploring the connection which can be moved rotated freely or flexibly is main method in this stage.

The method in final stage is that deign of folding structure which can be opned and closed by change of temperature.

Critical Design Elements 1.

Comparative study of concrete material experimentation such as natural or artificial material, and changeable or non-changeable surface.

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Design of the connection which can be moved and rotated freely or flexibly with the other individuals.

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Deisign of the folding structure which can be opened and closed by change of temerature usign wax piston.

Process & Methods

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Prototyping and testing To design the flexible connection, I explored potential of ball joint using ping-pong balls and MDF. Generally, ball joint (bearing joint) is used for suspension of car wheels. That can prove a. Shape of Ball Joints

c. Shift Lever Ball Joint This ball joint has more wide range of motion than previous joint. But to accomplish more wide range, direction of motion is limited to two directions. d. Hoberman Sphere Structure

Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit Initial shape of ball joint is that in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore sandwiched the ping-pong ball with eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur two MDF plates. The shape of plate sint occaecat cupidatat had triangle void to relieve friction between ping-pong ball and plates. b. Connection of Ball Joints Basically, ball joints can connect to two directions of upside and downside. In this testing, I explored how I organise them to make shape of swarm.

Fig.03 (right) Ball Joint

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Extractive Flowers

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Fig.06 (left) Folding Structure ver. 1 Fig.07 (right) Structure Arms ver. 2

Process & Methods

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Fabrication Techniques d. Connection with Concrete The arms of structure are shape of Base beemerang and have some voids to The structure and the concrete base connect with each other using be light weight. embeded metal parts. It means the structure is detachable. b. Sandwitch Structure a. Boomerang Arms

To embed wax piston within the structure, there is a space between those arms. Bolts connect and tighten these arms as well. c. Wax Piston Wax piston is most important parts in this structure. It can control the time at daytime or nighttime by placing it to the structure.

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Dissemination and Future Work I would like to publish a book which is described of my concrete material experimentations. It has the potential to show the ability of concrete as building material. Among them, the recipes of each concrete samples are very useful and give people to create same quality of them.

In the other way, I would like to use these outcomes of the experimentation to building material actually through my job. I hope it would give a lot of choice or possibility when we would make special texture or surface as building material.

Materials and Suppliers List MDF (from Workshop, CSA Campus) Bolts & Nuts (from Screwfix, http://www.screwfix.com/) Concrete Materials (from B&Q, Canterbury, 01227 865500) Wax Piston (from Gardening Naturally, Amazon UK)

Bibliography Michael Stacey, Concrete: A Studio Design Guide (RIBA Publishing, 2010)

Fig.09 (far left) Three Locations in Canterbury to deploy Extractive Flowers

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Credits MA Architecture Course Leader: Sam McElhinney MA Architecture Design Tutor: David Di Duca Visiting Critics 2014/15: Will Alsop, All Design Hanif Kara, AKT II Jonty Craig - BAT Studio Gem Barton - University of Brighton Jon Hodges - Bare Conductive Guy Woodhouse - Piercy & Co. Charlotte Bocci - Ian Chalk Architects David Lomax - Waugh Thistleton Architects Fiona Zisch - University of Westminster Clemens Plank - University of Innsbruck James Whitaker - Whitaker Studio Kevin Kelly - Pringle Richards Sharrat Tetsuro Nagata - Nissen Richards Studio Elizabeth Upham - MUD Architecture Ruth Lang - Studio ARG Shumi Bose - Blueprint Verity Jane Keefe - The Mobile Museum

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Extractive Flowers