Module 2 journal

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS STUDENT JOURNAL

MODULE TWO, SYNOPSIS DESIGNING AND DEVELOPING A SECOND SKIN NICOLE TAN, ALIX DE LA FUENTE, LINUS QU

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS STUDENT JOURNAL

M2; INSPIRATION

FROM

THE

KITE

MATERIAL SYSTEM Kite system explored in Module 1 inspired our brief. Although the kite may seem static, its whole design is based on the idea of allowing movement and handling change in the environment. It handles this change through the relationship of the skin and bone system where the wooden rods give rigidity whilst the skin provided the flexibility needed to ‘catch’ the wind.

Our design will use a similar idea where the bone will be the support system and the skin will be the element that facilitates an action or an effect. The skin and bone concept that we develop will draw from the kite and display several combined properties like strength, flexibility, texture and geometry.

The kite is an object that efficiently uses materials making it seem sleek, lightweight and minimalist. Similarly our design will achieve the same effect where the second skin will seem effortless to carry however still display stability and strength.

M2; DEVELOPING THE BRIEF

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THE BRIEF DESIGN

CONCEPT:

‘SAYING

L E C T U R E - L I N K

HELLO’

A G E N D A : To create a second skin that reflects the physical and emotional changes that occur when ‘saying hello’. This includes the body’s movement when going for a handshake or a hug alongisde the emotional aspect of wanting to impress albeit feeling protective of vulnerable areas. The design will also allow for changes in personal space depending on the relationship between the two people involved and will enhance the experience of ‘saying hello’ for both the wearer and the observer.

DESIRED EFFECTS: FOR THE WEARER: •Showing off their best side

FOR THE OBSERVER:

•Provide a sense of security in vulnerable areas.

•An indication to the emotions of the wearer and hence their personal space boundaries

•Ability to adjust the second skin based on their familiarity with the second individual

•A sense of comfort and friendliness when approaching the wearer.

•Ability to adjust the second skin based on their emotional state (defensive, friendly or intimate) •Space to interact with their surroundings

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TRANSFORMABILITY

The design will have to take into consideration how the body extends, moves and interacts during the process of saying hello. Through understanding this process, the design will be able to enhance the extensions and accomodate the change in personal space.

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Transformability is an important factor as it perfectly represents the notion of personal space- stability in change. Thus, the design will be able to act as both a solid structure or a moving mechanism to allow for these changes in personal space.

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Interaction and relationship is important in the brief and hence the design will need to be able to clearly define the ‘territory’ for both the wearer and the observer.

Furthermore, the design will accomodate for the movement between the two people during their meeting.

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M2; DEFINING PERSONAL

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SPACE

PERSONAL SPACE R E A D I N G S

DOES NOT EQUALLY EXTEND IN ALL DIRECTIONS. Sommer’s reading inspired us to explore the concept of intimacy and distance which changes over time. That is, the changes in arrival and settlement distance within one’s personal space depending on the relationship between two people.

This notion of change then lead us to explore methods of movement that can be re-enacted using the skin and bone system. It was important to incorporate movement of some elements of the second skin to facilitate this change in personal space depending on the external environment as well as internal emotions.

THREE THEMES SONAL

OF

PERSPACE:

•Intimacy and distance (arrival and settlement distance) •Change in personal space depending on relationship •Visually attractive and appealing objects reduce your personal space and individual distance. They sense of security, safety and predictability

The backbone is another key vulnerability.

SIDE VIEW

Social custom of shaking our right hand when we meet someone

For most people the right hand is the ‘preferred’ hand with more coordination and strength

We are unable to see things happening around our back.

This unknown factor from the lack of sight causes us to be protective of spaces around our back.

Our personal space in front of us is much bigger than the space our back as we only allow our close friends hug us from behind or put their arms around our shoulders TOP VIEW The left hand side houses the main vulnerability of our body – the heart.

When saying hello, our personal space on our right hand side is much bigger than our personal space on our left.

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M2; A

PRECEDENTS

01_BEAUTY AND CHANGE Our design concept is about saying hello and hence our second skin is about evoking that sense of familiarity and comfort which brings people closer. Thus we used the blooming of a flower as a precedent for our skirt, the sash and the collar of our second skin. The concept of showing off your best side and creating a volume similar to the arrangement of the petals to create a volume.

BLOOMING

FLOWER

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M2;

CAGE

CRINOLINE

PRECEDENTS

02_CAGE CRINOLINE Also known as a stiffened petticoat or a rigid skirt, shaped structure of steel used to shape the skirts of women’s dresses and was especially prevalent during the 1800’s. The increasingly wide conical structure was a desired fashion statement of the time however the crinoline fabrics were not stiff enough to support their own weight and would result in a collapsed petticoat sitting above it.

Cage crinolines can be made into various sizes and shapes. Materials needed include hoop steel, twill fabric or ribbon to use as tapes and sewing equipment. The fabric must be cut into strips with pockets sewn in for the steel to be inserted into them.

This was a main precedent for the structure of the skirt and the collar. It creates a volumetric skin and bone structure rather than a planar one like the kite.

M2;

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This first prelimi05_CAGE nary idea explores movement through the use of hinges and joints. We explored the flower precedent however decided a more unconventional approach was needed.

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CRINOLINE

E L E V A T I O N ( F R O N T )

M2;

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS STUDENT JOURNAL

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PRELIMINARY IDEAS 2

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The second idea explored movement through foldngsimilar to the fan paper and frame structure. In terms of personal space, we started to recognise the differential role of the left and right hand and the importance of front and back. However, we wanted a design that accomodated personal space in a more fluid and subtle way.

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THE UNFOLDING OF A FAN MODELLED ON RHINO

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M2;

OLAFUR ELLIASON

PRECEDENTS

Olafur Elliason created a constructed reality that allowed the user to lose their traditional space of orientatation and required them to renegotiate social boundaries in a new space where sight was impeded.

L E C T U R E - L I N K 03_ THE ROLE OF PLAYERS IN DESIGN This is a particularly interesting concept as personal space involves the interaction of two ‘players’ and hence our design should accomodate for this instead of simply for the wearer of the second skin Design to accomodate relationship, the collective experience and the singular experience.

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M2;

THE

ONION

PRECEDENTS HUMAN COMMONALITIES B E H A V I O U R PERSONAL CORE

04_LAYERING The physical layering and peeling of the onion was a precedent for our skirt. The layering effect creates depth and density which is a design used in both our skirt and sash.

05_ENCIRCLING GEOMETRY The encircling geometry of the onion layers was our inspiration to create volume and movement. Moving in an element of our second skin in a circular movement was both fluid and graceful instead of mechanical and stiff like a rigid skin and bone system.

CHOICES VALUES

06_HUMAN BEHAVIOUR The ONION THEORY OF COMMUNICATION is another aspect that inspired our design. It explores the notion that as relationships develop, interpersonal communication moves from relatively shallow to levels of deeper, more intimate communication. This is a process of self-disclosure in stage and our design aims to reflect that.

M2; ROTATION

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PRECEDENTS

05_ROTATION In terms of movement, we explored the idea of the rotating towel rack and how, with a simple alteration of a component of the overall system, volume can be changed in order to form a new shape. This concept influenced our design through the utilisation of multiple layers that can rotate separately to form various combinations that both increases, and decreases the volume of the skirt.

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M2;

LINKS TO BRIEF

FINAL DESIGN The purpose of the collar was to allow the wearer to show off their best side which we determined was the face. The face convey’s emotion, personality and character which are essential in interpersonal connections and need to be emphasised The floral sash was our exploration of the concept of ‘differentiated effects’ as mentioned in lecture 4 and is used to provide the sense of protection for the wearer especially near the vulnerable heart. Each petal grows larger and denser as it approaches the heart providiing this sense of protection but not hostility.

The gap that we created in the skirt provides the interface for connection.

It provides the observer with an area on the right hand side of the area where they can fit into to shake hands.

The collar extends towards the back to block off the shoulders and the back and to encourage observers to move to the front where ‘saying hello’ can occur.

Layering was inspired by the onion skin and these movable layers enable various configurations of the skirt depending on the relationship between the two individuals

As the personal space on the left hand side is significantly larger, the skirt flares out towards the left to direct observers to the right hand side.

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M2;

DIGITISATION

FINAL DESIGN

01_THE VEST

02_THE SKIRT

03_THE SASH

M2;

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DIGITISATION

FINAL DESIGN

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PERSPECTIVE VIEW (BACK)

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PERSPECTIVE VIEW (FRONT)

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M2;

W E A R I N G

FINAL DESIGN The design will incorporate a sleeveless vest and a skirt that can be worn. The layers on the skirt will be movable by hand however the sash and the vest’s collar will remain static. From the diagrams, it is clear that the second skin distinguishes between the four sectors of personal space - front, back, left and right.

The skirt, its layers, the collar and the petal will all incorporate the cage crinoline structure using wire and fabric.

M2;

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DESIGN EFFECTS The skirt is designed to be rotatable on all four layers. Thus different configurations can be achieved depending on the external environment.

The colours of the layers, the vest and the sash will be soft, inviting colours that represent the theme of saying hello.

The arrow indicates the direction in which the wearer is looking.

ENEMY The gap remains on the right hand side however the layers have moved to cover the gap to prevent access to the wearer.

ACQUAINTANCE The gap is on the right hand side - in position to facilitate a handshake. The layers are on the left hand side to prevent access to the left of the body.

CLOSE FRIEND The gap has moved towards the front of the body- in position to facilitate a hug.

The layers have moved to the sides and back.

I N T E R A C T I O N

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M2;

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PROTOTYPING

Bone structure of the petals.

The petals of the skirt used a similar cage crinoline structure. It needed to be constructed in a way to allow it to be attached to the main skirt

This is the ‘bone’ structure of the main skirt.

We attempted to test the cage crinoline structure and its efficiency using wires. Our prototype also experimented with wires of different thicknesses in order to determine which was the optimum thickness for strength but also flexibility and malleability.

We also needed to test the joining of the two sections of the skirt to allow for the wearer to put it on as well as determining the ease of movement of the skirt.

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M2;

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PROTOTYPING

Connecting skin and bone: We connected the skin and bone structure using two different ways- stapling the skin together to form a pocket (like the kite) and threading the wire through the skin.

Two different effects of skin construction . The construction on the left hand side creates a panelling effect like a fan whereas the construction method of the petal on the right hand side creates a smoother, more ‘puffy’ effect.

M2;

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PROTOTYPING

GRID STRUCTURE

PETALS

MAIN SKIRT

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