MODULE THREE

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MODULE THREE, FABRICATION CREATING A SECOND SKIN

NICOLE TAN, ALIX DE LA FUENTE, LINUS QU

M3; 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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M3; 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 smaller 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 smaller than our personal space on our left.

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M3; THEMATIC

INSPIRATION

FROM

THE

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.

KITE

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M3; PHYSICAL INSPIRATION

FROM

THE

MATERIAL SYSTEM

B O N E The rod of the kite is a rigid but also slightly flexible material. It is slender and lightweight but also strong enough to resist internal tension forces.

S K I N The edges are folded over and sewn to create a ‘pocket’ for the internal rods of the kite.

S K I N Fabric is in constant tension once the rod is attached to the eyelet.

ROD AND EYELET CONFIGURATION The rods and eyelets enable the fabric of the kite to be stretched in tension. The rods ‘push’ against the eyelet which stretches the nylon fabric of the kite.

B O N E Internal rods at the edges of the kite provide dimensional stability and allows the kite to hold its shape during movement.

KITE

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M3; 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

M3;

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PREVIOUS

DESIGNS

DESIGN IDEA 1

PLAN

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ARRANGEMENT A

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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 )

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M3;

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.

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M3;

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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M3;

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.

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M3;

PREVIOUS

DESIGNS

DESIGN IDEA 2 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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M3;

PREVIOUS

DESIGNS

DESIGN IDEA 2

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VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS STUDENT JOURNAL

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

M3; THE

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CONSTRUCTION

PROCESS

AND

PROBLEMS

1:1 PROTOTYPES

SKIRT

We also used wire to construct the waistband however that caused wearing and turning the skirt to be very difficult and clumsy.

We constructed the first prototype of the skirt’s frame out of wire. The wire was fairly thick and very difficult to shape into curves which resulted in the skirt and the petals forming an uneven and jagged edge.

We used wire because of its rigidity and ability to support the fabric and create tension. However, it was heavy and did not provide the visual effect of beauty,change and flexibility

Joining the wires together was messy and unattractive and also a very hard process.

It was difficult to bend the wires around the outer frame whilst the end product of this was also not neat or precise

PETAL

DESIGN OPTIMISATION

WIRE

From this prototype, we realised that we could not use wire to construct the frame of the skirt as it was not malleable enough and also it was quite heavy once the whole outfit was put together. We needed to find material that was just as efficient as a support system as wire however it must also display properties like being lightweight and easy to construct and connect elements.

SKIRT

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M3; THE

WIRE

SKIRT

1:1 PROTOTYPES

CONSTRUCTION

PROCESS

AND

PROBLEMS

The connection of the petals to the waist of the individual needed to be improved. Hooking wire around the waistband did not work.

The movement was unnatural and forced

The use of the nylon fabric was efficient because of its lightweight nature however issues arose because the material was too thin and so the wire would create holes in it from the tension.

PETALS Connecting the fabric to the frame also needed to be improved. We threaded the wire through the fabrid however this left the edges were messy.

DESIGN OPTIMISATION The design of the skin needs to be improved in several ways: It needs a better connection to the bones of the system whilst although nylon is a lightweight material, it is easily creased and torn.

Furthermore, the connection of the petals to the skirt needs to be redesigned to enable a smoother movement.

M3; THE

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FABRIC

SKIRT

1:1 PROTOTYPES

CONSTRUCTION

PROCESS

AND

PROBLEMS

The elastic band was used as the waistband was very efficient and easy to sew We used lightweight balsa wood sticks as the frame of the skirt. they were placed in ‘pocket’ sewn into the fabric like the kite. A bigger balsa wood rod was used for the longest edge whilst smaller sticks were used for the shorter edges.

Although the balsa wood was very lightweight, it did not have the flexibility needed to stay in tension without snapping.

DESIGN OPTIMISATION

The cloth fabric was too heavy for the balsa wood whilst the balsa wood frame was too brittle to maintain the tension needed. Furthermore, we needed to develop a way for the frame to stay constantly in tension in all axes.

However, this prototype’s successes (the elastic bank and sewing the fabric) will be maintained for future models.

M3; CREATING TENSION THROUGH BALLOON STICKS AND EYELETS

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1:1 PROTOTYPES

DESIGN OPTIMISATION

To maintain the tension necessary for the skirt to stay upright, we revisited the kite and its method of using eyelets and rods. Utilising eyelets enabled the balsa wood rods to be bent in tension which then enabled the fabric to be stretched.

Although the balsa wood rods were lightweight, they were unable to be placed under constant tension as they would easily snap. Thus, we decided to change the frame of the skirt to one made from balloon sticks as they are both rigid and flexible.

Furthermore, the cloth fabric too seemed too heavy and dull hence we decided to reuse the nylon fabric utilised in our first prototype as it better represented the visual image of lightness and flow.

The nylon is a light and thin fabric which is easy to stitch the eyelets onto whilst it is also slightly opaque which enables the bone system to be partially seen.

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10MM EYELETS PLASTIC BALLOON STICKS

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The eyelets were stitched to the fabric at a shorter length than the wooden rod itself. This bent the rod which in turn applied tension to the fabric and enabled it to be stretched.

The eyelets were 10mm which was sufficient to place the wooden rod in it.

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M3;

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PROTOTYPES

The member here enables a strap to be placed and the frame to be carried

DESIGN OPTIMISATION

The balsa wood was a good material to use for the frame as it is lightweight and will be easy to carry. However, better joints needed to be made whilst the 1:1 model will use rods with a larger diameter

Previously, there was also a frame system extending towards the sides however once the eyelet and rod system was tested and working, the ‘wings’ could be held in place simply using tension instead of a frame.

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VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS STUDENT JOURNAL

F A B R I C A T I O N

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NEEDLE AND THREAD SUPERGLUE DUCT TAPE CHISEL MEASURING TAPE SCISSORS ELASTIC BAND E

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BEIGE POLYESTER MESH

ROYAL

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NYLON

BALLOON

FABRIC

STICKS

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Cut the petals according to the measurements ensuring you leave sufficient room at the top to stitch the elastic.

Furthermore, it is important to ensure your balloon sticks are long enough to span the length of the petal (in this case we are using 50cm sticks).

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THE PETALS

F A B R I C A T I O N

stitch the elastic band onto ‘pocket’ using the 5cm tab.

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Cut the duct tape into a neat, square piece and cut a hole where the eyelet will be affixed.

(Thread was used to connect the eyelet to the fabric but under the tension, the thread would snap). Affix the eyelets in a North, South, East, West configuration at the edges.

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Petal when laid out flat and deconstructed

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Using a sewng machine, the petal by created a

Attach the balloon sticks to create a cross and load them in tension by placing them into the eyelets at each corner of the petal

M3;

F A B R I C A T I O N

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THE SKIRT

PLACEMENT OF EYELETS Once the fabric has been cut to the right dimensions and the elastic band sewn on, begin placing the eyelets at regular intervals around the outer and inner edge of the skirt.

In this case, we folllowed the crease lines created from the folding of the fabric into its packaging to minimise the number of crease marks on the skirt as it will be stretched out in tension.

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Tailor the measurements of the waist to the individual wearing it however add 5CM to create the pocket for the elastic band. Also ensure an extra 2CM is left at the edge for hemming. Repeat this process for all three fabrics and join the three fabrics at the waistband

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Place the balloon sticks in the eyelet to craete tension and this will form a gird like system on the bottomside of the skirt

Fold and sew (using a running stitch) the hem down to create a pocket which hides the duct tape squares and the eyelets. It will also create a smoother, more rigid edge.

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THE SKIRT

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The edges of the ‘gap’ need to be constructed as a different system to the grid.

Along with eyelets being placed at the edges of the skirt, an eyelet also needs to be placed where the two sticks meet in the middle.

This system is more similar to the tension system utilised in the petals.

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THE COLLAR

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Week Eight’s reading introduced us to Lapped Joints in the ‘Plywood Delaminations’ exhibit. These joints provides a seamless and strong connection which we utilised in the construction of the upper body collar.

F A B R I C A T I O N

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M3;

F A B R I C A T I O N

THE COLLAR Attach straps onto the frame to enable the device to be carried on the back.

On the triangular sections, attach an eyelet onto the tip and onto the frame to enable a balloon stick to be attached and tension to be created in the ‘wings’

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Construct a rectangular wooden frame out of balsa wood and the lapped joints. Cut the mesh to encase the frame as well as cutting two triangles to be placed on either side of the frame Instead of a running stitch, utilise a zigzag stitch as mesh has larger holes in its fabric.

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F A B R I C A T I O N

FINAL DESIGN

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FINAL DESIGN

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VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS STUDENT JOURNAL

F A B R I C A T I O N

FINAL DESIGN

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