DIGITAL DESIGN + FABRICATION SM1, 2017 Skin & Bone Peilin Cao 783864 Josh #1
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Contents 1.0 Ideation 1.1 Object. Party Whistle 1.2 Object + System Analysis 1.2 Volume. Sketch Design 1.3 Sketch design proposal 1.4 M1 Reflection 2.0 Design 2.1 Design development intro 2.2 Digitization + Design proposal v.1 2.3 Precedent research: 2.4 Design proposal v.2 2.5 Prototype v.1+ Testing Effects 2.6 M2 Reflection 3.0 Fabrication 3.1 Fabrication intro 3.2 Design development & Fabrication of prototype v2 3.3 Design development & Fabrication of prototype v3 3.4 Final Prototype development + optimisation 3.5 Final Digital model 3.6 Fabrication sequence 3.7 Completed 2nd Skin 3.8 Optimized Final Model 3.9 M3 Reflection 4.0 Reflection. 5.0 Appendix: 5.1 Bibliography 5.2 Credits
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0.0 Introduction A second skin protects, extends and moves. A volume indicates personal space.
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1.0 IDEATION Object: p[arty whistle Material system skin & bones Measuring tools: ruler, pencil, eraser, fine liner The first module focused on examine and analyse object, measuring its properties and exploring the essential functional system for potential use for second skin design. Through a detailed and logic measurement process, I figured out the SKIN & BONE system within object to support its performance. Digital modelling was also employed to translate the object for deeper understandings of structure. A sketch proposal was produced to record the initial inspiration.
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1.1 Measured Object Function While blowing air into the plastic tube, a tiny and thin plate will vibrate to make sound. Meanwhile, the air flows through plastic paper tunnel, which swell up starching out the coiled sheet. There is a small hole to allow the air flows out slowly.
Blow through thr hole
Section A
Section B
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Top Plan 1 : 1
Composition of party whistle _ Plastic tube for blowing air _ Paper tape to connect and plastic tunnel _ Coiled plastic tunnel working as a skin _ Sticky coiled plastic strip working as the bone system 4 parts work together to allow party whistle’s function making sounds, blowing plastic tunnel up.
Sticky coiled plastic strip
Analysing Diagram
Elevation 1 : 1
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Rhino Model
Top Right
Perspective 12
1.2 Analysis The coiled shape is a core impression of party whistle. There are various transformation of spiral, roll, reciprocal, etc. They are interesting shapes. Basically, a curve emanates from a point and revolves around it. They could meet golden ratio with half closed form. There are many example in the nature, such as sea snail, winding roads. And they are widely applied in design, like stair case.
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1.3 Volume Create a volume through copy and paste the basic coiled form from party whistle.
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1.4 Sketch Design Proposals Version. 1
Version. 2
Version. 3
The idea is to create a protection avoiding skin contect with strangers. The form perfomans a 2nd skin function to isolate the user in the crowd.
The ribs will have more aggressive potential. Rather than focus on serperation, this form indicates a warning - stady away!
This design shows more specific skin & bone components. The panels surrounds human body to create a spersonal space. They are connected and lifted through the sticks.
The structure flows around human body which will not block the movement and communication normally
The skin part helps to connect the ribs, as well as control the system transiting from close to expansion.
There are pin joints between panels and sticks, which allow the horizontal movement. It gives more flexibility for personal space.
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M1 Reflection At this stage, my primary stetch model catch reserved the main feature of skin and bone system. The wire and paper strips work together to stay in coiled shape. As Cheng demonstrated (2008), the process of making measured drawings for the object helps understand the process of design the object. There are multiple methods to measure party whistle, such a small object, like scanning, photographing and ruler measuring. Through object measuring and analysing process, it is beneficial for a deep understanding of the structure, function, dynamic theory of party whistle, and the relation with skin and bone system. According to the data collected from measuring drawing, it is easy to make a rhino model. During this process, it helps to achieve a more explicit 3D impression. The party whistle essentially functions in a skin and bone system based on plastic sheets material properties, which would recover a coiled shape after blowing up.
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Dynamic
Nagetive
Flexible
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2.0 DESIGN Team Work Peilin Cao Zijun Mo Qingyi Zhang
Following the feedback from M1, I began focus on more integrated design concept for second skin derived from the object. This module involved the development of second skin design, and initial prototypes. As an experimental phase, M2 also evolved from 2D hand drawings to more modern 3D methods of digital design
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2.1 Personal Space Personal space is ‘an area with invisible boundaries surrounding a person’s body into which intruders may not come’ (Sommer, 1969). It is important to recognise the layers of space and the boundary of personal space, which can be flexible fit for different situations, relationships, and moods. More specific understanding of personal space will contribute to shaping the form of second skin design.
Average social space
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Comfort personal space
Active body parts
Refine Sketch Model _The design would contain a group of dynamic units connected through doubled rings which control the systematic movement. _There were more considerations for material properties, which relate to the dynamic principle of system
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Sketch Design Concept Explaination The key concept derived from M1 is dynamic, which allows the second skin to adapt to different situations. In M1, this movement can be achieved by the elasticity of material. Based on these precondition a structure that can generate a vertical movement is found. It is consist of an elastic string, a pin joint and two pieces of bones. The sketch design is formed by multiple structures attached on two rings.
This second skin allows a positive movement, which can be control by the people wearing it. By pulling down the lower ring, elastics are elongated and the personal space is squeezed.
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Developing Idea from Sketch Model
Phase 1
-Positive Dynamic -Vertical movement -Sharp angle (triangles)
Phase 2
-Positive Dynamic -Vertical movement -Smooth surface
Phase 3
-Negative Dynamic -Horizontal movement -Smooth surface
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2.2 Precedent Research
Wells Cathedral Built in 1176-1490, England Characterized by the vaulting systems in transvers section. However, the ribs play a significant role in vaulting system of gothic cathedrals. And, there were inspired sketching fragments for design of ribbing profiles.
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Sendai Mediatheque, by Toyo Ito Built in 1997-2000, Japan. Tubes, plates and skin, as the main elements of the structure. The striking tubes not only serve to structurally support the building, were designed to resist earthquake as well. It provided the innovation for a sketch design, which consists of panels and strings performed both surface and movable connection functions
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2.3 Digitization + Design Proposal V.1 The expression for ribs in persobal space design
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2.4 Design Proposal V.2 The attempt design for stings and negative dynamic personal space.
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2.5 Prototype V.1 We started to test fishing strings and MDF panels. The shining effect of fishing stings was impressive, but it has stronger stiffness and 3mm thick MDF plates were not heavy enough to weigh down the fishing stings to be straight.
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2.6 Prototype V.2 We also explored more possibility of the idea of layers, try to test surface contrasting strings.
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2.7 Prototype V.3 Back to string idea, the property of cotton string going through holes on panels performed in a general way to be straight. The elastic bonds connected both sides of each panel seemed workable to realize the shrinkage of personal space, in an elevator situation.
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M2 Reflection In our initial anticipation, all the strings should be straight as skin function and be the only connection lifting the panels as movable joint function. And elastic bonds connect both sides of each panel to leaning on body profile to allow the system to be squeezed. During the development of M2, we test a few materials, which were all failed to reach our expected performance of design. The expression of idea was limited by material properties. The obstacle of reality against imagination was found, that the load of panels could not be distributed evenly to every string, which led to the curving of strings. It would be the main task we aimed to tackle in next stage. Apart from that, the shape of panels was not reasonable to be a set of semicircle or ellipse. there need a more convincing and more complex form for panel to contour that natural shape of body. Apart from that, the shape of panels was not reasonable to be a set of semicircle or ellipse. there need a more convincing and more complex form for panel to contour that natural shape of body. The stability of entire system should be refined as well. A single plate cannot satisfy the comfort demand for neck and shoulders.
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Reflecting on much work we completed in this module, it processed systematically – firstly, a sketch idea coming into various more concrete digital sources in Rhino 3D; secondly, diverse materials were explored whether they were proper to achieve primary design; thirdly, if it was not successful in performance, there would be the stage to address problems. As Scheurer (2011) demonstrated architecture design is a process of communication, which is a long way from initial idea to the built result. Fortunately, digital model methods really accelerate and support the modification of design, comparing with traditional language of architecture - a set of 2D drawing.
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3.0 FABRICATION Team Work Peilin Cao Zijun Mo Qingyi Zhang This module shows the fabrication process of the final design, following further prototyping. After M2, there were remaining problems to be optimized for wellmade details. The design effects also required further development.
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3.1 Final Concept
Elevator Scenario The design started to create a volume for transition of personal space in elevator. There are researches show the fact that the experience is uncomfortable for strangers standing less than 1 meter in a closed space, where are socially minimized but full of awkward silence places. Conversations generally struck up outside, but tend to be extinguished quite quickly in the thick atmosphere of an elevator. People walk in and usually turn around to face the door avoiding eye contact. If someone else comes in, people may have to move, for giving space politely to others and preserving personal space carefully. 40
Design Idea In terms of second skin project with elevator situation, the initial concept began with the semi-loops around body in a cage outlook. It holds a sense of restraint, protection, and blocking from other outside. Those feelings were quite fit with the elevator scenario, where is a quite closed public space, and people temporarily share personal space with others. In that case, people may need some blocks to avoid awkward body contact. Moreover, the system should have movable parts to allow the transition of personal space, when it is squeezed by others beside. The strings ideally achieve these function purpose. They could be used as the flexible connection for moveable panels. Through playing with the density, they could create developable surface and interesting crossing texture visually.
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Design Research In relation with the issues in M2, we did a research (original version attached in the appendix), which recorded the positions that people prefer to stand when they get into the elevator. Based on this record, it merged a series of irregulate loops indicating the squeezed personal space by each other in an elevator. Moreover, our second skin structure developed a more reasonable organic form. And the size of each panel was controlled to avoid extruding from other side, while doing trimming.
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3.2 Design Development & Fabrication Prototype V.4
Experimentation on another type of skin. The surface was explored which mimicked the strings outlook, through cutting with slits.
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Polypropylene surface and MDF panel was glued together.
Paper cut in slits stuck to mount board panels performed well in 1:5 scale.
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3.3 Design Development & Fabrication Prototype V.5
There were different arrangements of organic shape panels with strings. This version also upgraded fixing structure on shoulders, which more fitted for body profile.
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The combination of wires and MDF panels still could not reach the straight expectation, due to the little ductility and elesticity of wire.
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3.4 Final Prototype Development Optimisation
Connection optimization for notches The application of digital fabrication – laser cutting, promise the fine finished notches tight enough getting strings stuck in.
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Material optimization for Perspex and white elastic strings. They created a neat and shining visual effect. This time, we ignore the difficulty of equal distribution of force on strings, stretching all the panels down to ensure all the elastic strings being straight and resist dramatic deformation.
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3.5 Final Digital Model
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3.6 Fabrication Sequence Perspex plates
Elastic String
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Elastic string 2
Elastic Bank
Buttons
Shoulder detail
Connection
Elastic hand ring
Elastic leg ring
Connection of elastic band around body
Design overall appearance
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3.7 Com 2nd S
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mpleted Skin
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The application of fishing leads to weigh down the panels and make elastic strings straight
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3.8 Op Final M
ptimized Model
Using bolts to connect the double panels and being a part of weight.
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M3 Reflection During this process, I was a little bit struggled with whether turned to surface system or continue exploring strings. Appreciate to my team mates who encouraged me to test other system and helped me to determine our initial concept. We did extra research to upgrade the shape of panel reasonably. Moreover, I refined the fixing structure promising the stability of entire system. Finally, we found a proper string material for our second skin design. Unfortunately, the first final model was broken accidently, and we had to redo it again before week 12, which also tried a better solution to weigh down the structure by application of fishing lead. With regards to prototyping, what I learnt was that these material tests, such as various strings with possible junctions, provided significant, development for the overall design. These processes allow us to fully optimize every detail of the design. And there are still room to improve the details better for final model.
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Following the completion of this module, the digital printing process, such as laser cut fabricated the panels parts very efficiently, and simply ready for us to assemble. This effect was reflected in Lwamoto’s (2009) book, she praised the evolution of digital technologies broads the normal acknowledgement of what designers conceive to be formally, spatially and material possible.
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M4 Reflection Digital Design and Fabrication, as a design studio subject really broads my opportunities of being a designer. Throughout the semester, I have experienced an integrated design process: start from measuring and analyzing; next deriving and developing ideas by the means of sketch, digital software, as well as some pre- tests; finally fabricating and assembling the model. Reviewing the completion of this subject, I get much benefits from the procedure. Not only has my operation of digital programs, such as Rhino, skilled up, but my possibility of being a designer has been broad that the subject taught a method to explore every simple object to get the basic concept for design. Moreover, it is also a valuable experience working as a team at my early design stage, where we got more comprehensive ideas, suggestions and solutions in the process. The most crucial ways I relied on during the entire modules, are digital design and fabrication processes. I indeed get the feeling of ‘Architecture in the digital Age’ for design and manufacturing, discussed by Kolaveric (2003). It is a great progress for me to use digital programs translating my idea, and technologies fabricating my physical model. However, computer and machines supported much of my design work, there remained steps of hand craft. For my design, there was no alternative to install and adjust strings by hand for each prototype. On the other hand, hand craft provides more flexibility to adjust the design in the end, which permits more possibility of effect. When assembling the final model. I realized the digital techniques helped me a lot, but also blurs the ways of thinking with reality somehow. It was impossible to modify the design same as the digital version exactly, for they were almost movable joint, there were tension and gravity within the system which control the position and status of panels and strings. As Stan Allen (2003) mentioned, the practice of architecture has always been invested in the generation of real, concrete mater yet working with abstract tools. With the completion of this project, there are still many improvements I could do. For example, there need more application of heavy stuff, fishing leads are not enough to weight down all the strings to be straight. If time permits, it should keep test with CNC milling for thick timber blocks. In addition, the fixing structure sitting on shoulders needs reinforced to expend its load bearing capacity in case of cracking during test. For aesthetic purpose, back to white strings could reach better visual effect.
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5.0 APPENDIX
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5.1 Bibliography Cheng, R. (2008). Inside Rhinoceros 4/ Ron K. C. Clifton Park, NY: Thomson/Delmar Learning, c2008. Scheurer, F. & Stechling, H. (2011). Lost in Parameter Space? IAD: Architectural Design, Wiley, 81(4) 70-79 Lwamoto, L. (2009). Digital Fabrications: Architectural + Material techniques. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. Kolarevic, B. (2003). Architecture in the Digital Age – Design and Manufacturing. England, London: Spoon Press.
Image Resource Wells Cathedral, ‘The main nave’, Retrieved from http://pics.kaybee.org/Vacations/Europe2003/UnitedKingdom/England/Wells/ Sendai Mediatheque, by Toyo Ito, Retrieved from http://mayssssam.blogspot.com.au/2010/07/sendai-mediatheque-by-toyo-ito.html
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5.2 Credits Peilin Cao Zijun Mo Qingyi Zhang
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