Rasha Alshami

PORT FOLIO 2015-2018 Selected Works

RASHA ALSHAMI

M.Sc Architectural Engineering

RASHA ALSHAMI

Researcher - Architect - Designer Rashaalshami@hotmail.com www.rashaalshami.com

WORK EXPERIENCE 2018

SKILLS

INSTITUT FUR TRAGKONSTRUCTIONEN UND KONSTRUKTIVES ENTWERFEN

RESEARCH ASSISTANT

STUTTGART

I worked closely on the 3D Model making of the Flectofold-Bioinspired kinetic shape device with Ing.Arch Saman Saffarin at the ITKE institute. My work included fabrication of components, assembly and disassembly of parts, as well as detailing and diagraming of the Flectofold.

The work on the Flectofold fueled my interest towards developing fabrication techniques, which I am pursuing in my thesis.

2017

INSTITUTE OF COMPUTATIONNEL DESIGN RESEARCH ASSISTANT

STUTTGART

I worked as a research assistant at the ICD (Institute of Computational Design) with Serban Bodea and Niccolo Dambrosio on the fabrication of the fiber composite BUGA pavilion. There, I was asked to design the fiber syntax and manufacture the fiber components. I have also prepared the physical models and digital robotic studies.

2015 - 2017

90 DEGREES DESIGN STUDIO JUNIOR ARCHITECT/ FOUNDER

2018

Finishing my graduate school with honors, I was asked by my professor Saleem Dahabreh and my Tutor Nancy Alassaf to be a Partner at his newly established 90 Design Studio. There I worked as the creative director for the studio. I was also an architectural designer on several of the residential as well as interior designs during 2015-2016. Designs. As a team, we worked on several design projects and won several international competitions. I was responsible for design development, preparing shop drawings, and modeling and rendering the designs produced at the office.

- KUKA basic robotic programmig course certification - C# workshop 30 hours - Composite manufacturing workshop - AA visiting school in jordan

EDUCATION

LANGUAGES

UNIVERSITY OF STUTTGART/ ITECH PROGRAMME M.Sc

2010

AMMAN

Rhinoceros Grasshopper 3Ds Max Autodesk autocad Revit Sketchup Zbrush Python scripting C# scriptting Adobe Photoshop Adobe Indesign Adobe illistrator Adobe premier Lightroom Artlantis Lumion KEYHOT VRAY Robotic programming

English

TOFEL certificate STUTTGART

After my graduation in 2015, I became more interested in studying the relationship between materiality, computation, and technology.

That is why I decided to join the ITECH program to explore more the synergy between materiality, fabrication and architectural aesthetics.

Currently, I am preparing my thesis under the supervision of Axel Korner and James Solly, The focus of the thesis is to catalogue and model strategies in which bending active and bent plates can be developed from design to fabrication with fiber reinforced polymers. To do that, the thesis investigated the merging of the currently segregated fields of TESSELLATION, MATERIALITY and FABRICATION into one system to effectively approximate a form. I also have taken the KUKA basic programming certificate from the KUKA College and attended several scripting workshops..

Romanian

UNIVERSITY OF JORDAN

German

B.Sc ARCHITECTURE

AMMAN

My undergraduate program at the University of Jordan was five years. During the five years, we worked on several projects ranging from houses to skyscrapers. As a senior, I helped my advisor in several of the design courses he gave, volunteered to prepare and give lectures to students, was a jury member for fourth and fifth year students, and was a volunteer instructor teaching junior architectural students. I also attended many architectural workshops (AA visiting school), worked on several projects for the university (designing a medical school and the architectural school), and won several architectural competitions.

GPA. 3.34

Native specker

Arabic

Native specker

A1 certificate

CONTENTS

1 2 3 4 5 6

MASTER’s THESIS

ITKE / ICD 2018 PAVILION

BEHAVIORAL SYNTAX

SHAMROCK ROBOTIC RECOGNITION

BHāVA GRADUATION PROJECT

FLAVOURS

1

MASTER THESIS

COMPILING FABRICATION TECHNIQUES

Universitat Stuttgart / ITECH Master Programme Advisor: Prof.Jan Knippers, Prof.Achim Menges Tutor: Axel KĂśrner, James Solly Year: 2018 Location: Stuttgart, Germany Research: Fiber reinforced polymer potentials towards a materialized bending - active segmented shells

The focus of the thesis is to catalogue and model strategies in which bending active plates can be developed from design to fabrication with fiber reinforced polymers. To do that, the thesis investigated the merging of the currently segregated fields of TESSELLATION, MATERIALITY and FABRICATION into one system to effectively approximate a form. The aim of the cataloging is to address the question of how a guided combination of segmentation, tailored materiality, and Fabrication methods assists the designer in achieving desired forms. As the relationship between geometry, material, and structure is particularly relevant in the case of elastically formed systems, it is the limits of the material which dictate the global design of the system rather than the other way around, thus, the use of composite material widens the geometric range of this self-forming process offered by the more conventional segmented shells. Thus, our proposal investigates the use of composite materials in the design and fabrication of bending active curved structures and shells. This proposal builds up on previous research carried out by ICD and ITKE institutes, such as ITECH 2017/ 2018 pavilion, Jan BrĂźtting research study of Bending-Active segmented shells and Riccardo La Magna dissertation proposal regarding Strategies for the induction of curvature through the means of elastic bending of plate-based structures. Bending-active describes a wide range of structural systems that employ large deformations as a form giving and self-stabilizing strategy [Lienhard 2014].

These systems use the elastic deformation of planar materials to generate structures [Knippers et al. 2011]. With bending active surfaces, a predefined target form to the system, rather than obtaining a structure which is the outcome of a form finding process which involves no or very little shape control on behalf of the designer.

[1] MASTER THESIS

This proposal builds upon Frei Otto material-oriented approach for form-finding. It is based on the premise that through the manipulation of the composite elements bending stiffness, it is possible to create or achieve desired and controlled curvatures for shell structures. The composite elements take the desired curved form by a gradual changing of their bending stiffness in a fully automated process or partial automation ( ie. Tailored fiber placement or tape laying). This anisotropy is fabricated through integration of multiple materials in combination with layering of different orientations where the Young’s Modulus change along the direction of the object to customize the composite to a given need. As the relationship between geometry, material, and structure is particularly relevant in the case of elastically formed systems, it is the limits of the material which dictate the global design of the system rather than the other way around, the use of composite material widens the geometric range of this self-forming process offered by the more conventional segmented shells. Due to nature of composite material, the issue of joinery can be dealt with sufficiently and more effectively during the design and fabrication of the composite plates. Furthermore, in our thesis proposal, it is possible to evaluate structural performance and material behavior during the process of both design and fabrication. During the course of the research, we will address different parameters that affect the form of a desired shell: geometry, material properties, Joinery of segments, controlled displacement of a boundary condition, as well as structural behavior investigation of a final shell form.

[1] MASTER THESIS Glass Fiber

Carbon Fiber

Wood

Alluminum

L= 60 cm W= 9 cm Thickness = 3mm Fiber direction = 0/90

L= 60 cm W= 9 cm Thickness = 3mm Fiber direction = 0/90

L= 60 cm W= 9 cm Thickness = 3mm Fiber direction = 0/90

L= 60 cm W= 9 cm Thickness = 3mm Fiber direction = 0/90

Mat glass fiber

Mat glass fiber

Mat glass fiber

Triaxial glass fiber

Triaxial glass fiber

Triaxial glass fiber

1mm thickness

1mm thickness

1mm thickness

820 g/m 0.75mm thickness

820 g/m 0.75mm thickness

820 g/m 0.75mm thickness

Pure bending - High_Low_High thickness L=3m, W= 20cm, E=26GPa, Poisson’s ratio=0.18, Spec. weight = 15.4kN/m3 Zone A: L=90cm, t=3mm Zone B: L=120cm, t=1.5mm Zone C: L=90cm ,t=3mm

Pure bending + torsion - High_ Low_High thickness L=3m, W= 20cm, E=26GPa, Poisson’s ratio=0.18, Spec. weight = 15.4kN/m3 Zone A: L=90cm, t=3mm Zone B: L=120cm, t=1.5mm Zone C: L=90cm ,t=3mm

Pure bending - High_Low thickness L=3m, W= 20cm, E=26GPa, Poisson’s ratio=0.18, Spec. weight = 15.4kN/m3 Zone A: L=120cm, t=1.5mm Zone B: L=90cm, t=2mm Zone C: L=90cm ,t=3mm

Pure bending + Torsion - High_ Low thickness L=3m, W= 20cm, E=26GPa, Poisson’s ratio=0.18, Spec. weight = 15.4kN/m3 Zone A: L=120cm, t=1.5mm Zone B: L=90cm, t=2mm Zone C: L=90cm ,t=3mm

[1] MASTER THESIS

Fiber reinforced top layer Foam sandwich Bending active base layer

Top layer

Bending active sandwich layer Bottom layer

[1] MASTER THESIS

Pre-bent components

Flat pieces

3d Model

2

ITKE / ICD 2018 PAVILION

TKE/ICD 2018 PAVILION

Universitat Stuttgart / ITECH Master Programme Advisor: Prof.Jan Knippers, Prof.Achim Menges Tutor: Anja Mader, Evy Slabbink, Seiichi, Suzuki Erazo, Lauren Vasey, Maria Yablonina, Oliver Bucklin Year: 2018 Location: Stuttgart, Germany Research: Integrated adaptive robotic system based on bending active tensile hybrid structure.

3

BEHAVIOURAL SYNTAX

BEHAVIOURAL SYNTAX

Universitat Stuttgart / ITECH Master Programme Advisor: Prof.Jan Knippers, Prof.Achim Menges Tutor: Daniel Reist, Lauren Vasey, Anja Mader, Evy Slabbinck Year: 2017 Location: Stuttgart, Germany Research: Animal habitat inspired architecture and building system This research was carried out with an approach of biomimicry, where the design and proposed developments and inventions are based upon structural understanding of how nature and its processes operate. The focus of this study was to develop a conception of a light bending active tensile structure taking inspiration from the building processes of animals that produce silk and use leaves in their constructions with special focus on weaver ants. This research explored the general behavior of weaver ants, Oecophylla smaragdina, their hierarchical building process, and the technique of their nest construction. This was done in order to attempt to abstract principles for architectural scale and tests in physical models. By doing extensive observation, experimentation and documentation of the behavior of this ant species, our research adapts the findings to a building process technique.

It allowed us to identify a flexible form can be modified by a temporary curved kinetic structure with movable joints that is a ble to reach a desired geomtry. The study of weaver ants’ complex behavior in constructing their nests, was a core inspiration to reflect on the construction mechanisms of lightweight structures in which it can be applied to building environments and creating spaces, providing advantageous insights into new techniques for advancements in architectural design and construction.

[3] BEHAVIOURAL SYNTAX

Less Force required Smaller scale

Medium Force required Medium scale Extra leafs

Extra Force required Larger scale Extra leafs

1- Overlapping

Bending phase 1

Bending phase 2

Bending phase 3 2 - Layering

1- Shifting direction

1- Moving up the node 2D shape

1- Shifting direction

2- Stable position

2- Membrane fastening

2- Stable position

3-Shifting in Opposite direction

3- Locking after construction

3-Shifting in Opposite direction

[3] BEHAVIOURAL SYNTAX 1- Overlapping

2 - Layering

4

SHAMROCK

SHAMROCK ROBOTIC RECOGNITION

Universitat Stuttgart / ITECH Master Programme Advisor: Prof.Jan Knippers, Prof.Achim Menges Tutor: Lauren Vasey, Maria Yablonina, Long Nguyen, Tobias Schwinn, Oliver Bucklin, Benjamin Felbrich, Nathan Melebrink Year: 2017 Location: Stuttgart, Germany Research: Automate the tradional dry stacking construction process through methods of neural network approaches.

The project aimed to pick up on the traditional dry-stone construction technique and administer its processes and methods to create an autonomous and more efficient way of dry through utilizing robotics in creating simple forms from complex geometries utilizing stones, foam blocks, pebbles and construction remains ... etc. Our research is based on the idea of using a neural network approach for autonomous construction utilizing irregular materials found on-site. The project aims to build a computational engine able to create a data base made up of scanned objects that are analyzed and triangulated into meshes and records its geometric characteristics. Utilizing a neural network approach simulating the human brain, the computational model recognizes and organizes each object and gives it a distinctive label so that it can be retrieved and utilized on site according to its properties. In addition, the model supports the idea of swarm construction depending on emergence and the relationship between the local and global is without the need for blueprint. The project has the main advantage of utilizing very simple processes, i.e. a game engine instead of a physical engine to simulate the stacking process online. Furthermore, our robotic tool is made of simple material that can be found anywhere without the need for complex technology. This method can be utilized in harsh and hostile real world situations such as natural disaster or war devastated areas or future where physical human presence is difficult or hazardous e.g. Extra-planetary environments (Mars). Although the neural network approach (machine learning), takes a long time in object recognition but cuts time in the actual selection and construction process. Furthermore, the research conducted saves time and is able to develop at a faster rate than currently existing project

[4] SHAMROCK

[4] SHAMROCK

5

BHāVA

BHāVA GRADUATION PROJECT

University of Jordan Advisor: Dr. Saleem Dahabreh Tutor:Nancy Al-assaf Year: 2015 Location: Amman, Jordan Program : Computer comunity technology center- Mixed use proect The Bhāva is a Community Technology Center (CTC). The basic conception behind stems from acknowledging the multiplicity of worlds humans live in from the past to the future, from the physical to the abstract and aiming to create a narrative that collapses real and virtual worlds into a gaming universe. This gaming universe, which is a hybrid of virtual elements and physical objects (HVP) creates a state of spatial immersion, giving rise to the state of multidimensional consciousness i.e. consciousness on more than one dimension and more than one level. To design this state of becoming, of transition, of transcendence is to design a Bhāva. Thus, the Bhāva is the design of orders in collision: an order of existing reality confronted and challenged by an order of the new materialized virtual. The design is seen as an interplay between a Cartesian grid and energetic form that disrupts and challenges the omnipresence of the Cartesian grid to launch into the fourth dimension. The interaction of the ideal grid vs monstrous produces a heterogenic masterpiece that acts as frozen frame in continuous process of variations. The in-between spaces are contour spaces freed from the constraints of historical reality and of any predetermined meaning. The Cartesian system is made up of modular columns and beams made of Architecturally Exposed Structural Steel, (AESS).

The parasitic system is a topotransegric kinetic structure that is constantly reconfigured according to these changing conditions. The overall composition is a tribute to the constructivist spirit; governed by the interaction of faktura, the particular material properties of an object, tektonika, its spatial presence, and underlying laws of physics, chromodynamics, and lattice theory.

[5] BHāVA

[5] BHāVA

6

FL AVOURS

EXTRA CURRICULAR

Universitat Stuttgart / University of Jordan / 90 degrees design studio Advisor: Multiple Tutor: Multiple Year: Collection Location: Multiple Work Collection: Photography/ Art/ Competitions / 3D printing / Models What defines us is not only what we learn, but also what enjoy in our own time. I really enjoy turning ideas into reality, projecting what is on my mind into an image, a picture, or a design. To move from inception to conception to reality is a thrill that I seek every day. To share the inside of my mind with the world through drawing, taking photos, or designing competitions is a driving force of mine. I like creating of images where sounds speak and feelings materialize. I find passion in design, I enjoy solving problems and creating artifacts out of shatters. Architectural competitions reect my desire for what goes beyond the practical into the realm of fantasia.

What I study and what I do reect the dichotomy between the Apollonian and the Dionysian in me; structured order and unpredictable chaos, subjective art and objective science, freedom and constraint.

[6] FLAVOURS

Selected Competitions

[6] FLAVOURS

Selected Art

THANK YOU Rashaalshami@hotmail.com www.rashaalshami.com linkedin.com/in/rasha-al-shami