2018-2020 selected works
RUXIN XIE ruxinx@umich.edu (734) 882-8500
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contents Digital Fabrication / Computation 02 - 09
01 Playscape
10 - 15
02 Advanced Robotics
16 - 17
03 Exquisite Lamp
18 - 23
04 Optimization Design
24 - 29
05 The Bundle of Sticks
Architectural Design / Visualization 30 - 35
06 Objects and Voids
36 - 37
07 Animation and Architecture
38 - 49
08 Context. Community. Crib. Core.
50 - 57
09 Fantastic Beasts and Here They Are
58 - 63
10 City of Art Restructuring
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PLAYSCAPE TCAUP-ARCH-509 ENGAGE FabLab Research Project Instructor: Sean Ahlquist 2019 Spring - present
“Playscape” is a collaborative research in sensory-rich, inclusive environments at the University of Michigan. It focuses on designing tactile interfaces and environments, along with their multisensory visual, auditory, resistive and haptic feedback, as means to address challenges in movement and social behavior for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Research led by Sean Ahlquist seeks to create responsive, sensory-rich architectural spaces that satisfy these individuals` myriad unique, preferred environmental factors. This research covers topics ranging from technical skills in programming, spatial design and fabrication of textile structures, to capturing computational and observational data for the study of social and sensorial interaction. Manufactured through CNC-knitting, the textiles are the main media in which to explore and design spatial, tactile experience. I am mainly engaged in the beam and bracket research as well as the optimized structure test with School of Engineer. Beams, a bundle of four or six GFRP rods, is the primary supporting structure for shaping and anchoring the textile. Brackets in specific numbers and sizes are designed to be the connections in between of the GFRP rods. The bracket research provides an opportunity for me to discover the relationship between the material capability and its impact on fabrication processes. This research involves collaborations with local venues and exhibitions such as the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, Haisley Elementary School, the Science Central children’s museum in Fort Wayne, Indiana and Exhibit Columbus 2019 in Columbus, Indiana.
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“Playscape” August 2019 at Exhibit Columbus Columbus, Indiana
Φ=0.3125’’ GFRP 3/8’’ Aluminum
LED Light Tube End- to-end Textile Rod
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Φ=0.375’’ GFRP 1/2’’ Polycarbonate
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“Playscape” October 2019 at Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum
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SpringForm
Surface Relaxation
Frame Construction
Processing 3.0
Rhino Python
T-Slotted Framing
In course “ENGAGE”, we looked into the development and testing of new prototypes, which are designed to encourage sensory regulation, physical play and social interaction. After having basic knowledge of Processing programming and using the specialized SpringForm software, the textile we designed allows for different interaction area from the projection, and it also encourages kids` full body movement through climbing the textile`s “aperture” and “cylinders”.
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Knitting Programing
Sewing
Fabric Scale Test
STOLL-CMS822
Serger Machine
Nylastic Yarn
Graphical interfaces and data capture are programmed in Java-based Processing environment for generating dynamic responsive features.
ARCH509- ENGAGE April 2019 at the Science Central children’s museum Fort Wayne, Indiana
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ADVANCED ROBOTICS TCAUP-ARCH-509 Advanced Robotics Collaborator: Ruisong Huang Instructor: Wes McGee 2019 Fall Project 1 Robotic Forming Digital fabrication in architecture spans a range from subtractive cutting operations to emerging additive manufacturing techniques. This project seeks to introduce a third category related to “forming” materials. While much of the discourse surrounding digital design has focused on surface, this process will focus on the line as a driver for forming steel rod into 3d shapes. Aggregated together, these shapes can create highly articulated, spatial, and structurally performative assemblies. Project 2 Incorporating Material Feedback Industrial robots are highly flexible tools, acting as a platform on which a virtually endless array of processes can be developed. One process which has been developed heavily over the last 5 years is the use of the robot as a large scale 3d printer. Successful additive manufacturing processes require a tightly controlled choreography of motion and tool parameters. The temperature, speed, and motion of the robot all influence the formation of the part. In this project, we focus on developing “control” over the process. By tuning the rotary table and the extrusion process in a rigorous method, the material can be deposited in a very controlled manner, as defined in the 3d geometry of the rhino file.
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The robotic rod bending process developed at the Taubman College allows a generic industrial robot to cut and bend steel rods into specific length shapes. Key to mastering this process is an understanding of how tolerances aggregate, as well as the development of an understanding of the constraints imposed by the process.
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Design to fabrication workflows: Rhino-Super matter tool, Python, Grasshopper, KUKA rod bending robot, 3-axis CNC, welding
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Through studying the 3d modeling with Rhino 6 plug in “SuperMatterTool� and practicing with 3d printing KUKA robot, this study focuses on exploring the 3d printing with the rotary table, which collaborates with the extruder for increasing the potentials of the printing axis.
Design to fabrication workflows: Rhino-Super matter tool, Python, Grasshopper, KUKA 3d printing robot Material Carbon Fiber (black)
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EXQUISITE LAMP TCAUP-ARCH-537 Fabrication Collaborators: Anjelica Perez Anh-Thu Vuong Instructor: Mick Kennedy Carlos Pompeo 2019 Winter Through an exquisite corpse compositional strategy, this Fabrication section introduces 3 separate making strategies and detailing logics that will manifest themselves into triads of utilitarian objects. Separately each of these strategies will yield objects that will appear and function as desk lamps, coat racks, and stools; alternatively, they will assemble into the anatomical parts of a floor lamp: head (desk lamp), stem (coat rack), and base (stool). Fabrication process includes the using of 3-Axis CNC Router, Rhinoceros 5 - Mastercam 2020 , Woodshop, laser cutter, Zund cutter, Water Jet, Metal break, Spot welder, and Sundry metalworking hand tools.
PETG_ZUND CUTTING
36.00
12.00
9.96
16 GAUGE METAL SHEET_WATERJET
0.50
9.90 R4.25
13.27
B B
0.50
16
0.50
D A
C
d= 3/16’’ holes for snap button rectangle for the circle steel
C D
14.13
A
10.70
0.50
13.12
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OPTIMIZATION DESIGN GENERATIVE DESIGN / MINIMAL SURFACE FURNITURE
TCAUP-ARCH-571 Advanced Fabrication Instructor: Mania Aghaei Meibodi 2020 Winter
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Digital Formwork: Computational Design and Additive Manufacturing for Integrative Building Components Concrete has been celebrated by architects and engineers because of its remarkable adaptability to take any shape as well as its sculptural and structural potential. Yet, in order to reach its full potential, concrete relies on formwork. Fabrication of formwork has been a resource-intensive and expensive step in the construction of concrete buildings, especially those with freeform architecture. This course focuses on using computation and 3D printing to design and fabricate freeform lightweight concrete components. Computational techniques are introduced to produce freeform lightweight parts. FDM 3D printing technology is used to produce lightweight plastic formwork for casting the concrete parts, with the purpose of expanding the geometric vocabulary of precast concrete elements in architecture. This fabrication method opens the opportunity to produce geometrically complex, integrative and lightweight concrete elements with the unseen aesthetic. During the class, students are introduced to Generative Design from Autodesk to generate lightweight elements using preserves, obstacles, forces applied on the object.
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SKETCH
Structure Load
Obstacles
iteration = 1
iteration = 10
iteration = 20
iteration = 30
iteration = 40
iteration = 50
Generative Result 1
Generative Result 2
Generative Result 3
Material
0.75mm PLA, 3/16’’ Acrylic
Software:
Autodesk Fusion 360
Printer:
Raise3d pro2 plus
Dimension: 234mm x 254mm x 247mm
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Disphenoid
Fundamental Region
Rotate Fundamental Region
Extract Edges
Offset Edges
Loft Edges
Rough Edges
Kangaroo Relaxation
WeaverBird Mesh Modify
x8
x8
x27
This furniture study expands the design of lightweight concrete formwork with the specific design intention. The mesh is defined by several rough edges and relaxed in kangaroo, which calculates the minimal mesh as well. The formwork is designed to be split into several 20mm-thick 3d printed hollow parts. Concrete will be cast once the formworks are combined.
Material
Concrete , 0.75mm PLA
Software:
Rhino, Grasshopper,Kangaroo
Printer:
Raise3d pro2 plus
Dimension: 676mm x 676mm x 775mm
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Photographed By Scott Crandall
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THE BUNDLE OF STICKS OPTICAL FIBER CHANDELIER / STEEL CABLE PAVILION TCAUP-ARCH-562 Propositions Studio Project 1 Individual Work Project 2 Collaborators Anika Shah Areeba Bawani Michael Ferguson Frederick Foote Christopher Humphrey Tianci Liang Yousun Nam Zaiyang Pan Sichang Xu Mingdi Zhou Scott Crandall Instructor Gaston P. Nogues 2019 Winter
The studio explores the intersection of computational systems and manual fabrication techniques and explore how they can be brought together. By combining computational branching algorithms with the technique of bundling linear material, it expands our understanding on the relationship between design fabrication, computation and material technologies. An optical fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. In this case, it is used to be bundled together for creating the fractal spaces and shapes. Due to the unstability of the fibers, several pre-fabricated frame is required for the manually fabricating process.
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Photographed By Scott Crandall
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Photographed By Scott Crandall
Material : 1/4’’ Steel Cable Formwork: OSB Wood Frame
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Steel Cable is used as the primary branching material due to its flexibility, strong resistance and easy-accessibility. The frame work is designed based on the branching geometry which is generated in grasshopper with several dividing points. The steel cable bundles require four rebars installed inside since the cable is mainly tensile force driven and hard to stand by itself.
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OBJECTS AND VOIDS ARCHITECTURE AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TCAUP-ARCH-660 TCAUP-ARCH-662 Thesis Studio Collaborators: Roberto Corpus Tianci Liang Instructors: Matias del Campo Sandra Manninger 2019 Fall-2020 Winter Objects and Voids explores the human and artificial intelligence collaborative production of architectonic elements. This began with a two dimensional style transfer generated by an artificial intelligence. This style transfer imposes a ‘style’ onto a simple geometry. This style is not necessarily a typical architectural style, but rather an artistic representation of a geometric formation. For this thesis, a painting by Croatian artist Ivan Generalić was style transferred onto a tall geometry by using Google Deep Style. The result generated two discernible masses adjacent to either side of the geometry connected with branch-like elements which derived from the painting and transformed onto the initial geometry and its surrounding space. The current limited abilities for an AI to translate a 2D image into a 3D model provoked us to question how the feedback loop between human and AI can convert this style transfer into a 3D model by applying our own sensibilities to extract elements from the style transfer to ultimately create not only architectonic elements such as floors and columns but also order and repetition.
Geometry Design Building Elements Style Image
Google Deep Style
Image Editing
ZBrush
Style-Transferred Image
Feature Extraction
Style Transfered Geometry Machine Learning Human Interaction Design Feedback
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Geometry Design
D 3
C B
2
A
Section A
Section B
Section C
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
1
Section D
Section 3
Section D Section C
Section 2 Section B
Section 1 Section A
Google Deep Style
D C
3
B
2
A
Section A
Section B
Section C
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
1
Section D
Section 3
Section D Section C
Section 2 Section B
Section 1 Section A
In the style transfer of Google DeepDream, through using a convolutional neural network, this program will find and enhance patterns in images via algorithm. Usually, the inputs include the content image and style image. In this case, they are building elements and the branching style.
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Image Editing Architectural Geometry
DeepDream Style Transfer
Feature Tracing
column section-a
column section-b
building section-a
building section-b
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The features extracted from the styletransferred images become criterial of regenerating the initial design. In this case, it appears the machine learning translates the original building elements to the new branching style but still keeps the building`s system. The platform and tools for the modeling part is ZBrush and shadowbox command. The model is printed by 3d printer at the scale of 3 / 8’’ = 1’ - 0’’
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ANIMATION AND ARCHITECTURE TCAUP-ARCH-509 Animation and Architecture Collaborator: Xinlu Sun Instructors: Sandra Manninger 2018 Fal l The course starts as a research project with a sequence of readings, screenings and analysis of historic and contemporary architectural examples: What are animated qualities in architecture and how are they produced? Through a series of exercises, we then explored a specific set of tools to generate, analyses, communicate and visualize architectural artifacts, their effects and affects. The outcome is an animated sequence producing and representing in Maya showing what are animate qualities in architecture. Through basic Maya components, the design procedures are mostly based on a symmetrical geometrical form finding in order to create a mirrored cubic tower. The final animation movie is in the following link: www.youtube.com/channel/UCUgelWzhC9OoP3QaGFu3azQ
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CONTEXT. COMMUNITY. CRIB. CORE. TCAUP-ARCH-572 System Studio Collaborators: Roberto Corpus Kemper Fagan Instructors: Michael Kennedy Kit Krankel McCullough 2019 Fall This studio proposes a re-emphasis on craft design, material deployment, and detail expression, so that new housing may be a locus for quality architecture and construction. Through an investigation of both traditional analog handcraft and digital fabrication, this studio explores how craft works at this moment in Detroit’s history and contributes to a renewal of the city’s great design and architectural legacy. Interested in a quick, easy, and low-cost construction of a shell in contrast to a detailed, crafted and collaborative nature of the interior layout, we investigated the farmhouse typology as the modern day version of the quonset hut. Utilitarian buildings of agriculture and produce are often dismissed as they blend into their surroundings, but their functionality and pre-engineered structural system are an opportunity for low-cost customized design. The prefabricated flexible system are the tool for creating high-design moments, open floor plans and low-tech but high-resolution aesthetics. We chose a cost-saving construction method in order to invest more in the design of the highly-crafted interior spaces but still keep the cost of the buildings low. We saw the project as an opportunity to address the need for small scale multi-family residential projects that integrate well into the growing warehouse district of Eastern Market. Context. Community.Crib.Core. provides opportunity in design in order to accommodate different needs on different sites. Flexibility, customization, and community were the driving forces to this design in order to create a causal living space for many people living in this light-industrial area.
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The categorization of outdoor spaces was essential to defining the space created between the buildings. We defined public, semi-public/semi-private and private space based on the implied ownership on the site. Public is seen as that dedicated to the greater Detroit neighborhood. Semipublic/ semi-private implies the housing community holds responsibility. Private provides space to individual units
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Standing Seam Metal Panel
Rigid Foam Insulation
Roof Decking
Girts
Interior Finishing
Concealed Gutter Portal Frame Core Concrete Foundation Seat
Kalwall System
Glass Glazing Window
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-Total gross floor area
27,000 sf
-Site area
40,400 sf
-FAR
0.668
-Number of floors
2
-Building height
24’-0”, 26’-0’’,16’-0’’
-Dwelling unit count
18-26 units
and bedroom count
18-26 beds
-Dwelling units/acre
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-Total SF of
7,000 sf
One One UnitU
Two U Two Unit
non-residential space -Total net leasable area
20,000sf(units only)
-Efficiency rate in %
74%
-Unit Typology
Compounds with flexible layout
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Three Un
Three
Structural and Mechanical Systems
Unit Layout 6
Unit Layout
4
1 Concrete Foundation
3 5 2
2 Foundation Seat 3 Steel Portal Frame
e Unit Layout 1
4 Radiant Floor Heating 1 Concrete Foundation 2 Foundation Seat 3 Steel Portal Frame 5 Electrical Panel 4 Radiant Floor Heating 5 Electrical Panel 6 Water from District Heating 6 Water from District Heating in XL Building
in building
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16 15 14 13 12 11
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1 Crushed Stone Bed 2 Screened Gravel 3 Rigid Foam Insulation 4 Concrete Wall 9
5 Waterproof Membrane 6 Radiant Floor Heating
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7 Concrete Foundation seat 8 Floor Truss 9 3/4’’ Kalwall polycarbonate 10 Glass glazing 11 Exterior Rake Soffit 12 Portal Frame 13 Purlins 14 Roof Decking
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15 Rigid Foam Insulation
6 7
16 Standing Seam Metal Panel
4 3 2 1 42’’ Frost line
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L unit Corridor
Community Courtyard
M Unit Interior Living Room
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1
2
2 4
4
UP
Modular Assembly Core: Kitchen + Bath 1 Bathroom 8’-6” x 4’-9’’ 2 Kitchen
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4
3 Stairs to Loft/Bed
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4 Wet wall to service bath and kitchen
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1. Bathroom 8’-6” x 4’-9’’
5 Modular system at 24” and 30” wide
2. Kitchen
with adjustable shelves at every 9” 5
3. Stairs to Loft/Bed 4. Wet wall to service bath and kitchen 5. Modular system at 24” and 30” wide with adjustable shelves at every 9” Adabtable kitchen components: Storage cabinets Fridge Work surface Mountable island 6. Vertical legs: blackened steel Shelves: wood, glass Partition Panels: wood, polycarbonate panel
Adabtable kitchen components: Storage cabinets Fridge Work surface Mountable island 6 Vertical legs: blackened steel Shelves: wood, glass Partition Panels: wood, polycarbonate panel
Modular Assembly Core: Kitchen + Bath
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2
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Loft Floor Structure and Assembly 1 Steel Angle 2 Girder Truss 3 Loft Floor Finish 4 Portal Frame Loft Floor Structure and Assembly A steel L-angle attached to the steel frames on both side walls allows for a flexible loft floor to be increased or decreased as desired without having to rely on structural walls or columns below, liberating the first floor plan.
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1 Steel L Angle 2 Girder Truss 3 Loft Floor Finish 4 Portal Frame
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Photographed By Jacob Cofer
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FANTASTIC BEASTS AND HERE THEY ARE
TCAUP-ARCH-552 Institution Studio Instructor: Neal Robinson 2018 Fall
To many people, Burning Man sounds like a utopia garden: attract thousands of people to the desert and create their own city. The ten-day long festival opens its “gate” once a year over Labor Day weekend at Black Rock City - a temporary city established in the Black Rock Desert of northwest Nevada. These “burners” will spend 10 days live together, taking part in several activities, creating art and at the end of the festival, watching a wooden sculpture around a hundred feet tall, or “The Man”, burn to ash. To some extent, Burning Man holds an attitude of anti-consumerism and radical self-expression. As a city that pops up and disappears in only 10 days, Black Rock City is controlled by a non-profit organization. Just like the camps in Burning Man are divided into different themes. The city hall is divided into different departments, with hierarchy. To be given rank like a soldier, each department has its own characteristic, own system, own language (perhaps like some secret passwords), but all of them are still in one same strict system. It shows the systematic thinking like an animal society in government. Determined by the different characteristics inside of the hierarchy, the whole city hall is a combination of various animals living in the utopian garden and obey the same “Law of Living”. Due to the special needs of volunteers, some parts of the city hall could be movable, which means volunteers will move to the site during the festival and serve the citizens face to face. Although each animal has a different shape and color, when we look at the outline of this group of struggling creatures from the air, we can not only feel the strict hierarchy from the big to the small but also the sense of strict Mosaic system. In the city hall, in government, System Is All.
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Here, animals symbolize community, cooperation, construction, specific functions, spiritual sculpture, and an art installation similar to the residential space. Such systematic thinking should play a large part in the architectural design, especially in systems with a clear hierarchy, such as city hall.
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Restroom
Emergency Services
Recycle
ARTery (Artist Services)
Black Rock Rangers
Cleanup and Restoration
Dept. of Public Works Regional Networks Dept. of Event Operations
A
Systems Planning
Black Rock Rangers
Restroom
Council Chambers
Arctica-sell ice
Dept. of Community Services Dept. of Mutant Vehicles
Information Radio
Mutant Cars Public Meeting Rooms
Black Rock Rangers
/8’’=1’-0’’
It is worth mentioning that since the burning man site is so huge (5,000 people faithful on a 7-square-mile patch of Nevada’s Black Rock Desert), part of the city hall will move to the “residents’ life” during the 10-day event. After the event, they will return to the site and quietly wait for the return of the residents next year.
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CITY OF ART RESTRUCTURING TCAUP-ARCH-516 Representation Collaborator: Areeba Bawani Instructor: Liz Gálvez 2018 Fall The city is created by three artists (and genres), and each equal-size room in the city is a combined representation of the three analysis criteria we used before. The ambiguity of the figure is the main source of visual accuracy. We define a very sharp area in a picture as purple, a moderately sharp area as blue, a moderately fuzzy area as green, and a bleakest area as yellow. Of course, different ways of “drawing”, such as hand drawing compared with digital drawing, which has a great influence on the sharpness of the image. Through Grasshopper’s image sampler tool, we can pick up the color brightness in the image as the parameter of “decomposing” the picture. The size of the grain depends on the color brightness. The brighter it is, the smaller the grain will be. Different artists’ descriptions of details lead to different pixel scales. To be more impersonality, we chose one same-sized part in pieces of art work (6’’*6’’) and compare it with each other. Similarly, the different ways of painting have a big impact on the pixels.(e.g. Lattice and graph block). Color block means pixels here will be bigger and in fewer numbers than clusters of dots. Finally, by digital modeling based on the information from each drawing, the art work is represented by using the “architectural language”. Each artist owns three blocks including buildings, plants and landscape. Three artists join nine blocks together and build the incomplete art reconstruction city.
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The different The grains grainsofof different images changes images changes greatly greatly caused by various artists and their caused by various artists presenting skills. Judged by and their presenting their sizes, these skills. “dots” can be translated architecturJudged by theirto sizes, these al language——ground cover, “dots” can be translated to including trees (big dots) or architectural language—— shrubs (small dots). ground cover, including trees (big dots) or shrubs (small dots).
Toshow show how how sharp sharp the the surTo face is, we assume that the surface is, we assume that more blurred the map is, the the more blurred map will more higher the the terrain image will be is,be. theThus morethe higher the translated into topography. terrain will be. Thus the image will be translated into topography.
GRAINS
GROUND COVER
SHARPNESS
LANDSCAPE
Defined Defined by bythe thedegree degreeofof refinement,the the size of refinement, size of pixels pixels and its light and and its light shade shade areasand could be areas shown could be shownwith by buildings by buildings different height, for example, with different height, forfrom skyscrapers to cottage. The example, from skyscrapers brighter the pixel is, the to cottage. brighterwill be, higher theThe building andpixel fewer pixel leads the is, the higher theto fewer building number. building will be, and fewer pixel leads to fewer building number.
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PIXELS
BUILDING
GRAINS
SHARPNESS
PLANTS
LANDSCAPE
BUILDING
“ROOM”
Art Work Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Seurat https://www.artsy.net/artwork/georges-braque-violin-and-candlestick http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/contemporary-art-evening-auction-l15024/lot.12.html
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Using architectural language, it is practicable to re-code and re-present the images of different artists. The endless city is divided by the equal-size rooms in which various artists decorate their own rooms with different art performing like painting. Rooms are keywords to understand artists` minds and their techniques of expression.
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pointillism
cubism
digital illustration
sharpness
grain
pixel
architectural language
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