Paul Virilio
Paul Virilio
CONTROLLING THE GLITCH
RICHARD MADDOCK MARC MICUTA SAHRA STOLZ
1
Our team comprises University of Melbourne Master of Architecture students: Richard Maddock B.Eng. Computer Systems, University of Tasmania Marc Micuta B.Eng, University of Sydney Sahra Stolz B.Fine Arts, Victorian College of the Arts
ABOUT THE STUDIO Machining Aesthetics is a design research unit run by David Legget and Paul Loh of Leggett Loh Design Studio. LLDS is an experimental design orientated practice that operates between art and architecture as cultural processes and social interaction. www.powertomake.com.au
COVER: THIS PAGE: 2
Façade mould Spatial model
All content Š 2013 Maddock, Micuta, Stolz unless otherwise specified.
CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS
4
GLOSSARY
5
0.0
INTRODUCTION
7
1.0
TOUCHSTONE
10
1.1
RESEARCH BRIEF 1
14
1.2
GENERATIVE PROCESS : Touchstone
37
1.3
System glitch: the aesthetic of error in an age of parametric purity
56
2.0
DESIGN BRIEF
62
2.1
SPATIAL MODEL
68
2.2
CULTURAL MODEL
78
2.3
Craft and ‘the smallest difference that makes a difference’
80
3.0
FAÇADE PROTOTYPE
86
3.1
Suspended threshold
116
3.2
DESIGN PROPOSAL
122
4.0
REFLECTION AND AFTERWORD
130
5.0
BIBLIOGRAPHY
134
6.0
ATTRIBUTION MATRIX
136 3
ILLUSTRATIONS Spatial model
4
9
Clement Valla — Postcards from Google Earth
61
Sainte Marie de La Tourette
10
Craft Victoria window display
63
Early touchstone iterations
13
Craft Victoria building
65
La Tourette Drawing 1
16
Joe Pascoe, CEO Craft Victoria
66
La Tourette Drawing 2
18
Office space, Craft Victoria
66
La Tourette Drawing 3
20
Shop space, Craft Victoria
67
Touchstone V.1
22
Long gallery space, Craft Victoria
67
Touchstone process
24
Spatial model: Generative process
70
Polygonal mesh calculation
24
Joinery detail
81
Working on the Grasshopper definition
26
Joinery detail
83
VisualMill 6.0 toolpathing
26
Joinery detail — façade prototype
85
Myrtle
26
The complete Grasshopper script — façade prototype 86
David Leggett at work, LLDS workshop Reservoir
26
Façade prototype, Flinders Lane
Light cannons, La Tourette
30
Cultural model
117
109, 111, 113 - 115
Crafting, materiality and texture
31
The cultural model superimposed over Flinders Lane
119
Touchstone V.2
32
Photo: http://www.walkingmelbourne.com/
119
Laplacian smoothing
33
Roof - façade model
121
Grid division matrix
34
Interior retail space
123
Touchstone V.3
35
Urban scale - axonometric
124 - 125
Touchstone V.3
54
Urban strategy - aerial photograph
126 - 127
Olivier Ratsi: New SM3 v2
57
Construction sequence — foundations
128 - 129
Benjamin Gaulon / Recyclism — Corrupt
59
Unmoulding the cast plaster façade
131 - 133
GLOSSARY BOOLEAN Boolean is a system of logical thought developed by the English mathematician and computer pioneer, George Boole (181564). A Boolean difference is an operation which determines the difference between two values in order to remove the parts of a given geometry which shares coordinates with another.
GLITCH A glitch is a sudden malfunction or fault of equipment or information. Usually understood as a noun, we have used the term as a verb to describe a technique of pushing and LQFRUSRUDWLQJ JOLWFKHV LQ RXU SURFHVV WR H[SORUH GDWD FRUUXSWLRQ and modelling error as an informing agent in design.
BREP In solid modelling and computer-aided design, boundary representation—often abbreviated as B-rep or BREP—is a method for representing shapes using the limits. A solid is represented as a collection of connected surface elements, the boundary between solid and non-solid.
LAPLACIAN SMOOTHING Laplacian smoothing is an algorithm to smooth a polygonal mesh. )RU HDFK YHUWH[ LQ D PHVK D QHZ SRVLWLRQ LV FKRVHQ EDVHG RQ local information, such as the position of neighbouring vertices, DQG WKH YHUWH[ LV PRYHG WR WKH QHZ FRRUGLQDWH
CAVERNATING The process of selectively removing internal geometry as a cavity within a BREP. CLT (CROSS LAMINATED TIMBER or X-LAM) A multilayered completely solid timber panel which: Ť LV FDUERQ SRVLWLYH Ť LV FURVV ODPLQDWHG IURP PP VROLG VSUXFH ERDUGV WR D thickness of 70 –350 mm. Ť FRPHV LQ OHQJWKV RI XS WR P ZLGWKV XS WR PHWHUV Ť IHDWXUHV H[FHOOHQW GLPHQVLRQDO VWDELOLW\ GXH WR FURVV ODPLQDWLRQ
MYRTLE 0\UWOH LV WKH DÄłHFWLRQDWH QDPH IRU WKH 0XOWLFDP $[LV &1& router at LLDS workshop in Reservoir. TOUCHSTONE A piece of fine-grained dark schist or jasper formerly used for testing alloys of gold by observing the color of the mark that they made on it. A standard or criterion by which something is judged or recognised.
CNC Computer Numerical Control is the automation of machine tools that are operated by abstractly programmed commands.
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6
0.0 INTRODUCTION Machining Aesthetic
Working method
The ability for the novice 3D CAD modeller to achieve a high GHJUHH RI JHRPHWULF FRPSOH[LW\ TXLFNO\ DQG HDVLO\ LV QR ORQJHU a novel phenomenon. Results, however, are often predictable: waves of perfectly rhythmic undulation, precision-cut apertures H[SRVLQJ DQ DURPDWLF ODVHU EXUQHG HGJH DQG DQ DUUD\ RI VWDQGDUG Äą[LQJ HOHPHQWV ,Q SUDFWLFDO LPSOHPHQWDWLRQ SDUDPHWULF GHVLJQ has been demonstrably utilised not to further the built outcome of our cities, but rather to clad Modern curtain-wall buildings with intricate decorative screening panels and furnish university atria with lightweight demountable sculptures. The highly customisable language of parametric design has become prosaic, limited by the materials which can be tooled by programmable automated fabrication methods.
In our work for Machining Aesthetic design studio, machine fabrication has been at the fore of our practice from the earliest design brief to ultimate 1:1 scale fabrication. Working closely with Paul Loh and David Leggett of LLDS we were granted access to a D[LV &1& computer numerical control) router, in addition to the laser cutting and timber fabrication workshops available to us through the University of Melbourne.
The advance of parametric modelling can only be complemented by innovations in mechanical fabrication. Machining necessitates a thoughtful and investigative approach with regards to tooling, materiality and construction hierarchy; engendering a way of thinking which considers parametric modelling as a toolset for the conception of architectural design and not as a design in and of itself. The challenge now is to understand parametric design as embodying the potentiality for generation of a complete ontological system; a parametric building as opposed to a building wearing a parametric skin.
Our goal from the outset was to establish a workflow whereby we could discuss and sketch out ideas together, which could subsequently be translated into more fully realised visualisations working together or separately, but always communicating progress via phone, email and through our jointly written blog. These visualisations would normally take the form of a Grasshopper script output to Rhinoceros. From here the script could be modified as a result of discussions, both between ourselves and with our studio lecturers Paul Loh and David Leggett.
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8
Design progressed as often as not through computational and production errors, each slip yielding unforeseen results which could potentially be incorporated into the following iteration. Using 12mm plywood for the majority of our physical models was in itself a conscious preference made for a consistent and reliable material which could forgive variation in terms of surface characteristics and cutting precision. A timber model could also be modified using hand tools subsequent to the machining process, allowing changes and refinements to be carried out as required. We produced three finished iterations of the touchstone, the ıQDO DQG PRVW FRPSOH[ LWHUDWLRQ SURYLGLQJ D JUHDW PDQ\ FXHV IRU the transition from sculptural object to inhabitable architectural space.
Final brief The leap from the ‘pure’ form of the touchstone brief to one requiring an approach mindful of a multitude of considerations was somewhat daunting. Working without the standard architectural parameters had engendered a way of thinking which was unbounded by the need for carefully programmed space, and in retrospect this was a good way to start to think of the building as a continuation of the work we had done with the touchstone and not as a conventional building program.
The brief called for a new building for Craft (formerly Craft Victoria), at the site of their current premises, 31 Flinders Lane in Melbourne’s CBD. The area is rich with crafting history, and was home to Melbourne’s “rag trade” at the end of the 19th century. The response was developed over many weeks trialling the “cavernating” process that we had developed to form an interior void within the touchstone in a way which would generate programmatic space as required. The voids were ultimately developed in response to projected circulation routes through the building and the stated requirements for particular floor areas and volumes. At first, sketch designs were developed into a spatial model which was presented to Craft Victoria’s CEO Joe Pascoe and a panel of guest architects. The feedback gained from this session was used to evolve the project towards a more considered outcome in the form of a cultural model. This model would articulate the public engagement with the building and announce Craft Victoria’s public presence. Finally, a 1:25 façade model represented the resolution of our thinking, talking, doubting, debating, sketching, revising, building, coding, drafting and crafting. We hope you enjoy looking through this book as much as we enjoyed the process of making it. Richard Maddock, Marc Micuta, and Sahra Stolz
Spatial model
9
1.0
TOUCHSTONE
Preparation for our final design brief was accomplished through the design of a touchstone. The touchstone was to be conceived of as a device which would evince the distinctive tropes associated with a building precedent investigated by our group as a case study in week one. By designing indirectly, ie. through the interpretation of a precedent, we would have a process and an object with which we would test the soundness of our design thinking and making. Our group looked at La Tourette, the French Dominican monastery completed by Le Corbusier between 1956 and 1960. The building appealed to us as one which embodied a rough hewn materiality, contrasted with a masterful lightness in the treatment of apertures. Corbusier’s collaboration with architect and mathematician Iannis Xenakis also allowed our group to consider the role of algorithms in process. Through our investigation of La Tourette we resolved that we wanted our work to be concerned with process and material tactility, with attention paid to the modulation of light from H[WHULRU WR LQWHULRU &RPSOH[ JHRPHWU\ ZDV FRQVLGHUHG WR EH D lesser priority, though one we were also keen to investigate.
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Sainte Marie de La Tourette Photo: L’Association des Amis de La Tourette
1. 2. 3. 4.
Start with a cube 6XSHULPSRVH H[WUXGHG UHSHDW SDWWHUQ EDVHG RQ /H &RUEXVLHUřV OLJKW FDQQRQ VKDSH ([WUXGH JULG VHFWLRQV WR D KHLJKW GHWHUPLQHG E\ D GDWD VHW 5HPRYH VROLG IURP WKH PDVV ZKHUH WKH H[WUXVLRQV SDVV WKURXJK LW
LQIRUPDWLRQ IRU GDWD VHWV GLVFXVVHG LQFOXGHG D UDQJH GLYHUVH VXEMHFWV IRU H[DPSOH WKH SDWK RI WKH VXQ on a given date at La Tourette.
For fabrication we utilised a simple stacking method, the form developing through accretion of unique parts. The assembled parts could then reveal themselves to be operable in a number of ways: the pieces could move and rotate, come apart and fit back together to become whole again. The simplicity of this method DOORZHG D IJH[LELOLW\ LQ GHWHUPLQLQJ LQWHUQDO DQG H[WHUQDO IRUP DV at once separate and indivisible — a tactic we would maintain throughout the design process. We generated a rule set or a recipe for making which would determine the way in which the touchstone would be formed as a specific set of steps. This part of the process threw up a question about whether we would start with a form, such as a cube or a blob, or a set of points. We began working with a kite-shaped
polygon which was a nod to Le Corbusier’s light cannons over the monastery’s sacristy. Using Rhinoceros and Grasshopper, the NLWHV ZHUH WHVVHOODWHG DQG H[WUXGHG DORQJ WKH ] D[LV 7KH UHFLSH ZH GHYLVHG FUHDWHG D URXJK VHW RI H[WUXVLRQV ZKLFK we could use as a starting point, but still needed a lot of work. 7KH H[WUXVLRQV DORQH ZHUH QRW LQWHUHVWLQJ UHYHDOLQJ HYHU\WKLQJ about themselves at a glance rather than offering more upon FORVHU LQVSHFWLRQ :H GHFLGHG WR XVH WKH H[WUXVLRQV DV DSHUWXUHV through a solid form, but were not sure how to proceed with the IRUP :H GHWHUPLQHG WKDW WKH H[WUXVLRQV ZHUH WKH WKLQJ ZH ZHUH interested in, and for that reason the solid form should be a “non� form. We decided on an amorphous blob, deliberately ambiguous as to orientation (top, bottom, sides). continued on page 23 ...
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1.1
RESEARCH BRIEF 1 Precedent Study
As part of our initial research we cooperatively modelled our precedent study, La Tourette, in Rhinoceros to produce a suite of D[RQRPHWULF GUDZLQJV This achieved three objectives: through modelling and analysis we gained a good familiarity with the specific architectural form of the precedent study, improved on our 3D modelling skills, and produced drawings which convey and highlight the tropes identified. The following pages are the results of this brief.
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The World is my Cloister La Tourette Drawing 1: The World is my Cloister 16
La Tourette Drawing 1 — Interiority and Exteriority ([SORGHG ID×DGH D[RQRPHWULF :H ZHUH LQWHUHVWHG LQ KRZ La Tourette has an interiority that renders it isolated from the outside world, establishing two levels of being inside the building. It is possible to be inside the building proper, but then beyond that there’s the cloister on the inside, which becomes a second level of covered space. The perceived thickness of various façades is also demonstrated, from the very thin, delicate refectory façade to the thick balconies of the monks’ cells – a façade with depth.
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Touching the Void La Tourette Drawing 2: Touching the Void 18
La Tourette Drawing 2 — Privacy and Publicness Another thing which became clear while constructing the model was the difference between solid and void, and how Le Corbusier used light to carve out spaces from a seemingly solid building volume, in particular the light cannons of the sacristy and FKDSHO 7KLV DUFKLWHFWXUDO PRYH ZDV XVXDOO\ H[HFXWHG WKURXJK D thickened wall, dramatically affecting the quality of the light and interior space. The control of light is also carefully handled – for H[DPSOH WLOWHG FRQFUHWH VODEV DW WKH HQG RI WKH FRUULGRUV IRU WKH monks’ cells still allow light to enter, but do not permit a view to the outside.
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3
Section Your Senses
La Tourette Drawing 3: Section Your Senses 20
La Tourette Drawing 3 — Material articulation and effects It was clear that Le Corbusier intentionally utilised a contrast between spatial volume and the quality of the light to compose the building’s architecture. )RU H[DPSOH WR GLVWLQJXLVK EHWZHHQ WKH W\SH RI DFWLYLW\ EHLQJ held in the larger communal areas, Le Corbusier used light to encourage a certain habitation of the space. The chapel consists of a very tall volume, but has very little direct light and is mostly illuminated by diffuse light to encourage a quiet, serene and contemplative environment. The communal eating areas however contain the most direct light of the entire building, and is proportioned to stimulate conversation and interaction between inhabitants. This drawing sought to highlight these distinct differences in spatial volume and internal lighting by sectioning the building DORQJ D VHULHV RI SDUDOOHO D[HV
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What resulted from that first cut was, in retrospect, a very basic form. But for us it was a miniature revolution. To see something we’d thought of completely in the abstract take physical form was highly addictive.
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Touchstone V.1
1. 2. 3. 4.
Start with an amorphous mass 6XSHULPSRVH H[WUXGHG JULG EDVHG RQ /H &RUEXVLHUřV OLJKW FDQQRQ VKDSH &XOO H[WUXVLRQV 5HPRYH VROLG IURP WKH PDVV ZKHUH WKH H[WUXVLRQV SDVV WKURXJK LW
... continued from page 12 7KH H[WUXVLRQV ZHUH DGMXVWHG WKURXJK VFDOH DQG E\ UHGXFLQJ WKHLU IUHTXHQF\ DQG ZH FKRVH DQ RXWFRPH IURP D UHVXOWLQJ PDWUL[ which we felt had a good balance of solid and void. Not wanting to cut more than necessary to test the touchstone’s first fabrication, we prepared a quadrant to cut as a sample.
&XWWLQJ RXU ÄąUVW PP [ PP VKHHW RI PP SO\ZRRG ZDV UHDOO\ H[FLWLQJ 0\UWOH SDVVHV WKURXJK WKH SO\ VKHHW OLNH the proverbial hot knife through butter, making crisp grooves with the 4.76mm cutting bit. The material cut away was forced down towards the CNC bed rather than up to the surface of the sheet, minimising airborne sawdust, wedging the cut pieces firmly in place and with less loss of vacuum from the bed.
3UHSDULQJ WKH FXW ÄąOH ZDV DQ H[HUFLVH LQ JDLQLQJ IDPLOLDULW\ ZLWK 0\UWOH WKH D[LV &1& URXWHU DYDLODEOH WR XV DV SDUW RI WKH Machining Aesthetic studio. Cutting could only occur from the top or sides, precluding an outcome with any pieces which would require cuts from both the top and underneath1. Milling2 required careful planning and preparation.
Assembly of the touchstone pieces was straightforward — a stacked hierarchy from biggest at the bottom to the smallest at the top. What resulted from that first cut was, in retrospect, a very basic form. But for us it was a miniature revolution. To see something we’d thought of completely in the abstract take physical form was highly addictive.
1
2
Cutting from both faces would require flipping the material with misalignment a likely result. Milling: cutting only part way through the material.
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Touchstone process
The clarity of process applied to the touchstone over multiple iterations allowed a coherent and sequential formula to be applied on a larger scale, making clear the starting point for our final brief.
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2. Polygonal mesh
3. Laplacian smoothing
Polygonal mesh calculation
4. Superimpose grid
'XH WR WKH OLPLWV RI WKH D[LV PLOOLQJ PDFKLQH DQG WKH LQDELOLW\ WR HDVLO\ SHUIRUP XQGHUFXWWLQJ D SRO\JRQDO PHVK with a horizontal inflection plane was required.
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Touchstone V.3 D[RQRPHWULF
Touchstone V.3 H[SORGHG D[RQRPHWULF
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Clockwise from top left: Marc and Richard work on the Grasshopper definition VisualMill6.0 is used to define a toolpath for CNC fabrication Myrtle completes milling surfaces before continuing with profile cuts Myrtle at rest Facing page: David Leggett at work, LLDS workshop Reservoir
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Something else which came from that first cut touchstone was a simple cutting error. Somewhere between preparing the nested file and cutting, at least one aperture was deleted from the shapes. This resulted in a kite-shaped void which didn’t pass all the way through the blob — a perfectly flat shelf of material remained intact mid-way through the stack. Rather than bemoan the failure, the error was seen as a serendipitous outcome because it OHW XV H[SORUH DQ XQIRUHVHHQ RSWLRQ DQG LQLWLDWHG WKH SRWHQWLDO RI processing error as a welcome fourth member of the design team. This member was to become known as GLITCH, and was to make itself known throughout the project.
The second touchstone was to incorporate a larger internal void LQ DGGLWLRQ WR WKRVH ZKLFK SDVVHG WKURXJK IURP WKH H[WHULRU 7KLV internal space was likened to a cavern with light filtering in from WKH H[WHULRU DQG DV VXFK WKH SURFHVV RI GHÄąQLQJ WKH FDYHUQ VSDFH came to be known as “cavernatingâ€?. The cavern space was formed E\ GLYLGLQJ WKH H[WUXGHG WHVVHOODWLRQ LQWR ORQJLWXGLQDO VHJPHQWV These segments would be regionally activated by placing points ZLWKLQ WKH EORE WKRVH ZLWKLQ D FHUWDLQ SUR[LPLW\ WR WKH SRLQWV would cull the solid space they occupied.
tool path
cutting tool
The sectioning line was one of the few design processes made almost entirely by hand, ie. without a scripting SURFHVV 7KH OLQH ZDV GUDZQ WKURXJK WKH REMHFW IROORZLQJ WKH JULG SDWWHUQ XVHG IRU WKH H[WUXVLRQV 2QH RI WKH XQH[SHFWHG RXWFRPHV IURP WKLV ZDV WKDW WKHUH ZDV D GLVFUHSDQF\ EHWZHHQ WKH DQJOHV GUDZQ XVLQJ WKH JULG DQG those which could be cut by a tool with a 2.38mm radius. While our salient angles were cut correctly, reentrant angles were rounded. This meant that the corresponding pieces could not sit perfectly in place unless all salient angles were also rounded by the radius of the tool.
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Somewhere between preparing the nested file and cutting, at least one aperture was deleted from the shapes. This resulted in a kite-shaped void which didn’t pass all the way through the blob — a perfectly flat shelf of material remained intact midway through the stack.
:H GLVFXVVHG H[SHULPHQWLQJ ZLWK D IRUP ZKLFK FRXOG RSHQ OLNH D SX]]OH ER[ WR UHYHDO WKH QHZ FDYHUQDWHG LQWHULRU %\ FOHDYLQJ the object into two or more pieces, we could devise a joint which would hinge between them. We’d already used dowels to hold the touchstone’s slices together and had observed that certain arrangements allowed the pieces to rotate on them. By using dowels as our hinge we could limit the material palette to just timber, which seemed to suit the way we would continue to work on the piece after fabrication. At this point we also became interested in using horizontal URWDWLRQ RQ D YHUWLFDO D[LV DV D ZD\ RI DQLPDWLQJ WKH REMHFW DQG designing operable elements, from joinery to whole rooms or EULGJLQJ ZDONZD\V 7KLV ZDV IXUWKHU H[SORUHG E\ 5LFKDUG LQ D VHULHV of rotating timber elements (see pages 81 and 83). Using the same hand/eye method to draw lines which would be used to section the touchstone into three separate parts, Richard suggested that we could use a slightly shifted line for each layer, producing an inconsistent edge which would lock the sections together like finger joins. This proved to be a highly effective method and was instrumental in developing our overall aesthetic.
Again, glitch SOD\HG D SDUW LQ WKLV GHFLVLRQ 7KURXJK RXU H[SHULHQFH in fabrication we realised that an individual cut piece can’t always be relied upon to stay perfectly still while it’s being cut. Small pieces ZHUH UHJXODUO\ VXFNHG LQWR WKH GXVW H[WUDFWRU DQG RU MDPPHG momentarily under the router head (causing a misalignment in subsequent pieces relative to their dowel holes), or moved just as the final cut freed the piece from the stock entirely. Not being able to rely on the perfect alignment of a cut piece relative to other cut pieces generated an aesthetic based on the anticipation of machining inaccuracy. A surface which was uneven in its layering was able to obscure these faults, or incorporate the faults as part of an intentionally coarse finish. The final touchstone was cut from Russian Birch plywood: a finer quality and grain of timber than the standard CD face nonstructural we’d used for the previous iterations. The surface of the BREP was to be milled so we were careful to ensure that the widest point of the form was in the middle — this way we could cut both the upper (right side up) and lower (upside down) of the touchstone and avoid a situation which would require undercutting.
Light cannons, La Tourette Photo: James Morgan Petty www.pettydesign.com
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Establishing links between crafting, materiality and texture. The imprint of rough sawn timber left in concrete by formwork simultaneously speaks about crafting through process, PDWHULDOLW\ DQG WH[WXUH WKURXJK fine detail.
Touchstone V.2 32
initial mesh conversion
step no. 20
step no. 40
step no. 60
step no. 80
step no. 120
step no. 140
step no. 160
step no. 180
initial BREP
step no. 100
Laplacian smoothing 33
01
02
03
grid division 13; hole reduction 0%
grid division 13; hole reduction 15%
grid division 13; hole reduction 30%
04
05
06
grid division 13; hole reduction 45%
grid division 13; hole reduction 60%
grid division 13; hole reduction 75%
07
08
09
grid division 13; hole reduction 90%
grid division 2; hole reduction 0%
grid division 2; hole reduction 50%
10
11
12
grid division 2; hole reduction 0%
grid division 10; hole reduction 0%
grid division 10; hole reduction 15%
13
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grid division 10; hole reduction 30%
grid division 10; hole reduction 50%
grid division 10; hole reduction 75%
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grid division 8; hole reduction 50%
grid division 5; hole reduction 0%
grid division 5; hole reduction 25% and rotated
Grid division matrix 34
7KH H[WUXVLRQV ZHUH DGMXVWHG WKURXJK VFDOH DQG E\ UHGXFLQJ WKHLU IUHTXHQF\ DQG ZH FKRVH DQ RXWFRPH IURP D UHVXOWLQJ PDWUL[ ZKLFK ZH IHOW KDG D JRRG EDODQFH RI VROLG DQG YRLG
The final touchstone was ultimately a fair reflection of the work we’d done and the conversations we’d had in the preceding three weeks. Our reasoning and working process had become more resolved with each iteration, as had our understanding of the capabilities and limitations of CNC machining. Making the touchstone stood us in good stead for the implementation of our aesthetic to the larger project ahead.
Touchstone V.3
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1.2 GENERATIVE PROCESS : Touchstone LAPLACIAN SMOOTHING: The initial polygonal meshes were smoothed using the Laplacian algorithm, ensuring that the inflection plane is kept horizontal to prevent the need for undercutting during fabrication.
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SUPERIMPOSE GRID: A tessellated grid of kite shapes is superimposed above the polygonal mesh ‘blob’.
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EXTRUDE GRID: 7KLV JULG LV WKHQ H[WUXGHG YHUWLFDOO\ WKURXJK WKH EORE
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LIMIT EXTRUSIONS: 7KH H[WUXVLRQV DUH WKHQ OLPLWHG WR WKH H[WHQW RI WKH EORE
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CULL EXTRUSIONS: 7KH VPDOOHVW RXWHUPRVW H[WUXVLRQV DUH FXOOHG
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CAVERNATING: (DFK H[WUXVLRQ LV UHGXFHG WR RI LWV RULJLQDO OHQJWK DQG WKHQ a random third are adjusted up 12mm, a random third left alone, and a random third adjusted down 12mm.
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CAVERNATING: 7KH UHVXOWLQJ QHJDWLYH VSDFH WKDW ZLOO EH H[WUDFWHG ţ FDYHUQDWHG ţ from the initial blob.
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CAVERNATING: The negative space inside the blob.
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PIERCING THE BLOB: 6PDOOHU H[WUXVLRQV WKHQ SLHUFH WKH EORE FUHDWLQJ OLJKW FDQQRQV into the internal cavernated space.
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Touchstone V.3
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1.3
System glitch: the aesthetic of error in an age of parametric purity Marc Micuta
As a digital design script is developed, the drive to iron out bugs and make the script function as efficiently and easily as possible pushes the design solution towards an inevitable purity of form. Digital architectural design needs to be glitched. In the 1990s, creativity in the electronic music scene was stagnating, repetitive and formulaic. This drove some producers WR WDNH D VWHS EDFN DQG JLYH PRUH DWWHQWLRQ WR WKH XQH[SHFWHG noise that resulted from the process of producing digital sound. The faults, glitches and failures of the digital toolset produced sounds which up until then were always ignored and considered pollution that needed to be filtered out of the process. The glitching of electronica started with the inclusion of the sounds of a skipping CD player into musical composition (Cascone 2000). $Q H[DPSOH RI WKLV LV 7H[WXHOO E\ 2YDO 2YDO System errors provide insight into the logical structure of a digital system. When a system runs smoothly, the user is only able to interact with prescribed functions in a manner that is dictated by its user interface. When a system fails, insight is gained into what caused the failure and the nature of the failure reveals the logical processes employed by the system (Nunes 2011). It is by breaking the system that a better understanding of its function and its potential application is achieved.
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A craftsman will know how to use his tools for their intended usage but he will also understand their shortcomings, and where there is the opportunity, how to use these tools for non-intended uses. When he encounters a problem or challenge he has not trained IRU RU H[SHULHQFHG SUHYLRXVO\ KH LV DEOH WR UHO\ RQ KLV DELOLWLHV and his tools to resolve the problem. Through this thorough understanding and individual use of his tool set, the craftsman creates his own language within the realm of his craft. :LWK GLJLWDO WRROV SURYLGLQJ DQ LQFUHDVLQJ YDULHW\ RI FRPSOH[LW\ the digital designer should have a thorough understanding of these tools in order to master the process of digital design. Otherwise, is the designer not simply putting a new spin on a set of pre-determined outputs? Is the designer in this instance the author of the digital tool instead of the user? This logic applies to any process that involves manual craft and its associated toolset, from carpentry and cooking through to hand drafting architectural drawings. The glitch as artistic expression Returning to the craft of electronic music production, Printer Jam by Mistabishi (Mistabishi 2009) illustrates this music of the glitch in its most literal form, a composition of printer sounds we are all too familiar with.
Olivier Ratsi: New SM3 v2 http://www.wysi-not-wyg.com/
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7KH SOD\IXO H[SHULPHQW RI PXVLF PDNLQJ JOLWFKHV PDGH HVWDEOLVKHG sound production methods vulnerable. The advancement in the production of new music was no longer dictated purely by how SRZHUIXO WKH WRRO FRXOG EHFRPH RU KRZ FRPSOH[ D VRXQG EH PDGH the most interesting work was generated by creative use of the ecosystem that surrounded the production tools. This resulted in a more holistic understanding of the nature of electronic sounds generation and the technical and creative opportunities it provided. As a result, increasingly varied and powerful production tools were created, improved control over the spectrum of digitally produced sound could be achieved, electronic music was built back up from scratch and now finds itself enriched. The fringe of electronic music production that deals with generative or algorithmic composition and engineering, where the greatest parallels can be drawn with parametric architecture, engaged with the system glitch to produce sound that pushed the boundary of what could qualify as musical composition. The V\VWHP ZDV ÄąQDOO\ EHLQJ H[SORUHG WR LWV OLPLWV ZLWKLQ WKH FXUUHQW paradigm. Gantz Graf by Autechre (Autechre 2002) is an H[DPSOH RI WKLV When listening to electronic music nowadays, it is common to come across audio samples in electronic music tracks that can be distinguished as coming from a “glitchâ€? and are a purposeful part of the musical composition. The errors have been brought back into the fold and become a standard component of the production toolset. VST plug-ins such as “Glitchâ€? (http://illformed.org/ plugins/glitch/) are available as tools based on algorithms that deconstruct a sound and reprocess it to be “glitchedâ€? while SURYLGLQJ FRQWURO RYHU WKH H[WHQW DQG FKDUDFWHU RI WKLV JOLWFK
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In visual media, the idea of “glitch artâ€? takes the visual result of a computer error and pushes this into the realm of artistic H[SUHVVLRQ 7KH SURFHVV RI SXUSRVHIXOO\ HGLWLQJ WKH ELQDU\ FRGH RI DQ LPDJH WR SURGXFH DQ HUURU LQ LWV WUDQVODWLRQ LQWR SL[HO EDVHG image output is now appreciated as art. Glitch architecture In architecture, the use of digital design software has mostly revolved around simulating manual drawing processes with improved precision and accuracy. It has opened up the possibility RI FRRUGLQDWLQJ KLJKO\ FRPSOH[ DVVRFLDWHG VSDWLDO DQG PDWHULDO relationships. The use of parametric tools, whether they are a part of a Building Information Modelling (BIM) package or geometric modelling tools such as Grasshopper for Rhinoceros, has resulted in a huge OHDS LQ JHRPHWULF FRPSOH[LW\ 7KH XVH RI &RPSXWHU 1XPHULFDO &RQWURO &1& KDV IDFLOLWDWHG WKH WUDQVODWLRQ RI WKLV FRPSOH[LW\ into a fabricated reality. However, there is a drive for purity of form which is created by this innovative design and fabrication process. As part of the Machining Aesthetic studio, our group grappled with this issue throughout the entire project. When cutting our first touchstone prototype, after going to great lengths to predict and avoid any problems during the process of converting our digital model into CNC milled component parts, unsurprisingly, ZH ZHUH GLVDSSRLQWHG ZKHQ XQH[SHFWHG ĹšIDXOWVĹ› UHVXOWHG IURP WKH SURFHVV 7KHVH HUURUV ZHUH QXPHURXV IRU H[DPSOH WKH PLOOHG geometry being slightly misaligned due to the warping of the plywood sheet, the splintering of the plywood in areas where the geometry was really thin, the misalignment of dowel holes leading to a shift in the stacking order or later on the leaking of plaster due to insufficient window blocking.
Benjamin Gaulon / Recyclism — Corrupt http://www.recyclism.com/corrupt.php However these glitches, that kept coming back every time we fabricated a new prototype or model, became a part of our machining language. Sometimes, we were able to rely on some of WKHVH HUURUV WR KHOS ZLWK RXU PDNLQJ SURFHVV IRU H[DPSOH XVLQJ the natural un-evenness of the plywood thickness to ensure that our “window blockersâ€? held tightly prior to pouring plaster into our mould. Sometimes, these fabrication “glitchesâ€? became a part of WKH LQWHQWLRQDO GHVLJQ ODQJXDJH )RU H[DPSOH WKH IDĂ—DGH ZDV DQ intentional dissolution of our distorted grid, based on unintended spatial qualities that were generated when we attempted to fit our 3 separate touchstone fragments together.
The errors therefore became a part of the making process. They lost their characteristic as an unintentional and undesired error. Our final project is therefore not only a product of attempting to iron out all the bugs, glitches and errors that we ran into during both the digital and fabrication processes, but is a deliberate composition of curated aspects of some of these errors, and finding a functional usage in some of the others.
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As with the production of electronic music, attempting to glitch the purity of digital architectural design methods is not solely an issue of artistic impression, but a method with which to GHFRQVWUXFW FRPSOH[ GLJLWDO WRROV LQ DQ HijRUW WR EHWWHU XQGHUVWDQG WKHP LPSURYH WKHP DQG DSSO\ WKHP WR XQH[SHFWHG SXUSRVHV This can only enrich the field, and might provide an escape from WKH SXULW\ RI FRPSOH[LW\ VR RIWHQ HQFRXQWHUHG ,QWHQWLRQDOO\ H[SORULQJ WKH LQGXFWLRQ RI HUURU LQWR WKH GLJLWDO design and fabrication of architecture might therefore not resolve in a purely aesthetic or visual manner. The concept of enriching the design process and the designer’s understanding of his digital toolset is something that is not purely observable as a visual result, but is achieved by glitching the design process and having to UHVROYH XQH[SHFWHG LVVXHV WKURXJK D GHHSHU XQGHUVWDQGLQJ RI WKH potential of the digital paradigm.
REFERENCES Autechre 2002, Gantz Graf http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyJfHU4GoOQ Cascone, K 2000, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC; The Aesthetic of Failure: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Post-Digitalâ&#x20AC;? Tendencies in Contemporary Computer Musicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, Computer Music Journal, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 12-18. Corrupt 2011, video recording, Recyclism, Dublin. Directed by B Gauldon http://vimeo.com/20531800 Mistabishi 2009, Printer Jam http://vimeo.com/3268141 Nunes, M 2011, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Error, Noise, and Potential: The Outside of Purposeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, in Error: Glitch, Noise, and Jam in New Media Cultures, Continuum, New York, pp. 3-23. 2YDO 7H[WXHOO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj3OFvrcoQA 5DWVL 2 :<6, QRW :<* SKRWRJUDSK http://www.wysi-not-wyg.com/
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Clement Valla â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Postcards from Google Earth http://clementvalla.com/category/work/postcards/ 61
2.0 DESIGN BRIEF The client Craft Victoria is situated in Melbourne’s Flinders Lane gallery precinct. An established promoter and incubator for contemporary craft and design, the current Craft Victoria operation occupies just over 300 square metres in an effective layout of shop, gallery & storage, reading room, offices, and services in a 1940s warehouse, recommissioned by architect Sean Godsell in 2001.
The project &UDIW 9LFWRULD ZRXOG OLNH WR H[SDQG WKH DYDLODEOH VSDFH DW WKHLU current premises and increase their street-level presence in order to engage with a wider demographic. Certain elements of their current spatial arrangement work well, and could be reinserted as FRQWH[WXDO FXHV IRU WKH SURSRVHG EXLOGLQJ
Issues identified by the client in the current premises Ť Ť Ť Ť Ť Ť
Lack of disability access and facilities including a toilet Lack of fall protection in the street level window Insufficient space in the shop for larger scale objects Insufficient space in the shop for hanging wall works Ageing track lighting Interior space restrictions that impact on public program delivery.
The current premises is flagged for demolition with the lease expiring in 2013.
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“ People seem to be endlessly fascinated with how things are made. There is certain nostalgia for the handmade, for all those memories of watching a grandfather tinkering in the shed, making something or fixing something. Beyond nostalgia, there is something essentially human about making.” Blanche Tilden
Craft Victoria window display by Harvest Textile Studio, 2010 3KRWR +DUYHVW 7H[WLOH 6WXGLR 63
Key points
Future Model
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Rent and directly associated outgoings is c.$100,000 or DSSUR[LPDWHO\ SHU P2 PA.
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The shop makes a profit of circa.$160,000 or c.$2,000 per sqm pa based on allocated retail space.
The future model for Craft Victoriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s physical space requirements is based on a ground-up needs analysis, referencing Department of Treasury and Finance guidelines for office and meeting space.
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The shop and front of house are typically staffed by 2-3 SHRSOH VL[ GD\V D ZHHN DQG WKHUH DUH VHYHQ ZRUN VWDWLRQV DW WKH UHDU RI &UDIW 9LFWRULD IRU D PL[ RI IXOO WLPH DQG SDUW time employees (9 personnel).
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The 2001 fit-out by architect Sean Godsell remains very effective in aesthetic terms, though the premises is utilised to full capacity, with public programs and revenue increasing each year.
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While the street address has cache, passing foot traffic and destination visitation is still relatively low â&#x20AC;&#x201C; factors which are EDODQFHG E\ H[FHOOHQW RQOLQH VWUDWHJLHV VDWHOOLWH HYHQWV DQG media coverage.
7KLV VHFWLRQ JUDWHIXOO\ DFNQRZOHGJHV WKH XVH RI WH[W IURP WKH following source documents: Client Brief_Pages from Craft Victoria Relocation Project.pdf Machining Aesthetic_Design brief.pdf
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Over the past two years Craft Victoria has consciously monitored its usage by the public, measuring supply and demand for its various services. These have been tracked through quantitative PHDQV VXFK DV ERRNLQJV DQG RWKHU H[SUHVVLRQV RI GHPDQG VXFK DV attendances and sales. Some international benchmarking has occurred through a research trip undertaken in November 2010 by the CEO & Artistic Director to the UK and The Netherlands, as well as a comparative analysis of the Australian situation. It is envisaged that all the main functional spaces at Craft Victoria would continue to be multi-purpose in terms of creating benefits WR PHPEHUV DQG WKH SXEOLF ([SDQGLQJ WKH VL]H RI WKH VKRS IRU H[DPSOH ZRXOG LQFUHDVH WKH TXDQWLW\ DQG GLYHUVLW\ RI KLJK TXDOLW\ contemporary craft products available to the public (particularly larger scale works such as furniture), and improve revenue for members. Likewise, a larger meeting room and library would allow Craft Victoria to service more members through the presentation of public programs, and meet the increased demand for these professional development events, which generally sell out with a waiting list. There is also potential to reach new markets by presenting content to significantly larger groups of people.
Craft Victoria building, west elevation. 65
Joe Pascoe, CEO Craft Victoria 3KRWR )DLUID[ 0HGLD
7KH VFDOH RI H[KLELWLRQ VSDFHV DQG WKH FRQıJXUDWLRQ RI JDOOHULHV are likely to be a major consideration of any new premises, and have significant budgetary implications in terms of running costs. Therefore any new premises must be effective from both a commercial and curatorial aspect, as well as being a desirable place to work and visit.
Key desirables
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Single location for all functions
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No major OH&S/access issues
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High level street visibility, supported by an inviting and fully accessible front of house
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Larger well fitted spaces to present works of greater significance to larger audiences
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Similar proportions of overall space usage, with greater compartmentalisation of retail and curatorial functions
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Increase in capacity of public program space from 35 to 75 people
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Address current deficiencies such as art storage, security and environmental control
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Car parking or loading bay facilities to enable delivery of artworks and retail products
Above: Office space, Craft Victoria
Shop space, Craft Victoria Photo: http://architectureau.com/
Below: Long gallery space, Craft Victoria Photo: http://www.urbaninterior.net/
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2.1 SPATIAL MODEL The spatial model represented the first proposed design in response to the design brief. The objectives the group set out to respond to were the proposed urban strategy, to translate the touchstone generative process into an architectural design method and to propose a spatial program for Craft Victoria. 7KH FUX[ RI WKH VSDWLDO PRGHO ZDV D SURSRVHG UHIXUELVKPHQW SURMHFW WKDW UHVWHG ZLWKLQ WKH FRQÄąQHV RI WKH H[LVWLQJ VWUXFWXUH The urban strategy identified an opportunity to connect pedestrian traffic between Flinders Street and Flinders Lane by continuing Sparks Lane through the building. The impact this had on the proposed design was that a vertical connection needed to be established between the ground level on Flinders Lane and the ground level at the back of the building on Sparks Lane that was gentle enough to simulate topography. This had a knock-on effect that engendered a list of constraints that needed to be resolved through spatial planning. The generative process used for the design of the touchstone models was reinterpreted and reworked in an attempt to create architectural space. Instead of the touchstone blob, the volume within which the caverns were generated was based on a proposed floor plate layout that addressed the design brief requirements.
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([SHULPHQWV WKDW ZHUH VXFFHVVIXO LQFOXGHG XVLQJ WKH H[FDYDWHG volumes on a slope to generate stairs and the intentional H[FDYDWLRQ RI LQWLPDWH PHHWLQJ VSDFHV Additions were made to the generative process as well. Instead of using the kite shaped tessellation inspired by La Tourette, a regular rectangular grid was utilised, where the grid cell dimensions were based on a human scale. Instead of simply VSOLWWLQJ WKH H[WUXVLRQV DQG VFDOLQJ WKHP WR H[WUXGH VSDFH EDVHG RQ DWWUDFWRU SRLQWV WKH VFDOLQJ RI WKH H[WUXVLRQV ZDV FRQWUROOHG through curves that were divided into attractor points. This SURYLGHG D FHUWDLQ DPRXQW RI FRQWURO LQ WKH H[WUXVLRQ RI YROXPHV that followed circulation and view paths. A careful but deliberate spatial arrangement was proposed based on a reconstruction of the floor plates within the building envelope. The entrance on Flinders Lane included a cafĂŠ and access to the Craft Victoria shopfront at street level. These programs were to act as an invitation to passers by to enter the building and engage with Craft Victoria. From here visitors would be further encouraged to transition into the gallery spaces and library. The upper floors were allocated towards office space, and the basement included car parking, service areas and access to the industrial lift.
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Spatial model: Generative process The generative process for the spatial model reinterpreted the process used for the touchstone. The program spaces were generated by splitting WKH H[WUXGHG YHUWLFDO JULGV VFDOLQJ WKHLU QHJDWLYH VSDFH H[WUXVLRQ XVLQJ DWWUDFWRU FXUYHV DQG LQWURGXFLQJ UDQGRPO\ GLVWULEXWHG RÄłVHWV WR LQGXFH disorder.
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2.2
CULTURAL MODEL
7KH FXOWXUDO PRGHO H[SDQGHG RQ WKH GHVLJQ SURFHVVHV WKDW ZHUH embarked on as part of the spatial model. )URP DQ XUEDQ FRQWH[W WKH LGHD RI FRQQHFWLQJ )OLQGHUV 6WUHHW WR Flinders Lane through the proposed building design was further H[SDQGHG E\ UHÄąQLQJ WKH LGHD RI WKH EXLOGLQJ DV D ODQGVFDSH The gentle downward slope was transformed into a canyon that divided the building into 2 separate parts. This further opened up the entrance space that bordered on Flinders Lane, further enhancing the approachability of the building and increasing its appeal to pedestrians. From a computational perspective, further efforts were made to refine the processes into a generator of architectural space. To do so, the attractor curves utilised in the spatial model were evolved LQWR ZRUPKROHV WKDW VFDOHG SHULRGLFDOO\ EHWZHHQ D PD[LPXP DQG minimum scale factor in association with attractor points. The use of these attractor points enabled the design of programmatic space to be based around a centre point.
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In addition to the wormholes, the regular rectangular grid was distorted by using the same reference points as the wormholes. The distortion functioned in a periodic fashion, with the displacement of grid cell centroids controlled through a sine wave function of the distance from the attractor point. This enabled a design approach where the internal spaces were generated based on two intersecting processes. The spatial planning evolved away from basing the program on the floor plates used in the spatial model. Instead, through the use of the wormholes, any reference to floor plates was made obsolete. A proposal for the façade design was also included as part of the Cultural Model design proposal. The façade was generated by dissolving the distorted grid cells to create jagged end conditions along the outside face of the building.
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2.3
Craft and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the smallest difference that makes a differenceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Richard Maddock
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Architecture is art for human beings, that connects human beings and nature closelyâ&#x20AC;Śbasically we are going back to the nature, to a soft, intimate civilisation, and architects should lead that new trend. The most important thing is to combine the new technology with the natural material of the place. For example, we are working with rice paper, we are working with wood, we are working with the earth, but those natural materials can achieve something in combination with new technology.â&#x20AC;? - Kengo Kuma, 2012 The radical changes enabled by the advance of digital technology have had profound effects within the architectural sphere. On their initial introduction computers were used to digitise the production of two-dimensional construction drawings, providing an efficiency boost, but little else. As computing power increased computer-aided design (CAD) systems have evolved from mere electronic simulation of 2D drawing boards into complete threeGLPHQVLRQDO SDFNDJHV WKDW FDQ EH XVHG WR FUHDWH FRPSOH[ ' models. More recently, CAD and computer numeric controlled (CNC) PDQXIDFWXULQJ WHFKQRORJLHV VXFK DV ODVHU FXWWLQJ PXOWL D[LV milling and 3D printing have become readily accessible, not only enabling the easy fabrication of these 3D models, but also opening up a whole new arena in which craft can operate in.
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Despite what may be a commonly held viewpoint, the notion that craft may only involve archaic processes could not be further from the truth. New technologies have always been eagerly received, SDUWLFXODUO\ LQ WKH ODWWHU KDOI RI WKH WK FHQWXU\ )RU H[DPSOH any contemporary timber workshop would proudly possess not only a wealth of hand held electric power tools, but a bandsaw, drill press, table saw, thicknesser, jointer, lathe, thicknessing sander, not to mention the relative machines specific to other numerous crafts. At the cutting edge of technology, in the last few years jewellers have begun to use new 3D printing technology to fabricate designs and creations that would be impossible with more traditional methods. It is clear that craftspeople have always demonstrated a voracious appetite for incorporating new technology into everyday practice. In the words of Donald Fortescue (2010, p1): â&#x20AC;&#x153;These approaches to digital technology might at first seem an uneasy fit with the crafts; especially considering craftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strong connection to abstraction, the sensual, the traditional and particular methodologies and materials. However they are in fact closely linked to the conceptual core of the crafts.â&#x20AC;?
Joinery detail â&#x20AC;&#x153;In this project, CAD software is used to design and control the fabrication, even down to the detailed joinery. We, the architects, are the craftsmen. Our toolset is found within the computer, and our judgement and skills are required in controlling it. The craft is a process, a way of working, a design method.â&#x20AC;?
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In this project, CAD software is used to design and control the fabrication, even down to the detailed joinery. We, the architects, are the craftsmen. Our toolset is found within the computer, and our judgement and skills are required in controlling it. The craft is a process, a way of working, a design method. In the words of Neri 2[PDQ S
As this process is now a digital one, it is imperative that the properties and qualities of the materials being used are considered, and it is the translation of the digital model into physical reality that prompts an interesting question. As Fabian Scheurer and Hanno Stehling point out in Lost in Parameter Space? (2011, p72):
David Pye has termed this the workmanship of risk, that converting the design to the finished article is largely dependent RQ WKH FDUH MXGJHPHQW DQG GH[WHULW\ RI WKH ZRUNPDQ ,Q WKH FDVH of modern technology, although the work is now carried out by a machine, the craftsman is now the designer, and the care and judgement required of a good craftsman is in preparing the digital file. Although the location of the concept of craft has changed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from the act of making to the act of preparation â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the essence of craft is still present, still indispensable. Intuition, knowledge, H[SHULHQFH DQG MXGJHPHQW DUH DOO HVVHQWLDO IRU VXFFHVV
â&#x20AC;&#x153;a model, by definition, is always an abstraction of reality. Building a model means reducing the infinite complexity of the real world to a level where it can be described with manageable effort.â&#x20AC;?
It is this meeting point, the merging of digital with reality which provides a rich vein of inspiration. Dan Willis and Todd Woodward (Corser, 2010, p189) also identify the discrepancy between the digital and material world:
,JQRULQJ WKH SHUKDSV UHOD[HG XVH RI WKH ZRUG LQÄąQLW\ WKH FUX[ of the point is important: there is a discrepancy between the digital model and the real world, and it is vital to acknowledge and UHFRJQLVH WKLV JDS DQG LQGHHG SRVVLEO\ WR H[SORLW LW :<6,:<* (What You See Is What You Get) editors are popular in the virtual world, but when it comes to converting abstract and arbitrary 1s and 0s, the smallest difference that makes a difference, to the material world, it is unquestionably a case of WYSINWYG. The importance of considering material properties when designing with software is underlined again by Scheurer and Stehling (2011, p75):
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Just as with BIM, shapes are much easier to represent mathematically than (for example) material properties, environmental characteristics, and aspects of a buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s context. Many natural building materials have flaws, grain directions, inconsistent densities and other characteristics that cannot be anticipated by modelling software.â&#x20AC;?
â&#x20AC;&#x153;As such, beyond its traditional description or meaning, craftsmanship may be reinterpreted as a set of instructions combining knowledge and application, matter and toolsâ&#x20AC;?.
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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Most CAD programs can visualise those [curved] surface properties, but the designer has to interpret the colourful images and either match the design to the available material or find a suitable material for the given design. Speaking from experience, the latter approach is chosen far too often, frequently resulting in awkward and inefficient solutions.â&#x20AC;?
Joinery detail “Although the location of the concept of craft has changed – from the act of making to the act of preparation – the essence of craft is still present, still indispensable. Intuition, knowledge, experience and judgement are all necessary for success.”
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This gap has enabled an innovative type of craftsmanship within the architectural discipline. Willis and Woodward (Corser, 2010, p184): â&#x20AC;&#x153;While the gap between the building and the (digital) model will continue to narrow, it will remain a potential site for the invention and imagination of the architect and the craftsperson. As architects become more accustomed to working in this way, it is likely that the rapid-prototyping equipment and CNCproduced mockups will be more often used to verify particularly important details in the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s construction during the design phase.â&#x20AC;? This opens up the possibility of architects once more working closely with the materials in their employ. Rather than an office, the workshop will be the architectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home, side by side with machines to produce pieces to design and test with. The last hundred years has seen a growing disconnect between architect and maker. Control of fabrication has been removed from the grasp of architects, but the opportunities afforded by CNC technology and the resulting mass-customisation can hand back jurisdiction; by governing production we are able to emancipate the craft of architecture. Architects may once more H[SHULHQFH LQWLPDF\ ZLWK PDWHULDO LQWLPDF\ ZLWK ZRUNLQJ LW DQG thus intimacy with the resulting artifact. The craftspersonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tools have changed, they are digital rather than PDQXDO 7KH PDFKLQH IHWLVK H[KLELWHG E\ 0RGHUQLVWV ZLOO PRYH from the building object to the building process. The digital age guides us towards a new craft.
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REFERENCES Basulto, D 2012, AD Interviews: Kengo Kuma, Plataforma Networks, accessed 8 October 2012, <http://www.archdaily. com/179551/ad-interviews-kengo-kuma/> Corser, R., ed., 2010. Fabricating Architecture: Selected Readings in Digital Design and Manufacturing. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. Fortescue, D 2010, Digital Craft: The use of digital technologies in contemporary craft in the US, Craft Australia, accessed 12 October 2012, http://www.craftaustralia.org.au/library/review.php?id=digital_ craft Oxman N, 2007. Digital Craft: Fabrication Based Design in the Age of Digital Production. Workshop Proceedings for Ubicomp 2007: International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing. September, Innsbruck, Austria; pp534-538 Pye, D 1968, The Nature and Art of Workmanship, Cambridge University Press, UK Scheurer, F and Stehling H, 2011. Lost in Parameter Space? Architectural Design, 81(4), pp 70-79.
Joinery detail — façade prototype “Architects may once more experience intimacy with material, intimacy with working it, and thus intimacy with the resulting artifact.” 85
3.0 FAร ADE PROTOTYPE
The complete Grasshopper script for the faรงade prototype.
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PROCESS 1 The building envelope and footprint is modelled in Rhinoceros and referenced into the Grasshopper definition. Other numerical parameters that are used in the generative process are also set at this initial stage.
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PROCESS 2 + 3 The internal canyon is modelled in Rhinoceros as capped VXUIDFHV HQVXULQJ HDVH RI PRGLÄąFDWLRQ DQG WKHQ H[WUDFWHG IURP the building volume. The roof space is developed as a simple 3D EXEEOH GLDJUDP DQG DOVR H[WUDFWHG IURP WKH EXLOGLQJ YROXPH The resulting sculpted volume, where the negative space is already carved from the building volume prior to the generative process, is then referenced into the Grasshopper definition.
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PROCESS 4 The proposed program is also developed within Rhinoceros as a 3D bubble diagram. With some refining, the 3D geometry LV WZHDNHG WR VKDSH WKH H[FDYDWLRQV FXEHV DV RSSRVHG WR VSKHUHV IRU H[DPSOH DQG DOVR WR FUHDWH KRUL]RQWDO DQG YHUWLFDO circulation. Once the program is modelled, it is referenced into the *UDVVKRSSHU GHÄąQLWLRQ ZKHUH LW LV H[WUDFWHG IURP WKH VFXOSWHG volume as a negative volume or space.
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PROCESS 5 A distorted grid is generated to organise the internal subdivision of space, aiding the design of a specific spatial intent. The control over the distortions in the grid is achieved through a set of associative attractor points. The effect that is created by these attractor points is modelled on the behaviour of a sine wave function, where the displacement of the grid cells from the control points increases and decreases periodically between a PD[LPXP DQG PLQLPXP GLVSODFHPHQW OLPLW Additional control is provided to modulate the sensitivity of each FRQWURO SRLQW RU KRZ PXFK RI D Ĺ&#x161;SXOOĹ&#x203A; LW H[HUWV RQ WKH JULG FHOOV When more than one control point is used, the cumulative
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displacement effect simulates the behaviour of intersecting waves, with both constructive and destructive interference FUHDWLQJ D FRPSOH[ GLVWRUWLRQ DFURVV WKH JULG Although the Grasshopper definition is designed to accommodate an infinite number of control points, because the displacement effect is based on each grid cellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s average distance from all control points, the effect is diminished with the addition of every additional control point. For this design, it was found that three to four control points achieved the desired grid distortion.
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PROCESS 6 The distorted grid is generated over a rectangular area, therefore a large part of it is not within the building footprint. At this point in the generative process, the grid cells which do not intersect with the horizontal footprint of the building envelope are culled. The remaining distorted grid is taken forward LQWR WKH QH[W VWHS RI WKH JHQHUDWLYH SURFHVV
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PROCESS 7 ,Q SUHSDUDWLRQ IRU WKH SURFHVV RI H[FDYDWLQJ WKH LQWHUQDO programmatic volumes, the area centroid of each distorted grid FHOO LV H[WUXGHG LQ WKH ] D[LV DV D FHQWUHOLQH WKDW SDVVHV WKURXJK the entire building envelope. Each of these centrelines is then sub-divided into a multiple of the intended material thickness. For this project, the thickness was based on a 300 mm CLT slab, which translated to a 12 mm sheet of plywood for 1:25 scale models. The number of subdivisions is randomised between an upper and lower bound for each one of the centrelines.
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PROCESS 8 The end points of the segments in the sub-divided centrelines are then tested against the program volumes that were referenced earlier in the process. This process is the primary generative mechanism in the FUHDWLRQ RI WKH LQWHUQDO H[FDYDWLRQV WKDW IRUP WKH DUFKLWHFWXUDO language of the design. As each centreline is sub-divided a random number of times, the end points that are tested as being contained within the program volumes change from centreline to centreline. This creates an â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;orderlyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; chaos within each H[FDYDWHG YROXPH ZKHUH WKH IJRRUV FHLOLQJV DQG ZDOOV DUH FXOOHG based on their individual lengths. Longer divisions are more likely to either not be culled, or to form â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;holesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in the floors and ceilings, at least with respect to other lines.
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Short lines are culled in a manner that more closely reflects the actual program volumes. Careful and deliberate control over this process can be achieved by controlling the generation of the distorted grid as well as the lower and upper limits of the number of centreline sub-divisions. The more sub-divisions there are per centreline, the closer the internal space will follow the prescribed program volumes, while fewer sub-divisions will result in more irregular internal space. The range of the number of sub-divisions is vital: a large range will result in chaotic internal space; a small range will result in Ĺ&#x2DC;IJDWWHUĹ&#x2122; RUGHUHG H[FDYDWLRQV A delicate balance has to be achieved between order and chaos to make this language successful.
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PROCESS 9 Once the centreline sub-divisions have been culled based on the program volumes, the sub-divisions are re-joined into lines. This reduces upcoming computational times by joining any adjacent lines that were not culled. Each centreline therefore continues to consist of a set of sub-divisions although the sub-division count is significantly reduced. The distorted grid cells from which the centrelines were generated are then copied to the base of each one of the FHQWUHOLQH VXE GLYLVLRQV DQG H[WUXGHG DORQJ WKH OHQJWK RI WKH OLQHV 7KLV FUHDWHV D EXLOGLQJ PDVV FRPSRVHG RI H[WUXGHG columns based on the geometry of the distorted grid.
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PROCESS 10 The construction logic for this system is based on stacking horizontal layers of the material. The generated design therefore QHHGV WR EH WUDQVODWHG IURP H[WUXGHG YHUWLFDO FROXPQV LQWR horizontal slabs. 7KLV LV DFKLHYHG E\ PHUJLQJ WKH H[WUXGHG YHUWLFDO FROXPQV LQWR one large monolithic building mass. This mass is then intersected with horizontal planes separated by the material thickness. The resulting geometry is a set of horizontal polylines which define the horizontal cut lines for each of the layers of the horizontal material.
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PROCESS 11 The faรงade is generated in a parallel process but uses the same base geometry as the building mass.
that a centre point is created in the centre of each one of these lines.
Following the process where the distorted grid is culled to follow the horizontal building outline, the faรงade generation takes the outermost distorted grid cells and positions them at the same height as the final horizontal slices that the building design is based on.
The parametric coordinate of each centre point is then remapped from a value of 0.5 to another value within the limits of zero to one (so that it remains on the line) through the use of graph mappers.
7KH JULG FHOOV DUH H[SORGHG VR WKDW HDFK FHOO FRQVLVWV RI IRXU separate lines. The two lines from each cell that point outwards, SHUSHQGLFXODU WR WKH H[WHUQDO EXLOGLQJ IDFH DUH WKHQ VHOHFWHG These lines are then cleaned up to remove any duplicate lines (shared borders between grid cells) and then divided in half so
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These remapped centre points are then connected horizontally with a polyline, which forms the outside boundary of the faรงade at these horizontal levels. The use of the graph mappers allows the relationships between the centre points to be controlled both horizontally and vertically, to induce areas with differing amount of chaos.
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FINAL PRESENTATION CRIT 30/10/2012 17:15
Katelin Butler Bharat Dave Chris Gilbert David Legget Paul Loh Richard Maddock Marc Micuta Joe Pascoe Sahra Stolz Bharat Dave: There is something intriguing about the material that you presented, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a different quality to the sequence of things that were done, and selecting what you presented, which is what I quite like. There is something else about this work, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what now prompts me to ask, to tease out what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re after. Because the material pushes me in one direction, and some of the narrative and words and phrases you use makes me think of a different line. So if you had to pick what is it that you were after, and what is it that this project, this outcome, reflects, in terms of WKLV DUFKLWHFWXUH RU WKH ODQJXDJH RU WKH VSDWLDO H[SHULHQFH ZKDW would come to your mind? Marc Micuta: Personally, I think what we grappled with most, was really the computational side and the fabrication side, and finding ways ofâ&#x20AC;Ś
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Richard Maddock: â&#x20AC;Śmelding them. MM: \HDK PHOGLQJ WKHP DQG H[SORULQJ \Ĺ&#x2122;NQRZ WKDW FUHDWHV a language, there are certain rules that get set up, certain UHODWLRQVKLSV WKDW JHW VHW XS )RU H[DPSOH ZLWK WKH FDVWLQJ we could only do very shallow things, compared to the fritting we could do with the timber model, because it splintered. I WKLQN WKDW ZDVĹ&#x201D;LW ZDV H[SORULQJ WKHVH LVVXHV DQG FRQVWUDLQWV or problems that we ran into that ended up developing the language, we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a certain idea in mind or image in mind ZH ZHUH SXVKLQJ IRU LWĹ&#x2122;V DQ H[SUHVVLRQ RI WKH V\VWHPV WKDW ZH developed. BD: Yes, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very helpful. I can see some other things, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m pushing this. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot of great stuff which I admire, but I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to dwell on that, so just take that as given. So was it the process of realising the spatial outcome, the process of designing, or was it the process of making? Which is the driver? Because what you started with, thatâ&#x20AC;Ś thatâ&#x20AC;Ś say it Frenchâ&#x20AC;Ś MM: [in a perfect French accent]: â&#x20AC;ŚLa Tourette [laughter] BD: Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s driven by this sort of wilful search for that spatial H[SHULHQFH RI EHLQJ WKHUH WKDW OLJKW WKH IUDPLQJ RI WKH YLHZV the landscape, the way that language seems to collide but doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem to collide. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s driven by a very wilful, formal thingâ&#x20AC;Śversus you take something like, say, the Metabolists, the
Faรงade prototype, Flinders Lane
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Japanese, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s driven by a different logic of making. In your case what would it be? Because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not the glitch, because I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see the glitch. RM: Well, once again this is more of a personal note, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got to say Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not sure, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because I found this studio very interesting, because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;sâ&#x20AC;ŚIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m from a software engineering background, and also I like making things, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d never really thought the two could go together, so this is the first time Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve really seen that that could be possible, so for me, the last maybe WZR PRQWKV KDV EHHQ DQ H[SORUDWLRQ LQWR WKDW VR , DFWXDOO\ GRQĹ&#x2122;W really know and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m still processing that and coming to terms with thatâ&#x20AC;Ś MM: I think in terms of what our design process was, the early part of the semester was very much about developing this computational, this series of steps that we go through, because thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a series of discrete transformations that we go through to get there. Once we had that working, there was a very small amount of iteration on that, we would continue to develop it, but there werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t huge leaps in development. What happened rather, was that in this case it was Rich, would actually look at that volume, how deep do you want it to be, whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the programmatic IXQFWLRQ Ţ WKDWĹ&#x2122;V D FDIĂ&#x153; IRU H[DPSOH WKDWĹ&#x2122;V D VKRS Ţ KRZ ELJ do you want it to be? How public do you want it to be? How comfortable? How much light do you want in there? That was all considered, but it was using the tool, once we had a good
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understanding of its limits and how it worked, we designed spaces in that way. These werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t so much randomly generated, there was also a lot of manual adjusting of levels to make sure there were flat spaces, curating of spaces if you will. RM: As for saying â&#x20AC;&#x153;alright, our driving factor is spatial quality, or our driving factor is weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re only interested in this process and just letting it run and whatever happens, happensâ&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;Ś Sahra Stolz: I think the three of us have worked together in a way like a three-legged table, in that Marcâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interested in more the computational side of things and the glitch idea, and then Rich has brought in also the computational side of things but a really strong commitment to making, to the materiality, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m more interested in the making, and the cultural social side of things, and I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think that what we have done would have been possible without the other legs. RM: Well maybe thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no big driving force, because thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s three of us sort ofâ&#x20AC;Ś Paul Loh: Well, I disagree. Joe Pascoe: Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve achieved a very nice outcome, you started with an ironic proposition about the digital age meeting the making age, and yet youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve resolved it by creating a lovely attractive, philosophical structure and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s become quite artistic in the process.
Faรงade prototype
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Katelin Butler: It kind of looks like a Roman ruin. It’s kind of . . . instead of being, y’know, this digital technology and instead of looking like a futuristic building… PL: I think this is why I disagree with what you guys just said, that there is a kind of leveling of your idealogy in your process. I think you have created an interesting process that is your own, which is very much particular to you. I’m a little bit kind of annoyed by your presentation, that it’s very haptic, that a lot of what we saw, you have omitted a whole chunk of computational stuff which talks about how this culling process, this very elaborate culling process that you went through, is completely missed. I hope it’s in the book. It better be in the book! Chris Gilbert: You alluded to it and I was like “ah, ah, ah . . . !” but it never came! PL: It’s too cryptic, I think that maybe that’s an issue, it’s almost like you guys are projecting a confidence . . . your work is confident but you are projecting the confidence that is kind of not there, which is a bit strange. But, I just want to use Joe’s word from earlier, the warmth of craft, and I think that’s maybe something to think about. What is the craft process behind this? And how the fusion between digital computation and physical, analogue fabrication actually started to produce, whatever you want to call it, the glitch or whatever, a sense of poeticness within the craft. And that is showing through in your building, and I think you need to capture that logic. And I think it is a powerful logic that cannot be summed up in one sentence, or
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one word, or…because if you turn the model around… the other day you were asking me which side I am interested in, the inside or the outside and we said actually we’re interested in the entire slice, and I think one needs to look at that entire slice again, and look at what is the poeticness of that slice what is the driver of the spaces and the materials, in relation to this computational craft. And then we start to talk about the relationship between architecture and craft in a contemporary way. Here, I think what is interesting is there is a negotiation of the two processes.
Faรงade prototype, Flinders Lane
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3.1
Suspended threshold
Sahra Stolz
â&#x20AC;&#x153;The building envelope is possibly the oldest and most primitive architectural element. It materializes the separation of the inside and outside, natural and artificial and it demarcates private property and land ownership (one the most primitive political acts). When it becomes a façade, the envelope operates also as a representational device in addition to its crucial environmental and territorial roles. The building envelope forms the border, the frontier, the edge, the enclosure and the joint: it is loaded with political content.â&#x20AC;? The Politics of the Envelope: A Political Critique of Materialism â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Alejandro Zaera Polo The condition of the façade is that of a threshold between WKH GLFKRWRPRXV FRQGLWLRQV RI LQWHULRU DQG H[WHULRU EXW rarely do we find such a clearly defined demarcation of space. The question of what can be identified as surface and what as content is a surprisingly philosophical one, requiring an interrogation of known typologies. This essay will investigate the ways in which the threshold message signals the identity of a building and governs public engagement with it.
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$ EXLOGLQJ FDQ SV\FKRORJLFDOO\ GRPLQDWH LWV FRQWH[W FDVWLQJ D VKDGRZ RI H[WHQGHG RFFXSDWLRQ RYHU WKH VXUURXQGLQJ DUHD through landscaping, surveillance, lines of access and social construct. The opposite condition also occurs: that which is considered to be public space can bleed across the physical boundary to create an ambiguous space serving both public and private LQWHUHVWV &RQVLGHU WKH SRUWLFR DV DQ H[DPSOH RI D VORZLQJ GHYLFH ORFDWHG ERWK ZLWKLQ DQG H[WHUQDO WR WKH VWUXFWXUH where a negotiation between outside and inside can take SODFH :LWKLQ WKLV VSDWLDO FRQWH[W D WUDQVLWLRQDO VWDWH EHWZHHQ the two conditions is cultivated. This is what Iain Borden refers to as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;thick edgeâ&#x20AC;?, a boundary condition which is tightly controlled, highly communicative, and deeply manipulative (Borden. 2006. p. 50). The device of the façade is itself open to questioning, presenting an opportunity for what we can generously call â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;strategic representationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Divorced from structural purpose by modern building technologies, a reading of the façade as a mere concealment of a structure which is at cross-purposes ZLWK LWV SXEOLF H[SUHVVLRQ FRQQRWHV D QHZ IDĂ&#x2014;DGLVP
117 Cultural model
The words cladding, façade, shell and skin all stir a sense of disconnection between what is real (structure) and what is fake (aesthetic choices as decoration or advertising). The façade tacitly grants or denies access. Scale, illumination, pattern and materiality can be used as cultural indicators to selectively promote or deny a sense of permission to enter. $Q H[SHQVLYH KRWHO HTXLSV LWV WKUHVKROG ZLWK ODYLVKO\ SROLVKHG materials and uniformed doormen, signaling to the intended clientele that they will be well cared for, while simultaneously giving the unintended the uncomfortable feeling that they DUH XQGHU VFUXWLQ\ 7KH QH[XV RI PRQH\ DQG OX[XU\ VHUYLFHV not only governs access, in many ways it precipitates the H[LVWHQFH RI ERWK WKH H[FOXVLYLW\ VHUYLQJ DV D GLDJUDP IRU WKH relationship. If the façade can be considered a spatial, representational, and political boundary, then meaning is altered as the boundary is developed. Continuous surface, multiple surface and variable opacity redefines the boundary as a gradient condition, and if the boundary has come to define our engagement with architecture, blurring the boundary necessitates an interactive and immersive involvement.
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Bernard Tschumi, as Henri Lefebvre before him (Lefebvre, Henri 1974), framed architectural space as a site for human activity, arguing that architecture â&#x20AC;&#x153;cannot be disassociated from the events that happened in itâ&#x20AC;? (Tschumi, Bernard 1996. p.7), and in this capacity we can describe architecture as a participating agent, regulating the degree to which it conditions flow between public and private. â&#x20AC;&#x153;...significant shifts are opening in the relation of the object to its wider environment; the boundary between building and its environment blurs. This occurs at two levels at least: architecture-as-object giving way to architectureas-environment; and the thickening of the skin to include a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;sandwichâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of envelope and air (including heat, light, moisture), or of different forms of matter. Both paradigms might be understood as a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;thick atmosphereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x201C; architecture as a system of control that modifies, conditions and regulates.â&#x20AC;? (FurjĂĄn, Helene 2007 p.117)
The cultural model superimposed over Flinders Lane Photo: http://www.walkingmelbourne.com/
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An architecture based on the dynamic flow of conditioning effects rather than comparatively static visual apprehension DFFHSWV WKDW ZH ZLVK WR PDNH DQ DUFKLWHFWXUH RI H[SHULHQFHV the singular-vision authority of the mastermind auteur is an anachronism. Parametric tools facilitate this reciprocity between behaviour and environment by allowing spatiality and effects to be determined by algorithmic means, and by democratising the design process so that the integration of new data and criteria is simplified.
The shift in focus from artefact to energy or activity may be H[SUHVVHG LQ PDWHULDO DUWLFXODWLRQ ZLWK UHDFWLYH V\VWHPV VXFK DV PD\ EH IRXQG LQ QDWXUH IRU H[DPSOH VNLQ SKRWRVHQVLWLYLW\ mimesis and assimilation. Such systems are by nature fluid and ambiguous, counter to our current understanding of architecture as a static entity.
While parametric tools simplify the process of generating spectacular geometric effects, the results are empty decoration if not supported by a more meaningful purpose. %DURTXH H[XEHUDQFH LV WKH WHOO WDOH VLJQ RI D V\VWHP HQOLYHQHG E\ LWV RZQ H[LVWHQFH EXW VSHFWDFOH VKRXOG QRW EH WKH XOWLPDWH motivating force in a system capable of genuine response.
Borden, Iain 2006. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Thick Edge: Architectural Boundaries and Spatial Flowsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; In Intimus: Interior Design Theory Reader, eds. M. Taylor and J. Preston, 49-55. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons Ltd. p. 50.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s be clear: it is not the vulgar misconception that architecture must be literally animate, nor that processes illustrated by animation software guarantee dynamic architecture. It need not move, but its substance, its scale, its transitions and measurement will be marked by the dilations and contractions of the energy field.â&#x20AC;? (Reiser + Umemoto 2006, p.22)
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REFERENCES
FurjĂĄn, Helene 2007. Eco_logics in Lally, S. and Young, J. (eds) Softspace: From Representation of Form to a Simulation of Space. Routledge. Lefebvre, Henri 1974. La production de lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;espace, Paris: Anthropos. Reiser + Umemoto 2006. Atlas of Novel Tectonics. Princeton Architectural Press. p.22. Tschumi, Bernard 1996. Architecture and Disjunction. MIT Press. p.7.
Opposite: Roof - façade model
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3.2 DESIGN PROPOSAL Our proposal for Craft Victoria has been formulated through adapting and implementing the spatial and material research FRPSOHWHG WKURXJK WKH ÄąUVW VL[ ZHHNV RI RXU GHVLJQ VWXGLR Responding to the key criteria as stated in Craft Victoriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brief, the design addresses the organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s priority for additional JDOOHU\ DQG RÄ´FH VSDFH DQG H[SORLWV WKH SRWHQWLDO IRU LQFUHDVHG public engagement by developing the façade of the building as a promulgation of architectural intent. Controlling the Glitch integrates craft into the fabric of the EXLOGLQJ E\ XWLOLVLQJ D ODQJXDJH WKDW LV WDFWLOH DQG H[SOLFLW LQ LWV â&#x20AC;&#x153;dumbâ&#x20AC;? massing by accumulation. The language developed through our computational methods provides the opportunity to generate spaces that can be private, intimate and comfortable to suit the scale of the craft objects displayed by Craft Victoria. Meeting spaces, gallery spaces and workshop areas can likewise be custom-crafted to be multipurpose or to suit specific programmatic requirements. Our urban strategy promotes Craft Victoriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sustainable growth LQWR D VHOI VXVWDLQHG IXWXUH E\ H[WHQGLQJ 6SDUNV /DQH WKURXJK WKH building to connect Flinders Street to Flinders Lane. The increased pedestrian numbers passing through Craft Victoria and entering the building from Flinders Lane to access the small shop and cafĂŠ spaces are intended to raise Craft Victoriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s profile within the community and to promote the work of Victoriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s craftspeople.
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Interior retail space
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The current premises at 31 Flinders Lane is a 1940s red brick building, slated for demolition in 2013. The building is located in the south east corner of Melbourneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CBD. The neighbouring buildings consist primarily of medium-rise (less than 10 storeys height), with the notable H[FHSWLRQ RI Collins Place Year completed: 1981 Architect: Pei Cobb Freed and Partners Address: 35-55 Collins Street Melbourne Primary use: retail, hospitality, office Tenants: Sofitel, ANZ Height: 185 metres The twin towers of Collins Place are situated to the north of Craft Victoria, contributing to overshadowing of the site for much of the day between April and October. The buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s southern elevation at street level consists of a blank wall and a publicly accessible rear entry. 1 Spring Street (formerly Shell House) Year completed: 1988 Architect: Seidler and Associates Primary use: office Height: 136 metres The iconic S shape of 1 Spring Street sits to the south east of Craft Victoria.
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Urban scale Craft Victoriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s position at the south eastern tip of the city gives an association with the commerical gallery precinct which runs the length of Flinders Lane from Spring Street to Swanston Street.
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Sparks Lane axis strategy The potential access to the rear of Craft Victoria via Sparks Lane opens the possibility of the building being used as a thoroughfare between Flinders and Collins Streets. Photos: www.nearmap.com
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CONSTRUCTION SEQUENCE FOUNDATIONS
CONSTRUCTION STAGE 01. EXISTING BUILDING
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CONSTRUCTION STAGE 01. DEMOLITION OF EXISTING BUILDING REMOVE ROOF
CONSTRUCTION STAGE 01. DEMOLITION OF EXISTING BUILDING REMOVE WALLS FULL HOARDINGS IN PLACE DEBRIS REMOVAL VIA SPARKS LANE
CONSTRUCTION STAGE 01. DEMOLITION OF EXISTING BUILDING EXCAVATION
CONSTRUCTION STAGE 02. GEOTECHNICAL SETTING OUT GROUND ANCHORING AND REINFORCEMENT
CONSTRUCTION STAGE 02. GEOTECHNICAL RETAINING WALLS
CONSTRUCTION STAGE 02. GEOTECHNICAL GRADING, DRAINAGE CONCRETE SEALANT PREPARE FOUNDATIONS WATERPROOF MEMBRANE
CONSTRUCTION STAGE 02. GEOTECHNICAL CONCRETE SLAB RAMP TO UNDERGROUND PARKING LIFT SHAFT
CONSTRUCTION STAGE . 03 ASSEMBLY SET OUT ALIGNMENT PREPARATION OF REINFORCING ALIGNMENT CORES
CONSTRUCTION SEQUENCE WALL / ROOF DETAIL
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4.0 REFLECTION AND AFTERWORD MM: So we were talking about the horizontal versus vertical, and I noticed when I was putting together the process imagery today that the switching from a vertical, the whole process up until the very end is a very vertical play RM: yeah, yep MM: and then at the very end, it sort of felt a little bit tacked on that we sort of swapped it to the horizontal language, because thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what we developed as a languageâ&#x20AC;Ś SS: yeah, it was an accretion system MM: was there perhaps an opportunity to do something vertical somehow. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have an obvious answer to that, it could have been some sort of a framing system, instead of stacking, we couldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve used the plywood in a vertical orientation somehow. Yâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;know something that dealt with the columns instead of the slabs. SS: I think if thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what you mean by, or what Bharat Dave meant by relentless then probably, yeah, there was opportunity WR PD\EH , WKLQN PD\EH LI ZHĹ&#x2122;G H[SHULPHQWHG PRUH ZLWK WKH joinery systems that may have come up, more organically, where we just took some of these CLT beams and planted them, and hung floors from them. But I guess we were also trying to look at a system that hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been done before, and once you have horizontal beams and vertical columns, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking at something quite conventional.
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RM: yeah, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve gotta say I quite like the layering and stacking of all of these, because thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what we were limited to, yâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;know, cutting out of a single, quite thin, flat sheet and if we could stack that up, we then get a volume of mass that we can then cavernate. And I think the layering of that has come up with something quite rich, spatially. I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the combination of things, firstly the combination of digital manipulations that we do, we take the grid and then distort it according to program, DQG WKHQ H[WUXGH WKRVH GLVWRUWLRQV XSZDUGV WKHQ UDQGRPO\ GLYLGH WKRVH H[WUXVLRQV DFFRUGLQJ WR SDUDPHWHUV ZH VHW DQG WKHQ FXOO VRPH RI WKRVH GLYLGHG H[WUXVLRQV DFFRUGLQJ WR %5(3V we defined earlier, that cavernating process that we talk about so much. This is all done in a vertical manner. We then combine that with the physical material, which is not only comprised of horizontal layers itself, the ply, but we also treat it in a horizontal manner by stacking it. So maybe it is the interweaving of all of these processes, the vertical digital and horizontal physical and how they meet and interact that defines our project and what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re about. SS: I was looking at that, was it the Icelandic reindeer observation pavilion, and I realised today looking back at it what a good precedent that was for us, because it really was just about VROLG DQG YRLG UHODWLRQVKLSV DQG H[WUXVLRQ RI D VSDFH IURP D VROLG thing. RM: yeah, carving it out. And I think that only works when the concept of solid is quite apparent, quite easily evident, that this thing is solid. Whereas I think if you construct a solid out of planes joined together, for me that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t read the same way.
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MM: The use of CLT on buildings of that scale, that we’re dealing with, is still rare enough that every one that gets built gets published, even if it’s some boring apartment building, just because the technology and manufacturing technique is so new, VR RXU SURMHFW LV YHU\ WRSLFDO 6R LWřV D QLFH WKRXJKW H[HUFLVH that’s quite new, and it hasn’t had the time to mature, and in practice CLT is being used as a precast concrete replacement, EXW LWřV QRW H[SORULQJŔ, VXSSRVH ZH ZHUH H[SORULQJ GLijHUHQW ZD\V of doing things other than the standard. RM: No you’re right, because it’s currently just “oh well, we can use pre-cast panels, or we can use CLT in place of pre-cast panels” but it’s still the same tectonic. SS: and because manufacturing hasn’t caught up with it yet, that they still have to justify as a seven-star, green-star super high rating thing, whereas I think when manufacturing costs come down for CLT it will become something that is a very viable alternative.
Unmoulding the cast plaster façade.
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5.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Autechre 2002, Gantz Graf, viewed 2 October 2012, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyJfHU4GoOQ Basulto, D 2012, AD Interviews: Kengo Kuma, Plataforma Networks, accessed 8 October 2012 http://www.archdaily.com/179551/ad-interviews-kengo-kuma Borden, Iain 2006. ‘Thick Edge: Architectural Boundaries and Spatial Flows’ In Intimus: Interior Design Theory Reader, eds. M. Taylor and J. Preston, 49-55. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons Ltd. Burry, M. 2011, Scripting Cultures: Architectural Design and Programming, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester. Carpo, M. 2011, ‘Digital Style’, Log, no. 23, pp41-52. Cascone, K 2000. ‘ The Aesthetic of Failure: “Post-Digital” Tendencies in Contemporary Computer Music’, Computer Music Journal, vol. 24, no. 4. Corrupt 2011, video recording, Recyclism, Dublin. Directed by B Gauldon, viewed 2 October 2012, http://vimeo.com/20531800. Corser, R., ed., 2010. Fabricating Architecture: Selected Readings in Digital Design and Manufacturing. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. Fortescue, D 2010. Digital Craft: The use of digital technologies in contemporary craft in the US, Craft Australia, accessed 12 October 2012, http://www.craftaustralia.org.au/library/review.php?id=digital_craft Furján, Helene 2007. Eco_logics in Lally, S. and Young, J. (eds) Softspace: From Representation of Form to a Simulation of Space. Routledge. Iwamoto, L. 2009, Digital Fabrications: Architectural and Material Technique, Princeton Architectural Press, New York.
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Lefebvre, Henri 1974. La production de lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;espace, Paris: Anthropos. Mistabishi 2009, Printer Jam, viewed 2 October 2012, http://vimeo.com/3268141 Nunes, M 2011, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Error, Noise, and Potential: The Outside of Purposeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, in Error: Glitch, Noise, and Jam in New Media Cultures, Continuum, New York. Oval. 7H[WXHOO YLHZHG 2FWREHU KWWS ZZZ \RXWXEH FRP ZDWFK"Y FM 2)YUFR4$ Oxman N, 2007. Digital Craft: Fabrication Based Design in the Age of Digital Production. Workshop Proceedings for Ubicomp 2007: International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing. September, Innsbruck, Austria. Pye, D 1968. The Nature and Art of Workmanship, Cambridge University Press, UK. Ratsi, O. 2012, WYSI*not*WYG, photograph, viewed 2 October 2012, http://www.wysi-not-wyg.com/ Reiser + Umemoto 2006. Atlas of Novel Tectonics. Princeton Architectural Press. Scheurer, F and Stehling H, 2011. Lost in Parameter Space? Architectural Design. Tschumi, Bernard 1996. Architecture and Disjunction. MIT Press. Woodbury, R. (OHPHQWV RI 3DUDPHWULF 'HVLJQ 5RXWOHGJH 2[IRUG
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