DESIGN STUDIO
AIR
SEMESTER 2 // 2015 TUTOR // CANHUI CHEN ZIXIAO SHELLEY WU // 632168
PART A CONCEPTULISATION
SELF INTRODUCTION A.01 DESIGN FUTURING A.02 DESIGN COMPUTATION A.03 COMPOSITION VS. GENERATION
CONCLUSION AND LEARNING OUTCOMES
REFERENCES
CONTENTS 2
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PART B CRITERIA DESIGN B.01 RESEARCH FIELD B.02 CASE STUDY 1.0 B.03 CASE STUDY 2.0 B.04 TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENT B.05 TECHNIQUE PROTOTYPES B.06
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SELF INTRODUCTION
GREETINGS to all reading - human and
perhaps extraterrestrial alike. After growing tired of my daily dietary intake consisting of fish and chips as well as my expertise in riding sheep in New Zealand, I decided that the foreign land of Australia would allow me to acquire the ability to ride kangaroos instead. Unfortunately that dream was never realized and here I am, stuck writing about myself: Aspiring designer and in my spare time, Professional Mario Kart driver. As a third year architecture student at the University of Melbourne, I have experienced a wide spectrum of bipolar emotions as I waddle my way to graduation. Personal favorite architects include Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Kahn, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Ieoh Ming Pei. Architecture to me is an art form. One which in many instances can be interpreted and appreciated in various dimensions. It reflects the designer, and evokes the emotions of the inhabitants, serving as space to create their own reflection and experiences.
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C O N C E P T U L I S AT I O N
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However, by trying to resolve a series of problems, we are limiting ourselves from perfecting the final outcome as compromises are made to address issues collectively. The challenge of problem-solving multiple concerns simultaneously has unfortunately lead architects to undermine the basic connection between form and function; the process of designing holistically has been some-what lost in translation.
Architecture now, as so in the past, has been a justified reflection of a designers signature within a city - an icon which defines a city and seeks to gain the recognition of all. Technology has played a big part in the improvement and efficiency in design process and fabrication, however to balance the problem of sustainability with the increasing demand for higher living standards and human growth, has become a challenge for many designers. Ultimately structures still embody the most primitive purpose of shelter, but to design for the future means to utilise materials to their full potential in the most practical way. This does not mean we should not strive for unique forms which are attainable through computational design, but it should not impact on the conversation between the built environment, the natural environment and the inhabitors/users.
A.01 DESIGN FUTURING
PART A
Building construction in the past has not only been the display of the avant garde of the time period, but also as one of the necessity of survival: shelter. As designers of this generation however, we are inevitably faced with the consequence of resource scarcity as a result of the exploitation of the limited resources on the planet. As we, the human race, have already willingly positioned ourselves into this defuturing state, as designers, we can no longer simply design to the basic functions of a space, but rather in the most sustainable way possible.
unsustainable design as well as undermining potential outcomes, with further problems arising in the future. It is ironic however, that design outcomes are future oriented, but the ego and development/construction appetite of designers often reverses the situation back to the same problem of unsustainable design. By critically assessing the discourse to challenge and speculate against the conventional status quo. As designers, problems solving is in our nature, but to only say sustainability is the ultimate goal would also limit the possibilities of design outcomes as well as disregarding the stakeholders and true users of the space.
The pursuit to generate an iconic landmark aesthetically which has no connection to the functional-ability of a space, and lack of understanding anthropological and ethical values has lead to the real problem of
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AL BAHAR TOWERS AEDAS ARCHITECTS A B U D H A B I ( 2 0 14 )
The responsive installation by AEDAS acts as a shading system for the intense heat which is constantly present in Abu Dhabi. Developed from the traditional “mashrabiya�, the tesselated geometry over the facade responds to the changing sun exposure during different days of the year. The folding panels act to reduce glare and heat gain during the day, whereas at night they close to expose the hidden facade. The movement which the pattern creates as it follows the sun angles provide for the aesthetic as well as the practical purposes of passive cooling.
Sustainability has become a main concern among designs which designers are challeneged with. Although the intention of this system is mainly to reduce the energy consumption from air conditioning, it can also create concerns over the maintainence and the running costs. It does provide as a very innovative solution for sites with similar climate, as the tessellated geometries have the flexibility to be adjusted to suit various facades.
From a holistic point of view, the building does respond and reflect the traditional methods of Islamic shading, as well as the advanced technological technique and fabrication style.
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H A N G Z H O U S P O RT S PA R K NBBJ & CCDI HANGZHOU
Like with the technical advances of the era, Hangzhou is also undergoing rapid urban changes, NBBJ in collaboration with CCDI, has developed with computation a multipurpose ‘pedestrian-centric’ development. As a site with a range of activities, sustainability was a concern on all levels. The demand for steel is at a constient increase, espeically in countries which are still developing and the appetite for constructure expands. The use of parametric design in this project allowed for a heavy reduction in material wastes whilst still creating a functional form. Various iterations of the forms geometry can also be explored, as it allows for the efficiency to adjust and develop. Parametric modelling allows for minimal resource wastage due to the structural integrity is ensured to be optimized and stabalized.
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A . 0 2 C O M P U TAT I O N 12
With the development of computational design software, designers are equipped with the tools to refine and further explore the boundaries of design within the fields of materiality, structural integrity and form.
Prior to the emergence of architects as a profession, anyone could be either the builder or the designer; planning was minimal while the purpose was to construct when and where it was needed as a survival necessity thus the process to construct built forms were much faster. With the birth of architects however, holistcally appoached designs with knowledge from various informations are rationalised to result in a design solution which is optimal to problem at hand.
Computation has become a medium which formulates a comprehensive conversation between architect, client and technologies. It is a medium which supports a continuous logic of design thinking/ generation to fabrication; allowing for throughout the design process to fluidly simultaneously design, develop and fabricate with structural integrity, accuracy and efficiency. The continuous process which computational design embodies offer opportunities such as: 1. Embedding Materiality 2. Optimisation (Performance) 3. Form Generation/form finding 4. Efficiency/Accuracy 5. Fabrication 6. Sustainability (Potentially)
Through computational design, the designer is able to generate/ manipulate complex forms which cannot be done simply through conventional composition. Form generation alone only defines one aspect of the possibilities computational design can achieve at a faster rate. Designers should not however, mistake computation as a replacement for artistic or conceptual endevours. It is merely a tool which allows designers to manipulate and generate at a faster rate. As designers, we control and set and alter the algorithms to tailor for the problems at hand. It should never undermine the inital design concept but rather enhance it. Ultimately establishing a relationship between the designer and computer, as well as between the final built form and its users.
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ICD/ITKE RESEARCH PAVILION
This pavilion is an example of how the students at the University of Stuttgart in association with the Institute for Computational Design and the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design, created a temporary structure to model the biological principles of a sea urchin’s plate skeleton through computational based generation as well as fabrication. The structure itself has a similar hexagonal geometrical cells which is constructed to form a shell-like structure. Although the geometry appears to be consistent throughout the structure itself, when designed in combination with computerisation control, the ease of generation for the 850 geometrically different components and 100,000 finger joints which are arranged together is much more accurate, structurally sound and efficient in the process of fabrication. The process of embedding material properties into the design translates into the generation of the overall form of the pavilion. As it already embodies the structural integrity at an optimum position, the fabrication process becomes much simpler and thus more efficient.
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M AT S Y S D E S I G N
ZERO/FOLD SCREEN
KASIAN GALLERY, UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY, CANADA (2010)
With the emergance of parametric design, the problem of sustainability begins to seem more achieveable and in the case of the Zero/Fold Screen, Matsys Design has developd a project which essentially does not waste any material at all. With the embedding of the construction process, each individual piece correspsonds to the one before, which results in a twisted form. The ability to progressively produce curves which correlate to the former and latter (sectioning) components on one piece of material is a simplistic yet effective way to develop small and potentially large scale models which appear to be complex in form.
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To understand that there is “no separation between design intent and computational technique� is what allows the design to be developed simultaneously whilst exploring further options in materialisation, spatial function and overall structural performance. As a result of generative design, allowing the designer to continuously modify within the boundaries specified to perfect form and maximise performance, sustain ability is also an aspect that can be thoroughly researched and examined simultaneously.
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A . 0 3 C O M P O S I T I O N / G E N E R AT I O N
Designing and fabricating has developed fiercely, allowing concepts to uphold integrity structurally and aesthetically. Generative design is now a medium of representation like traditional compositional design except with a reverse design process. Design concepts now not only reflect design intention like they did in the past, but also show skill in the complexity of form and elements formulated through an underlying logic. Through computation, by means of algorithms coded with precision and the ability to modify, adjust and generate with ease and efficiency, allowing the designer to further explore the relationship between spaces and elements. Although there is a lack of control over minuet details of how exactly the form will generate, the designer has the ability to decide which how the form will be generated, and the general outlook of a potential solution.
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KOKKUGIA ROLAND SNOOKES // ROBERT STUART-SMITH
The exploration of biomimicry through the complexity of self-organizing behavior modeled through generative design develops unique and uniformed form from the movement of biological, social and material systems. Unlike compositional design, studying and projecting the movements of these systems formulates organized chaos, a non-linear motion. Through compositional methodologies, it is not so easily determined/formulated by human perception. The interacting relationship of these systems inform the application of swarming logic within the algorithm which develops to envision the micro and macro scales of sequential activity. As the designer has no control over the detailing – the directional move or the intensity as each agent is programmed to act with different desires – but we have control over the process, the boundaries, and way it is to be represented. And the beauty of this semi controlled generation results in these inconsistencies is that the agents together operate to self-organize and distribute. The movement is modeled through a hierarchy, displaying the aggressiveness and irregular movement either collectively or astray.
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D I G I TA L G R O T E S Q U E Michael Hansmeyer
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By re-imagining primitive geometry through generative algorithms, new forms emerge, appearing as organic, synthetic, and unimaginable. The results of using a recursive definition of sub-dividing simple geometries draws attention to the continuous flow in logic throughout the design process which would be impossible to do via conventional compositional methods. There are various limitations of analog process, primarily the conceivability of such complex forms and the inability to document such intricate detailing. The designer composing can experience composition limitations as it is adjusted by hand, often resulting in a much more rigid outcome, as there is a tendency to focus solely on the foreseeable outcomes thus restraining in the generation of complex and abstract forms. Through computational generation, the control of the initial geometry and the algorithm is within the control
of the design however outcomes are to some degrees random but still determinable, thus providing the element of surprise and a form which would appear to become more natural and fluid. With the underlying logic being continuously repeated, the potential freedom in achieving articulate detailing and complex spatial forms with structural integrity is increased drastically.
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ALGORITHMIC SKETCHES
CONCLUSION & LEARNING OUTCOMES Architecture is a way in which improve out lifestyle which should withhold holistic characteristics. The main concern now is to not only achieve an improved lifestyle, but to discover ways in which we can become more sustainable. To consume resources with discretion in the process of designing as well as constructing through innovative design. Computational design is one means of achieving solutions at a faster pace when demand for housing whilst being efficient in the design process. However, this is not the only means as designers are now forced to step out of the conventional design practice. To explore and to problem solve in more complex scenarios through the aid of technological advances, we are able to come to concrete solutions to address global climate change from a local to a global scale. With the ability to modify and adapt various algorithms to produce complex and intricate design outcomes with the embodied structural capabilities, parametric offers designers to achieve finalized outcomes at a more efficient and accurate rate. To design without straying from the initial design intent and maintaining a balance using computation as a means of representation as well as a method in producing a final outcome is something to always keep in mind.
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Fry, Tony (2008). Design Futuring: Sustainability, Ethics and New Practice (Oxford Berg) Dunne, Anthony & Raby, Fiona (2013) Speculative Everything: Design Fiction, and Social Dreaming (MIT Press) “AEDAS: Ak-Habhr Towers in Abu Dhabi”, Danny Hudson, Designboom, last modified September 19, 2012, http://www.designboom.com/architecture/aedas-al-bahar-towers/ “Al Bahar Towers Responsive Facade/AEDAS”, Karen Cilento, ArchDaily, last modified September 5, 2012, http://www.archdaily.com/270592/al-bahar-towers-responsive-facade-aedas “A City Blossoms”, NBBJ, http://www.nbbj.com/work/hangzhou-stadium/ “NBBJ and CCDI Break Ground on Hangzhou Sports Park”, Sebastian Jordana, ArchDaily, last modified April 14, 2010, http://www.archdaily.com/56594/nbbj-and-ccdi-break-ground-on-hangzhou-sports-park/
REFERENCES
“Mainland China towers scraping the sky in a green and modern way”, Peta Tomlinson, South China Morning Post, last modified July 30, 2014, http://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/ article/1562013/mainland-china-towers-scraping-sky-green-and-modern-way Kalay, Yehuda E. (2004). Architecture’s New Media: Principles, Theories and Methods of Computer Aided Design (Cambridge, Ma: MIT Press) Oxman, Rivka and Robert Oxman, eds (2014). Theories of the Digital in Architecture (London; New York: Routledge) Institute of Computational Design, ICD/ITKE Reseach Pavilion (2011) http://icd.uni-stuttgart. de/?p=6553 “Zero/Fold Screen”, Matsys Design, last modified February 28, 2010, http://matsysdesign.com/ category/projects/ Peters, Brady. (2013) ‘Computation Works: The Building of Algorithmic Thought’, Architectural Design Definition of ‘Algorithm’ in Wilson, Robert A. and Frank C. Keil, eds (1999). The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences (London: MIT Press) “Research|Kokkugia”, Roland Snooks, http://www.rolandsnooks.com/research/ “Swarm Matter”, Roland Snooks, 2009, http://www.kokkugia.com/swarm-matter “Cliff House”, Roland Snookes, 2012, http://www.kokkugia.com/swarm-matter “Digital Grotesque”, Michael Hansmeyer, http://www.digital-grotesque.com/
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