Digital Design - Module 01 Semester 1, 2018 Tony Cheung
(913682) Xiaoran Huang + Studio 3
Week One
Reading: Zeara Polo, A. 2010. Between Ideas and Matters.
According to Zeara-Polo, the diagram does not play a representational role in the design process but provides an organisational and can have a performative quality depending on how it is deployed. Explain how Diagram is different from Signs and Symbols?
Zeara-Polo juxtaposes the two ideas of the diagram and the symbolic (signs, indexes, icons and drawings); the “realisation of the possible” and the “actualisation of the virtual.” Diagrams do not focus so much on conventional roles but are much more abstract and conceptual. Unlike signs and symbols, they are not bound by their representational purpose but are mediating, organisation tools for conveying specific information. Diagrams are ‘reductive in nature’, contrasting from icons and symbols which are often culturally influenced by society norms. Hence, diagrams also have a universal quality in which they convey information objectively, which is advantageous for presenting complex ideas with a simplier technique.
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Week One
Precedent Analysis
Image 1 is a section plan of the pieces for the fourth layer, seen in purple in Rhino. The first layer, in red, is being modelled. Image 2 shows the curvature of the second and third layers, which are almost identical except in size. Image 3 shows layers 2 to 4 compiled together, forming the outer ribcage of the pavilion. Bad Hair Pavilion. (2009). [image] Available at: https:// woodarchitecture.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/pav_ badhair.jpg [Accessed 7 Mar. 2018].
At first glance the pavilion looks rather complex and intimidating, however upon closer inspection there were only four main ‘layers’ or types of components to be modelled. Each layer consists of one element or curved strip copied and rotated over to create the hair shape. The first and lowest layer was the hardest to model as a fair amount of guesswork and Rhino techniques were utilised to appropriate the form and angled curves. The other three layers were well documented and were straightforward enough to model accurately. Once compiled together by centering each layer on top of each other, the pavilion takes fully shape as a messy, bad hair day.
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Week Two
Reading: Hertzberger H. 2005. The in-between and The Habitable Space Between Things, from Lessons for Students in Architecture. Herzberger discuss how design should not be extreme in its functionality. Use your precedent study to explain how the pavilion allows for an appropriation of use.
Herzberger argues that design should be flexible in many roles to allow unprecedented usage among the different individuals that utilise the space. He uses an analogy of design as an instrument, where it will sound “the way the player wants it to sound�, emphasising on how the user wishes to use the space rather than the intentions of the maker of the instrument. The precedent study, the Bad Hair Pavilion, is a perfect example of this approach of appropriating for the potential over the intended, functional design. Due to construction and material limitations, the pavilion does not allow users to climb or sit on top; rather, it serves as a decorative pavilion. However, as seen in the precedent image provided, the majority of users place themselves onto the flat and low surfaces of the components, and not so much over or under the pavilion. This accommodation of the potential use gives the design some flexibility in accordance with how attracted users may approach and circulate around the pavilion as well.
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Week Two
Isometric
Bad Hair Pavilion The pavilion resembles messy, ‘bad’ hair, made from 14 individual strips of curved wood. There were four total ‘layers’ that were to be modelled, each consisting of a similar piece copied and rotated around. Each piece consists of three components of wood, which in plan were jointed together, as can be seen in the zig-zag details on each piece. The first and fourth layers consist of longer, more curved pieces that rest horizontally along the ground. The second and third layers are almost identical, they serve as spatial disruptors; while maintaining visual continuity from the ground up. The radial, almost symmetrical design imposes some simplier arrangements of threshold and circulation fields. However, since the pavilion is constructed from thin wood components, accessibility is restricted to the ground plane. As seen in the precedent image, the majority of activity surrounds the first and fourth layered pieces, creating the threshold of static space and a semi-private domain. Circulation, however, remains across the archways in four main directions, providing open walkways for human movement and temporal traffic.
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Week Two Diagrams
Circulation Diagram
Threshold Diagram and Activity
The pavilion is near-symmetrical in four directions, and hence the circulation of the space follows a loose, windmill shape. The presence of a pathway (as seen in the precedent image) holds a heavier influence on the circulation direction, joining and exiting from the left.
The pavilion is cut at approximately 1.5m in height, and the top is lifted up. The grey spots on the dotted grid and cut base represent the thresholds or qualities of the space where human activity is the most frequent.
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Appendix
Process - Modelling the Structure
Two other Make2D trials from Rhino, however they were not suitable for the purposes of the diagram. Layer 1 (Red), Layer 2 (Green), Layer 3 (Yellow), Layer 4 (Magenta). Early on I identified three main components (lower, middle and upper) however the middle appears to be more decorative and less functional. Since layers 2 and 3 are almost identical, it was more viable to group them together.
Modelling layers 2 and 3 from the angled cones provided from the precedent drawings. The sizes had to be very precise, otherwise overlapping surfaces would occur.
With the upper and middle layers completed, with only the bottom (and hardest) layer to model. I trialed several iterations of the first layer, using a combination of Mirror, Twist, Bend and PointsOn commands to create the final layer.
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Appendix
Process - Circulation Diagram An earlier version of the circulation diagram. I chose to split off the bottom layer (which defines the archways of entrance) from the rest of the structure, and to have the circulation sandwiched in the middle. The gradient circles were not as relevant for circulation as they were for the threshold diagram. Direction-based elements were more suitable for this diagram as it allowed me to essentially map out human traffic and movements around and along the pavilion. The circulation paths of the diagram made on Rhino using ArrayCrv. From top view it appears to have symmetrical circulation, much like a windmill or spiral. The presence of a pathway (as seen in the precedent image) slightly alters the approach, causing traffic to form and
My analysis determined that while there exactly aren’t any major entrances, the two facing the pathway do have slightly more influence than others.
exit on the left.
Two different angles of the circulation paths, in isometric view. Note how both sides look nearly identical, with the exception of the path direction. I later opted to use the second angle for consistency to match the same direction used in the threshold diagram.
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Appendix
Process - Threshold Diagram
I created a 60 x 60 point grid, using the Rhino Panelling Tools plugin to simulate dot density and a spatial field for the threshold diagram. I used circles as they have a closer resemblence to the shape of footprints, as well as having no universal direction (they can be viewed at any angle and be the same).
The square grid was trimmed into a circle template, then exported to Illustrator through Make2D in isometric view. I later added a radial gradient so that the grid would have a softer feel.
Earlier version of the threshold diagram. I wanted to replicate the same two-structure split in the circulation diagram but differently, so I cut the base at 1500mm and shifted the top up. You can visualise piecing them together by aligning layer 4 together.
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