Breakwall by University for the Creative Arts MA Architecture/MA Interior Design

Section title

Break Wall

by YUJIE XIAO

Break Wall

CSA Research Report

Project Details Project Lead:

Lucy Jones, MA Interior Design course leader

Design Participants: David Di Duca, BAT Studio,

Title:

Break Wall

Type:

Collaborative build and public architectural installation

Location:

UCA Canterbury campus

Project Dates:

29 September - 03 October 2016 Collaborative build workshop 19 February 2017 Collaborative tear-down

Design Period:

24 - 30 September 2017

Budget:

ÂŁ500

Scale:

8600mm*5000mm*70mm*4

Support:

UCA

Break Wall

Section title

Break Wall

Research Agenda and Process Overview The preservation and use of traditional architecture is an important issue all over the world. Somewhere deep beneath the surface of the city have some constructions are steeped in history legend, they are stacked in every nook and cranny. Many of our everyday memories also tied to the built environment on the city. This installation aims to emphasize the possibility or adapting the historic built environment to contemporary users.

Research Questions 1.

How can intention architectonic communication the power of time and attract peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention to the built environment?

2. The old buildings are invested with a familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history, once the structure has any breakage, what can we do to keep the historic marks in the renovation? 3. How to combine the time marks and modern needs in interior design?

Research Statement

Significance and Contribution As we all well know, vertical gardens are a great solution to many challenges within urban spaces. Vertical gardens and green walls are not just a stunning addition to an office. Plants have been shown to lift people’s mood, increase productivity and remove toxins from indoor spaces. Living walls support plants through irrigated, vertical containers or felt-based structures fixed to a wall surface. Green facades use climbing plants to provide green coverage over a wall, either directly on the building surface or more commonly using a steel trellis or cable system, with plants grown in-ground or in containers that are supported across the building facade. 

Refresh the air: Absorbing CO2 and particles

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Producing oxygen in indoor

 Sustainable living environment: also build a historic atmosphere 

Reduce noise

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Fire retardent

Methodologies 1.

Extracting and testing technical knowledge through the spot investigation to historic buildings in Kent.

2. Testing various materials and different formula to let crack in the wall looks nature with the forces of time. 3. Developing the irrigation system of the vertical garden in the break wall and lighting control system. 4. Testing and develop the idea with sketch models.

Break Wall

Design Proposal I am proposing to construct an indoor installation with the old buildings as the background and recreate a unique interior environment, to attract visitorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention to reuse and preserve historic buildings in the city. This installation consists of three layers: the first layer is concrete slab, which was constructed to simulate a process of breaking and cracking; the second layer is fiber optics, ultrasonic sensor, soil and plants. Over time, the plants will grow into the crack and through the concrete; the last layer is lighting control system,

when the visitor walks close to installation, the ultrasonic sensor will be detected immediately and adjust the light intensity in distance between the installation and visitor. The fibre optics will carry the light to the surface of the concrete slab, used to simulate the sunshine through the crack. The light intensity increases according to the distance of the visitor from the installation. Moreover, Break Wall also explores the connection between interior and exterior in space field.

Key technological outcomes of proposal 1.

The development of using digital controls to create the interactive space: ultrasonic sensor and Arduino.

2. Exploration of different methods to treat the concrete slab: to simulate cracking.

Proposal & Context

Design Research Context Field of Work

Work by others

In fact, every one of Blanc’s vertical gardens is a revelation, making you wonder why city governments around the world don’t use vertical gardens more often when such an elegant solution exists for reintroducing nature into humanmade environments.

The project of concrete jungles is a vertical garden of the side of a residential in Paris. Designer struggling to find a novel way to make plants thrive without soil and limited light. To provide the essential prerequisite of plant’s growth and prevents weaken the walls, designer created the builtin watering system by solid metal, PVC and nonbiodegradable Fletcher frame that allows plants to grow without soil. Blanc’s vertical garden project is provide a grace note of Lush verdant plant life In an unexpected place, and proposed an elegant formula to city greening, the vertical garden revolution making people think more about the help space and cash-strapped urban dwellers in need of greenery.

Fig.02 (left) Vertical gardens, Paris , 2007 (Patrick Blanc)

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Design Methodologies The design development process started with the idea of reuse the original materials in renovations of vintage buildings. This indoor installation was inspired by the historic cement factory and nature environment: as the time went on, the pressure of the time caused the wall of the dam to crack, plants warmed its way through the crack in the wall.

the concrete slab, hardens and dustproofs the crack in the wall. More importantly, ensure that the fiber optics pass through the three layers of materials and bring the light to the surface of the concrete slab.

The attachment of the ultrasonic sensor and Arduino is the main control system and provide the interior lighting to the For simulate the breaking and contemporary user, along with cracking as naturally as possible, interactive space. a large of number of testing and developing the structure stability: to enhance the surface smoothness and gloss of concrete slab, make sure the strength of

Critical Design Elements 1.

The traditional method of close the crack in the concrete wall.

2. Interactive digital: for simulating the sunshine, the light strips need to display the color gradient for sunshine. 3. Position is crucial. If it is an indoor wall in a very low-light location, the best plants are the sort found on the rainforest understorey. If I can place it next to a window, any further than four metre away or do not have vertical useable daylight, consider electric light to boost photosynthesis. Painting inside walls white will also make sunlight go a little further. 4. Houseplants: examining all the possible alternatives about the choice of plants.

Process & Methods

Prototyping and testing Challenges and solutions: 1.Structure prototyping a.Breaking and creaking

2.With the method and technique of using the Arduino and ultrasonic sensor to detect distance between the installation and visitor.

For simulate the breaking and cracking as naturally as possible. For this, the prior technique question is make sure the surface of concrete slab is smoothly and gloss.

3.Sustainable living environment: to make this indoor installation achieve the sustainable effect, will all it can to choose the indoor plants. Also put some seeds in the crack and the gaps between b.Put some wire meshes in the concrete slab and wooden pedestal to strength the concrete pedestal. slab.

Fig.03 (left) Exploration of different methods to treat the concrete slab: to simulate cracking.

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Process & Methods

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Fig.06 (left) Detail of concrete slab

Process & Methods

Fabrication Techniques a.Concrete slab

fiber optics.

I spread the plastic board on the bottom of the wood box to enhance the surface smoothness and gloss of concrete slab. Otherwise, the wire mesh could improve the concrete be agglomerated and make it quite durable.

c.Control system Different distance between the installation and visitor has settled as the trigger of movement. d.

Plants

I tried to choose the house plants and ferns to be materials, so the b.Breaking cracking break wall will really stay green After the concrete slab was without adequate light or live totally dry, I bashed the concrete under the artificial light. slab with a hammer and struck For adapt the interior environment down the bits of concrete along and the sort of plants for the the crack. Moreover, I drill some vertical garden, the plants in this holes to reserved position for project shall coincide with all the following: Short leaves Short stalks Much branched Grown without light

18 Fig.07 Typical form proposal drawing

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Process & Methods

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Process & Methods

Control Systems The attachment of the ultrasonic b. Fibre optics sensor could detect the visitor in the range of hallway and The fibre optics pass through the wood box to connect light strips. responds to the light. The fibre optics will carry the light to the surface of the The attachment of the ultrasonic concrete slab, used to simulate sensor could detect the visitor the sunshine through the crack. in the range of hallway and The light intensity increases responds to the light. according to the distance of the visitor from the installation. Interactive digital: for simulating the sunshine, the light strips need c. Structure to display the color gradient for sunshine: from yellow into orange then come back to yellow. a.Arduino

Operaing range : <1500mm strong light : >1000mm Weak light: <1000mm

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Occupation and Interaction This installation desire to attract peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention to historic buildings and calculate to be controversial, the synthesis elements of historic marks and modern arts can explore the way of application and significance in interior design. The goal is create a new form combines the marks of time and modern indoor design, try to tell visitors that directly destroy the historic buildings is a huge waste of resources to architecture. The key characteristic of Break Wall is simulating the sunshine

Fig.08 Detail of light strip and control system.

through fiber optics and provide extra source of light to indoor environment, integrating the history and modernity in interior.

Review of Outcomes

Fig.11 (left) Speculative occupation drawing Figs.12, 13 & 14 (right and continued overleaf ) Completed Generative Folly installation in site

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Section title

Break Wall

Review of Outcomes

Dissemination and Future Work In future work, it is a fantastic new direction to deep thinking of interior designâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development prospect and takes inspiration from the historic building, explores the adaptive space in detail. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no fixed formula for design, especially in the space field. From the perspective of interior design, in order to restore original values to the historic building and make it adapt to contemporary needs.This research area of protect old building also is a challenge to explore the potential of common materials to create new art form in space design.

Break Wall

Fig.15 (left) Detail of plants

Appendix

Appendix Annotated Code Excerpts #include <Adafruit_NeoPixel.h> #ifdef __AVR__ #include <avr/power.h> #endif #define PIN 6 //pin6 #define NUMPIXELS 120 Adafruit_NeoPixel strip = Adafruit_ NeoPixel(NUMPIXELS, PIN, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800); int trigPin = 12;//Trig int echoPin = 11;//Echo long timeperiod, cm, inches; int distanceThreshold = 150;//,50cm 1.5m=150cm int distanceValue; int delayval = 10; // delay for half a second int lightValue_max = 255; // int lightValue_min = 0; // int lightValue;// void setup() { // put your setup code here, to run once: Serial.begin(9600); pinMode(trigPin, OUTPUT); pinMode(echoPin, INPUT); strip.begin(); strip.show(); // Initialize all pixels to ‘off’ } int distance(void) { int cm1; digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW); delayMicroseconds(2); digitalWrite(trigPin, HIGH); delayMicroseconds(10); digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW); timeperiod = pulseIn(echoPin, HIGH);

//inches = timeperiod / 74 / 2; cm = timeperiod / 29 / 2; return cm; } void loop() { // put your main code here, to run repeatedly: distanceValue = distance(); Serial.print(“distance is “); Serial.print(distanceValue); Serial.println(“ cm”); if (distanceValue < distanceThreshold) { // lightValue = map(distanceValue, 0, 150, 255, 125); strip.setBrightness(lightValue); for (int i = 0; i <= NUMPIXELS; i++) { // pixels.Color takes RGB values, from 0,0,0 up to 255,255,255 strip.setPixelColor(i, strip. Color(255, 255, 0)); // Moderately bright green color.redValue, greenValue, blueValue strip.show(); // This sends the updated pixel color to the hardware. delay(delayval); } }

Break Wall

Materials and Suppliers List Fibre optics (from Cablematic Web, https://www.cablematic.co.uk) Fibre optics LED 200 fibers and 0.75 mm length 4m Light strip(from Amazon, www.Amazon.co.uk) 1m WS2812B RGB LED Strip, 60 Addressable Pixels, 60 per metre, DC 5V Concrete (from Amazon, www.Amazon.co.uk) Everbuild JETX6 Jetcem Premix Sand and Cement 6Kg Ultrasonic sensor (from Amazon, www.Amazon.co.uk) HALJIA Ultrasonic Module Distance Measuring Transducer Sensor Waterproof Reversing Radar Module Traffic Control Arduino (from UCA) Other sundries: Wire mesh, B&Q UK Wooden box, 860*500*70mm, UCA workshop Mint seeds, B&Q UK Plants, B&Q UK DC connector, Amazon UK 5.5mm AC power adapter, Amazon UK 1/4 W 470 Ohm 250 V Carbon Film Resistors, Amazon UK Electrolytic Capacitor, Amazon UK Black Bituminous Paint 2.5L, Amazon UK CONNEX DY2701383 2mm x 30m Galvanised Wire Ropes, Amazon Everbuild Concrete Hardener and Dustproofer 403 5L, Amazon UK

Angle cleats, Tools station Canterbury

Appendix

Bibliography Hohenadel, K. (2013). Replanting the Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Concrete Jungles, One Wall at a Time. [online] Slate Magazine. Available at: http://www.slate. com/blogs/the_eye/2013/09/18/patrick_blanc_s_newest_vertical_ garden_greening_urban_walls_around_the_world.html [Accessed 13 Aug. 2017]. Sempergreen.com. (n.d.). Sempergreen Flexipanel - modular lightweight panel for living walls - Sempergreen. [online] Available at: https://www.sempergreen.com/en/solutions/living-wall/products/ flexipanel [Accessed 13 Aug. 2017].

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Credits MA Interior Design Course Leader: Lucy Jones MA Interior Design Tutor: David Di Duca Visiting Critics 2016 /17:

Section title

Break Wall