Journal Final Version by Vera Cramer

Architecture Design Studio: AIR

PROGRESS JOURNAL The University of Melbourne, 2012 Vera Cramer 568658

CONTENTS Part I. EXPRESSION OF INTEREST I.0

DESIGN FOCUS AND CRITERIA

I.1

CASE FOR INNOVATION

I.1.1 I.1.2 I.1.3 I.1.4

Architecture as a Discourse Computing in Architecture Parametric Modelling Case for Innovation Conclusion

06 10 14 17

I.2 RESEARCH PROJECT I.2.1 Scope of Possibilies I.2.1.1 Input/Association/Output Matrix I.2.1.2 Reverse-Engineered Case-Study I.2.1.3 Digital Fabrication I.2.1.4 Material Effects I.2.2 Research Conclusion

18 26 28 32 36

I.3

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST CONCLUSION

Part II. DESIGN PROPOSAL II.1 DEVELOPMENT II.2

FINAL DESIGN PROPOSAL

II.2.1 The Sea of Lights II.2.2 Digital Mapping II.2.3 Construction

Part III: LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES 02

42 44 54 64

Part I. EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

I.0

DESIGN FOCUS AND CRITERIA

PERSONAL DESIGN FOCUS In the theme of parametric modelling, my research and design foci lie on the unique advantages and the potential of parametric modelling. I want to know how parametric modelling is used to exploit the potential of achieving more in less time. In particular, I am interested in simplification enabled by parametric modelling and achieving outcomes that seem complex but nonetheless are easy to build. Another focus is the engagement of parametric modelling and environment and how these two fields can be interconnected in a creative and unique way. REQUIREMENTS TO THE WESTERN GATEWAY Wyndham is the fastest growing municipality in Victoria with a population of 148,000 people, and will become a city of more than 430,000 people. The Wynham City Gateway Project Document states that the installation should “become a new identifier for the municipality”1 and “inspire and enrich the municipality”2. But the installation has also a far-reaching influence beyond Wyndham itself because is is the “first indication of arrival into metropolitan Melbourne”3 and therefore has to “make a significant impact”4. In order to achieve these objectives, it is required to propose an “exciting, eyecatching installation”5 that should also provide an “innovative and prominent entry statement”6. Due to the ‘special’ location of the installation at the freeway there are several things to consider: For example, the high speed movement of the traffic (the installation should be designed to be viewed from a car at 100 km/h7) and place-making qualities: The installation should engage with the landscape context in position, size and orientation, and should be viewed at daytime and nighttime.

1-6, 8,9: Gateway Competition Document 7, 10: Marcus White, Lecture 4 (Introduction to the Design Project: Public Art and Motorways)

The installation should “enhance the physical environment through the introduction of a visual arts component” 8 and provide “further reflection about the installation beyond a first glance”9 (which is also stated by Marcus White when refering to the ‘multiplicity of reading’ of the installation10). Furthermore, it should be accessible to a wide public. INDIVIDUALISED CRITERIA AND BOUNDARY CONDITIONS To satisfy the gateway brief, different criteria should be considered for the design: It should engage with the environment as well as with the community to create a strong visual identity for Wyndham. The outcome should extend beyond the borders of the site to be experienced at different locations and in different ways. Therefore, the design should also be interdisciplinary. Furthermore, the theme of this design studio, air, has to be linked to the design. As the theme of our group is public art, the most important objective of the design is the interconnection with the community. The broader community should engage with parametric design, so again, the multiplicity of reading of the design is important. The design should not be restricted to a specific group of people like architects, but provide an interesting installation for a great range of people. Therefore, the design should offer two levels of comprehension: On the one hand it should be simple enough to be understood at a first glance by passing cars, at the other hand it should provide a visual depth to encourage an understanding of and engagement with the design beyond the site.

I.1

CASE FOR INNOVATION

WHY ARCHITECTURE AS A DISCOURSE? Architecture can be descriped as a field of ideas. The reason why architectural discourse is more important than built architecture is that we communicate through discourse and not through the construction itself. In other words, why should an idea, a building or an installation be of any interest if nobody â&#x20AC;&#x153;caresâ&#x20AC;? about it. So if architecture should have any influence, publications are the most important way to provide that. In publicating architecture, it can contribute to new technologies and be therefore exiting and innovative. INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL, Waterloo Station, London, UK, 1993 Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners The International Terminal is considered to be a complex project due to the difficult asymetrical geometry of the site. Its roof structure consists of 36 arches that are dimensionally different because the width if the roof changes along the tracks. However, the arches are topologically identical. In the design process, a generic parametric model was created with regard of the size of span and curvature of individual arches. The truss geometry was parametrically defined. The entire building form could be paramentrically modeled and therefore show a highly complex hierarchy of interdependences. This made it possible to refine the structure further.

top: International Terminal, source: http://c1038.r38.cf3. rackcdn.com/group1/building2527/media/media_1.jpg bottom: International Terminal, source: http://www. architravel.com/files/buldingsImages/bulding1423/International_Terminal_Waterloo_1.jpg

I.1.1 ARCHITECTURE AS A DISCOURSE

This project is advancing architectural discouse because as Kolarevic (2003) states, the International Terminal provides a “clear demonstration of conceptual and developmental benefits afforded by the parametric approach to design”1. It also is “the most significant piece of railway architecture to have been built in Britain”2 (MacDonald, 2000). Additionally, the project was successful in winning awards, for example the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion award for European Architecture (1994) and the RIBA President’s Building of the Year Award (1994). In relation to the Gateway project, this project could provide an example for the possibility to build complex geometries in using parametric modelling.

1: Kolaveric, Branko (2003) Architecture in Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing (New York; London: Spon Press) 2: MacDonald, Angus (2000) Anthony Hunt (The Engineer’s Contribution to Contemporary Architecture) (London: Thomas Telford)

top: International Terminal, source: http://shaneburger.com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/08/Waterloo-93001_N508-image-creditsJo-Reid-John-Peck-950x745.jpg bottom: Turss geometry, source: Kolaveric, Branko (2003) Architecture in Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing (New York; London: Spon Press)

FROZEN: SOUND AS SPACE, 2008 Leander Herzog This project is a replication of the data stream of audio recordings. The transposition of audio into a different media, in this case 3D space, is in interesting way of creating complex and dynamic systems that are also easily changeable. The approach of interconnecting two independent digital techniques, sound and image, is experimenting with a contemporary way of manufacturing. In Herzog’s project, loops of different length were created out of plastic ribbons. The length of the ribbons matched amplitude measurements of sound. The result is a sculpture that represents a ‘sound structure’.

Above: Frozen: Sound as Space, source: http://www. ecopolis.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/frozen2.jpg

1: Marius Watz, Norwegian artist and curator, source: http://www.generatorx.no/20080714/frozen-sound-asspace/ 2: Example of Gianni Botsford Architects, source: Faculty of Architecture and Spatial Design, London Metropolitan University, http://www.asd-realtime.org/lecturesand-talks/gianni-botsford-architects/

This project is advancing architectural discourse because it is a new way of interconnection two techniques which was “previously unthinkable”1 (Marius Watz). Therefore, this new way of mapping between audio and physical models is also adaptable to the Gateway project as the approach of interconnecting independent techniques. If something we usually can only hear can also be built, why not interconnecting something we usually can only feel, like wind, and transforming it into a different media, for example an image or a physical model?

I.1.1 ARCHITECTURE AS A DISCOURSE OK FFB 6. OG + 23.94

CARRER D'ARAGO

OK FFB 5. OG + 18.24

PASSEIG DE GRACIA

OK FFB 4. oG + 14.63

OK FFB 3. oG + 11.40

Personalraum Hausmeister 37 m2

Ausblick in den Lichthof OK FFB 2. oG + 8.17

CARRER DEL CONSELL DE CENT

OK FFB 1. oG + 4.94

Ausblick in den Innenhof

26 Stg. 19/30

OK FFB ± 0.00

Empfang Lobby 35 m2

STRASSE

GEHWEG

Büro 10 m2

INNENHOF OK FFB UG - 3.04

HOTEL, Barcelona, Spain, 2012 Vera Cramer In contrast to hotels of big hotel chains, that look exactly the same worldwide, each hotel of this design studio was uniquely located. The aim was to create a building that is perfectly adapted to environmental, cultural or material influences in regard of design, construction, materials and technique. This project was located in Barcelona, Spain. It has been adapted best possible to the local influences such as climate (hot in summer, cold in winter), spanish attitude to life (communicative, open-minded), location (in the city, central) and materials (durable). The concept has been implimented through a smooth transition between the inside and outside, an air shaft and natural ventilation, that make further active cooling in summer unnecessary. The massive construction can accumulate the heat in winter and the cold in summer to improve the indoor climate. This project could contribute to the discourse because the topic of local adaptation is already part of the discourse. Should a building be adapted to location or shouldn’t it? I assume that for example Zaha Hadid would not think of her architecture as an architecture of adaptation. But there are also built examples of architects who want to create an architecture of “local adaptation”, for example the Casa Kike in Costa Rica (Gianni Botsford Architects), which won a number of awards and the Lubetkin Prize in 2008.2 It also relates to the Gateway project since it is interacting with the environment in terms of community and location. In the Gateway project, interaction with the community plays an important role as well. The theme of air and wind is an essential feature of the weather data and therefore also influencing the installation in this case. 09

DYNAMICS AND FIELDS OF FORCES Although there are of course many different ways to generate forms, this example will concentrate on generating forms using animation software. Greg Lynn, who teaches at several universities and won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2008, is a well-known representative of this method. He uses motion-based modeling techniques, such as kinematics (example: shown in the picture on the left) and dynamic simulations (pictures on the right). Whereas kinematics do not consider mass or force, the following example of dynamic simulation provides a more realistic approach. PORT AUTHORITY TRIPLE BRIDGE GATEWAY New York, 1994 Greg Lynn In contrast to kinematics, the dynamic simulation considers the effects of forces (wind, gravity, vortex) on the motion of an object which physical properties (mass, elasticity, static and kinetic friction) are defined. As Lynn states: “While motion implies movement and action, animation implies evolution of a form and its shaping forces”.1 In this project, the forces are pedestrian and vehicular movements. The roof membrane acts as a display screen, where these movements are visualized. According to Kolarevic (2003), this design “offers a very effective example of using particle systems”2 for visualizing forces that do not originate in the object itself. above: House Prototype in Long Island, source: http:// www.digicult.it/archivio/ digimag_67eng/articoli/ img/design_eugeniafratzeskou03.jpg

1, 2: Kolaveric, Branko (2003) Architecture in Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing (New York; London: Spon Press)

I.1.2 COMPUTING IN ARCHITECTURE

This project certainly offers a unique innovation as is was “the first architectural project in history to use animation software for form generation”.3 In the “conceptional shift”4 (Kolarevic, 2003) from the passive to an active space provides entirely new possibilities for designers. This project is relevant to the Gateway project as it deals with movement and analysis of flow and forces. The forces in the Gateway design proposal could for example be wind data but also ‘force fields’ like different interest groups (users of the highway, residents of Wyndham, artists, ...). The computer technique of dynamics and fields of forces is therefore well-suited to satisfy the Gateway requirements (innovative, new identifier because stakeholders become force fields and influence the design).

3: Greg Lynn Form, http://glform.com/buildings/port-authority-triplebridge-gateway-competition 4: Kolaveric, Branko (2003) Architecture in Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing (New York; London: Spon Press)

top: Port Authority Triple Bridge Gateway, source: http://www.basilisk.com/P/portimajj/ board3.jpeg middle, bottom: Port Authority Triple Bridge Gateway, source: http://glform.com/buildings/port-authority-triple-bridge-gatewaycompetition

MORPHING In the digital design technique of morphing, blending operations are used to create a range of hybrid forms. These forms combine attributes of the ‘base’ and the ‘target’ objects. According to Kolarevic (2003), morphing is a “particularly interesting temporal modeling technique”.1 HOUSINGS, 1999 Sulan Kolatan and William Mac Donald This project is an example for chimerical houses for mass customization. As the architects state, “the chimerical has the potential to be both an analytical and methodological tool”2 as it helps defining existing phenomena of complex hybridity and also a “transformatively aggregative model of construction”3 can be developed, where the aggregation becomes more than the sum of its parts. The whole range of designs originates from the same ‘genetic pool’ which uses the house plan (3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms) as a ‘base’ and object-products as the ‘targets’. With this project, Kolatan and Mac Donald wanted to explore the theme of “serial and organic compositeness in architectural design”4 in relation to digital processes (variable iterations, organic transformation), feasibility in a particular context (social, cultural, economic, ecological, geological, climatic) and the “emerging generation”5 of a network of materials and digital production technologies. above: Housings, source: http://www. archilab.org/public/2000/catalog/ kolata/kolataen.htm#

I.1.2 COMPUTING IN ARCHITECTURE

Because contemporary technologies have changed design to a dynamic field consistent of multiple disciplines, architects need to develop a new understanding of what technology can do. With the influence of technology, the requirements to architecture change. The unique innovation of this design technique is stated by Ho and Barreneche (2001): “[This] approach that can revolutionize the housing industry - ‘mass-produced customization’, which can yield unique environments at not more time or expense as it would take to produce identical ones.”6 Therefore, this innovative approach can also be used to satify the requirements of the Gateway project because with the data of a ‘genetic pool’, a great range of forms can be developed within a short time. Instead of being ‘only interconnected’, new hybrid identities can be formed. Thus, this approach implements exactly what Burry (2011) refers to as an “antidote to standardisation”7. top: Housings, source: http://www.eesc.usp.br/nomads/chimerical.htm 1: Kolaveric, Branko (2003) Architecture in Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing (New York; London: Spon Press) 2-5: Kolatan/Mac Donald, http://www.archilab.org/public/2000/catalog/kolata/kolataen.htm 6: Ho, Cathy Lang and Barreneche, Raul (2001) House: American Houses for the New Century (New York: Universe) 7: Burry, Mark (2011) Scripting Cultures: Architectural Design and Programming (Chichester: Wiley)

I.1.3 PARAMETRIC MODELLING

ICD/ITKE RESEARCH PAVILION, Stuttgart, Germany, 2010 Achim Menges and Jan Knippers This temporary research pavilion consists of a bending-active structure of 6.5 mm thin plywood strips. In offering computational generation of form as an alternative approach to computational design, it “demonstrates the latest developments in material-oriented computational design”1. In contrast to the physical world, where material form is inseparable from constraints and forces, form and funtion are separate entities in computational design. However, this approach was different from the latter as the computational design model was driven by the relevant material behavioral features. With these inputs, a geometry was developed that could exploit the potential of the material. The data of the output of the computational model was used for the structure analysis model and the manufacturing. Thus, 80 different strip patterns were constructed from more than 500 geometrically unique parts. The outcome is a lightweight system with a diameter of more than 12 meters. “Feedback between computational design, advanced simulation and robotic fabrication expands the design space towards previously unexplored architectural possibilities.”2 (Menges, 2012) As stated by Knippers (2012), “seemingly innovative principles used are frequently found in nature”3. This pavilion follows principles from nature as well: There is only a single type of material used and therefore a homogenious structure and the form definition follows material behaviour. left: ICD/ITKE Research Pavilion, source: http://www.achimmenges.net/?p=4443 1: http://icd.uni-stuttgart.de/?p=4458 2: Menges, A. (2012) Material Computation: Higher Integration in Morphogenetic Design Architectural Design (Chichester: Wiley) 3: Knippers, J. (2012) ‘Digital Technologies for Evolutionary Construction’, in Gengnagel, C., Kilian, A., Palz, N. and Scheurer, F. (eds.) Computational Design Modeling: Proceedings of the Design Modeling Symposium Berlin 2011 (Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer)

In this project, the design philosophy could be descriped as “scripting can be used to look for simplification”1 (Burry, 2011). This is also stated in the following quotation of Achim Menges (2012): “The research project indicates how even relatively simple behaviour such as elastic bending can lead to novel design possibilities of bendingactive systems that are surprisingly versatile, complex and structurally effective.”2In other words, the simplification is not used to create simple outcomes but rather to create complex objects that are nevertheless easy to fabricate and build. In my opinion, this design philosophy is a good example for the possibilities that scripting can offer, and is therefore also relevant to the Gateway project. Burry (2011) argues that scripting is a “driving force for the 21st-century architectural thinking”3. In this project, the architects have demonstrated that by embedding material behaviour in the computational model and not defining the geometry mathematically and then change it according to materiality, complex geometries can be developed that are perfectly adapted to the material. The design approach of developing the installation by using relatively simple inputs that create complex geometries which are easy to fabricate, is of high interest for the Gateway project. Also, the interconnection of computational design, simulation and fabrication can used to achieve both an innovative and effective design in terms of complexity, structure, material and production.

1, 3: Burry, Mark (2011) Scripting Cultures: Architectural Design and Programming (Chichester: Wiley) 2: Menges, A. (2012) Material Computation: Higher Integration in Morphogenetic Design Architectural Design (Chichester: Wiley)

I.1.4 CASE FOR INNOVATION CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION The examples of precedents have shown how important it is for designers to contribute to the architectural discourse, as architecture is communicated through discourse. Parametric modelling enables outcomes of designs that are innovative and unique and although they are complex, they become easy to fabricate through parametric modelling. Our group has chosen data mapping to create a design responding to the immediate environment. This approach allows a variation of dynamic design outcomes rather than one static outcome. It can directly engage with the community and encourage an engagement beyond the site. As visual design is the form of design that people understand easily compared to other forms, we want to focus on a visual engagement by creating multiple distinct iterations that have strong visual ties.

I.2

RESEARCH PROJECT ARBITARY POINTS

DATA DRIVEN SHADING DATA DRIVEN ROTATION DATA DRIVEN EXTRUSION DATA DRIVEN COMPONENTS

ASSOCIATED TECHNIQUE: MULTIPLE MATHS FUNCTIONS

BOOLEAN PATTERNING

CURVE INTERSECTION

EXPLICIT GRID

I.2.1 SCOPE OF POSSIBILITIES

I.2.1.1 INPUT/ASSOCIATION/OUTPUT MATRIX OVERLAPPING PATTERNS

SURFACE GRID

USING SURFACE NORMAL

ARBITARY POINTS

DATA DRIVEN SHADING DATA DRIVEN ROTATION DATA DRIVEN EXTRUSION DATA DRIVEN COMPONENTS

ASSOCIATED TECHNIQUE: STREAMING TEXT FILES

BOOLEAN PATTERNING

CURVE INTERSECTION

I.2.1 SCOPE OF POSSIBILITIES I.2.1.1 INPUT/ASSOCIATION/OUTPUT MATRIX EXPLICIT GRID

OVERLAPPING PATTERNS

SURFACE GRID

USING SURFACE NORMAL

1. ARBITARY POINTS/MULTIPLE MATHS FUNCTIONS/COMPONENTS

domain changed

component changed

curves changed

curves & radius changed

grid changed

surface changed

2. CURVE INTERSECTION/MULTIPLE MATHS FUNCTIONS/EXTRUSION

height of extrusion changed

3. SURFACE GRID/MULTIPLE MATHS FUNCTIONS/COLOUR

domain changed

I.2.1 SCOPE OF POSSIBILITIES I.2.1.1 FURTHER EXPLORATIONS - Multiple Maths Functions

domain changed

surface changed

curves changed to circles

domain changed

surface & grid changed

maths function changed

radius changed

surface changed In choosing these examples of the matrices, I used the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;searchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; design method to find candidate solutions for considerations and then tried to develop them further. In the first example, I wanted to find out whether a seemingly random outcome could be developed to a sculpture-like image. In the second example, I tried the opposite: The extruded circles were in a straight order and by changing the curves which intersections controlled the appearance of circles, I could change the appearance of the curves completely. In the third example, I explored how colour would operate with different kinds of changes. Although not expected in the beginning, the outcomes were quite different.

variable and grid changed

1. BOOLEAN PATTERNING/STREAMING TEXT FILES/EXTRUSION

False False True

True True True

False True False

height of extrusion changed

vector of extrusion changed

offset changed

surface grid changed

2. USING SURFACE NORMAL/STREAMING TEXT FILES/EXTRUSION

surface changed

3. USING SURFACE NORMAL/STREAMING TEXT FILES/ROTATION

surface changed

I.2.1 SCOPE OF POSSIBILITIES I.2.1.1 FURTHER EXPLORATIONS - Streaming Text Files

TFTT & extrusion changed

TF & grid changed

TFT & grid changed

surface grid changed

surface changed to sphere

surface grid changed

surface changed

unit vector z changed to x

surface grid changed

circle radius changed In the first example of the second matrix, I tried to find out how boolean in combination with other changes like extrusion and grid would work. Interestingly, the direction of the pattern seems to change depending on the setting of the Boolean component. In the second example, the result of the matrix was already a dynamic image. With the vector change, very different outcomes were possible. Also the sphere could create interesting effects of texture. In the third example, I was interested in developing the motion further. Through the rotation, the image seems to capture a movement and by changing different parameters, this movement could get a certain direction and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;speedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

surface 3D

VINEYARD FACADE, Gantenbein, Switzerland, 2006 Gramazio & Kohler This project shows the adaptability of parametric design to “old” architecture like brick walls. The theme of the building is the interaction with landscape (the grapes as symbols for the vineyard) and also the light effects that can be created with the indirect light coming through the rotated bricks. It also demonstrates that a “static” construction can create a dynamic composition. So, a rather heavy material appears light due to the light effects. The intended architectural effects of texture and pattern can also be used for the Gateway design project. This pattern shows a symbolic picture of its environment. In our project, a symbolic picture of something unique for Wyndham could be used to create a public connection between the city and the design.

top: Vineyard Facade, source: http://www.gantenbeinwine.com/slideimages/outside_5.jpg middle: Vineyard Facade Detail, source: http://designcrave.frsucrave.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/gantenbein-winery1.jpg bottom: Interior, source: http://www.fourthdoor.co.uk/ unstructured/unstructured_04/4.2/gantenbein_vineyard_facade3.jpg

I.2.1 SCOPE OF POSSIBILITIES I.2.1.2 REVERSE-ENGINEERED CASE-STUDY

In the Grasshopper defintion, an image sampler was used to achieve the pattern on a surface. The boxes (bricks) were than rotated around the z-axis according to the colour brightness of the image sampler. As a result, a masonry wall can be created and easily changed into a curved surface. Whereas the pattern can not really be seen in the line drawings, the rendered images show that depending on the orientation, the patterns appears in different ways.

I.2.1 SCOPE OF POSSIBILITIES I.2.1.3 DIGITAL FABRICATION As we decided to respond to the design brief by mapping data, a physical model was not necessary at this stage of the design. Rather we tried to figure out, how this data mapping could work with different plug-ins for Grasshopper that allow realtime data streaming. In the first column, the examples were created with Pachube and a data stream of wind. The problem with this method was that the data would only update every 15 minutes, so the change in the image would not be noticeable for the people driving by. The second column, the BreathOSC-App for the iPhone in combination with Firefly, Kangaroo and Weaverbird could create a surface which movements were influenced by the breath of blowing into the iPhone. In the third example, we used the plug-in gHowl. With this, data from Excel sheets could be connected to an image sampler and colour. The image sampler created the circles which were then extruded. The height of the extrusion was again controlled by the data of the Excel file. As the images show, quite different outcomes are possible, depending on the data of the Excel sheets. However, the data would have to be changed manually without a continiously changing data flow, therefore it is not very useful for our design idea. 29

I.2.1 SCOPE OF POSSIBILITIES I.2.1.3 DIGITAL FABRICATION In this example, we tried to catch the movement of people in a camera that was then controlled the results in colour and circles, polylines or extrusions. This result was, similarly to the BreathOSC-example, reacting to the movement immidiately and therefore would provide an interesting digital fabrication method for the projection. If connected to the people (for example in catching their movement or breath), they could directly see the results in the projection. Also, the data has not to be changed manually, which is a very important aspect of our idea.

I.2.1 SCOPE OF POSSIBILITIES I.2.1.4 MATERIAL EFFECTS

MATERIALS Because of our decision, to have a projection and not a static installation on the site, we wanted to find out which material would create an interesting effect when something is projected on it. We experimented with paper, cloth, metals, plastic wrap and different kinds of meshes. Particularly interesting were the plastic wrap as it created reflections due to the uneven surface and also the metal meshes because the holes allowed parts of the projection to get through the mesh and therefore it created two levels of projection.

I.2.1 SCOPE OF POSSIBILITIES I.2.1.4 MATERIAL EFFECTS

SURFACES We experimented with deformed surfaces (effect of distorsion), spheres (bending around the edges), combination of materials, and layering. With these different surfaces we could create different kinds of illusions that differ from surface to surface and layer to layer. The various results of distorsion and reflection as well as the degree of saturation can also be used to further explore the effects of the reflection on the site. 35

I.2.2 RESEARCH CONCLUSION

To conclude, we have explored how to map data of realtime movement. As we want to achieve an outcome which can easily and quickly change, some of these techniques are not suitable for our design approach. We want to focus on the engagement with the community, so the community has to experience the design directly. Furthermore, the materiality can create different effects. These effects emerge from the material itself - here we have to consider the influence of the environment in the next step - but also from variations of theses materials, for example layering which can lead to multiple images at one site. We now have to consider a suitable shape for the surface as well as a suitable material that can provide a surface for the projection but also interact with the projection and create reflections and distorsions.

DATA FROM WYNDHAM

GATEWAY

INTERNET: WEBSITE, BLOGS

ADDITIONAL OUTCOMES

I.3

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST CONCLUSION Designing through data mapping enables a responsive approach to the environment and allows variations which are dynamic and innovative because they engage with parametric design. By linking digital technologies with the physical environment, it engages in the architectural discourse. The result is a visual stimulation and creative representation of parametric relationships. The focus on visual engagement creates a strong connection and lasting impact on the community. Furthermore, the projection can visually cross borders between the 2D surface and 3D space. We also aim to extend the installation beyond the site. This can be achieved by linking the Gateway with Wyndham City and also by providing additional representation of the design in the Internet and â&#x20AC;&#x153;staticâ&#x20AC;? images like postcards. Thus, the perfomance can be experienced on and off site. This design approach allows a unique data stream: The design outcome is a very dynamic and engaging installation, that is influenced by data from Wydham, in particular the people of Wyndham. This data will then be projected on a site in the City of Wyndham to allow direct engagement with the design and also be projected in the site to create an unique identity of Wyndham. Through the presence in the Internet is can be explained further and the concept of parametric design can be introduced to the broader community. On a website, the data will continiously update so that a realtime data stream is presented. Additional outcomes could create certain static images in postcards for example. With this approach, we can provide a completely different design from all the other groups. Because we keep a parametrical, continiously updating data stream, our design is an excellent, unique response to the design brief.

Part II. DESIGN PROPOSAL

II.1

DEVELOPMENT

Our group had several problems with the projection that was our first design proposal. Firstly, it was difficult to find a form to project on. We wanted it to be linked to the city of Wyndham and at the same time not too literal. So we engaged with an approach of a form along the site with various heights, consisting of many small sails that then should be influenced by movement. The problem was that that this approach worked with a kind of “pixles” rather than with an projection. Also, it was to difficult to develop an installation over a large part of the site since we would have needed a lot of projectors. Ultimately, the installation was not really suitable for the angle from which it is seen so the drivers rather recognise the form than the projection on it. After several attempts, we found that we want to engage with the form at first (as this is what the drivers see in the first place) and then enhance this form once developed. Rather than projecting onto a surface, we tried to find a solution with a static form but simultaneously, a possibilty to change the perception of the form. The result is the ‘Sea of Lights’, which consists of poles with lights on it. These lights are influenced by the movement we map in Wydham. To conclude: We wanted to find a suitable form for the site that then could be viewed in multiple ways. Firstly, it is perceived differently during the day and at night: Whereas people can only see the form during day time, the forms seems to disappear in the night and the lights create an interesting ‘floating’ effect. Secondly, people will understand the relation of the installation and the city of Wyndham when they further engage with the project. On a website, the relation is explained. Furthermore, the installation can become an identity for Wyndham when it is applied to posters and postcards.

II.2

FINAL DESIGN PROPOSAL THE DESIGN IDEA The idea of the ‘Sea of Lights’ is to create not a single freeway installation but a visual identity for Wyndham. The form of the installation on site is influenced by the different lines of sight of motorcyclists, car drivers and truck drivers. Based on these lines of sight, a mathematical sin-function creates an interesting form which is restricted to the area a driver can perceive without turning his head or moving the eyes up or down.

1.60 27°

1.30 25°

2.00 30°

There is a change in density along the site: Firstly, the driver will only see a single line of sticks; after the hill, the sticks become very dense and ultimately, they fade away. The individual elements do not stand behind each other but are slightly shifted. As a result, the dense part is perceived as a ‘forest of poles’ rather than a grid, which reinforces the effect of density. On top of the poles, there are LED-lights with changeable colours driven by mapped movement.

single line of sticks

very dense part fade away

II.2.1 THE SEA OF LIGHTS

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DIGITAL MAPPING By digital mapping of data, the design relies on parametric relationships and keeps them once installed. The mapping is expressed through the different colours of the lights. The colours each reflect the movement of the community, mapped in three locations in Wyndham: A train station, an intersection and outside a supermarket. The outcome is an interactive and dynamic change on the site. The following pages will show a stop-motion series of movement at the three locations.

ENGAGEMENT BEYOND THE SITE Furthermore, the engagement beyond the site is encouraged: A website offers a different perspective of the project as it will provide recordings from above and relate them to the recordings of the actual locations.

II.2.2 DIGITAL MAPPING

On site, the everyday-life activites should become more in ing and therefore, the movement affects the lights in a way: Whereas the movement is mapped separately at the locations, the events are overlapped on the site. Simultan there is a hierarchy in the mapping: The train is at the to come the cars and finally the people. If a pole receives a ment from the people and the train at the same time, it w red because red is the colour of the train. When the train all poles will turn red. Furthermore, the yellow lights appear only at the front tw dle two and back two rows, whereas the people and the tr influence all poles.

II.2.2 DIGITAL MAPPING

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II.2.2 DIGITAL MAPPING

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MATERIALS The material of the poles will be moulded acrylic. Depending on the movement that influences the pole (train, cars, people), the light in the pole will turn to the correspondent colour. The poles will be fabricated off site in a factory according to specifications. The light will be a parabolic aluminised reflector with a diametre of 150 mm. To increase the effect, the light will be pointed downwards. The wiring runs down at the side of the pole into the ground. 54

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II.2.3 CONSTRUCTION

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PATTERN AND SIZE As the poles shall have the effect of being brighter at the top, the lights need to be filtered. A pattern created by the voronoi component provides a sequence of openings which decrease in density towards the bottom. Based on the lines of sight of the drivers, the smallest pole is one metre and the largest pole is five metres high. The poles have a square section of 20 centimetres. 55

POSITIONING ON SITE To enable an accurate and quick positioning of the poles on site, they are first assembled onto tracks. Then the edges of these tracks are coordinated through GPS sytem on site according to digital plans.

II.2.3 CONSTRUCTION

PHOTOGRAPHS The last two pages show the detailed model. In the dark, the lights are perceived as a glow and drivers can not see how the lights are constructed. Therefore, the installation seems to float. The upper right picture shall give the impression of what the people see at high speed (as they move with 100 km/h). The installation becomes blurred and this will create a particularly interesting effect in the very dense part. On these two pages, the photographs show the way and the different view and changing density along the site. Firstly, the driver only sees a single line of sticks. After a short time, he can see a blurred mass of lights glowing in the dark. And after he has passed the very dense part, the sticks become a single line again and seem to fade into the nothing, similarly to the beginning of the installation where they come out of the nothing.

Part III. LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES

LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES > “interrogate a brief” by considering the process of brief formation in the age of optioneering enabled by digital technologies. This design brief asked for an exiting, eye-catching installation which should also be innovative. Therefore the application of computational techniques is a suitable response. When asking for an eye-catching design, computational techniques have the advantage of enabling innovative design ideas with multiple versions in a shorter amount of time. Moreover, the optimisation of fabrication is particularly important in the age of optioneering. Optioneering offers a solution to design problems in analysing the problems across disciplines. These is highly relevant for our future as a student as the field of architecture becomes increasingly multi-disciplinary.

> develop “an ability to generate a variety of design possibilities for a given situation” by introducing parametric modelling with its intrinsic capacities for versioning. I think that I have developed the ability to create a variety of design possibilities (shown in the matrixes, pp. 18-25). Nevertheless I did not really understand the relation of the matrixes to our project in this early stage and this is why the outcomes do not really show any particular direction or focus in my opinion. For our project, these matrixes had no importance which is why they have not influenced the project. However, the task of creating the matrixes has certainly contributed to my understanding of Grasshopper and I think in general, one of the greatest advantages of parametric modelling is that versioning no longer involves a huge effort and amount of time.

> develope “skills in various three-dimensional media” and specifically in dynamic 3D modelling, digital fabrication, dynamic diagramming and so on. In this semester, I could enhance my 3D modelling skills a bit but by far not as much as I wished to. The dynamic 3D modelling was part of the matrixes as well as the rebuilt case-study (pp. 26/27). My group did not engage with digital fabrication as it was not part of our project at first. 64

> develop “an understanding of relationships between architecture and air” through interrogation of design proposals as physical models. When I saw that this design studio will have the theme of air the first time, I expected it to be much more focused on this theme. In contrast to my expectations, the design studio did not really place great emphasis on air. So the only time we really engaged with air was when we tried to rebuilt the Ned Khan case stuy (which I haven’t included in my journal because it is not relevant for our final design outcome).

> develop “the ability to make a case for proposals” by engaging students in the controversies and contradiction on digital architecture. In my opinion, the background readings were quite interesting and as I have not engaged with parametric modelling so far, it was helpful to read opinions of experts on this field. Additionally, this was an unknown approach of a design studio for me since the design studios at the University of Stuttgart do not require engagement with theoretical readings (although it is highly appreciated and certainly helpful when searching for support of design ideas).

> begin developing a personalised repertoire of computational techniques substantiated by the understanding of their advantages, disadvantages and areas of application. I can definitely say that I have begun to develop a repertoire of computational design although it is at a very early stage. In the beginning it is quite difficult to understand the advantages of these techniques as the design outcomes are always limited to your abilities. In my opinion, the lectures were very useful to understand the context of computational techniques and when their application makes sense. I am not sure yet whether I want to focus on the different computational techniques in my studies but I want to learn more about parametric modelling. I’d rather have more time for it and I do it by myself and not as a group work. I want to focus on my interests and I believe that the same results can be achieved in less time when focussing on a particular interest and not having to 65

do the work in the group at the same time.

> develop the foundational understanding of computational principles behind digital geometry, data structures and programming For the short amount of time we had in this design studio it was surprising for me how quick I could learn the very basics of a program like Grasshopper. What I found particularly helpful where the Ex-Lab tutorials where the basics were really well explained and I also liked the group on Facebook. Whenever I had a problem with Grasshopper, someone had already explained how to solve it. I think in this case, the group work was useful as well because it is always easier to learn a program when others have to cope with it as well.

> develop capabilites for conceptual, technical and design analysis capable of positioning studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; creative work in comparison with the flagship professional projects What I have definitely learnt in this course is the importance of personal design criteria. Otherwise, it is impossible to evaluate the outcomes and to decide whether an alternative is less or more suitable. I also understand that these outcome have to be supported by opinions of others to be justified.