DIGITAL DESIGN + FABRICATION SM1, 2016 M2 JOURNAL - CULTURAL SPACE Jade Layton 833912 Yuxuan Xiu 728866 Harry Blasco-Burke 832709 Winnie Chiu 698653
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Concept: Each culture has different values and traditions that shape an individual and their personal space. We want to create a second skin that can be adaptive to both the environment and to the individual.
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Concept : Cultural Space
PERSONAL SPACE (U.S)
CULTURAL TYPES
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Concept : Relationship between personal space needs and confort level based on culture and population density LOW PERSONAL SPACE
COMFORTABLE
UNCOMFORTABLE
HIGH PERSONAL SPACE
With personal space referring to the relationship between physical space and psychological comfort of personal interactions, our perspectives are often heavily influenced by the culture and layout of the environment we inhabit. Cultural space can tell us a lot about the nature of relationships and how people interact with one another. Spain and China are countries in which have a high population density and therefore people that have grown up in
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these countries are forced to retain a smaller personal space bubble in which they become accustomed to. Although this is the case, the level of comfort experienced by those in each of these two country differs due to culture, with those in Spain feeling relatively comfortable being close to others in comparison to those in China. The culture in Spain is quite intimate with hugs/ kisses shared between strangers upon first meeting, standing at a close proximity with
strong eye contact when talking and often touching of another’s arm to make stronger connections. Although those in China too have a small personal space bubble, it is more so due to the limited amount of space for such a large community of people rather than an intimate culture. In contrast America and Australia have relatively large personal space bubbles with Australia’s being due to the low population density and America’s due to their culture of keeping to
themselves unless well acquainted (especially in states like New York where people will not even make eye contact with those around them). Australian’s are not used to others being at a close proximity to others and therefore when put in the situation, fell a high level of discomfort.
Concept : Personal Space CHEST & BACK
FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
Allow people to express their emotions and feelings they have to environment. E.g anger, fear, digust, surprise, happiness or sadness.
The proximity of how close we allow people to get to our upper body is dependant on the culture we are brought up in. There are high contact and low contact cultures. Where high contact cultures are more accepting of physical contact when communicating. Low contact cultures on the other have are more sensitive and aware or their personal space. Physical touch to strangers can be uncomfortable and awkward.
Emotions are universal but non verbal communication varies from culture to culture. For example eye contact can be a sign of confidence and politeness but in other countries it is frowned upon and disrespectful.
HANDS AND ARMS
Hand gestures and touching between strangers are different depending on the culture. In some countries greetings with hand shakes, hugs and kisses are polite form of greeting. In other countries that same method of greeting is inappropriate For example in the Middle East, Latin America and South Europe there is more physical contact during normal conversations. Men would touch each others hands or shoulders freely and it is a common and acceptable gesture. In others countries such as Japan the culture opposed physical contact between strangers.
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Concept : Personal space diagram SPAIN & CHINA
PERSONAL SPACE SOCIAL SPACE 6
AMERICA & AUSTRALIA
Concept : Colour THE COLOUR RED Many emotions and psychological properties have strong relationships with colour. Red is often associated with feelings of rage, anger, danger, vigour and urgency. It is also a colour used in the natural world as of form of deterrence, screaming ‘go away’.
RED & URGENCY As evident in our everyday lives, the colour red is used in many situations to highlight urgency. For example all emergency systems (police, ambulance, fire trucks) have flashing red lights on top of their vehicles in order to alert the public to make way for the emergency. Other examples include car/motor vehicle break lights as well as informative warning signs.
RED & ANIMALS In the animal world, many insects and amphibians have a red skin in order to deter predators. Animals generally will not prey on red beings as bright colours like red are often an indication of poison. Two examples include the arrow frog and the ladybug. The bright red colour of Arrow frogs alerts other animals of the strong poison in it’s skin. There is enough poison that even slightest touch from the frog will inflict harm. Alternatively ladybugs although harmless, use the same technique of a bright red shell to intimidate predators.
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Sketch Design Development
As displayed on the left, we have incorporated elements from each of our M1 sketch designs into our M2 ideas. Following on from module one where each of us presented drawings on sections of the arm and/or upper body, a clear pattern emerged. We had all drawn our pieces in the same general area, highlighting a consistent theme of where we perceived personal space to be in accordance to the body.
TOP VIEW
FRONT VIEW
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RIGHT SIDE
Another element constant throughout all the designs was the use of triangles and geometric shapes. We took this idea and worked with it, exploring the different ways in which we could use a repetitive triangular form to create a large structure with the possibility of movement.
Refined Sketch Model
01 DEFENCE
02 HIDING
03 SHIELD
04 WEAPON
The idea behind the design is to create a second skinthat deters people away with its physical appearance. The technique here was to use square based triangular pyramids to create sharp points. The aim is to induce a sense of fear to strangers. The position of the modules are in locations where people are most sensitive and have a very small personal space. Having it around the head and shoulders attempts to create a fixed distance where people are unable to approach.
This is another defence mechanism where the user is able to expand and contract the structure to either reveal themselves of hide themselves. It’s a flexible structure that not only reflect the individual own personal space if they are an introvert or extrovery but it also reflects the social situation and what that individual is comfortable with.
Here the area emphasized as the focal point is the lower upper body around the torso. In this position, it will be easier to find a way to make the panels adjustable between pointed and flat a key aspect to our design to we aim to achieve. A questioning over this design may arise as to whether this design is positioned in a part of the body that will impact peoples personal space needs.
Unlike the three previous designs this layout requires the individual to shield themselves with the arm rather than having the panels simply sit on the body. Similarly to the previous layout this design will allow for adjustable panels but may also be questioned over its effectiveness in protecting personal space as it is placed on a part of the body that research showed is not important to people when it comes to personal space. It may be concluded that this design may need to work in conjunction with another layout to be effective.
There is the opportunity for it to be adjusted so that the points can either flatten or point out depending on the situation.
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2nd Skin proposed design V.1 : Open and closes
The idea behind this is to have a structure that open and closes, one that is dynamic to the individual and to the environment. when flat, it covers the whole body whilst still letting people close. Even when someone has a very small personal space it still allows for a layer of protection. When the individual is uncomfortable the structure is able to open and deter people away with its sharp points.
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2nd Skin proposed design V.2 : Layering
The idea of having different layers creates an element of change and movement, it allows the structure to respond to the person depending on how they are feeling and how they would like to be perceived when put in different situations. Although the surface appears flat, each module can alter its form, becoming pointed creating a more fearsome, rigid form. When comfortable, the second and third layer are able to relax and move towards the back of the person, exposing the sparse base layer. In contrast, when uncomfortable they are then able to bring these layers to the front, protecting their body.
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Precedent Research Resonant Chamber by RVTR
Responsive to the users and the environment, has movement, flow and plays with form.
What is the concept of the precedent? [Maximum 5 key words]
Description of precedent
This is an interior envelope system that uses a rigid origami system. It employs electro-acoustic technologies to transform the space. The aim of this project was to develope a soundsphere that is able to be altered and adjusted depending non the performance and scale.
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Precedent Research PERFORATION / LIGHT:
MATERIALITY:
MOVEMENT:
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Precedent applied to design : Continuous Origami Fold Idea
How can you use this precedent to influence your design ? The idea behind this was to create a modular three dimensional structure employed by a series of origami folds. The benefits of this would be to create a continuous structure that would be able to bend and move when folded. We attempted this by laser cutting and we found that firstly the paper needed to be a lot thinner if we wanted the shaped to bend more fluently. Secondly the rigid form prevented us from having a curvy base that could follow the form of the body due to it being defined by a set of fixed geometric shapes.
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Precedent applied to design : Continuous Origami Fold Prototype We tried using the technique of having one piece of paper with many folds to create volume and movement but found that the paper was too restricting for the design we had in mind.
TRIANGULAR FOLDED ORIGAMI
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Precedent applied to design : Individual Modules
SQUARE BASED PYRAMID
TRIANGULAR BASED PYRAMID
CUBE
How can you use this precedent to influence your design ? In order to create the same moveable and expandable structure we decided to test if we could join individual modules together to create the same movement. We thought by doing this we wouldn’t be restrained by a fixed module and we could play with modules of different heights as long as the base was uniform. We tested different modules and shapes to see which one we were able to best convey our idea.
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Precedent applied to design : Prototype
UNFOLDED MODULE
FRONT VIEW
TOP VIEW
STEP ONE : GENERATE BASE SHAPE
1.1 CREATE A GRID
1.2 CREATE AN ANGLE FOR THE EDGE
1.3 MIRROR LINE
1.4 MIRROR
1.5 REMOVE GRID
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Precedent applied to design : Prototype Rhino Model STEP TWO : GENERATE 3 DIMENTIONAL SURFACES
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2.1 2D BASE SHAPE
2.2 DRAW A VERTICAL LINE AT THE CENTER POINT
2.3 CONNECT ALL EXTERNAL POINTS TO CENTER POINT
2.4 DELETE BASE GRID
2.3 USE PLANAR SURFACE TO TURN LINES TO SURFACES
2.4 COPY ONE SURFACE
2.5 ROTATE A ‘FLAP’ SLIGHTLY ALONG THE BASE LINE
2.6 MIRROR TO CREATE ‘FLAP’ ON ALL SIDES
Precedent applied to design : Orthogonal and Isometric drawings
PERSPECTIVE : SHADED
TOP VIEW
PERSPECTIVE : RENDERED
SIDE VIEW
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Design development - Version #1 Layering
FRONT VIEW
SIDE VIEW
TOP VIEW
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SINGULAR LAYER
DOUBLE LAYER
TRIPLE LAYER
Design development - Version #2 Opening and Closing
FRONT VIEW
SIDE VIEW
TOP VIEW
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Joint Prototype #1 Corner Joint
JOINT
OVERALL FORM MOVEMENT EXPANDABILITY CONSTRUCTABILITY (IN TERMS OF JOINT AND FORM) 22
CONTRACTED
EXPANDED
In order to create the same moveable and expandable structure we decided to test if we could join individual modules together to create the same movement. We thought by doing this we wouldn’t be restrained by a fixed module and we could play with modules of different heights as long as the base was uniform. We tested different modules and shapes to see which one we were able to best convey our idea.
This is how we imagine the joined modules will sit on the body. Although this is only a small section of what our final product will look like, this gives us an idea of how the structure moulds, moves and reacts with the curves of the body.
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Joint Prototype # 2 Edge Joint
OVERALL FORM MOVEMENT EXPANDABILITY CONSTRUCTABILITY (IN TERMS OF JOINT AND FORM) 24
The second joint type we experimented with was the edge joint. Although this provided a strong and sturdy connection, it didn’t allow for enough movement which was a prominent aspect of our design concept.
Joint Prototype #1 Mid-Point Joint
OVERALL FORM MOVEMENT EXPANDABILITY CONSTRUCTABILITY (IN TERMS OF JOINT AND FORM)
This third joint we experimented with connecting two corner points to the center of each module. We found that this created the best overall form and also allowed for adequate movement so the structure could bend, fold , expand and contract. It looked promising to begin with and we liked the pattern it made, but the structure ended up being too flimsy and weak. It would not hold its shape and if we did not get the connection point precisely in the middle, modules would start to overlap and tilt at undesirable angles.
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Testing Effects Movement #1 Pull vertically
When playing with prototypes we noticed that slight movement could be achieved with move the modules by hand, pushing and pulling but in order to reach the rulle extend of the opening and closing we need another component. By tieing thread to the points that meet at the center and pulling it as you can see from the photo above we can fully enclose the module creating a sharp and tight point. Although this singular module was successful we are still curious to how this would as a whole panel of modules as we noticed the thread had to be pulled vertically straight down.
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Testing Effects Movement #2 Pull horizontally
We experimenting with prototypes and also consider this method. Instead of pulling it vertically down as it may be difficult to have them all meet at one point and be vertical we experimented with pulling horiztonally along a plane rather than vertically. This enables us to fully rather rows of these modules than would allow us to fully expose the body or fully enclose it.
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Testing Effects Light
We were interested in playing with light but when testing the modules they were too large and too rigid prevent light to shine through due to it not holding it contracted form. We would to further test this with a small more rigid module and see how light interacts with our structure.
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Appendix https://todayslearningjourney.wordpress.com/2014/05/07/touching-and-personal-space/ HTTP://MONEY.CNN.COM/INTERACTIVE/ECONOMY/PERSONAL-SPACE/ HTTPS://TAUBMANCOLLEGE.UMICH.EDU/RESEARCH/RESEARCH-THROUGH-MAKING/2012/RESONANT-CHAMBER HTTPS://AU.PINTEREST.COM/PIN/516577019745020524/
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