5 minute read
ENSPHERE
West 2nd Street Art Museum
2022 FALL 3GAX Vertical Studio
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Instructor: Jenny Wu
Partner: Yiyu Zhou
Software: Rhino, Cinema 4D, Redshift
Geometric primitives are the basic shapes we all know and recognize. They are simple three-dimensional forms such as cubes, spheres, cylinders, and cones. One of the fundamental powers of the primitive is the way our brain instantly recognizes its geometric character, even when the form is not perfectly defined.
In addition to its formal qualities, we have also been interested in articulating methods of assembly, specifically the operations necessary in connecting and attaching parts in place. We like to imagine that building elements, while sliding, rotating, clicking into place, may leave traces of its assembly onto the architecture itself.
The studio will begin by using Midjourney as an early exercise to test potential configurations and spatial consequences for a geometric primitive made with interlocking parts. The second half of the semester will situate the primitive in relation to the ground.
Midjourney / DALL.E 2 v.s. 3D Primitive Puzzle
In recent years, with the increasing development of AI computing power, AI's ability to process images has also improved. When a man's drawing created with Midjourney AI won an award at the Fine Arts Exhibition held at the Colorado State Fair, it caused an uproar not only in the art world, but also among the general public. It is undeniable that the use of AI will gradually become part of people's lives and affect the way creators create their work. AI can produce a series of solutions in a short period of time by interpreting textual narratives and deconstructing and sewing together material from databases. However, if we imagine a 3D spatial relationship based on the 2D images generated by AI, there is an ambiguity in the results generated by AI. This allow people to read the space and the 3D relationship in different ways. This ambiguity is why we should consider AI as a powerful aid to our design and exploration of volumes.
Our design uses two pictures obtained from midjourney and DALL.E 2 as the front and back hemispheres of the sphere puzzle. Using 3D modeling, we explore the relationship between the surface of the spheres and the volumes inside, such as how they connect and pull themselves together to form a sphere. In both midjourney and DALL.E 2 images, the depth and width of the gaps become the basis for cutting the spheres. We imagine the internal relationship of this sphere puzzle by disassembling the puzzle.
We use sequential disassembly to emphasize the narrative of a disassembly process and the spatial relationship between the connected parts of the different pieces. We imagine that this sphere is assembled by 9 pieces of different sizes, and in the process of disassembly, we can find that each piece overlaps and wraps around the previous parts that have not yet been disassembled. At the end of the disassembly, the core part is a key-like block that locks itself to the next piece. In terms of material selection for the solid model, we used clear resin as the core key material, and plated copper, nickel, and zinc for the other pieces.
Midjourney and DALL.E 2 generated result
Two pictures obtained from midjourney and DALL.E 2 are used as the reference for the front and back hemispheres of the sphere puzzle
9 pieces that construct the sphere and the base
Thw sphere is assembled by 9 pieces of different sizes, and in the process of disassembly, we can find that each piece overlaps and wraps around the previous parts that have not yet been disassembled
Aerial view
The site of the building is located in the heart of downtown LA, in a nearby open space of The Broad. The site is on a slope with a huge height difference which is a continuous slope all the way up to The Broad. This open space is now used as a parking lot.
Based on the primitive puzzle that we have already developed, we want to discover the possibility of how the primitive puzzle can be the starting point for a building. By de-assembling the primitive into a new posture on a site, the spatial relationship within the sphere puzzle fundamentally disrupts the fit of the parts to its whole and opens up opportunities for the primitive to become architectural - addressing program, structure, spatial sequence and materiality.
The site of the building is located in the heart of downtown LA, in a nearby open space of The Broad. The site is on a slope with a huge height difference which is a continuous slope all the way up to The Broad. This open space is now used as a parking lot.
As an art museum, we imagine the building and the surrounding landscape are not only an extension of the original museum space of The Broad but also a space that bridges and interlocks the space, people, and the neighborhood and allows them to flow inside. The sphere puzzle was de-assembled by a few moves, such as pulling out and adding pieces, scaling, and rotating before placing it on the site.
Circulation
The building volumes are mainly divided into two halves placed on the base, they come from the process of decomposition and transformation of the sphere puzzle. The keys in the original plan still function as keys to the two large spatial assemblages in the architectural space. The two keys in the building are the main spaces for changing the flow of people. We tried to preserve the spatial relationship between the different blocks of the original plan in the process of transforming the plan into a building. The transformed building volumes are combined with the newly designed topography to create a gap for people to enter.
Layer Upon Layer
Solar Carve + The King Fahad National Library
2021 FALL Advanced Materials and Tectonics
Instructor: Randy Jefferson, Dwayne Oyler
Partner: Sizhe Lu, Yiyu Zhou, Arjun Bharat
Software: Rhino
2021 FALL_Advanced Material and Tectonics_Layer upon Layer_Solar Carve + The King Fahad National Library
Precedent Research: Solar Carve - Studio Gang
Satus: Built 2019
Industries: Commercial Property Location:New York, NY
Floor: 12-Story Area: 117,530 SF
Client: Aurora Capital Associates
Architect: Studio Gang
Structural Engineer: ARUP
MEPS: Glickman Engineering Associates (GEA)
The overall tectonics of this building consists of a fully overlapped double-glazed glass façade. The North and the south edges have been deformed into a pixelated geometrical form. This geometry consists of a repeating module that consists of a folded five glass panel geometry. This module has a height of 16 feet that flushes over the entire span of a floor, and it is prefabricated and assembled on site. This geometry primarily consists of a central diamond-shaped panel supported by four smaller triangular panels and is angled in a manner that produces a sharply recessed façade, which is nestled into punctured floor slabs. The glass panels are supported with the help of internally recessed mulleins.
Solar Carve exterior facade
The facade of the building consists of 16 feet height modules.
Isometric
The Solar Carve building is connected to the highline.
Modules
Modules are prefabricated and then stacked on site.
ADAVANCED MATERIALS AND TECTONICS FINAL AS3200
Assignment 1 - Precedent Detail: Solar Carve-Studio Gang
Prefabricated
Prefabricated
Precedent Research: Solar Carve-Studio Gang
Adavanced Materials And Tectonics Final As3200
Assignment 1.2 - Applied secondary structure to original Solar Carve parimary structure
Overall building chunk and tectonic breakdown
Adavanced Materials And Tectonics Final As3200
Assignment 1.2 - Applied secondary structure to original Solar Carve parimary structure
Overall building chunk and tectonic breakdown
Primary Structure + Secondary Structure: Solar Carve + The King Fahad National Library
Primary Structure + Secondary Structure: Solar Carve + The King Fahad National Library
Adavanced Materials And Tectonics As3200
Group 14: Sizhe Lu / Yiyu Zhou / Wanyu-Chen / Arjun Bharat
2021 FALL_Advanced Material and Tectonics_Layer upon Layer_Solar Carve + The King Fahad National Library
Adavanced Materials And Tectonics Final As3200
Assignment 1.2 - Applied secondary structure to original Solar Carve parimary structure
06.
05.
01. 02. 03. 04.
05.
Membrane fabric facade connection 02. 03. 04.
PES Membrane Fabric
Prefabricated Unit Mullion Bracket Slotted Connection
Saddle Tension Cable Connector
Inner Saddle Tension Cable
Fabric Connector Cable Connector
Outer Tension Cable Cable Connector
Diamond Shape Glass Panel
ADAVANCED MATERIALS AND TECTONICS FINAL AS3200
Adavanced Materials And Tectonics Final As3200
Assignment 1.2 - Applied secondary structure to original Solar Carve parimary structure
Inner saddle tension cable connection detail
2021 FALL_Advanced Material and Tectonics_Layer upon Layer_Solar Carve + The King Fahad National Library
Primary Structure + Secondary Structure: Solar Carve + The King Fahad National Library