STUDIO AIR 2015, SEMESTER 1, XINCEN JIANG
CRITERIA DESIGN
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Table of Contents INTRODUCTION
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PART A CONCEPTUALISATION
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A.0 DESIGN FUTURING
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A.1 COMPUTATION
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A.2 COMPOSITION/GENERATION
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A.3 CONCLUSION
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A.4 LEARNING OUTCOMES
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A.5 APPENDIX - ALGORITHMIC SKETCHES
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A.6 REFERENCE
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INTRODUCTION
Hi. My name is Xincen Jiang, a third year architecture student in The University of Melbourne. I was born in Hangzhou, China and came to Melbourne when I was 18. I am always thinking of doing something meaningful and fascinating, which brings me to architecture. It is a thing that contains full of opportunities and challenges, which is worth doing for rest of my life. I am not good at using computer to do the design and have limited knowledge of parametric and algorithmic thinking. But I am still looking forward to the outcomes after I learn the grasshopper. As to parametric design, my first thought would be the Beijing National Stadium, Walt Disney Concert Hall or Greg Lynn’s Blob-wall. And just a glance of these projects, you can feel their futuristic. It is a challenge to learn the expression of parameters and rules, but I believe the experience will be surprisingly good and bring me a new version of architectural design.
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PART A CONCEPTUALISATION
A.0 DESIGN FUTURING Frank Fehry Walt Disney Concert Hall 2003
FIG.2
Walt Disney Concert Hall was completed in October 23, 2003. Since then, its curved metallic surfaces become a symbol of future design. This undulating form brings aesthetic pleasure to users and conveys the beauty of music rhythm. Gehry’s idea of using stainless steel to structure the surface challenge the builders and they decided to rely on the technology. The team use an aerospace software called CATIA (Computer-Aided ThreeDimensional Interactive Application) to piece the steel beams together. Nowadays, technology is acting as a expression tool between idea and reality. Design is not simply about concepts but feasibility. Parametric thinking gives more efficient design process with more impressive outcomes, which caught the trends of future.
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CONCEPTUALISATION
When you enter the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Atrium Hall at Disney Hall, there are three large Douglas fir columns can be easily noticed. These columns represent the appearance of tree trunks, which expresses the communication between the nature and design. More than that, the working system inside the columns takes the responsibility of delivering air conditioning and lighting to the building. And the public garden with orchestrated fountain also should be mentioned. In order to create a mosaic for the fountain, Gehry broke hundreds of vases and tiles to bring the rose to live. Although the tree trunks and rose fountain are the tributes for Lillian Disney, it gives people an idea of taking nature into the building form.
The repeated experiments of constructing a successful building is inevitable. As for the concert, designers modelled audiences in each seat and test the acoustic effects from the stage for the occupants. Besides, the wooden material of interior hall highly against the exterior, which provides a warm and comfortable environment for the listeners.
CONCEPTUALISATION 5
A.0 DESIGN FUTURING Zaha Hadid Guangzhou Opera House 2010
Guangzhou Opera House is an unique design that located down stream of Pearl River. The building is using changing volume to define a space, meanwhile connect each space by fluent lines and curving forms. And She uses a large area of glass to integrate the building with surroundings. Before entering the Architectural Association School of Architecture, Zaha is a mathematics student at American University of Beirut. It is easy to imagine the connection between her powerful design and her parametric thinking of design. It brings the idea that design is not about something irrational combined randomly, but the consequence of logical thinking. Haza’s design is untraditional and contradictory with features of irregular layout and symmetric structure. The space she created is passionate. She abandon the normal design with horizontal and vertical lines, but use creative shape with twist and curved lines instead to form space. The surface curve she created is prefect without any flaws, even the joints have to be exactly right with no gaps in between. In order to construct such a large scale smooth surface, the working team use a new material named GRG (Glass Fibre reinforced Gypsum). This material has characteristics of strength and ductility, which is also good for fire resistance. The use of the material achieve the curves she wanted and standard the clients required. The combination of multiple culture in design is one of the trends of future architecture. Just like the Guangzhou Opera House, the design has to meet the requirements of combining the Chinese opera and western opera. But the challenge is the features of these two kinds of performance are totally different. With the western opera, the focus is on natural acoustics which takes precedence over the drama. While Chinese opera is more about the dramatics with the audio relying on the audio tools. Similar to the Walt Disney Concert Hall, a series of acoustic experiments are set out.
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CONCEPTUALISATION
CONCEPTUALISATION 7
A.1 Design Computation
With the desire of approaching to the future, computing design is inevitable. Computing thinking bring designers’ creation into a actual form and free the ideas that limited by unattainable. The thinking process which is associated with computation helps designers to explore the use of computing design and gain the knowledge of it. Now is the point when architectural design shift from drawing or modelling to the algorithm computing. You cannot judge the computing design by looking at it, only people who understand it and do use it as a design tool can make comments. The benefits of digital thinking: -
Understand what kind of problem can be dealt with computation
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Understand the limitation and possibilities of computation
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Apply the computation to a relevant use or creative use
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Understand the opportunities and challenges of using computation
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CONCEPTUALISATION
Beijing National Aquatics Centre
As for Beijing National Aquatics Centre, digital technology is a powerful tool of expression. When the equation and parameters are given to computer, the algorithms will generate every possible configurations. The digital tool provides opportunities for designers to construct something impossible and gives knowledge of how to solve problem through computation and fabrication technology. More than that, the digital thinking helps to calculate the most efficient way of construction such as material use, structural assembling and even the electricity use. Therefore, the computing also bring a sustainable future design for the world.
CONCEPTUALISATION 9
Entry Paradise Pavilion
The pavilion shows a new version of digital design. The form of the pavilion is a kind of derivative from natural forms such as foam, sponge or soap bubbles. This threedimensional space is shaped by digital tool and the form can be changed by computer flexibly. Without computing design, the project needs long time experiments to test the feasibility and manage the assemble process. It is more efficient with digital thinking, which enables the design can be easily divided into different components with various combination. The pavilion is made by lightweight material and can be structured within an hour.
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CONCEPTUALISATION
A.2 Composition/generation
Computation provides opportunities for designers to construct creative projects, but it is not simply digital tool that transform your idea into algorithm. Like Brady Peters says in the reading, computerisation and computation are totally different things. Computation requires further consideration of how to make the digital design becomes integral to the design itself. Rather than a tool of improve the precision of design, computation also can provide inspiration and help designers to gain some unexpected positive results. Learning knowledge from the computation is very important, which enables designers adapt the algorithms into their own design. For instance, Grasshopper provides knowledge to users through digital tool and codes, designers can rationally and logically develop the new form by using these existing knowledge into design project. Computation gives designer an opportunities to think algorithmically and work with parametric model. It tends to lead the building form from using traditional straight lines or right angles to twist lines with smooth surface.
CONCEPTUALISATION 11
Blob-wall Pavilion
Bricks are the essential elements of building construction. It is interesting to develop a solid, heavy and rough unit into a lightweight object that can be coloured and shaped into different version. This contemporary wall system with vivid colour is made by plastic and each unit has a tiny computer to control the light. Considering this as an example of thinking computation. Computation is not a tool that works for managing the length or width of the existing brick and calculate the dimension precisely. But a tool that can enable designers to innovate and generate an idea like Blob-wall, which is really into the computation.
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Bionic Tower
The Bionic Tower is a design inspired by nature. In order to conceive a building both efficient and elegant, the parametric modelling is used to optimise the building system during the design process. The precise model details all the components of the building with calculating the structural feasibility and energy efficiency. The surface of the building is an intelligent system with an ability of controlling air pressure, solar radiation, temperature and air pollution. The features of building skin is quiet similar to the biological performance, which brings the technology to a new level.
CONCEPTUALISATION 13
A.3 Conclusion Computation creates more opportunities for the designers. The way it connects to fabrication and construction turns the ideal form to possible. Computer controlled building system, new variety of building materials and natural related design form become the features of digital design. The cases for innovation make me recognize that nowadays design is limitless and full of potential possibility. I think for my later study, I should try to embrace the future idea of creating, such as abandon the traditional form or classic form from history and attempt to construct object with unique form and style. I appreciate the precision and possibility that parametric has, which enable designers to test their ideas if feasible or not and embrace with new knowledge and ideas while using the digital tool. The communication between technology and human improves the quality of design results and further thinking and development is required to achieve various of design style.
A.4 Learning Outcomes Computation is a new way of thinking problems and creating new forms design for the future. Algorithmic thinking and parametric modelling provide more efficient way to bring the concept into reality. I learn that future design changes its style from traditional form into more modern way such as using the curved and twist surface and the concept is associated with nature and sustainability. For my later project, I will think the design in a more sustainable way and do the experiments to test the idea if it is feasible by using digital tools.
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CONCEPTUALISATION
A.5 Appendix - Algorithmic Sketches
CONCEPTUALISATION 15
A.6 Reference Anthony Dunne & Fiona Raby, Speculative Everything: Design Fiction and Social Dreaming (London: MIT press, 2013) p. 1-9 & 33-45. Enrique Walker, ESC design Esther Sze-wing Cheung: Metropolis (2003) http://www.escdesign.net/index.php?/writing/ walker/ [accessed 18 March 2015] (p. 1). Greg Lynn, ARC: Blobwall Pavilion (Los Angeles: ARC Gallery, 2008) http://www.arcspace.com/exhibitions/unsorted/ greg-lynn-blobwall-pavilion/ [accessed 17 March 2015] (p. 1). Marco Rinaldi, Entry Paradise Pavilion: Chris Bosse (Sydney: Design Pavilion, 2012) http://aasarchitecture.com/2012/10/ entry-paradise-pavilion-by-chris-bosse.html [accessed 18 March 2015] (p. 1). Rita Bila, Water Cube, Chinese symbolism, the Kelvin problem, Weaire-Phelan and ETFE Technology (Sydney: Powerhouse museum, 2015) http://www.dhub.org/water-cube-finds-common-elements-with-chinese-symbolism-the-kelvinproblem-weaire-phelan-structure-and-etfe-technology/ [accessed 17 March 2015] (p. 1). Peters Brady, Computation Works: The Building of Algorithmic Thought (Milton: John Wiley & Sons, 2013), p. 08-15. Rivka Oxman & Robert Oxman, Theories of the Digital in Architecture (London & New York: Routledge, 2014), p. 1-10. Robert A. Wilson & Frank C. Keil, Definition of ‘Algorithm’ in Wilson: The MIT Encyclopedia of the COGNITIVE Sciences (London: MIT Press, 1999), p. 11 &12. Rose Etherington, Zaha Hadid Architects: Guangzhou Opera House (London: Dezeen Magazine, 2011) http://www. dezeen.com/2011/02/25/guangzhou-opera-house-by-zaha-hadid-architects/ [accessed 17 March 2015] (p. 1). THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS. AIA Cities: Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles: AIA, 2015) http://www.aia. org/cities/los-angeles/all-stories/disneyconcerthall/index.htm [accessed 17 March 2015] (p. 1). Tony Fry, Design Futuring: Sustainability, Ethics and New Practice (Oxford: Berg, 2008), p. 1-16. Zaha Hadid Architects. Architecture: Guangzhou Opera House (Guangzhou: Municipal Government, 2015) http://www. zaha-hadid.com/architecture/guangzhou-opera-house/ [accessed 18 March 2015] (p. 1).
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CONCEPTUALISATION