CONTENTS
MOLECULAR cloud CHENGLIN JIN DANIAL MAHFOUD JOEL WONG STEVEN MILLER
1
2
CONTENTS 4
Materials
5
Chosen Materials
6
Materials Unit Option 1
8
Materials Unit Option 2
9
Materials Unit Aggregation
10
Systems Aggregation Model
12
Form Finding
14
Final Proposal
17
Final Construction
18
Balloon Final Aggregation
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Fabric Application
20
Plaster Application
21
Final Model
3
MATERIALS
Hydrocal Plaster
Polyester Netting
Hydrocal- Transforming properties of the hydrocal plaster allows it to follow the shape of the mold of the fabric. It serves as a solidifying agent, giving opportunities for us to create free forms.
Polyester Netting- he absorbing property of the polyester netting fabric helps to hold the plaster together which ultimately forms a rigid bond.
Mason Line- The string acts as a connector to aggregate the units and also serves as a holder that resists the weight of the structure which keeps the model to work in a state of tension.
Mason Line 4
CHOSEN MATERIALS
Balloons
PVC Pipe
Balloons- Balloons act as a mold that creates the volume for the plaster to form over it. The bal-
loons, when aggregated tightly, work in a rigid compressive manner.
PVC Pipe- The PVC pipe is used to create the foundation of the quarter dome and it also acts as a structural frame for the entire installation.
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MATERIALS UNIT OPTION 1
Materials Unit Option 1 This unit is created by aggregating 4 balloons together. The tips of each balloon are tied together tightly so prevent as little movement as possible. Thin straps of fabric are then used to wrap the center portion of the unit. Subsequently, plaster is applied to solidify the fabric
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MATERIALS UNIT OPTION 1 AGGREGATION
1.
2.
3.
Materials Unit Option 1 (Aggregation) Different proposals of aggregating this single unit are then produced to simulate an installation at a larger scale. Aggregation of this unit led to a very systematic and gridded system. It also produced a hexagonal lattice-like structure overall.
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MATERIALS UNIT OPTION 2
MATERIALS UNIT OPTIONS 2 This unit is created by aggregating 3 balloons together. The balloons are intentionally kept at a flat plane. Fabric is laid over these three balloons and hydrocal is then applied on top of the three balloons. The hydrocal sipped into the middle and hardened, creating a more structural core. The prospects of using this unit were limited as aggregation will only lead to a planar aggregation.
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MATERIALS UNIT AGGREGATION
MATERIALS UNIT AGGREGATION This unit is created by aggregating 3 balloons together. The balloons are intentionally kept at a flat plane. Fabric is laid over these three balloons and hydrocal is then applied on top of the three balloons. The hydrocal sipped into the middle and hardened, creating a more structural core. The prospects of using this unit were limited as aggregation will only lead to a planar aggregation.
9
SYSTEM AGGREGATION MODEL
SELF ORGANIZING SYSTEM This study model sought to further explore the potential of aggregating more balloons together. As the balloons and tightly strung together, alot of tension was created, making the overall aggregation to be rather rigid. Different sized balloons were used and this ultimately developed into a self-organizing system. The smaller balloons were aggregating towards the string and the larger balloons were aggregating outside
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ANALYSIS OF BALLOON RELATIONSHIPS This is a diagram of different balloons aggregating together. The small and larger balloons interact and intersect at different points. And as the hydrocal is casted over the entire surface, a very irregular surface is created, however, constructed systematically.
small balloons
large balloons
apertures
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FORM FINDING (AXONOMETRIC)
QUARTER ELLIPTICAL SPHERE The idea of creating a general form for the installation was derived from an elliptical sphere. The overall structure of the installation was constructed by using two 15-feet PVC pipes. Bending one of these pipes gave half an elliptical sphere. And for this particular installation, we constructed half an elliptical sphere with a diameter of 8 feet. This half elliptical sphere will then be revolved around the axis to create a surface. The bottom and top PVC pipe was then divided into 1.5 feet segments and a string was strung through these points to create a triangulated grid. The series of diagrams below show the different surfaces created when the angle of revolution is changed from 15 degrees to 175 degrees.
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15
30
45
60
75
105
120
135
160
175
90
FORM FINDING (ELEVATION)
45
15
30
45
60
75
90
105
130
145
160
175
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FINAL PROPOSAL FINAL PROPOSAL The final proposal of the model was mainly a quarter elliptical sphere aggregated with a series of different sized balloons. This aggregations are organized mainly by following the mason line strings. Larger balloons are strategically placed at the bottom to create a more structural overall form.
INFORMALITY The idea of the balloons aggregating might seem rather informal as nothing can be calculated. The positions of the balloons are impossible to actually predict knowing the set conditions we placed on this project. The informality of this project is also reflected in the diagrams whereas there are alot of speculations and representations. In this case, the installation is represented by mainly spheres.
AXONOMETRIC 14
TOP VIEW
SECTION 15
LEFT ELEVATION 16
FRONT ELEVATION
FINAL CONSTRUCTION
PVC Frame
Stringing Balloons
Aggregating More Balloons
Balloons Almost Fully Aggregated
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BALLOON FINAL AGGREGATION
18
FABRIC APPLICATION
19
PLASTER APPLICATION
20
FINAL MODEL
21