Machining Aesthetics by Ziyi Liu

MACHINING AESTHETICS v.4.1 The Light Skirt

HYP.PP Ziyi Liu

Studio 15 Semester 2 2017 Master of Architecture University of Melbourne

Acknowledgement

Project Team Members Jerry Lin Nutthanee Banditakkarakul Xiao Wang Ziyi Liu Studio Leaders Paul Loh David Leggett Daniel Prohasky

Proposal Flythrough

0.0 INTRODUCTION 1.0 PRECEDENT STUDY 1.1Envelope Study 1.2Construction Process 1.3Conclusion

2.0 FABRICATING MACHINE 2.1 Geometry Study 2.2 Machine Logic 2.3 Machine Iterations 2.4 Machine Mechanism 2.5 Casting Process 2.6 Material Experiment 2.7 Panel Development 2.8 Standardized Making Process 2.9 Connection Iteration 2.10 Conclusion

3.0 NICHOLAS BUILDING

Contents

3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6

Context Estimated Future Programme Building Plans Environmental Strategies Construction Process Conclusion

4.0 RESEARCH TOPIC Daylight Strategy of Building Envelope

5.0 REFLECTION 6.0 APPENDIX 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5

Early Iterations Detailed Plans Group Photo Credit Bibliography

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019

103

167

171 177

0.0 INTRODUCTION

In this project, the aim is to renovate the building envelope of Nicholas Building on Swanston St. The project brief allowed for 40%-60% alternations on the existing heritage facades. The envelope should address social and environmental issues of the building in 2030. Our response demonstrates that envelope can achieve more than merely aesthetically attractive. It could act as a media for communicating with the urban context and inviting public visitors. The programme of the building was not only dependent on the interior design. The envelope in our project introduced a blurred boundary between exterior and interior spaces. The atrium also emphasized on vertical interactions of Nicholas Building. Each

floor is no longer introverted. In term of fabricating the building component, our team developed a machine base on traditional building technique from Phillips Pavilion. Our flexible formwork for casting achieved improvements on cost, labor and time-saving. The machine provides reusable formwork that can provide ruling surface panels in adjustable scale and angles. This journal will explore the making process of the machine, design process and final design proposal for Nicholas Building. Although the proposal is very uniquely designed for Nicholas, the system of making and logic of designing could be applicable in a much wider range.

1.0 PRECEDENT STUDY

Our project team explored the envelope of Phillips Pavilion. As a temporary building, Phillips Pavilion was built in 1958 for First World Fair exhibition in Brussels, Belgium. The unique musical and architectural journey of the Pavilion was created by its shell. It was deemed as ‘Electronic Poem‘. The shell also created a transitional space between interior and exterior. Le Cruzeiro’s design of the entry experience had become the sparkling moment of the architecture. The gradual change between lightness and darkness introduced a smooth transition. The brightness had become the threshold of the entrance and exit. The hyperbolic paraboloid surface demonstrated the advanced technology and innovative building methods in the 1950s. Improvement in technology and fabrication would allow more intelligent and efficient design nowadays. In this section, we looked at the technique of the 1950s and identified the opportunities to develop a better fabrication method.

SITE CONTEXT 1:2000 @ A1 0

10M

SITE CONTEXT 1:2000 @ A1 0

1 2 3 4

10M

STEEL CABLES PRECAST CONCRETE PANELS ASBESTOS INTERIOR WALL ENTRANCE WALL

EXTERIOR TRANSITIONAL 4

INTERIOR 3

1 2 3 4

STEEL CABLES PRECAST CONCRETE PANELS ASBESTOS INTERIOR WALL ENTRANCE WALL

EXTERIOR

EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC 1:200 @ A1 0

10M

TRANSITIONAL INTERIOR

1.1 Envelope Study

5 M

7 9

WITH SAND AND DIVIDED INTO INDIVIDUAL PANELS 2

POUR CONCRETE INTO FORMWORK

REINFORCEMENT

SMOOTH CONCRETE SURFACES

WAIT FOR CONCRETE TO DRY

REMOVE FORMWORK

NUMBER INDIVIDUAL PANELS

NUMBER INDIVIDUAL PAN

8 SHIP TO SITE

9 10

3 4

STEP 1: PRE-CAST

STEP

SAND-CASTING

THE FORM OF EACH SURFACES ARE SHAPED WITH SAND AND DIVIDED INTO INDIVIDUAL PANELS

POUR CONCRETE INTO FORMWORK

3 4

REINFORCEMENT 9 SMOOTH CONCRETE SURFACES

WAIT FOR CONCRETE TO DRY

REMOVE FORMWORK

NUMBER INDIVIDUAL PANELS

STEP 2: INSTA 12

STEP 1: PRE-CAST SAND-CASTING 11

THE FORM OF EACH SURFACES ARE SHAPED WITH SAND AND DIVIDED INTO INDIVIDUAL PANELS

POUR CONCRETE INTO FORMWORK

REINFORCEMENT

SMOOTH CONCRETE SURFACES

WAIT FOR CONCRETE TO DRY

REMOVE FORMWORK

NUMBER INDIVIDUAL PANELS

10 11

INSTALL PREC

ENCLOSE THE PANELS WITH

STEP 3: PRE-STRESS

8 SHIP TO SITE

STEP 2: INSTALL PANELS

16 TE PREPARE SCAF 17 C CAST CONCRE

8 SHIP TO SITE

17 9

PREPARE SCAFFOLDING

CAST CONCRETE RIBS ON SITE

INSTALL PRECAST CONCRETE PANELS

ENCLOSE THE GAPS BETWEEN EACH PANELS WITH CONCRETE

CUT AND PREPARE STEEL W

CONNECT STEEL WIRES TO

TENSION THE WIRES

TENSION THE REINFORCEMENT I

18 COAT

SURFACES WITH ALU

1.2 Construction Process

Phillips Pavilion was built with precasted concrete. The envelope was divided into 40cm ruling surface panels. The form of each surfaces are shaped with sand. Concrete is then poured into the timber formwork with reinforcement. Workers then smoothened the surface manually. After the curing process, the formwork will be removed. The individual panels were labelled with numbers and shipped to site. Scaffolding would be erected on site for panel installation. The main structure was the pretensioned concrete ribs. They were casted on site. Precasted concrete were installed on the upper layer of the steel ruling wires. The gaps between panels would be sealed by concrete.

SHAPED DIVIDUAL PANELS

NUMBER INDIVIDUAL PANELS

COAT SURFACES WITH ALUM

CUT AND PREPARE STEEL WIRES

CONNECT STEEL WIRES TO THE14ANCHORS ON THE RIBS 15

TENSION THE WIRES

TENSION THE REINFORCEMENT IN THE RIBS

COAT SURFACES WITH ALUMINUM PAINT

15 9 10

STEP 3: PRE-STRESS

E SHAPED DIVIDUAL PANELS

STEP 2: INSTALL PANELS

CUT AND PREPARE STEEL WIRES

CONNECT STEEL WIRES TO THE ANCHORS ON THE RIBS

TENSION THE WIRES

TENSION THE REINFORCEMENT IN THE RIBS

PREPARE SCAFFOLDING 17

CAST CONCRETE RIBS ON SITE

INSTALL PRECAST CONCRETE PANELS 18 ENCLOSE THE GAPS BETWEEN EACH PANELS WITH CONCRETE

STEP 4 INTERIOR FINISH 19

COAT SURFACES WITH ALUMINUM PAINT

NELS

STEP 3: PRE-STRESS

STEP 4 INTERIOR FINISHING 19

ON SITE

CRETE PANELS

TWEEN EACH TE

NELS

8 SHIP TO SITE

CUT AND PREPARE STEEL WIRES

CONNECT STEEL WIRES TO THE ANCHORS ON THE RIBS

TENSION THE WIRES

TENSION THE REINFORCEMENT IN THE RIBS

COAT SURFACES WITH ALUMINUM PAINT

14 20

INSTALL LIGHT AND SOUND EQUIPMENTS

PREPARE ASBESTOS ON SITE

SPRAY INTERIOR WALL WITH ASBESTOS

SMOOTH THE SURFACE

INSTALL LIGHT AND SOUND

PREPARE ASBESTOS ON SIT

SPRAY INTERIOR WALL WITH

SMOOTH THE SURFACE

The upper layer steel ruling wires were cut and connected to the anchor points on the ribs. Workers would manually tension the wires and reinforcement in the concrete ribs. The surface will be coated with aluminium paint for facade finishing. The interior furniture including light and sound equipment were installed after the exterior finishing. The asbestos were prepared and mixed on site. The interior wall were sprayed with asbestos for acoustic and projection purposes. Finally, the interior surfaces would be smoothened by the workers.

Flat Surface

Hyperbolic parabolic surface

1.3 Conclusion

The transitional experience provided by the ruled surface was the main project trope. The envelope shaped an unique moment of entering the space by the light transition. Our project team took the trope from Phillips Pavilion and aim for developing an meaning envelope that acts more than an shelter or artwork.

2.0 FABRICATING MACHINE

Our team aimed to create a smart fabrication system for mass customization. We took Phillips Pavilion as a precedent of producing ruling surface panels. The objective of this section is to build a machine that allows maximized the variety of formworks for panel casting. Meanwhile, it should be time and labor saving in the fabrication process. The final result of the section should be applicable to the building industry. The scheme should not be limited by project location or scale. We started with exploring the property of ruling surface by 3 matrices. Then we constructed our basic logic of the surface formation. Based on the surface logic, we built 5 iterations of machines to achieve an ideal result. Automation mechanism has been applied for the last two iterations for more precise and convenient casting procedures.

Two Fixed Edges

Flexible Edges

Single Surface

Cubic/ Sphere Controlled Edge

Connected Surfaces

Four Sphere Controlled Edges

Parallel Surfaces

Planar Rail Controlled Edges

Intersecting Surfaces

Spring Rail Controlled Edges

Surface in Cubic

Two Fixed Edges

Surface on Frame

2.11 Surfaces The Surface in 300X300X300 Cubic matrix explored varieties of ruled surfaces formed by two controlled edges. During the geometry exploration, we have discovered that a large diversity of surface can be generated through simply alternating two control edges. After exploring the trail along the cubic edges, we aimed for more possibilities of curved surfaces. We started to explore the trail for edge control. As a result, we have discovered that rotation from the midpoint of the control edge will generate all possible curve outcomes of a ruling surface.

2.1 Geometry Study

Basic Geometry

Mirror + Trim

Mirror + Trim + Mirror

Iterations

Identical Panels

Shared Control Edges

Rotation + Tilt

Parallel Control Edges

Rotation + Tilt + Mirror + Trim + Mirror

Continuous Control Edges

Surface Combination

2.12 Volumes Multiple ruling surfaces provides a three dimensional property to the geometry which can not be provided by single surface. The Surface Combination matrix has demonstrated the possibilities of creating volumes by compositing the surfaces. Learning from Phillips Pavilion, we cropped the surfaces to form more diversities of geometry.

Define Rotation Arcs

Define Diameter End Points

2.2 Machine Logic

This section illustrates the script in Grasshopper that creates the ruled surface. Each controlling edge of the ruled surface is formed by the diameter of the circle. Step 1. Define the rail of rotation The center of the circle will become the rotation axis. The number of points determines the number of possibilities of edge iterations. End Points Connection

Step 2. Define the two ends of the edge The diameter will become the edge that forms the ruling surface. Step 3. Define the four edges of the surface Connecting the diameters of the three arcs will form the outline of the ruling surface

Define UV Lines

Form Ruled Surfaces

Step 4 Create ruling Connecting lines between the edges will create the ruling. Step 5 Loft surface Ruling surface will be created by lofting from two straight lines. Step 6 Rotate the edge The diameter could be rotated based on the pre-defined axis.

Edge Variables

In this case, we noticed that more control points on the arc create more panel variations. The hypothesis of our machine design is to the create smooth rotation to maximize the panel customization.

2.3 Machine Iteration Machine Iteration A Component Assembly

3 4

1 Laser Cut MDF Framework -3 mm 2 Laser Cut Frame Support 3 Frame Joint 4 Frame Edge Composition 5 Frame Support Placement 6 Elastic String to Create Surface 7 Screw Hook - 17 mm 8 Wood Dowel - 5 mm 9 Elastic String - 1 mm 10 Movable Surfaces 11 Moving Details

8 9

6 7 10

Summary

Machine A was our first attempt of the machine fabrication. The aim of this machine was to merely explore the geometry.

Objective for the next iteration We aimed to make a sturdier machine that could cast ruling panels.

Advantage: The machine was highly flexible. It was quick and easy to assemble. The formwork was lightweight.

Hypothesis: Our next iteration would imply the surface logic that we learned from the second surface matrix. We would create two parallel edges that can be rotated to form ruling surface. Bracing will be added to the machine for firm structure.

Disadvantage: The machine was too fragile as it barely resisted any tension or compression. No Artefacts could be produced by this machine.

Machine Iteration B Component Assembly

1 1 Laser Cut MDF Framework -3 mm 2 Laser Cut Frame Support 2 3 Frame Joint 4 Frame Edge Composition 5 Frame Support Placement 6 Elastic String to Create Surface 7 Screw Hook - 17 mm 8 Wood Dowel - 5 mm 9 Elastic String - 1 mm 10 Movable Surfaces 11 Moving Details

Summary

Machine B was our second attempt of the machine fabrication. The aim of this machine was to create formwork for panel casting.

Objective for the next iteration We aimed to resolve the connections between two folding panels.

Advantage: The outcome was highly flexible and predicable. The machine was stronger than the previous version. Panels could be cast.

Hypothesis: Two panels can be cast at the same time.

Disadvantage: The machine had limited control points. The panel sizes are too small to test the feasibility. The irregular surface edge makes connections to be more difficult

Machine Iteration C Component Assembly

Summary

Machine C was our third attempt of the machine fabrication. The aim of this machine was to cast in the panel connections.

Objective for the next iteration Enlarge the size of the machine. Add in automation in fabrication.

Advantage: The connection between two panels was resolve. The formwork can be reused for casting.

Hypothesis: We would design rails for edges controlling. The rails should be continuous to allow more variations.

Disadvantage: The accuracy of the surface was lack of control.

6 7 8

4 2

9 5

4 2

16 14 15

19 18

14 15

1 CNC Frame 2 3D Print Motor Cap 3 CNC Support 4 Step Motor 5 CNC Support 6 3D Print Joint (Screw) 7 Aluminum Solid Rod 6mm 8 Rubber Stopper 9 Universal Joint 10 CNC Arm 11 Aluminium Solid Rod 6mm 16 12 3D Print Hinge Joint 13 Aluminum Screw Rod 8mm 14 Upper Bolt M8 15 Lower Bolt M8 16 Aluminium Hallow Rod 10mm 17 Rotating Edge 1 18 Rotating Edge 2 19 Rotating Edge 3 20 Cable Support

Machine Iteration D

14 13

Component Assembly

17 16 11

7 8

19 18

1 6 7 8

4 2

17 16 14 15

19 18

1 CNC Frame 2 3D Print Motor Cap 3 CNC Support 4 Step Motor 5 CNC Support 6 3D Print Joint (Screw) 7 Aluminum Solid Rod 6mm 8 Rubber Stopper 9 Universal Joint 10 CNC Arm 11 Aluminium Solid Rod 6mm 12 3D Print Hinge Joint 13 Aluminum Screw Rod 8mm 14 Upper Bolt M8 15 Lower Bolt M8 16 Aluminium Hallow Rod 10mm 17 Rotating Edge 1 18 Rotating Edge 2 19 Rotating Edge 3 20 Cable Support

19 18

1 CNC Frame 2 3D Print Motor Cap 3 CNC Support 4 Step Motor 5 CNC Support 6 3D Print Joint (Screw) 7 Aluminum Solid Rod 6mm 8 Rubber Stopper 9 Universal Joint 10 CNC Arm 11 Aluminium Solid Rod 6mm 12 3D Print Hinge Joint 13 Aluminum Screw Rod 8mm 14 Upper Bolt M8 15 Lower Bolt M8 16 Aluminium Hallow Rod 10mm 17 Rotating Edge 1 18 Rotating Edge 2 19 Rotating Edge 3

Summary

Machine D was our fourth attempt of the machine fabrication. The aim of this machine was to create three automated rotating arms for panel casting.

Objective for the next iteration To maximize the possibilities of the surfaces.

Advantage: The machine is precise in terms of controlling the surface. The form is sturdy and reusable.

Hypothesis: Allowing the middle arm to shift will result in multiple times of possible outcomes.

Disadvantage: The angle of rotation is limited. The middle arm limited the surface possibilities.

Final Machine

7 1 4

Component Assembly

9 10

14 11 12

1 4

19 21 18 16

9 10

14 11 12

1 Fixed Rail CNC Furniture Grade Plywood 12mm 2 Support CNC Furniture Grade Plywood 12mm 3 Bracing CNC Furniture Grade Plywood 12mm 4 Step Motor NEMA 17 5 Motor Case 3D Print PLA 6 Solid Aluminium Rod D-6mm 7 Rubber Stopper 8 Arm Component - End 3D Print PLA 9 Hollow Aluminium Rod D-10mm 10 Ridge Joint to Rotation Component 3D Print PLA

11 Rotation Component 3D Print PLA 12 Rotation Component joint to Hollow Rod 3D Print PLA 13 Arm Component - Rod Holder 3D Print PLA 14 Arm Component - Rod Holder Connection 3D Print PLA 15 Arm Component - Height Controller 3D Print PLA 16 Hollow Aluminium Rod D-10mm 17 Steel Universal Joint 18 Steel Lower Bolt 19 Steel Upper Bolt 20 Screw Rod D-8mm 21 Limit -45 to +45 Degree Rotation

Summary

Our final machine developed on the advantages of the previous iterations. It is sturdy and reusable. The panel diversity is increased due to the shifting middle arm. The panel size, quality and texture are more predicable with the new machine. The machine was built with CNC structure, aluminium rods and 3D printed joints. It only need 3 step-motors to get unlimited amount of panels until it collapses. All components were structurally standing which is less likely to break. The range of products were also very wise. It produces a different panel by simply drag a slider in the digital script. In the next sector, the digital mechanism would be further illustrated.

2.4 Machine Mechanism

In order to control the machine arm rotation precisely, we used digital tools for automation. One end of the machine arm would be fixed, and the other one will be driven by a step motor. To get the mechanism working, we need to make the step motor spin first. The number of rotating revolutions would control the height of the operatable end of the arm.

NEMA 17 STEP MOTOR

A4988 DRIVER

ARDUINO UNO BOARD

12V/2.5A EXTERNAL POWER SOURCE

BREADBOARD

Our project team used Nema17 Step motors to drive our machine arms. The components include three Nema17 step motors, Arduino Uno Board, A4988 Driver Controller, breadboard and a 12V/2.5A external power source.

_ +

STEP 1 CONNECT MOTOR

STEP 2 CONNECT EXTERNAL POWER SUPPLY

STEP 3 CONNECT UNO POWER SUPPLY

The motors are connected to the A4988 Driver through two groups of positive and negative wires. The full circuit will include the 12V input from the external power source and 5V input from the Arduino Uno board. The circuit will be connected to the A4988 Driver which is connected to the bipolar motors.

_ +

STEP 4 DIRECTION AND STEP SIGNAL PIN

STEP 5 RESET AND ENABLE SIGNAL PIN

The DIR(direction) and STEP signal pin will be connected to the Arduino board. The connected pin number will be allocated to be direction and step controller in Arduino Script. Reset and Enable signal pin will be connected to act as a switch that turns on and off the signal from the Arduino Board to the A4988 Driver.

The Arduino board would then be connected to the software Arduino for script writing. Inputting the number of direction and step signal pin will allow grasshopper to control the steppers. After uploading the script, we used a CNC script under Firefly (Grasshopper).

Three motors will be identified as X,Y,Z. The step number slider will allow us to control the motor rotation precisely. Increasing number would allow the motor rotate clockwise. Decreasing number would drive it to rotate counterclockwise.

19 21

A universal joint will be used to connect the motor to a screw rod. The arm will be connected to the screw rod by a 3d print joint and two bolts. The bolts allow the joint to move up and down when the screw rod rotates. Hence, the height of the arm end is predictable. One full rotation allows the joint to travel 2mm on the rod. The movement is planar as the screw rod only allow the joint to travel two-dimensionally. The height of the arm end (h) could be calculated by knowing the movement in horizontal (x) and vertical (y) axis: h2= x2+y2 One revolution would be equivalent to 200 steps of the motor. The grasshopper input will be 100 *y (in mm).

1 3

2.5 Casting Process

Plster Casting

5 4

1 Cut Plastic Membrane 2 Cut Plaster Bandage 3 Adjustment of Curvature 4 Placement of Plaster Bandage 5 Wet Plaster Bandage 6 Reninforcement on Connection 7 Curing 8 Set Ruled Surfacea

Concrete Casting

9 8 10

1 Cut fabric base 2 Prepare concrete mix 3 Lay fabric base on the machine 4 Pour thin layer of concrete mix 5 Place steel rods on the edges 6 Pour more concrete 7 Smooth concrete surface 8 Tidy panel edges 9 Curing 10 Peel fabric 11 Completed panel

PLASTER

PLASTER + MIRRORS

2.6 Material Experiment

Our first exploration was plaster bandage. It was fast-drying and easy to predict. It created an opportunity to quickly explore the surface properties. The form casting was highly under control and the products were light weighted. However, the artefacts were brittle and limited to sizes.

PLASTER + RESIN

BANDAGE + RESIN

CALICO + RESIN

The second exploration was epoxy resin with fabric. It created an interesting light penetration effect. It is light weighted, but much more stronger than plaster bandage. The panels took two days to dry. It was too flexible that the shape could be alternated easily by hand.

PRECAST CONNECTION PERSPEX

PRECAST CONNECTION 10MM ALUMINIUM ROD

CEMENT + SAND + WATER + ADMIX

CEMENT + SAND + WATER + FIBER + ADMIX

(STRETCHY FABRIC)

CEMENT + SAND + WATER + AGGREGATES + FIBER + ADMIX (NYLON SPANDEX FABRIC)

CEMENT + SAND + WATER + FIBER + ADMIX (NYLON SPANDEX FABRIC)

Finally, we casted concrete mix. It resulted in rigid and sturdy panels. The industrial standard material allows the panels to be more feasible to perform as a cladding system. Concrete also provide thermal mass and insulation performance. The drawback of the concrete mix would be slow curing process. Meanwhile, concrete achieved most ideal result that we aimed. We then explored some details like the fold transition to strengthen and beautify the panels.

2.7 Panel Development

We have discovered that the folding axis of our corrugated panel were very fragile. We have developed our first iteration to smoothen the panel transition. This had resulted in a stronger connection point. However, the offsetting wires were prompted to break. We then moved to our next refinement.

In our second iteration of panel transition, we used silicon to generate the smoothened pattern. We 3D printed mould for silicon. And carved out the shape of the silicon from the middle arm. Once the silicon is formed, it would be placed into the carved space on the middle arm.

Mixing Cement and Additive

Add Water

Measure Sand

2.8 Standardized Making Process

Add Sand

Mixing Concrete

Add Microsphere and Fiber Glass

Apply Concrete on Fabric

Reinforce Edges

Smoothen Concrete Mix

The proportion of water, cement and sand is vital in concrete mixing. Initially, we used premixed concrete powder. The performance was not ideal. The concrete finish was rough. The weight of the panel was excessively heavy. And the panel took almost two days to dry. It was also easy to collapse. In order to resolve the issue, we used admix and fibre to strengthen the panel and stimulate the curing process. In terms of reducing the weight, we added microspheres to replace a portion of sand. The concrete panels then result in a much more desirable and controlled quality.

Intersecting Connection

Edge Connection

2.9 Connection Iteration

After exploring single surfaces, we started to develop a system for the panel combinations. Three connection types were explored in this section.

Edge Connection allowed the panels to become volumetric. The geometry could be precisely generated. More possibilities and potentials were discovered in this system.

Intersecting connection was aesthetically performing. However, the connection was brittle The arrangement was limited to weak points along the intersection axis.

The connection development experiment was mainly developed with same panels. Our next step would be looking at the combination of panels with different curvature.

End Edge

Volumetric Module

Edge Definition

Side Edge

Modular Panels

Module Composition

The Volumetric Connection was developed in a modular system. The form created openings through panel combination. As a result, we decided to use the edge connection, however, the opening strategy created opportunities for project design.

TEST 1 Frame Hanging System Perspex

TEST 2 Hinge System Metal

We decided to work on edge to edge by perspex. However, the joint was brittle. We connection from connection exploration. decided to use a stronger joint component in The joint details were then developed through the next development. four iterations. Iteration 2 was a hinge system. Steel hinge Iteration 1 was a frame hanging system. and bolts are used to connect the panels. The It could produce an accurate pre-designed joint is much more sturdy. However, we found geometry. The connections allowed flexible that the panels could hardly be standing angle joint. The precast connection was made structure without any secondary framework.

TEST 3 Stitching System

Elevation

Plan

TEST 4 Steel Rod System

Iteration 3 was a stitching system. Improved on our previous iteration, this system could be self standing. It immediately gave a volumetric effect to the geometry. It was sturdy and fast to make connections. However, the visual performance was not ideal. The form generation was not predicable, nor accurate.

Iteration 4 was a precast steel rod system. The benefit of the system would be more tolerance on panel edges with cast in steel rods. The form is sturdy and structurally standing. However, the system was quite limited to modular combination. We aim was to create a flexible and sturdy edge to edge connection between panels.

2 1 1

1 Secondary Steel Structure 250 x 250 mm 2 Pre-cast Concrete Panel 400 x 200 x 50 mm 3 L-shaped Solid Steel Rod 10mm 4 Metal Plate 100 x 100 x 30 mm 5 Adjustable Connection Detail 6 Metal Bolts

4 2 5

Final connection joint design was a combination of the steel framework system and the hinge system. A secondary steel framework will be firstly constructed to hang the folded panels. Two L-shaped metal rods would form a flexible joint system. The rotation along two axis would be sufficient to accompany any ruling angles.

2m x 1m Panels

1m x 0.5m Panels

0.5m x 0.25m Panels

Size Iteration Test

100

2.10 Conclusion

During this stage, our aim is to build a machine that could provide mass customization. Traditional craft strategy can provide individual and highly customized design, however, it is less likely to be mass production due to technological constraints. Our final machine achieved a high flexibility in creating scalable hyperbolic-parabolic surface precisely at different angles. It only requires three step motors to drive the arms. It is efficient to apply in building firms for customized design of curved surfaces. The panels consume less space, time and labour. Our machine fabrication had build a base for our design. The panels are flexible in both shapes and sizes.

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3.0 NICHOLAS BUILDING The Light Skirt The current programme of the building is very diverse. The shared office space is also a feature of the built environment. However, public communal space is absent. In 2030, a more co-working environment will be encouraged. With growing trend of education facilities, Nicholas building could be used as a hybrid scheme of interacted working and studying programme. The connection of vertical space will be emphasized by a new atrium. The current courtyard is too restricted to provide any lighting benefits. Our project looks to improve on the daylight performance of the courtyard space. The designed geometry of the light well aims to reflect as much sunlight as possible. Materials and texture are experimented to estimate the ideal reflection. Ultimately, our design aims to provide a better-performance building in terms of social and environmental aspects.

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3.1 Context

“The [Melbourne] CBD’s education sector is forecast to grow 7% over the next 5 years.” - The Sydney Morning Herald

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS THE NICHOLAS BUILDING 105

Nicholas Building is located at the junction of Swanston Street and Flinders Lane. It is a multi use building with many micro businesses. The building consist a heritage facade and arcade.

106

5 Min 3 Min

1 Min

Nicholas Building Public Transport Pedestrain Simulation 1 Min Walk 5 Min Walk 107

108

Regent Theatre

City View

St Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cathedral

Shrine of Remebrance Axi View

Flinders Street Station

ACMI

Federation Square

Nicholas Building is easy to access by both public and private transport by visitors and occupants. It is likely to become a popular place if it is more visually attractive from street view. The range of walkable distance allows the occupants to access a range of other locations, including educational organization, convenient store and art galleries.

109

Edward B Vivien's M V T

SWA

NSTO

110

N STR

EET

Hawkner Johnson Arts Group Eleven P/L / Salon Productions Kanga Kanga Japanese Shop Chantilly Studio. Inc. Foomann Architects Daniel Cordner Design ACMI

Hats Off To Adelaide Millinery Convention Central Gippsland TAFE Council of Adult Education Swinburne University Kangan TAFE Hugo Boss

JEWELLER

The Sisters Hayes Bob Brown Foundation J Patternson Small Artworks B & VO Trickey Louise Macdonald Millinery Folk Architects Perhaps. Today Stephern McLaughan Gallery Bright Design Studio

South Gallery

Sample Australian Council of Art Australian Government City Of Melbourne Creative Vicotria

Jason Moss Jewellery Design The Slgnet Bureau Eg. Etal Gallery

Big Forcus Animation Haymes Paint Hattori Art

CUPCO Royal Overseas League V.Kassioras

Mark Phelan Design Mare Dixon Architects

Hell's Kitchen David Leece

Blindside

The Stella Prize cage me a peacock Victoria Mason Teddybears Wednesday

clara H Nails Little Mandarin Yoga

Hall Studio

Caves Geddes Tamaris Bellaclark Jewellery Cella 620 Turner& Hayes Serena Lindeman Millinery

Goati Entertainment

Reading Room

Sheen Media Urban Creative The Think Partnership Jill Kempson Artist Roxanne Watts Accent Jewellery

East Gate Gallery

Boeing

Joslin Didabetes Center Laureate International University The George Washington University Hanes Conversation International CONOCO PHLLIPS

Walmart MICROSOFT Steinway & Sons First Solar

Beale Organisation Management Vidal Sassoon The John Morrey Salons

Greenpoint Group Lui Hon J&S James Gapsted Walnuts Gapsted Investments OOM Creative & Miek Li Fine Art Studio Mother's Union Mary Callahan Design Alex Avery Howard, Crawford and Fry Woven Memories

LOOQ Eigensinnig Jenko

Sue Barnes Studio

Distal Phalanx Film Festival RMIT MOMA

Bontique W Hotoveli GILDA'S China Academy of Art

L.933

Mary Sunner

Ryder Monk HouseDesign

Family First

Alexander Lau PTY.LTD Wing Chun Kung Fu Life Drawing AerDesign Megan Webb Jeweller Parallel_for Thinking Squarenine Jo's Fine Art Workshop Symphonic Pixels EB Pearl Melbourne City Stays Romeo Bastone Couture Paul Ikin Illustrator Arizono Jewellery JA-H: Jason Hewitt Paper Giant Dan McGill Verve Studios Brendan Dwyer Custom Retrostar Mildered & Duck Calder Sartorla Jose Zarpan Tailorine Summerhill LEATHES World Food Books Tashi Cards The Powder Room Kenny Pittock Studios

Westspace MUMA

NGV SAM

Art Spectrum

Cinquieme Sens in Paris

Cinquieme Sens in Pa

The diversity of the programme is one of the features of Nicholas Building. In our design, we aim to strengthen the idea of sharing space by inviting students and more public visitors into the building and workshops.

Aesthetic Pty Ltd Leigh Duffy L'uccello Anno Domini Kimono House Janpanese craft Muses of Mystery writer studios Harold & Maude

Maria's Beads & Trims Collected Works Tempeste Speakeasy Retrostar

Kuwaii Subway Grill House Currency Exchanger Dean's Souvenirs Australia

7Eleven

OBUS Vintage Sole Arthur Daley's B3 Cafe

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3.2 Estimated Future Programme

“RMIT owns at least 68 buildings on its city campus spread over 8.2 hectares. It comprises a significant 6% of Melbourne CBD’s size...And it’s not stopping there.” - Margaret Gardner, Former Vice-Chancellor of RMIT

RMIT FUTURE BUILDINGS RMIT EXISTING BUILDINGS OTHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS THE NICHOLAS BUILDING 113

9th

8th

7th

6th

5th

4th

3rd

2nd

1st

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Inner vs Outer Rings

Empty vs Occupied

Rearrangement

Rearrangement of Unused Space

The dark gray space identifies that the current building contain a large proportion of empty or storage space that could not be accessed by the public. We are speculating a more open and finer grain floor plan in 2030. The storage of each business will no longer be on-site. More space could be used as communal space. Also connections between different floors could be drawn.

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8th

7th

6th

5th

4th

3rd

2nd

1st

Ground

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Public

Student

Craftsman

Proposed Spatial Organization

We have noticed that many art studios and craft shops have their own workshop running in the building. Some of them are interrelated. In 20 years, we would like to draw more connections between the business and workshops to further emphasize the social relationships in the building. Light Skirt could be representative of a hybrid system of craft design and digital technology. It is specifically designed for Nicholas Building in Melbourne. However, the customized panels can be applied to any other buildings in anywhere of the world. It maintained locality of architecture while the systematic building and fabrication technique can be easily duplicated and re-applied

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8th

7th

6th

5th

4th

3rd

2nd

1st

Ground

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Public

Student

Craftsman

Proposed Circulation

Growing education programme in Melbourne CBD has prompted us to design a new type of co-working spaces for future students and craftsman. As an important building of craftsman, Nicholas Building may promote itself through teaching and exhibition. RMIT will occupy parts of the building for education purpose. Lecture rooms, studios, fabrication rooms, workshops, and public study place will be allocated to different levels of the building. It is encouraged to build relationships and create interactions between craftsman and students. The building opens itself to the public for the exhibition, public lectures, and performance art.

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1st Floor Plan

3.3 Building Plans

Ground Floor Plan

3rd Floor Plan

2nd Floor Plan

Most original workshops and offices were kept in the building. More public space were allocated on Ground, 1st and 2nd Floor. The new staircases and openings made the building more inviting. Exhibition space and public lectures will take place on these levels. The open floor plans allowed temporary activities to be held. The light well were designed to bring down lights to the exhibition space. On the 3rd Floor, it would be a sharing space between craftsman and students. Workshops and wet rooms would be accessible by any occupants to increase the interactive level between different groups of people. The opening of the light well on the 4th floor allows the occupants to make vertical visual connections to the lower exhibition space.

4th Floor Plan

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5th Floor Plan

6th Floor Plan

8th Floor Plan

7th Floor Plan

On the 5th floor, performance art activities will be open to the public. The light well opening is located at the waiting lounge to bright up the space. Information of the performance will be displayed on ground floor to bring the visitors up. Private offices like the ones on 7th Floor provide a choice of quite working space to the occupants. No opening was made on this level. It allows the floor to be more introvert for some occupants. Other programme like digital art/ entertainment, fashion show and designer market will be allocated on the upper floor when there are openings. It vertically connects she building programme through the light well. The purpose of The Light Skirt was to emphasize on the diversity of activities in the building.

9th Floor Plan

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3.4 Environmental Strategy

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Our folding panels could act as a great media of light reflection and diffusion. The current natural light level is quite low at Nicholas building. The aim of this sector is to passively bring in natural light to the exhibition spaces through sunlight study and analysis.

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Sunlight analysis

Existing

Proposed Volume

35000 lux average luminous dayily

Radiation Analysis

Existing Courtyard

Expanded Courtyard

8 hours average sunlight dayily

Sunlight Hours Analysis

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Existing Courtyard

Expanded Courtyard

An expanded volume will increase both the luminance and sunlight accessing hour of the atrium. A detailed geometry will be illustrated in more detailed analysis.

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Setting Control Points

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Driving the From by Points Moment

Calculate the Optimized Result

Galapagos study

In our project, the light well formed its geometry according to the Galapagos study. We set eight control points on each floor. The points are moved to positions where they can receive most average sunlight based on the sunlight travel distance. It aims to minimize the times of reflection and distance to approach the bottom of the light well.

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Old Courtyard

New Light well

Winter

Amount of light gets into the Courtyard

Amount of light gets down to the bottom

Amount of light gets into the Light well

Amount of light gets down to the bottom

Amount of light gets into the Courtyard

Amount of light gets down to the bottom

Amount of light gets into the Light well

Amount of light gets down to the bottom

Summer

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Sunlight Comparison

Both of the results of winter and summer light are improved according to the test. More light will get into the light well and reach down the bottom.

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10% OPENING

40% OPENING

80% OPENING

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Opening Analysis

Apart from getting light down to the bottom, we also considered allow light to get into the building through openings. We have tested our panel property in terms of creating openings.

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In order to avoid disrupting the main light source get down to the exhibition space, we have identified panels that reflect most sunlight. Openings are allocated at panels which reflect less amount of light. The size of the opening is determined by the amount of sunlight that it receives. Larger openings are made when there is less direct sunlight.

2.0 Fabricating Machine 137

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Reflection Study

A flat surface will reflect direct sunlight. To avoid undesired sunlit, ruled surface will disperse the light to a broader extend but less glare. Ruled Surface Plane reflection Diffused light

Flat Plane reflection Direct Light

Light Reflection

Light Source

Reflected light

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Winter

Amount of light gets into the Light well

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Amount of light gets down to the bottom

Final Outcome

Summer

Amount of light gets into the Light well

Amount of light gets down to the bottom

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Winter Courtyard

FLINDERS LANE SWANSTON STREET

Winter

Swantston St 0

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20m

Winter Light well

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Summer Courtyard

FLINDERS LANE SWANSTON STREET

Summer

Swantston St 0

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20m

Summer Light well

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The facade cladding creates a second skin in the atrium of Nicholas Building. The top Âź of the new envelope walls will be louver windows. It allows hot air to escape as it tends to travel up. It will be delivered to exit at the top of the light well. The top panels will be painted black to absorb heat on the upper level. Cold and fresh air will be drawn into the workshop and offices by the original windows on the external facade. In summer, the building could cool itself down by night purging. Opening up windows and louvers during summer night could passively eliminate the heat that it gained during day time.

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The gutter at the exterior exhibition space will collect storm water. It will be delivered to the basement water tank. The recycled storm water will be used for toilet flushing and office plant watering.

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3.5 Construction Process

Step 1 Defining the New Light well The expanded light well will cut off some existing floor plates. Marks may be drawn by workers for demolishing purpose.

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Step 2 Scaffolding The temporary structure will be erected before demolishing. Scaffolding platform allows workers to access each level of the atrium space.

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Step 3 Vertical Structure The main structure is the constructed by the T shape steel columns. The columns will be delivered to site at lengths of 3-5 meters. It will be welded to become a continuous structure on site.

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Step 4 Panel Installation Panels will be fixed on to the steel framework using the flexible connections.

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Step 4 Brass Painting Ceiling panels on 2nd floor and openings will be painted in brass. Temporary structure is removed from the building. The new Nicholas Building is open to the public.

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EAST ELEVEATION 1:800

162 SECTION A-A 1:100

3.6 Conclusion

Our design implemented the idea of mas customization. The panel fabrication system allows better performance in social and environmental features. In this project, we had improved on natural light access, stack ventilation and facade aesthetic. The customized panels could be widely applied in many other cases, such as blocking direct sunlight, acoustic performance, and thermal performance. The system contains great potential. Possibilities may be further explored in future projects.

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4.0 RESEARCH TOPIC Daylight Strategy of Building Envelope

4.1 Introduction Increasing high rises are erected in the central business districts of many major cities. Sunlight blockage has become a critical issue since the 20th century. Cities responded to such problem by forcing setbacks in urban planning scheme. Insufficient daylight would cause buildings to consume excessive energy to provide artificial lights. In this case, buildings should have a smart design to capture and redirect sunlight to maximize the benefits within themselves. Schopfer (2011, p 108) suggested that light could be visible only if it hits on a physical object. The media that reflect the light is the key elements in terms of manipulating natural light in architectural design (Testado, 2015). The first part of the essay will explore the envelope strategies to improve daylight performance in multi-storey buildings. Three elements can be developed to bring natural light into buildings, which include envelope geometry, facade material and colour. The second part of the essay will discuss the strategies to deal with undesired direct sunlight and excessive heat gain in summer. Apart from simply shading the building, insulation, and light diffusion by facade texture and light shelves could be implemented to resolve the issue.

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4.2 Maximizing Daylight Exposure

South-West Facade of Kangan Institute

Diagram 1, Floor Plan of Kangan Institute

ERS LANE SWANSTON STREET

All materials can react to light, but the responsive level is varied accordingly (Schopfer 2011, p107). The Engineering ToolBox (2017) provided the reflection factor of conventional industrial materials, which includes polished aluminum (8087%), silver mirrored glass (80-88%), granite (20-25%) etc. Apart from the natural properties of the materials, repainting

Swantston St

Diagram 2, Light well Proposal 168

The envelope geometry must be designed to reflect light. In the photograph, (South - West Facade of Kangan Institute, 2014), the west facade has redesigned to bring in the north sunlight and reflect it by the plasterboard. As shown in Diagram 1, Floor Plan of Kangan Institute, The west facade redesigned into a folding poly line, which includes windows facing north and perpendicular reflective internal walls. In our project, we designed the reflective folding lines vertically to allow the sunlight to travel through the light well (Diagram 2, Light well Proposal). Baker and Steemers (2014, p84) claimed that removing obstructing elements to allow the light travel at the shortest distance will result in a higher luminance. Galapagos study. We set eight control points on each floor. The points are moved to positions where they can receive most average sunlight based on the sunlight travel distance. It aims to minimize the times of reflection and distance to approach the bottom of the light well. The digital tool provides an optimized geometry for daylight redirection. Each folded panels will be formed by four control points to avoid sunlight (Cheng et al. 2015) and reflect maximum diffused light. According to the Galapagos study, we identified the panels that reflect sunlight. We created openings on the panels that reflect less sunlight, which will penetrate some daylight into the floor area without disrupting the main light source that goes down to the bottom, the exhibition space.

20m

the raw ingredient will also improve the reflectance (Baker & Steemers 2014, p84). The reflection factor of white paint is 7585 according to Engineering ToolBox. Our experiment on silver paint on the concrete panel results in a much better-reflecting performance than the raw concrete (Figure 3, Silver Paint Concrete). Panels of our project are required to be highly reflective. Most of them are painted in white for a better performance. The top panels which receive the direct sunlight will be applied with highly reflective paint, such as brass paint. In this case, more sunlight will be captured down to the light well. 4.3 Minimizing Environmental Impact of Daylight Although daylight is promoted in most projects, direct sunlight in summer is undesired in Melbourne. While bringing the sunlight, glare should be avoided by light diffusion. To prevent undesired solar gain, shading is one of the easy steps to take. However, shading also blocks the light to get into the building. In this case, well insulated transparent materials could be used. Double glazed low-e glass with no tint (Sovereign Window 325)could achieve SHGC at 0.21, and U-value at 1.0 (WERS 2017). The 65% of sunlight transmission will provide sufficient luminance for buildings without heat gain. In our design, the occupied spaces are mainly offices and workshops, which required about 200-300 lux. To execute the heat gain by sunlight, we allocated glass louvers on the top 1/4 of the second skin to allow stack ventilation. The energy bill will be reduced while the luminance of the interior space is increased. Redirect sunlight may result in glare caused by sunlit (Baker & Steemers 2014, p85). The high luminance of an aperture will cause the neighbouring areas look darker than

the estimated daylight level (Fontoynont 2014, p95). The ideal re-directed sunlight should be more dispersed. The texture of the facade could be designed to avoid focal points of reflection (Diagram 4, light reflection by flat and curved surface). In our project, corrugated texture on ruling panels were designed for light diffusion at the gallery spaces.

4.4 Conclusion

Building envelope provides great opportunities for sunlight enhancement. Daylight plays an important role in terms of internal comfort in architecture. The form, color and material of the building skin can be designed to brighten up the interior space. Meanwhile, the solar heat gain should be controlled to prevent any excessive environmental impacts. As Other strategies, like light shelves, can a result, the envelope design can be more distribute more lighting into the building sustainable. without transmitting the undesired heat (Gherri 2015, p65). The light shelves act like an internal shading device of the building. It Reference: allows sunlight to get into the building space without carrying the heat. Our ruling panels Baker, N. & Steemers, K. 2014, Daylight Design in Nicholas Building are installed on ceilings of Buildings: A Handbook for Architects and at Ground, First and Second Floor. The panel Engineers,Routledge, UK ceilings act as the light shelves that draw the sunlight into space. The system further Cheng, N., Khorasgani, M., Williams, N., dispenses the light into the gallery space Prohasky, D., and Burry, J 2015, Understanding for a more balanced and consistent lighting Light in Building Skin Design in Emerging effect. Experience in Past, Present and Future of Digital Architecture, Association for Computer Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia, Hongkong

One Central Park by Ateliers Jean Nouvel + PTW Architects

Figure 3, Silver Paint Concrete

Fontoynont, M. 2014, Daylight Performance of Buildings, Routledge, France Gherri, B. 2015, Assessment of Daylight Performance in Buildings: Methods and Design Strategies, WIT Press, UK Schopfer, T. 2011, Material Design: Informing Architecture by Materiality, Walter de Gruyter, Singapore Kangan Institute 2014, South-West Facade of Kangan Institute Melbourne, Australia, Photograph, viewed 23 September 2017, <https://images.shiksha.com/> Testado, J. 2015,One Central Park by Ateliers Jean Nouvel + PTW Architects in Sydney, Australia, Photograph, viewed 22 September 2017, <https://archinect.com/> Window Energy Rating Scheme 2017, Commercial Window Rating Scheme, Australia, viewed 30 Oct, 2017, <https://wers.com/>

Flat Plane reflection Direct Light

Ruled Surface Plane reflection Diffused light

Diagram 4, light reflection by flat and curved surface 169

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5.0 REFLECTION

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In the 12-week studio, the design work was emphasized on learning from the making process. Our machine building process has shaped our understanding of real scale fabrication with the industrial standard material, like concrete. The course translated digital design theory into real making process. Our prototypes were not always successful. The learning curve for us was to discover defects and learn from mistakes. The studio gave us a chance to experience automated mechanism in digital fabrication. It was my first attempt to apply automatic component in the design process. It was time-saving and more accurate than manual works. Everyone in our group had a chance to explore most parts of the design process including designing, model making, and machine building. Overall, group work is quite efficient with good communications. In my future projects, I may invite other people for reviewing my design during the process, as I found it extremely beneficial in our group work.

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6.0 APPENDIX

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Two Panel Surface

Panelling Scheme

Determine Geometry

Loop Connection

Panelling Panel generated by the UV lines of the surface. Each edge is divided into the same length.

Spherical Connection

Trim Trim with a bonding geometry.

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6.1 Early Iterations

Pattern Design

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Early Design Iteration

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Proposed Void Geometry Sectional Perspective 1

Proposed Void Geometry Sectional Perspective 2

Proposed Void Geometry Sectional Perspective 3

Proposed Void Geometry Sectional Perspective 4

Existing Courtyard Sectional Perspective 1

Exisiting Courtyard Sectional Perspective 2

Early Design Iteration

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Atrium Design Mix-use Programming

Digital Desgn

Digital Desgn Fashion

Fashion

Community Social Events

Art & Craft

01 Atrium Public Space Mix-use Themes

02 Vertical Relationships Spiral Volume

Digital Desgn Digital Desgn

Fashion

Fashion Community Social Events Community Social Events

Art & Craft

03 Lift Core

04 Entrance Design

05 Flloor Plates

06 AtriumSecton

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Ground Floor Plan

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6.2 Plan details

2nd Floor Plan

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3rd Floor Plan

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4th Floor Plan

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6th Floor Plan

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7th Floor Plan

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8th Floor Plan

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9th Floor Plan

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6.3 Group Photos

Group Members

Nutthanee Banditakkarakul

Ziyi Liu

Xiao Wang

Jerry Lin

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6.4 Credit

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6.5 Bibliography

Baker, N. & Steemers, K. 2014, Daylight Design of Buildings: A Handbook for Architects and Engineers,Routledge, UK Cheng, N., Khorasgani, M., Williams, N., Prohasky, D., and Burry, J 2015, Understanding Light in Building Skin Design in Emerging Experience in Past, Present and Future of Digital Architecture, Association for Computer Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia, Hongkong Fontoynont, M. 2014, Daylight Performance of Buildings, Routledge, France Gherri, B. 2015, Assessment of Daylight Performance in Buildings: Methods and Design Strategies, WIT Press, UK Schopfer, T. 2011, Material Design: Informing Architecture by Materiality, Walter de Gruyter, Singapore Kangan Institute 2014, South-West Facade of Kangan Institute Melbourne, Australia, Photograph, viewed 23 September 2017, <https://images.shiksha.com/> Testado, J. 2015,One Central Park by Ateliers Jean Nouvel + PTW Architects in Sydney, Australia, Photograph, viewed 22 September 2017, <https://archinect.com/> Window Energy Rating Scheme 2017, Commercial Window Rating Scheme, Australia, viewed 30 Oct, 2017, <https://wers.com/>

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