VIENNA CHEN

D e s i g n J o u r n a l

ARCHITECTURE

DESIGN STUDIOAIR

1.1 Introduction 1.2 Architecture as a discourse 1.3 Computational Architecture 1.4 Parametric modelling 1.5 Algorithmic Exploration 1.6 Conclusion 1.7 Learning Outcome

1.0

C o n t e n t :

C a s e F o r i n n o v a t i o n

2.1 Design Focus 2.2 Case study 1.0 2.3 Case study 2.0 2.4 Technique Development 2.5 Technique Prototype 2.6 Technique Proposel 2.7 Objectives and learning outcomes

2.0 D e s i g n a p p r o a c h

My name is Vienna and I am current ly in my third year of the Bachelor of Environment , major ing in architec ture. B efore gett ing into this course, I was studying Inter ior Architec ture and Design in Singapore. Hence fur ther ing my studies into architec ture is a ver y excit ing exper ience for me. I have a lways been a st rong bel iever in dig ita l des igning, because it a l lows us to do complex des igns quick ly and more ef f ic ient ly as com-pared to hand drawings or physica l models .

I am fami l iar with 3Ds Max and V-ray as I have used them in the past . However, I do not have any pr ior exper ience with parametr ic model l ing . Thus I bel ieve that this module wi l l be a great opportunity for me to explore 3D designing and fur ther my knowledge of i t .

1 . 1 I n t r o d u c t i o n

B efore perusing my degree, I spent about a year in Singapore working as an Inter ior Designer. The projec ts that we specia l ised in were mainly res ident ia l , but occas ional ly we designed show units for loca l proper ty developers .

The Shore res idence was one of those rare projec ts . The perspect ive above was an image of a master bedroom that I created dur ing the presentat ion process . The foca l point of this des ign was the t r iangulated panels on the bed head and cei l ing . The purpose was of this was to create an interplay of l ight and shadow, thereby g iv ing the i l lus ion of r ippl ing shadows s imi lar to that of water.

The Shore residenceSingapore

1 . 2 A r c h i t e c t u r e a s a D i s c o u r s e

Architec ture cannot be deduced as a col lec t ion of shapes , drawings or theor ies . It i s far more complex and has the abi l ity to inf luence culture and histor y. [1]

Therefore, in order to discover the best architec tura l solut ion for this projec t , we wi l l need to f i rst understand the role of architec-ture in our society. Architec ture has of ten been descr ibed as an industr y that involves des igning and construct ing bui ldings . These bui ldings ser ve only a funct ional and aesthet ic purpose. However Dutton and Man argues that “ To make architec ture is to map the world in some way, to inter vene, to s igni f y : i t i s a po-l it ica l ac t .” [2]

In other words , architec ture could be anything that generates discuss ion and discourse. It does not have any pre-requis ites , and it can be in the form of theor ies or sketches . Architec ture does not have to be a physica l , bui lt s t ructure to make an impact .

This t rend can be seen throughout histor y, such as the modernist movement in the 1920s and the S oviet Union’s construct iv ist architec ture. Al l of which had many designs that were never bui lt , but nonetheless extreme-ly impact fu l , even t i l l today.

1. Alberto Pérez-Gómez. (n.d.). Hermeneutics as architectural discourse. Retrieved from http://www.mcgill.ca/files/ architecture-theory/hermeneutics.pdf

2. (2008). Pour nous n°2 : Le hiéroglyphe métropolitain. (2008). [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.tumblr.com/ tagged/digital architecture

We are div ing into the hear t of the dig ita l age in the 21st centur y, where architec ture is becoming increas ing ly inf luenced by dig ita l des igning.

The new forms, mater ia ls and ways of conceptual iz ing architec ture have g iven r ise to a new form of discourse - one that is for ward thinking and drawing innovat ion f rom a l l sources , thereby creat ing cultura l ly s igni f icant st ructures .

This def init ion of discourse is in l ine with the projec t br ief of the Gateway Projec t , that “ The insta l lat ion should create a foca l point of icon-ic sca le and presence and encourage a sense of pr ide within the loca l community. The Western Gateway should propose new, inspir ing and brave ideas , to generate a new discourse.” In other words , to create a st ructure of cu ltura l and physica l impact .

“To make architecture is to map the world in some way, to intervene, to signify: it is a political act.” Dutton

Nuragic and Contemporary Art Museum, Cagliari, Italy

Z aha Hadid is one of the most celebrated ar-chitec ts of the 21st centur y. Her sty le is seen as bold, organic and innovat ive. She pushes construct ion technolog y to its l imits and never des igns something ‘ordinar y ’.

Therefore, I wi l l examine her award-winning bui lding , the Nuragic and C ontemporar y Art Museum, as par t of my discourse.

This projec t aims to create a cultura l node that ser ves as a s ignal to announce one’s arr iva l in Cagl iar i f rom the sea . This was achieved through the interconnect ion of inner c irculat ion spaces , green spaces and publ ic roads . [1]

1. NMA Modern New Architecture. Nuragic and Contemporary Art Museum in Cagliari, Italy. Zaha Hadid. Retrieved from http://www.newarchitecture.biz/2010/12/blog-post.html

Much l ike other bui ldings des igned by Z aha Hadid, this bui lding fol lows an organic form that resembles a concrete reef . On top of that , the prof i le of the bui lding appears to l ie c lose to the ground, a lmost as i f i t has grown out of the land. This low and hor izonta l prof i le cre-ates harmony between nature and the bui lt environment .

The Nuragic and C ontemporar y Art Museum is one of the many bui ldings in the 21st centur y taking on an organic form, cha l lenging the boundar ies of technolog y and the interact ion between people, nature and the bui lt environment .

Gardens by the Bay is one of the largest c l i -mate control led plant conser vator ies in the world, and it i s des ign by Wilkinson Eyre Architec ts . It has a lso recent ly won the overa l l world bui lding of the year award at the world Architec ture Fest iva l (WAF) 2012.

This v isua l spectacle cost ing an astounding SGD$1 bi l l ion was the centre of much debate among Singaporeans in 2012. Whi le some fe lt that it was a waste of money and land, others saw it as a good addit ion to the c ity ’s sky l ine. However, ver y l i t t le was ment ioned about the government’s intent ions of embarking on this large projec t

Gardens By The BaySingapore

1. (2012). Gardens by the bay. (2012). [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.archdaily.com/324309/cooled-conserva tories-at-gardens-by-the-bay-wilkinson-eyre-architects/

2. ArchDaily. (2012). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.archdaily.com/254471/gardens-by-the-bay-grant- associates/

3. SPEECH BY MR LEE HSIEN LOONG, PRIME MINISTER OF SINGAPORE. (2012). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.news.gov.sg/public/sgpc/en/media_releases/agencies/micacsd/speech/S-20120628-9.html

Lee Hsien Long said, “ This is just one exam-ple of how we are t ransforming Singapore’s l iv ing environment . It may be a densely pop-ulated c ity, maybe one of the densest in the world, but we are determined that our people should be able to l ive comfortably, pleasant-ly, graciously.” [3] Thus , i t can be inferred that the Singapore government wishes to create garden spaces that are eas i ly accessed by the people in order to create a more comfortable l iv ing environment .

1 . 2 A r c h i t e c t u r e a s a D i s c o u r s e

6. (2012). Gardens by the bay. (2012). [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.archdaily.com/324309/cooled-conserva tories-at-gardens-by-the-bay-wilkinson-eyre-architects/

5. (2012). Contemporary Gardens by the Bay, Singapore (2012). [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.adelto.co.uk/ contemporary-gardens-by-the-bay-singapore/

The Gardens by the Bay was des igned with sustainabi l ity as it s key focus . For instance, the 16-storey high ‘super t rees’ are embedded with technologies l ike solar panels and rain-water col lec t ion systems to a l low the t rees to funct ion s imi lar to that of a rea l t ree. These t rees a lso ser ve as an exhaust system to help cool the conser vator ies . [6]

The architec ts and designers of the Gardens by the Bay embraces technolog y and nature, making use of technolog y to create a more ‘natura l’ s t ructure.

Gardens By The Bay is a considerably large-sca le projec t that has now become an archi-tec tura l icon in Singapore, creat ing a new direct ion for ward whereby structures are no longer just energ y consuming behemoths , but instead ‘se l f -sustaining’ ent it ies that ut i-l izes sustainable energ y.

These ideas can be appl ied to the Gateway projec t , where its des ign can ser ve both funct ional and v isua l purposes .

1 . 3 C o m p u t a t i o n a l A r c h i t e c t u r e

As compared to a decade or so ago, computers now play a huge role in architec ture’s des ign-ing process . C omputers are now able to help des igners produce not only presentat ion and construct ion drawings , but a lso a l low the des igner to analyze the construct ion feas ibi l ity and other concepts of a bui lding .

For the past few centur ies , architec ts have s lowly been removed f rom many aspects of architec ture. Architec ture has become a pro-fess ion whereby the main job of the architec t i s to des ign, and have a l l other aspects of a bui lding be handled by others . It has reached a point whereby the creat iv ity and imaginat ion of a des igner is l imited by restr ic t ions made by the st ructura l engineer, the fac tor ies that mass produce construct ion mater ia ls , and other people. [2]

The thought of customizat ion could prove to be daunt ing , as it means breaking a l l the ‘ru les’ and of ten comes with a hef ty pr ice tag . However in recent years , computers have a l lowed us to return to the role of the ‘master bui lder’, enabl ing architec ts to analyze the bui lding and its construct ion, thereby removing the boundar ies set by others . On top of that , d ig ita l fabr icat ion technolog y a lso a l lows des igners to cus-tomize forms and structures without incur-r ing too much cost .

1. Parametricism. (2008). [Web Photo]. Retrieved fromhttp://www.patrikschumacher.com/Images/Digital%20Cities/Istanbul_block-type_2_sm.jpg

2. Burry, Mark (2011). Scripting Cultures: Architectural Design and Programming (Chichester: Wiley), pp. 8 - 71.

“ the ant idote to standardisat ion forced by an ambit ion to lower product ion costs, rather than any more sophist icated

mot ivat ion: the previously e lusive oppor tuni t ies for mult ip le versioning and bespoke product ion can now be considered more

ser iously through the use of scr ipt ing”

Burr y Mark (2011)

1. Burry, Mark (2011). Scripting Cultures: Architectural Design and Programming (Chichester: Wiley), pp. 8 - 71.

1 . 4 P a r a m e t r i c D e s i g n

Yorkshire DiamondYorkshire, United Kingdom

The Yorkshire Diamond was a compet it ion entr y for the Yorkshire For ward mobi le pa-vi l ion compet it ion in 2005. This st ructure is constructed f rom a network of inf latable tubes that are arranged in a pattern der ived f rom the atomic st ructure of diamonds. [2]

The structure has a land area of 400 meters square which can be def lated and transported eas i ly.

The design was init ia l ly conceptual ized by sketches . However, in order to make an inf lat-able st ructure of this sca le , the architec ts made use of parametr ic des ign to fabr icate the tubes .

1. The Yorkshire Diamond Pavilion by Various Architects. (2009). [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.dezeen.com/2009/02/28/the-yorkshire-diamond-pavilion-by-various-architects/

2. The Yorkshire Diamond / Various Architects. (2012). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.archdaily.com/14312/the-yorkshire-diamond-various-architects/

The tubes were precis ion cut by a computer control led CNC machine to create a wr ink le f ree product . Although this projec t was not conceived through computat ional des ign, scr ipt ing played a big role in the construct ion process of the Yorkshire Diamond. [2]

We could look at this example to understand the role of parametr ic des ign in architec ture, It a l lows architec ts to be involved in the con-struct ion process , br inging us back to the role of the ‘master bui lder’.

Taichung Metropolitan Opera HouseTaichung, Taiwan

1. N. 147 TOYO ITO 2005-2009 (2005). [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.elcroquis.es/media/public/img/Maga-zines/147/Opera_Taichung_big.jpg

2. Toyo Ito Wins the 2013 Pritzker Prize(2013). [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.architectmagazine.com/Im-ages/800652059_0313_AR_NEWS_ToyoIto_23_tcm20-1855794.jpg

The Taichung Metropol itan Opera house is de-s igned by Toyo Ito. The f luid cont inuity of the bui lding wal ls are formed with 58 indiv idual cur ved wal l units , creat ing a maze of inter lock-ing re inforcement steel bars and steel t russes .

The f luid wal ls that being used in this st ruc-ture are three dimensional and it was thought to be impossible to fabr icate .

However, by making use of parametr ic des ign, the st ructura l engineers were able to des ign the steel bars and steel t russes to ser ve as the base form of the concrete what would eventu-a l ly be the form of the opera house.

1 . 5 A l g o r i t h m i c E x p l o r a t i o n

When I f i rst s tar ted this explorat ion, I wanted to look into how a gr idshel l wi l l a l -low me to create a f ree form chair that has a rattan weaving pattern. However It did not g ive me the des ired f inish.

Therefore, instead of dwel l ing too much on the gr idshel l , I created a lof ted objec t (which was the form of my chair) and di-v ided the sur faces into gr ids . Subsequent ly, I created a subsurface component which a l lowed me to map my surface onto the di-v ided gr id of the lof ted object .

Instead of drawing my reference form on Rhino, I decided to attempt creat ing the parameters of my reference objec t on Grass-hopper so that I could edit the sur face without re-drawing the des ign on Rhino. This led me to research on exploding sur-faces and how I was able to create an edit-able sur face on Grasshopper.

Eventual ly I created a pipe sur face around a rec tangle and mapped that into my subsur-face, creat ing a net l ike des ign for my chair.

Through this explorat ion, I am able to analyse in greater detai l the main structura l e lements of my chair and how it may be constructed.

This Explorat ion involved using the sec t ioning parameter to create a f inish that appears to be a roughly cut sec t ioned of wood.

I f i rst begun by lof t ing my vase form, keeping in mind that it has to be able to store water. I then extruded an of fset of the cur ve I created, and f rom there used it to sec t ion my or ig ina l objec t , hence creat ing a contour l ike pattern on the lof ted object .

I rea l ised that a lthough this method of creat ing a sec t ioned sur face was aesthet i-ca l ly pleas ing , i t d id not seem l ike a ver y pract ica l des igning method in architec ture. This is because to create something l ike this wi l l require the sol id to be laser cut as a whole, and that is probably too expensive to be executed on a larger sca le in rea l ity.

1 . 6 C o n c l u s i o n

The Gateway is a projec t in Wyndham City that aims to inspire and enr ich the municipa l ity. It i s an insta l lat ion which should enhance the physica l environment through the introduct ion of a v isua l ar ts component , and most important ly must be able to generate a “new discourse”

As discussed in the previous sec t ion of the journal , architec ture discourse l ies in theabi l ity to inf luence the cultura l aspects of the s ite . It should be able to evoke for wardthinking and must be more than just a v isua l spectacle . In other words , architec ture is no longer just a st ructure, but a cu ltura l ly s igni f icant icon that is aesthet ica l ly complex.

C omputat ional des ign is one of the ways to rea l ize that v is ion. It i s not only a tool to aid architec ts in the des ign process , but it has a lso become a means to reconci le the architec t with the construc-t ion process . For the past few decades , the creat iv ity of the architec t has been l imited to the re-str ic t ions provided by the fac tor ies that mass produce mater ia ls and wal l panels . However, compu-tat ional des ign a l lows the architec t to analyze how a ‘customised’ can be bui lt without incurr ing too much cost .

Therefore it i s crucia l that we make use of parametr ic des ign to work out the des ign poss ibi l it ies of the Gateway projec t , so that we can create a des ign that has an interplay of a l l the important as-pects of architec tura l discourse.

1 . 7 L e a r n i n g O u t c o m e

Throughout this sec t ion, architec ture as a discourse and the role of architec ture in our modern society was discussed. I have a lso examined the way that computat ional architec ture is able to re-connect the architec t to the role of the ‘master bui lder’ v ia the means of parametr ic des ign. Doing so has broadened my perspect ive of architec ture, and made me rea l ize how architec ts are more in control of the f ina l product , and are no longer weighed down by the restr ic t ions set by others now. If I were to look back at my past projec ts , I would probably redesign them with a ver y di f ferent approach. I would look at the s ite as a blank canvas and create radica l forms without worr ying too much about mater ia l restr ic t ions .

PART B. DESIGN APPROACH

D e s i g n F o c u s

Strips and FoldingsThe design focus of this projec t i s s t r ips and foldings , which is mainly dr iven by the re-quirements of the Wyndham Gate. There were two main points ment ioned in the br ief that steered this projec t des ign towards the ap-proach of the i l lus ion of speed.

The f i rst was to “provide an entr y statement and arr iva l exper ience”. To fu l f i l this idea of creat ing an entr y statement , an exper ient ia l architec ture v ia the mean of repet it ion and rhythm was created. In this way, s t r ips and folding was used to manipulate areas of pres-sure and openness hence creat ing e ither a grand or int imate entr y into Melbourne c ity.

The second was that this insta l lat ion would be “v iewed by motor ists t ravel l ing at high speed”. Fol lowing this , an i l lus ion of velocity was de-veloped by establ ishing a stat ic but seemingly k inet ic architec ture. Str ips and folding was chosen as the best f rame work for this des ign because of the opportunity to explore into l in-ear rhythm and form.

Str ips and folding are a lso associated with speed and l ines . Streaks of l ines are of ten used by ar t ist and designers to convey the impres-s ion of speed. Therefore, the incorporat ion of l ine-str iping helped create an exper ient ia l architec ture that has an i l lus ion of movement and speed.

Through str ips and folding , l ight and shadow would natura l ly be formed. L ight and shadow were used to enhance the i l lus ion of move-ment . Mitchel B enhof f descr ibes l ight as , “L ight can create i l lus ion, and i l lus ion can depic t the rea l , intangible , yet seemingly cor-porea l . A sequence of indiv idual st robe f lashes enters the eye and percept ion sees a sol id ba l l of l ight racing past us . Pure l ight becomes substance”. Using this idea , the consistent and rhythmic shadow and l ight pattern casted by the s t r ips and folding were appl ied to help en-hance the spat ia l exper ience within the insta l-lat ion.

However, i t was crucia l to recognize human percept ion’s of movement in order to create an i l lus ion. In the words of Einste in - “two di f ferent exper ience of the same event , f rom two di f ferent perspect ives , f rom two di f fer-ent or ientat ions . our ear th bound perspect ive is suspended. It i s we who move, not just the heavens . The moving l ight is f ixed. the f ixed v iewer is moving.” In other words , humans perceive movement and speed based on the perspect ive and speed they are moving at , and l ight is merely a me-dium that fac i l i tate percept ion. The audience of this insta l lat ion would be moving at high speed and we fe lt compel led to look at the de-s ign at severa l angles and perspect ive in order to achieve the i l lus ion of speed and movement throughout the des ign.

“Nothing happens until something moves” Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

Biothing seroussi pavilionParis 2007

The goal of this des ign was to create a st ructure that ac ts as a connect ive t issue emanat ing towards ser ies of objec ts on the s ite , towards an assemblage of a diverse yet coherent whole. This is done by creat ing a ser ies of se l f -modif ied vectors f ie ld based on elec tro-magnet ic f ie lds . The des ign incorporated the logics of att rac t ion and repuls ion trajec tor ies , which was computed in plan and then l i f ted v ia a ser ies of s t ructura l micro-arching sec t ions through di f ferent f requencies of s ine funct ion.

The plan of the pavi l ion is highly unconvent ional , i t encompasses s ix di f ferent geometr ica l systems which are extended out f rom pr imar y t rajec tor ies .

C a s e S t u d y 1 . 0

The result ing form - a dynamic and organic des ign. The relat ively s imple a lgor ithm a l lows parametr ic thinking to be mater ia l ised, plus it a l lows greater f lexibi l ity of s ite adaptat ions .

This des ign made use of att rac t ion points to create t rajec tor ies which eventual ly make up the st r ips of the form. The cur ves were eas i ly modif ied through the use of a s ine - wave funct ion which a lters the angle of the cur ves of each t rajec tor y. In this explorat ion I looked at how changing the s ine cur ve could reap di f ferent results .

ICD/ITKE PavilionUniversity of Stuttgart

A key aspect of the projec t was to t ransfomr the st r ip and folding model to an e last ic bend-ing structure, us ing the l ight weight mater ia l—plywood. The str ips are manufactured robot ica l ly as planar e lements , and connected subsequent ly so that tensioned regions a lternate a long their length.

Simi lar to the S erouss i Pavi l ion, this des ign was concieved with t rajec tor ies extending out f rom the centre, and these cur ves are then modif ied to create the semi torus form and the weaving patterns of the plywood.

The ICD/ITKE Pavi l ion as a precedent study because of i t’s inter ior spat ia l qual it ies . The inter ior of this pavi l ion creates a sense of f luidity which was an important aspect that needed to be considered in the technique development in order to create an i l lus ion of speed

C a s e S t u d y 2 . 0

The reverese engineer ing proccess involved creat ing the overa l l form of the pavi l ion (a) fol lowed by cul l ing a lternate l ines to create the a lternate weaving patterns(b) .

However, fur ther explorat ion to the model was made (c) the s ine-wave cur ve component was added into the a lgor ithm in an attempt to create a more dramat ic weaving pattern. The explorat ion was largely unsuccessfu l as the results were messy and it lost the f luidity which could be found in model (b)

A s imi lar a lgor ithm was then employed onto a di f ferent form creat ing (d) . This explorat ion then became the bas is for projec t des ign idea of creat ing an exper ient ia l architec ture.

A

b c

d

Zaragoza BridgeZaragoza,Spain

The Z aragoza Br idge Pavi l ion was des igned by Z aha Hadid. It i s a hybr id of a pedestr ian foot path and an exhibit ion pavi l ion - the form of the br idge consist of four st ructura l e lements , enclosed within it are indiv idual exhibit ion spaces .

This projec t was v iewed as a precedent because conceptual ly and structura l ly, the projec t expanded opportunit ies to st rengthen the concept of i l lus ion of speed.

It i s interest ing to note how Z aha Hadid made use of inter locking pods to create excit ing and complex inter ior spaces

Vis itors who walk through the br idge would t ravel f rom one pod to the next v ia smal l ‘gaps’, hence creat ing buf fer zones . These zones di f fuses the sound and v isua l exper ience f rom one exhibit ion to the next which a l lows a c lear understanding of the content of each indiv idual exhibit ion spaces . As the indiv idual pods dic tate the buf fer zones , i t ac ts as a three-dimensional guide that leads the users through the dynamic inter ior of the br idge.

This precedent highl ighted the poss ibi l it ies of intergrat ing mult iple st ructures to create a more dynamic inter ior, hence enabl ing the des ign to heighten the sense of speed in a poss ibly indirect manner.

C a s e S t u d y 2 . 0

This model was our f i rst attempt to create the ent ire model f rom points created on grasshopper.This a l lowed greater f lexibi l iy of form edit ing in the later stages of the reverse engineer ing process .

We created ‘wavy’ l ines through the graph mapper component and later used it in a rai l 2 sweep component to create a lof ted sur face. This sur face became the shel l of our zaragoza br idge repl ica .

In the next step we used a ISO tr im component to divde up the sur face, and pipped the open cur ves .

through this excercise we explored di f ferent components which helped us expand our grasshopper vocabular y

Te c h n i q u e D e v e l o p m e n t

A. B.

Triangulation was used to mimic the ‘shark skinned’ like pattern on the zaragoza bridge. This is to explore how different individual elements could form up to a single strip, hence creating a rhythm of the strip surfaces. However, the illusion of speed and acceleration was not achieved in this iteteration.

Taking the Zaragoza Bridge as a reference point, some of the main spatial charac-teristic were translated into the design exploration. One of the idea adopted into this model was the creation of openings on the street level. A permeable object was created, hence conceiving visual connectivity in the linear direction as well as in the lateral direction.

A.

B.

C. D.

Te c h n i q u e D e v e l o p m e n t

Based on the previous exploration, a different approach was created by creating light weight thin rib structures of strips and foldings.

C.

Iteration D utalizes various attraction points to creates varying line densities that are orientated to the driver’s perspective. This is an attempt to create instances of visual excitement within the structure.

This resulted in the creation of lines that is organic in structure, creating a dynamic and extremely unexpected form. However, the language of the form became complicated and somewhat messy which will affect the design intent of creating an illusion of speed.

D.

E. F.

Te c h n i q u e D e v e l o p m e n t

As a follow up to the previous iteration, order in the midst of the chaotic lines in the previous exploration was created, by reducing the number of attraction points. However anything apart from a linear direction was noted to affect the sense of speed from the driver’s point of view.

Upon identifying the issues of the multiple attractions points, the idea was dis-carded and linear movement and rhythm was looked into for answers. Following the concept of E=MC2 a relationship between lines and speed was demonstrated. As speed increases, the perception of mass increases hence resulting in visual aber-ration. Therefor in this exploration the gradual increase in the strip thickness was shown to help heighten the sense of speed.

E

F.

G. H.

Te c h n i q u e D e v e l o p m e n t

In this exploration, the idea of twisting the form to create concaving and convex-ing surfaces was tested. This allowed the creation of points of pressure and openess. However this form lacks the complexity and sophistication that we were trying to achieve, in order to create a design of an iconic scale.

Expanding on the previous exploration, there were limitations to the complexity of form in a single entity. Hence further exploration into intergrating multiple struc-tures was made. This allowed greater opportunity for the illusion of speed due to the increased number of surfaces.

G.

H.

Te c h n i q u e D e v e l o p m e n t

I.

The design goal for this project is to manipulate perception to create an illusion of speed. Apart from form making, colour psychology was explored in order to contrive a sense of acceleration and decceleration. Reference was taken from two contrasting colours, Red and Blue. Red is very strong colour that is very emotive, it stimulates a sense excitement and motivation. In contrast Blue stimulates calmness.

By making use of this contrast, a progression from blue to red was intergrated into the strips to create a sensation of calmness to excitement, creating a gradual height-en of the driver’s senses.

I.

Te c h n i q u e P r o t o t y p e

The concept of the illusion of speed was easily reflected on the digital model, and with the aid of a fly through anima-tion we were able to get a better grasp of the spatial char-acteristics of our design. However we had to translate the digital model into a physical model to see if the design was be able to achieve visual aberration.

In attempt to reduce material wastage and time in con-structing the model, we attempted to create the model from a single piece of cardboard and creating a ‘folding architecture’. Visually, the model created an exciting spatial experience, and it successfully managed to create a sense of movement. However as the model was created through folding, in a real life scale such a technique may not be conceivable.

Te c h n i q u e P r o t o t y p e

Te c h n i q u e P r o p o s a l

The design concept for this project has two main derivatives which are found in the project brief. The first was “provide an entry statement and arrival experience” and the second was that this installation would be “viewed by motorists travelling at high speed”. Hence in order to create a discourse around this project, the approach of creating an experiential architecture was adopted. This was done by forming a space which the drivers would have to go through before entering the city.

Some of the main concerns were how would a spatial characteristic contribute to architectural discourse of the site, and what sort of interior relationship would be considered innovative? Looking at the first question, the idea of designing a space that has a language that could be understood by the municipal was something that had to be taken into account. Furthermore we believed strongly that architecture has to something more than a structure, it has to be emotive and be able to evoke the human senses. Taking the above points into consideration, we decided that by exploring human perception of speed we will be able to achieve architecture discourse in an innovative way.

The manipulation of space, time, speed and perception in architecture has undoubtedly been explored numerous times, in fact almost all ar-chitecture works has in one way or the other ma-nipulated at least one of these aspect. However for this design we wish to manipulate the sense of space, time , speed and perception all in one go via the means of creating an illusion of speed. In that way we would be able to create an archi-tecture with an emotive capacity. For example the feeling of thrill when a person is speeding.

In order to achieve the illusion of speed, we analysed some concepts from physics namely

Einstein theory of speed of light, E=MC2 , as speed increases, visual perception of mass increases in relativity hence giving rise to a phenomena call visual aberration. Visual aberration is the result of increase compactness of light mass in the human eye. Therefore translating that into the physical, we decided to gradually increase the density of the strips as the installation progresses, hence artificially stimulating the human mind to perceive acceleration.

To further enhance the emotive aspect of the de-sign, research into colour psychology was made. “Colour, light, and spatial experience are depen-dent upon each other, and all of them are abso-lutely fundamental to our existence as human beings” In other words, the interplay of colour in architecture is essential in order to create an emotive structure.

In conclusion, by making use of physics andhuman psychology we are able to design a product that has addressed the objectives of this project and created an architectural discourse in an innovative fashion.

L e a r n i n g O u t c o m e s

Objective 1developing “the ability to make a case for proposals”.

Through rigorous discussion we were able to highlight issues of our design that requires more information and research before the presentation. One of the key things that we noted was why is illusion of speed an innovative design direction for the gateway project, and how are we going to achieve this effect. We found that by creating an experiential architecture, we are es-sentially designing a structure that is more than a monument- it serves a purpose, to artificially stimulate the eye to perceive speed differently hence creating a discourse around this project. It serves to act as an installation that would heighten the driver’s senses when entering the city hence creating an “entry statement and arrival experience”.

The next question was how. How are we going to translate a perception into the physical? We found our answer in visual aberration, a phenomena that occurs when we are moving closer to the speed of light. We translated the concept of E=mc2 into our design by increasing the strip density and thickness as the drivers move through the installation, hence creating a sense of acceleration in the space.

During the critique session, Daniel mentioned that we could push the concept of illusion of speed and the idea of time, space, and human perception further by playing with other human senses apart from just the sense of sight. He also talked about the play of colours and how that might affect the human psychology on speed. However due to time constraints, we were only able to further explore into the aspect of colour psychology(Matrix exploration I).

Objective 2developing “an ability to generate a variety of design possibilities for a given situation” by introducing visual programming, algorithmic design and parametric modelling with their intrinsic capacities for extensive design-space exploration;

Prior to this subject, I did not have any experience with Rhino and Grasshopper. My only exposure to digital designing was strictly restricted to 3Ds Max. Throughout the past few weeks I have learnt, and explored the capabilities of Grasshopper and it had allowed me to look at digital designing at a new perspective.

The thing I loved most about Grasshopper was its ability to create a model that has parameters that are easily modified. This allowed me to stretch the design concept further without losing grasp of the original design element. However in the later stages of the project I found myself stuck by the limitation of the software. There were many things that I would have liked to test out to push the concept of the illusion of speed further but due to my limited knowledge of Grasshopper and parametric design, I could not explore into some of those ideas, which would otherwise been very easy to achieve via 3Ds max and physical model making.

Objective 3. developing “skills in various three-dimensional media” and specifically in computational geometry, parametric modelling, analytic diagramming and digital fabrication;

I have always had a great interest in digital fabrication and the idea behind it is fascinating, I used to believe that I could plug in a digital model and the computer would do the rest of the work. However I was wrong. The process of digital fabrication is much more tedious than I had anticipated. There were many steps involved in creating a successful piece of document that is ready for printing. But working with digital fab-rication has allowed me to understand and anal-yse possible construction methodology. It also allowed me to observe the differences between the digital model and physical model, whether the physical model is able to retain the same sense of illusion of speed as the digital model.

Objective 7 develop foundational understandingsof computational geometry, data structures and types of programming

I felt that in this aspect, my lack of fluency in Grasshopper has hindered my development and understanding of computational design. Al-though I am able to adapt grasshopper algorithm from different sources and apply the concepts into my design, I found it extremely difficult to reverse engineer existing precedents. For ex-ample the ICD/ICKE Pavilion, I was only able to achieve the basic geometry of the form however when I tried creating the weaving pattern I found myself creating something really strange and completely different from the intended outlook. Maybe with more time I would be able to work out which components or grasshopper plug-ins will produce a more accurate product. However what I learnt about grasshopper through this exercise allowed me to establish enough algorith-mic vocabulary to expand on the group’s design on illusion of speed. It has also pushed me into looking for more algorithmic solutions apart from those that has been provided on the LMS.

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