A R C H I T E C T U R ES T U D I O

A I R2 0 1 2 .

NAME: RYAN SEYCHELL (389332)TUTORS: DAVE & JEROME

ARCHITECTURE STUDIO: AIR 2012EOI JOURNAL RYAN SEYCHELL (389332) TUTORS: DAVE & JEROME.

architecture studio: air - eoi

contents page.

ARCHITECTURE AS DISCOURSE: PAGES: 4-9

COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN TECHNIQUES:PAGES: 10-11

KINGS CROSS STATION WESTERN GATEWAY:PAGES: 12-13

RESEARCH PROJECT: CUT - MATRIXPAGE: 14-15

RESEARCH PROJECT CUT - REVERSE ENGINEERING PROJECTPAGES: 16-20:

RESEARCH PROJECT - CUT - FABRICATED MODELPAGES: 21-22

PERSONAL EOI STATEMENT:PAGES: 23-24

REFERENCESPAGES: 25-26

ARCHITECTURAL DISCOURSE PERSONAL PROJECT.

This project was designed in the “Water” Studio Course undertaken at Melbourne University in 2011.

The project focused on creating a new Boat Shed at Studley Park in Kew, Melbourne.

Through the use of architectural techniques and spe-cific materials, the space was designed to not only

blend in with the natural context of the site, but to also create a space that was functional, and held the characteristics of the area while still making a state-ment that would assist in drawing a larger amount of

interest to the area.This project is relevant to the Wyndham City Gateway

project in the way that specific tecniques (in this case, parametric computational techniques) and materials will be needed to make a statement for this site that signi-

fies it’s context (the city of Wyndham) and explore it to create a piece of architecture that can be used as well

as ``respected by the wider community.

ARCHITECTURAL DISCOURSE beijing aquatic centre.

The Beijing National Aquatic Centre, designed by PTW Architects,is one of the most architec-turally interesting water sports venues in the world, with advances in architectural discourse and technological in-novation, allowing the design to come to frui-tion.

The combined use of digital technology and advances in new materials such as ethylene-tetrafluoroethylen has allowed this building to not only become a talking point of the city, but to also be able to abstractly represent the purpose of the building through it’s de-sign. Through the use of these new technologies, the architects were able to turn what is oth-erwise a simple box structure, into an iconic symbol for the city. “The Watercube demon-strates how improvements in technology can affect design in terms of material use and computer software technology employed” (Australian Institute of Architects, 2012).

ARCHITECTURAL DISCOURSE burj khalifa.

The Burj Khalifa building, designed by Skidmore and located in the city of Dubai, and is the world’s tallest structure at 838m tall. The ability for the architects to push the boundaries in both height and exemplary archi-tecture has allowed the tower to become a sig-nificant icon of the technological advances of the 21st century and the city of Dubai.Through the use of digital processes, and ad-vancements in engineering methods, the building has revolutionised the characteristics of the modern skyscraper, in particular through its “Y shaped” form - to combat wind loads as well as the application of “rigorous geometry to the tower that aligned all the common central core, wall, and column elements.” (Haseeb, J, 2011) to allow it to become the architectural marvel that is now a huge drawcard for the city.

COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN TECHNIQUES:frank ghery: olympic fish

One of the major innovations that were presented by contemporary computational design techniques was the design and construction of the “large fish shaped pavilion at the entrance of a retail com-plex on Barcelona’s waterfront”, (Burry, Mark , 2011) known as the “olympic fish” by Frank Gehry. Through the process of digital production during the late 1980’s, the building was able to be constructed without the use of construction drawings. (Burry, Mark , 2011)

Through the digital development of thebuilding, a physical design model was first generated, which was further defined until the wireframe model was extracted and used by structural engineers to develop a frame that supported the de-sign. A physical model was then constructed from the digital represen-tation which was then used to aid construction. (Burry, Mark , 2011)

The process of design and construction through computational design techniques was highly innovative as it was the first time ever astructure was constructed without the need to refer to relevant construction drawings. It was also significant as it created a precedent for further projects by Gehry to be designed and con-structed in the same manner.

Greater efficiency in the construction process of buildings is also attributed to the innovations of computational design tech-niques, with better digital information and coordination allow-ing for a potential 28-40% increase in efficiency. This increase in efficiency is mostly due to the fact that back in the days prior to digital technology, it was necessary for architects to consult with all the necessary technicians such as the structural engi-neer, individually, however through innovations in computational design, architects and the technicians can work together on the one digital model. This is can be seen in Frank Gehry’s projects. (Burry, Mark , 2011)

THIS STRUCTURE HAS BECOME ICONIC DUE TO THE COMPUTATIONAL

DESIGN TECHNIQUES USED.

THE WYNDHAM GATEWAY PROJECT COULD BECOME ICONIC FOR THE

CITY THROUGH THE USE OF COMPUTATIONAL TECHNIQUES TO DEVELOP

AND CONSTRUCT IT. A LARGE AMOUNT OF INTEREST WOULD BE GENER-

ATED IN THE PROJECT FROM THIS TECHNIQUE.

The development of computational design techniques have allowed for the overall shape and form of buildings that are designed to change dramatically. General processes, based on concepts such as topological space, isomorphic surfaces, dynamic systems,

keyshape animation, parametric design and genetic algorithms have allowed unconventional shapes to be developed that were never before achievable in the con-

struction of buildings.

The development of innovations in com-putational design have revolutionised the shipbuilding industry, with draw-ings being almost completely eliminat-ed in favour of “comprehensive three dimensional digital models from design to construction”. The innovation of digital computation on other industries such as cars, airplanes and various other appliances are also evident, with for example, the Boeing 777 becoming the first airplane to be designed com-pletely digitally. Through the use of computing technology, the Boeing 777 was able to “exceed it’s goal of reduc-ing change, error and rework by 50%”. (Cogressional record, 1996). The in-novations that have developed through digital technology in these fields is considered to be high beneficial to the future of architecture, having a great impact of the design and construction of buildings in the field. (Burry, Mark , 2011)

COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN TECHNIQUES:

the evolution:

The Western Gateway Project in London, designed by John McAslan + Partners employed parametric techniques in order to develop a new western concourse at the famed Kings Cross Station. The new striking design of the structure in-cludes “vaulted, semi-circular concourse” which is located to the west of the existing station, capturing the eye from first glance with the dazzling visual af-fect it creates through a vast range of lattice work involving steel and glass materials ultimately creating a centrepiece for the station, with the building’s architectural expression “like some kind of reverse waterfall, a white steel grid that swoops up from the ground and cascades over your head towards 16 pe-rimeter columns in a flurry of 1,200 solid and 1,012 glass triangular panels” (London Evening Standard, 2012) and is considered to be “the greatest station building ever” (The Guardian, 2012)

Through employing parametric design techniques to develop this structure, the architects were able to create a successful piece of interesting architecture. The unique pattern of diamonds curling up in a cyllindrical form and radiating out in a tree like manner to form the roof of the concourse is a very inspiring element that brings vast amounts of light and visual interest to the area of the building. Without the use of inexpensive parametric techniques, John McAslan + Partners this design would have been highly unlikely to have developed into reality due to the “constantly varying sizes of the panels needed to make the double curve would only be possible to calculate on this scale using parametric computer-aided design” (London Evening Standard, 2012)

The decision to use parametric techniques to create this design by archi-tects was also a wise choice, as it allowed the building to be of quite and interesting and iconic design, without being too unsympathetic to the origi-nal context of the site, which in this case, is very heritage oritentated, with the lattice like design allowing for the old bricks and parts of the struc-ture to remain in sight, whilst still being able to create a visually strik-ing design. “The modernisation of the structure carefully considers the character and heritage of the building and a balance between old and new attained. Careful design choices have been used to complement the original features.” (e-architect, 2012).While this is the situation for most of the case, there are still some ele-ments which seem to clash with the heritage facade, in particular the area where the cylindrical section of the structure blocks out the view of the heritage building. This could have been rectified had the cyllindrical sec-tion allowed greater space between itself and the heritage building, how-ever this would ultimately resulted in a differently shaped design.

The use of steel and glass in the project allows for a great contrasting affect, allowing the structure to stand out within the context of the site, without being too overpowering and over the top.

case study:kings cross western gateway.

case study:kings cross western gateway.

cut research project:unfolding.

cut research project:unfolding.

Through the use of the parametric software tool, Grasshopper, some key concepts have been developed to highlight ideas that could be used for the Wyndham Gateway Project and to develop a connection with the

design of the structure and the city.

MATRIX ONE: Maths Functions + Arbitrary PointsThrough the development of this matrix pro-cesses undertaken include alternating the val-ues of the number sliders to achieve different densitys in the design, as well as adjusting the offset values and using the “extrude” option.

These three sets of designs each fo-cused on the idea of consolidation and the idea that the city is a fairly new area and is still establishing itself into something world classs. The concepts also repre-sent the idea of all the suburbs within the council such as Point Cook, Hopper Crossing and Wer-ribee coming togeth-er to form one big community.

Design/selec-tion methods introduced by keylay were consid-ered during the devel-opment pro-cess, with contraints imposed on the process to ensure that only the most inter-esting con-cepts were able to be developed.

PATTERNS + OVERLAP FUNCTIONS.IMAGE SAMPLER + BOOLEAN PATTERNS ARBITRARY POINTS + CURVE ATTRACTOR

cut research project:reverse engineering case study.

spanish pavillion , expo, 2005.

This piece of architecture located at the 2005 Universal Expo in Ja-pan aimed to represent Spain to the world. The lattice designed for the building consists of six different piece and is “based on an orthogonal grid, and encoded with colour”(Foreign Office Architects).

The image above depicts my groups attempt at regenerating the facade of the Spanish Pa-villion through the parametric software tool, Grasshopper, using the HexGrid and offset functions. While this was con-sidered to be simple, issues arose when the hexagons over-lapped eachother rather than fit into eachother, causing some issues, however this was able to be resolved through the attach-ing of the polygon component as an input to the hexgrid com-ponent. Sliders were added as inputs to the offset function in order to change the degree of offset of the shapes. The ex-trude tool was also add a third dimension to the hexagonal lat-tice structure.

cut research project:reverse engineering case study.

spanish pavillion , expo, 2005.

The architectural effect that has been developed through this process has been that of texture, layering, repeti-tion and depth.

as time goes by, there is no saying what may happen to this effect. there is the possibility that it may become dated and looking worse for wear, or there is a possibility that the effect may become an icon - something that becomes quite famous, an effect that other people as-pire to achieve themselves.

fabrication:group fabrication models

- movement - shadows - connections - sunlight - iconic

- movement - cohesiveness - layers - curves - shadows - iconic

personal expression of interest:

Wyndham City councils new gateway for the district will be an innovative piece of architecture that will put Melbourne’s West on the map. The design will highlight Wyndham City’s feat of being the fastest growing municipalty in Victoria and one of the fastest in Australiaand will hold an emphasis on how all these new residents are developing the future of Wyndham into a rich and di-verse city.

It will be necessary for the design to be outstanding in the form that it will in-trgue the thousands of motorists and tourists heading towardsGeelong and the Great Ocean Road and spark a thought in their minds that will leave a postive first impression of the city in their mindsand encourage them to consider explor-ing the district, whether it be for a fu-ture home, or to enjoy the recreational activities the city has to offer.

Richard Williams, ‘Architecture and Visual Culture’, in Exploring Visual Culture : Definitions, Concepts, Contexts, ed. by Matthew Rampley (Edinburgh: Edin-burgh University Press, 2005), pp. 102 - 16.

Yehuda E. Kalay, Architecture’s New Media : Principles, Theories, and Methods of Computer-Aided Design (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2004), pp. 5 - 25;

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

http://www.e-architect.co.uk/london/kings_cross_station.htm accessed March 2012.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2114782/Kings-Cross-station-over-haul-Vest-structure-unveiled-London-railway-station-500m-overhaul.html, accessed March 2012.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/transport/550-million-kings-cross-make-over-unveiled-7565868.html accessed March 2012.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/25/henry-porter-kings-cross-new-concourse

http://www.cusa-dds.net/ARCH842SP2010/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/For-eign-Office-Architects1.pdf

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