ZHU YIStudent No: 579956 Semester 2/2013Virtual Environments Group 11

Module 1: Ideation

Panels & FoldSUBJECT: Coffee Filter

THE COFFEE FILTER

Heath, A., Heath, D., & Jensen, A. (2000) educates design through a historic perception and emphasizes the need to regard design as a process which not only manufactures products but also educates us about how needs, activities, form and use, technique and material all take equal parts in industrial design.

This coffee filter illustrates such an ideal as the design is not modern but its simplicity and elegance in performing its task prevented its elimination through the years.

Panels & FoldMeasurement

MEASURED DRAWINGS RHINO MODELS

PANELLING MECHANISM

MEASURED DRAWINGS

The filter is first measured when it is completely flat to understand its basic dimensions. The filter is then pushed open into it’s functional position and measured by py-thagoras theorem.

RHINO MODEL

The nature of the material results in the unstable ele-ment of the panelling structure. The panels are however always connected along a single axis.

PANELLING MECHANISM

Coffee filters are constructed by gluing them along the punctured areas, joining different panels together. Two identical panels are fixed together at three points to retain it’s shape and at the same time have the flexibility to create a funnel - a small end compared to a large opening.

Scale Model

MODEL

The coffee filter occupies space as a contrast between top and bottom. The scale model replicates that and the simplicity of the filter through Paper, retaining the flimsy and flexible capabilities of the coffee filter. The dark interior reflects the aftermath of coffee filtration and contrasts its exterior shell

IdeationCONTEXT: Personal Space

PERSONAL SPACE

Sommer (1969) describes personal space as an area of comfort which changes depending on the circumstances that surrounds the individual and the personal perception of the individual.

Amy Cuddy (2012) describes powerful people as people who are confident, people who aren’t hesitant to take up space and perhaps in some cases, invade another’s personal space.

THE TURTLE

The shield covers the most ‘vulnerable’ parts of the individual, the front and the back, illustrating the fear of social contact and attempts to distance intruders.

THE PINCER

The desire to step out of the comfort zone - to conquer - to overpower. The user is unafraid and thus the design invades and not protects.

Module 2: Design

HOLLY TEPPERSkin & Bones

ZHU YIPanels & Fold

STARRY KONGSkin & Bones

TORTISEFRILL-NECKED LIZARD PORCUPINE

CollaborationGROUP: Holly Tepper, Starry Kong, Zhu Yi

COLLABORATION

The coming together of two different systems: skin & bones and panel & folds. The systems combined smoothly as the deigns are into one piece.

PRECEDENTS

There is an strong emphasis on the organic feel we want on our design. It is important to feel that the design is part of the individual and moves accordingly. The following creatures display emotions in their respective orders: aggression, warning and protection

DIGITALISATION

The use of a 3D digital mesh of group member Starry allowed us to model our design idea onto her.

The design relates to the key areas of protection: the neck, the back and the chest.

The uneven spike and panel sizes represents the the comfort level at different parts of the body. The larger the panel or spike, the more intimate the individual regards the personal space.

DIGITALISATION

We explored a new direction in expressing personal space by rings of comfort. The larger the ring is, the less uncomfortable the individual is. However the smaller the ring, the larger the discomfort and thus the larger the protection.

Our final design concept drew on the strengths of the previous 2 designs to create a armour which shields the back and front. There is also a collapsible frill, much like the frill-necked lizard which expands its frill when agitated.

FABRICATION TRIAL

We explored the two main systems by building the panelled strcture on a model with plasticine. Paper was also used to test out the flimsy but organic nature of the front panel.

The skin and bone fill structure was built using balsa and paper. The mechanism of the frill like design wasn’t ready at this point.

Module 3: Fabrication

Module 3: Fabrication

FABRICATION

There are 2 main parts of fabrications to be considered

Panels - These panels are created to fill the gaps between the umbrella like claw below. The panelled skin to the frill.

Bone - To facilitate the movement requied, the group studied and dismantled the umbrella’s unlocking mechanism

Key feature of the mechanism include the ‘umbrella ring’ which holds the back panels and controls their movements.

UMBRELLA MECHANISM

The umbrella mechanism is reflected on balsa wood. The panels are temporary filled with plain panels to test out the effects.

Issues include the width of the balsa which restricted movement and also its fragility.

Module 3: Fabrication

RE-DESIGN & UNROLLING

Our new Rhino model was based on the outcomes of the umbrella and the dimensions and calculations were included in this new design.

Unrolling initially proved to be difficult and many of the pieces did not fit as intended. Some of the prototypes shown were substandard and had to be redone.

FINAL PROTOTYPE

The prototype had great qualities but had also great failures.

The panels between the bones were beautiful and fit well into the delicate and organic feature we wished to express.

The weight of the bones were however too heavy for the center piece to support.

The mechanism worked well alone but its movements were greatly reduced when in a group.

There were problems wearing the design due to its fragility

IMPROVEMENTS

To strengthen the structural integrity of the ‘umbrella ring’,8.0mm perspex was used instead of 3.0mm.

Other improvements include adding in a back brace and a arm sling to counteract the weight of the back panels.

Module 3: Fabrication

FINAL PRODUCT

Iwamoto (2009) believes in the freedom brought forth by the techniques introduced by computer modelling and fabrication. He argued for the possibilities brought forth not just by the engineering aspects of project design but the reduction in costs and difficulty.

This project realises this argument through our inexperience. That we were able to, as a team, accomplish and overcome these problems through digital processes illustrates the advancement and power of digital fabrication.

Module 4: Reflection

Through the course of this semster, digital fabrication has opened my eyes to the potential and pitfalls of computerised systems.

Module 1 brought up the rough ideas and conceptions we had about the different systems and forced me to work and measure the systems that were strange and unfamiliar to me. The initial process of measurement was a difficult one being the fact that the coffee filter had a flexible yet extremely simplistic shape. I faced many dilemmas in considering the degree of measurement I should and could conduct - not knowing if the measurement style I established was too simple or far too complex. It was interesting and exciting to ponder about the possibilities and complexity of a great simplistic design and the difficulty in creating such designs.

Module 2 mashed us up with different group members with contrasting systems and different perceptions of personal space and design direction. In more ways than one, the conflicting ideologies about personal space really created an environment necessary to understand what personal space really is - that it is unique and different for each individual. The collaboration was an interesting and enriching process where the design became a reflection of everyone one personally due to the nature of the subject. The module for me was an enjoyable process and I felt that there was I learnt in the short span of time.

Module 3 was a complete nightmare in terms of workload. There was a lot of amibition in our team and I’m proud that we tried hard to create a design that admittedly at times felt way out of our league. Ultimately the fabrication processes and decisions had a greater emphasis on engineering solutions rather than design solutions, which were often second in line. The project however turned out to be, for me personally, quite beautiful and while the functionality of the project could be improved on, I felt that we learnt a lot just from the mistakes we made along the way.

Ultimately he subject of personal space is an ambiguous one and the subtlety of differences between each individual’s perception had brought out not-so-subtle differences in the designs we’ve seen. It’s fascinating how very similar ideas, many largely revolving around armoured shells, had evolved into distinct and unique projects in the final weeks. The transition from the rough simple ideas from the first few weeks had been both accelerated and yet remarkable in moulding our ideas into actual form. Through the process, there were many risks we took that could really have crippled our progress. While our ambition and hardwork did somehow push us through, there really was a lot to be learnt about the difficulty of creating simplified and organic or natural solutions. I’ve set my mind on being a future achitect and I felt that the digital techniques and especially the design challengers i’ve faced along the way would go far in helping me achieve my goals in the future.

REFERENCE LIST

Authors

Heath, A., Heath, D., & Jensen, A. (2000). 300 years of industrial design : function, form, technique, 1700-2000 / Adrian Heath, Ditte Heath, Aage Lund Jensen.

New York : Watson-Guptill, 2000.

Sommer, R. (1969). Personal space : the behavioral basis of design / Robert Sommer. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall, c1969.

Scheurer, F. and Stehling, H. _2011_: Lost in Parameter Space? IAD: Architectural Design, Wiley, 81 _4_, July, pp. 70-79

Architecture in the Digital Age - Design and Manufacturing /Branko Kolarevic. Spon Press, London, c2003

Digital fabrications: architectural and material techniques / Lisa Iwamoto. New York : Princeton Architectural Press, c2009.

Cuddy, A., 2012. Amy Cuddy: Your body language shapes who you are. viewed 3 March 2013 http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are.html

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