S T U D I O : A I RALISTAIR JOHNSON [390031]

JOURNAL 2012

[4 5 6] - week one - 1 x personal project - 2 x state of the art projects

[7 8] - week two - computational design

[9 10] - week three - scripting cultures

[11 12] - week four - research project : CUT [13 26] - Expression of Interst document

Brief Precedents Matrix Form Making Materials Ecology Visual Perception

[27] - Conclusions [28] - Learning Outcomes

C O N T E N T S

A C A S E F O R I N N O V A T I O N

“ARCHITECTURE AS A DISCOURSE”

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P E R S O N A L P R O J E C T - A D S 2

This is my personal project from the Ar-chitecture Design Studio: Water in 2011. The task was to recreate a ‘boathouse’ and restaurant building on the bank of the Yarra river in Melbourne in the style of a well known ‘master’ of architec-ture. I studied the architectural style of Richard Meier and attempted to recreate - but not copy- a building of his design influence. The architecture here does not excel the discourse of architecture in re-gard to the most contemporary design,

Designed by A. Johnsonin the style of R. Meier

It does however make an interesting point in regard to the advances of computational drafting. The building style here is mostly of modernist influence with pilotis and strip windows, drawing from the Modernist move-ment in the early to mid 1900’s. It is not a new fact to anyone, but the fact that I could design and draft up a somewhat comprehen-sive design in a matter of weeks using com-puter aided drafting and design is evidence of how fast the discourse around architec-ture is has changed and continues to change.

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S T A T E O F T H E A R T N O . 1

One of the most admired works of contemporary architecture, the building has been hailed as a "signal mo-ment in the architectural culture", because it represents "one of those rare moments when critics, academics,

and the general public were all completely united about something." - Matt Tyrnauer

The Guggenheim - for me - was a building that changed my perception of what architecture was capable of. I remember being shown a video of Frank Gehry con-cieved some of his prelininary designs though car-board models. The video also showed how his build-ings were eventually developed into finished designs using computer modelling and much more techno-logical processes. The Guggenheim, clad in titanium panels is a perfect example of how computer model-ling and organic freeform archietcture can change the standard architecture is percieved to have. I imagine this building would be seen by most people as the most contemporary piece of architecture they know.

GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM, Bilbao, Spain - Frank Gehry

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S T A T E O F T H E A R T N O . 2BEIJING NATIONAL AQUATICS CENTRE, Beijing - TTW Architects

Comprising a steel space frame, it is the largest ETFE clad structure in the world with over 100,000 m² of ETFE pillows that are only 0.2 mm in total thickness. The ETFE cladding allows more light and heat pen-etration than traditional glass, resulting in a 30% decrease in energy costs. EFTE is Ethylene tetrafluo-roethylene, a fluorine based plastic, that is designed to have high corrosion resistance and strength. It is architects like TTW who are experimenting with these new materials and getting the results, push-ing the discourse around contemporary design.

The National Aquatics Centre in Beijing was designed spe-cifically for the 2008 olympics. It was a project taken on by TTW architects of Australia, whos design was chosen from a pool of 10 proposals. The Ar-chitects, from Sydney, had the main responsibility of design-ing the bubble like exterior cladding which is supposed to tie in with the theme of water. The bubbles are made from ETFE plastic, where each piece is specifically made to size and stretched over the steel frame.

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C O M P U T A T I O N A L D E S I G N N O . 1Michael Hansmeyer Computational Design

This project continues the exploration of a procedural approach to generating form. Rather than work with sur-faces as in the subdivision experiments, this project uses volumetric cells - voxels - as its basic geometry.

These voxels contain data that can interact with data of proximate voxels according to pre-established sets of rules. By iteratively conducting these interactions, data can be propagated through the voxel space. Eventu-ally this data can be visualized, either as individual elements, or as a hull surrounding elements with specific values.

Michael Hansmeyer is an architect and programmer who explores the use of algorithms and computation to generate architectural form. He is currently based in the CAAD group at ETH’s architecture department in Zurich. The below form is generated by a process quite different to parametric design which can yeild much more erradicate but also interesting designs. It is called Voxel-based geometry.

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C O M P U T A T I O N A L D E S I G N N O . 2Hong Kong Street Furniture Design by Rocker- Lange Architects

This prooposed street furniture design’s concept is based on the idea that a changing surface will accomodate for every person. Using parametric design this seat changes its geometry continuously. Instead of offering only one single static design, this scheme suggests multiple varying solutions that meet specific fitness criteria. The project “Urban Adapter” is based on a digital parametric model. At its core the model utilizes explicit site information and program-matic data to react and interact with its environment. That way the model’s DNA structure is capable of producing a variety of unique furniture results.

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S C R I P T I N G C U L T U R E S

“For centuries architects have been inspired by nature's forms and geometries. Their designs have been influenced by her structures, by her proportions, colors, patterns, and textures. Architects have incorporated these influences in what has been primarily an empirical process.

It is only in the past decades that much of the underlying logic, mathematics and chemisty of nature's forms has been better understood. In the late 1960's, the biologist Aristid Lindenmayer proposed a string-rewriting algorithm which can model simplified plants and their growth pro-

cesses with an astounding ease. This theory is now known as L-Systems.” -

Michael Hansyer 2003

SCRIPTING CULTURES

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L - S Y S T E M S by Michael Hansmeyer

L-Systems are very interesting in their construction and I person-ally find the idea intriguing. The possiblility that plant growth pro-cesses can be modeled into architectual forms is very exciting as this could be seen as a form of organic architecture. Michael Hansmeyer has experimented with L-system designs, and intergrated them into parametric systems so they can respond to changing conditions. I hope to incorporate some of these ideas into the coming project. L-systems could potentially be used as a purely aesthetic aspect of design or it has been said that they could possibly form structual systems as well.

SCRIPTING CULTURES

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R E S E A R C H : C U T matrix

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After exploring various combinations in grasshopper the decision was made to not develop an idea directly from the matrix, but rather look at voronoi pat-terning, such as the design of Airspace Tokyo which was then chosen as the main precent for the gateway instal-lation. The matrix was still a useful task as definitions such as the attrac-tor point and extrusion will be imple-mented during the forthcoming ex-perimentation with voronoi patterning

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E X P R E S S I O N O F I N T E R E S T

- Primarily the use of a voronoi structure which would be used to frame and fragment views and create interesting optical sensations to motorists passing by

- To bring the landscape into our design, rather than the more typical approach of incorporating the design into the landscape, which would be achieved through the use of plants growing through the structure, using it as a trellis for support

- The idea behind this came from the use of the Wyndham City motto, which is "City, Coast, Country". The area obviously wishes to be seen as the ideal combination of city and country so we decided to incorporate this into our design, having the city represented by the contemporary design approach and materials used and the country represented by the plants growing through out the structure

-The plants would also contribute to a more dynamic structure as it will continue to evolve and grow over time, representing the natural growth of the area.

D e s i g n I n t e n t

- To promote the city by creating a compelling installation of a gateway structure

- Prolong the welcoming experience for motorists travelling at a high speed

- Provide a gateway structure that is incorporated into the immediate and surrounding landscape

- Use of contemporary technology and voronoi structure to alter the per ception of the motorists

A i m s - as drawn from the brief

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E X P R E S S I O N O F I N T E R E S T

Airspace Tokyo was chosen as the main precedent for our Gateway Design project as it demonstrates the blending between the artificial and the natural environments in its layered façade. The façade of Airspace Tokyo aims to artificially mimic the abun-dant greenery that was once there. They opted for the voronoi patterning, which imitates the trees’ foliage, and layered it, so it functionally works as a screen that provides a sense of privacy for the occupants. Hence, the façade is not only decorative, yet it is also functional. The façade is made out of two layers of laser-cut 3mm thick aluminium and plastic composite, which are separated from one another by a 150mm air gap. Respecting the surrounding environment, as well as embracing the existing natural landscape, are two very important aspects of the developments of Wyndham City and its gateway. Keeping these is-

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C A S E S T U D I E S : P R E C E D E N T Airspace Tokyo - Thom Faulders & Studio M/Hajime Masubuchi

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A D D I T I O N A L C A S E S T U D I E S

The High Line in New York is a landscaping design project headed by Landscape Architect James Corner. The Park is situated on top of a disused freight railway line which sits above the busy streets of Manhattan’s West Side. We have chosen this design as a precedent for the Western Gateway Design Project as it has many applicable factors to our design. The land-scape design incorporates a water feature and walking paths along the park and we would like to explore similar ideas for our installation into site ‘B’ as it is located directly adjacent to large service station which has rest areas which could be utilized by a landscaping/water feature as a part of our proposed design. The High Line park is located above city streets which relate to Gateway project as the site is also surrounded by the highway, and these are essen-tially very similar. This precent will be influential in that it explores ecology and the ideas as-sociated with natural environments in an intensely busy and automotive orientated location.

The Green Wall encompasses the idea of meshing and combining an architectural structure with nature and ecology - and this theory is what we would like to incorporate into our Gateway Design. The Drew School in California has an excellent example of a green wall designed by French contemporary artist/botanist Patrick Blanc. All of the green walls that Blanc designs use the same or very similar technol-ogy to create the amazing floral scenes; his plants are specifically chosen for their ability to grow without soil and therefore sit in a specifically designed felt mesh that receives water and nutrients several times a day. This combined with sunlight and a supply of carbon dioxide results in the living walls flourishing in urban environments. Our proposed design for the Western Gateway Design Project will have a strong emphasis on ecology and the surrounding natural environment. We hope to not only integrate the de-sign into the landscape but to bring the landscape into our design by using some of Blanc’s ideas.

Green Wall - Patrick Blanc

The High Line - James Corner

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M A T R I X & R E V E R S E E N G I N E E R I N G

Attractor Point

Attractor Point Plan

Voronoi on Curved Surfaces

Voronoi on Curved Surface

Voronoi on Planar Surface

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Voronoi and Attractor Point

-The matrix research task was useful in that it allowed us to explore tech-niques which could help us further de-velop our voronoi structure. As we had chosen our precedent of the Airspace Tokyo, we focused on reverse engi-neering the voronio structure rather than using the examples provided to us

-One technique which we will pos-sibly incorporate into our structure is the use of an attractor point, which will allow us to focus views by creating more or less dense voronoi cells within the structure

-we also experimented with projecting voronoi onto flat and also single and double curved surfaces, which created new hurdles in the fabrication process.

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F O R M M A K I N G

The above images repesent two sets of a larger sequence of eight snap-shots, which represents cars travelling on the freeway to and from Wynd-ham. The three cars have different speeds, one travelling at 60km/h, the other two at 100 km/h. The point where the cars meet defines the starting point form of our structure. After the cars converge they begin to move away from eacho-ther, the cars will then act as vectors to extrude the form out as illustrated in the images below. The idea behind this elongation and stretching of form is to

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F O R M M A K I N G

Here, the two lines that have been formed are overlayed. Later on in the develop-ment of the structural form these lines will create the backbone of the structure

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F O R M P R E C E D E N TVoussoir Cloud - IWAMOTOSCOTT

Iwamotoscotts’ voussoir cloud; this structure works in compression with a series of five columns that have smaller modules towards the base. The design draws from the work of Frei Otto and Anotonio Gaudi who used hanging chain models to find efficient form. As meyvin will discuss next (or before?) we have explored the computational hang-ing chain models, which allow us to experiment with the combination of the voronoi system for a support mecha-nism. With experimenting with the hanging chain model we are looking into the voronoi itself being self-supported, without the need for beams. The model on the right shows the form adjusted in phase two from meyvins ‘s’ dia-grams. It basically shows where we want our structure to be situated on the site and drives from the example of the voussoir cloud in using a series of columns that will be made from voronoi, using the hanging chain model

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M A T E R I A L S

The De young museum in san Francisco by Herzog de Meuron

As we propose to include a trellis of growing vegetation across parts of the voronoi it would be essential to include some sort of capillary device to channel rainwater to specific points in the ground which can be reused to water and promote the growth of the plant. Iwamotoscotts jelly fish house above, includes a water filtration system whereby the water is fil-tered through cavities in the skin. The Tokyo air space façade also chan-nels the water via capillary action as well as the NEX times eureka pavilion We will be exploring with a copper

composite material that will meet structure stability and will demon-strate natural weathering enhanc-ing the notion of a reflection of the environment, as in the above image. A capillary device will be included through the voronoi to enable to growth of the trellis vegetation

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E C O L O G Y A N D V E G E T A T I O N

-Using the green wall as in-spiration we plan to use the structure of the voronoi as a trellis for plant growth. Over time the plants, which will be vines, will grow into the structure from points that are in contact with the ground

-This will link the structure with the natural environ-ment and create the dy-namic form we would like to achieve. As the plants grow they will mimic the growth of the city of Wyndham.

The Gro-wall is a sytem which can be pur-chased as a kit. The stystem shows how the proposed system could possibly work

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The image here is a representations of the plant growth over time. The first im-age may represent the structure initially after completion and then move through time, up to maybe 5 years of growth in the fourth image. This continual evolution of the struc-ture will add to it’s dynamic nature whilst representing the growth of the area of Wyndham

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V I S U A L P E R C E P T I O N O F D E S I G N

- The use of light passing through our structure, and the shadows that it will produce is a key idea for our design. By mimicking the overlapping voronoi structure of Airspace Tokyo we want should be able to achieve some stun ning shadows and light filtration.

- As the sun moves across the sky it will have an impact on the shadows patterns produced, creating a constantly changing environment, as seen in the images above.

- The idea is to create a structure which creates a unique visual experience as you pass through it. By using the concept of light filtration coupled with the vegetation growth we hope to somewhat replicate the sensation of driving down a country road, where the light flickers through the trees, creating a dazzling but quite relaxing and pleasant sensation

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Above: Attractor point used to fragment view Left: Shadow effects created by overlayed voronoi structureFar Left: How movement of sun translates into changing shadows

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C O N C L U S I O N S

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

From looking at the chosen design precedents, and the possible parametric modelling outcomes it can be seen that a huge amount of interesting and highly specific design work can be achieved. The Wyndham City council has set out specifc guidelines which will be analysed and incorporated into our design, as well as the historical and cultural background of the area. The design will attempt to integrate many aspects of the area and promote it using interesting design approaches which will visually and spatially appeal to motorists

Image: a proposed hypothetical form the structure may eventuate into

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L E A R N I N G O U T C O M E S1. I have been able to extract key considerations from a real-life brief document, and implement them into a tangiable design approach and form, while also drawing from case studies

2. I have been able to learn a form of parametric design and the advantages it can offer

3. Been exposed to 3-dimensional modelling programs Rhino and Grasshopper which have been crucial in the development of a design

4. I have learned and discussed discourses surrounding contempory design approaches, especially with regard to computational design and parametric modelling

5. Being pushed into digital fabrication, which I may not have used otherwise, has been a personal advantage to my studies