ABPL30048ARCHITECTURE DESIGNSTUDIO 3: AIRJOURNALBOON KWAN TUNG

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Kartal Pendik Masterplan, Istanbul, Turkey, 2006, by Zaha Hadid.

CONTENTSPA

RT PRELIMINARY EXPLORATION1.1 Introduction1.2 Personal Project 1.3 Architectural Discourse1.4 Computing in Architecture1.5 Parametric Modelling

1

PART 1PRELIMINARY EXPLORATION

1.1 INTRODUCTION

My name is Boon Kwan Tung. In the past at a tender age I sketch buildings and structure, either on paper by pencil or on any surface by chalk. I sometimes designed in detail of each building element whenever anything comes out in my mind. Early sketches are shown here. Architecture is my passion and my creations emerged out of my conscious mind, either gradually or suddenly, in a relaxed frame of mind, not driven by force. This is when my journey begins.

My first encounter with digital architecture is when I was undertaking Virtual Environments. This is the time when I had the opportunity with 3D-modelling using Google Sketch-Up. At that time I was a great challenge and difficulty, having to manipulate shapes and putting design into computing with limited knowledge of modeling tools and its functions.

During the course, I had been using digital modeling to design complex geometry structures that was worn as a unique headgear, known as Head Space Project.

Instead of focusing on effects of nature such as motion, dynamics, pattern and texture like anyone else did, my design concept was purely based on chaotic effect of the human psychological mind through dreams, which can only be imagined rather than seeing it. Dreams are part of the complexity of the human brain and one of the scientific marvels. This is what makes my design unique.

This model is first moulded as modeling clay which is translated into a digital model. This digital model is then fabricated in the Fabricating Lab provided using paper and then worn on the head.

In this subject, students are taught to think architecture as a different approach. Architecture of buildings and structures are not merely designed by conventional drafting on paper, but also designed by manipulating geometries to a greater height that could not be achieved by standard drawing. This has exposed students to various possibilities of designing using a myriad of media, techniques and strategies. This is what I consider as an architectural discourse.

MY PERSONAL PROJECT

1.2 PERSONALPROJECT

1.3 ARCHITECTURALDISCOURSE

I was inspired by projects such as the Southern California Beach House designed by Richard Meier. Again a different approach towards design is applied. This building is an epitome of an International Style design, part of the Modernist movement, which has a façade being stripped off its ornamentation, this is a stark contrast to historical buildings such as Renaissance style buildings and Gothic churches, in which the architecture is treated as a sculpted art. This is because modernity is seen as celebrating the achievement of science and technology, represented in art and design. Besides that, the spatial experience of the building has led to a change in perception of many modern architects today. Its usage of curtain walls has minimizes the threshold and visual link between interior and exterior, creating a diffusion for natural light and vision between the two spatial entities, which alters the function of walls as merely an enclosure. Unlike other modern buildings, Richard Meier has a formal system of building design which uses white façade with subtractive openings and full-height windows, when modern architectural design is seen as consisting of basic geometries with punched-hole windows.

BUILT PROJECT

Building: Southern California Beach HouseArchitect: Richard MeierLocation: Pacific Coast HighwayYear: 2001

Building: Sagrada FamiliaArchitect: Antonio GaudiLocation: Barcelona, SpainYear: 1882 (expected to be completed in 2022)

The Sagrada Familia is a finest example of a project which uses computation in the building design. This design uses a unique architectural discourse which uses the top-down approach instead of the bottom-up approach. The bottom-up approach is the standard design approach in architecture starting from basic building tools while the top-down approach is using computation to create a system to solve a problem. Before the advent of computerisation of building models in the late 18th century, the design of the church is solely based on physical models and manual drafting, while manual carving is used for sculpting the exterior and interior facade during the actual construction. Many years after the Spanish Civil War which destroyed most of the physical models and drafting docu-ments, computer-aided modelling was implemented for the design of the church, which makes fabrication of building materials and sculptures at unprecedented speed. This in turn attributed to the rapid construction, which initially took several hundreds of years to complete. Computer-aided design allows designers to fabricate repititive elements without any arithmetical mistakes, inconsistencies and errors caused by humans. In addition to by Antonio Gaudi’s sand bag overhang¬ing model as an inspiration to the church’s ceiling design, currently the design of the church’s spires, westwerk, nave, statues and altars are appertaining to the math¬ematical parametric model by computers.

The Sagrada Familia is a finest example of a project which uses computation in the building design. This design uses a unique architectural discourse which uses the top-down approach instead of the bottom-up approach. The bottom-up approach is the standard design approach in architecture starting from basic building tools while the top-down approach is using computation to create a system to solve a problem. Before the advent of computerisation of building models in the late 18th century, the design of the church is solely based on physical models and manual drafting, while manual carving is used for sculpting the exterior and interior facade during the actual construction. Many years after the Spanish Civil War which destroyed most of the physical models and drafting docu-ments, computer-aided modelling was implemented for the design of the church, which makes fabrication of building materials and sculptures at unprecedented speed. This in turn attributed to the rapid construction, which initially took several hundreds of years to complete. Computer-aided design allows designers to fabricate repititive elements without any arithmetical mistakes, inconsistencies and errors caused by humans. In addition to by Antonio Gaudi’s sand bag overhang¬ing model as an inspiration to the church’s ceiling design, currently the design of the church’s spires, westwerk, nave, statues and altars are appertaining to the math¬ematical parametric model by computers.

1.4COMPUTING INARCHITECTURE

Many designers require the ability of designing things creatively. Designers also possess the ability to have critical thinking and analyzing problems systematically. However, people tend to feel bored due to repetitive processes. Besides that, they are vulnerable to making mistakes when encountering with complicated prob-lems. Generally speaking, computers tend to perform tasks quickly. Computers are able to execute processes accurately and eliminating all these problems by superseding hand-drawn drafts such as architectural draw-ings, modeling and arithmetic in parametricism in design. Computers are able to correlate parametric func-tions and sculptural modeling accurately without any mistakes. In addition, computers are able to translate human mind mapping in cyberspace, which they can represent graphically and numerically. However, the lack of creativity and intuition and rely solely based on rationality are the downside of computers. It will make a good design satisfying all constraints and achieve our design goals if we are able to integrate the abilities of computers with outstanding rational qualities; and humans with creative and intuitive qualities.

In the architectural scope, computers are used to speed up the drafting and construction process. The mass production of fabricated construction materials makes building faster.With the advent of computer-aided drafting (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), architects are able to devise complex geometries that are difficult to construct. Architects begin to construct complex build-ings consist of non-Euclidean geometries. Such examples include shapes like Torus, Mobius strip, Klein bottle and ameobic blobs. Due to this high complexity, computers are able to map concept models of buildings better compared to the conventional 2-dimensional drafting that has a better visual realm, which people can sense the spatial experience, texture and overall geometry.

New technologies such as this, opens up new possibilities of designing methods and ways of construction. To illustrate, digital computing enables new design methods such as “Architectural Curvilinearity” which is coined by Greg Lynn. He offers new approaches to architectural design as a continuous textile surface that acts as a fluid, which is characterized by folding. One example of continuous folding is the Guggenheim Museum by prominent architect Frank Gehry, which is impossible to be constructed without digital manufacturing of tita-nium due to the complexity of folding.

Building: Guggenheim Museum Architect: Frank GehryLocation: Bilbao, SpainYear: 1997

Another example is the NatWest Media Centre, Lord’s Cricket Ground, which is blob geom-etry with double curves. This particular building utilizes digital technology used in the shipping industry from concept design to material fabrication, this can be done by dividing the ele-ments of the structure through segments which then assembled into an integrated structure as shown in the image below.

Digital architecture allows architects to have continuous experimentation in terms of dynamism of geometries, in contrast to traditional architecture which is follows a certain architectural style and proportions, which restricts creativity.

Unique innovations arising from digital computing in architecture has led to a new architec-tural discourse. This is a great milestone in architectural design as these buildings could not be visualized using paper drafting and could not easily fabricated into these shapes using ap-propriate materials. Selecting materials are useful as well to facilitate fabrication.

Building: NatWest Media CentreArchitect: Future SystemsLocation: Lord’s Cricket Ground, London, UKYear: 1999

This design of a residential dwelling is based on a non-Euclidean geometry. Non-Euclidean geometries are geometries that adhere to all first four postulates but are not based on the fifth postulate of “parallelism”, in which stresses that two lines are parallel and non-intersecting. The application of non-Euclidean geometries in architecture has challenged traditional architectural design which uses Euclidean geometries such as the pyramid, cube, prism, sphere and cylinder. Klein bottle is a funnel-like geometry whereby the internal wall of the geometry is connected to the exterior wall continuously without any stopping edge and the path along the surface can go infinity. In this residential house, there is no specific separation or boundary between interior and exterior façade, creating a visual illusion for viewers. Again, this cannot be represented in two-dimen-sional paper drafting as it is very hard to visualize the overall layout and spatial functions with non-Euclidean geometry. The dimensions of this building allow interplay of living spaces in an interesting way, engaging with spatial human experience, unlike monotonous plain walls. The computational design does not just look good on the outside but on the inside. This design enables construction using a wide range of materials, however, digital fabrication speeds up the process of building construction, compared to sketching and cutting the dimensions of the building elements individually which is time consuming. This building experiments the light diffusion and light intake in every room with the different ceiling heights pertaining to the unique geometry. However, the house does not blend with the surrounding natural landscape. This particular building also does not reflect the unique characteristics of the Klein bottle of infinity pathway, despite the basic dimensions.

Building: Klein Bottle HouseArchitect: McBride Charles RyanLocation: Ryan, Mornington Peninsula, Victo-ria, AustraliaYear: 2008

This design of a residential dwelling is based on a non-Euclidean geometry. Non-Euclidean geometries are geometries that adhere to all first four postulates but are not based on the fifth postulate of “parallelism”, in which stresses that two lines are parallel and non-intersecting. The application of non-Euclidean geometries in architecture has challenged traditional architectural design which uses Euclidean geometries such as the pyramid, cube, prism, sphere and cylinder. Klein bottle is a funnel-like geometry whereby the internal wall of the geometry is connected to the exterior wall continuously without any stopping edge and the path along the surface can go infinity. In this residential house, there is no specific separation or boundary between interior and exterior façade, creating a visual illusion for viewers. Again, this cannot be represented in two-dimen-sional paper drafting as it is very hard to visualize the overall layout and spatial functions with non-Euclidean geometry. The dimensions of this building allow interplay of living spaces in an interesting way, engaging with spatial human experience, unlike monotonous plain walls. The computational design does not just look good on the outside but on the inside. This design enables construction using a wide range of materials, however, digital fabrication speeds up the process of building construction, compared to sketching and cutting the dimensions of the building elements individually which is time consuming. This building experiments the light diffusion and light intake in every room with the different ceiling heights pertaining to the unique geometry. However, the house does not blend with the surrounding natural landscape. This particular building also does not reflect the unique characteristics of the Klein bottle of infinity pathway, despite the basic dimensions.

1.5PARAMETRICMODELLING

Parametric modeling in architecture clearly separates computerization and compu-tation. Parametric modeling involves mainly on computing. Computerization is used in drafting computer programs such as AutoCAD are automated hand-drawn tools and are used by architects to speed-up design process. Computation programs such as Rhino and Grasshopper involves a system designed by people to perform functions and tasks such as algorithm, scripting and programming. Computation is less tedious than computerization because every element in a system to deter-mined by a programming language. It allows a user to erase an element that is not dependent on each other. Besides that, it can automatically alter all elements when the user resets a certain programming rule or language, in contrast to com-puterization when the user has to change every element manually when one of the elements is altered to adapt to the new design.

Mark Burry, wrote in an article “Scripting Cultures: Architectural Design and Pro-gramming”, believes that scripting is imperative in architectural design because this can reduce human error and repetitive work. Learning the codes and functions is not that important but deconstructing the problem to represent it in code is quintes-sential to satisfy the design intent. Furthermore, architecture and programming is interdependent, where “symbiosis operates between designers and coders”.

Project: Kartal Pendik MasterplanArchitect: Zaha HadidLocation: Istanbul, TurkeyYear: 2006

However, there is a disadvantage of parametric modeling. In response to computing in architecture, a designer has to understand the relationship and parameters in order to establish a programming language, in which to represent these relationships in an intellectual scope. This makes parametric modeling really challenging. Up until today in contemporary architectural design, parametric design is only used for form, skin-deep and superficial structures, in which parametric design lack functions and spatial programmes, an imperative aspect in architectural design. Many projects designed in parametric modeling today are not related with the urban context. Many critics often assume that designing in a logical function and decoding the programming rules chal-lenges the free form and freere ways of thinking among designers.

As a whole, parametricism in architectural design makes the project look good at a cut-ting edge because of the shift in scientific and computer technology, and architecture has its way to progress itself. Parametric is relevant in today’s society because in a rapid growing environment, we need materials that can design fabricate, and construct faster, also sustainable in the long run. The results produced through parametric design is far more astonishing and unprecedented compared to early modernist design some 50 years ago as technology at that time could not fabricate conventional materials into geometries that are organic and non-Euclidean.

Parametric modeling can be exemplified by this one which is the L’Oreal Office Build-ing, in Stockholm. This design is parametric because the elements are based on a specific programming rule, which could not be created in a short time by normal com-putational drafting. The design of the façade, which uses concrete panels, applies the biomimicry approach to design by emulating the natural organic form of adhesive liq-uid or perhaps cobwebs, while the inner glass façade applies the cell pattern concept, which is also based on biomimicry. The natural organic shapes represent the natural beauty which reflects this cosmetic company’s products. These two facades could be done by a parametric program via overlaying. The design has an advantage of be-ing structurally intact while keeping the concrete panel design slender and stretching through multi-storey level, thus maximizing the diffusion of light between the interior and exterior. The façade enables the light from inside the building to illuminate the building in the evening and therefore, lighting at the outside is not required. It is visu-ally interesting because the view of the multi-level living space of the building from outside can be framed by the lines and holes. Materials in organic form are could not be able to fabricate through instructions from the computers, without parametric model-ing. However, this building does not engage with the urban context and has no relation-ship with the adjacent building, forming an aesthetic discontinuity. The design is difficult to fabricate and construct as the concrete panels are large and heavy, and therefore transporting the material is an issue.

Building: L’Oreal OfficeArchitect: IAMZ Design Studio Location: Stockholm, SwedenYear: 2012.

This building completed in 2010 has a cutting edge design because it provides a sense of illusion that the building façade made of thin material and fluid in texture. It was designed like a liquid taking the effect of the force of the wind blowing into it. It also represents the building as a natural form. Aside from that, the building also gives an illusion that the building is shifting and wobbling, which adds up points on visual aesthetics. This residential skyscraper adapts to the urban context of glass skyscrapers in the midst of the concrete jungle of Manhattan. Its 3D interface of the wall engages with the interior spatial functions. This building can be perceived as a brand new landmark in New York City. This also at-tracts house buyers to purchase the property in the residential units because of the visual aesthetics of parametric design. The building design is indeed impossible to achieve without parametric design because with parametric software, the undulating ‘waves’ on the façade of the building can be shifted or altered at any direction without changing every building element such as the dimensions of the walls, beams, windows, concrete slab and floor area. The waves would not be aesthetically appealing when the building is designed using nor-mal 3D modeling software. This design contributes to the overall architectural discourse of a building design as a natural, organic form or any possible shapes that anyone could ever imagine and not just flat concrete walls. On the other hand, the design makes it difficult and expensive to fabricate as it is hard to source for materials that are easy to bend into two directions. Flexible materials such as titanium are very expensive.

Building: 8 Spruce Street (New York by Gehry)Architect: Frank GehryLocation: New YorkYear: 2010