VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS - SECOND SKIN PROJECTSEMESTER TWO TWO THOUSAND AND THIRTEEN

MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

MODULE ONE - IDEATION. MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

The purpose of this module was to develop an understanding of the functionality of our chosen material system, while also exploring the idea of personal space and what it means to us. Sommer (1969) discusses several studies which test the way different people react to having their personal space invad-ed. The reactions he discovers were not all that surprising, however one point I did find of interest was his theory that for a person to feel like their space is

being invaded, they would need to perceive the other party as a person. He gives the example of a crowded subway where riders choose to treat others as non persons and resent situations which transform the non persons into persons (such as a sudden stop which causes someone to bump into another).

This concept was the beginning of the idea which would lead to my final design.

MODULE ONE - IDEATION. MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

I chose the system ‘Inflate’ because it looked like a fun and interesting system to explore. I thought it would be a system I could quickly master and then be able to spend more time focussing on the crea-tive side of the design process. Unfortunately the system turned out to be far more complex that I could

ever have imagined.

My introduction to Inflate began with analysing a small inflatable toy. I examined it blown up and in its deflated state. Some important aspects I noticed were the symmetry of parts, and the sturdy seams

joining each piece. There was a main chamber that inflated first, which then once filled allowed air to escape to smaller areas such as the ears and arms. Recreating the kangaroo shape in Rhino wasn’t

easy. Being a first time user of Rhino certainly made it that little bit more challenging, however the initial reading explaining the basics of Rhino helped. I began by calculating the measurements of each piece of the inflatable toy, and using a grid, drawing the different pieces to scale. From there I used the meas-urements and tried to reconstruct the shape in Rhino. In hindsight I should probably have attempted a

simpler shape, however i did find challeging myself was a great way to fast track my learning.

MODULE ONE - IDEATION. MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

My first, (very basic), attempts at using Rhino.

MODULE ONE - IDEATION. MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

I then concluded my study by creating my own small inflatable. I went for a simple spherical shape, focussing on the importance of placement of seams.

I drew several conclusions from my investigations. I would need to consider how I wanted my inflatable to inflate – through more than one cham-ber? If I wanted to create a complex shape I would need to certainly consider this. It was clear to get an even shape I would need to ensure sym-metry of pieces – the air will fill any space available, so if seams are not exact, the form of the shape would be lost.

One of my first inflatable protoypes, with a small piece of profile and section attachedInflating

One of my first inflatable protoypes, with a small piece of profile and section attachedFully Inflated

MODULE ONE - IDEATION. MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

The final part of the Ideation module allowed me to forget about my chosen system for a moment, and let my mind run wild with different ideas for a creation which incorpo-rated the personal space issues identified in the reading. For me, the importance was on capturing the emotional state of a person whose space has been invaded. Interest-

ingly most people won’t physically react, despite their emotional state being affected. My drawings have tried to capture and display these internal feelings.

MODULE TWO - DESIGN. MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

Sam and I formed a group in this module with the primary focus of merging our two systems (Profile and Section, and Inflate), and seeing what sort of effects we could create. We first explored our ideas on what we thought personal space was, and

then did some research on broader definitions of personal space. The consistent element we found was the majority of peo-ple were at their most comfortable when they had a boundary of approximately 1.2 metres around them. When this bounda-ry was violated verious reactions would occur. Some of these were physical (tense, tightening of muscles, move away), but a lot were internal, and involved the persons state of mind becoming agitated and frustrated. We considered a scenario where the boundaries of personal space are tested, such as being on a crowded tram, and decided to use this as a starting point for

our model.

Internet Image, Author and Date unknown Internet Image, Author and date Unknown Internet Image, Author and Date Unknown

MODULE TWO - DESIGN. MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

Sam and I began to look at ways our two systems (profile and section, and inflate) could work together to explore this concept. We had a lot of ideas, but none really merged the two systems well together. The difficulty we were having was in a finding a way they could react together to cause a desirable effect

which still addressed the brief.After some feedback, we took a step back from the systems and instead through a series of sketches cre-ated a form which expressed how we felt the emotions of a person are affected when they are in a busy

and crowded space, and not able to escape.

Actual Reality, Horwood and Curnow 2013 Preferred Reality, Horwood and Curnow 2013 Imagined Personal Space, Horwood and Curnow 2013

MODULE TWO - DESIGN. MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

We proceeded to use Rhino to recreate this form, and then we were able to start focussing on how we could use our systems to interpret this emotion. Initially we had looked at a more literal take on the emotional state of a person feeling anxious about their personal space being invaded, and we used the model we made in 1,2,3D Catch to create a design we thought represented this feeling well. We realise now it was a too literal approach, but nonetheless it gave me valua-

ble pracitice with using Rhino and further enhanced my learning.This point of the design process was when I really began to understand and consolidate my learning from the lectures,

but also from a different subject, ‘Designing Environments’, where we learnt the design process is not linear, and there are many stages of trial and error, and revisiting old ideas before you reach your final design. It was satisfying to be able to

experience this firsthand.

Digitalised form, Horwood and Curnow 2013Abstract Rhino Form, Horwood and Curnow 2013 Initial Sketch Idea

MODULE TWO - DESIGN. MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

Sam and I were keen to explore incorporating a surprise element into our design. We had watched the Thomas Heatherwick TED Talk, and were inspired by his designs, in particular the ‘folding’ bridge. Heath-erwick had managed to turn the ordinary function of a bridge open-ing into an awe inspiring masterpiece. We were obviously still in the early stages of our project, but we were drawn to the idea of having the inflate ‘balloon’ out over Sam’s head, representing his personal

space escaping, and started to think about ways we could make this effect more interesting and surprising.

Thomas Heatherwick Rolling Bridge, Unknown photographer.

MODULE TWO - DESIGN. MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

We learnt a lot from our first protoype. We liked the effect we had created, but it needed a lot more work. It needed to be big-ger, bolder and obviously needed refinement. Our biggest problem was we had not successfully integrated the two systems. We

needed to find a way where we could use the strongest features of each system and merge them together to created our desired effect. We decide to get rid of the cage encomapasing the body, and instead look at a way of using the profile and section part

of the design to hide the inflatable, so the surprise effect would be more visually appealing. We began brainstorming and after throwing a few ideas around I did a quick sketch of a piece of profile and section that was a similar shape to a persons back. This

was the beginning of the next stage of our design.

Deflated, Horwood 2013 The cage, Horwood 2013 First sketch of profile and section mesh idea

MODULE THREE - FABRICATION. MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

We were focussed on having a great surprise effect from our design, and thought if we could craft essentially a backpack to hide the inflate system in before it inflated we could successfully acheive

this. we were happy with how the inflate was working, so our focus was on creating an aesthetically appealing, but functional shape from the profile and section. In hindsight, it probably would have been better if we had looked at the two systems as a whole instead of focussing on each system,

separately. Throughout the design process we continued to run into similar problems relating to the systems not working seamlessly together. Had we realsied this earlier on, we could perhaps have

made the process a lot smoother for ourselves.

Initial sketches of our idea.

MODULE THREE - FABRICATION. MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

The choice of materials was obviously an important part of our pro-cess. We had decided box board was the obvious and most ap-

propriate choice for the profile and section system. With the inflate system we wanted to use a light fabric for the ‘balloon’ such as the table cloth fabric we had been shown by Paul and Bea early in the semester. We thought we should use a stronger fabric to funnel the air through to the ‘balloon’, and as it was going to be hidden by the profile and section anyway we used rubbish bags and gaffa tape.

Merged Prototype, Horwood and Curnow 2013

Box Board Mesh, Horwood 2013Rhino model, Horwood 2013

Deflated Protoype Inflated Prototype

MODULE THREE - FABRICATION. MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

Whilst we were happy with the way the profile and section camoflagued the inflate and assisted with the element of surprise in our design, we were encouraged by our tutor to

explore how we could further merge the two systems. We struggled with doing this as there wsa not an obvious link between the two systems. It wsa clear Inflate would merge much better with ‘panel and fold’, or even ‘skin and bone’. However we had come this far so

we were determined to find a connection, and then by chance we realised there was a lot more movement in the box board from a different angle. We made another protoype and were excited to realised we would be able to expand the box board with an inflatable, and

thus finally find a legitimate way to consolidate the two systems.

Profile and Section flattened Looking at it another way

MODULE THREE - FABRICATION. MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

The fabrication process proved challenging in many ways. It became apparent in this module how important it was to utilise the tech-nology available (rhino) to assist with making our model. Heath et al (2000) really drive home the point that computer aided design is now a vital part of the design process, and Iwamoto (2009) further builds on the importance during the fabrication stage. It is easy to see now why. In previous weeks we had been creating the inflate model by hand, which was not only time consuming but also not particularly accurate. We moved on to developing a template in rhino for the inflatable, which was far more precise. It was during

this stage that I truly developed an understanding about the importance of computer aided design. There had obviously been many readings throughout the semester in regards to exactly this, but until I had experienced it myself, I hadn’t fully understood the rele-

vance.

Spherical Shape, Horwood 2013 Extracting Isocurves, Horwood 2013 Unrolling, Horwood 2013

Digitised Points, Horwood 2013 Digital Surface Reconstruction, Horwood 2013 Digitally Fabricated Model, Horwood 2013

MODULE THREE - FABRICATION. MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

I learnt a lot of tips and techniques useful while using Rhino from my partner Sam who already had a firm grasp on the program, and al-though I had been feeling like I was playing catch up for most of the semester, it was during this module I really felt pushed to my limits.

However, it was also the time I felt like I was consolidating a lot of my knowledge, and felt my confidence grew.

Deflated model, Horwood 2013 Inflated model, Horwood 2013 Deflated model, Horwood 2013 Inflated model, Horwood 2013

MODULE THREE - FABRICATION. MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

Apart from some initial small models we created, we made all of our prototypes to full scale, which was important in testing our ideas. It was during this fabrication stage that we were able to see what aspects of our design were not working, and make changes accordingly.

By this stage we had merged the two systems quite well with the inflate working with the profile and section to create an expanding shape (symbolising the ‘personal space’ trying to escape). However it wasn’t without problems.

Our biggest problem was getting the inflate to expand outward while still expelling hot air upwards into the larger balloon shaped inflatable. We realised early on we would need two inflating pieces, which meant two inflation devices. We had to revisit the designing stage many times

to get this right, but we felt it was important it worked well, as it was crucial to our design.

Front View, Horwood and Curnow 2013 Back View, Horwood and Curnow 2013 Inflating bags Inflatable - inflated, Horwood and Curnow 2013

MODULE THREE - FABRICATION. MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

Deflated Design, Horwood and Curnow 2013 Inflating, Horwood and Curnow 2013 Inflated, Horwood and Curnow, 2013

MODULE FOUR - REFLECTION. MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

Replaced, stronger mesh. Horwood 2013 Deflated model

As per the advice we recieved after our final submission, Sam and I replaced the boxboard mesh with pieces with tighter joints. This stopped the model from splitting from the force of the inflate. We also got rid of the tubes which we

were initially inflating our model with, as they were not particularly functional, nor were they aestetically pleasing.

MODULE FOUR - REFLECTION. MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

Sam modelling our project at the filmed performance

MODULE FOUR - REFLECTION. MICHELLE CURNOW 661589

The entire process of creating a second skin has been incredibly challenging, and as I have said a very steep learning curve. I wasn’t exactly sure what this subject was about, and was expecting to learn how to use some of the various programs which we were going to use throughout the subject. When it became clear this was not

predominantly the focus of the subject I was worried about how I would keep up with the other students, but decided the only way to learn would be to commit myself as much as I could.

The ideation module was terrifying initially, however it was a chance to try something new and also to express myself creatively. Once I was able to see my work against other students it was clear that although I may have being lacking in some of the technical aspects that some of the other presentations had, I could see my ideas were strong, and I was able to express them well. I committed to teaching myself how to use InDesign, and when I look at the first presentation I created to this final presenta-tion, I am thrilled with how far I have come. I took all of the tutors advice on board and have tried to lay out a clear, uncluttered, easy to follow presentation, and I think

this shows through in my work.In Module two there was the added challenge of group work which initially made me nervous, as working with someone else often feels like losing a bit of control. How-ever, it makes sense to collaborate as obviously in the real world I will have to work with other people and learn to balance ideas and accept criticism. Luckily the part-

nership worked really well, and I was able to learn a lot from Sam, as I think he did too. We came up with a lot of great ideas during this time, but often the practicality of these ideas meant they did not come to fruition. This was still an important part of our learning process though, as by discovering what didn’t work we were able to begin

working towards an idea that did.The third module was probably the most challenging for me. Up until this point although I had been working with Sam using Rhino to create our abstract form, and follow-

ing along with him as he made the boxboard mesh, most of my designs had been made freehand. This was the stage where we began to create the inflate in Rhino, and make the template for our design. I think this was probably my weakest point in the process. As much as Sam was teaching me, and I was also following along with the

tutorials and tech sessions, I was still quite slow at using Rhino, which was incredibly frustrating for me, especially when I could see others using it so effortlessly. I think one of the main things I got out of this module was a determination to continue my learning with Rhino, as I know I will eventually get there if I persevere.

The final performance was disappointing for Sam and I, as our model malfunctioned on the day, but I suppose there is a lesson in that too. Clearly you can be as well pre-pared as possible but things can still sometimes go wrong. In hindsight, we probably should have had a back up system to inflate our model. Over all the second skin pro-ject was challenging, frustrating, but ultimately rewarding. Looking back over the work I created and the effort I have put in over these past twelve weeks I can honestly

say I have learnt a lot of skills that can be transferred into other subjects, as well as into every day life.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Heath, A, Heath, D & Jensen, A 2000, 300 years of industrial design : function, form, technique, 1700-2000 Watson-Guptill, New York, Selected Extracts

Heatherwick, T (March 2011) Thomas Heatherwick: Building the Seed Cathedral [Video file] retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/thomas_heatherwick.html

Iwamoto, L 2009, Digital fabrications: architectural and material techniques, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, Selected Extracts

Kolarevic, B, 2003 “Digital Production” in Architecture in the Digital Age - Design and Manufacturing , Spon Press, London, pp30-54

Marble, S 2008 ‘Imagining Risk’ In P Bernstein, P Deamer (eds). Building the Future: Recasting Labor in Architecture/, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, pp 38-42

Rifkin, J 2011 “Distributed Capitalism’ in The third Industrial Revolution Palgrave Macmillan, New York pp107-126

Scheurer, F, Stehling, H 2011, “Lost in Parameter Space?” AD: Architectural Design, vol 81 pp. 70-79

Sommer, R 1969, ‘ Spatial invasion’ in Sommer, R, Personal space : the behavioral basis of design, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J, pp. 26-38