STUDIO AIRXIAO JING HU

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CONCEPTUALISATIONDESIGN FUTURINGDESIGN COMPUTATIONCOMPOSITION/GENERATIONCONCLUSION LEARNING OUTCOMES APPENDIX

CRITERIA DESIGN

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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CONCEPTULISATION

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Digital fabrication is said to have her-alded in a new age of design and pro-duction. It enables us to imagine, de-sign and build objects and structures that have been deemed impossible in the past, and at a rapid speed and at the higher accuracy than ever before.

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DESIGN FUTURINGDigital fabrication has furthered the design industry by permitting us to de-sign and create structures that would have been deemed impossible in the past, thus allowing for more creative freedom. With the use of 3D modelling and digital fabrication, structures can be built with higher accuracy, shorter time frames, a wider range of mate-rials, more complex designs, less cost and wastage. Digital fabrication has allowed for new and innovative de-signs that take advantage of all these aspects that wouldn’t be possible with conventional construction methods. Buildings such as the 2011 ICD Re-search Pavilion were amongst the first, it was is a temporary display structure built to demonstrate the new capabili-ties of digital fabrication, and the end-less possibilities that digital fabrication brings. On the other hand, buildings such as Celia + Diana’s house by Facit Homes illustrations the use of digital fabrication past novelty of a fabricated façade and that the technology can be used for practical applications such as residential housing.

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Both designs are revolutionary to the industry, but in very different ways. The ICD pavilion demonstrat-ed a high level of technical difficulty with it’s’ use of interlocking trans-forming panels which require a high degree accuracy to ensure the struc-ture, which is a light weight shell structure could be self-supporting without a frame. The Pavilion also shows that with the use of 3D mod-elling programs, the external forc-es which will affect your structure can be calculated and taken into consideration while designing the structure. All the panels on this pa-vilion were designs to push and pull on each other, making it possible to construct out of 6.5mm plywood, something that wouldn’t be possi-ble with conventional construction methods. Even though the pavilion is not a permanent structure as it is a display piece, it does demonstrate to the public the capabilities of digi-tal fabrication.

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On the other side of the spectrum is the modest looking house by Facit homes, for Celia + Diana, this house, unlike the pavilion does not scream digital design, but rather the innovation is in the actual construction method and the actual interior structure of the house. At the time of construction, the Celia + Diana house was the first of its kind. The concept behind this house is taken from

industrial and product design, to create “flat pack” a house which can be constructed by a single person. While other pre-fab houses in the past have been constructed in a factory and bought on site, the Celia + Diana house was constructed using a cnc machine on site. This meant that all the raw materials were shipped to the site with the whole construc-tion process taking place on site.

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Another innovative idea of the Celia + Diana house is that all the components are plywood boxes filled that can all be lift-ed by a single person, this eliminates the use of a crane in the construction process, effectively making it so that with the plans and files, an ordinary people could possibility con-struct their own house in the future without professional tools and machinery. The house also has a zero tolerance, some-thing that would not have been impossible to achieve with traditional construction methods. The house also uses treated newspaper which is pumped into each and every one of the plywood boxes, which is only possible as the structure is made up essentially large interlocking plywood “bricks” instead of a framework structure. This method is construction is very fast, taking only 8 weeks to complete the main shell of the house.

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While the Celia + Diana house isn’t in the pub-lic eye like the Pavilion is because of its modest design, the concept behind it is far more practi-cal for a biggest range of applications. The Celia + Diana house has changed the way we see res-idential construction, what was once a site full of builders, tools and machinery, can be com-pleted by a single person with a portable onsite factory. Unlike the Celia + Diana house, the pa-vilion was a display piece constructed to show people how digital fabrication could change the way we design. It shows the possibility of using unconventional materials as well as the abili-ty to defy traditional construction methods, by creating something that would not have been possible in the past. The array of unique panels that were cut with ease demonstrates that dig-ital fabrication can be used to create bespoke

structures in the future without the need of conventional components.

With these in mind, it’s clear the digital fabrication not only allows designers to be more radical in their thinking, and not limited to the availability of materials and fixings, but it also allows people, outside of the design industry engage with these tech-nologies with can enable them to design and even build their own structures.

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Design computation, a concept driven by the use of technology in design. Some designers believe that computing has limited our design capabilities while others believe it has transformed the way we design. Computing has allowed us to design with speed and accuracy that maybe not have been possible with traditional design. It has allowed us to create pre-cise curves and shapes using algorithms, it also al-lows for easy tweaking of the design through out the design process, but most importantly, it has al-lowed us to calculation and incorporate the effects of the environment on the building such as external forces, and weather.

DESIGN COMPUTATION

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One example of architecture taking advantage of compu-tation is the Endesa Pavilion.. This building takes advantage of computation by using it to generate the “perfect” fa-cades. Computation allows the architects of the project to cal-culate the sun path of the site, then using this information, the design was optimised, this meant that the sun would never enter the building, yet still allow for ventilation and natural lighting. Being able to calculate the environment means that designers can now accurately calculate exactly how the structure will interact with the environment during the design process. Being able to calculate environmental in-teractions make it possible to optimise the building perfor-mance. This concept can be applied to any building to any part of the world, reducing the need for artificial climate control.

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Another way computation has changed the way we de-sign because it has allowed us to achieve high precision ge-ometries displayed by the Tri-folium by AR-MA. The Trifoli-um is constructed using over 3000 unique pieces with a mi-nuscule 1mm tolerance. The construction of the Trifolium relied entirely on computer coding which was used to de-sign and control all aspects of the manufacturing of the curved, thermo-formed mir-ror panels. The curved sur-faces were calculated so that the 42 lights placed on the floor of the pavilion would be reflected up on to the interior of the pavilion and reflected amongst the panels indefi-nitely, giving it the illusion of a starry night.

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This unique use of computation il-lustrates to us that computation and digital fabrication can be used to cal-culate shapes and curves to a high level of precision allowing us to pro-duce artistic and interesting effects, expanding the limits for design.

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GENERATION& COMPOSITION

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Computer generation is a powerful tool when it comes to digital designs. We can image all sorts of design, but to be able to generate a design digitally ensures it can constructed. One example of computer generation is the Chinese National Stadium. The composition of the stadium is understated, it’s composed of an inner red seating ring encased by the nest like outer ring. At first glance, the pat-tern of the building appears to be random but the pattern, which is inspired by “crazed” pottery (which is local to Beijing markets) as well as the randomness of the natural world. This pattern on the outer shell is follows a set of complex rules which allows ArupSport to define the geometry. Computer generation allows for such complex pattern to be gener-ated accurately, using a set of rules that can now be defined by the designer which allows for a limitless range of shapes and patterns, no longer defined by the capabilities of 3D modelling programs. This stadium was the main feature of the Olympics, making it the perfect way to display the capabilities of com-puter generated designs to the rest of the world, it demonstrates that computer gener-ated do have to look generated or repetitive but can also imitate randomness and give the illusion of design unrestricted by algorithms.

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The Seed Cathedral, the UK Pavilion for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo has a very peculiar appearance, often referred to as the Dandelion building. It’s overall composition if a simple cube with rounded corners with an enterance. The unique appearance of this pavilion is achieved through the use of an structural frame pierced by 60,000 optic fibre rods 20mm square section rods containing a seed. Using computer gener-ation has allowed the 60,000 fibres rods to be threaded into the 1 metre thick wooden frame through the use 3D modelling to generate the frame, then the 60,000 holes, then lastly using a CNC machine controlled by the computer, these 60,000 holes can be accurately bored into the frame.

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The outer form of this building is also dynamic with the rods being able to sway in the wind, creat-ing an ever changing façade. The unique façade of this building dif-fers from the usually very geomet-ric or defined curves usually as-sociated with parametric design. The thin fibres extruding out of the frame creates a blurred edge that is not characteristic of com-puter design. Without the use of computer generation, modelling something so repetitive would be time consuming and tedious.

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While the use of computer generation may appear to be limitless, the downfall is that your designs will be limited to your ability to digitally generate them using 3D modelling software. The ability to build your own algorithms limits the designs that can be generated as using only pre-defined algo-rithms will limit the geometries you can create.

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Computation is the future of design, it allows us to de-sign and construct complex geometries, build intricate designs at a rapid speeds as well as using the software itself to aid us in the design process. 3D modelling pro-grams have allowed us to calculate forces and loads into our structures as we design them, permitting us to design things we would have never thought of, like a shell structure with no supporting frame.

The intended approach computation as it allows me to explore the program and its capabilities. Designing with the software will mean that I will not be limited to my imagination but can use the software itself and the geometries it can generate as inspiration.

The significance of designing this way is so that we can take advantage of these technologies and make the most of them buy using them to the fullest potential. To do this, they need to be integrated into the design opposed to an afterthought. Using these technology in creative ways can lead to innovation in not only de-sign but also methods. For instance, the Facit house, took the idea of traditional construction and complete-ly changed it. Not only does innovation benefit us as designers, if benefits the public with designs that are more interactive with the environment. It also benefits the environment as innovation can also be in the field of sustainability, and using digital design to further our research in sustainability.

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CONCLUSION

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LEARNING OUTCOME

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Most examples of parametric modelling and digital fabrication is focused on the façade and ex-terior of the building, using digital fabrication of create a “skin” for the structure. But through these case studies, I have gained insight into the use of 3D modelling and digital fabrication for innovative construction techniques and creating geometries not usually associated with para-metric design and digital fabrication. I want to explore the possibility of using digital design and fabrication to create a design that not only utilizes digital design and fabrication for the façade but also to optimise the structure and minimise environmental impact. 3D modelling could have been used in my past designs to factor in environmental interaction into my designs, such as modelling sun path and such.

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APPENDIX

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REFERENCES

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<http://blog.hiddenharmonies.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/bird-nest-rendered.jpg> [accessed 20 March 2016]

‘Beijing National Stadium, “the Bird”s Nest’’ (Design Build Network) <http://www.designbuild-network.com/projects/national_stadium/> [accessed 20

March 2016]

Breyer, Melissa, ‘Dynamic, Digitally Prefabricated Solar House Takes Two Weeks to Build (video)’ (TreeHugger, 2012) <http://www.treehugger.com/

modular-design/solar-house-endesa-pavilion-rodrigo-rubio.html> [accessed 12 March 2016]

‘Celia & Diana’, Facit Homes (Facit Homes, 2016) <http://facit-homes.com/clients/celia-diana> [accessed 20 March 2016]

Homes, Facit, ‘Celia & Diana - Grand Designs 19th September 2012’ (Vimeo, 2012) <https://vimeo.com/53932758> [accessed 5 March 2016]

Jordana, Sebastian, ‘UK Pavilion for Shanghai World Expo 2010 / Heather-wick Studio’, Archdaily (ArchDaily, 2010) <http://www.archdaily.com/58591/

uk-pavilion-for-shanghai-world-expo-2010-heatherwick-studio> [accessed 18 March 2016]

Morgan, Helen, ‘IAAC’s Stunning Solar-Powered Endesa Pavilion Soaks up the Sun in Barcelona’, 2012 <http://inhabitat.com/barcelonas-so-

lar-house-2-0-pavilion-built-with-modular-photovoltaic-panel-roof/> [ac-cessed 12 March 2016]

Rus, Miguel, ‘ICD/ITKE Research Pavilion 2011’, Germany (I Like Architecture, 2011) <http://www.ilikearchitecture.net/2011/11/icditke-research-pavil-

ion-2011/> [accessed 5 March 2016]

ZAPARTAN, TEODORA, ‘TRIFOLIUM BY AR-MA’, Inspirationist, 2014 <http://inspirationist.net/trifolium-by-ar-ma/> [accessed 12 March 2016]

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