STUDENT NO: 576438 SEMESTER 2/2012 GROUP 3

ULA MOHAMED RASHEED IBRAHIM

Fungi: Aspergillus

Aspergillus is a mold species found in various places around the world. It was named after holy water sprinkler due to the similar shapy by Biologist Pier Antonio Micheli. Some species of Aspergillus is imported for medical and commercial purposes. Some of the asperlligus species are pathogens causing infections in people and ani-mals. Microbial fermentations uses specific species of aspergillus to make alcoholic beverages like Japanese

sake. A type of Aspergillus, Aspergillus niger is used for the pro-duction of native and foreign enzymes, including glu-

cose oxidase and lysozome.

A very excellent visual representation of Aspergillus can be viewed from the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbaWbiFt_Go

The growth traits of Aspergillus was observed to have Thermotolerence which means they are able to thrive at less than or equal to 37 degrees celsius. Their germi-nation & growth efficiency seems to peak at this tem-perature. They also have the ability to sense and utilize nutrients from various sources. This is known as Nutrition-

al versatility. The form of growth adopted by these organisms is known as Radial Growth. This form of growth begins from the centre and expands radially while forming colonies. It has been observed that the species is well adapted for multiple environments with evolutionary branching systems called Lateral and Apical exten-

sions.

Growth mannerisms found in Aspergillus

Interpretations & Formations

The model represents the growth spurs of Aspergillus. I focused on the types of growth present in the species and translated the idea to a literal form using plasticine. The tall structure represents the branching growths Apical & Lateral, with a bulky top depict-ing the radial growth expansion of colonies. The model is finished off with the outer contours representing the rough edges seen on the Conidiospores of the species. I belive, all the aspects of the species is represented by the final plasticine model and has the

potential to be digitized perfectly using the Rhino software.

Apical Growth Lateral Growth

Hyphae Lamp is a design based on vein for-mation of leaves by designer Nervous Sys-tem. This densely interconnected structure is based on the simulation of the fluid move-ment action performed by the plant for food production. It illustrates airyness and versitility.

‘Field of Light’ in the gardens of Holburne Museum by Bruce Munro. It is a good exam-ple of the inspiration of a mycellium struc-ture formation of Aspergillus. This beauti-ful structure illuminates the gardens and has a magical quality associated to it.

‘Enoki Eco City’ is a sustainable model designed for Rome by OFL architectures. This design explores future urban possibilities and is re-garded as a self sufficient structure.

Field of Light Hyphae Lamp Enoki Eco City

Precedents

Reflective Response

Forms and contexts have deep connection to each other. As Ball mentions in ‘Pattern formation in nature’, nature depicts proof of different systems that gives rise to complex minute structures, which makes up the material. When this notion is applied to my project, the background information about the chosen element eminates the initial keys that took to make the model. It was just like how Kandisky explained. The simpler the form the pre-ciseness one can achieve. As I began to carve the outer regions, the depth and contours started to form giving the context, life. The properties of the model started to take shape. I also came across two failed model concepts. The reason for that is because I took the context in a literal sense. The context is a guide and the trick is to abandon the literal form

and focus on the hidden meaning of the context.

Failed Model Concepts

Final Model Perspectives

Design & Digitization

Modelling by tracing profile curves and generating contours

My model was best lofted using the modeling by tracing curves and generating contours method. I first drew three lines and generated the curves along the three lines. Then I lofted the curves to achieve the smooth surface. By doing so, the digi-tized model looked closely related to the original clay model. The natural curves warped around the surfaces, giving it an organic structure. Notice that the curves are closely placed at an equal distance

to give a uniform yet flexible form.

Modelling by tracing cut pieces and lofting

The following is a failed model contrived from modelling by tracing cut pieces and loft-ing method. As it is apparent, the model figure looks very distorted. This method was achieved using cut pieces and tracing the outlines and lofting in a vertical direction.

Process of modelling by tracing profile curves and generating contours

Digitizing

10 by 10 UV

15 by 10 UV

Surface pointsThe surface points determine the pattern creation size and amount. I tested out many number of surface points to see which would fit my model the best. The more the surface

points, the more minute and myriad the pattern becomes. This would be illustrated in the next slide which shows the

2D and 3D forms applied to the surface.I revisited to create surface points quite a number of times during panelling. This was because different panels exhibit different styles depending on the surface point amount.

Patterns

2D & 3D Patterns

There were multiple inbuilt 2D and 3D patterns. I tested out the patterns using various surface points on the digitized model. After multiple tryouts, I went for the 15 by 10 UV sur-face points because it suited my model by giving the right amount of flow to the surface.I tried the following patterns to find out which suited my model the best. Some patterns were pointy and quite edgy, however there were patterns which complimented the structure and the organic form.After trying out the 2D patterns, I moved on to try the 3D patterns which proved to have a much stronger structure. As I carried on with the trying, I found out that most of the 3D patterns were more edgy and pointy. There also was the option of creating custom made panels. I did try this method too but it did not work out well for my model. Hence, I went for a literal 3D structure which consisted of an inner layer with box pattern, an exact larger replica of the inner layer as the outer layer and a rib structure bind-

ing both surfaces to create one strong structure.

2D Triangle Pattern

2D Dense Pattern

2D Wave Pattern

3D Wedge Pattern

3D Pyramid Pattern

2D & 3D Pyramid pattern

Final Digitized Model

The final model is the deliberation of numerous patterns that I experimented. I decided to make a 3D model be-cause the strong structure resembled my original context of the model. The model is divided into three seperate pieces. The inner layer, Rib structure and the outer layer. The outer layer is the larger replica of the inner layer. The ribs connect the inner layer to the outer layer thereby making the whole model firmer and stronger. Also, I did an offset using curve attracters to create the holes in a non-uniformed way on the box pattern. This is is make sure that light travels out during the lighting process. I did the offsetting for both, the inner and the outer surface so that they would have the number and positions of holes

on the surface.

Inner layer Rib structure Outer layer

Perspective view of the complete model

It is true that there are many types of media supports and each of them are unique to the kind of job it performs. As Fleischmann et al. (2012) mentions in the Model Behavoiur: Embedding Physcial Properties in Computational Design Processes, it is very diffcult to bring the exact articulate into the virtual world. . The computerized version shows the spatial articulation and structural system of the input. However, it is easy to manipulate the model in computerized form. The refinement process

is usually done during the digitization process.I faced some challenges during the digitization process of the model. As my struc-ture is not symmetric, problems arose during the pattern tryout. Some of the pat-terns were overlapping each other due to the nature of the pattern. I had to

change some of the surface points to make the patterns fit.

Reflective Response

Final model in complete form

Fabrication

Unrolling:The process of unrolling the digitized model was quite easy. My model had three layers which were unrolled seperately. This is to ensure that no mix ups would be encountered. Fifteen pieces of inner and outer layer were unrolled consucetively. Sixteen pieces of the Rib structure was unrolled. Some of the pieces had to be re alligned due to the natural bends that the curves take. The curves were overlapping each other. I manu-ally zoomed through to find such lines and corrected them. Some of the pieces had to be taken out and placed near the unrolled piece because the overlappings couldn’t be correct-

ed. These pieces were later glued together.

Rib Structure & Inner Layer unrolled pieces

Building the Model

The unrolled pieces were glued together using PVA formulae. The tiny black clips held the pieces together until it dried. Due to the curvy nature of the form, I had to give attention to the alignment so that the structure’s form would not be distrupted. The alignment of every panel was crucial because there was not even one milimetre of error to be made during the pasting. However, human error is inevitable. The inner structure was made from white ivory cardboard. The rib structure was made from

black 300gsm cardboard. The Outer structure was made from alternative colors of black and white in the final model.

Failed Prototypes

These are the two prototypes I made. Prototype A was missing a panel because my original file lacked the piece. Also, I printed the whole model in 200gsm black card-board. This paper was a bit flimsy for my structure and during the lighting process the light was barely coming out due to the whole structure being black. Prototype B had a white inner layer with black ribs and black outer layer. The black cardboard used for the second prototype is 300gsm which proved to be the suitable type. However, I still had problems with aligning due to the reason that there was no room for even the tiniest er-ror on alignment. Hence, I put on the black masking tape to bound the structure tightly. Glueing process became hard during the outer layer. There was no room to hold the tabs together for pasting. I had to hold the structure tightly and hope that they stick together. Most of the times I had to redo it again. This is probably one of the limitations

brought about by a closed structure.

Prototype A Prototype B

The Lighting Process

During the glueing process I tried a bit of lighting testing. It proved to have a really good outcome. It was observed that by using the white card, more light was illuminated through than the black card. This is the reason why I changed the inner layer to white. I also tried putting on an all external white layer, however, the led lights were seen. Then I tried on the alternate colors of black and white as the external shell and it proved to have the best result among the three types. Ample amount of light illuminated

through and the alternate colors gave an egdy look to the structure.

The Final Model

The final model is the culmination of all trial and error procedures that were tested out. As it is apparent, I changed the color settings due to the fact that light testing proved to be much more effective when used in this meth-

od. Also, the alternate color setting gives a touch of style to the lantern. The model consist of a white inner layer with black rib structure and the al-ternate color outer layer. During the process of glueing, I found it really hard to stick together the pieces because of the alignment issue. The outer shell had to be grasped really hard and bound together during pasting to en-sure that the structure is perfectly glued on. Another issue I found was that the white paper was getting smudge prints. The glue, when dried, becomes white so I tried my best to not have them on the surface however there were some here and there. I tried swiping them away with a wet clothe and

it did work to some extent.

The Lantern

The final outcome was not as bad as I hoped. As it is apparent, the different angles of the model pro-duces different lighting effect. I found this quite fascinating. The Model is 37cm tall and sits on top of my right hand. The radius at the bottom end is 7.4 cm which is just barely enough for my hand to go through. Inspite of the advice given to me to close the structure at the top, I decided not to do it due to the fact that the light-ing effect was quite amazing.I believe this can be a really good contemporary deco art piece for

a modern house.

Reflective Response

There are many types of fabrication technologies existing in the world. Each of these types have their flaws and amazing techniques which can be used for constructing the models. Gershenfeld (2005) describes the process of fabrication by the prominent tool laser.According to him, the cheaper the cutting process performed by the laser machine, the more manual work is included. However, high powered laser ‘s work provides utmost precise cuts and less manual work. By having such technologies, the various types of 3D cutting can becomes less time consuming and makes the impossible structures, possible to be made. One of the simplest and easiest method used around world is called equality fabrication which is niether additive or subtractive. An example is the vaccum forming which heats up the sheet and then uses vaccum to form the desired shape. Then there is the 3D printing

which is also called rapid prototype machines which creates 3D objects as a result. My model was sent to the Fablab for laser cutting. I took approximately 1.5hrs to cut out the pieces from the card board by piercing through the score lines. This was the easy part. The hard part was glueing them together to cre-ate the exact replica of the original digitized model. During the glueing process I felt that the piece would come

off because I was holding it so tightly.

Reflective Response

According to Macfarlane, the digital form of an idea has a con-nection to the original idea and helps in the fabrication process. The fabrication process enhances the forms. The idea is tested and developed in a sequential manner. Also, in terms of the digitizing, a specific language arises. This language helps to identify the ‘soft’ or ‘hard’ forms. He also goes on to describe that architecture is something between making a house and its final form. A final form is achieved through an event and may or may not be permanant

given the sustainability of material and time.I came across material realisation during the process of fabrica-tion. I first tried the 200gsm cardboard for my model which proved to be not good enough to hold the structure firmly. The 300gsm cardboard was harder to glue together but the end result was perfect. To bring out a natural curvy form to the surface with box panels was a challenge. The key to execute a perfect curve is to bound the pieces together using masking tape to hold them

tightly until the glue dries.

End Response

This subject opened me up to various new knowledge in the field of computer science and nature. By learn-ing the software Rhinoceros I was able to learn to create models digitally. During the lectures and tutorials, I came across different readings and ideas that seem very interesting. For example, the Fabinocci sequence is simple yet a complex structure that exists within nature. This can be deemed as one of the complexities exisitng in the contemporary world. The teachings also taught me the ideals of perspectives and how to ap-ply them in varying situations. I was pretty amazed to see that there were myriad perspectives and it differs from the context its put into. For example, in a drawing there are many ways one can exhibit perspectives. The subject also taught me to look at nature in a different perspective. I became aware of the forms and types of structures seen in nature. Not only that, the materials that make up nature and the patterns that seem so random can be deduced to have a sequential formation. These formations are seen from organism to organisms as well. By having keen observation, one can achieve to exhibit them in manmade structures.

Architecture is one such field that makes use of this art. I believe I will come across many instances whereby the information I aquired from this subject, applicable. As I am thinking of majoring in landscape architecture, the situation is very likely to encounter such work and knowledge. This subject was definitely an eye opener. I would like to end this chapter with a quote from the

famous Architect Frank Ghery.

“I don’t know why people hire architects and then tell them what to do” ~ Frank Ghery