Project 3 Thought Process Documentation

 Last week, I alluded to taking Project 3 to generate the framework for an algorithm or methodology in order to produce a variety of diagram that permits the user, whether architect, architecture student, or otherwise, to obtain a physical embodiment of the forces active on the site.  I know that the format of this post is counter or unorthodox to the theoretical requirements, however this past week I have been enlisted as a human render-farm for a variety of thesis projects, inhibiting my ability to gain a working understanding of Grasshopper.  Instead, this is a documented system of my thought process, including the points of departure and sources of influence that have generated this thesis.  So, the concept is to harness the site forces to influence, or suggest a generative list of jumping-off points for design.  Shown above is the site that I have spent this semester designing on.  It is located in Baltimore, MD on the campus of the Maryland Institute College of Art, MICA for short.  In beginning to take site inventory of the players and shakers that make this location unique, it should first be understood that in addition to merely documenting what is there, I feel this generative process should take into account the importance or historical significance of these found conditions.

 For example, one of the most interesting characteristics on the site is the river that runs through it.  You may say, 'so there's a river,' but it goes deeper.  The Jones Falls River provided power for the steel mill industry of Baltimore, essentially acting as the generative source of the City itself; and this new design can interact with this amenity.  Additional site forces which I'll simply list for brevity's sake include: North Ave, a three-lane, bidirectional East-West highway connecting Route 1 to West Baltimore, North Howard Street, which extends from Camden Yards through to Towson, light rail lines, the CSX freight rail line, bounding the site to the West, three existing buildings, service roads, existing vegetation, unique arching on the underside of the North Ave bridge, the Northwestern wind that influenced the layout of the old grid of Baltimore...and on top of this the 'ground' floor exists on two separate levels, the river basin, and the man-made City level 25 feet above it.

 My initial thought process would be to overlay the site with a rectangular form that could be divided into strips.  These strips would then be influenced by force lines which would themselves be dictated by these found conditions.  On top of this, a value system would be enforced, giving hierarchical response in the shape to the more influential forces.  Multiple iterations of this cause and effect system could be analyzed, perhaps incorporating a slide bar to visualize the deformations created when one, two, or more forces assume a dominant role, in relation to others that become subversive or passive in the dialogue.

 The following diagram set portrays an example of what this could look like.  This series is part of a tutorial on diagram story-boarding by Alex Hogrefe -

This set uses pedestrian movement patterns as a parameter for the iterative process.  Different permutations of end conditions seem to be influenced by other forces on the site.  The resulting form however seems to be generated as a byproduct of splitting a lofted geometry.  In the first diagram(s), the splines are seemingly defined by the solids and voids found on the site.  The resulting form reminds me of the process I had used in Project 2 when digitally diagramming the relationship between the General Lee and the camera's movement.  The model represents a physical manifestation of the blend tool found in Adobe Illustrator.

The second set by Hogrefe further relays this observation -

Compared side to side to my Project 2 model -

 

I would like to take this process one step further.  Rather than depicting the site forces with a series of static models, I would want to generate a manipulative surface that shares the same concept, but can be deformed by translating site forces or adjusting their influence through the Grasshopper derived digital model space.  These deformations could then be visualized within the Rhino program, or exported as an animation, and when viewed simultaneously, may give rise to interstitial iterations that spark ideas for design form  I am definitely open to other techniques to document the forces at work, but this is where my thought process has evolved for now.

Final Recombitant Sequence Model

The final recombitant sequence model exists as an resultant intersection of the studies of 2A and 2B.  The sequence itself has been broken up into eight constituent sub-sequences, each of which map the camera's relationship to the General Lee.  Although there are 25 camera takes in this opening sequence, these eight are unique in the fact that they exhibit the widest range of centripetal force between the car and the surface it is traveling along.  The repetitious lofts give substance to the rate at which the different cameras in the scene move in relation to the position of the car.  Their thickness is derived from the distance between the camera and the right or left side of the car respectively.  These sub-sequence models have then been mapped along the original model which materialized the spline lines of the camera and car through the scene.

Vigorous Environments

At this point in the post, I have only gotten to the second page of text, where the concept of Vigorous Environment is being broken down into its constituent parts of vigour, environment, and the inherent ecology at play.  It seems to me that the idea of adaptation is playing heavily into the innovative threads of modern day architecture movements, and as a result, the precedent focus is shifting back to nature.  As an interesting side note, the topic of bio-mimicry is well documented on TED [ted.com], including many inspiring lectures that give foreshadowing into methods by which adaptations in nature are making appearances in technology and even building design.  For example, the whale shark has a pattern of ridges on its skin which serve 1) as protection, but also actively reduce its drag as it is moving through the water.  Think of Studio Gang's office tower in Chicago.

This is that very same technology adapted to the skin in between the floors.  The undulating form responds to the wind loads in the Windy City, and similarly reduces the impact of the wind on the building by up to 20%.  Doing so allowed for the upper floors of the tower to be utilized for office space as the skin compensates for the traditional method of including an wind damper.  Garth Rockcastle once said, "Everyday I watch the Discovery Channel, and there's always some weird animal that has some kind of weird adaptation to suit its environment."

Recombitant Sequence Physical Model

Recombinant Sequence

This model is derived as the physical condition generated through the analysis of the camera's location in relation to the right and left side of the General Lee within the confines of a selected camera sequence.  The undulations of the surface are influenced by the original parametric surface from project 2a and a new surface condition that maps the adjacency of the camera through the scene.  The uneven spacing of the individual curves serves as indication of the intensity of the camera's movement.

Digital form of physical model

General Lee Animation

 

This study is a diagrammatic breakdown of the relationship between the camera and the car within the construct of the first scene of the Dukes of Hazzard.  Simplifying the constituents of the procedural sequence allows for a concise examination of the bare bones of the scene's morphology.  The next step will be to reconstruct these brief moments into a linear sequence to examine the camera's relation to the overall line.

Project 1c

Compositional Surfaces

NEW MATRIX IMAGES

 MATRIX PATTERN

Marc Angelil :: Inchoate

INCHOATE AN EXPERIMENT IN ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION

In the reading, Marc Angelil introduces the term Inchoate, meaning underdeveloped, into a dialogue discussing the prescribed implications of the teaching of architecture.  He categorizes the present approach as an architectural strategy of 'domination' based on three premises; a visual preoccupation of an aesthetic appearance, the non-collective "notion of the architect as the sole agent of the work," and the fixation on the 'money shot.'  To this, Angelil proposes a shift in the focus from the external condition to the internal constructs.  Architecture should not be based on precedents, but rather on the constructs and processes outside of its prescribed realm.  

[Sound familiar?  This is the same proposal as SHoP Architect's principle of Versioning and Alejandro Zaera-Polo's argument in Roller Coaster Construction.  It's like they are all reading each other's theories and reinterpreting them as their own.  It is interesting to note that all of these authors share the same foundation that architectural form need not stem from precedent architecture form, but it seems they abandon that logic when it comes to developing architectural theory.]

By the new model, architecture involves "a deployment of means rather than conceiving design in terms of predetermined ends," in other words, experimentation rather than action based on 'established certainties.'  This method operates on insecure ground because the end product and the processes to achieve it are unknown at the onset of design.  However, as a result, the design process is strengthened by intuitive decisions rather than sole operation on known truths.

SHoP Architects :: Versioning

VERSIONING: Evolutionary Techniques in Architecture

The opening paragraph of the article has many parallels to the previous article titled Roller Coaster Construction.  In said reading, Alejandro Zaera-Polo makes the argument that architectural design no longer needs to be based strictly on the re-interpretation of existing works, but could expand to local constructs and processes.  Similarly, SHoP Architects is proposing the design concept of Versioning, which permits "architects to think or practice across multiple disciplines, freely borrowing tactics from film, food, finance, fashion, economics, and politics for use in design."  The resulting architecture stems from the conditions of its context rather than from the architects' prescribed 'style.'  Although some semblance of style will inherently be evident, the driving force of design is left open to the found unique qualities of the site and of the dominant culture.  Manipulation of type is replaced by parametric configuration of particular design criterion.  As a result, the consequential design is far more adaptable to change in construction and cultural constructs.  Versioning thusly challenges the notion of blob architecture for blob architecture's sake, calling out the 'aesthetic object' as solely an image, and therefore no more suited to its condition than its Cartesian predecessors.  Instead, form and function should be consubstantial and part of the same formal expression.

Office dA [NADAAA INC.]
Tongxian Arts Center Project

Roller Coaster Construction by Alejandro Zaera-Polo

Alejandro Zaera-Polo makes the argument that design no longer needs to be the reproduction or re-working of something done in the past.  It is more beneficial to design through processes, which inherently imbue a much greater depth and sophistication, than through instantaneous 'design ideas.'  The reading focuses on the architectural firm Foreign Office Architects' competition proposal and subsequent construction of the Yokohoma Port Terminal in Japan.  Zaera-Polo goes on to argue that it is essential to make use of the latest technologies in the construction process and anticipate a certain level of 'play' in the implementation.  Rather than reinventing the wheel, it is of greater benefit to combine existing knowledge of processes and techniques, and mesh them with local constructs [in this case origami and shipbuilding], thus developing an accumulated experience.

The reading dives into many of the design decisions that had to be considered along the way, particularly in response to variables and inherent traits of the numerous construction systems employed.  The chosen design method looked to find the most regular form of construction for each individual member, thus anticipating the probability of change and allowing it to be absorbed into the decision making process.  Towards the end of the article, Zaera-Polo comments on a specific discourse with the contractors of the project, who were taken aback by the fact that the system did not have to maintain a strict precision, but could rather adapt to the conditions of the field, to which one correlated the design solution to roller coaster construction.

Key takeaways from the reading:

>There is an inherent connection or 'hyphen' between the architect's chosen forms of representation, albeit scale models, digital graphics, animation, etc and the interpreted built form that comes of it.

>The key to architecture is on defining the depth to which a project will be understood.

>A building's symbolism is a complex dimension derived from each individual's opinion, culture, background, and interpretation of its depth.

>Architecture is a manifestation of a formal order that reflects the depth of our human condition.

>The phenomenon of the visual dimension permits one to participate in culture form a prescribed 'distance.'  It is this personable, variable separation that generates the notion of 'space,' which is the raw material that the architect manipulates to bring about experience.

>Experience does not always coincide with vision.

>The eye is an active participant in the dialogue of space and its interpretation.

>Geometric order identifies with human action and in brought to a new level through drawing.

Definitions to words that I didn't know were words:

Gnoseology: The philosophy of knowledge and the human faculties for learning

Extromission: Not permitting entry  [Antonym of Intromission: The act or process of introduction or admission]


Eurythmy: Harmony of proportion in architecture  OR  A system of rhythmical body movements performed to a recitation of verse or prose

Quadrivium: The higher division of the seven liberal arts in the Middle Ages, composed of geometry, astronomy, arithmetic, and music

Sublunar: Of this world, earthly 


Supralunar: Beyond the moon  OR  Not of this world  OR  Very lofty

 

Chevy Nova Bumper Matrix: Organic Complexity from Simplicity

The matrix assignment proved to be a useful vehicle to experiment with the transform functions in Rhino.  The object in the center left is the original.  It is the front of the bumper of the Chevy Nova.  Starting at it and moving to the right and downward represents one complete set of transformations.  The two rows at the top are individual studies.  The first analyzes the distortion of the original form through initially offsetting the geometry to a solid and then stretching and bending each resulting iteration of the form.

The second set builds upon the horizontal striations inherent in the bumper's geometry.  A vertical array is created with an uneven spacing and then sheared.  Several iterations of the taper command were then applied to extract the framework, resulting in an almost ribbon or cloth-like effect.

The final set, which includes the greatest amount of successive iterations, began as a simple one-dimensional scaling function.  Twist, extrude along a curve, edge extrusions, and duplication led to the final form.  At the end of the set the final object has been sectioned into three pieces, allowing for a perspective into the innerworkings of the model.  I found it interesting how each successive study progressed towards an organic form that, if you squint your eyes, could pass as a living organism.

All modeling was done in Rhino.

3ds Max & Photoshop were used for the renderings.



proj1a_images

Here is my first take on the Chevy Nova model.  The form is generated through the use of the spline curve, loft, and extrude tools.  One issue I encountered when outlining the form of the car was being able to close the curve to complete the surface geometry.  As a result, I had less control over manipulating the surfaces.  Can anyone tell me how to remedy this?

Project 1a - Reading Assignment - February 5th

Anthony Vidler begins the chapter analyzing the constituent parts of Death Cube K; a counter postmodern bar whose formal elements evoke the mannerisms of the architecture firm Morphosis.  Vidler describes the visitor’s experience as a scene “drawn directly from the recent past of 1980’s architecture, . . . a literal evocation of ‘Metamorphosis.’”  One such project that comes to mind is the firm’s 1998 design of the Tsunami Restaurant and Bar in Las Vegas. 

 A series of themed folded planes generate the spatial sequences of the two story promenade creating a didactic experience “locating the authentic within a radically synthetic place.”  Vidler goes on to describe the foundations of the deconstructionist movement as an intense desire to liberate space from the “hermetically sealed” conformism of the bankrupt bar building typology of postmodernism.  This new movement of breaking conventions literally manifests itself as a breaking out of the box, embracing architectural forms of fractured geometries, opened solids, intersecting planes, and the questioning of the perpendicular to ground members of the accepted, expedient style.  Morphosis takes the familiar entity of the wall, and cants it creating “a polemic quality, self-consciously posed against the ‘right angle’ of modernity, the horizontality and verticality announced by the Maison Domino prototype.”  Designing with fractured geometry opens up the capacity for new interpretations of architecture.  No longer restricted by conventional constructs, precedents including history, memory, nostalgia, desire, and innovation can be personified through the built form.

Chevy Nova

Lynn Reading Assignment Analysis

It seems Lynn is quick to discredit the conventional practices or "Cartesianism" in architecture in favor of the meta - ball | blob model "composed of disparate components put into a complex relation."  It is clear to see that the latter is the architectural movement in which his interest lies.  However, I feel it is shallow of his argument to come to the presumption that the two need to be mutually exclusive.  I feel that in architecture, the morphological and the conventional [the blob and the orthogonal], shouldn't be categorized as contradictions.  Instead architects should examine their capacity for symbiosis.  For example, in Morphosis' unbuilt competition entry for the adaptive reuse of the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building, Thom Mayne proposed a series of syntactic insertions to be married to the found condition.  If constructed, the result would produce an enhanced interaction with the otherwise traditional - style building permitting visitors to experience the architecture in ways formerly not possible.