model progress

These images show some areas of the model that I have questions about. The render is simply a conceptual image suggesting the formal archetype that I imagined the system arriving at. The model in the image was constructed in the absence of the paper system, but not without adhering to the behavior of said system.


Building images:





This image (and the two below it) show the changes in landscape elevation and topography that occur on the site. As of now, there are simple cardboard sheets and columnar elements supporting the paper model. In the future, this topography could be more accurately modeled out of wood or , ideally, the paper system.






Building detail images:



small cavities which emerge as a result of the braiding are being utilized and activated as spaces. There is no paper below this emergent space. I was thinking that the floor would be achieved as the system horizontally arrays itself beneath the building as landscape eventually.



simple wrapping techniques begin to create spaces, this one here being a partial circulation corridor.



The system curves and doubles back on itself, creating large spaces like the incomplete cafeteria seen here.





Concept render:

braiding, etc.

BRAIDS:

The concept of spatial braiding was discussed on Monday. I believe it could be a very fruitful investigation. By aligning spaces according to a particular design agenda, the act of braiding the spaces together to form an arrangement could produce very interesting results. Even looking at the idea of circulation braids could be productive in terms of generating a spatial model. By braiding together all of the lines needed to diagram the circulation throughout the kindergarten in a drawing, and then positioning spaces around the circulation patterns associated with them, a logical 3D arrangement of spaces results.

These images show some of the spatial possibilities inherent in braiding exercises. All of these studies were conducted with 3 strands of rope, all of equal thicknesses.










DIAGRAM:

This diagram shows how regulating lines can be used to abstract core geometries within the braid. The gray oblique shapes show the spaces produced. The thickness of the rope was considered to be the innards of the space in question. By understanding densities, one can begin to position the circulation (dark gray, perhaps) within the spaces (light gray, perhaps).







LANDSCAPE:

The modules that were redesigned have been assembled into the first workings of the landscape. The system will function in a series of layers like the natural models from the SEM investigations, and will have the same structural assembly in terms of load distribution and connections. The sample renderings in the next post to come (which were produced in an attempt to help myself become familiar with the Maxwell rendering program) show how the building could grow out of the landscape. The units are all similar, but not congruent. The scaling and skewing of the parts allows for various spatial effects that will be productive int he final building. Their self-similarity allows for a smooth transition out of the landscape and into the structure.

These images show a sample of the assembly within the regularly-arrayed portions of the landscape.

SEM findings

I spent some more time in the SEM lab looking at some fossils I bought on the internet. The Trilobyte was an early arthropod that lived during the Middle Cambrian period in our Earth's history, roughly 570,000,000 years ago. The Horseshoe crab is an arthropod from the Phanerozoic period (just after the Cambrian period) that, after 300,000,000 years, is still in existence today.I wanted to see if the structural systems of prehistoric arthropods were similar to the modern day arthropods I've been researching. To determine this, I looked at sections of Trilobyte fossils and the shell of a modern era horseshoe crab in hopes of finding similarities to my current image collection.



The results were fascinating.

The horseshoe crab information will be shared Monday. The Trilobyte fossils showed an eerily evident similarity to the current specimens in terms of structural assembly. The layered assembly is most evident. The reticulating lattice argument is more speculative, but there is certainly strong evidence to suggest that the structural assembly of prehistoric arthropods was nearly identical to the assemblies today.

And now, the images:


Trilobyte "A":








The first sample had some good examples of the layered assembly. Though it is still rather speculative, the fact that these are not images of a rock but rather an animals fossilized shell leads me to believe in the legitimacy of this argument. The same assembly exists. Perhaps the most important thing to consider about the first specimen is that the layers occur in the same regular pattern and at the same scale as the layers in the modern day specimens Ive looked at. This might not be mere coincidence.




Trilobyte "B":







The second specimen showed fossilized forms strikingly similar to the ones in my current natural models. The layered assembly can still be clearly seen, but the striated lattice remnants are what pop out the most. Compare the first image in the "Trilobyte 'B' "section images to the below images of the crab specimens I've already looked at. Pay particular attention to the center of the mentioned Trilobyte image, as it shows a fragmented section of a layer with clearly defined and fossilized vertical structural members.The sections show similar assemblies.


fiddler crab images:

Project Adjustment

I've adjusted my kindergarten's modules, floor plans, pedagogical philosophy, daily routine, spatial taxonomy, and source material slightly. This newer stuff learns more from the successes and failures from the semester so far. We'll see on Monday. Here are a couple of samples of the new developments.

3D material model v.2

Here is the current state of the 3D material model in Rhino.

material modeling

I modeled a section of my material in Rhino. In doing so, I will be able to manipulate the members and modules to examine new connection possibilities. I'm thinking at this point that the school will be constructed out of the material I have engineered.

Rather than having a module with changing typologies and morphologies, I want to keep the module the same. The field can be printed in large quantities satisfying an economy of means. It is within the connections and spaces created that typologies will begin to emerge. The connection typologies and spatial typologies generated through varying assembly logics will have the most emphasis placed on them, not the behavior of each module.

The flange width of each module can be changed through a script. I intend to keep this process and its products as they have proven beneficial in design. Porous and nonporous spaces are important in my design concept.

The heights of spaces and the locations of raised and lowered areas are determined by the program overlaps and "height field" procedure in Rhino. Some design intervention occurs in certain areas where my own desires shape the space.

In short, all of the aspects of the building have been taken care of in this first phase of propositions. The SEM-related module, the assembly system, program areas, circulation, height, and volumetric configuration have all been approached logically and are ready for critique.

I've also been experimenting with the V-Ray rendering program in preperation for Media class next semester. Here is my first ever rendering of the material I modeled in Rhino.









more to come.

height field 2

I apologize for the scattered posts on a topic that I'm not even sure I should be exploring past this point. The image here gives a more readable lay of the "extruded" space that results from the height field process. I put the word "extruded" in quotes because again, this is not merely extrusion, it is more intentional and programmed with specific information based on my spatial desires.

images:





above: the floor plan with grayscale information I have added. the gray tones indicate the program overlaps; denser gray = higher frequency of program occurring in an area

below: the density is translated into the envelope I desire

height field edit

The image in the previous post did not load correctly, here's a better one.

Again, this is not merely extrusion, but a 3D shape generator impregnated with specific plan information.

Height Field

I've been experimenting with the generation of "height fields" in Rhino. This is not merely 3d extrusion of plan data, it is the creation of 3d envelopes according to instruction sets given in the form of floorplans. The gray tones in the plan drawings show the programmatic organizations within spaces (this diagram shows the 5 classrooms and the music/arts room). Each layer of program receives a grayscale value of "10" (out of 100) and the overlapping program conditions result in deeper gray tones (x+10). The more program that takes place in a given area, the loftier a space could become. This is of course a generalization at this point. The result is not a plan extrusion, it is the creation of a 3d envelope based on a floor plan impregnated with program-specific information that requires an architectural response.

Robert Gordon, Vice President and General Manager of Hitachi, came to Pratt today to view the work produced by the studio thus far. The meeting gave the class an opportunity to display the SEM-related work to Mr. Gordon and to demonstrate the machine's potential when applied to an architectural scenario. The work provides a new perspective for Hitachi, who has this particular model at several other schools throughout the country including Duke and Cornell. The applications so far have all been in the material engineering and microbial science realms. We (Pratt Institute) are the first school of architecture to use the machine in an architectural study.

Here are some images of the spread from today (only a small sample from the total body of work)

paper system v.1

This paper assembly was the first iteration from the midterm. It is obviously littered with problems regarding typological shift and massive scale change. I've been revisiting this lately, and have been questioning the need for massive scale change and typological changes. The system is flexible and can perform in a variety of ways. Its methods of enclosing space, ventilating space, and providing partitions and spatial definition. I found a grad student project on the 5th floor that looks almost identical to this model...

site model v.1

This was an early iteration of the site model. The next version, at the final, will consist of laser-scored line information revealing the assembly logic and building characteristics. Effectively, there would be 156 sections that one could draw understanding from.