More scripting and collaborating

Collaboration and trading with other group members

Interior view of tunnel

Scripting on scratch

After talking to other group members i have shared and traded objects with my other group members to finish my buildings with different parts and scripts from everyone that i thought would be suitable for my design and idea. My design is to utlizing spaces for maximum efficiency but one that also has multi-uses and functions.

Trading and collaboration

Floor paneling

Startings of building

Form of building

Form 2

After trading and collaborating with some of my group members on second life I have made a building that is an entrance area similar to the Niaux cave entrance designed my Massimiliano Fuksas. It is integrating the Klein bottle idea of how buildings have no boundaries and are built for more than one purpose. This entrance will lead to different stories that are combined to create a space that will accommodate many different people with different needs and purposes. I have decided on a few of my clients occupying the spaces. One will have a passion for music and the other for sports and recreation.

My matrix sheet - NIAUX CAVE ENTRANCE

My matrix sheet is about a entrance building to the Niaux Cave in France designed by the architect Massimiliano Fuksas.

The original idea was of a great imaginary animal coming out of the cave, and opening its wings.

The sculpture is built of a metal known as Corten steel. Also known as Cor-Ten steel, this material is a group of steel alloys which were developed to obviate the need for painting, and form a stable rust-like appearance if exposed to the weather for several years. The high opening of this structure echoes the entrance of the cave. This achievement is strongly influenced by the famous painter Giorgio de Chiroco met by Mr. Fuksas in his studio in Rome during his youth.

More info about the building can be found here: http://www.donsmaps.com/niauxart.html

3DS Max Sculpties in Second Life

Today i was working on 3DS Max experimenting with different forms and how i could manipulate a sphere to make a seat like shape where people could sit or rest on every-side of the shape. This would be a public walkway area where people could relax and socialize. A place of 'gathering'.

Gathering Week 6 - Second Life

Today we had a lecture outside in the lecture courtyard!
It was very interesting and we were given 3 more readings and a handout which outlined what we were doing for the mid-semester crit.

My group which is group 4 is working on 2nd life and creating sculpties in 3ds max which would be then imported into 2nd life and put onto a prim. The idea behind our sculpties is that they should be reactive architecture - smart buildings that react to the environment.

Reactive Architecture:

I found this piece of reactive architecture to be quite interesting because of the different types of movements and flows.

Peer Crit reviews

After an exhausting few days I have finished my project for sustenance.
I felt the crit went pretty well and that i explained my ideas quite clearly.

For the peer crit reviews i reviewed Madeline, Marina, and Sally.

Shipping containers

Madeline's project was about the idea of shipping containers and occupying space. It was a public area that was designed in 3 levels that had a shower, sauna and bathing area. I liked the idea of using old shipping containers as the structure because they are plentiful and not very widely used. The bulges and contours were dynamic (especially the idea of how when the space is unoccupied the blocks go inwards and when occupied go outwards).

Picnic Area

Marina's sustenance was intially through the idea of parents and how they look after us. This then branched off into the idea of a picnic area and specific dining areas where people could dine together or seperately. I found the form of the building quite interesting and the fragmentation of particular parts in the design. The idea of putting this picnic area inbetween an apartment building creates 'chaos' in this normally ordered environment.

Morphing Greenhouse

Sally's idea of sustenance was the idea of soil and sunlight and how we need sunlight to grow just like trees and plants. In her building she created many different moving panels that could be activated by typing specific commands. I like the idea of how the roof moves off the sides to create almost an floating umbrella.

Final Design - Sustenance

• Stop Motion Animation Finished!!

I am in the final stages of my design. The concepts started from the two words i focused mainly on which were "technology" and "Contemporary". Technology was my idea of sustenance and a way of sustaining and keeping us alive everyday. I wanted a design that would be Contemporary and also very technological so i decided to integrate the interior as exterior as a whole in a sense where technology is morphing together with nature and the outer atmosphere. Inside the building there is digital touch screens which can be activated by the user. The 3 levels can also be moved electronically to orientate to different directions e.g Sun angles etc.

Final 2 Pages

Now time to start on the matrix!

Sustenance - More Stop motion

The stop motion video shows my site which is near the Nokia building. The stop motion represents how instead of talking to others we will just text other people using mobile phones and connect with them through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. We are now upon a digital era dominated by computers and technology. This made me think of how technology is somewhat similar to nature and that of tree branches and roots - it is always expanding and growing.The idea of spreading knowledge digitally through a sort of contemporary digital library design came to mind so i am in the process of designing this.

My idea behind my architectural structure i am trying to create is a place of digital communication / digital library that will bring people together from all over the world. It will be a building where it will incorporate moving parts and have a contemporary and futuristic feel. This will be achieved by having different levels and decks with some areas open to the outdoor environment and some enclosed.

For the design of the exterior of the building a form similar to double helix will be manipulated on the exterior surface. It will also have movable/adjustable parts like our DNA to represent how technology is embedded into our DNA. It will be made of metal and glass for transparency and to let light through.

DNA Structure

Form of a Double Helix

Eyebeam museum of art and technology ( New York) 2011 Unbuilt

The Eyebeam museum is designed by the architectural firm Diller and Scofidio. I took ideas and inspiration from this museum that integrated the outdoor environment with the interior spaces. It provokes an architecture of cross-programming and inter-spatial weaving which is very interesting.

Sustenance - Stop Motion animation progress Thursday

 Unfinished Stop Motion video
After experimenting around on Sony Vegas 9.0 I have parts to my stop motion video. I have found out to edit stop motion but it is quite time consuming as i haven't found out the auto resize tool!
I have also looked into the meaning of the words i will be fusing into my design elements for the final architectural object.

 

 con·tem·po·rar·y/kənˈtempəˌrerē/

Adjective: Living or occurring at the same time.
Noun: A person or thing living or existing at the same time as another.

In my view contemporary means something that will always be changing for different eras. Therefore i could incorporate something that changes/moves as the time changes. To research how the word contemporary would relate to our site I went to have a look at the contemporary buildings within our designated triangle such as the National Library at 8 Stanley Street.

Side view of national library

tech·nol·o·gy/tekˈnäləjē/Noun

1. The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, esp. in industry: "computer technology"; "recycling technologies".

2. Machinery and equipment developed from such scientific knowledge.

Technology is my means of sustenance and what keeps me alive. Examples of this are social networking sites and mobile phones.We are in constant contact with technology almost every minute of our lives.

Some architects i have been looking at for inspiration are the contemporary architects such as Zaha Hadid and Frank Gehry. The form and structure of their designs communicate the idea of movement and seem as if they are moving themselves.


Site:
My site i have chosen is in-between the Nokia building and an apartment block. I chose this specific area because i wanted a site that would be close to contemporary buildings so the architectural structure i would design would not look out of place. This would also be a place where people could socialize and connect with others through screens.

Site in-between Nokia building and apartment block

Sustenance - Week 4 Wednesday

Today I worked on my stop motion animation for sustenance. One of the main ideas i was focusing on for sustenance is the idea of technology and how it keeps myself and many others living the life they live today. The world is forever changing therefore the meaning of 'contemporary' will always be changing as time passes which is why i want my final architectural building to be quite ambiguous and unique.

Title for Stop motion so far:

(Sustenance) Stop Motion animation Week 4 - Monday, Wednesday

On Monday morning and Wednesday morning we had a discussion with our peers about a excerpt we were given about architecture. This excerpt was part of a book called "Architecture Oriented Otherwise" written by David Leatherbarrow. I found this handout quite informative about how designers and critics view buildings:

1. As objects that restult from design and construction techniques.
2. As objects that represent various practices and ideas.

After reading this excerpt i also shared the same views as the author on how buildings are designed to be static and not much design is put into the movable mechanisms such as apertures, screens and furnishings.

After this we were told to write one word that summed up our thoughts about the article. I wrote down 'Stability'. We were then told to combine the words as a group to make up a sentence:

It reads Stability and function respond to contemporary digital performance as one-in-the-same entities.
We were then told to pick a word from the sentence and integrate it into our project of Sustenance. I picked the word 'contemporary' because i felt this would be relevant to the idea of Sustenance.

Final Design - Laser Cutting

This is my final design for my lamp shade that would be present when we wake up. The place that i choose to wake up in was inside the interior of the old railway station. I wanted to be awakened by streaks of warm and comforting light where i would feel safe and secure. Natural lighting will be mainly used to emphasize the shadows and patterns in the morning. The lamp shade will be placed on walls and used as a lamp with lights inside during the night to illuminate the room with streaks of light. These patterns and tessellations also match and are similar to those of that on the old railway stations roof and flooring which will compliment the whole building as a whole.

Combination of ideas and Laser cutting - Week 3 Wed

Finished laser cutting! now to assemble the pieces and create my final design.

     Laser cut piece 1

Laser cut piece 2

Initial concepts and laser cut sheets

Correlation between initial idea and final idea

Front Elevation

Plan

The idea behind the patterned laser cuts on the front elevation is inspired by the tessellations on the old railway station walls. I used these patterns as I would like to awake to a mellow and weak light in the morning from the patterns created by these cuts. I also investigated the idea of a golden ratio which would have been applied to the making of the railway station. In mathematics and the arts, two quantities are in the golden ratio if the ratio of the sum of the quantities to the larger quantity is equal to the ratio of the larger quantity to the smaller one.

I will now start my matrix and keep the blog updated with more progress.

Discussion with Tutors - Week 3 Mon

After discussing my ideas with my tutors I am now progressing into the laser cut model. I am doing more work into my initial model i created to form interesting light patterns. I am focusing on the patterns especially on the tile work in the interior of the old railway station.

Interesting patterns on the roof tiling

Tessellations on inner walls

Symmetry between each of the columns

Looking at the interior of the building reminded me of the ancient Greek architecture such as the Parthenon where the 'golden ratio' would be applied to buildings and patterns to make them more aesthetically pleasing. I also felt this idea of the golden ratio could be applied in my patterns for my lampshade.

To learn to laser-cut objects we were told to learn how to use Adobe illustrator. I am gradually learning about Adobe illustrator as I work. I found this website quite helpful for beginner tutorials on Adobe illustrator:
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/02/03/adobe-illustrator-tutorials/

Enjoy!