R C H I T E C T U R E E S I G N T U D I O 392129 JI IN KIM

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CONTENTS

PART A :00. INTRODUCTION 06

01. ARCHITECTURE AS A DISCOURSE 08

02. COMPUTING IN ARCHITECTURE 12

03. PARAMETRIC MODELLING 16

PART B :04. CASE STUDY 0.1

05. CASE STUDY 0.2: INTRODUCTION

06. INVESTIGATION

07. DEVELOPMENT

PART C

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PART A CASE FOR

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00.

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ARCHITECTURE AS A 01.

Architecture is a superior form of art which comprehends all forms of visual arts. The façade and the exterior design of architecture can be viewed as a two dimensional form of art such as painting, while the overall three dimensional design of architecture could be seen as a sculpture. However, architecture being seen as only a form of visual art is understatement and should not be conceived as a subsystem of visual art. Although architecture is expected to express the creative mind of its designer, we also expect architecture to reflect on its surroundings, historical background and social status and if it is a modern building, we expect for it to be revolutionary in some way. Architecture exists because a person or a community needs it to exist for its roles listed, not because an individual artist wants to express their creative ideas. This shows that architecture just isn’t a form of art but an autopoietic system – an individual system that communicates and interacts with many other systems. Therefore, to analyse architecture it should be analysed as a discourse and be it observed and communicated through many different mediums.

Lou Ruvo Centre for Brain HealthLas VegasFrank Gehry 2009

9Image Source: http://www.dezeen.com/2010/06/17/lou-ruvo-center-for-brain-health-by-frank-gehry

The Center for Brain Health by Frank Gehry is sure to interest the crowd with his wonky and constructivist style of design. The design of the building disagrees with the usual rectangular or simple geometric buildings, which reflects on architecture as a form of ‘art’. However, this architecture does not only stop with a ‘pretty’ two-dimensional façade. The steel material reflects the lighting and its change of colour through day and night is spectacular. The shape and the crazy change of the colour also reflect on the use of the building as a research centre for brain disease.1

1. http://www.dezeen.com/2010/06/17/lou-ruvo-center-for-brain-health-by-frank-gehry

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ARCHITECTURE AS A 01.

Naga Tower creates discourse through its differentiation from traditional Indian architecture and through the symbolics of its form.

Naga, or snake symbolizes spiritual truth and energy – the civilization was represented in the building with twisting and curving form of the

design. The concept also shows the duality and vitality of ‘Naga’, as the joining of two separate-looking buildings. These building shows

how architecture is not only a visual experience but can also stand as a symbol and a sign to communicate with the public.2

2. http://designsatire.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/naga-towers-in-gandhinagar-india

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Naga TowerGandhinagar, India

Image Source: http://designsatire.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/naga-towers-in-gandhinagar-india

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COMPUTING IN 02.Computer aided designing can create more possibilities in architectural designing process. As Kalay stated in Architecture’s New Media (2004), computers are great analytical engines that can store great amount of information which still allows easy search of information and errors. Computers can also analyse, keep track of, and group its stored information for the designers’ efficiency. It also does not tire like humans and does not make silly arithmetical mistakes.

However, to design with a computer, the designer must be able to recognize its textual, numerical, graphical and auditory message and be able to manage the information. Also, computers cannot design something by itself; there needs to be a designer with creativity behind it to instruct the computers to design for possibility of creating a work of art.

Kalay states two different design processes – ‘problem-solving’ and ‘puzzle-making’. ‘Problem-solving’ process generates multiple solutions, which will be tested against goals and constraints and seeks for the best solution. The ‘puzzle-making’ process seeks for goals that match the spatiotemporal constraints of the design problem. These processes of designing both require various ideas to be generated and the ideas may need to be edited time to time accordingly to suit the goals and constraints.

Computers come in handy in these situations as they can generate various prototypes effortlessly. They will be able to generate more ideas and changes can be made to the design quick and easy. Computational design can create more chances of finding the best solution for the design problem. Therefore, to create a great project, there needs to be a skilled designer with creativity and intellectual ability to work with computers.

Frank Gehry creates his designs by traditional model making, but still uses

computation to create refined final model. This shows that computational designing is a must in finalizing a masterpiece architecture

in this present.

CCTV Tower (the image on the right) was built with computing technique. The

architecture’s design intent of the lopsided structure would have been difficult to

calculate the balance and would have wasted time and effort. With the aid of computer, it became much simpler and reduced errors in

the structure.

13Image Source: http://www.nathanielmcmahon.com

CCTV TowerBeijing, China2004

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COMPUTING IN 02.

Thumb Print BuildingThailandFrank Gehry 2009

Image Source: http://pinterest.com/pin/276338127106030951

The complex structure of the Thumb Print Building had to be designed with computing. It would be difficult to calculate each of the

surface structures and eidt any structural errors with traditional designing.

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In the earlier days, the public has been critical to something new and used to take a while to accept innovative ideas. Even though the Eiffel Tower by Gustave Eiffel and the Crystal Palace by Joseph Paxton has been recognized, it has not been at its time of construction.

Digital technology hasn’t been around for too long in architectural designing, while it has been widely used not only for designing but also monitoring performance and features in many different fields including aeroplanes, aerodynamic, cars and many more. It is now time for architecture to use computation more actively in our design process.

In the past, it has been difficult and expensive to make any complex designs. For this reason, architecture designs were mostly stuck with orthogonal and linear, while the curvy contours and plastic shapes were seen everywhere in life.

With development of computation, it became easier to design smooth and complex shapes in architecture and the digital technology made it possible to fabricate buildings with various types of materials. This opened up great possibilities for architecture towards new forms and creating spatial qualities and psychological feelings to the viewers, hence, once it’s developed, it can lead to substantially different design and creativity.

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PARAMETRIC 03.There is more to architecture than just

aesthetics and when being designed, it has to be structurally and functionally efficient as well. Traditional designing process can allow more freedom of creativity and free

flow of generating ideas; however, structural and functional issues has to be considered

throughout the design process and calculations and fixing errors can get complicated and time

consuming. Computational design can save time and editing effort in designing process

as computers do not make silly mistakes and makes editing and locating errors in a

design easy with simple commands. Although computational design may limit one’s creative expressions, through parametric designing,

we can achieve unexpected solutions to the design process.

Parametric modelling creates its dynamic forms using set parameters and mathematical

calculations by defining their relationships. This can create unexpected and vibrant

forms with a tweak of a set parameter. This way, it covers the limitation of creativity of an architect using computational designing

and provides variety of new ideas and quick and effortlessly and also makes it easier to generate complex designs with higher

precision.

Parametric model of Bird’s Nest Stadium

Image Source: http://myclipta.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/beijing-stadium-birds-nest-olympic.html

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Bird’s Nest StadiumBeijing, China

Image Source:http://www.mondoarc.com/projects/Architectural/209848/the_birds_nest_stadium_beijing_china.html

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PARAMETRIC 03.

Image Source:http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/the-critics/patrik-schumacher-on-parametricism-let-the-style-wars-begin/5217211.article

Galaxy SohoBeijing, ChinaZaha Hadid Architects 2009

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PART B CUT

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CUT CASE STUDY 04.

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CUT CASE STUDY 04.

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CUT CASE STUDY 05.

Art615 PavilionStudents of Aalborg University

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Panelisation

The Ar t615 Pavilion was the end product from a studio under taken by 4th semester architecture students from Aalborg University. Intending to link Computer Numerical Control (CNC) fabrication and parametric modelling, the students wanted to create an art pavillion for a crime-related park in Denmark, and in the process create a saferenvironment for visitors.

The semi-closed nature of the pavilion was generated in Rhino from a series of experimentations to create the variability and undulation. “Parametric modelling in Grasshopper allowed us to tweak all parameters controlling the form, until we were satisfied wth the structural abilities and overall aesthetic.”

The realisation of their design into reality was down by CNC-fabricating a series of vertical and horizontal profiles so the form would be self-supporting. These profiles would be notched to allow for the placement of MDF panels, which were the result of a definition in Grasshopper. Using Grasshopper, they were able to resolve the fabrication issue of the large panels by creaing a puzzle joint that would connect smaller segmentstogether successfully.

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CUT CASE STUDY 05.

The MDF-wood panels of the Art615 pavilion had to be placed along the surface: creating the base geometry in Rhinoceros and referencing it into Grasshopper, the module was then “Orient(ed)” to locate itself on the planes generated along the face of the surface. The gaps between the layers can be linked to the spaces in the original installation, to allow for light and sound to pass through selectively. This is not a recreation that can be put through to fabrication (due to a lack of knowledge on how to generate waffle system and the necessary profiles).

Initial attempts to recreate the case study were unsuccessful: in the case of using the component “Divide Surface”, the tiles were oriented in the X-Y plane, rather thaninclined in respect to the varied inclines of the loft.

To recreate the structure of the pavilion, a series of horizontal profi les were lofted to generate the overall form. In Grasshopper, “Surface Frames” were applied to the surface, to generate planes perpendicular to points on the surface, which were input via number sliders.

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