Architecture Studio: AirNaijia (Cassandra) Li

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Table of Context

Introduction--------------------------------------------------------------------1

Past Work-----------------------------------------------------------------------2

Part A.01 Design Futuring------------------------------------------------------3

Part A0.2 Design Computation------------------------------------------------9

Part A0.3 Composition/Generation------------------------------------------15

The very first time I get in contact with the idea of Architecture was back in the year 2000. Electoric Arts launched the game "The Sims". When I firstly get the oppotunity to build a house on my own, I start to realize, building can just simply be a shelter, a refuge against natural weather with day to day living functions satisfied. Yet, Building can also be something creative, something performative, something customizable, something that is unique. Architecture is unique, but still highly relative to the surrounding context and the overall social cultural presentation. "The Sims" is not a professional architecture design sofeware. Still, even only a limited numbers of materials and design contexts can be chosen, there are still millions of solutions to the desired dream house. When I get into University of Melbourne two years ago, I start to get in touch with a few professional softwares. A successful reproduce of the campus building "Gate keeper's Cottage" in Sketchup was done when I was in the first year doing Mapping Environments. Virtural Environments in second semster again lead me into the use of Rhino. All of those softwares have insipred me the infinite possibilities of modern architecture. Grasshopper is brand new to me. Yet in these few weeks it has already shown its powerful ability in assisting digital design. However, as the modern digital software develops, it still needs our idea of creation, innovation and our far-sighted consideration to form architectures that are representative and susntainable. Design for the future, design with the renewable energy, is our new task.

My name is Naijia Li. I'm currently studying in The University of Melbourne. I am a third year Bachelor of Environments student major in Architecture. Before I immigrated to Austrlia with my family, I spent my primary school in Shanghai, China. Later I finished my secondary and high school in Melbourne. Now Melbourne Universitiy is another destination for me to achieve a higher standard. Both of my parents are fashion designer, which brings me strong interest in creative design when I am small.

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INTRODUCTION

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PAST WORK

Figure 0.1: Four sets of photos for past Virtual Envrionments lattern work

“Collectively, across all our differences, we human beings have reached a critical moment in our existence. It has always been recognized that individuals, communities,races andeven nations can be fated or made to disappear but we are now at a point when it can no longer be assumed that we, en masse, have a future. If we do, it can only be by design against the still accelerating defuturing condition of unsustainability. “[1]

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Part A.01 Design Futuring

The crtical element of furturing is the idea of sustainable develop-ment, as it is the fundamental need for the future to “exist”, rather than damaged by human. In order to achieve sustainability, as TonyFry suggest-ed across the page, design against defuturing situation should be made. Using renewable resources, extending the lifetime of an architecture, lower the frenquency and cost for repairing can all contibute to a more sustainable futuring design.

Two precedent parametric architectures: the “Water Cube“ (also known as the National Aquatic Center) and the “Bird’s Nest“ (also known as the National Stadium) in Beijing China are analyzed on the future op-potunities and contributions towards sustainability of the building.

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WATER CUBETHE NATIONAL AQUATIC CENTERBEIJING, CHINA

The Water Cube, often known as the National Aquatic Center, designed by PTW Architects for the 2008 Beijing Sum-mer Olympics has shown a new idea of an athletic architecture. Its outstanding cubic shape with “bubble” cladding conveying both the element of Chinese culture and symbolize of water. [2] It is located on one side of the central line of Beijing, with the National Stadium, “Bird’s Nest”, on the other side to create an echoing between these two parametric modern architec-ture. It is also a significant modern archi-tecture sits in the historical city.

Even though water cube is de-signed under the requires of the compe-tition place for the 2008 Olympic host-ing swimming, diving and synchronized swimming events, its life didn’t end after the finish of Olympic. It was opened to the public after half of it revamped into a water park. The initial function is saved and more people are able to use this architecture as an indoor swimming pool. The usage of the architecture is extended, even more participants got involved in this aquatic center.

Water Cube is also the combina-tion of culture and design idea. It has em-phasized the design of the architecture can be communicating both vernacular culture and aesthetics. The basic cube representing traditional Chinese culture of rules, encountered the modern cladding design of bubbles. The cladding again brings new concept of future possibilities

by using new materials and new struc-ture. The Weaire-Phelan structure[3] re-quires each beam to be straight to have better resist axial compression. Complex cladding shape of different irregular bubbles is created by using parametric design tools. Furthermore, the use of ETFE plastic for cladding allows more natural lights to come through. The cladding is also capable to provide good thermal mass to decrease the usage of air con-ditioning. ETFE also allows the surface to clean itself when it’s raining. The smooth and transparency cladding also makes the aquatic center looks crystalized. Moreover, the cladding can “cure” itself by make a small area of patch when it has broken hole. This characteristic extended the life of the material and reduces the cost of the repair.

“The relation between creation and destruction is not a problem when a resource is renewable, but it’s a disaster when it is not.”[4] Design futuring can-not be achieved without sustainability. Water Cube builds modern parametric design elements based on traditional culture by using self-curing materials and flexibility for revamp for future use allows more future possibilities and makes the building more sustainable.

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Top left: Overview of Water Cube[5]

Top right: Enlarged cladding view of the Water Cube[5]

Bottom left: Interior view of cladding[5]

Bottom right: Siting of the Water Cube opposite the Bird’s Nest[5]

BIRD’S NESTNATIONAL STADIUMBEIJING, CHINA

The Bird’s Nest, also known as the National Stadium, is another symbolic archi-tecture constructed under the demand of Beijing 2008 Olympics. I choose this stadium as another parametric example because as two architectures site opposite each other, both Bird’s Nest and Water Cube are designed at the same time, for same Olym-pic game. Yet, Bird’s Nest has shown an en-tirely different design futuring idea. Respond to the site and echoing the Water Cube (the cubic shape), Bird’s Nest presented the pattern of circular. Again it represents the culture of Chinese ceramics. In attempt to hide the steel support elements of the sta-dium, the idea of random-looking addition-al steel blends the steel into the rest of the stadium. [6] The steel structure is left as the outfit of the stadium without any additional cladding- therefore reduces the materials used. For sustainability consideration, the use of steels up to 100 years lasts the life of the building. However, stadium is not used as frequent as the Water Cube. Only a few concerts and sport events are taking place in the Bird’s Nest. Every single year there is a deficit occurring for the stadium. For more future possibilities, Bird’s Nest should have additional function provided for a higher use ratio of the architecture.

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Top: radom-looking steel patternBottom: steel hiding the supporting column

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“The digital in architecture has begun to enable a set of symbiotic rela-tionships between the formulation of desin processes and developing technologies. In order to accommodate these dvelopments, a new and comprehensive domain of architectural theories is beginning to emerge in the intersection between science, technology, design and architectrual culture.”[7]

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Part A.02 Design Computation

Digital in architecture starts to be commonly seen in the process of designing. As the acrchitecture discipline emerges the idea of compu-tation and computerization, there are benfits yet challenges and limita-tions as well.

Computation, the procedure of calculating and determing the relationship between factors by using algorithm. It is a clear mathematri-cal and logical flow of method to help architect generating, processing the design in the computer. Whereas computerization, is about conver-sion, digitization and mechanization. It is based on foudation of design that is preconceived and pre determined. Two precedents of computing designed parametric buildings: the Guggenheim Museum by Frank Owen Gehry and the Guangzhou Opera House by Zaha Hadid are presented.

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From the time when buildings “were constructed, not planned”[8] to the time drawings are used as the commu-nication tools for architects and builders, now computation is introduced, as the new language of communication. Even the creativity is not able to be programed, computing assists the design process. Computation “allows us to capture not only the complexity of how build a proj-ect, but also the multitudes of parameters that are instrumental in a buildings form.”[9]

Computation allows design to be done in a more rational point of view. Its instant re-flection on the action/command provided gives architect the direct result reflection. Errors and mistakes can be detected in early stage by using computing design as well. Within the use of design compu-tation, more complex architecture can be formed and achieved. Furthermore, installed database gives architects more opinions and ideas of techniques, design and material.

Design Computation

“The growing use of drawings as a means of communication between the architect and the builder required the development of drawing conventions- a language- which helped the communicating parties interpret the message con-veyed by drawing in an unambigu-ous way.”

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One precedent to look at is the Guggenheim Museum designed by Frank Owen Gehry. From the rough hand drawing to the final building, computation helped him to pro-duce the trademark of nonrepetitive geometries. The virtual design envi-ronment has brought the architect the freedom to fully explode his idea, but also helped to transform perfor-mance-oriented designing to a more parametric based design for good understanding and building. These conceivable geometries created are bringing modern architecture to higher and higher level, to achieve those impossible.

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Top: Handraw draft of Guggenheim Museum[10]

Bottom: Finished Guggenheim Museum

Similarly, in Zaha Hadid’s mas-terpiece, Guangzhou Opera House, computing design helped to transfer the idea of weathering rock[11] into the design of the building. However, in the drawing of the design we can already see a clear desire to design this building in parametric form. Existing logic of as-sociative and dependency relationships between objects are already planned. By using computerization designing, computing design gives architect the accuracy of evidence-oriented design-ing, both exterior and interior. It ensures the outcome is exactly the same as in the designer’s mind.

Paradoxically, despite the ad-vantages mentioned above, architects can still be limited by the digital design-ing tools. Computerization and com-putation can only be achieved by the familiarity of the software which wrote by programmer with only basic design tools. Scripting cannot be changed for some unique designs and architects may limit by their knowledge of the soft-ware as well. As Rivka said in his article, “It is the period during which may of the leading architectural and structural en-gineering practices began to form their own internal multidisciplinary research units that developed expertise in exploit-ing computational geometry in the me-diate generation and analysis of digital design”, architects should extend the knowledge in digital designing in order to create a more desirable design.

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Top left: Handdraw design for the small theater[12]

Top right: Handdraw design for the big theater[12]

Middle:Finished Guangzhou Opera House[12]

Bottom: Interior parametric cladding[12]

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Top left: Initial rough stone analogy[12]

Top right: Wind influence the weathering of the rock[12]

Middle left: Weathering rock trasformed into the architecture[12]

Middle right: Site modiration to echoing the Pearl river[12]

Bottom left: Parametric design elements on the building[12]

Bottom right: Night view of the Opera House[12]

“Architects are increasingly experimenting with computation to simulate building performance, to incorporate performance analysis and knowl-edge about material, tectonics and parameters of production machinery in their design drawings. These new custom digital tools allow for perfor-mance feedback at various stages of an architectural project, creating new design oppotunities.“[13]

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Part A.03 Composition/Generation

Digital design tools emerge into the area of architecture provides a new idea to the designing. Installed compositions in the software provde wide choices for the architects based on their design requirements. Yet, architec-ture is not only puting those compositions together to generate a building, it is also a process of generation, a process to apply creativity to those com-positions.

Generative approaches allows architectes to design by using algorithm. It also provides other utilities. Michael Handsmeyer’s and Neri Oxman’s work will be discuessed in this section.

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“Nature is the great architect of the form.” As Michael Handsmeyer said in his Ted speech, natural elements have inspired the architects in a lot of ways. Both his own work and Neri Oxman’s work uses a lot of analogy of the nature cell division forms. Their works, share another similarity. The process of their design involves generation, the approach that is achieved by using simple algorithm to achieve complexity.

Composition/Generation

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Michael Handsmeyer’s Plastonic Solids work[14]

In Michael Hansmeyer’s work, parametric design is achieved using a sim-ple algorithm. Even the shapes are different from each of these works; the algorithm is the same- folding. Through his work, the utili-ty of using generative approach is emerged. Generative approach allows the maximum possibilities and changes in one same algo-rithm. Again as a digital tool, it gives instant feedback. Generative approach also provides inspiration and new design options and decisions. Generative approach can also inspire the architect about the relation-ship between the compositions and enables them to better control ability.

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Michael Handsmeyer’s Plastonic Solids work[14]

Neri Oxman’s work, Rapid Craft, shows a maximized surface area of those branching geometries while still maintaining the structural support. The analogy is taken from the natural morphology and finishes the design with algorithm which helped her to view the instant outcome of the change of the system. Generative tools have provided architects their desired design perfor-mance within all the lists of manufacturing requirements fulfilled.

However, generative tools might bring limitations to the design. Since the algorithm is set by the script installed in the software, designer could only come up with something that is expected by the programmer and installed in the software. Otherwise, digital tools would not be able to perform the design outside the region of its program. Moreover, for the two examples, we can see obvious similarity. Furthermore, those works requires huge amount of layers with different individual cutting pattern. The construction of the model there-fore means material waste and energy waste. If the design applied to large architecture, the building of different types of mold would be time and money consuming.

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Neri Oxman Rapid Craft work[15]

Reference: [1] Fry, Tony (2008). Design Futuring: Sustainability, Ethics and New Practice (Oxford: Berg), pp. 1–16

[2] Peter RogersWelcome to WaterCube, the experiment that thinks it’s a swimming pool, May 6, 2004

[3]Peter RogersWelcome to WaterCube, the experiment that thinks it’s a swimming pool, May 6, 2004

[4] Fry, Tony (2008). Design Futuring: Sustainability, Ethics and New Practice (Oxford: Berg), pp. 1–16

[5]National Aquatic Center www.shuimofang.org/

[6]National Aquatic Center www.shuimofang.org/

[7]Oxman, Rivka and Robert Oxman, eds (2014). Theories of the Digital in Architecture (London; New York: Routledge), pp. 1–10

[8]Oxman, Rivka and Robert Oxman, eds (2014). Theories of the Digital in Architecture (London; New York: Routledge), pp. 1–10

[9]Oxman, Rivka and Robert Oxman, eds (2014). Theories of the Digital in Architecture (London; New York: Routledge), pp. 1–10

[10]Architecture Studio: Air Week 2 Lecture Note

[11]Zaha Hadid Architects http://www.zaha-hadid.com/[12]Zaha Hadid Architects http://www.zaha-hadid.com/

[13]Peters, Brady. (2013) ‘Computation Works: The Building of Algorithmic Thought’, Archi-tectural Design, 83, 2, pp. 08-15