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DESIGNSTUDIO AIR 2014

JOSEPH DE KLEE

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CONTENT

An introduction on myself followed by a brief summa-ry revealing my experience with digital design theory and tools, plus thoughts on what I perceive architecture to be to me

Using an ICD Stuttgart university project and a ecoLogicStudio project the topic of design intelligence and the addition of para-metric design is discussed under the parameters of design futuring outlined by Tony Fry’s in his book.

A discussion on how design computation effect design processes and benefits of computation in architecture with a focus on structural advantages

Looking at architectural theory and where compu-tation fits in, plus the mean-ing of an algorithm using Karamba as an example to demonstrate the benefits of computation in design.

A.0

- PAG E 4 - - PAG E 8 - - PAG E 1 2 - - PAG E 1 8 -

A.1 A.2 A.3

- Introduction - - Design Computation -- Design Futuring - - Composition/

Generation -

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A summary of part A with a overview of what is to come in part B with the groups mission statement.

What part A has done for myself and what I have learnt and plan on working on over the forthcoming weeks.

Over the past three weeks a set of algorithmic tasks have been set on rhino and this is the results of the 3D sketches

A.4

- PAG E 2 0 - - PAG E 2 0 - - PAG E 2 1 - - PAG E 2 2 -

A.5 REFERENCES A.6

- Conclusion - - References -- Learning outcomes - - Appendix -

Any out sourced material that has aiding the making of this journal

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INTRODUCTION

to enable my to have another tool to my disposal. I have however completed ‘Virtual Environments’ which was a design studio that required me to take a 3D sculpture (themed on a nature related motion) into the virtual world using Rhino to later lazer print a panelled surface to create a desk lamp. Opposite is a few algorithmic sketches of this process. This subject was a challenge for me as I had never used 3D design software before so I felt at suppressed by my lack of knowledge. However I did really enjoy seeing the pos-sibility of make virtual models a reality through fabri-cation. I hope I can build on the skills I learnt in Virtual Environments and create a better understanding for Rhino in Studio Air. The idea of parametric design to me is exciting and new with little understanding of it I am looking for-ward to creating the unknown and forms that are impossible to conceive with out it. The benefits of parametric design are endless with BIM technologies being introduced forms that used to be impossible to construct are slowly becoming reality along with the development of 3D printing. I do believe it is the archi-tecture of the future however there are still constraints with building technologies, cost and society’s percep-tion of it. By the end of the semester i hope to have a firm grasp on the concepts of where parametric design sits in to-day’s architecture.

I am Joseph de Klee, 21 embarking on my third year undergraduate degree, studying Architecture with-in the Bachelor of Environments at the University of

Melbourne.I am British and moved to Melbourne for the duration of the degree and plan on staying longer to extend my studies to a Masters of Architecture at Melbourne University. Outside of University my passions our fine art, exercise and travelling. I have worked as a trainee sculptor for a majority of years and trained in metal and concrete works in order to complete pieces of art. I believe it is this creative side that has drawn my at-tention to architecture. As the more I have studied and looked into it the stronger the feeling I get to try and translate art work into the built form. Architecture to me is to create new exploratory expe-riences to the community that uses it in an efficient manner that is creative. One quote that has stuck with me for the last year was written by Richard Rogers which I think sums up what I want to try to achieve in my work in the future, “Beauty in architecture encap-sulates the expression of place, efficiency, manufac-ture, art, fairness, opportunity and hope.” 1 Over the last two years in my design studios I have almost always hand drawn everything from perspec-tives to all architectural drawings. This I realise can be time inefficient but is what I consider my strongest skill. However this will change over the duration of this studio which I hope to take full advantage of

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”Beauty in architecture encapsulates the expression of place, efficiency, manufacture, art, fairness, opportunity and hope” - Richard Rogers

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PART A. CONCEPTUALISATION

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PART A. CONCEPTUALISATION

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DESIGN FUTURING

”Finding ways to curb our currently auto-destructive, world destroying nature and conduct” - Tony Fry

Architecture today is evolving fast but is it evolv-ing in the right direction? Currently the world is awakening to its own self destruction of climate

change. Is it now to late to save our planet that we as humans have put a finite date on. Tony Fry believes it is the designers of society that shape our world2. Thus the designers of the world need to be educated more in the concept of design intelligence relevant to environmental sustainability, design futuring ethics. The following two precedence being looked at are two parametrically designed concepts that look at self sustaining energy mechanisms that can be translated into the built environment. Where parametric design comes into this is the ability to create the impossible and turn ideas into realism. This takes place through exploring new material properties and exploring new design methods to come to developing conclusions that cant be expected such as algorithmic design that relies on formulas to depict the most efficient out-come. Where Fry thinks (in his book, “Design Futuring: Sustainability, Ethics and New Practice”3) design has become trivialised and too focused on culture and history and it can also be thought that parametric de-sign has taken designing out of the hands of the de-

signer. However the following two projects are prime examples to revoke this notion and show that design intelligence is being enhanced by parametric design and in a creative manner to that of the designer. Cre-ating new forms that elude to culture-less structures and only focus on finding innovative ways to manu-facturer a more sustainable future. The first of these is a project developed at the ICD Stuttgart University by Sonja Templin and Valentin Brenner under Prof. A. Menges. The project is called, “Cylindrical Membrane Morphologies” and looks at formation and the materi-alisation as one combined process through computa-tional design4 (A.1.1). The second project is by ecoLog-icStudio called Ka-care which looks at developing the most energy efficient city world wide using computa-tion to optimise there designs (A.1.2)5. Each are strong evidence that design intelligence is taking place as well as using computation to strongly aid the projects is needed otherwise the designs couldn’t have been created.

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A.1.1Cylindrical Mem-brane Morpholo-gies. Sonja Templin/Valentin Brenner. ICD Stuttgar. 2010

A.1.2King Abdullah CARE. ecoLogicStu-dio. 2011

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The first project, Cylindrical Membrane Morpholo-gies is a project that conceptualises form and ma-teriality using a computation method that looks

at a geometrical algorithm. In this particular study Sonja Templin and Valentin Brenner look specifically into developing a system/micro tensioned element that can change due to minor alterations. These alter-ations can vary but a good example is environmental conditions thus making it an interactive surface. Why this is relevant is if the algorithm is adapted or the ma-terial is changed to harvest energy or react with the environment then we have a sustainable structure that can be implemented in to the built form. Image A.1.3 shows computer analysis on the structure if it were to collect solar energy and if it were, what the most effective form would be. This project is a perfect example of design intelligence in the respect it com-bines materiality and form to create a sustainable out-come that uses computation to find the most efficient design.

E coLogicStudio has uses a digital algorithm to pre-dict and accelerate traditional city growth and continually search for the optimum solution to-

ward the environment and sustainable living6. What the Ka-care city proposes is that it will be a carbon negative city. How it achieves this is climatic analy-sis (solar radiation, wind direction, water proximity, landscape morphology) of the area are added to the algorithm which works out how it should be strategi-cally placed, energy efficient and how to optimise sus-tainability within the proposed site. Opposite is some of this analysis which dictates the cities parameters. This precedents is relevant due to the focus on envi-ronmental sustainability which is design intelligence however it could not have been created if it wasn’t for computation. This clearly highlights the need for para-metric design in Tony Fry’s ideals of sustainability , Eth-ics and new practice. This has to be where the future of design lies if the world is our primary concern.

“The design of space, structure and climate can be synthesized in integrative computational design processes” - Prof. Achim Menges

A.1.3

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KaCare, “ offers a bold and beautiful solution, a carbon negative oasis...... nurturing a city from the nutrients of its own environment, growing like a plant from its soil”

.Ka - care.

- A.1.4 -Topography analysis (steepness in the network system).

- A.1.6 -Volumetric analysis of each block.

- A.1.5 -Water system analysis.

- A.1.7 -Wind patterns and Ventilation.

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DESIGN COMPUTATION When considering architectural design and

how computation has influenced it, we have to understand what the meaning of design.

Jacob Bronowski a science philosopher believed it was analysing a problem and thus finding the means to solve this problem which equalled design7. This is correct in all situations but especially when using computation to aid or create design. This is because computational design is based on the idea of when a digital algorithm is used the program/computer will solve the algorithm and thus leaving a design solu-tion. This is merely the essence on why using com-puters in design are important. Computers in design help speed processes up with drawings, repetitions, 3D modelling and testing, creating the unknown and solving problems. The key aspect of computation is how computers when given the right algorithm and informational parameters can create the most effec-tive way of optimising aspects such as space to such precision that humans just couldn’t achieve. In retro-spect society’s largest problem is the environment and how we use computation to solve this problem has to be where its is most needed in design. Seen in the Ka-care project computation was used to find the most efficient way of designing a city for it to optimise sustainability. Other programs can look at optimising space with in a structure, using geomet-ric shapes to create form or repetitive computational scrip to give pattern. This is all summed up by a sen-tence from Theories of the Digital in Architecture, “formation precedes form, and design becomes the thinking of architectural generation through the logic of the algorithm”8. The only issue that has risen is with all this computational problem solving does it remain the work of the designer? Computers are not design-ers and cant be, they only answer to the algorithms set and not always can the computer find a solution. This is were it is up to the designers creative spirit and intuitive actions to design the solution or create a new algorithm. What Yehuda Kalay said was, “computers are totally incapable of making up new instructions they lack any creative abilities or intuition”9 thus high-lighting that its human input only and making design computation just an important tool for designers.

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A.2.1

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A.2.2

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The Fibrous Tower is a design project completed by Roland Snooks (Kokkugia), Robert Stuart-Smith and Juan de Marco proposed for Hong Kong in

2008. Why the Fibrous Tower is has been chosen is be-cause it is a prime example of when computation is used to find a solution with a multitude of parameters. These are; structural, spacial, environmental and orna-mental10. What the Fibrous Tower achieves is a skeletal shell structure made of insitu concrete that is the main structural component of the building. What this allows is for there to be a completely open plan interior. Why this is so amazing is that the algorithm has built the most effective external structure to enable this build-ing to not only optimise internal space but to stand with no internal columns whilst creating at the same time sun-shading, a series of enclosed balconies and ornament. Its self-organised shell in response to its criteria is an example of exactly where computation should have its place in architectural theory. How the help of computation in this project shows that it is a puzzle making design method, puzzle making is when formulated goals are set to meet a solution11. In this case the goal was to achieve an open plan building in a high rise with a structures that will support it and its solution was a fibrous bundle of strands to achieve the strongest external structure possible. The building thus represents Oxman’s idea of digital architecture, “It is material fabrication technologies that are creating the characteristic stylistic preferences and expression that we are beginning to recognize as digital architec-ture”12. Overall what we can learn form this building is that computation as helped develop a new structural form that couldn’t have been conceived by humans but it was the intuative design thinking of Snooks and Stuart-Smith that created an algorithm and set the parameters in order to achieve the optimum space through an external structure.

.Fibrous Tower-China .

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“Using building performance as a guiding design principle............it utilizes the digital technologies of quantitative and qualitative performance based simulation to offer a comprehensive new approach

to the design”15

.Irapuato Bridge-Mexico .

This is also a project devised by Robert Stu-art-Smith and Roland Snooks. It is a highway crossing bridge for pedestrians. The bridge is

just reiteration on the argument that with computa-tion design what can be achieved is so much greater and effective with current materials such as concrete that are not the inherent hierarchical structural sys-tem of separate elements that can be seen today on most construction sites13. By just using an algorithm new structural forms can be created and implement-ed that optimise structural strength through design. In this case an algorithm was created that looked at the formation of plant roots extending from a few focus points to distribute loads evenly and efficient-ly. Incorporating the entire structure and utilising the plasticity of in-situ Concrete14. This non-linear struc-ture shows new ways of architectural design through computation that responds to all aspects of the design task/problem to create a optimal finished solution.

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A.2.3, A.2.4Irapuato Bridge, Mexico, Robert Stu-art-Smith, Roland Snooks & Rojkind Arquitectos

“Using building performance as a guiding design principle............it utilizes the digital technologies of quantitative and qualitative performance based simulation to offer a comprehensive new approach

to the design”15

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COMPOSITION/GENERATION

Currently there is still debate as to where compu-tation fits in to architectural practice. The idea of computerisation which is digitising existing

design formulations17 through the likes of AutoCAD is not digital design but composition. Computation is when a program is written in-order to solve design problems using algorithms and an algorithm is, “a fi-nite set of rules that are unambiguous and simple to follow”18 hence generation. It is argued that genera-tion has its place in architecture for the vital reason it helps design processes, fabrication and construction. What computation is better at than any other tech-nology is its ability to increase the capability to solve problems and generate a solution. In this precedence we are looking at how it helps solve issues of con-struction whilst combining materialisation. Karamba is a parametric 3D modelling plug-in to Rhino which focuses on spacial trusses and frames19. The project Gridshell Digital Tectonics has achieved what can be considered design intelligence through the program of Karamba as with the material analysis a structure was able to be devised in the most minimalistic way to cover that largest possible area whilst meeting, ornamentally what the group of the designers want-ed. With the material properties of timber embed-ded with parametric design a group of students at a SmartGeomerty2012 workshop managed to ma-nipulate straight wooden members and minimalism material waste to fabricate this 3D model created by an algorithm20. What this shows is that with the help of computation architects can use it to integrate ge-ometry, structures and material performance and en-vironmental factors or to what ever the rules of the algorithm may be. A concluding statement by Brady Peters supports the idea that computation has a place in architecture and definitely as a design tool, “when architects have a sufficient understanding of algorith-mic concepts, when we no longer need to discuss the digital as something different, then computation can become a true method of design for architecture”21

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COMPOSITION/GENERATION

“Capacity to generate complex order, form and structure” 16

.Gridshell Digital Tectonics..Karamba.

A.3.1

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CONCLUSION

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The conclusion of part A evidently suggests that computation is a form of design, and designing stays with in the control of the designer. Compu-

tation can be seen as an accelerated design tool to help effectively solve problems and aid the intuitive nature of the designer. Computation allows for the develop of new forms of technology and the composition of ma-teriality and structure to reach a more optimum solu-tion. Thus making it necessity in today’s architecture if sustainability is our primary concern as computation is design intelligence. Having reached this conclusion the focus in part B for the design project will be on optimal form with minimal structure where material-ity is concerned. In part B the mission statement that has been decided on is as such, “a naturally oscillat-ing mesh system aided by human interaction creating

electrical energy through kinetic motion”. With this in mind the energy technology that we are analysing is hydrokinetic21. How computation will help in this is by using an algorithm with certain parameters we can try create a form that will be environmentally sustainable whilst generate energy through movement, we can also use parametric design to find the optimal mesh that will give the most movement/energy.

What i have learnt over the last three weeks has really changed my perspective on digital design. To begin with I was sceptical towards

digitally designed building believing that design was leaving the mind of the designers and becoming that of the computers design. However the big realisation for me was to see how in-fact design is about solving a problem not seeking the beautiful and in that respect computation is the perfect solution for this especially when it comes down to developing intelligent design to attach climate change.

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REFERENCES 1. Rogers, Richard. Richard Rogers RA InsideOut, 18 July 2013, wall print, Royal Academy of Arts, London.

2,3. Fry, Tony. Design Futuring: Sustainability, Ethics and New Practice, Oxford: BERG, 2009.

A.1.1/A.1.3/4. ”Cylindrical Membrane Morphologies,” Sonja Templin/Valentin Brenner, ICD Stuttgart University, last modified 2010, http://www.achimmenges.net/?p=4703

A.1.2/A.1.4/A.1.5/A.1.6/A.1.7/5,6. “Ka-care,” Team: Carlo Rotti Associati, ecoLogicStudio (Parametric Urban Design), Akins, Atmos Studio, Accenture, Agence Ter. ecoLogicStudio, last modified 10 January 2011, http://www.ecologicstudio.com/v2/project.php?idcat=3&idsubcat=4&idproj=121

7,9,11. Kalay, Yehuda E. Architecture’s New Media: Principles, Theories, and Methods of Computer-Aided De-sign, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2004.

8, 12. Oxman, Rivka and Robert Oxman, eds, Theories of the Digital in Architecture, London; New York: Rout-ledg, 2004

A.2.1/A.2.2/9. “Fibrous Tower,” Team: Roland Snooks, Robert Stuart-Smith, Juan De Marco, STUDIO ROLAND SNOOKS, last viewed 15 march 14, http://www.rolandsnooks.com/#/fibrous-tower/

10. “Fibrous Tower | China,” Robert Stuart Smith, Roland Snooks (Kokkugia Ltd), Robert Stuart-Smith Design, viewed 20 March 2014, http://www.robertstuart-smith.com/filter/projects

A.2.3/A.2.4/13, 14. “Irapuato Bridge | Mexico,” Robert Stuart Smith, Roland Snooks (Kokkugia Ltd) and Rojkind Arquitectos, Robert Stuart-Smith Design, viewed 20 March 2014, http://www.robertstuart-smith.com/filter/projects

15. Kolarevic, Branko. Architecture in the Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing, New York; London: Spon press, 2003

16,17, 21. Peters, Brady. ‘Computation Works: The building of Algorithmic Thought’, Architectural Design, 2013

18. Wilson, Robert A. and Frank C. Keil, eds, Definition of ‘Algorithm’ in The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences, London: MIT Press, 1999

19. “Karamba Parametric Engineering,” Clemens Preisinger in cooperation with Bollinger-Grohmann-Sch-nelder ZT GmbH, Last viewed 22 march 2014, http://www.karamba3d.com/about/

A.3.1/A.3.2/20. “GRIDSHELL DIGITAL TECTONICS,” Clemens Preisinger in cooperation with Bollinger-Gro-hmann-Schnelder ZT GmbH, Last viewed 22 march 2014, http://www.karamba3d.com/gridshell-digital-tec-tonics-sg2012/

21.Ferry, Robert & Monoian, “A Field Guide to Renewable Energy Technologies”, Land Art Generator Initiative, Copenhagen, 2014

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APPENDIX

.Week 1.

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.Week 2.

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.Week 3.