WHITEOUT Giving Form to Formlessness, 2015
Part of UTS Architecture’s international program for 2015 led by William Feuerman (UTS) Phu Hoang (MODU)
PROUDLY PRESENTED BY Michelle Beck Natasha Bonney Zoey Chen Tran Tuan Anh Dang Prudence Duncan Zoe Horn Altaf Khan Connor Mackenzie Jake Paraskaeva James Quinn Shaun Ramodien Jean-Claude Saliba Raymond Shalala Olivier Solente Michael Stewart Jeơrey Tighe Jessica Tse Michelle Vassiliou Dane Voorderhake
WHITEOUT “Whiteout,” an experiment in the notion of “soft structure,” reacts to the energies of weather and conversation. Whether in response to the wind and rain or debate and discussion, the pavilion ƪ and ƪ ǡ changing shape to ƪ these shifting energies. A collaboration between MODU and the University of Technology, Sydney (with William Feuerman), Whiteout creates an impromptu public space to host presentations and debate. Its “soft structure” ƪ with the wind, its form constantly shifting. The structural bases on rollers, which also serve as moving seats, changes the structure’s appearance as it plays host to ơ kinds of conversations—closer together for “speaking softly” and further apart for public debate. Conversations are between two or three people, each capable of positioning their own chair in relation to the other(s). A whiteout condition, in which order or hierarchy between the presenters is never possible, is ƪ in the movements of the shade structure overhead as it adapts to the wind and rain.
WEATHER Weather is an ever present natural force in constant movement. Architecture attempts to control, isolate and mediate weather through the design and construction of sheltering elements. What are the opportunities when this relationship between architecture and weather is reversed? What is possible when architecture adapts and is ǫ Ƥ experiences within architecture and give form to its essential formlessness.
STRUCTURE AND ENVELOPE “Whiteout” is primarily constructed from two materialscarbon Ƥ and Tyvek. The combination of an advanced structural material with a common building wrap creates new opportunities for a “soft structure.” Structural systems are traditionally designed to be “hard” enough to counteract dynamic weather forces. The entire structure ƪ and shifts with the wind- not only the structural fabric Tyvek Ƥ Ǥ
The unique properties of the two materials combine to create a structure that is not based on separate roles of structure and envelope but instead synthesizes their individual capacities to adapt to weather. The Tyvek surface is embedded with thousands of Ƥ rods that allow the surface to compress and expand- the carbon Ƥ arches similarly can be ƪ and stretched. The uncontrollable forces of weather Ƥ its expression in this “soft structure,” as the unpredictability of events within “whiteout” gives form to formlessness.
THE PROJ ECT
STRUCTURE
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STRUCTURE Carbon fiber
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Mobile footing unit
Primary structure
Secondary structure
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STRUCTURE Carbon fiber
Potential to multiply
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Un-choreographed movements
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STRUCTURE Joints
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Metal ring joint
T joint
Rod extension
Directional change joint
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STRUCTURE Footing
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Metal rod
35 x 70 mm timber
Wheel
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ENVELOPE
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ENVELOPE Folding pattern
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ENVELOPE Sub-structure
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Grid structure
Overall structure
Structural points
Single module
Diagonal structure
Fold
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ENVELOPE Sub-structure types
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Straw with inserted elastic grid system
Interior sub-structure
Elastic grid system
Tyvek overlay
Straw rib system
Ring attachment
Integrated rib structure
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ENVELOPE Movement
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Wind
Footing movement
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EXPERIENCE
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MOVEMENT
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EXPERIENCE Movement
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INITIAL CONCEPTS
Windy sox Zoey Chen Prudence Duncan Jessica Tse
ơ design, construction and it has been in a creative dialogue with other elements in order to inform architectural decisions. The instability and disorder of weather creates a constant change of environment which forces us to react. In this project, the spatial conditions being manufactured by the unpredictability of weather is the focus of exploration. The interaction between controlled and uncontrolled force becomes the ơ Ƥ Ǥ
Spatial quality
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800
1200
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Module
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Concept_01
Concept_02
Concept_03
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Squall Zoe Horn Jeffrey Tighe Dane Voorderhake
Ƥ ǡ speed usually associated with active weather, such as rain showers, thunderstorms, or heavy snow. Our pavilion bridges the static nature of architectural form and the unpredictability of weather by crafting a microcosm of intensity through harnessing wind and sun to activate the envelope. Through a modular system of arches and a marrying of structure and skin the pavilion creates a localised squall within, whereby outside could be sunny and warm yet inside is akin to a blizzard, increasingly blurring envelope/structure, inside/outside and disorienting the user.
Multi-directional vortex
Experience
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Structural variation
Arc
Canopy
Wall
A+W
A+C+A
A+A+C
A+A
C+C
A+A+A
A+C
W+W
W+C
Surface variation
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Vento Natasha Bonney Jake Paraskaeva James Quinn
Vento is a modular structure that utilise forces of the weather to shelter inhabitants from the elements surrounding them. Through its use of wind, the system ƪ wind away from those inside and as a result reduces its ơ Ǥ ơ wind strengths as panels are able to individually rise and connect creating moments of shading and light Ƥ shadowing on the ground is able to be read as a mapping of the wind.
Built form
Courtyard below
Courtyard
Courtyard below
Built form
Site condition
Field
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Fabric
Stucture
Joints
Fin
Y tube joint
Frame
Acrylic mounting piece
X tube Joint
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Module Movement G
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Wind
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Ventus Olivier Solente Michael Stewart Michelle Vassiliou
Heat, shade, protection, breath are terms which quite often describe summer weather. These keywords can also trigger architectural ideas. Using the properties of Ǧ ƪ ǡ shading devices and much more.
Ƥ ǡ ǡ ƪ Ƭ ǡ Ƥ of sound were the focus of our experimentations.
Tent
Kite
Argyl matrix
Water fountain
ơ terms of structure design which intended to create a variety of sounds, making it an entertaining shelter as well as a possible pure public installation.
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695
5 51
Module
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780
Interactivity -Sound-
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Tempestus Conner Mackenzie Jean-Claude Saliba Raymond Shalala
The modular design was originally conceived through a process iterative models. Its singular unit consists of three feet, all with the potential to pull and push the cross-bracing through their footing. Through further investigation, the footings were given the ability to move and shift as the attached tyvek was pushed and pulled by the wind or rain. The system is able to grow by adding additional footings to the system which in turn pushes the potential for unknown outcomes.
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Footing detail
Module movement
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Un-choreographed movement
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Nimbus Michelle Beck Tran Tuan Anh Dang Altaf Khan Shaun Ramodien
The surface developed for Nimbus is a hybrid between Ǥ Ƥ elements are concealed between two layers of Tyvek material. In this arrangement, fabric provides ƪ ǡ components provide a means to dimensionalise and ƪ Ǥ ơ ǡ Ƥ weight within the surface. Across an entire surface, expansion and contraction of geometric modules may be localised or dispersed depending on the forces applied and the designed tensile resistance of individual modules.
Movement
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Surface pattern
Formation
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THE TEAM
WORKSHOP LEADERS Giving Form to Formlessness was run at UTS by William Feuerman, Course Director of the Bachelor of Design in Architecture Degree and principal of Feuerman, with Phu Hoang of MODU Architecture, based in New York. MODU is an interdisciplinary architecture practice specialising in smart design that connects people to their environments. Co-directed by Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem, MODU has completed projects in New York, Miami, Beijing, London, and Athens. MODU conducts design research that intersects architecture with weather and has received grants from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts. The practice’s interdisciplinary, multi-scalar approach has led to projects that bridge several disciplines of the built environment, from architecture to urbanism to interiors. MODU is a LEED accredited architecture practice. SPECIAL THANKS Endriana Audisho, Assistant Lecturer at UTS Michael Richards, Kite Magic Sarah Henning, UTS DAB Faculty Manager