Body and Architecture: 2nd Skin - India McKenzie

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS

india mckenzie (639 234) semester two, 2013

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_IDEATION _material system

_LECTURE ONE

figure 1.

Rhino modelling of the kite CREDIT: derek Huynh

our primary introduction into virtual environments was a broad study of all four systems and although we were assigned the study of one, throughout the semester we found ourselves drawing upon all four. the first lecture provided us with the basic principles for each system which we applied at various stages throughout the process. i was assigned the skin and bone system and used the kite (figure 1.) as my precedent study. the two key areas of focus were as follows: _ integration of both the skin and bone _ material properties IE. tension our first task was to drawing of the object used in jensen’s “300 that we too were able “work each

their

element

appreciate

create a measured (figure 2.), a method years of design” so to...

the

construction

(our)

way

over

individually structure and

(JENSON,

and

for its

properties.”

2000,

P. 4)

figure 2. measured drawing of the kite

figure 3. section and perspective of the kite

_IDEATION _personal space

CRITERION The

TWO_

second

address personal

the

skin

must

question of

space.

module one con-currently explored two things, the first being the material systems and the second, the brief. the brief we were given specified that we address the concept of personal space in our design and this was explored extensively in the weekly readings and tutorial discussions. the discussion we had in our tutorial emphasised the objective nature of “personal space” as we struggled to articulate such an abstract, intangible concept. the week two reading by sommer titled “personal space” proved invaluable for developing my design concepts. perhaps the most potent aspect i got out of this reading was the importance of context in determining ones personal space. sommmer contrasted the intimacy of lovers and the crowds of peak hour public transport to emphasise how our relationship with others dictates the boundaries of personal space. (SOMMER, 1969)

figure 4. area s of the body that are sensitive to intrusions of personal space

_IDEATION _design concept 1

concept 1_vulnerability ones sense of personal space is often not realised until it is invaded or compromised. the majority of the time, such intrusions are unwanted and thus we respond in a defensive manner. however, the extent of personal space is dependent on our relationship with the intrusion. intimacy with others is a form of positive intrusions of personal space. this inspired thoughts of achilles heel and the places on the human body where we are most vulnerable to the effect of others. the sketches illustrate how we can either protect or expose our vulnerabilities depending on our relationship to the intruder. intimacy is the breaking down of our individual concepts of personal space and joining to make one shared space where both parties are left exposed and vulnerable to the other.

figure 5. concept 1: achilles heel sketches vectorised sketch

in the case of achilles, his vulnerability was his exposed heel. whilst taken literally in this design concept, the theory could be extrapolated to other places of vulnerability such as the heart and the head, to highlight the key areas of intimacy. by either isolating or excluding these areas we are able to symbolise the role these body parts play in establishing ones personal space.

_IDEATION _design concept 2

concept 2_protection when one feels their personal space is being intruded by an outsider it is natural to seek protection. this immediately lead me to an exploration of defensive armour that shields our physical body, acting like an outer “second skin”. in contemporary fashion, armour is often adapted to create ethereal forms such as pictured below (refer figure 6). the concept allows for numerous forms and styles to be explored and offers draws our attention to the areas of the body that are sensitive to intrusions of personal space as highlighted in figure 4. whilst the concept allows for a variety of design exploration paths, i feel that the concept is too simple and literal. given the abstract nature of a ‘second skin’, i hope to explore something more symbolic and conceptual than this logical defence mechanism. having said this, there are a number of precedents from fashion adaptions of this concept that may provide insight into various forms ands materials.

figure 6. “whiteness” human guerilla project by julia krantz sourced: www.morfae.com

figure 7. concept 2: armour vectorised sketch

_IDEATION _design concept 3

concept 3_confrontation the most poignant aspect of this reading for me was the “reclusive behaviour” patterns that sommer described in the staged experiments of personal space invasion (SOMMER, 1969). actions such as slouching, facing away, covering ones face with ones hands, looking into the distance etc. were observed in these experiments as ways of avoiding coming into contact with others in the public context. this concept emphasises these reclusive behavioural patterns by preventing them from occuring. the cage-like brace fits snugly arround the body and hold the wearer in a fixed position. regardless of the social context, the wearer is unable to perform any such reclusive behaviours and is thus forced to confront their own notions of personal space.

figure 7. concept 3: confrontation_posture brace vectorised sketch

this is a strong abstract concept that allows for numerous design variations of form and material. there is also a close link with the brief of a “second skin” as the structure seems to melt around the body and force a neutral body posture. this design is perhaps the visualisation of a sub-concious thought that encourages us to remain open to interperonsal relationships.

_DESIGN _wk 3_strategies of design

the selection of the materials was the primary concern for us as we found that we couldn’t establish a design stratgey without first understanding the functional properties of the selected materials. there was a distinc emphasis in the lecture content on making the virtual design “unrollable” to create developable surfaces as explored extensively in the reading entitled “surfaces that can be made from paper” (pottmann et al., 2007). whilst this gave us great insight into transitioning from 3d into 2d, this concept didn’t directly apply to our project as our design was not well suited to paper fabrication process. the materials available to us through the fablab were unlikely to be able to structurally or aesthetically recreate our model. the installation of the panelling tools add-on allowed extended our skill base as it allowed for the integration of tabs which were used extensively in the panel and fold material system. however, once again this joining method was not appropriate for our deisng so we had to convert this knowledge and create our own nonvirtual joining system. the integration of the two elements of the skin and bone system suggested that we should use two distinct materials that would have to work in synergy to perform the desired function and form as we saw in the kite. how these were integrated was largely dependent on the innumerbale variations possible with an array of materials. for us, the material was to guide the construction methodology and the design strategy.

figure 8. original design concept vectorised sketch

figure 9. revised design concept vectorised sketch

_DESIGN _adapting the form

CRITERION

ONE_

Volume;project the

3

the

volumetric

of

address

dimensionality

the

must

must

body.

create

volume

using

nature

The an

and

design

envelope

or

developable

surfaces figure 10. initial design rhino 3D model the original design concept was revised in order to create a more “constructible” form. the above screen grab shows our intital rhino modelling (refer figure 10) that shows a smoother more gradual curve. when translating this into materials, the irregular members meant that each joint was individual and quite complex. in order to simplify the joining process we created a segmented geomeatric system that form regular members and joint systems that were attached in segments around the body. this also allowed for a more complex and volumetric shape, most noticeable around the ‘helmet’. (refer figure 11)

figure 11. revised design rhino 3D model

_DESIGN _precedents

precedents_bones whilst we looked at multiple precedents based on both form, function and aesthetics, our study of bones is most prevalent in our final design. in particular we emulated the spine (refer figure 12) as the key visual and structural focus of our design as this provides stability and support both literally to the structure but also metaphorically to the wearer. the second skin is intended to give strength to those who choose it and to encourage good posture regardless of the social context. we were inspried by the rigidity and the strength of the human skeleton and experimented with the endo vs exo-skeleton concept. the emphasise was placed on having another set of bones on the outside rather than hidden under the skin. in contrast to the solidity of the bones, human skin is soft, vulnerable and delicate. this duality of textures and weight was an imporant aspect of us and guided our exploration of materials for both the skin and bone elements as well as understanding their relationship to each other.

figure 12. anatomical chart_spine

figure 13. anatomical chart_rib cage

_DESIGN _precedents

precedents_fed square this image pictured was shown in the very first lecture of module two as we explored the representation of ideas in form. the conversion of abstract data into geometries and then into building form inspired us to recreate a network that represented the interconnectedness of thoughts. just as our sense of personal space exists only in abstract form, we wished to represent the process of appraisal in a complex geometry focusing on densities in key areas such as around the head and down the spine. this also allowed us to create a volumetric aspect in that the skin could span around the bone structure creating a tensile form around the frame. this was broken down into the composition of volume... two points + a line + two lines + surface + a number of surfaces create a volume. our volume was to created through the creation of multiple surfaces made up on lines connecting points on the network.

figure 14. fed square geometry, LAB architects week 3 lecture, loh, 2013

_DESIGN _design effect

CRITERION Another aspect of the design brief we had to consider was the emphasis on creating a spatial or emotion effect to be presented in the 30 second performaance in week 2. given that our design doesn’t perform a moving function, we intended to create a strong visual effect. our first full-scale prototype (pictured) uses a textural duality to create a bold visual effect. the bone system is formed from the folding and bending of wire which is harsh, cold and semi-rigid. the skin is created from a fluorescent pink tulle fabric which is soft and malleable. the two systems are connected by metal clips that attached the material onto the wire frame. our intention here was to emphasis the rigidity of the bone structure by creating an endo-skeleton where the skin is infact on the underside of the skeleton. the skin however, lacked form and draped irregularly on the inside. whilst still pertaining some form of the skin and bone system we felt the skin was not taut enough and did not resemble the taut skin-bone relationship we saw with the kite. whilst we created a visual effect of somesort, the prototype on the whole was unsuccessful at conveying the concept and representing the material system, largely due to the construction method and material choice.

figure 15. module 2 prototype

The or

design

emotional will

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create

effect.

showcased

performance

at

the

4_

a

spatial

These

effects

in end

a of

30

second

semester paradE.

_FABRICATION _new design strategy

the power of making after attributing the failure of the module 2 prototype to the material selection and construction methods, we changed tact and attempted to devise a new design strategy. our next objective was experiments with a segmented system of timber. we selected a lightweight balsar wood 25mm square length compared with the metal bone system of module 2, the balsa wood segments provided excellent rigidity as we designed a structure with uniform connections (refer figure 16) that slotted together using timber joinery techniques such as the oblique corner halving joints with balsa dowels for extra stability. we found this hand-made additive method to be time consuming and imprecise. the creation of half angles and joints by hand meant that the design lacked the sophisticated precision that is possible with computer aided methods. thus the next step was for us to adapt the design to avoid hand craft from the method. this meant that we had to morph the form into a developable surface.

BACK

figure 17. section of full-scale prototype_ balsa wood corner halving method

FRONT

figure 16. orthogonal drawing_ 25mm balsa bone system

_FABRICATION _digital fabrication

as we moved away from the hand craft of wood additive construction methods we created a developable surface from our design form. instead of the individual segments, we created a section and profile plane system inspired by intital study of material systems back in the week 1 lecture. the entire spine and each of the ribs were fitted with notches for attaching to each other as well as smaller notches for the fitting of the skin. we used a “twodimension subtractive digital fabrication method� (kolarevic, 2003, P.7) for the fabrication of the of the bone system which made use of the fablab available to us. this method was ideal for this project as was well suited to the scale, materiality and aesthetic. (iwamoto, 2009). the shift in method had a large impact on our design aesthetic and form which lead us to an explorartion of different skin materials. the material of the bone system somewhat dictated the material options available for the skin system.

figure 18. subtractive digital fabrication_ image of final fablab submission output

_FABRICATION _power of making

CRITERION Material the week 7 lecture emphasises the power of making and the process of innovation that comes through the act of creating. this was especially important for us as we found the most significant advancements occured when we were mindlessly working with the materials at hand. whilst rational thought helped us to realise our ideas, it was the tangibility of working with our hands that lead to the final fabrication methods and materials.

fabric, plastic be

choice:

ready –

all

made

paper, object,

material

negotiated

5_

with

design

must your tutor

the images below show the 4 different materials we experimented with to create full scale prototypes of the bone structure. the materials uses in this prototype were evaluated on their ability to maintain the structure and rigidity required to support the skin. the cardboard was predominantly a measurement based prototype to ensure the design fitted snugly to the model. the plywood prototype was not sufficiently stable and thus we opted for the perspex as it has superior structural properties.

figure 19, 20, 21. subtractive digital fabrication_ material variation prototypes

carboard

plywood

perspex

_FABRICATION _power of making

although we had decided on an appropriate method/material for the bone system, we remained uncertain as to how we would create the tensile skin system. whilst our solution for the bone system was devised through rationalisation and precise computer technology, our solution for the skin system was far more organic. the idea of using cotton thread came as i was rhythmically running the thread through my fingers during a tutorial session and expanded from there. the image on the right (refer figure 22) was then created as i haphazardly wound the cotton thread around the notches in the bone system. the effect created by layering the threads was both complex and sophisticated yet still involved an element of hand-craft which complemented the computer aided technology methods of the bone system. this notion of innovating through making was reinforced in week 7 lecture, “the power of making” in which daniel charny, the curator of the “power of making” at the V&a museum, london aptly said....

“even

when

involves maker. of

making

parameters,

sometimes

their

is

ability,

in

experimental and open-ended, its observes rules. craft imposed making,

might

problem,

constantly

_charny,

2012.

figure 22. prototype of skin system

by materials, tools, scale and the physical things go wrong. an unskilled maker, hitting

just

unfolding

always

body the

stop. an expert, though, will find a way through new possibilities within the process.”

of

the

limits the

_FABRICATION _skin system precedents figure 25_26 precedent study_2

figure 23_24 Precedent study_1 the icd/itke research pavillion provided us with a great insight into the systematic process of layering indvidual threads to create a larger effect. The pavillion is entirely robotically fabricated from carbon and glass fibre composites and through the systematic rule patterns, creates a thin protective outer layer. we aimed to develop our own system to create a complex and visually effective pattern through the overlaying of individual cotton thread. http://www.itke. uni-stuttgart. de/entwicklung.

these somewhat magical instaallations show how the seemingly hapahzard coordination of threads can create incredible visual effects.

The Silk Vortices of Japanese artist Akiko Ikeuchi show how the layering of delicate silk threads can create dramatic shapes. whilst the form appears chaotic “each based on precise plans blueprinting the complex internal framework� (hovercraftdoggy, 2013) http:// hovercraftdoggy. com/2013/03/06/ lightness-of-being/

_FABRICATION _skin fabrication sequence

figure 27.

figure 28.

_FABRICATION _photographing effects

figure 29.

_FABRICATION _photographing effects

figure 30.

_REFLECTION _performance sequence

B

A

A “IT

IS PARADOXICAL BUT PERHAPS

NOT

ILLOGICAL THAT THE BEST WAY

TO

STUDY INVASIONS OF PRIVACY IS

TO

STAGE THEM DELIBERATELY.”

A

B

B

-SOMMER

A a crucial part of the module four criteria was the 30 second performance filmed in the tutorial of week 12. when discussing how to best display our piece, we returned once more to sommers’ concept of ‘staged invasions of privacy’ that make us aware of the boundaries of our personal space. stemming from this, we simualted a context in which four strangers share the stage in a public setting in which no direct interactions are made. without this overt contact, the action of the scene is subtle and carried out in the defensive behavioural patterns exhbitied by the actors in response to unintentional invasions of personal space. this is contrasted by our model wearing the brace that prevents them from performing these anti-social behaviours. whilst those around him shy away -slouch over their phones, face away, partially cover their face with their hands, look into the distance etc. - the model is still, vulnerable and open. in this way our second skin encourages us to confront and accept invasions of personal space rather than shy away from them. regardless of the social context, interactions with others should be welcomed with positivity and openness to form positive relationships.

A

C

B

C

B

C

B

A

figure 30. movement sequence

_REFLECTION _the third industrial revoltion

THE LAST READING IS INTENDED TO PROJECT FORWARD TO THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL DESIGN AND MAKING. THIS INFLUENTIAL TEXT SETS THE FUTURE CONTEXT FOR DIGITAL MAKING AND HOW DIGITAL MAKING IS PART OF A NEW ECONOMICAL MOVEMENT AND EVEN POLITIC STRUCTURE. DRAWING INSPRIATION FROM THE READING AND YOUR OWN LEARNING FROM THE LAST 10 WEEKS, DESCRIBE HOW DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED YOUR VIEW ON DESIGN, MAKING AND THE CONTEXT OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT. digital technology allows for a different kind of design interaction than was previously possible. the expansion of digital technology into all aaspects of life, broadens our scope of understanding and brings design into the lives of each adn every one of us. this era is descrbied in rifkin’s 2011 article titled, “distributed capitalism” as the “third industrial revolution”. in the past, large enterprises created a monopoly of production which operated under vertical economies of scale. in contrast, the third industrial revolution breaks down this dependency and gives the consumer freedom from this capitalist dominance. the dispersal and lateral movement of powers in this new age gives rise to the individual as the master of their own fate. the transition is one away from top-down heirarchies to a more collaborative way (rifkin, 2011, p. 115). the availability of 3D printing facilities have opened up a new door for distributed manufcacturing that allows all individuals to participate in the design process rather than simply consuming a ready-made product. this movement is making way for a new generation of designers and consumers that are but one and the same. this revolutionises the way we think about design in our everyday lives as we are now empowered with the knowledge, skill and abilitiy to design the world around us. we are transforming our world from a faceless submissive era of capitalism, to a new, individualised world which encourages particiption, curiosity and action to create a more sustainable world for all. i felt a very strong sense of ownership over my project as the use of digital technology allowed me to achieve the desired outcome with minimal reliance on external suppliers. the access to advanced computer technologies as well as the acquirement of knowledge and skills over this semester has lead to a project that is entirely borne out of the seed of an idea that i have translated from thought to realisaton.

_REFLECTION _craft and risk

criterion 4: the final object must be fabricated with care and be well crafted EVALUATE YOUR PROCESS OF DESIGNING AND MAKING THE SECOND SKIN AGAINST THE NOTION OF CRAFT OUTLINED IN THE READING. HAVE YOU INCLUDE A DEGREE OF DESIGN RISK IN YOUR WORK? throughout our study of virtual environments we have been confronted with the difficulty of translating something abstract into something tangible. from the conceptual seed of an idea (m1:ideation), to the virtual visualisation (m2:design) of this to the manufacturing (m3:fabrication) of an object in reality, the conversion process transformed the final design from something quite primitive into something that was initially incomprehensible. the skills and knowledge i have acquired, have allowed me to create something that would not have been conceivable at the beginning. personally, i am torn between two contradicting philosophies in regards to the rise of digital technology in this third industrial revolution. whilst there is something spectacular in the sophistication and precision of mechanical production, the authenticity of hand-made “craft” will never lose its appeal to me. this was something that challenged me continuously throughout this process as i need to find the right balance of technology vs craft to achieve a sleek aesthetic through mechanic production and then add the care and detail of the human interaction. i feel we achieved this balance by using two distinct methods in our fabrication process of subtractive computer design as well as the hand-craft of methodically weaving the thread through the notches. david pye is paraphrased in scott marble’s “imagining risk” as placing craft in opposition to the 20th century trend of industrialised mass-production. pye aligns craft with the “workmanship of risk” and describes how the result of the process is “not predetermined but depends on the judgement, dexterity and care of the maker” (marble, 2008). those three things were evident in our manual fabrication process in that the success of the skin relied on the careful placement and sequence on the threads. the process of doing, rather than simply visualising and having it done for us, we were able to create new ways of creating more complex thread systems. marble described how “risk...is where innovation occurs” (marble, 2008), a concept that underpinned our fabrication of the skin. where as we used workmanship of certainty in developing and fabricating the rigid bone structure, the process of the fabricating the skin was laden with workmanship of risk. as we began with the very first thread, we had very little idea what the final result would be, but we understood the process and developed a rule pattern. this craft was an act of making rather than assembling that distinguished two entities of our structure.

many people think that craft is a matter of executing a preconceived form or idea, something that already exists in the mind or on paper. yet making is also an active way of thinking, something which can be carried out with no particular goal in mind. in fact, this is a situation where innocation is very likely to occur.

-charny,

2012.

_bibliograpy

_M1 Heath, A, Heath, D & Jensen, A 2000, 300 years of industrial design : function, form, technique, 1700-2000 WatsonGuptill, New York, Selected Extracts Sommer, R 1969, ‘ Spatial invasion’ in Sommer, R, Englewood Cliffs, N.J, pp. 26-38

Personal space : the behavioral basis of design, Prentice-Hall,

_M2 H.Pottmann,A.Asperl,M.Hofer, A.Kilian (eds) Bentley Institute Press, pp 534-561

2007 “Surfaces that can be built from paper” in Architectural Geometry,

_M3 Kolarevic, B, 2003 “Digital Production” in London, pp30-54

Architecture in the Digital Age - Design and Manufacturing , Spon Press,

Iwamoto, L 2009, Digital fabrications: architectural and material techniques, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, Selected Extracts additional Charny, D “Thinking through making” Kensington, London

In Power of Making, exhibition catalogue, 6 September 2011- 2 January 2012, V&A, South

_M4 Rifkin, J 2011 “Distributed Capitalism’ in The third Industrial Revolution Palgrave Macmillan, New York pp107-126 Marble, S 2008 ‘Imagining Risk’ In P Bernstein, P Deamer (eds).

Princeton Architectural Press, New York, pp 38-42

Building the Future: Recasting Labor in Architecture/,

** all references to lecture relate the the virtual environments lecture series presented by paul loh, semester 2, 2013 ** all images and graphs are my own unless otherwise stated