Body and architecture: 2nd Skin - Lola Giuffre

M4 REFLECTION Lola Giuffre

Student No: 641288 Semester 2 / 2013

ABSTRACTING THE SLINKY

A slinky can be abstracted into a series of circular sections which togather make up a curve. The area vector of each circular section is always parallel to the tangent to the curve at this point.

SLNKY IN MOTION

MEASURED DRAWINGS

55 mm

70 mm

I am interested in the negative space created by the slinky, and the varying effects this has on the visibility of whatever is behind it, depending on the slinky’s extension and position.

A flattened slinky reveals no information about what is behind it.

A SLINKY INSPIRED VOLUME

01

Modelling the slinky in Rhino

03

02

Sectioning volume in Rhino

Volume inspired by a twisted slinky

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Unrolling surfaces

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Physical model

CONCEPT are investigating the fluidity and dynamic nature of one’s personal space. If we imagine the ‘per1 We sonal bubble’ as a volume that extends the body then this volume should not be rigid but rather an ever-changing volume, responding to the person’s interaction with the external environment. | When crowding in a subway, the volume representing personal space shrinks in size When around someone the person is less comfortable with, the volume of personal space expands

DYNAMIC

also want to investigate the notion of visibility through the use of varying degrees of transparency.

2 We Personal space does not only dictate a volume, but also the level at which one wants to be seen. In

Robert Sommer’s Personal Space: The Behavioural Basis of Design (1969), Sommer discusses the effects visibility has on one’s personal space: | ‘Lovers pressed together close their eyes when they kiss’ | ‘... subjects placed themselves closer to the eyes-closed photograph than to the eyesopen photograph.’

AIMS FOR OUR DESIGN In order to address this concept we will try to create a skin that: Challenges the rigidity that is inherent in the section and profiling system Utilises in some way the effect of interference, so that the skin is constantly changing in respect to the perception of the viewer.

FLUID

SHIFTING VISIBILITY

INTERFERENCE Moiré Pattern

moi·ré n. The geometric design that results when a set of straight or curved lines is superimposed onto another set.

In our design we will investigate this effect and attempt to replicate it in one of the following methods: - Incorporating a section that physically rotates - Creating a static object that appears to move when the perspective of the viewer changes.

Pattern shifts according to angle of rotation

One section rotates with movement of arm

Creating Moiré effect

INTERFERENCE | OLAFUR ELIASSON

The Uncertain Room Olafur Eliasson’s installation The Uncertain Room (2012) is an immersive interactive enviroment that consists of a translucent room (made from projection foil) containing clear spinning disks with concentric mirrored circles. The movement of the disks as well as their overlap creates a moiré illusion, shifting with the movement of the viewers and the movement of the disks.

“Another approach is a distinct separation of the skin and the structure, where the spatial juxtaposition can produce potent visual interplays” - Kolarevic, B., 2003

PROTOTYPE | RHINO

Here we are experimenting with ways that we can change the model’s visibility depending on the perspective of the viewer. By changing the orientation of the vertical cross-sections we are able to dictate the model’s degree of visibility from each angle.

This model was made by taking sections from a point outside the volume (FIg. C)

Fig. A Parallel sections: Person visible from front/ back but not sides (or visa versa)

Fig, B Radial sections: person visible from all angles

Fig. C Sections taken from point outside volume: - Most visible at front - Less visible at back - Not visible from sides

PROTOTYPE | EFFECTS

PROTOTYPE | THREE VERSIONS Materials: Polypropelene Boxboard This is the most rigid of the three models as the material width is close to or equal to the width of the slits

Materials: Polypropelene

The ratio between the thickness of the material and the thickness of the slits that they fit into determines: - The object’s range of movement (thicker slits allow for a larger range of movement) - The object’s stability (If slits are too large the object won’t be able to hold itself together)

The least rigid of the three prototypes - this model is the most fluid and dynamic, however it fell apart relatively easily. We addressed this by securing some of the joints using a soldering gun.

Our prototype using 0.6mm polypropelene and 1mm slits had a good degree of moveability, however fell apart very easily. We addressed this by using a soldering gun to secure some of the joints

Materials: Boxboard Ivory card

DAAN ROOSEGAARDE | INTIMACY

The opaque e-foils Daan Roosegaarde used to create Intimacy (2010-2011) have the property of becoming more or less transparent in response to the heartbeat of the person wearing it. This, in effect, makes public the wearer’s emotional response to interactions with people, thereby exploring the idea of privacy and blurring the boundaries between what is revealled and what is kept to oneself in social situations.

Intimacy functions as a second skin that, while physically covering the wearer’s body, also reveals to the public aspects of the person that are normally kept well hidden.

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT Extend the model so that it surrounds the entire body.

Possibly have perspex sections for only a section of it, and use a material far less rigid for the rest. (ie. plastic sheeting) Polypropelene + Perspex

01

Plastic sheeting + Polypropelene

Jenna Leong

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04

Flat, opaque pieces obstruct view from some angles

03

05 Loren Robinson

Design determined by the volume the motion of one’s hands make when in conversation with someone

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

REVISION ONE

We have decided to revise our concept and volume, since we believe the idea of gestures and conversation does not fit elegantly into our overall concept - that is, visibility and the notion that one’s personal space dictates the level one wants to be seen. Instead we will examine the two following interpretations of sight: INTERPRETATION A: HOW THE PERSON WOULD BE SEEN + The interference effect where one is only visible from certain angles where one’s movement controls when they are visible to the public. Additionally, the intervals between the sections affect how much of the person inside the second skin is visible. (Pattern) + The silhouette created by the semi-transparent plastic and light. (Materials)

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INTERPRETATION B: HOW THE PERSON WOULD SEE ITS SURROUNDINGS It was found that people are most comfortable in their personal space when their entire environment is in sight, consequently the shape of our second skin will be designed around the angles and elevations created by the eye when looking at its environment - this is illustrated by the arcs in one of the screen captures. (Shape)

REVISION TWO Instead of examining the angles of elevation created by the eye, we will rather map the gaze that others project onto the model. (see 07) Emphasis on eye level region since that is where one focuses when conversing with someone

07a

This space in front of the body is the space occupied by hand gestures and hence is another area that someone in conversation with the model would foucs on

07b

FABRICATION

Translating digital to physical

PROTOPTYPING

Investigagting the effect and attempting to emphasis the transistion between transparent and opaque. This prototype included two volumes - one inside the other. We were attempting to create an interference effect between the two volumes.

PROTOTYPING

The existence of a volume within this volume may not be necessary to emphasise the transition between transparent and opaque as with sections close enough together, the shift between visibilities is quite distinct.

RHINO | MODELLING THE VOLUME

The volume was created by drawing two curves that describe the front and side outline of the object. We then formed a sphere that surrounded these objects, rebuilt the sphere to have 24 divisions in each direction and manipulated the control points so that the volume fit the outline from both orientations.

SECTION AND PROFILING

+

FABRICATING THE MODEL | DIGITAL PREPARATION For each unrolled surface

1 Offset (cap:flat | 0.45mm each side) 2 PointsOn. Extend the slit so it passes the edge 3 Trim using edges as cutting object 4 Trim using slit as cutting object

2788 slits later

FABRICATING THE MODEL | ASSEMBLAGE

Horizontal pieces are inserted one-by-one in all of the vertical pieces. We made the slits so that they must be inserted from the inside and pulled through from the front.

FABRICATING THE MODEL | ASSEMBLAGE

Photographed by Loren Robinson

The flexibility of the material, although necessary in making this even possible (it must be bent in order to slot into place), made slotting in each piece very difficult.

By this point the model had become considerably heavy, and also very fragile due to the large number of pieces that had not yet been put in to stabilise it.

Holding it up and together, and not letting the volume skew had become a two-person job.

We used masking tape to stop the pieces from falling out as we worked on the model.

THE EFFECT

Throughout the design process this semester there are several major things that I have taken away from it; a deeper understanding of the non-linear and somewhat chaotic process of design, an ability to use a variety of new programs such as Adobe Illustrator, InDesign and Rhino, and probably most importantly, the learned ability to work with both physical and digital interfaces in an integrated manner - using one so that it assists the other. This I believe is the most translatable skill in terms of something that will prove useful in future projects, as it enforces a stronger link between what can be conceived and what can be constructed. Architecture in the Digital Age - Design and Manufacturing reflects on Frank Gehry’s take on the use of digital technology in architecture, as he believes digital processes are a ‘method of translation [not conception]’ and that you ‘can’t beat the tactility of a physical model’. Gehry is an architect who masterfully works between the digital and the physical.

REFLECTION

As discussed in Lisa Iwamoto’s Digital fabrications: architectural and material techniques, digital practices have the potential to induce a ‘hypothetically seamless connection between design and making’. By using Rhino I was able to develop a shape far more compex and with far more ease than what could have been achieved with only the physical means of fabrication, as intermediate steps (turning our 3d model into a set of developable surfaces that can be sent to a laser cutter) have become automated. Even so, our design was incredibly challenging to fabricate, as the effect of factors such as weight and flexibility of the material were hard to anticipate with just Rhino as a digital tool. I would be interested in the future to investigate tools such as Kangaroo to introduce physics in the virtual representation before translating it to real-life, thus making the transition between virtual and physical even more seemless.

“...merging production and design into a common language of digital information” - Building the Future: Recasting Labor in Architecture

REFLECTION

The process of coming up with our final design was far messier that I had anticipated, yet out of that chaos I believe we achieved something that combines our concept and desired effects quite elegantly with the designed volume. Throughout the course of the semester we tried to push the boundaries of our design and increase its complexity, before simplifying and coming up with a design that could be put together within our time constraints. Ultimately we probably could have come up with something less complex and still achieve the effect we were after, or simply done better with managing time, to avoid the stress that came with fabricating the model.

One part of the course that had a large impact on the final design was the lecture on effects, especially the part concerning the effect of interference. I was influenced by this lecture to put a lot of effort into using this effect to create a distinct shift in visibility of the model - tying into our concept of the transient nature of one’s personal space.

Also, Daan Roosegaarde’s Intimacy is a precedent that I was investigating earlier in the term, and which ended up having an impact on the final model. Roosegaarde presents the idea that although Intimacy is a physical cover, it also draws attention to the model’s arousal - something that would normally be kept hidden from the public eye. This is echoed in our design through the effect of changing visibility. When observing the design front on, the viewer’s eyes are drawn to the only patches of the model’s face that remain visible, thus drawing attention to something through the act of concealing.

Despite the difficulty and stress associated with fabricating the model - there were times when we doubted it was even possible to put together - I am immensly pleased with the outcome as I believe it has achieved the desired effects.

Daan Roosegaarde

Scheurer, F, Stehling, H 2011, “Lost in Parameter Space?”

AD: Architectural Design, vol 81 pp. 70-79 Digital fabrications: architectural and material techniques / Lisa Iwamoto. New York : Princeton Architectural Press, c2009.

Marble, S 2008 ‘Imagining Risk’ In P Bernstein, P Deamer (eds). Building the Future: Recasting Labor in Architecture/, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, pp 38-42 Kolarevic, B, 2003 “Digital Production” in Architecture in the Digital Age - Design and Manufacturing , Spon Press, London, pp30-54 Studio Roosegaarde — Intimacy 2.0. 2013. Studio Roosegaarde Available at: http://www.studioroosegaarde.net/project/intimacy-2-0/. [Accessed 29 October 2013].

ADF x “The uncertain museum” - a set on Flickr. 2013.

Available at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nashermuseum/sets/72157630635287288/. [Accessed 03 November 2013].

REFERENCES