Module 4 bilal hallak 641720

Module 4: Reflection One of the biggest yet complex subjects I have ever undergone.

Bilal Hallak 641720 Virtual Environments

From the first lecture I attended, I could see myself getting excited about being able to design and fabricate a suit that could be showed off. Little did I know that this would involve countless hours of thinking, drawing, modelling and fabricating, but it was a task that was willingly accepted. In the beginning, we were told that the subject would try something different this semester and give students the opportunity to explore other material systems, rather than focusing on panelling systems.

I was more inclined to working with the inflatable system as part of the first module of ideation, as it posed more of a challenge in terms of designing a suit that would be unique. Initially I played around with the idea of having a suit that would inflate to extreme proportions, which would be able to consider the idea personal space. What was personal space? Robert Sommers reading on personal space influenced my thinking on how my inflatable suit could protect the invisible boundaries in which intruders could not enter (Sommer, 1969), hence making it the user’s personal space It was right after the first module that we were given the opportunity to work with other students who have the same material system. But was also sparked my interest was that two material systems could collaborate together to form a second skin of intriguing ideas.

With my group consisting of inflatable and panel & fold systems, we began exploring through different composite materials in which could help represent both systems in the one skin. Throughout the second module, we bounced back and forth with ideas that we could consolidate into one design, and at first was difficult because each of us had our ideas and completely different to one another.

What I also found from one of Paul Lohs lectures was the fact that our ideas are limitless and they had no boundaries (Loh, 2013), however, what I did come to agreement with the fact that what we draw will most likely not be the outcome we initially proposed.

I believe once we as a group jotted down our ideas of personal space, we were able to list the key points of personal space, such as protection, comfort, and boundaries, which seemed to be the catalyst to our design process. From here on, we continued our research on how we could portray a warning system on the back of the user and a more comforting & welcoming front of the user. What inspired our design process was the precedent study of different animals. For instance, the crocodile was a major influence in our design process, as it stimulated our outtake on how we could develop a warning system on the back with its hard, bendable spikes.

In my opinion, I found the last module of fabrication most difficult, as there were challenges with digital prototypes on Rhino, which I found the most challenging task throughout the semester, as well as the physical prototypes. Using vast amounts of surfaces, orientating, exploding and control points which then needed to be modified to best fit the skin on Rhino was time consuming and difficult for most of it. We encountered several problems with each prototype we developed, such as the curved edges on the spiked panels that wouldn’t unfold for fabrication.

I would say now that “Thinking through making” reading by Daniel Charny inspired me to think that making is the most powerful way in which we can solve problems that we encounter during our development (Charny, 2011) . It was only after several attempts and technical sessions that we were able to find solutions to the problems we faced. It was also great to know that our tutors had experience in Rhino and were able to guide us during our tutorial sessions.

I can now see that Virtual Environments will be one of the subjects that will be the foundation to the architectural career I want to pursue. In the beginning I was unclear of how designing a second skin would prove to be beneficial to my studies, but I realize now that it isn’t the suit that will benefit me, it’s the skills I developed throughout the design process. The Rhino skills that were consistently developed each week have given me the opportunity to look at new geometries whilst designing projects. I can now reach a point where my imagination can meet my reality in terms of designing. Inspired by Rifkin in his reading of the “The Third Industrial Revolution”, technology has allowed designers to progress and create projects of fine complexities (Rifkin, 2011).

I never saw myself in the beginning of the subject designing and fabricating a second skin of such complexity. The different geometries used in the skin has definitely given the project more of a profound effect for the audience, and I believe that it was only made possible to explore and fabricate such shapes with the advance technology of Rhino. Perhaps it is possible to say we have moved into the Third Industrial Revolution, and using Rhino in Virtual Environments was just a taste of what lies ahead of me.

If there is one thing that I achieved or found most beneficial by undertaking Virtual Environments, it would have to be the skills that I developed in Rhino in such a short time. Straight from the beginning, each student was put to the task of learning how to use Rhino. Of course it was a difficult challenge, however, forcing myself to push through the stressful times of trying to create an inflatable floaty in week one to creating a six sided polygon, but I look back at what I went through and realize that it’s the extra push you need to give yourself in order to achieve something great. The same way my tutor Michelle did for her project “Hub Melbourne”, she was able to complete her project even after going through the rough times of the fabrication process (James, 2013). It was great to see that because even I went through hard times with the group, but like Michelle, we managed to pull through and accomplish our set goal.

I can only say now that Virtual Environments as a whole inspired my design processes and the potential I as an individual have as a young designer. I believe I now have the opportunity to improve on what I have learned and as well as the opportunity to design something of my own.

References Charny, D “Thinking through making” In Power of Making, exhibition catalogue, 6 September 2011- 2 January 2012, V&A, South Kensington, London James, Michelle : Lecture Week 9 – Round Table Discussion Loh, Paul (2013) : Lecture Week 4 – Design Effects Loh, Paul (2013) : Lecture Week 8 – Fabrication Rifkin, J 2011 “Distributed Capitalism’ in The third Industrial Revolution Palgrave Macmillan, New York pp107-126 Sommer, R 1969, ‘ Spatial invasion’ in Sommer, R, Personal space : the behavioral basis of design, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J, pp. 26-38

Images Cloud city

http://inhabitat.com/nyc/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/2012/05/7-Cloud-City-Tomas-Saraceno.jpg