Francis Burne Thompson Digital Design Portfolio

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DIGITAL DESIGN PORTFOLIO Semester 1, 2018 Francis Burne Thompson 757 758 Samuel Lalo Studio 11

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Reflection

Contents

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Precedent Study E mail francisthompson117@gmail.com

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Generating Design Through Digital Processes

Instagram (for extracurricular model examples) @frankly.better

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I entered this subject with the goals and aims of learning a suite of new design and fabrication skills whilst attempting to integrate these skills with my existing skills in a tempered mode that allow me to build and expand upon my design sensibilities.

Queen Victoria Garden Pavilion Education 2017 - current Bachelor of Design (Architecture) 2013 - 2016 Bachelor of Science (Zoology) 2007 - 2012

Melbourne Grammar School

As I continue to develop my design sensibilities through this subject and beyond I hope to leverage my previous studies in zoology (and more broadly science) by creating forms that go beyond typical examples of biomimicry and move into bioemulation whilst utilising evidence based design. I am aware that as I build by design and critical thinking skills I am able to continuously learn about the way we interact with the world

Work Experience 2013-2014

Billard Leece Partnership - Assistant

Throughout this subject I have learnt to use Grass Hop-

2015-2016

Railway Hotel Brunswick - Bartender

2016-2017

Prince Bandroom - Bartender

2017- current

Laundry Bar - Bar Supervisor

per with no prior experience which has in turn given me a greater understanding of Rhino. I have also had my first exposure to real time rendering which is an invaluable tool in communicating design intent. As I have learnt to use these tools I have identified the importance of using all of these tools sparingly, maintaining a strong foundation of design thinking to develop concepts before bringing in these and other software suites.

Skills Rhino Grasshopper Unreal Photoshop Illustrator

In the future I hope to take what I have learnt in this and other subjects to develop new multi-residential housing solutions that can compete with more traditional and often idealised suburban living by intergrating the customisability offered by digital techniques and the visions of Archigram and the Metabolists, tempered by contemporary ideas about the metropolis particularly in Australia.

InDesign Fabrication Model Making SketchUp Python

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DIAGRAMMING DESIGN PRECEDENT

The Radix pavilion by Aires Mateus was exhibited at the 2012 Venice Biennale. The Radix pavilion bridges the traditional and the contemporary by emulating the renaissance arches of Venice using modern materials and paradoxically complex and simple forms. The pavilion uses 4 volumes subtracted from each other to create a solid that appears to be perched on the ground, gazing over the water. Two contrasting light and dark, and smooth and rough materials are used to differentiate the public and personal while the interior material also illuminates the space by redirecting light from the water.

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Isometric of Radix by Aires Mateus scale: 1:100 @A3

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Circulation and movement

Intimacy and Light

The overhanging arches create short spaces where the pavilion meets the earth, polarising the circulation

The short spaces created by the arches invite viewers to stop and sit or talk while the internal gold material

through the pavilion along a single axis.

is used to illuminate the space as light bounces off the water and ceiling.

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GENERATING IDEAS THROUGH PROCESS

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Philosophy and Process

Two surfaces were panelled with the same repeating units, a combination of a 2D panel and a 3D volume, each of which appearing in a large size and small size. The small size has a base with half the dimensions of the large but the height remains unchanged. The panels are interleaved to transition from large weighted volumes at the base with clusters of smaller volumes finally falling away to leave only large panels. This patternation is intended to imitate the barnacled forms of protruding ocean rocks while allowing light to penetrate the entire structure.

This arrangement and configuration of voids was chosen because of the way in which the voids intersect produced interesting results. Horizontally the voids align and create stretches of space while vertically the voids punctuate each other, but they do not create long stretches of openings. Where the voids interact with the edge of the cube volume the honey comb like nature of the shapes and their tesselation is articulated.

The size of the voids was positively correlated with proximity to the base of the cube. This allows the voids to combine towards the base and form larger volumes while smaller volumes perforate the ceiling of the larger volumes as well as the edges of the cube. This creates secluded or private areas the branch off from the larger main volume.

The horizontal elements of the waffle have been reduced to remove the upper most fin, creating a central light well.

The vertical members have been aligned perpendicular to the diagonal between the two surfaces, which when combined with the offset internal edge, lift the entire construction and create openings which perforate the base edge.

The complex network of voids create a single, albeit large, opening at the base. This means that this would not be a space to move through but instead a space to pause or stop within before moving on.

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Design Matrix

Base Surface

{0, 75, 150} {150, 37.5, 150} {150, 75, 150}

{150, 37.5, 150} {150, 75, 150}

{0, 0, 0} {37.5, 0, 0}

{0, 0, 0}

{37.5, 150, 0} {150, 150, 0}

1.2

1.3

1.4

Grid Point Distribution

{170, -6, 132}

{112,142,25}

{112,45,-30}

U/V = 10 2.1

2.2

2.3

2.4

3.2

3.3

3.4

Panel Geometry 3.1

Iteration Matrix 1:5 @ A1

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{0, 150, 0} {112.5, 150, 0} {150, 150, 0}

{150, 150, 0}

{150, 150, 0}

1.1

{150, 0, 0}

{112.5, 0, 0}

{37.5, 150, 0}

{37.5, 150, 0}

{0, 0, 0} {0, 37.5, 0}

{0, 0, 0} {37.5, 0, 0}

{112.5, 0, 0}

{112.5, 0, 0} {150, 0, 0}

{150, 37.5, 150} {150, 75, 150}

{150, 37.5, 150}

Surface and Waffle

Large openings towards the peak open the structure without compromising on intimacy created by the base panels

2D panels increase in frequency with height

Small modules used to blend transition between two larger modules

Large 3D volumes add weight to the base, in contrast with the opened peak

A hollow waffle structure allows for the creation of an interior volume.

Scale: 1:2 @ A3

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Computation Workflow

Each surface was constructed from an exploded cube, joining points along edges and then lofting the resulting lines

Two different patterns were created for each surface, with the number of divisions changed to create the smaller modules

Note: Hi Resolution Definition images at fburne.wixsite.com/portfolio

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Patterns were combined in rhino by baking all 4 versions (per surface) and selectively deleting unwanted elements

SURFACE AND WAFFLE

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Fabrication Process

X1 9

X1 13

X1 12 X1 10

X1 11

X1 8

X1 5

X1 6

X1 7 X1 3

X1 4

X1 1 X1 2

X2 11 X2 10

X2 12 X2 6

X2 4

X2 2

X2 8

X2 3

X2 5 X2 1

X2 7

X2 9

The laser cut file creation was an exercise in compromise between cost (efficiency) and buildability.

During assembly attaching the panels to the waffle proved to a source of difficulty as both accuracy (to both other panels and the waffle) and structural strength, as the panels had a tendency to peel due to the small surface area of the waffle.

The waffle fins (left) are individually distinct and thus easy to distinguish in the final product. As a result efficiency could be maximised and the buildability could be sacrificed by removing labels and sharing edges.

In contrast the webs of the paneling (right)are not easily identified. This meant that nesting with shared edges was avoided and labels added in order to easily build the surface panels. Etch lines were also used to avoid the use of masking tape, which has a tendency to damage the more delicate ivory card.

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SOLID AND VOID 12

SOLID AND VOID

Small volumes break up the surface of the cube without adding to the main volume

Volumes protruding through edges create honey comb like tessellations on the face of the cube Small projections from the main cavity create private spaces Larger volumes at the base combine to create an even larger contiguous volume Scale: 1:2 @ A3

Blade like projections split the space along the perpendicular axis only

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Design Matrix

Grid Transformation Random 1.1

1.3

1.4

2.2

2.3

2.4

3.2

3.3

3.4

Void Shape

1.2

2.1

Void Orientation and Scaling 3.1

Iteration Matrix 1:5 @ A1

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Computational Process

Boolean shapes were made entirely in grasshopper, with no rhino geometry referenced in.

This allowed fluid transformations of the volumes.

Shapes were transformed by elongating one axis as well as rotating to create overlaps in tandem with the elongation.

Note: Hi Resolution Definition images at fburne.wixsite.com/portfolio

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The volumes were finally scaled according to the size of the grid cell they occupied - the scaling ratio could be altered fluidly with number sliders.

3D Printing

Rear face shows semi-tessalation of honeycomb prisms

Despite having a geometrically complex interior, this 3D print was completed with minimal support beyond the default raft. As a result the completed print needed very little cleanup and printed without

The largest voids align and connect to completely pen-

error in just 6.75 hours. This section was chosen at it demonstrates the honeycomb-esque openings on the rear face of the volume as well as sectioned cuts along the long axes of the hexagonal voids.

etrate the cubic mass

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CRUSTACEADERM This pavilion takes the flowing barnacle encrusted like form from module 2 and creates a continuous internal tunnel of barnacle like pattern where the pavilion takes it name.

The two openings of the tunnel give the pavilion its double ended program, with the lower and wider end offering seating and an amphitheatre while the higher end acts as a platform from which to speak out over the landscape.

The three layers that make up the repeating units of the pavilion facilitate light reaching the interior in order to further emphasise the pattern. The outermost layer is a series of ETFE bubbles that allow light in while also giving a coral like aesthetic. The waffle is constructed from polished aluminium that maximise the amount of light while reducing the visual weight of the pavilion.

Finally the internal barnacle pattern is constructed from plywood in order to distinguish the pattern from the other materials and the landscape. The openings in the pattern allow light to filter-feed through and create patterns of light and shadow across the interior There are also glass stairs that facilitate the continuation of the pattern without interruption by infrastructure.

These steps act as both stairs and seating and give a sense of a body of water over the top of “barnacles�.

The landform was manipulated to facilitate the orientation of the pavilion, creating a hill at the rear and a depression at the front that was then articulated with a concrete amphitheatre with crab-leg like seating platforms.

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Light path manipulation detail Chromed waffle fins bend non direct light inwards

Isometric

Repeating unit construction detail

Key Circulation

Outer “bubble” membrane made of ETFE plastic allows pavilion to “breath” light, inhaling during the day and exhaling at night

Threshold

Movement paths

Landscape sinusoidally conforms to pavilion’s angled base to create a stage and amphitheatre

Highest step elongated to form speaking platform for lunchtime seminar Outer skin wraps partially under the pavilion to create a sense of balancing on top of the site

Glass platform steps allow panels to enclose the entire interior Thresholds aligned along the pavilion emphasise views and linear circulation of the internal space

Scale: 1:100 @ A3

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Design Iteration

The central design intent of texturing the entire internal space meant that the pavilion must have some sort of enclosed shape. It is this base shape that was the most heavily iterated upon.

Initial forms were flattened however this created claustrophobic spaces especially once waffle and panel layers took significant volume from the interior. A larger form was then developed before being made linear with a rear opening to maximise the usable space by creating a second threshold that would act as a second method of engagement with the pavilion.

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Note: This render demonstrates the pavilion before the amphitheatre was added in response to feedback

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Computational Process The base surface that was used throughout the definition was constructed by lofting sections in rhino which was then panelised at 1:3 ratio to create square modules

Straight fins above and below the pavilion, despite their simplicity, required the most complex part of the definition due to several steps of list manipulation

The straight sections of waffle that hugged the curved edges were created by extracting grid lines from the original grid used to create the patterns Note: Hi Resolution Definition images at fburne.wixsite.com/portfolio

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Fabrication process

The internal surface required a large amount of support and required a slight decrease in resolution in order come under the maximum print time requirements

Laser cutting the waffle structure was similar in many ways to the waffle cut in module 2 task 1. The base however added a large amount of both time and material as the thin material required many contour layers to create the landform (sheets 2-5 shown at 25% size relative to sheet 1)

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360 Image Output

Digital Design Semester 1, 2018 25