Bartlett Individual

Extreme Design BiotA Lab Mia 2016.10

Content 1. Extreme environment and associated extremophiles Research on extreme environment Individual | September 2016

2. Houdini design Tutorial based design Individual | September - October 2016

3. Shelter design Individual | October 2016

4. Bibliography Individual | October 2016

Preface This booklet documents selected works from my first stage design, including research on extreme organisms in extreme environments, Houdini modelling and final design work. Through these process I hope to examine new materials and structures, which could be useful in my future design work and make it flexible in specific circumstances.

Life in extreme environments has much potential to explore. Because if there is possible life can living in extreme, it gives human being more choices to make full use of extreme environment. Sulfolobus is the extremophiles I’ve found in hot spring. It can be used as a coating material. The DNA shows that the age can be derived from ancient age. It also help us to analysis prehistorical bacteria.

Design with Houdini software is a whole new way to thinking in four dimension. Every design is changing with timeline, growing or vanishing, or we can find regularity behind. Houdini software design also reflect a personal way of logic. The sequence of coding and parameter combination determine final effect of design.

Stage 1 Extreme environment and an associated ex treme organism are discussed and featured. S eek ing p o te nt i a l m ate r i a l a n d s t r u c t u re existed in nature and how they can be used in architectural design.

Yellowstone National Park Located in the M idway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Teton County, W y o m i n g. I t i s t h e t h i r d l a r g e s t h o t spring in the world, which the size is approximately 110m diameter and 50m deep.

Th e Te m p e r a t u re i s a b o u t 7 0 ° C a n d the ph is about 3. Another impor tant element is sulfur present. The ratio of chlorophyll to carotenoids in mineral-rich water changing various during different seasons.

There is good reason to believe that

the existence of algae of other colours, particularly the pink, yellow and red forms so common in the Yellowstone waters, have been overlooked or mistaken for deposits of purely mineral matter.

Under this specific circumstance, Sulfolobus was founded living in hot spring, which is a miracle of life. It gives me inspiration of using sulfolobus as a technique to help human being explore extreme thermal and acid area. Or maybe we can using sulfolobus as a membrane to build shelters under hot spring.

Sulfolobus species grow in volcanic active springs with optimal growth occurring at PH 2-3 and temperature o f 7 5 - 8 0 ’C , w h i c h m a k i n g t h e m a c i d o p h i l u s a n d thermophiles respectively. The shape is irregular and it has flagellar. Sulfolobus is a typical model to study the molecular mechanism of DNA replication. The feature is that sulfolobus maintain a significant pH gradient across the outer membrane. Their energy comes from the oxidation of sulfur and cellular respiration.

Acidophile & Thermophile Sulfolobus

There are t wo ways of metabolism in sulfolobus.

Lithoautotrophically by oxidising sulphur or Chemoheterotrophically using sulphur to oxidise simple reduced carbon compounds. The principle behind can be simplify as a processing of unification of sulfur. +6 valence state and -2 valence state come to +2 valence state.

Another interesting feature is sulfolobus acting as viruses host. Lysogenic viruses infect sulfolobus for protection. The viruses cannot survive in extreme acid and hot environment. So the viruses use sulfolobus as protection against the extreme environment. Within the sulfolobus, this viruses can replicate and growing.

My concept is based on the viruses host principle to design a shelter that protect human being under extreme environment. And the concept of metabolism architecture also employed at the scale of material element.

Stage 2 Houdini design is a sofeware tool to help me thinking in four dimentions and consider the changing of geometry and their regularity behind.

This test is based on a sphere and change the number of its embossment and how deep it cur ves. From the sequence showing that the changing on the sur face could reach a limitation. The first line we can see clearly changes between one and two. However, in second line, the difference can be slightly seen.

A physical model chosen n=32 has printed using 3D printer, which the material is plastic. The details can be presented clearly using this technique and the scale is about 6cm*6cm.

The main concept of this shape is the mandelbrot set. It is the mythical king of fractals. The ball show how it can create weirdest ridged shape.

Houdini design logic My Houdini design start from three main logics. First one is partial fluid, trail their fluid path and connected it into a visible shape. Second is the changing of a sur face, than overlay sur faces into a volume. Third way is based on solid shape, which can be changed through changing parameters.

Stage 3 Th ro u g h ex t re m e e nv i ro n m e nt a l research and Houdini experiments, a shelter could be a proper scale to present the idea of self-construction structure.

Liner construction

Irregular network

Irregular Linar

Cellulose sha

aping

Particle fluid

Particle connection

Constructability Natural form Phallus indusiatus

Different patterns are examined and testing to show various possibilities. The most practical pattern would be the cellulose structure, which could be proved in nature creature Phallus indusiatus. It is a kind of bamboo fungus. The fruit body of the fungus is characterised by a conical to bell-shaped cap on a stalk and a delicate lacy indusium, that hangs from beneath the cap and reaches nearly to the ground.

The shape of the latticed shell is ellipse or polygon. Ever y structure consist of intima, extima and colloid between two membrane. The structure is highly effective, Which combined the advantages of network and shell. The network can distribute force well-propositioned while the shell take the tension horizontally.

One alternative mix is with chitin to create new material for architectural construction. When it comes to the design of shrink or expanding, the network strategy is more flexible and has more potential.

There are different types of latticed shell structure. From single layer to prestressed reticulated shell structure. Also different materials could influence the structure effect.

Materiality Biologic design Tangible Media Group at MIT, 2015

The concept of self-construction material derives from selfhealing material. If the scale of the crack could be big enough like a small shelter, will the material still grow and healing itself?

However, it is not achievable at this moment. So the concept of self-growing architecture can be interfered with environment changes. Through this case study, the growing material in small scale has been created.

The design named “Second Sk in� using self-transforming biological skin activated by living bacteria. The bio-skin reacts to body heat and sweat. When people doing sport and sweat, the bacteria will growing bigger and causing flaps open, enabling sweat to evaporate and cool down body.

I've been thinking that if my shelter could have same technique when there is rainy day, the cellulose structure will gradually growing and open like an umbrellla. When there is dry, the shelter will dry and shrink. This is very convenient and even if the growing speed could be fast enough to be automotivate airbags for car.

Materiality ICD Research Pavilion design Prof.Achim Menges 2015

The design concept based on the study of biological construction process for fibre -reinforced structure, which is highly material-effective and functionally integrated. It is the same principle of my shelter design. The aim of design fabrication is that it can work as facade and structurally. The material employed is ETFE and carbon fibre. The ETFE shell is the original air supported membrane envelope and then by robotically reinforcing carbon fibre inside. The carbon fibre will become stiffness when it become dry. It inspired me about the flexibility of my shelter.

3D printing shelter This model is made by maker box using plastic.

The dynamic form is one option for shelter when it open.

3D printing torus The torus is to test the maximum tension of latticed shell.

Bibliography 1."Achimmenges.Net - Achim Menges Design Research Architecture Product Design".

Achimmenges.net. N.p., 2016. Web. 3 Nov. 2016.

2."Biologic". Tangible.media.mit.edu. N.p., 2016. Web. 3 Nov. 2016.

3.Brock, T.D., Brock, K.M., Belly, R.T. and Weiss, R.L., 1972. Sulfolobus: a new genus of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria living at low pH and high temperature. Archiv fĂźr Mikrobiologie.

4.Dash, P.K., Sahu, D.K., Sahoo, S. and Das, R., 2010. Phallus indusiatus Vent. & Pers.

(Basidiomycetes)-a new generic record for Eastern Ghats of India. Journal of Threatened Taxa.

5."ICD/ITKE Research Pavilion 2015". Gooood.hk. N.p., 2016. Web. 3 Nov. 2016.