STUDIO AIR JOURNAL

living ARCHITECTURE DESIGN STUDIO AIR | AUTUMN , 2018

ARCHITECTURE STUDIO AIR DESIGN JOURNAL AUTUMN 2018 Jefferson Arnulfo Villacis Zumbana Bachelor of Environments Major in Architecture & Urban Planning The University of Melbourne This project has been produced with the guidance of the mentors: Dr. Matthew Dwyer Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning

Cover photography credits: Figure 1: The Green Album, Mushroom Shot, 2012, photography, Flickr, accessed 6 Marchm 2018, https://goo.gl/1pnQbE.

CONTENTS A. CONCEPTUALISATION

A1. Speculative Design

A2. Computational Design

A3. Generative Design

A4. Conclusion

A5. Learning Outcomes

A6. Algorithmic Sketchbook

A7. Insect Research

B. CRITERIA DESIGN C. DETAILED DESIGN

JEFFERSON V I L L A C I S Z U M B A N A

4

ABOUT I am an avid student from the University of Melbourne doing Architecture and Urban Design & Planning. I come from a country of culture, kindness and adventure, Ecuador.

My current motivation is to devote myself to explore the creative side of my mind.

Architecture is a complex world that has allowed me to grasp a wide rage of territories not only related to design, but the great deal of theoretical knowledge behind it.

As a person of multiple interests, I have been intrigued in understanding the principles of urban design and the human connection to the built environment, the evolution of society and its unpredictable continuation. This project aims to address some of this answers by providing a resilient response to current ways of living.

5

“

“Fine-tuning and gaining control of a design

08 FINAL PROJECT

proposal via development is a key moment in the sophisticated realisation of an ambitious idea

A conceptual model based on the Program idea of meeting. I takes as initial phase the inspiration of‘City’.

The project has been developed through a process of ‘Adaptation’, ‘Articulation’ and ‘Consolidation’.

The essential aspect of this idea is the way it connects cohesion and abstraction so that elements interact with

each other creating a holistic body and recreating the urban form.

•1) The full sectional drawing allows to observe the different levels of density, history and transformation within a city.

This gives the system a sense of hierarchy according to their significance.

•2) The use of the spire: The Victorian Arts Centre spire is the most powerful cultural symbol in Melbourne — it is an artistic landmark, and one which represents the city as the arts capital of Australia - Haddon Storey, Minister for the Arts, 1995 The spire is symbolic, providing a visual feature and signpost for the entire complex.

•3) The idea of the agora. In ancient Greece the agora was the main point of encounter and city life. The agora itself was an informal club.

As the dominant feature of the ancient architecture,

it has been

incorporated a colonnade of perforated panels on the site.

•4) The perforated panels form a theatre of entrance, and they give the sense of immersion into the inner space.

•5) The molecular, triangular pieces are divided and taken from the Melbourne City Official logo 2016.

The superimposition of these irregular forms has ben taken from THE

Plan Drawing 1-200

archiTECTURE 6

Full Section Drawing 1-100

GIGANTOMAKHIA - one historical piece of the Greek Art. •6) In terms of materiality the building is seamlessly integrated into the urban context, unfolding its interconnecting shapes of steel, glass and titanium.

C I R CU LA T I O N

S T R U C T U R E

P RO G RAM

Translucent U-profiled Glass Skin

Structural Steel Truss Frame

Lecture

EXHIBITION

Stairway

Square Spiral Staircase

Exhibition

Entrance Plaza Lobby Lifts

Reinforced Concrete Slabs

LECTURE

Offices

Auditorium

AUDITORIUM Curatorial LIBRARY

Inclined Slab Truss Slave Support (Cantiliver) Reinforced Concrete Core

ARCHIVE/RESEARCH

CURATORIAL

OMA| R E M

KOOLHAAS

Mat Foundations

ABPL20028: ARCHITECTURE DESIGN STUDIO: WATER Jefferson Villacis Zumbana

T IN G PAC E The community centre is designed to have bleachers

RE PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN UBLIC TO COMMUNICATE E. OUTDOOR FURNITURE ETTINGS WHERE PEOPLE T, SOCIALIZE AND MEET. AT IS PROPERLY PLACED E A MAJOR ATTRACTION PACES (MAIN & HANNAH, 2010).

towards the plaza, incorporating green areas on it, allowing people to seat and enjoy the north sun, while having a visual connection with the plaza.

Par tial Section Drawing 1-50

Image Source: Author

7

CLOSED ROSSLYN ST

BOULEVARD

WATER TERRACE

COMMUNITY CENTRE

VICTORIA ST

PLAZA

SECTION NORTH SOUTH

WALSH ST

1:500

HOWARD ST

KING ST

CONNECTIVITY

SITE

SECTION EAST WEST

WILLIAM ST

1:500

TREES AFFECTED

PLAZA PERSPECTIVE VIEW A square or plaza is incorporated on the north part of the site that welcomes people. The plaza is built with Melbourne’s bluestone and it is the main point of attraction to the site. It incorporates some street art and a fountain. The plaza can hold public events and performances.

Image Source: Author

PLAZA

1

4 DESIGNED LANEWAY A laneway is created by demolishing some of the old terrace houses that do not add any value to the place, attracting more people to the area. This laneway will create a direct connection from the site to the iconic Queen Victoria Market.

N

Image Source: Expedia

COMMUNITY CENTRE

CLOSED ROSSLYN ST

BOULEVARD

SCALE 1:5000

TREE POPULATION

CURRENT VEGETATION

WATER TERRACE

HOWARD ST

KING ST

LYNCH ANALYSIS

CONNECTIVITY

TREES AFFECTED

reduced noise, more vegetation and protection of habitat areas,

2016). It collects storm water into a stone bed below ground,

and safety…” (Dobson, 1995, cited in Roo & Miller, 2004). There

which is absorbed by plants and released through transpiration,

is a positive scientific outcome that establishes mental and

evaporation and some into the sewer system (Philadelphia Water,

physiological benefits by being in contact with nature and having

2016). By using this strategy, pollution created by storm and separates it into different themes thatwater

a daily interaction with green spaces helping people to function

runoff will reduced asand welladaptable as the risk of flooding Melbourne. arebeflexible to fulfillin the future

1:500

N SCALE 1:2000

WILLIAM ST

SECTION Image EASTSource: WESTAuthor

A more extensive and more vibrant open space will be created by the closing of the road Howard st, and part of the roads Rosslyn st and William st.

A boulevard on William st, will create a major connection between the site and Flagstaff gardens, being another source of attraction. A boulevard converts the land use and it brings the street to the human scale creating a “pedestrian realm” (Pratelli, 2014).

Image Source: Aila

1:500

PLAZA PERSPECTIVE VIEW

N

needs of the ever changing environment.

“The existing and new green structures can be designed and combined with the need for Image Source: Philadelphia Water, 2014 climate adaptation – hereby the problems of climate change can be turned into a potential, if it is thought together with the future urban SCALE 1:5000 1:5000 development.”

(Københavns Kommune,SCALE 2012, cited in Schmidt & Filtenborg, 2015, p.16)

FIGURE 25 Artist Impression of the Plaza, made by author

3.3 A major plaza located next to the station incorporating bleachers and green spaces in between.

SOUTH MORANG CRAIGIEBURN

HURTSBRIDGE

UPFIELD

SUNBURY

“Plazas act as neighborhood meeting places... they create places suitable for informal gatherings or public events” (Calthorpe, 1993, p.90) Plazas also are a facilitator of growth by creating higher densities around them. The plaza will be located at the central area with retail and commercial spaces along the “Railway place st.” and inside the new station.

BALLARAT

LILYDALE

BELGRAVE

WERRIBEE

ALAMEIN WILLIAMSTOWN

GLEN WAVERLY

PAKENHAM

SANDRINGHAM

FRANKSTON

20 mins to a CAA

10 mins to a CAA

TRARALGON

MAP 1 Rail corridors across the area, connecting to the western suburbs, made by author.

8

SECTION NORTH SOUTH

SCALE 1:4000

BENDIGO

Secondary Rail

VICTORIA ST

The park has a system of paths that connects

Places of Encounter

Main rail corridor

PLAZA

3.2 Mixed and diverse areas/themes that are adaptable.

SEYMOUR

| MELBOURNE ECO-CITY PRECINCT STRUCTURE PLAN, 2017

SITE

3

FIGURE 24 Artist Impression of the Park, made by author

Diverse Ecosystem

A ‘Green Storm Water Infrastructure’ is used (Philadelphia Water,

SCALE 1:3000

10

“Water plays an essential role in the vitality of city regions and urban living structures” (Dreiseitl, 2009). By placing a water terrace on the site, the image of the site is appealing, impressive and in general it induces good emotional satisfaction.

Image Source: Author

COMMUNITY CENTRE

Image Source: Author

“Citizens around the world want a clean air, clean water,

more effectively (Main & Hannah, 2010).

GEELONG

5 BOULEVARD

WATER TERRACE

SCALE 1:5000

WALSH ST

2

“Community Centers are spaces of coexistence, knowledge, leisure, culture and education.

The space favors the social bond that is established amongst the members of a community and, in many cases, improves social and cultural relations which hadn’t existed before the construction of these centers” (Gonzalez, 2013) Image Source: Author

MAP 2 Metropolitan road network across the area, made by author.

CAA

Road

52

| MELBOURNE ECO-CITY PRECINCT STRUCTURE PLAN, 2017 11

elderly and people with disabilities

and more inclusive Melbourne.

car parks

new development New North Places of around the park Melbourne Station Encounter/Plaza

54

3

4 urba

eco PARK

PRIORITY ACTIONS 3.1 New Melbourne Eco-Park on the newly available E-gate land.

The Eco park will be a multi-project producing a complete transformation of the entire E-Gate area. The government funded project will not only be of great benefit for the community but it will seek to be a major International model for sustainability that will bring importance and renown to the city of Melbourne for being an active leader in climate change response.

Covering an area of around 70 Ha, the park will be the natural connection between Docklands and West Melbourne, allowing the residential development around this area.

Nature is the most effective way in creating a resilient city in response to the current Climate Change issues. The vegetation act as a thermal sponge that traps the heat, radiating out at night and cooling the city following hot weather, which mitigates the Urban Island Effect. The plants will also absorb stormwater runoff which currently affects the Moonee Ponds Creek biota, also know as the Urban Stream Syndrome, because of the contaminants that are carried away in the soil (Walsh, 2005). Finally, by reducing the impervious surfaces and converting the vacant land into a park, it will greatly reduce the Flooding Risk making the precinct a safer environment.

Perspective diagram of the new Docklands Park, source: Places Victoria, 2015

KEY DIRECTION: Promote a vibrant community facilitating encounter by constructing a full range of amenities, urban spaces and community centers.

50

2

3

FIGURE 23 Artist Impression of the new Eco-Park, made by author

FIGURE 22 Park Connections, made by author

| MELBOURNE ECO-CITY PRECINCT STRUCTURE PLAN, 2017

,

and the

Sports Facilities

| MELBOURNE ECO-CITY PRECINCT STRUCTURE PLAN, 2017

d it ate.

eate e

Exhibition Pavilion Arts Centre

FIGURE 27 SECTION OF THE PARK, made by author

le

ng h nt

Greenery

P

W

um

Urban Farm

Melbourne le climate

ECOSYSTEM PLAN

4.4 Create a natural inhabitat for wildlife species.

1

51

FIGURE 30 - 31 SECTION OF THE RIVERSIDE FOREST, made by author

4 Urban Forest, source: City of Melbourne, 2012

EXISTING EXISTING WATERFRONT WATERFRONT EXISTING WATERFRONT

4.2 Built walking and cycling trails within the new Moonee Ponds Creek reserve.

5

New Housing Development Renovated North Melbourne Station

Part of the Strategy is to make this area accessible for the community by constructing touristic trails and recreational paths.

The Forest will be connected to the Main Yarra Trail, one of the most scenic and iconics cycling routes in Melbourne.

4.3 Locate new E-gate housing development between the riverside forest and the park, creating a windbreak zone for the Eco-park.

Pedestrain paths, recreational areas

URBAN FOREST FOREST PROPOSAL PROPOSAL URBAN

West Melbourne

Plaza Arts Centre Community gardens Sports facilities

URBAN FOREST PROPOSAL

Docklands Urban Forest

RIVERauthor.URBAN FOREST FIGURE 19 Access Points to E-Gate, made by

NEW SUBURB

ECOPARK

Between the Forest and the Eco-Park, a new medium density neighbourhood will be placed, making use of this available land. These buildings will create a windbreak zone to protect the Eco-Park and further developments in Docklands and West Melbourne.

FIGURE 29 SECTION OF THE NEW DEVELOPMENT, made by author

56

| MELBOURNE ECO-CITY PRECINCT STRUCTURE PLAN, 2017

43

MAP 23 Ecosystem Plan, made by author

57

urban design & PLANING 9

PART A

CONCEPT UALISATION

“The plant never lapses into mere arid functionalism; it fashions and shapes according to logic and suitability, and with its primeval force compels everything to attain the highest artistic form.�

- Karl Blossfeldt Figure 2: Karl Blossfeldt, Art Forms in Nature, 1928, portfolio, Soulcatcher Studio Exhibition, accessed 12 March, 2018, http://www.theenglishgroup.co.uk/blog/2012/07/02/macro-monday-karl-blossfeldt/

sp

Speculative Design is the conceptual design theory that explores the infinite discourse about the future challenges and opportunities. It is an exploration for the possible realities awaiting tomorrow. When undergoing through this investigation, the intention is to being skeptical about desired futures and to consider every possible scenario. Some of these imagined realities might describe some undesired, dark dystopias.

Critical design will then act as a reference for what these realities appear, making an argument that challenges societies perspectives.

A term coined by Anthony Dunner in the 90s, Speculative Design integrates Futuring into the creative field. Designers have now started to future-casting in a variety of ways: trying to anticipate new materials, changing landscapes, and future available technologies. “Let's call it critical design, that questions the cultural, social and ethical implications of emerging technologies. A form of design that can help us to define the most desirable futures, and avoid the least desirable.�1 It is the current world shaping force that has developed new perspectives for looking at the challenges the world is facing.

1 Anthony Dunne, & Fiona Raby, Speculative Everything: Design Fiction, and Social Dreaming (MIT Press, 2013).

Figure 3: BertMyers, Cultura RM Exclusive, [n.d.], photography, Cultura Exclusive, accessed 7 March, 2018, https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/photo/ray-image-of-celosia-leaf-high-res-stockphotography/169271024

peculativeDESIGN 13

T

he combination of an ambitious skilled engineering and a profound vision of reconnection signified a new beginning for two long time twin cities.

The shared Canal, opened in 1790 was the link that allowed Glasgow and Edinburgh to communicate for two centuries, used intensively to transport freight and mobilizing 200 00 people per annum. The difficulties of the mountainous terrain, made it hard to create a straight Canal that had no elevations from the sea level, being only possible by the aid of a Falkirk’s staircase of eleven locks, lowering the boats, which after operating from more than a century had to be closed in 1933, causing the whole canal to rot and making these two cities move resolutely farther apart politically and economically.

Buillt in 2002, the Falrkirk Wheel was one of the early examples of the contemporary responsive construction “an object of great moment to facilitate the means of communication between the two cities by every means suggested by the intelligence of the time”², a remarkable design innovation which allowed to overcome a natural disadvantage and acting as a “facilitator of flow”. By creating this new connection between the two sides of the canal, it was also created a connection between design theory and construction as described by Patrik Schumacher: “systems of communications can therefore be theorized as autopoietic systems in the sense that they generate their own components and structures within the ongoing flow of communications. Within this theoretical framework society is defined as the overarching, all-encompassing system of communications”³. The flow of communications is the idea that sometimes paper architecture is much more important than built architecture, since architecture is more than a designed product, but the idea within its skeleton is what matters.

We would rather have a framework of knowledge within the skeleton of the building, rather than an undefined product of the imagination.

In this way, the Falrkirk Wheel, more than a designed structure is an eccentric concept, a river elevator,

challenging the common conception of an elevator, since this does not produce a vertical connection, but a horizontal one. In doing so, a new way of thinking emerges from the exploration of new concepts and new ideas, which originates the novel perspective that a water stream is not permanent feature. Certainly, speculative design is about that, it’s the work that uses design to address challenges and opportunities of the future. It’s about thinking outside the box and tailoring those ideas into a practical and functional design.

This case study is also a clear example of the mathematical proposition of the Chaos Theory which is focused on the behaviour of dynamical systems. One of the principles of this theory is the “butterfly effect” which describes how a minor change in one state of a system can result in large differences in a later state, e.g. a butterfly flapping its wings in China can cause a hurricane in Texas. In this case, the system is the entire area: the Forth & Clyde canal, the irregular topographic profile and the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh. By altering only one focal point, although it may seem ambitious, it is possible to affect the entire system: the natural ecosystem around the lift, the commercial exchange between these two cities, the economy, the political disjunction, etc. Likewise, nature itself is as a large dynamic system, which can be affected at certain focal points. This example shows the significance of design and design theory in understanding a pragmatic viability towards achieving a more sustainable future – only possible by affecting the root of the problem, the way of thinking. Design theory should shift from the economically driven focus and shift to a Design Intelligence where the notion of the development of an age and process of sustainment is the basis of our future4.

² Patrick Schumacher, The Autopoiesis of Architecture: A New Framework for Architecture (Chichester: Wiley, 2011), p. 2. ³ John Wilcox, quoted in Robert Crawford, On Glasgow and Edinburgh (Cambridge: Massachusetts: 1959), p. 311.

4 Tony Fry, Design Futuring: Sustainability, Ethics and New Practice (Oxford: Berg, 2008), p. 9.

14

Figure 4 Dave Wilson, Falkirk Wheel in motion 2 (mono), 2007, photography, Flickr Explore, accessed 27 February, 2018, https://www.flickr.com/photos/dawilson/1012941965/ Figure 5 Neil Henderson, Falkirk Wheel HDR 5, 2008, photography, Flickr, accessed 27 February, 2018, https://www.flickr.com/photos/nph_photography/3009263492/in/album-72157608994639328/ FIgure 6 Barry Knight, Approaching the Falkirk Wheel, 2012, photography, Flickr, accessed 2 March, 2018, https://www.flickr.com/photos/barry1/6993500935

FALKIRK WHEEL | CONNECTING TWO WORLDS 15

MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM | CREATING A VISION

16

S

antiago Calatrava is a universal designer who brings together elements of structure and movement. His work is condensed in areas of architecture, engineering, design and art allowing him to expand his gaze on the complexities of design theory as a world-shaping force.

Calatrava’s design challenged the modernist way of thinking, by solving more than merely technical and stylistic problems.

The expansion of his designs across multiple disciplines allows him to discover innovative approaches to architecture, only possible by a balance between scientific efficiency and innovation of new forms. His designs are a distinct paradigm Critical Design.

The diagram of potential futures, suggested by the futurologist Joseph Voros 5 is a clear representation of Calatrava’s vision for the future. In the diagram there are different cones, each representing possible, plausible, probable and preferable futures, where the possible future contains all of them. This is because according to physics, except for perpetual motion and precognition, everything in this world is possible. In this manner, Calatrava style is focused on this idea of recognising this idea of creating any future imaginable. He considers engineering as the as “the art of the possible”6 and is constantly looking for ways of designing impossible structures.

By doing this, he’s work is a strong statement against the perceptions about design that emerged around the 1980s 7, where design became purely based on a capitalism model and other forms of design are seen as economically unviable and therefore irrelevant. The technicality of his works has been an influential force to designers, breaking completely from masonry construction and applying a technically appropriate and elegant alternative to reinforced concrete construction.

From the Spanish word for concrete, hormigon which means “form”, he describes it as a noble material that can take any shape.

Calatrava was one of the first designers to think about kinetic structures and the Milwaukee museum is one of the most iconic representations. The Quadracci pavilion incorporates

a dynamic form as one of the main characteristics of the design. It is undeniable the immense potential that such structure will bring to this new century. The condensed studies in Architecture and Engineering had led Santiago Calatrava’s work to explore intrigued speculative concepts new to the modernist philosophy. The concept of kinetic movement applied into architecture has become the essence of his design: “The offspring of this process, is a new type of design artefact: an amalgam of sculpture and tool, a new, broader definition of technology, and a new type of contemporary practice for architects, engineers and artists”8. In doing so, he is able to break the boundary of space, sending the final product to a relatively new domain, time. By creating movement, the design scheme will have to consider a permeable design that allows the constant change of the form in space. This has a substantial meaning and signifies a total revolution to the way of looking at architecture; where the outcome is, indeed, a series of an infinite number of snapshots that together, they create this intrigued configuration.

The building portrays a series of motor driven louvers, so that they open and close like the wings of a giant bird. It effectively addresses a character of sustainability since the practical intention of the louvres is the calibration of the temperature and the light levels of the interior spaces below, while symbolically they may be used to signal the opening of a new exhibition or similar major event . His main inspiration is nature, although without imitating organic forms, he studies at the structural possibilities in nature and the strong visual movement derived from their shapes and the traces of physical forces that created them. In this project he has revealed that movement is an inherent part of architecture “a building is not just a visual image made up of different volumes and textured surfaces but a dynamic object.”9. In this process of biomimicry, he is able to capture the constant animation that defines the universe and through this artistic and scientific explorations, he has established a creative vision that invigorates the future of design and the very essence of building itself.

Joseph Voros, A generic foresight process framework (Foresight, 2003), p. 16.

Matild McQuaid, Santiago Calatrava, Structure and Expression (New York: Herlin Press), p.10.

7Anthony Dunne & Raby, Fiona, Speculative Everything: Design Fiction, and Social Dreaming (MIT Press, 2013), p. 8.

8 Alexander Tzonis, Santiago Calatrava : the poetics of movement (New York : Universe, 1999).

9 McQuaid, p. 12.

Figure 7: Chris Bicourt, New App Teaches Young Kids about Art at the Milwaukee Art Museum, 2016, photographt, Antenna International, accessed 27 February, 2018, https://antennainternational.com/ new-app-teaches-young-kids-art-milwaukee-art-museum/ 5 6

17

co

mputationalDESIGN Computation is the referred to the processing of information to generate a complex unique system of knowledge expressed in an order, form or structure. Unlike computerisation where the design is analog and then transmitted into a digital form of representation and production, computation evaluates a set of inputs through a predefined sequence or algorithm. This process provides a new way of design thinking enabling the adaptation of innovative solutions related to performance, materiality, morphogenesis and fabrication. These emerging data processing domains have changed the designer’s role towards being a moderator rather than a creator: “We are moving from an era where architects use software to one where they create software”10.

Brady Peters, ‘Computation Works: The Building of Algorithmic Thought’, Architectural Design, (2013), p.10.

Figure 8: BertMyers, X-ray Nautilus shell, [n.d.], photography, Cultura Exclusive, accessed 7 March, 2018, https://www. pinterest.co.uk/pin/60657926203323134/

10

19

ALBAHAR TOWERS | RESPONSIVE DESIGN

T

he Al-Bahar Towers are a true recognition of the technicality, simplicity and creativity. They show a response for the challenges being faced on the 21st century. It is an adventurous and original design that implements the concept of interactive architecture which is self-promoted on the outworks of the design challenging narrow assumptions and preconceptions about the way buildings should look like.

Each of the 25-storey towers are clad in a secondary skin made up of 1,000 Teflon-coated fibreglass mesh parasols secured by an aluminium frame. As the Sun passes, the parasols open and close, controlled by a master central computer.

The Dynamic façade shading system, inspired by the traditional fixed shading screens known as mashrabiyas, leads to a 35 percent reduction in annual cooling loads and an overall 15 percent reduction in annual energy demand in comparison with conventional architecture. This may represent a new benchmark in the field of adaptive building system "Just as with other technologies, the more popular and common this system becomes, the more reliability and affordability will increase"11.

Abu Dhabi's sunny weather is fairly predictable, but if a dust storm arises an anemometer will detect increased wind speeds and override the system. The towers will require less tinted glass than its neighbours, meaning less internal lighting and less energy use.

“ For us, it’s not a question of either energy or architecture, it’s both.”12

20

11 Jill Sell, Interactive architecture is changing how we live, work and play, (2016), accessed 5 March, 2018, http://www.cleveland.com/pdrealestate/plaindealer/index.ssf/2016/04/interactive_ architecture_is_changing_how_we_live_work_and_play.html 12Russell Fortmeyer and Charles D. Linn, Kinetic Architecture: Design for Active Envelopes (Mulgrave, Victoria Images Publishing Group, 2014), p.11.

Figure 9: Karen Cilento, Al Bahar Towers Responsive Facade / Aedas (2012), photography, Arch daily, accessed 13 March, 2018, https://www.archdaily.com/270592/al-bahar-towers-responsivefacade-aedas

21

This honeycomb like structure was designed with a performance-oriented concept that realises an ambitious and highly complex product within a constrained budget and program. The series of algorithms developed follow the mathematical principles of the universal order of orbital motion, which could then be translated to a fabricationfriendly environment.

The geometric composition is based on hexagonal triangulation and the main structure is an intelligent formation inspired from beehives. The 1049 units cover the east, south and west zones, when there is exposure to direct sunlight the units will deploy into their unfolded state providing shading to the interior 13. In this case what informs the behaviour to each component are the vectors generated from the sun

towards the tower at each time of the day. This process of post-parametric automation used the Java script to simulate the path of the sun and the kinematics reaction of the shading units. However, the extreme complexity of the design meant a comprehensive use of over 15 different softwares, including grasshopper. The main challenge was the system of communications that would allow the fabrication and testing. The algorithmic thinking would not necessarily be interpreted among teams and the supply chain which does not have the proper level of understanding in terms of programming. Therefore, a special geometry construction and performance manual was created for the project, which was inspired from nature’s DNA and from LEGO toys manuals.

Fig. 10 First Origami physical model and 4-D simulation model of the folding/unfolding mechanism.

Fig. 12 Facade design.

Fig. 11 Mashrabyia units unfolded, mid-folded and max-folded positions.

Alfredo Andia and Thomas Spiegelhalter, Postparametric automation in design and construction, (Boston : Artech House, [2015]), p. 62.

Andia and Thomas Spiegelhalter, p. 70.

Figure 10: Andia and Thomas Spiegelhalter, p. 65.

Figure 11: Andia and Thomas Spiegelhalter, p. 63.

FIgure 12: Karen Cilento, Al Bahar Towers Responsive Facade / Aedas (2012), photography, Arch daily, accessed 13 March, 2018, https://www.archdaily.com/270592/al-bahar-towers-responsivefacade-aedas 13

14

22

Fig. 13 BIM model built in Digital Project .

The purpose of the algorithm is to create an accurate geometric representation of the elements and evaluate the possible response to sun angles. This is done by placing a linear actuator on the centre of the component where the aperture of each of the elements is made to correspond to the incidence angle of the sun. When the angle is small, that is when the sun rays incident is straight and orthogonal to the element, it unfolds completely and when the angle is high, like at noon, the element folds, any angle in between will make the component fold to a certain extent, which is deduced by trigonometric relations.

The secondary algorithmic process was the building optimization. At the beginning, a full parametrization of the model was produced in order to understand the dynamic behaviour of the components14. In other words, it was first designed the most optimal folding function, so that it could be shade as much of the building as possible, while obstructing views as

Fig. 14 Solar incidence on the facade.

little as necessary. Through the generative process it was then realised certain aspects of the design: the perfectly folded origami shape could not be achieved in real life due to the thickness of the joints, and materiality, the motion behaviour was non-linear and the kinematics were constraint by extra kinematic factors. After integrating all these pieces into the final model, it was possible to control the geometry, mechanics and functionality from a single source of information: solar gain. This is process of computation is relevant to analyse a new field of exploration based on performance-based kinematics, where a few millimetres of aperture would determine the entire building performance.

The post-parametricism concept implemented on the Al-Bahar towers is a clear example of how computational simulation would allow the creation of more responsive solutions, forming the basis for a more ecologically-sound design thinking.

Figure 13: Andia and Thomas Spiegelhalter, p. 71.

Figure 14: Andia and Thomas Spiegelhalter, p. 66.

23

DIFUSION CHOIR | COMPUTATIONAL SYMPHONY 24

D

iffusion Choir is project that assists in the understanding of group behaviour among the components of a designed structure. This is done by exploring the invisible patterns generated in nature by flock of birds.

The sculpture is composed by four hundred components, each one of them independently connected controlled by the software containing the flocking algorithm.

It is a kinetic sculpture, which movements are constantly evolving, but the movement is always synchronised among the several components. During the course of an hour a small group of these birds will come together in a radial configuration where the birds in the middle will expand their wings fully while the rest of them will close their wings depending how far they are from the central bird. This will keep continuously happening along the three-dimensional configuration, where the centre of the flock will always alternate in a sequential way, creating different arrangements at every second.

The origami technique was the essence for the project. It is the most efficient way of maximizing the surface of the material, by exploring a shape that when closed, it can minimize its visibility as much as possible and when open, it can unfold as wide as possible. The shape was the result of months of experimentation. It was applied the same principles of aero spatial technology, such as the satellites that need to be

packed in a very compact form and then unfold once they reach space. “15, states Bill Washabaugh, one of the contributors who worked as an aerospace engineer at Boeing before. The structure was meant to be robust allowing each component to open and close around 1800 times per day. So, the major inspiration was to observe at the way some birds and jellyfish gently open and close themselves all the time. By exploring different shapes, the final design was tested on the laboratory by running it 10 times faster than the actual sculpture. At the end of the test these lab elements showed the equivalent to running for 20 years, a very optimised solution.

Once the structure was installed, it was produced an unintentional sound on the distance, almost like a choir singing in a very harmonious way. This project is a very interesting example of the mathematical Chaos Theory which indicates that chaos is not simply disorder, its is a transition between order and disorder. It is an infinitely complex repeating pattern that can appeared chaotic at times, but it is indeed, ordered. It is a common principle in nature, called Fractals, that allow us to interpret the astonishingly complex patterned forms found in different structures at different scales. This is a composition that uses computation as a method of ordering space.

15 Bill Washabaugh, quoted in Bruce Sterling, Diffusion Choir (2016), accessed 7 March, 2018, https://www.wired.com/beyond-thebeyond/2016/10/diffusion-choir/ Figure 15, 16, 17, 18: SOSO, Diffusion Choir (2016), accessed 7 March, 2018, https://www.sosolimited.com/work/diffusion-choir/

25

generativeDESIGN The introduction of computational tools has allowed a shift on the design approach from composition to generation, by exploring an infinite number of outcomes to determine the most efficient families of components. This enables to modify the emphasis from ‘form making’ to ‘form finding’16. The generation of form is based on a rule of algorithms created with a specific scripting platform. It is a looping process in which the designer is able to assess every outcome and generate a nonlinear system of endless unique and unrepeatable results by using one single code. This process is finely distinctive in nature where the algorithm is enclosed within the particular DNA code of every specie.

16 Branko Kolarevic, Architecture in the Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing (New York; London: Spon Press, 2003) Figure 19: Macoto Murayama, Inorganic Flora (2009), illustration, accessed 9 March, 2018, https://www.designboom.com/art/ macoto-murayama-inorganic-flora/

27

H

ylozoic ground is a project that tries to re-interpret nature’s dynamic behaviour. Based on the Hylozoism doctrine that all matter has life, the Hylozoic Ground is “an immersive, interactive sculpture environment organised as a textile matrix supporting responsive actions, dynamic material exchanges, and ‘living’ technologies – conceived as the first stages of selfrenewing functions that might take root within this architecture” 17. The suspended structure includes kinetic components imitating a pump that pulls air, moisture and stray organic matter through the filtering Hylozoic membranes.

Mechanism: To maximize surface exposure, the artificial forms turn away from pure spheres and cubes and seeks for organic tessellated geometries called “quasiperiodic” that combines rigid repetition with corrupted inclusions and drift.

A tiling system (invented by the contemporary British physicist Roger Penrose) combining multiple angles following the ten divisions of

a circle, alternates with close-packed regular hexagonal geometry.

Despite the generous complexity of the forms, the surface topologies were optimised to be lightweight, reducing the material consumption to a minimum. “In pursuit of resonant, vulnerable physical presence, the components use materials stretched near to the point of individual collapse”. This is achieved by employing formfinding design methods, textile systems, and tensile forces.

The thousands of lightweight digitally fabricated components are processed each one of them by an Arduino microcontroller system, where each processor produces its own response to local sensor activity and listens for messages from neighbours. These controllers have sensors that detect the presence of visitors through changes in space, light and touch, holding this information and catalysing a ‘global’ behaviour, encouraging cascades of rippling and spinning movements that amplify swelling waves of motion within the mesh structure. This coordinated spatial behaviour emulates the muscular reflexes on the respiration process.

HYLOZOIC GROUND | GENERATIVE BREATHING 17 Philip Beesley, Hylozoic Ground : liminal responsive architecture ([Cambridge, Ont.] : Riverside Architectural Press, c2010) Figure 20 Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, Awards of Excellence — 2011 Recipient (2011), photography, accessed 10 March, 2018, https://www.raic.org/raic/ awards-excellence-%E2%80%94-2011-recipient-2

29

In conjunction with the mechanized system, a wet system that supports simple chemical exchanges is introduced to capture traces of carbon form the vaporous surroundings.

Engineered liquid supports natural living cells arranged in a series of incubators flasks. The sudden burst of light and vibration created by visitors influence the growth of this protocells, catalysing the formation of vesicles and secondary deposits of benign materials. This flask of viscous liquid creates an expanded form constantly changing boundaries.

The project tries to reproduce a synthetic soil, which at the same time tries to produce a building envelop as vivid as possible, interacting with the public and consuming nourishing from the environment. A functional definition would be described as a secondary filter that encloses human bodies, sheltering the interior and amplifying the experience of the surrounding world.

Fig. 21 Protocells in filter field.

Generative Process Component Design This was an evolutionary process where every specific device has been developed incrementally, refined and specialised. The specifications were directed towards strength, lightness, simplicity and expression. The initial production was focused on the individual capabilities of the components by preventing joints cracking and increasing range of motion. The entire system is then balanced as the structure assembled together by utilising physical stresses involving torsion and strain.

30

Fig. 22 Individual component design

A cycle of analysis, hypothesis, testing and evaluation takes place which produces several iterations, some which are discarded in the process. The differentiated outcomes of trial and error permits a learning process where one working component can be applied to another family (heredity). On the other hand, it can be produced a lineage of obsolete components that have to be aborted. In this way, every aspect of the design including the feathers, tongues, arm units and joints went through the process of generation with multiple experiments recorded until it was produced the most efficient holistic structure.

Fig. 23 Kinetic mechanism

Generative Kinetic movement The kinetic movement was achieved by exploring different mechanisms, including the subtle motions produced by Shape Memory Alloy (SMA), which can be stretch when is cool and reset to its original shape by applying heat via electrical current. The SMA wires are attached to the cluster of devices that contain the rigid hexagonal skeletons by a hinge point. Successive generations were created to increase motion, focusing on hinge and arms profiles, with the intention of making it flexible enough to allow the SMA to expand and stiff enough to fully stretch out the SMA on the cooling phase.

This is a project that employs a simulated environment through the most innovative computational techniques to create a system that directly responds to human interaction. The project encompasses the principle proposed

by Stan Allen where “meaning in architecture is constructed as an encounter between architecture and the public”18. As a literal representation, Hylozoic ground encourages social participation in the creative process, being the metabolic input required to allow the process of abiogenesis to take place within this artificial environment.

Fig. 24 Generative process for component design elements.

18 Brady Peters ‘Computation Works: The Building of Algorithmic Thought’, Architectural Design, (2013) Figures 21, 22, 23, 24: Beesley, pp. 96-109.

31

T

he hyper-complex design challenges of sustainability encourage the exploration of design techniques that are beyond stylistically driven formal languages.

Computer simulations are able to analyse multiple possibilities and optimize the performance of materials. One performance criteria is the level of adaptation the material presents to certain conditions in the environment such as heat, humidity and light. In nature, this process is predominantly employed to create short-term adaptations to environmental variations. For instance, pine cones respond to the weather conditions, by opening during spring, when the humidity is low, to release seeds and closing-up under wet conditions. The cells in mature cones are dead, so the mechanism is a passive reaction based on the structure of the walls of the cells which interact with water molecules. These natural self-engineered process is the key that allows tree species to survive under extreme periods of rain and pollinate when weather conditions are better.

HYGROSCOPE | METEOROSENSITIVE

MORPHOLOGY

Figures 25: Achim Menges, HygroScope: Meteorosensitive Morphology (2012), accessed 7 March, 2018, http://www.achimmenges.net/?p=5083

32

Through a biomimicry process of the hydroscopic properties of wood the designers of Achim Menges have been inspired to create the project HygroScope: Meteorosensitive Morphology. The project is an exploration of material inherent behaviour and computational morphogenesis. The purpose was to create a material structure that opens and closes depending on the relative humidity of the environment, without the need for a mechanic system which will use energy, but merely dependant on the intrinsic properties of material17.

This concept aims to disregard the common way of designing responsive architecture through systems of mechanisation and electronic sensing and instead it proposes the examination of non-tech solutions found in nature, where the material computes form in feedback with the environment.

Fig. 27 Bending properties of the wood.

34

Fig. 26 Material components reacting to humidity.

Fig. 28 Wood reaction to different humidity levels.

19 Achim Menges, Morphogenetic Design Experiment (2012), Permanent Collection, Centre Pompidou Paris, accessed 13 March, 2018, http://www.achimmenges.net/?p=5083 Figure 26: Achim Menges, HygroScope: Meteorosensitive Morphology (2012), accessed 7 March, 2018, http://www.achimmenges.net/?p=5083 Figure 27, 28, 29, 30: University of Stuttgart, HygroSkin: Meteorosensitive Pavilion (2013). acessed 8 March, 2018, http://icd.uni-stuttgart.de/?p=9869

Fig. 29 Material reaction exploration at different levels of humidity.

Fig. 30 Mold design for fabrication.

Generative Process For this project, generative design is carried out in two different ways:

width-thickness ratio and [iv] geometry of the element and especially [v] the humidity control during the production process.

Microclimatic modulation Form-finding The development of the generative code is based on the wood’s hygroscopic behaviour and anisotropic characteristics (grain directionality). The fabrication programming of the behaviour of thee system corresponds to the digitally programmed code which simulates these conditions. This simulated environment allows the designers to explore countless permutations and find a point of balance between fragility and elastic mobility on each component. “Thus, computation and materialisation are inherently and inseparably related.”

The second type of generative design is the form finding technique which in this case is not performed by the designer, but the design itself. Through the environmental stimuli, the structure constantly changes its form, allowing it to create different patterns depending on how open or how close the gaps are. In this case it will be produced thousands of microscopic configurations in which there is no single optimised performance, but each performance is dependent on an external factor, similarly to what happens in nature with the stomata of plants, which Throughout this process more than 4000 geometrically allows them to breath by opening during the day and unique elements were digitally fabricated, resulting closing themselves at night, to a certain extent, an autogenic succession. (changes are brought through in a complex structure robotically manufactured.

The computation of the design is informed by five internal reconfigurations) where “the material structure itself is the machine”. parameters: [i] the fibre directionality, [ii] the layout of the natural and synthetic composite, [iii] the length-

35

CONCLUSION

Design Theory is a significant process in architecture. It assists in the understanding of the discursive system that for the basis of the design. This will often lead to the exploration of new ways of thinking, new realities and new desing techniques. The architectural theory is also a way of creating solutions for the global challenges that have come with Intense Urbanism and Globalisation. By developing new understandings of the current situation, it is possible to develop new responses.

The three types of design, Speculative, Computational and Generative are part of the broader framework of the Digital Architecture. Speculative Desing is thinking out of the box way and start expl;oring the possiblities of the future realities.

Computational Design tries to engage with the algorithmic thinking by informing a problem in order to produce a design. Finally Generative Design is the composition of multiple layer of desing that generates the most optimal response which can then be programmed in a certain way.

learningOUTCOMES

In this chapter, it was considered three Design approaches that are fundamental in the understanding of the future direction of the world.

The understanding of these principles have created the encouragement to adapt these design thinking to new responsive proposals. A future proposal will have be aimed to act as a referrence to a critical perspective in order to create a more desirable sustainable outome.

The precedents of these project have been an excellent source of inspiration and knwoledge. Most of the learning exprience was a fascinating journey that had opened the doors to a whole range of ideas. The proposal will try to implement most of these concepts of Responsive Design and Biomimicry into a complex desing.

Figure 31 Peter Nijenhuis, Storybook (2017), photography, accessed 3 March, 2018, https:// injazerorecords.bandcamp.com/album/storybook

6

algori

ithmicSKETCHBOOK

BUS STOP SPECIES 1.1 LOFTING MESH By using the loft command it is possible to generate sinuous surfaces that can be transformed into rectangular meshes.

LOFTING MESH

SPECIES 1.2 ATTRACTOR POINT Each mesh vertex has been populated with spheres and applied an attractor point where the closest components will have a smaller size.

ATTRACTOR POINT

SPECIE 2.1 POPULATE Pupulated sphere joined with multiple straight lines.

SPECIE 2.2 PIPE Different levels of line pupulation with some thicknes applied.

SPECIE 2.3 JOINING ARCS Arcs joining two points of the sequence with the size of the sphere as the radius of the arc.

On the second iteration the radius of the arcs are greater than the size of the sphere.

INSECT BEHAVIOUR

SPECIE 2.4 SPHERES POPULATION A series of spheres populating another sphere and then edges extracted by

SPECIE 2.5 INTERSECTIONS Intersections between the spheres and added some thickness.

SPECIE 2.6 ATTRACTOR SPHERE Multiple attractor points applied to a population of spheres.

SPECIE 3.1 GEOMETRICAL PATTERNS

TILE PATTERNS

RESEARCH butterflies The butterflies and moths form one of the most species-diverse groups of insects, second only to the beetles.

In Australia there are about 50 species of moths for every described species of butterfly.

In the Melbourne region more than 80 species of butterflies have been recorded, and there are probably a few thousand species of moths.

Vegetation The larvae feed on a wide variety of native and exotic plants Actually, butterflies do not eat at all. Well, at least not in the traditional sense. What do butterflies eat? Instead of eating, butterflies get their nurishment from drinking.

They have a long narrow tube in their mouth called a proboscis that acts as a straw. They usually set on top of a flower and drink the nectar.

Role “Conserving butterflies will improve our whole environment for wildlife and enrich the lives of people now and in the future.�

Butterflies as well as bees, birds, bats, other insects (bugs, beetles, moths, flies) and small mammals act as pollinators allowing the plant life cycle to continue.

When these pollinators visit the flowers, they help move pollen between different individuals and populations of plants- thereby maintaining genetic diversity, as well as being an essential step in producing many of the fruits, vegetables, and other crop plants that we eat.

Without a diversity of pollinators, we would risk a contraction in both the diversity and abundance of these food sources and other plants.

Areas rich in butterflies and moths are rich in other invertebrates. These collectively provide a wide range of environmental benefits, including pollination and natural pest control.

Behaviour Butterflies are "cold-blooded" which really means that they do not generate enough heat from their own metabolism to provide them with the heat and energy they need to fly.

Therefore, butterflies rely on heat absorbed from the sun.

You might see butterflies with their wings outstretched sitting in a patch of sunlight. They can raise their internal temperature higher than the temperature around them in a way somewhat analogous to how the interior of a car heats up hotter than the air around it on a sunny day. This need to absorb heat from their environment is the reason why so many butterflies have darkly colored bodies.

The females live till late autumn so that they can lay eggs on grasses emerging after the first decent rain when conditions become cooler.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Achim Menges, Morphogenetic Design Experiment (2012), Permanent Collection, Centre Pompidou Paris, accessed 13 March, 2018, http://www.achimmenges.net/?p=5083 Andia, Alfredo and Thomas Spiegelhalter, Postparametric automation in design and construction, (Boston : Artech House, [2015]), p. 62.

Beesley, Philip, Hylozoic Ground : liminal responsive architecture ([Cambridge, Ont.] : Riverside Architectural Press, c2010) Dunne, Anthony & Raby, Fiona, Speculative Everything: Design Fiction, and Social Dreaming (MIT Press, 2013) Fortmeyer, Russell and Charles D. Linn, Kinetic Architecture: Design for Active Envelopes (Mulgrave, Victoria Images Publishing Group, 2014) Fry, Tony, Design Futuring: Sustainability, Ethics and New Practice (Oxford: Berg, 2008) Kolarevic, Branko, Architecture in the Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing (New York; London: Spon Press, 2003) McQuaid, Matild, Santiago Calatrava, Structure and Expression (New York: Herlin Press) Peters, Brady, ‘Computation Works: The Building of Algorithmic Thought’, Architectural Design, (2013) Sell, Jill, Interactive architecture is changing how we live, work and play, (2016), accessed 5 March, 2018, http://www.cleveland.com/pdrealestate/plaindealer/index.ssf/2016/04/ interactive_architecture_is_changing_how_we_live_work_and_play.html Schumacher, Patrick, The Autopoiesis of Architecture: A New Framework for Architecture (Chichester: Wiley, 2011) Tzonis, Alexander, Santiago Calatrava: the poetics of movement (New York : Universe, 1999).

Voros, Joseph, A generic foresight process framework (Foresight, 2003) Washabaugh, Bill, quoted in Bruce Sterling, Diffusion Choir (2016), accessed 7 March, 2018, https://www.wired.com/beyond-the-beyond/2016/10/diffusion-choir/ Wilcox, John, quoted in Robert Crawford, On Glasgow and Edinburgh (Cambridge: Massachusetts:1959)

LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The Green Album, Mushroom Shot, 2012, photography, Flickr, accessed 6 Marchm 2018, https:// goo.gl/1pnQbE. Figure 2: Karl Blossfeldt, Art Forms in Nature, 1928, portfolio, Soulcatcher Studio Exhibition, accessed 12 March, 2018, http://www.theenglishgroup.co.uk/blog/2012/07/02/macro-monday-karl-blossfeldt/ Figure 3: BertMyers, Cultura RM Exclusive, [n.d.], photography, Cultura Exclusive, accessed 7 March, 2018, https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/photo/ray-image-of-celosia-leaf-high-res-stockphotography/169271024 Figure 4 Dave Wilson, Falkirk Wheel in motion 2 (mono), 2007, photography, Flickr Explore, accessed 27 February, 2018, https://www.flickr.com/photos/dawilson/1012941965/ Figure 5 Neil Henderson, Falkirk Wheel HDR 5, 2008, photography, Flickr, accessed 27 February, 2018, https://www.flickr.com/photos/nph_photography/3009263492/in/album-72157608994639328/ FIgure 6 Barry Knight, Approaching the Falkirk Wheel, 2012, photography, Flickr, accessed 2 March, 2018, https://www.flickr.com/photos/barry1/6993500935 Figure 7: Chris Bicourt, New App Teaches Young Kids about Art at the Milwaukee Art Museum, 2016, photographt, Antenna International, accessed 27 February, 2018, https://antennainternational.com/new-appteaches-young-kids-art-milwaukee-art-museum/ Figure 8: BertMyers, X-ray Nautilus shell, [n.d.], photography, Cultura Exclusive, accessed 7 March, 2018, https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/60657926203323134/ Figure 9: Karen Cilento, Al Bahar Towers Responsive Facade / Aedas (2012), photography, Arch daily, accessed 13 March, 2018, https://www.archdaily.com/270592/al-bahar-towers-responsive-facade-aedas Figure 10: Andia and Thomas Spiegelhalter, p. 65.

Figure 11: Andia and Thomas Spiegelhalter, p. 63.

FIgure 12: Karen Cilento, Al Bahar Towers Responsive Facade / Aedas (2012), photography, Arch daily, accessed 13 March, 2018, https://www.archdaily.com/270592/al-bahar-towers-responsive-facade-aedas Figure 13: Andia and Thomas Spiegelhalter, p. 71.

Figure 14: Andia and Thomas Spiegelhalter, p. 66.

Figure 15 -18: SOSO, Diffusion Choir (2016), accessed 7 March, 2018, https://www.sosolimited.com/work/ diffusion-choir/ Figure 19: Macoto Murayama, Inorganic Flora (2009), illustration, accessed 9 March, 2018, https://www. designboom.com/art/macoto-murayama-inorganic-flora/ Figure 20 Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, Awards of Excellence — 2011 Recipient (2011), photography, accessed 10 March, 2018, https://www.raic. org/raic/awards-excellence-%E2%80%94-2011-recipient-2 Figures 21 - 24: Beesley, pp. 96-109.

Figures 25: Achim Menges, HygroScope: Meteorosensitive Morphology (2012), accessed 7 March, 2018, http://www.achimmenges.net/?p=5083 Figure 26: Achim Menges, HygroScope: Meteorosensitive Morphology (2012), accessed 7 March, 2018, http://www.achimmenges.net/?p=5083 Figure 27 -30: University of Stuttgart, HygroSkin: Meteorosensitive Pavilion (2013). acessed 8 March, 2018, http://icd.uni-stuttgart.de/?p=9869 Figure 31 Peter Nijenhuis, Storybook (2017), photography, accessed 3 March, 2018, https://injazerorecords. bandcamp.com/album/storybook