M4 REFLECTIVE JOURNAL

DIGITAL DESIGN + FABRICATION SM1, 2017 SHIELD - THE SECOND SKIN

Jun Ming Ting 789843 Joshua Russo Group 9

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CONTENT 1.0 IDEATION 2.0 DESIGN 3.0 FABRICATION 4.0 REFLECTION 5.0 APPENDIX

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ABSTRACT

During this stage, I measured and analysed the system of a rocket. Certain features of the system were then used to make a reconfigured object. I then sketched a few initial design ideas in relation to personal space.

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1.0 IDEATION SECTION AND PROFILE: THE ROCKET

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MEASURED DRAWINGS

Rocket Plan View 1:2

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Rocket Elevation 1:2

MEASURING THE OBJECT

Width

Height

Because this object was laser cut, each individual piece can be measured before they are assembled together. I drew a sketch of the rocket and recorded the dimensions for each part. This will give rather accurate (to the nearest millimeter) dimensions for me to work from.

To measure the overall height, I had to assemble the rocket first. I used a rule and 2 set-squares to measure the height and width. The 2 set-squares ensure that the rule is perpendicular from the surface, therefore giving an accurate reading. I had to be aware of parallax error, ensuring that I’m observing the rule at right-angles. Because the rule isn’t long enough, I measured the height of the main body and the void below separately before summing them up.

Start point

End point

Set square to ensure better accuracy

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ANALYSIS OF THE OBJECT SYSTEM

This is one way to make the object feel more 3 dimensional - by using pieces which join perpendicularly to other pieces, essentially protruding out of the surface. This will incorporate a sense of volume to the object.

Multiple pieces assembled together will stablise the object and will better hold the assembled product together better

Slots allow 2 pieces to join together. The gap of the slots must equal the width of the adjacent material

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DIGITAL MODEL

All Individual Parts The main body and the 3 legs are then assembled together to form the entire rocket.

The 3 legs are assembled together separately.

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The main body is assembled together.

Perspective View

DIGITAL MODEL

Plan View

Front Elevation

Right Elevation

Bottom View

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Close-up #1

Close-up #2

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RECONFIGURED SKETCH MODEL

Step 1: Draw outline of each piece on cardboard

Step 2: Cut out sections using craft knife

Step 3 (1): Cut out slots in each piece

Step 3 (2): Once all of the pieces have been cut, they can be assembled together

Step 4: Use PVA glue to assemble the pieces together, with the help of the slots that were cut out

Step 5: Wait for PVA glue to dry, repeat process until the model is completed

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SKETCH DESIGN 1

Shoulder area less dense than head area

Structure that protrudes out near the eye level iterates the existence of a wider personal space around the head.

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SKETCH DESIGN 2 Empty space between front structure and face

Back less defended

Space inbetween the front cage-like structure and the face suggests that the person may allow certain people into their personal bubble, while blocking out others.

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SKETCH DESIGN 3

Empty shoulder

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Central area extends further down

Covered shoulder

The most dense area in the middle suggests the need for protection of the highest order from intruders. The one empty and one covered shoulder symbolises the fact that personal space is subjective and can change depending on the person

M1 REFLECTIONS WHAT I DID WELL

RECONFIGURED SKETCH MODEL I did a good job applying the analysis of the system of the rocket into my reconfigured object. I managed to make a rather different looking object using the same system. I created an object that had a different sense of volume, whereby they protrude out of the central system (essentially looking like three separate volumes).

ANALYSIS OF THE OBJECT SYSTEM The system of the rocket is rather simple. It uses a few key concepts, such as notching and the way it can utilise certain pieces to achieve a protruding part (to achieve a more interesting volume) and I successfully analysed them, which I then used to make my reconfigured object.

DIGITAL MODEL The modelling of the rocket was a reasonably simple task. This is due to the properties of the system of section & profile (which the rocket uses). All the pieces are planar pieces. So all I had to do was obtain the correct measurements, extruded them and then assembled them together. The use of rendering was also a good touch to the digital model.

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M1 REFLECTIONS WHAT I DIDN’T DO SO WELL AND THUS HOW CAN IT BE IMPROVED?

MEASURING THE ROCKET When measuring the entire rocket, I should’ve taken a zoomed image (as shown below) of it, printed it at 1:1 scale, and then measured from that. Even though there is an error due to perspective, the percentage error is still much smaller than if I were to measure it physically with a set square and rule.

FRONT VIEW

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SIDE VIEW

MEASURED DRAWINGS My drawings were overall quite accurate to my measurements.

However, I could have improved it by using a sharper pencil or a mechanical pencil so that I can control my lineweights as well as improve the clarity of the lines. I could also have used simple geometry as a starting base before I started drawing in the details, and this idea is taken from Enric Miralles and Carme Pinos (1988/1991, p. 240-241).

PLAN VIEW

M1 REFLECTIONS

SKETCH DESIGNS A mistake I made while drawing my first three sketch design ideas is that I drew them in too much detail. First of all, this just takes a lot of time and precision, and because of that, I will usually lose my focus on the actual concept just because I’m focusing so much on the details.

Drawing like (shown) would allow me to sketch out many more initial ideas in a shorter time. It also allows me to see the overall concept and its form instead of focusing the attention on the details (which shouldn’t be thought about until after the conceptualisation). I also took the time to enhance the lines in photoshop.

I also could’ve taken more ideas from the reading such as the idea that our actions to defend our personal space changes with the situation, and hence our personal space bubble could also change depending on it. This would have lead to more interesting second skin proposals than the ones that I had.

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2.0 DESIGN GRANT LI . 832914 ZHI JUN LIU . 783997

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ABSTRACT

During this stage, my group developed our design, improving our concept as well as the feasibility of the design. We then made a prototype to test certain criteria of the design.

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SKETCH DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

Head area is denser pieces are arranged closer to each other

Body area less dense - pieces are arranged further apart

We took the idea to over cover parts of the body (i.e front and side). This is because personal space doesn’t extend out where the body is next to a wall or object that protects that side of the body from physical contact with other people.

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Area for protection of personal space does not revolve around entire body

Head area kept open for freedom for head rotation

Side area has slightly different pattern to frontal area

Area protected by object hence no need for second skin protection

We took away the idea of sharp points. This is because we chose to be more defensive in our design rather than being aggressive.

REFINED SKETCH MODEL

From this model we took the idea of centralisation. The central part of the model would fit around the body and this would be used as the main platform for other pieces to connect to.

From this model we took the idea of being abstract. This makes the overall model look ambigious in terms of its shape and volume, as if there is no definite volume surrounding the body.

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2ND SKIN PROPOSED DESIGN V1

ELEVATION

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PLAN VIEW

ISOMETRIC VIEW

Area of high density - represents more protection due to larger personal space

THE SITUATION

Personal Space Mapping

Person standing in the corner of an elevator. Personal space only extends out to the front and right side as the left and backside are already ‘protected’ by the inner elevator walls.

Points that can be developed - thickness of material - density & staggering - curvature in the horizontal direction - whether the face should be covered and how it should be covered

Second skin extends up to the side of the head while leaving frontal face open. This gives side full side protection while allowing person to have full view of the area to assess the situation

Area of low density - represents less protected personal space

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2ND SKIN PROPOSED DESIGN V2

ELEVATION

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PLAN VIEW

ISOMETRIC VIEW

Second skins extends up over the face. This protects the front of the face from invasion. Thickness and angle of the pieces reinforces protection.

Hook-like piece allows the model to rest on one shoulder.

When there are less people in the elevator, you would rather someone standing beside you than infront of you. Right side of body left more open suggesting less protection. Face is still covered because it needs protection from all directions.

Central area is orthogonal in design. Has large gaps which suggests less protection is needed for this area

Points that can be developed - thickness of material - ways to make face more protective, such as allowing view only from a certain angle - manufacturability

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PRECEDENT RESEARCH

Effect of two-way curve

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The Swoosh Pavilion uses flat pieces of material and arranges it in a way that it creates twoway curve. Both horizontal and vertical staggering patterns reinforces the idea that the structure is made from many small pieces - the overall structure looks like one smooth piece but at the same times looks quite broken up. It also creates interesting shadow patterns.

Vertical Stagger Patterns

Horizontal Stagger Patterns

Swoosh Pavilion, 2008.

PRECEDENT APPLIED TO DESIGN

Effect of two way curve - second skin wraps around body while moving vertically upwards at the same time

Rhino model showing staggering pattern as well as the effect of a twoway curve that it creates.

Pieces can be angled to block out view from the outside. Can also be more dense in these areas Staggered and perpendicular to allow a better view from the outside

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PRECEDENT RESEARCH

Pieces are arranged close to one another and are wider. This inhibit vision through the structure.

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Pieces are far apart and are short in width. This creates a ‘gap’ like structure which allows vision through.

Not Whole Fence, Ball-Nogues Studio, 2014.

PRECEDENT APPLIED TO DESIGN

Thin pieces arranged with bigger gaps allows person to see outside. The outer area consists of wider pieces, and more closely packed together to inhibit vision through and into the structure.

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DESIGN DEVELOPMENT V1

Elevation

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Plan View

Isometric View

Area in front of face is much denser for a stronger protection of personal space. This area does not follow the general pattern and flow that can be seen throughout the design.

Personal Space Mapping

Hook-like piece retained so that model can rest on one shoulder

Staggering straight pieces at certain angles will create a two-way curve effect. The constraint and limitation of this is how can they be cut and assembled together properly

Face is now covered. The horizontal pieces are also angled so that the face is covered in a way such that others can’t look in. Only the person can look out.

Points that still can be developed - Area in front of face can be designed to flow better within the design - Manufacturability - how these angles can be achieved using these components

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DESIGN DEVELOPMENT V2

ELEVATION

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PLAN VIEW

ISOMETRIC VIEW

Head and side area is quite dense. The pieces are staggered in a way that the person cannot be view from the front at all. This provides maximum protection in these areas. However, this means that a gap has to be made for the person to look out.

Staggered pattern only allows view inside from a certain angle.

Hook-like piece retained so that model can rest on one shoulder

Right side of body much less covered, evoking that pay much less attention to our sides compared to the front.

Central area contrasts the design of the outer piece. It is also designed to leave bigger gaps implying those areas need less protection of personal space.

Points that still can be developed - Design a gap for view out of the second skin - Make the two distinct parts less contrasting to make the second skin feel more like one overall design - Alter angles of curvy part to ensure manufacturability

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Two contrasting small scale models with different properties were built and then photographed with respect to light & shadow. The emotion evoked were recorded and explain with respect to personal space.

TESTING EFFECTS

Continuous, high density, thin material - Creates weaker, more diffused shadows - A more consistent and rather clear view through the skin - Evokes a more calm emotion suggesting a more passive defensive stance with regards to personal space - Allows clear view through but blocks any access (no gaps through) suggests distant viewing only - View from all angles rather similar suggesting a more consistent personal bubble

Staggered, medium density, thicker material - Creates stronger, less diffused shadows - Has parts that block out view as well as gaps that can be viewed through - Evokes a more agitated emotion suggesting a more aggressive way of defending personal space - Gaps allow for a peek through, but the more staggered areas block out more view - View from certain angles are more obstructed than other angles - This suggests a more unevenly distributed personal bubble

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PROTOTYPE

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PROTOTYPE

Left segment of our design was made to scale. This was so that we can test how the piece can rest over one shoulder. This aspect was quite successful as the piece stood rather upright without any support from our hands. We also tested unorthogonality. Some pieces are not joined at right angles. This is possible due to the slightly flexibility of the 3mm MDF sheets, as well as slightly bigger notches.

Model in 1:1 also allowed us to view how the final product will actually look like. For example, we found out that the wide pieces fail to create interesting shadows. This segment was rather light in weight, so therefore the overall design should be able to be worn without too much discomfort.

Points that still can be developed/ prototyped: From this prototype, we learned that we should test more different ways to exploring and manufacturing unorthogonality, perhaps steeper angles. Hence we should do a series of material tests as well as making prototypes of further developed designs.

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M2 REFLECTIONS WHAT I DIDN’T DO SO WELL AND THUS HOW CAN IT BE IMPROVED?

DIGITAL MODELLING

The digital models are supposed to help us visualise the reality of the design. However, our digital model did not do that. Our rhino modelling were definitely sub-par. We either did not manage to model the design we intended, or we did not utilise certain key commands available in rhino to help us digitally model it well.

I have gone back and improved the rhino models. For the first proposal, I decreased the extrusions to the standard MDF sheet thickness of 3mm, as well as increased the number of pieces. This will show more realistic, as well as a more significant material effect. This is important so we can we what it will actually look like in reality, whereas the initial one isn’t realistic.

For the first development design, I touched up the finesse of the digital model by using more suitable commands (such as tween surfaces), and this resulted in a cleaner and consistent design with an interesting pattern.

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M2 REFLECTIONS WHAT I DIDN’T DO SO WELL AND THUS HOW CAN IT BE IMPROVED?

PROTOTYPING

This part was definitely the most lacking during the M2 stage. We did make a 1:1 scale prototype, and did obtain some useful information about the scale, weight and the way the notches are joined together. However, it did not provide any other important information such as material effects, and most important of all, if our design is feasible or not. We should have taken a part of our design and prototyped that. However, during this stage, we did not have a feasible design (which is why we were not able to do this).

In hindsight, we could have made a small scale prototype of this design with a more flexible material such as polypropylene, and this is less limited by feasibility.

TESTING EFFECTS

These material effects tests did not provide us with much useful information. The tests were rather random, and produced minimal results including shadow patterns.

What we did take away from this, however, was that we should develop the continuous design system rather than the staggered one.

PRECEDENT APPLICATION

The precedents did not really fit our design intention that much to begin with. It is not a good idea to try to force ideas that do not work with our design. We should have researched more relevant precedents.

However, when looking back, I still found aspects that I can implement into my design which could have worked. An example is by including a gap in this design (idea taken from the ‘Not Whole Fence’ precedent.

An example of a more relevant precedent is ‘The Thematic Pavilion’ which features material effects created by twisting pieces.

The Thematic Pavilion, Soma, 2012.

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M2 REFLECTIONS WHAT I DIDN’T DO SO WELL AND THUS HOW CAN IT BE IMPROVED?

TWO INITIAL IDEAS

DEVELOPMENT OF DESIGN IDEAS

SKETCH DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

COMBINATION OF THE TWO INITIAL IDEAS

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A lot of ideas come from initial drawings. I felt that our sketch designs were lacking, especially the development drawings. We made really limited initial drawings in the first stage, and now we made really limited development drawings. I felt that this is an easy change to make. One way we could go about this is to combine our initial ideas and develop them into several more interesting ideas.

This is one way to push for more unique outcomes in a short amount of time. Then once we have found several interesting ideas, we can develop them in more depth.

An example is shown below whereby I combine two of my initial ideas together, and then developed them, all by hand drawing.

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ABSTRACT

During this stage, my group further developed and finalise our design, and our main goal was to make it feasible to fabricate. We also did several material tests to obtain important information about their properties. We then made several prototypes before we made our final second skin.

3.0 FABRICATION GRANT LI . 832914 JESSE SHEN . 833944

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INTRODUCTION 2 MAIN DESIGN IDEAS

M2 Prototype feedback: Much of the structure is still a basic waffle arrangement, therefore in terms of visual effects it is lacking.

In addition the design has a unnatural aesthetic appearance due to the nature of the fabrication in which both the front and side components are seemingly separated instead of being a single flowing piece.

Thus because of these reasons, the focus of this module is to address ways in which to add interesting visual effects to the aesthetics of the second skin whilst maintaining the overall shape to address the response to personal space.

Extra group member’s concepts: Manipulating depth and density within section and profile designs.

The aim was to block out visibility and interference away from where you don’t want it and re direct it to where you do.

Coincidentally we will explore ways in which to develop methods of blocking out visibility to work in conjunction with a defensive structure of the second skin.

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DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

Wider

Thinner

Pieces are arranged much closer to each other. This would allow material effects to be more prominent and significant.

We decided to incorporate bending and twisting. This makes the entire shape and form of the model flow much more smoothly and creates a better material effect. We decided to stray away from the idea of staggering.

We also pushed further with material effects by varying the width of the pieces. This will allow more vision through where the width is smaller and more vision through where the width is larger.

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READING RESPONSE WK 6

Briefly outline the various digital fabrication processes. Explain how you use digital fabrication in your design?

Plasma Arc Cutter Germany 2000 (Kolarevic, 2003)

Fabrication Processes: Subtractive: Cutting/carving volumes out of an even large volume(CNC Milling and laser cutting) Additive: changing the state of the material and applying the volume layer by layer to its desired shape (3D printing and Casting) Formative: Changing the material’s shape without removing or adding any volume (Pressing and hot rolling) Processes used in designs: Various states created through formative methods (None,Bend,Twist, combination)

1. Subtractive process, cutting out all components for the sections and profile from a sheet of material through a laser cutter 2. Formative process, bending and/or twisting materials by hand

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READING APPLIED TO DESIGN

Top: Laser cutters only cut perpendicularly, therefore these notches are unfeasible Bottom: Extending the notch through subtraction will allow for such angular connections

How does the fabrication process and strategy effect your second skin project?

Our subtractive fabrication process forces us to incorporate methods of adding a third dimension to the largely 2D manner in which the laser cutter works. CNC milling was considered to manipulate notched connections for allow for pieces to connect in an angle rather than perpendicularly. However CNC millers are also unable to carve undercuts into the material. Thus an alternative solution was to extend and widen the notches to allow for angular pieces to fit within.

Formative fabrication process isn’t as capable of creating a structure and there is a risk of the material wanting to return to its natural shape. However there is the potential to create more interesting visual patterns from formative procedures in changing the directions different surfaces face.

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READING RESPONSE WK 7

Describe one aspect of the recent shift in the use of digital technology from design to fabrication?

Digital technology is ultimately responsible for shortening the gap between design and fabrication.

In contrast to past design to fabrication procedure when there is a significant divide between aesthetics and construction, the number of intermediate steps between the two stages have ultimately diminished(Iwanmoto, 2009).

Thus leading to a rise in popularity of design focusing not only on aesthetics but in fabrication methods.

With this focus, designing with digital software and technology allows architects to design and bend fabrication methods to their will rather than be in its mercy.

Assembling the Mafoonbey contour by contour, (Iwanmoto, 2009)

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Such strides have allowed for designers to develop and complicate their designs to new limits.

READING APPLIED TO DESIGN

Referencing from the lectures and readings, what is the implication of digital fabrication on your design ?

Digital fabrication has the capacity to quickly generate contours of the design.

Such efficiency allows designers to easily generate designs in which the fabrication methods are not just a procedure to go from a kit to an object, but to transform it into a key aesthetic feature.

In relation to our designs, sectioning remains a critical component of our skin’s aesthetics.

The flat pieces in the digital medium(Rhino 5) in which our design comprises of can quickly be translated into 2D planar geometries by using the make 2D command.

The geometries are then programed into the laser cutter for and cut out sheets(subtractive fabrication method).

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MATERIAL TESTING

Material development/testing Material: MDF 3mm Testing: Material twisting and bending properties Testing of MDF twisting properties gave insight to the different possibilities to play around not only aesthetic effects but to also manipulate distortion.

MDF is capable to some level bending and twisting without snapping into pieces.

About 45 degrees of twisting was easily achieved whilst bending would be done if given enough length. Other factors include thickness of the piece.

Material development/testing Material: Plywood 2.7mm Testing: Other Materials’ flexibility Further material testing was conducted on plywood.

Plywood was also capable of the same material flexibility as MDF but with one crucial difference.

The direction of the grain is critical to whether plywood can bend(when the grain is perpendicular) or twist (when the grain is parallel).

Plywood’s flaw is that it can only possibly exaggerate one effect or the other and not both at the same time, whereas A thin an flexible material such as polypropylene could exaggerate both effects simultaneously.

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MATERIAL TESTING

Material development/testing Material: MDF 3mm Testing: Density, varying degrees of twisting From the previous stage, it was decided to scrap staggering entirely because the scale in which the tests were made were close to the scale of the second skin and the visually effects were hampered rather than complimented.

In this test, the aim was to test both visual and material effects of twisting in conjunction with even denser arrangement.

The success of the test was in the digital modeling where we could see some form of visibility being obscured in partial circular fashion.

However, when physically fabricating the test, problems were encountered, specifically the relatively inflexible nature of MDF and the density of the section pieces compounded the tension within to return to its natural shape. As a result, both profile pieces were re-positioned instead of the section, bending the overall form and diminishing the visual effects. Furthermore, the amount of tension made it difficult to bend the piece back to what was originally planned.

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MATERIAL TESTING

Material development/testing Material: MDF 3mm Testing: Staggering, depth and variable angular pieces The aim was to discover the visual effects of changing the varying section pieces.

To achieve visible results, the angles must rotate to about 60 degrees to even block a significant amount of visibility through the piece.

Once the pieces pass the 30-degree mark, the returns started to diminish as the visibility is barely obscured by the pieces.

The depth was extended to separate the staggering was implemented for purely practical reasons. This was due to the width of the profile wasn’t wide enough to prevent the pieces from clipping through each other.

The staggering however also didn’t contribute much visually to the testing as it had separated the varying visual effects from beside.

Way to improve include changing the density so that the gaps in between are even less spaced out to help exaggerate the amount of visibility being blocked.

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PROTOTYPE OPTIMISATION Material: MDF and Polypropylene Testing: Twisting, density and dual material

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Learning from the mistakes made in the prototype development, the MDF would be delegated to rigid structural elements. Any material distortion would be delegated to polypropylene due to its greater flexibility.

The aim was to allow for the structural elements to act as a frame for the visual elements, taking elements from the best of both worlds and to also test the colour contrast of using white and brown. The scorched edges of the MDF resulted in an even greater contrast between the two materials even more apparent.

However even more structural elements are necessary as the polypropylene has contrasting structural elements highlighted by the floppiness of the piece.

Due to the dimension limitations of the available materials, One final test was conducted in conjunction. An arch was cut at the end of one piece to slot in another piece facing the opposite direction inside. The result wasn’t beneficial in the design due to a lack of flow between he two halves and the lack of strength at that specific location

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FINAL PROTOTYPE

Externally sourced polypropylene sheets acquired with larger dimensions resulted in more fluid sections comprising of single unbroken pieces.

Structurally this prototype still wasn’t rigid and was incapable of bearing the necessary load due to uneven distribution of load across the frame, particularly concentrating in the center. MDF as a single piece isn’t structural and requires a thickness of at least 9mm to carry the load needed. Alternatives include an increase width of MDF, or perspex as, whilst brittle, is structurally more efficient. If perspex is used, the pieces must be planar to avoid any failure.

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FINAL PROTOTYPE

Further material considerations were discovered. Some of the notches were not done properly which made some of the pieces longer than actually needed. Thus when connected, the pieces would bend even more because they were in compression rather than in tension. This would ultimately loosen the connections as flexible material has a tendency of maximising friction when in tension. This however created some interesting material effects which we could incorporate.

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FINAL PROTOTYPE

Problems with this prototype design: - polypropylene is too flexible - material effects are not prominent enough - MDF is not rigid enough so it doesn’t fix to the body that well

To improve the overall design: - double the polypropylene layer to increase thickness and decrease flexibility - increase width of the polypropylene pieces to enhance material effects

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PROTOTYPE OPTIMISATION After the previous prototype, we decided to remake the model. We made major changes to both the MDF frame (which is later changed to perspex), as well as the polypropylene.

In the previous prototype, the polypropylene was too flimsy and so the amount of polypropylene in each notch was doubled to give it more stiffness. The new iteration also had pieces longer than what could be laser cut at Fabrication lab, so each piece was split, and the splits in each pair of strips were staggered so that they didn't split at the same point, which would compromise the strength.

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The design was changed and in this iteration, the MDF components were made wider, providing more support to the overall structure. The vertical supports were also placed on the inside of the rings so which opens up the possibility of overlapping some of the vertical supports with the polypropylene.

The natural finish of the MDF was too unrefined, so perspex was used in place of the MDF. The transparency of the perspex allows the polypropylene strips to control the views directed at the wearer while still forming a physical barrier to guard personal space.

Visually the perspex works well because the finish is more consistent, especially the laser cut edges which are clear and neat.

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SECOND SKIN FINAL DESIGN

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The barrier is predominantly on the right side of the body, while some frontal areas as well as the face is also obscured. This is consistent with the idea of being in a corner, where two sides are the elevator walls are essentially barriers. The clear perspex creates a barrier while allowing vision inside. This means it allows other people to look at you from these angles, but at the same time doesn’t allow them to get closer. The twisting polypropylene creates varying visibility which allows vision through only from specific angles, or blocks them out entirely.

FRONT VIEW

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LEFT VIEW

PLAN VIEW

No vision blockage on the left side of the body, but there is a clear perspex barrier that protected personal space while allow vision through.

Twisting obscures visibility from this angle. This stops strangers to look at the right side of the person’s face.

The polypropylene blocks out vision of the face from the front, but allows more vision through at the body.

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FABRICATION SEQUENCE

The polypropylene and perspex were first laser cut. The cutting files were nested efficiently to reduce the overall amount of polypropylene used.

After collecting all of the laser cut components, all of the twenty one strips of polypropylene were first glued together. Contact adhesive was used as, when used with care, it provides a strong, even and clean bond that is also flexible enough to accommodate the twisting required.

Next, the rigid perspex frame was glued together with hot glue, like I did with the MDF prototype. The bonds are strong but messy; acrylic cement should have been used.

Lastly, the polypropylene strips were placed into the slots and glued in, to secure it.

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ASSEMBLY DRAWING

Rigid vertical pieces are placed on the inside of the circular pieces. The pieces are notched in to their specific slots and secured.

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Polypropylene pieces are placed on the outside of the circular perspex pieces.

They are not notched so that their continuous shape is not disrupted. They are aligned with the notched in the perspex frame and secured by glue.

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THE SECOND SKIN

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M3 REFLECTIONS After receiving feedback from M2, we made some drastic changes. We had a major change in design direction after feedback from M2. We decided to simplify our design to make it more feasible. The most notable ones are: by arranging the pieces much closer to each other to achieve a better material effect; by incorporating bending and twisting to enhance material effect; by varying the width of the pieces to play around with depth and volume.

We then experimented with these ideas further by performed a series of bending and twistings tests. A staggering test was also done to see it’s effect, but was later scrapped because we wanted to continue with bending and twisting.

We also tested with polypropylene, luan plywood and MDF to see which material fits which part of the skin the best. We found that luan plywood is quite flexible, but can also be quite brittle. Polypropylene has great flexibility so we decided to use this material for the bending and twisting pieces. However, we then found out they’re too flexible, so we therefore stuck two sheets of polypropylene together to decrease flexibility. We also found out that MDF is not aesthetically suitable for our design (we can also see the scorch marks from laser cutting), so we changed it to perspex, which gives the overall skin a much cleaner look. We used clear perspex, which fits into our concept of letting vision through while also creating a barrier for personal space protection. The perspex structure is also much more rigid.

POLYPROPYLENE STAGGER In hindsight, we should have designed polypropylene pieces that can fit within the laser cutter. This is so that our pieces will be single, continuous pieces.

As seen from this image, the pieces are staggered, which interferes with the material effect. We should have kept the same length polypropylene as our final prototype, where every piece can be cut as a single continuous piece.

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Nest of prototype shows continuous polypropylene sheets to be cut

The stagger interferes with the smoothness and elegance of the model.

WHAT WE DID WELL

M3 REFLECTIONS

PHOTOGRAPHY Our photography sessions went well. The pictures did not require much photoshopping, and looked good. A lot of our photographs, however, had a pink tint to it, which I had to photoshop. I also cleaned up some dirty mark on the backdrop to make the images to even more professional.

PROTOTYPING We could have made more prototypes, but in general our final prototype grant us a lot of useful information which we took on board to improve our final design. Our final product was in general a success.

WHAT WE DIDN’T DO SO WELL FABRICATION Our fabrication was done reasonably, especially after feedbacks from M3. It, however, could still have been better, whereby we could have assembled them more cleanly. We had several stains and staggered part which hindered with the material effects slightly. In the future, I will be more careful when assembling, especially when using adhesives, to ensure they cannot be seen by the eye.

MATERIALS TESTING This part was rather lacking because we did not test out as many different materials as we wanted. We also did not retrieve much useful information from our tests as well. We also should have tested different thickness of polypropylene, or more layers of them stuck together, to experiment with the flexibility of them to see which would be suit our design.

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4.0 REFLECTION

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This subject was a rather interesting one, as it is quite different to any other subjects that I have done before. The stage that I found most challenging was the design stage, specifically the design development. After having the initial idea, our group struggled to develop it into a more interesting idea. We were stuck developing simple waffle grids into slightly better ones, which could infact end up being more unfeasible. One thing that went well for us is that we chose to pursue twisting and bending which was a good choice in the end. However, I think that we could have had a much better outcome if we were to reevaluated our initial ideas, and maybe come up with more different ideas before choosing one to develop. Perhaps I could’ve research more precedents to take ideas from. The other most difficult aspect I found was communication. We found it difficult to communicate within our group to allocate tasks as well as combining our individual work later on to produce our design. Because of the two reason above, our design process was rather chaotic - it was not well-thought and executed.

However, through this experience, I can take away and reflect on several key lessons. We must have a plan for our design process. Without it, everything would end up quite chaotic, and we may also run out of time. I must also communicate with my team constantly, asking for updates and feedbacks on our work.

I have also gains some useful skills that I can use in the future. I have improved my skills in Rhino. This subject also allowed me to fabricate something that I have designed, which I am not able to do often. This will help me with my future design thinking and fabrication, especially in the stage of designing something feasible, because this subject taught me to constantly think about fabrication feasibility.

I also gained some insight on my design and fabrication process and reflected on it after reading “Building the Future: Recasting Labor in Architecture”. The idea and skill of craft had to be worked on and improve on through the course of this subject. This includes both the craft to ‘craft’ a design digitally, as well as to know how to physically manufacture the product. These skills integrate within one another, as the knowledge of how to manufacture using a certain material, and how to assemble it, has to be thought about when digitally designing. Usually the limits of physical manufacturing will restrict the level of creativity in the digital modelling, but what people usually don’t think about is how digital modelling can also limit our creativity. For example, when we were testing how a material twists, it resulted in some interesting results due to the resistance created. This would not have been accounted for when digitally designing, and this could actually be used to create a more interesting idea.

The reading talked about the ‘worksmanship of risk’ and ‘worksmanship of certainty’. The idea of risk can result in a more bespoke product, because “the result of working with a material is not predetermined, but depends on the judgement, dexterity and care of the maker”. During the manufacturing process, laser cutting and other automated processes guarantee certainty in the result of the objects cut. But the process of applying adhesive and assembling the parts together, as well as bending and twisting pieces provides a degree of uncertainty i.e risk, and they way we work with the material can lead to different outcomes, and hence our product could have looked different if we were to work in a different environment.

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5.0 APPENDIX

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Architecture in the Digital Age - Design + Manufacturing/ Branko Kolarevic, Spon Press, London c2003 Building the Future: Recasting Labor in Architecture/ Philip Bernstein, Peggy Deamer. Princeton Architectural Press. c2008. pp 38-42 Digital Fabrications: architectural + material techniques/Lisa Iwamoto. New York: Princeton Architectural Press c2009 Enric Miralles,Carme Pinos, “How to lay out a croissant�

El Croquis 49/50 Enric Miralles, Carme Pinos 1988/1991, En Construccion pp. 240-241

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