CHONG_KENNY KEN-LI_716086_STUDIO AIR_JOURNAL A

STUDIO AIR JOURNAL SEMESTER 2 2016

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Contents.

Pages.

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Content Part A A1. Design Futuring A2. Design Computation A3. Composition/Generation A4. Conclusion A5. Learning Outcomes

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Introduction.

I

'm Kenny, a thrid year student majoring architecture in the University of Melbourne. Being required to write this little short

introduction about myself is still new to me and being someone who's not enitrely into the world of writing, I'll try to make this as comprehensive as possible.

My interests include almost everything really. I wish I had the time to focus on everything and anything, but the reality is that that is impossible, so if I had to choose a few, it'd be pretty much everything relating to the arts. Which in this society, it's pretty much everything too. So I've made a full circle within the second paragraph of this journal already. Forcing myself to be a little pickier, I guess I'd say I like movies, books, life drawings and of course the fair amount of dabbling in the world of the internet.

Whenever I tell someone what my field of study is the most common question that comes up is 'Why are you interested in architecture?'. So this is a question that I've been pretty well accustomed to by now and the answer I always give is 'I don't really know what I'm interested in'. To me architecture is a discipline that is a little tricky to define. To design is one of the key aspects of it, but design itself is such a vague term. I feel like architecture delves into almost every discipline and its this collaborative effort that drew me in. That and the fact that I was always interested in the arts and architecture seemed like a good outlet for some of my ideas.

The studio has currently raised up another interest of mine, touching into game design and use of algorithmic proccesses to achieve something possibly beyond the capabilities of our mind. I'm more than excited to begin this journey and maybe I'll finally have the time to explore another interest of mine.

KENNY KEN-LI CHONG 716086

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Pokémon GO. A pull-quote gives any layout an extra punch and helps break up large bodies of text. It also helps attract and interest the reader in the article.

Through recent years, the development of augmented reality has been used to engage users in a variety of different scenarios.

Although we are still far from achieving ‘true’ AR, the promises which show in the technology is unprecedented.

Pokémon GO is a perfect example of recent trends which shows exactly how AR technology can be implemented to not only alter the movements of people but also alter their environment entirely.

On its own, Pokémon GO is a fairly simple game. The aspects of it which manages to capture such a huge community is its sense of nostalgia. Being able to actually see a Pokémon through your phone’s camera lens adds another dimension of interaction. Even in its current state with its glitches and bugs, it still manages to attract a large audience. So much so that even those who were not exposed to Pokémon as a child has heard of it or even have played it. Having played Pokémon GO during its first 2 weeks, I’ve noticed how communal the experience was. It wasn’t too difficult to spot those who were playing the game on their phones and it was interesting to note how differently they walked – heads tilted down and walking in irregular paces – compared to people who weren’t playing.

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Clouds.

‘Cloud’ by Caitllind Brown, is an interactive installation which uses its users input data to create a diverse environment.

Similar to Pokémon GO, this interaction occurs in a somewhat tight space. It forces its users to essentially be shoulder to shoulder to one another, promoting interaction between them. It also shares similarities in the sense that it represents something which is familiar to a large audience: a cloud. This idea of creating a space for shared experiences has always been an interest for me and I feel like this is why projects like these succeed. They manage to evoke an environment in which their users feel safe and secure enough, knowing that they are surrounded by people who share a common interest with them.

Seeing how influential these pieces of works are, there comes the question of how much power or influence does the designer have in the way society moves on into the future. Is it really the role of the designer to design the future? Is it even ethical to believe so?

Seeing that no one

person can lead the future of change, placing this much dependence on designers would be pretty much futile.

The word ‘design’ has adopted many meanings throughout its life, whose current definition now relates to the vaguest idea of problem solving.

Designers are now deemed as trained problem solvers and the word ‘trained’ in this respect relates to the proper exposure. I feel like saying the role of the designer is to help facilitate ideas in moving towards the future is still a project too huge to undertake from one discipline. It is unfair to categorize designers as people within the creative industry and I would rather the term be applied to every person or even thing. Of course placing such a broad definition on such an influential word is slightly counterintuitive, I feel like I need to make it a point that I strongly believe that every person is born as a designer and so the movements forward should not be singularized to a single profession but rather a collaboration.

WRITTEN BY KENNY KEN-LI CHONG PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAITLLIND BROWN ....................................................................................................................................................................................................

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CLOUDS by Caitlling Brown

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Bangladesh Parliament House

By LOUIS KAHN

The Bangladesh Parliament House by Louis Kahn is a beautiful example of a form of architecture that uses simple geometries to create something which seems almost otherworldly.

Similar to Block’hood, it manages to break down its architecture in a way that is understandable to the average user. The whole exterior structure itself is not entirely complex until you walk into its interior. This is where the simple geometries mingle with one another creating very abstract images.

This process of transition between the outside and inside provides users with an understanding of the type of geometries used. The exterior of the building contains clean geometric forms laid out in a way that is almost instantly recognizable. As users move into the building, they are presented with more complex patterning which users would be able to break down into its basic geometric forms due to their prior exposure to them.

INTERIOR OF BANGLADESH PARLIAMENT HOUSE

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Design Computation Block'hood

The controversy surrounding digital drawings have always been a topic of much discussion. The arguments stem from the issues of designers losing their jobs or feeling as though their skills are now obsolete.

Although I think that traditional drawings methods are never going to die off, the benefits of moving into the digital drawing space is undeniable. It is now a set of skills that is expected in the work environment and the idea of architecture has developed from hand drawings to a whole array of mediums which best captures the designer’s intent. The software now becomes an extension of not only the hand but also the mind. Scripting algorithms works when the designers are fully aware of what they are designing.

Experimenting with random scripts and reporting the outcomes may work as a form of conceptualization, but I feel like the actual design emerges after the conceptual stages.

If a designer designs with no purpose or with the sole intent of creating something

that looks gaudy, it loses its appeal. I find this interesting as designers are now not able to get away with just aesthetics, but are also required to have a strong sense of problem solving.

A game like Blockhood is a good example to express this notion of problem solving.

Although the game still requires a pretty steep learning curve to get into the groove of things, learning the possibilities of the game is not too difficult. Once you get into the tutorials and have an actual interest

in what the game presents, the problem solving aspects of the game almost becomes intuitive. In my opinion, however, the game lacks the simplicity to attract completely new designers. Being required to have an open tab for checking resources makes the game feel more like a job than a game. Most of the tabs are hidden by default and so jumping right into the game without any of the tutorials often leads to confusion.

Block’hood is taking the right steps in the

right direction, however the game still requires some polishing and seeing that it is still currently in Early Access stages, there is a whole of potential for this to gain the traction it requires to attract a larger audience.

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ROSARIO HABITAT

Playing with Power Participatory Planning Games in Rosario’s Villas by Josh Lerner

the experience of Rosario Hábitat suggests that government programs can enhance democratic participation if they use games and game mechanics that engage the senses, legitimate rules, generate collaborative competition, and link participation with outcomes PHOTO BY FIRSTY LASTY

Rosario habitat presents the exact kind of implementation of the past weeks’ material. Using game mechanics, they managed to promote a sense of community and collaboration between the people of Rosario.

Adding an element of fun to the design process not only made it easier for the people to understand the problem but also made them more actively involved in the designing process. Inputting possible solutions became almost intuitive to them and were allowed to fully explore the available possibilities.

Design is often closely

related to the common stigma of requiring professional training or a gifted gene. This may be why design is always so refined to only people who have the training or passion for it. I believe that everyone is capable of designing and are intimidated by the people who seem to dominate the community – professional types who unknowingly prefer to use large design jargons to explain their design process. Of course the role of the architect is not only to design but also to sell and what currently sells is a sense of professionalism. If we

could somehow engage people in the design process, they would soon find out how intuitive the whole process really is like.

Moving towards a more playful idea of design seems to ease up the tension or stress which might arise during the design process.

Presenting the community with simple and easy to use software or hardware promotes a more lively and interactive environment.

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The idea of incorporating games into the design process has always been an interesting aspect to me. I feel like most people weed out their natural design abilities as they grow up, focusing on more ‘important’ matters.

Design seems to have taken a back seat in a lot of educational systems, at least where I was brought up (Malaysia). Although, it is evident that design has been facing a recent upheaval due to popular social media websites such as Pinterest, Flikr, Instagram or Tumblr which all share a large community of creative individuals. This not only exposes people to creative design, but also encourages and inspires. This shared platform where everyone feels comfortable about voicing their opinions

and sharing their ideas is a key step in moving towards a more interactive community of problem solvers.

Children are naturally creative in their design methodologies, even if they are not fully aware of it yet. When a child is presented with a pile of building blocks, they seem to intuitively know what to do with them. It’s this ease of access to information and the ignorance towards failure that needs to be pushed in society and the digital platform is the perfect place to begin. Obtaining inputs from a much larger audience is much more efficient and dependable than a few professionals.

Being able to gain a collective agreement satisfies the majority of the concerns while avoiding any possible conflicts which might

Linking participation to concrete but uncertain outcomes and measuring progress through points provide more incentive to participate. arise from a single solution to a problem.

This debate-like structure is where we need to move.

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Conclusion & Learning Outcomes

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he end of Part A brings me to an understanding of the shift in architectural processes. We are now moving into a digital dominant market, where the software is no longer used as tools for drafting but also as tools for creating. The creation aspect of it remains controversial and I think it would take a while before everyone is accepting of this change. What I think people misunderstand when it comes to the digital drawing board is that design becomes depersonalized and loses the human touch. On the contrary, digital design still retains its human touch, as long as the people using it are aware of what they are creating.

By learning how to script in Grasshopper and being able to see what these algorithms do and how the designer is able to control every aspect of it, it is undoubtful that digital design and fabrication will eventually be the norm.

What I found most interesting during my first endeavour into algorithmic sketching is the adaptability of each Grasshopper module. Control I feel is the main aspect which is not highlighted enough when talking about digital design.

Sliding sliders around and connecting inputs and outputs to create a dynamic form may seem simple, but the depths of which Grasshopper manages to allow editability and the extent it allows users to create any complex form as long as they understand the modules. Three weeks of Grasshopper is barely enough for me to say I've got a clear footing of what the software can do, but I can definitely see myself using them in the future, especially if I manage to keep up the skills that I am picking up currently.

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