Sound Space Booklet

sound cloud scott townsend

sound cloud scott townsend

this is a parametric design study that investigates the concept of an acoustic chamber within the urban environment, and plays on the concept of habitual attunement and meditation. as the result of a wholistic and iterative design approach, the following progression illustrates the process of design revolving around the human body and our interaction with the acoustic environment.

sound cloud scott townsend

before you begin, please take a moment to change the following settings in adobe acrobat. please click [Edit>Preferences>Page Display] and uncheck the box labeled [Enhance Thin Lines] please click [Edit>Preferences>Page Display] and click [Default Transition] dropdown menu and choose [Fade] finally, press [Ctrl+l] for full screen viewing

this is a parametric design study that investigates the concept of an acoustic chamber within the urban environment, and plays on the concept of habitual attunement and meditation. as the result of a wholistic and iterative design approach, the following progression illustrates the process of design revolving around the human body and our interaction with the acoustic environment.

sound cloud scott townsend

the inner studio the inner studio is about learning to communicate from deep down in our imagination where creative instincts live and have meaning. it invites designers to trust the wisdom and creativity of their bodies, dreams, and shadows and bring these sources into the experience of design. andrew levitt

sound cloud scott townsend

the inner studio the inner studio is about learning to communicate from deep down in our imagination where creative instincts live and have meaning. it invites designers to trust the wisdom and creativity of their bodies, dreams, and shadows and bring these sources into the experience of design.

sound pollution sound pollution is a pervasive problem in a modernizing society, and we are constantly inundated with unwanted sound. the word noise comes from the latin word nausea, and is often regarded as an unwanted byproduct. although we may be exposed to a barrage of unwanted sound such as busy workplaces, crowded public transportation or the din of the city, we often subject ourselves voluntarily to a variety of other noisy activities. canadian hearing society

andrew levitt

sound cloud scott townsend

the inner studio the inner studio is about learning to communicate from deep down in our imagination where creative instincts live and have meaning. it invites designers to trust the wisdom and creativity of their bodies, dreams, and shadows and bring these sources into the experience of design. andrew levitt andrew levitt speaks to a space that helps one tune to your body, allowing oneself to develop a clear sense of response. he asks us, do we know of a place or artifact that refreshes our nervous system? these concepts are tightly knit with current research regarding abusive sound pollution, and the following design adresses these issues. sound cloud scott townsend

the inner studio

the inner studio the inner studio is about learning to communicate from deep down in our imagination where creative instincts live and have meaning. it invites designers to trust the wisdom and creativity of their bodies, dreams, and shadows and bring these sources into the experience of design.

sound pollution sound pollution is affects our human condition and is associated with a myriad of health conditions including reduction in performance, sleep disturbance, fatigue, increase in blood pressure, hypertension, information retainment, short term memory and increase in stress. designers should be cognisant of our acoustic environment, and allow for opportunities to reduce these affects, perhaps offering users an opportunity to regenerate their sonsoral pallette.

andrew levitt andrew levitt speaks to a space that helps one tune to your body, allowing oneself to develop a clear sense of response. he asks us, do we know of a place or artifact that refreshes our nervous system? these concepts are tightly knit with current research regarding abusive sound pollution, and the following design adresses these issues. sound cloud scott townsend

the inner studio reprieval

attunement

refreshment

rejuvenation

the inner studio reprieval meditative

form

capture motion capture

the inner studio reprieval

motion capture technology is the digitization of physical form. multiple cameras digitally track movement of specific points on the human body and determine a three dimensional point cloud over the period of physical movement. the concept of motion capture will by utilized to determine optimal bodily comfort within a three dimensional volume.

elevation

plan

motion capture

the inner studio reprieval

for the purpose of the study, a two minue video was taken of various comfortable positions regarding ergonomic prograssion. two perspectives were taken simultaneously, one from a plan view, and one from an elevational perspective. the object of the exercise was to determine how much three dimensional space was required for the human body to move around comfortably.

elevation

plan

motion capture

the inner studio reprieval

the resulting video was then sliced in a series of still images, each to be processed into a point cloud. the dual perspective is necessary to generate the point cloud in three dimensions. five point paramaters were recorded in an analog format. all four appendages and the head were considered for optimal volume.

reprieval

reprieval

elevation

plan

reprieval as you can see, the point cloud series shifts three dimensionally in relation to the habitual movement over a period of time.

elevation

plan

elevation

plan

elevation

plan

elevation

plan

elevation

plan

elevation

plan

elevation

plan

elevation

plan

elevation

plan

form the point cloud system in series generates a line diagram for the movement

form the point cloud system in series generates a line diagram for the movement. the line system is then iterated with an algorithm to produce a drawing more reminiscent of the flow of movement through curvature.

form a three dimensional metaball algorithm is then scripted into the process. the algorithm was designed to flow across the cloud system to offset a three dimensional mesh around the cloud. what follows is the resultant form.

elevation

plan

elevation

plan

physical reduction

form

physical reduction

form

elevation

plan

physical reduction

form the interior mesh of the pod is refined, and used as a basis for the skin and structure. just as humans have a centre of gravity, three dimensional forms also have a centre, or weighted average. the formulation of the structure begins with this single point.

elevation

plan

physical reduction

form the mesh of the original form is scaled outward from the weighted average to generate the structure. the original mesh generated from the motion capture, shown in blue, has an extremely high fidelity; roughly forty thousand polygons. for reference, this is reduced to fifty polygons for the structure. this is how the triangulation of the mesh becomes more prominant visually.

elevation

plan

physical reduction

form these triangles now serve as the basis of the cellular structure generated through parametric scripting. each triangulated face is extruded towards the weighted average; the centre of the object’s gravity. hence, the polygonal mesh now becomes a three dimensional space frame, resembling a cellular structure.

elevation

plan

physical reduction

form the original mesh, generated from the initial motion capture is then adopted back into the equation. the illustration to the bottom right corner indicates the relationship with the exterior skin to the doubly-ruled surface of the interior. here a script is designed to subtract any access structure that bleeds into the interior.

elevation

plan

physical reduction

form here the original mesh is subtracted from the structural cells. for each cell, three individual pieces would be mass customized and milled with cnc technology to achieve the precision of the curvature. therefore, each cell would be machined into four planar components. the entire structure would be composed of 200 unique components.

elevation

plan

physical reduction

form in this diagram, the interior mesh is removed from the skeleton to illustrate the generated structure. the entire process was iterated through scripting in grasshopper, a parametric design software. this allows for multiple variables to play a part in the design process. as a result, the structure shown is organic and self-replicating; any motion recorded can change the flow of the design and ultimately construct a new form.

elevation

plan

physical reduction

form the diagram here now excludes the interior wireframe skeleton of the design, hidden from the exterior view. as of this iteration, the design is composed of fifty individual cells. each cell breaks down the surface area of the doubly-ruled interior surface, making it more manageable for fabrication.

elevation

plan

physical reduction

form each triangulated mesh face is then offset towards in centre to generate a filleted triangle. these will be used to puncture the exterior faces of the cells in order to lighten the structure. this perticular strategy will help alleviate material weight and allow for views of the rounded interior form.

elevation

plan

physical reduction

form the diagram above shows the views into the structure of the punctured cells. openings into the structure will allow for views to the exterior surface of the doubly-ruled interior form. thin copper plates will also selectively cap certain cells, allowing for acoustic sheilding and potential sensoral experiences under precipitation.

physical reduction

form here is an example of the material pallette of the design. due to the parametric nature, the cells will be milled with notches calculated by the script. selected punctures will have copper plates to protect from elements, sound pollution and provide an acoustic experience during precipitation. selected cells will also be open to view the outside of the exterior form. all of the openings and creases are lined with dark vulcanized rubber.

hinge system

hinge system

1/2" 4'x8' 3ply (cross laminated) strand bamboo panel will be used to mill the cells with a cnc machine

where operable seams exist, a simple hinge connection will be counter-sunk into the connecting panels.

3/4� bolts are used to combine cells that have to maintain rigidity as operable units.

1/2" 4'x8' 3ply (cross laminated) strand bamboo panel will be used to mill the cells with a cnc machine cell section

3� glue-laminated high density foam, glued in-situ on cnc-milled notches 1/2" 4'x8' 3ply (cross laminated) strand bamboo panel cell structure 1/16� copper sheet, mechanically fastened to 2� wood space frame (lined with rubber gasket)

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scott townsend