DESIGN STUDIO AIRREBECCA MAHONEY

CONCPETUALISATION

‘CONCEPTUALISATION BEGINS TO DETERMINE WHAT IS TO BE BUILT...AND

HOW IT WILL BE BUILT’

CONTENTS

CONCEPTUALISATION Design futuring

Introduction to LAGILand Art precedent

Renewable Energy Precedent

COMPOSITION/ GENERATIONGenerative design

Generative precedent

LEARNING OUTCOMESArchitectural computation, theory and

practice

DESIGN COMPUTATIONDesign evolutionComputational precedents

CONCLUSIONPart A summary

ALGORITHMIC SKETCHESInteresting examples

A1

A5

A2

A3

A4

A6

B1

B3

B4

B6

B8B8

B3

B5

B7

B2CRITERIA DESIGNResearch Field 1Biomimetic precedentsCase study: a Pavilion

REVISITIG THE BRIEFNew renevable technology

SELF ENGINEERING 1Tube Pavilion precedent

iterations

SELF ENGINEERING 3tree pavilion and iterations

FINAL SELF ENGINEERINGFrankie Pavilion precendent

IterationsTechnique development- protoypes

Frankie proposal

DESIGN BRIEF

SELF ENGINEERING 2Hexagon Pavilion precedentIterationsHexagon Pavilion 2.0Iterations

SELF ENGINEERING 4Unnamed Pavilion and iterations

LEARNING OUTCOMESAlgorithmic Sketches

CRITERIA DESIGN Research Field 2

Strips and folding precedentsCase study: Seroussi Pavilion

Seroussi Iterations and outcomes

ABOUT ME

BEC MAHONEY

I am a third year architecture stu-dent from Sydney living in Mel-bourne.

DESIGN FUTURING

DESIGN FUTURING

Design futuring is the theory that believes the human collective needs to change and redirect the way design is carried out to ensure human survival and our fore-seeable future. Due to current popula-tion numbers technological development and the use of non-renewable resources, humanity has created a ‘defuturing’ po-tential for itself. This means that human-ity and society as we know i could (and most likely will) collapse as the result of our actions. However its not as bleak as it sounds, as a collective there is a lot that can be done to reverse defuturing, and it is rooted in design. There needs to be a reflective event to find new ways in which to curb and control our inherently destruc-tive impulses.

Design is something that all humans are capable of and do, it is a complex force that has the power to shape the present and future. To actively change the future through design we must understand the relationship be-tween creation and destruction 1, Fry aptly uses the analogy of creating an omelette at the expense of the egg. This is not a problematic situation when renewable resources are being used, it is when the resources are being used at a much faster rate than they can be replenished. Design needs to be ‘re-directed’ into a completely sustainable direction through art, culture, design and ar-chitecture. This re-direction will have common purpose and goals pursued through alternative means.

The LAGI competition is a great ex-ample of looking towards design fu-turing. The open competition brief has very few guidelines, therefore allowing complete creative control while stimulating many various so-lution paths. The following chapter looks at ways in which design has ad-dressed the need to look towards sus-tainable futures and means around defuturing.

LAGI COMPETITION

This years LAGI competition is based in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. In 2014 Copenhagen was named the 2014 ‘Green Capital’, and strives to be the first carbon neutral city by 2025. This means that Copenhagen will be producing zero net emissions in 11 years 3, and that the remainder of emissions will be compensated with external initiatives such as windmills. To reach this goal Copenhagen will undergo a ‘green transition’, what this involves is an open dialogue that is inclusive to all participants and groups in the city to ensure their interests are represented. The green transition will head towards carbon neutrality through addressing a host of city issues such as energy use and production, resource use and climate change, architecture, the use of city space. The 2014 site for the LAGI competition is Refshaleøen, a for-mer shipyard that sustained thousands of workers. It sits op-posite the river from the famous Little Mermaid statue that pays tribute to the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale. The shipyard is surrounded on three sides by water and has a rich historical context due to Copenhagen’s past as a port city. Today the site is used for small design firms, markets and cre-ative entrepreneurship.

The Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) is an initiative found-ed in 2008 that strives to combine art and public design with renewable energy generation as a means of creating a new typology of clean energy infrastructure 2. Since 2010, LAGI has held an annual competition open to designers, archi-tects, engineers and the like, to create a public art installa-tion that produces renewable energy. According to the LAGI descriptor, in creating a public artwork, the environment is enriched, learning is facilitated and the local economy is stimulated. The brief for the annual competition is that the design should be able to capture natural energy and con-vert it to electricity cleanly for transmittance to the grid. It must be safe for recreational and educational users and re-spect the ecosystem of the site. Finally it must be construct-ible rather than theoretical.

LAGI PRECEDENTS C E N E S E N S O R

‘Scene-Sensor is situated over the river at Freshkills park joining the two opposite land masses. It acts as a chan-nel screen, harnessing the flows of wind through the tidal artery, and as vantage points, staging crosswise pedestrian flows through the park, the two acting in combination as a mirror-window, reflecting and reveal-ing the scene of Freshkills’ fluctuating landscape back to itself.’4

The winning design entry by James and Shota is, in my opinion the most refined and contextually beautiful. Their design is a pair of wind channel screens that sits perched above the Fresh Kills water way forming an interactive space. It looks at the interaction between humans and ecology by mapping and dis-playing real time wind currents captured b piezoelectric nodes on the screens. The project is situated over the water while still allowing access for canoes and kayaks under and is therefore treading lightly on its environment, which fits in ecologically with the brief to not impact site through construction. Above the water, the Scene- sensory is a series of ramped walk ways between the screens. The confluence of the two types of energies captured (human and ecological) are displayed through a series of pixels that make up the screen wall on either side. The screen works as a display of the amount of wind energy being cap-tured. The wall is made of flexible panels that are bend in the wind and capture its energy, therefore transforming the appearance of the screen depending on wind loads. Each panel houses reflective metallic mesh that collects peizoelec-tric currents and on a day with high wind loads, this energy conversion would be enough to power 12 thousand homes. The undulating appearance of the screen is the individual reactions to wind being composed into a single real time image of energy production.5

In relation to futuring poten-tial, scene sensor creates a beautiful and valuable urban recreation space. It redefines the way in which renewable energies, in particular wind can be collected. Through its real time screen an aware-ness of unseen energy types is acknowledged. It contrib-utes to site by creating a land bridge for users as well as a interactive visual work. Over-all it highlights the environ-mental and physical beauty renewables can have.

LAGI PRECEDENTS O L A R C A R P E T

The solar carpet is a combination of several types of renewable energy producers. The main system is a series of photovoltaic panels that create a ‘carpet’ like arrangement under which in certain parts users can walk. The car-pet has several openings that let rays of light penetrate the desert floor. The openings are graduated towards the centre to create a blurred boundary between installation and environment. The interest in the project is created at night when a series of LED lights are turned on at night. They emit light in re-sponse to real time wind velocities 25 .While this project is visually interesting at night, during the day it is less appealing, this may be the result of the bland des-ert landscape in which it sits. The least attractive part of this design installation is the expected cost of building, which the designers predicted would be 450 million dollars. This is an extremely high cost for a project that has somewhat limited social and cultural connection and usability. This project does not do anything remarkable or innovative in terms of energy or production and therefore I don’t think it would be a good solution for defuturing, it is merely an aesthetically attractive project.

ENERGY PRECEDENTHIGH ENERGY WIND POWER

Currently most energy generating wind turbines sit at roughly 90 meters, above ground level. De-spite this the optimum range for wind collection is at higher altitudes where the wind moves faster. There is a huge potential for wind collection that is currently being investigated by a number of small firms across the globe. High altitude wind could mean zero-emission electricity globally in the near future due to the steadier and faster winds gener-ated in the higher ‘jet streams’. The future of high altitude wind power lies in the creation of airborne wind capturers that fly hundreds of meters above the ground, in a similar manner to a kite. A few examples of the way in which the genera-tors will create energy come from Ampyx Power, a Dutch company. Their turbine flies at about 300 m and generates kinetic energy by tugging on the cable that tethers it to the ground. Mageen Pow-er from California sends up a helium filled balloon that spins when the wind hits it therefore generat-ing kinetic energy. These designs are still in the pro-totyping phase, and it is expected that despite the hue potential, without government funding these technologies might not be viable on a large scale for a number of years.

ENERGY PRECEDENTPIEZOELECTRICITY

Piezoelectricity is the creation of an electrical charge through the compression or oscillation of certain minerals such as quartz. Piezoelectric de-rives from the Greek word Piezein which means to press of squeeze7. There are types of ceramic ma-terials such as Barium Titanate that display piezo-electric traits and can be used as ultrasonic trans-ducers.8

The types of crystals that display piezoelectricity are generally chemically inert, strong and cheap to manufacture, therefore they are somewhat the ideal material.9

When Piezo minerals are compressed along the direction of polarization they create an electrical charge, this type of charge is classified as a gener-ator charge which is usually found in objects such as solid batteries.10

The potential application of piezoelectricity could be huge and extremely advantageous in a soci-ety that needs to find alternate energy sources from fossil fuels. However it is still in the experimental stage and studies such as using piezoelectric floor-ing (such as conducted by Duke University)11 were abandoned due to relatively high start up costs. Piezoelectricity can be difficult to use in a large scale project such as the LAGI competition due to the need for constant movement about the site for energy generation, its best application should be one that is not solely dependent on human move-ment, rather it should use the movement of wind in the way that the scene sensor project of 2012 did.

DESIGN COMPUTATION

DESIGN COMPUTATION

In the past few decades the architectur-al world has seen a shift from traditional means of practice to a computerised one. The use of computerised design is not new one, with the introduction of Auto-Cad in the 1980s. However its widespread use and acceptance is. The role of the architect has changed over the course of history, during the middle ages build-ings were constructed by master build-ers rather than planned by architects. It wasn’t until Alberti Batista created repre-sentational plans during the renaissance that architecture came into its own 12. The Cartesian representation of a build-ing allowed greater control for design changes prior to construction as well as greater communication between builder and architect. This form of architecture has dictated the design process for the last few hundred years. In loose terms the design process has started with a context and desired outcome and the problems associated. The designer through a series of trials and errors has analyzed the prob-lem, synthesized possible solutions, evalu-ated the solutions in relation to the de-sired outcome and then communicated the final solution with a range of others in relevant fields13. Computerisation of de-sign means that the design process

The expanding relationship between computers and architects has evolved into one of symbiosis. The human mind is highly capable of creativity and intuition, but when it comes to data analysis the mind can be slow and bores easily. The role of the computer in design has been to analyze data inputs for the ease of the designer. In contemporary architec-ture, computation is used to help along the design process through digitizing a model,aiding with editing and drawing precision. 26 Computerisation has created the ability for architects to use detailed geometries leading to curvilinear forms in design 29

that were previously to expensive to pro-duce or to complex to engineer. Computer aided design allows for a seamless transition between design and construction. Plans and models devised on a computer program can be sent to a factory for precise fabrication of ele-ments, this cuts labour cost and time as well as broadening the range of materi-als available in the construction. This shift is similar to that of Batista’s use of plans, where his plans became representations of construction information, computer-ised designs are the construction informa-tion. This is called the digital continuum30 whereby the collaborative process is be-coming more and more seamless and in-tegrated between industries.

‘Digital technologies are changing architectural prac-tives in ways that few were able to anticipate just a decade ago’-Branko Kolarevic

COMPUTATIONAL PRECEDENTN I C O L A F O R M I C H E T T I S T O R E N Y C

“Mark Foster Gage’s store for Nicola Formichetti looks like someone nickel-plated Andy Warhol’s old mylar-covered Factory studio, stuffed it into a

kaleidoscope, and shot it into outer space.”

- Ian Volner, Interior Design Magazine

Finished in 2011 the Nicola Formetti store in New York City, is a wonderful combination of high fashion and architectural computation by Mark Foster Gage + Associates. The shop interior is a progressive use of computational design to create a futuristic, robotic design. Foster/ Gage used computational design to create a series of computer cut panels and mirrors that were attached to a structural frame that hung from the ceiling and connected to the floor15. The floor was like wise covered in a reflective material therefore creating and infinite series of reflections that allowed the clothing to be ‘re-fracted in a variety of unexpected perspectives16.The use of computational design allowed for the architects to create a precisely be-spoke interior for the shop in an uncommon materials with a strict geometry that would have been otherwise impossible without computerised design.

COMPUTATIONAL PRECEDENTTHE NEW DEPARTMENT OF ISLAMIC ARTS- LOUVRE

The newest gallery at the Louvre was designed by two Italian architects Mario Bellini and Rudy Ricciotti to house the Louvre’s collection of Islamic art in a subterranean space in the courtyard of 18th century Cour Visconti buildings. Their subterranean space is made of a floating golden ‘foulard’ that nearly touched the ground at points but was for the most part held aloft by a series of 8 m high pillars 17. Computational de-sign here has allowed for the architects to create an undulating roof with triangulated surface patterns. The computational aspect of this design also influenced the materi-ality of the structure, computer modelling would have enabled them to find materials with the ideal properties as many of the gallery artefacts are sun sensitive and need specific environmental conditions for preservation18. Due to the lightweight nature of the shell like roof, computer modelling would have allowed them to understand the structure of this space and how its immense roof could be held aloft without obstruct-ing the design.

COMPOSITION/ GENERATION

DESIGN EVOLUTIONUnlike computerised design of the prior chapter, computation in architecture has a far more involved relationship. Com-putation is ‘the processing of informa-tion and interactions between elements which constitute a specific environment, it provides a framework for negotiating and influencing the interrelation of data sets of information, with the capacity to gener-ate complex form, and structure’27

Computational design in architecture uses algorithms to process information and interpret and affect the environment in which the design is situated. Prior to the use of scripted technologies, the design process was focused around the drawing of a building and using computers as tools to digitise. Algorithmic programs such as grasshop-per are being used to not only aid design, but direct it. Grasshopper is a parametric program that has been seminal to digital design, it focuses on the logic of associa-tion and dependent relationships. Through the alteration of parameters a multiplicity of variables are created that can lead to a variety of design possibilities. Paramet-ric design is being used in a series of ways at the moment, such as providing perfor-mance feed back for the design at differ-ent stages of the design, what this does is changes the way in which the design process is ordered. The architects there-fore guide their design direction in relation to the parametric outputs and have the ability to go back and forth in their design ideas in response.

Digital technology has unleashed us into a new era of design in which ‘formation precedes form’

During the design process architects are able to analyze the constructional aspects of their design and responde accordingly. Para-metric design and algorithmic design is the playground of those who are able to script their own programs, they are able to create and share their own computational design approaches opening up limitless possibilities for other designers in this field. Currently ac-cording to Brady Peters there are four types of offices and people using scripted design tools. There are the internal specialist groups, in which there is a computational team sepa-rate from the design team. Secondly there is the external consultants, which are brought into a design from outside the firm to help compute and guide the design. There is the integrated firm in which there is no division be-tween design and computation. Finally there lone designers and developers. 29 All these groups of designers have created new para-digms of designs that focus more on the pro-cess of design and the design environment. Generative design departs from traditional design as the form is derived from a set of ‘in-ternal’ parameters 32 that dictate the forms expression through the output of a series of possibilities. What this mens for the design process is that the architect is not seeking a form per say, rather a set of parameters and conditions whose overall form fulfill the brief. Henceforth the process has shifted to the the-ory that ‘formation precedes form’.

Digital technology has unleashed us into a new era of design in which ‘formation precedes form’

GENERATIVE PRECEDENTCENTRE FOR VIRTUAL ENGINEERING

Commissioned by UNstudio, the Centre for Virtual Engineering at Stuttgart University in Germany is an innovative solution to emerg-ing spatial and design needs. The building is home to the virtual engineering faculty, it itself a progressive realm, therefore the ar-chitects at UNstudio wanted to create a space that stimulated communication, creativity and experimentations. The space is a se-ries of interlocking, flowing spaces that are not divided by purpose rather all are combined to foster communication. What is interest-ing about this building is the relationship between the construc-tion elements of the building and the design elements, as they are integrated and inseparable. Through computational generation, the architects were able to create a ‘coherent’ structure that cre-ates a continuously transforming surface 20. During the generation process, many situations were able to be analysed digitally, such as acoustics, thermal condition and lighting 21. What this allowed was for changes to planning at far earlier stages in the design, enabling greater design certainty. This method of performance oriented design has allowed the Centre for Virtual Engineering to achieve an outstanding level of sustainability, by understanding design parameters such as those listed above, they were able to reduce the facade glazing to 32% while enabling natural light and ventilation to reach the very centre of the building. The technolo-gy allowed them to understand the impact of using new materials that would reduce waste and perform to a higher standard. This building through its human oriented design of collaboration and communication, alongside its environmental design , provides an example of how computational design and generation in archi-tecture can lead the way against defuturing.

GENERATIVE PRECEDENTA > T C L O U D B R I D G E

Using parametric design Arturo Tedeshi has created a bridge that takes users from A to B through a me-andering path that reconnects them to nature 22. The Cloudbridge used computational algorithms to create a cloud like vessel suspended be-tween two mountains. The grid like cloud has used environmental pa-rameters to model the load bearing capacity of materials, the asymmet-rical loads of the bridge23 and the meandering path to be followed. What the use of generative design the architects have been enabled to parametrize the way in which the bridge is traversed by users24, their data input was analyzed and trans-lated to the slowest route that could be taken. It also meant the could fig-ure out how to balance and stabilise a bridge that would sit between two uneven mountain points. Although this project is theoretical, it displays the creative ways in which parame-ters can be used to create structures that are outside the traditional norm.

SUMMARY

The past decade has seen a shift in thinking about the way we design and our relation-ship with the environment. Design defuturing as explained by Fry, explicitly links the need for design change in the future for human-ity to be able to sustain itself, otherwise we will see a total collapse of humanity. He calls upon designers and architects to redirect design in a way that facilitates sustainabil-ity and creates a process that ‘flags’ design that is headed towards being unsustainable. All of his warnings and suggestions however are directed towards future designers. Since the advent of AutoCad and the comput-erisation of architecture in the 1980’s, there has been a shift in thinking about the de-sign process. The computerisation of design created innovative forms and geometries in architecture that were previously impos-sible in construction therefore remained in the theoretical world of architecture. Com-puterisation allowed a direct conversation between architecture and construction, changing the way in which pre-fabricated buildings were understood and appreciat-ed as well as moving towards changing ma-terial understanding and use. The comput-erisation of architecture was the catalyst for a change in the design process, neverthe-less computerisation is still largely focused on form and geometry rather than environ-mental relevance. Computerisation, that is the use of parametric and morphological design is the change of thinking in design in which Fry calls for. Computerisation focuses on the generation of a project, rather than its form.

Generative design processes have super-ceded traditional design processes of syn-thesis and problem solving through using a set of environmental parameters to guide design as opposed to these being later con-siderations to impact design. In using pa-rameters and design inputs at the start of the project and using these to dictate a series of possibilities for design, there is a greater understanding of the environmental require-ments that contemporary buildings need to fulfil. The Centre for Virtual Engineering in Stuttgart by UNstudio is a perfect example of environmental conditions steering design, The floor plate reflects the internal work-space requirements of the faculty and the overall composition is the result of a series of parameters considering energy, lighting and ventilation needs. This is a coherent project that has considered the building function and formation before its form. Contrary to the environmental concerns of the engi-neering centre are the anthropogenic con-cerns of the A>T Cloudbridge. Cloudbridge is an expression of the architects desire to reconnect users with their environment as they feel modern society has disconnected itself from nature. They have used a series of parametrics to dictate the path in which us-ers will follow. A greater connection to land-scape facilitates a greater awareness of the human impact on environmental systems and drives the move towards greater futur-ing potential.

My intended design process will be a com-bination of the design processes used by UNstudio and A>T. Both of these firms used parametric design in converse ways to cre-ate structures relating to their environment. I believe my approach should foster a rela-tionship between environmentally conscious design and phenomenological space. What this means is the design should fulfill the cri-teria of design away from defuturing i that it has a set of parameters that determine its energy input and output, responsible mate-rial use, while also creating a space that al-lows user appreciation of not only structure but environment. This is an important way to design as the confluence of responsible design and aesthetic promotes discussion. This idea comes through in the winning LAGI competition Scene Sensor, its innovative de-sign created a beautiful interactive space that had an environmental awareness and impact that was visually represented to its users. This design benefits society as it directs future design and highlights the possibility of parametric, computerised design to lead towards design futuring.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Throughout the course of the Conceptualisation chapter of Design Studio Air, my under-standing of the role of computers in design has expanded. Prior to this chapter i had little to no understanding of what parametric design was and how it differed from computeri-sation. Through previous study i understood the change from construction to design dur-ing the renaissance with the intoduction of cartesian planning however the modern shift to generation design was foreign. I understood the use of computers in architecture to generate form and patterning for aesthetic purposes, as we learnt in Virtual Environments, while grasshopper was introduced it was not expanded on or explained.

Understanding now that parametric design is a generative process that influences every stage of design through starting with a set of parameters and working towards form from the inside out there are several developments that i could have made to previous projects. For example during Design Studio Water, i created a boathouse with surface patterning and a glazed facade sitting along a river bank. Parametric design would have allowed me to create an intricate surface pattern that would have been more representative of my precedent architects Herzog and de Meuron. While allowing patterning, paramteric programs would have allowed me to develop the glazing and orientation more efficiently through inputting sets of parameters that defined energy use and solar gain. This I believe would have greatly changed the sets aof variable designs i could have worked with, and dictated a greatly differing final product.

ALGORITHMIC SKETCHES

The reason for the inclusion of these two Grasshopper tutorial algorithmic sketches is that they are both based on previous existing pavilions. The Gridshell exercise was based on Matsys gridshell pavilion and the Driftwood was based on the Driftwood Pavilion by AA in Lon-don for their summer pavilion series. The first exercise required me to create a se-ries of arcs and geodesic curves while the second required me to create a series of curves that would intersect an existing surface to create the wood pat-terning. What these showed were the varied outcomes that were possible by changing the parametric inputs. These sketches have little in common with parametric design and defuturing, they are more concerned with geometries and surface patterning as they are structures to be walked around and do not facilitate user interaction. What they do express is the complex and change-able geometries that can be produced parametrically and how the changing of varies inputs can lead to a multiplicity of design paths to follow.

REFERENCES

1. Fry, Tony (2008). Design Futuring: Sustainability, Ethics and New Practice (Oxford: Berg), pp. 1–16

2. Ferry, Robert & Elizabeth Monoian, ‘Design Guidelines’, Land Art Generator Ini-tiative, Copenhagen, 2014. pp 1 - 10

3. Ferry, Robert & Elizabeth Monoian, ‘Design Guidelines’, Land Art Generator Ini-tiative, Copenhagen, 2014. pp 1 - 10

4. Murray, James. Vashakmadze, Shota (2012). Scene Sensor: Crossing Soicial and Ecological Flows, LAGI Portfolio, last viewed March 25, http://landartgenerator.org/LAGI-2012/ap347043/

5. Murray, James. Vashakmadze, Shota (2012). Scene Sensor: Crossing Soicial and Ecological Flows, LAGI Portfoli, last viewed March 25, http://landartgenerator.org/LAGI-2012/ap347043/

6. Levitan, Dave (2013). High Altitude Wind Energy: Huge Potential and Hurdles, last viewed March 23, http://e360.yale.edu/feature/high_altitude_wind_energy_huge_potential_and_hurdles/2576/

7. APC International (2014). Piezoelectricity, last viewed March 11, https://www.americanpiezo.com/knowledge-center/piezo-theory/piezoelectricity.html

8. Hyperphysica (2008). The PIezoelectric Effect, last viewed March 11, http://hy-perphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/solids/piezo.html

9. Shenk, N. (2005). Energy Scavenging with Shoe Mounted Piezoelectrics, last viewed MArch 2014, http://www.rst2.edu/njheps/resources/energy_scavenging.pdf

10. Katayama, L. (2006) Commuter Generated Energy, last viewed March 11, http://tokyomango.blogspot.com.au/2006/10/commuter-generated-electricity.html

11. Alexandra Barker, Adrien Allred, Marcus Ziemke, Umberto Plaja, Molly Hare (2011). Piezoscape, last viewed March 11, http://landartgenerator.org/LA-GI-2012/67hk92zm/

12. Kalay, Yehuda E. (2004). Architecture’s New Media: Principles, Theories, and Methods of Computer-Aided Design (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press), pp. 5-25

13. Oxman, Rivka and Robert Oxman, eds (2014). Theories of the Digital in Architecture (London; New York: Routledge), pp. 1–10

14. Kalay, Yehuda E. (2004). Architecture’s New Media: Principles, Theories, and Methods of Computer-Aided Design (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press), pp. 5-25

15. Nicola Formichetti New York Store / Gage Clemenceau Architects” 05 Apr 2013. Arch-Daily. Accessed 24 Mar 2014. <http://www.archdaily.com/?p=355430>

16. Cilento, Karen. “BOFFO Building Fashion / Nicola Formichetti + Gage/Clemenceau Architects” 04 Oct 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 24 Mar 2014. <http://www.archdaily.com/?p=173859>

17. Rosenfield, Karissa. (2012) New Department of Islamic Art Opens Tomorrow at the Lou-vre, last viewed March 23 <http://www.archdaily.com/?p=275231>

18. Greico, Lauren (2012). Mario Bellini + Rudy Ricciotti: Department of Islamic Arts at Louvre, last viewed March 23, http://www.designboom.com/architecture/mario-bellini-rudy-ricciotti-department-of-islamic-arts-at-louvre/

19. ArchDaily (2012) Centre for Virtual Engineering, last viewed March 25, http://www.archdaily.com/?p=247077

20. ArchDaily (2012) Centre for Virtual Engineering, last viewed March 25, http://www.archdaily.com/?p=247077

21. Bauer, Wilhelm (2014) Centre for Virtual Engineering, last viewed March 24, http://www.iao.fraunhofer.de/lang-en/business-areas/corporate-development-work-design/587-vi-sum.html

22. A>T (2013) Cloudbridge, last viewed March 25, http://www.arturotedeschi.com/wordpress/?page_id=6191

23. Rosenfield, Karissa (2013). A>T Designs Parametric “Cloudbridge” last viewed March 25, <http://www.archdaily.com/?p=446499>

24. A>T (2013) Cloudbridge, last viewed March 25, http://www.arturotedeschi.com/wordpress/?page_id=6191

25. Hiroyuki, Futai. Hiroki, Asai. (2010) Solar Carpet, LAGI Portfolio, last viewed March 27, http://landartgenerator.org/LAGI2010/ep3art/

26. Peters, Brady. (2013) ‘Computation Works: The Building of Algorithmic Thought’, Archi-

REFERENCES27. Peters, Brady. (2013) ‘Computation Works: The Building of Algorithmic Thought’, Architectural Design, 83, 2, pp. 08-15

28. Peters, Brady. (2013) ‘Computation Works: The Building of Algorithmic Thought’, Architectural Design, 83, 2, pp. 08-15

29. Gardiner, Brian (2007) Designers, Architects Celebrate 25 years of Com-puter Aided Design, last viewed March 27 http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/news/2007/11/cad_anniversary

30. Kolarevic, Branko, Architecture in the Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing (New York; London: Spon Press, 2003) Suggested start with pp. 3-62

31. Peters, Brady. (2013) ‘Computation Works: The Building of Algorithmic Thought’, Architectural Design, 83, 2, pp. 08-15

PART B: CRITERIA DESIGN

R E S E A R C H F I E L D S T R I P S A N D F O L D I N G

Using strips and folding in parametric design is a common way of fabricating and developing complex designs. In converting a design into a series of strips that are able to be folded or twisted, the design able to be assembled and fab-ricated with ease. Most commonly developable surfaces are triangulated for assembly, they can be taken as patches from a number of geometry types such as cones, cylinders etc. When using strips and folding techniques the design is not altered or deformed in anyway when bent and stitched together from a 2D cut surface. The main advantages of using strips and folding techniques in para-metric designs is that it reduces the amount of error in developing a design and solving fabrication issues simply.48

STRIPS AND FOLDING PRECEDENTM O M A F A B R I C A T I O N S 1 9 9 8

The Tesselation Garden was an installation in 1998 for the MoMA gallery in New York City. There were four installations presented as part of ‘Fabrication’. The exhibition was a means of the curators finding young design firms to present works that focused on the construction methods, materials and new form relationships.. The presented exhibition is a work of folded steel that blurs the traditional distinction be-tween structure and skin. The steel is folded and stepped in regular geometry. The geometry unfolds and has small perforations to allow differing amounts of light through that have a relationship with the mu-seum wall. The project was wholly computerised for fabrication, the steel was perforated and laser cut, assembled and constructed off site. The folds were created through a mechanized process called ‘stitching’ which means the steel is laser cut and scored for higher precision than welding, making it appear as though there are two pieces of metal stitched together rather than one continuous piece of metal. Through their computational process and detailed fabrication, the fabrication was able to de-velop a seamless and continuous material space.

STRIPS AND FOLDING PRECEDENTS E R O U S S I P A V I L I O N 2 0 0 7 P A R I S

The Seroussi Pavilion was a design entry from Biothing for the 2007 pavilion exhibition in Paris 2007. Biothing is a redefining of architectural language through the creation of ‘infra-structural cocoons’ created through a new custom parametric tool called FlowerPower. The pavilion is modelled based on electromagnetic fields that were computed para-metrically and then lifted into a series of structural micro arches 37. The arches are lifted section through tracing a sine graph. Further parametric scripting was undertaken as the site on which the pavilion sits is a step hill. The pavilion’s architecture did not rely on a tra-ditional plan, rather it is a series of parametric constraints and algorithmic equations that result in the undulating and intertwining form. The form is composed of ‘cells’ that each have individual shading, lighting and views derived from parametric equations of angle and orientation, the size of the aperture and the relationship between metal and glass components. 38 The internal cocoon spaces are made of fibres that represent the double trajectories of EMF and different degrees of cohabitation between human and art be-come possible.

STRIPS AND FOLDING PRECEDENTS E R O U S S I P A V I L I O N 2 0 0 7 P A R I S

A L G O R I T H M I C M A T R I XS E R O U S S I P A V I L I O N I T E R A T I O N S

STRIPS AND FOLDING PRECEDENTS E R O U S S I P A V I L I O N O U T C O M E S

These four iterations were I feel were the most successful. Biothing was an interesting defini-tion to manipulate because of the range of forms on base curves that could be created. The selection criteria that we employed was aesthetic quality and how the form could be convereted or manipluated into a habitable spaces such as pavilions.These four choices all provided a certain level of cover if considered as a pavilion space for users. It is reminiscent of the Serpentine Gallery ‘Cloud Pavilion’ by Sou Fujimoto. He created a lightweight space from thin intersecting bars of metal. This same technique could be ap-plied to the Seroussi pavilion definition as seen in these iterations. These have a lightweight, transcendental quality to them created by the sweeping brances, appearing somewhat like weeping willow trees. I think thse iterations could be fur-ther extrapolated in differning forms and base works to create spaces that blur the transition between interior and exterior.

CURVEDIVIDE POINT

CHARGE

CIRCLEDIVIDE ] CURVE

DIVIDERANGE MULTIPLICATION

FACTORMOVE INTERPOLATE

COUNT 5 COUNT 5 B VALUE -1.9COUNT 5

RADIUS 0.05 STEPS 100

FIELDLINE

REVERSE ENGINEERING[ C ] S P A C E P A V I L I O N

The [C]Space Pavilion was the winning entry to a contest to build a temporary structure for the Architectural Association school in London. The entry was by Alvin Huang and Alan Dempsey for a freestanding fibre glass construction of curved form. The pavilion is a multipurpose space for users to sit and relax, interact with each other, perform, hold graduations and enjoy as a space. The curved, sinuous form of the pavilion changes in appearance and opacity from varying angles inviting the user to explore its contours. Upon closer inspection the form reveals itself to be an open structure of folding and bent strips of fiber glass interlocking at cross joints to create an enclosure of openness. 40

The process of reverse engineering the [C]Space Pavilion was rather straight forward. Once the base curves were defined in rhino they had to be uniformely lofted to create the pavilion enclosure. After this the surface was divided into abritrary section that would then make up the fibre glass strips that are set at cross angles across the pavilion surface. The divisons were then made into isocurves across the surface and finally the curves were extruded at a ‘plane’ normal angle’ to origin to create the bending strip formation of the original pavilion.

CURVELOFT SURFCAE DIVIDE

ISOMETRICISOMETRICEXTRUDEPLANE NORMAL

U COUNT 99V COUNT 34

]

RESEARCH FIELD 2B I O M I M E T I C S

Biomimicry in design is the practice of studying natural forms, processes and systems as a means of understanding how they work and their efficiency, to therefore incorporate them into design or use the solutions to solve design problems. Biomimicry has been around for hundreds of years as nature consistently proves to be a consummate engi-neer,32 natural selection over the millennia has left only the organisms with the most ef-ficient and sustainable biological design, it is from these organisms which we can draw inspiration. One of the best and earliest examples of biomimicry in design is the devel-opment of Velcro from the examination of burs and the way in which they stuck to the designers socks and his dogs fur coat. He analysed the hook structure of the burrs and complimented this is a fabric loop system, hence creating Velcro.

“The term biomimetic comes from biomemesis, meaning to mim-ic life...it’s what happens when you invite a biologist to the de-sign table...the allure for designers lies in the efficiency, strength and general compactness of natural designs.”

Biomimicry is a path to a sustainable future when it is used as a ‘method, measure and mentor’3 As a model, natures forms, processes and systems are studied to solve human problems sustainably. As a measure, it is used to measure how sustainable a solutio is. Fi-nally as a mentor, we are given a new way of viewing and valuing nature 33 . The design spiral is a design tool that represents how to go about nature inspired design. There are five basic steps in the design spiral. Firstly determine the design function as translated by nature, i.e. how is this function carried out in nature? Secondly discover the model used in nature, what type of organism performs this function? From there one must determine what the link between the natural world and the system/ project that is being designed, how can the project function in a similar way to the biological system selected? Finally the design evaluated, can it adapt to the environment and contextually evolve? 34

“The term biomimetic comes from biomemesis, meaning to mim-ic life...it’s what happens when you invite a biologist to the de-sign table...the allure for designers lies in the efficiency, strength and general compactness of natural designs.”

BIOMIMICRY PRECEDENTSS K Y L A R T I B I T S - V O L T A D O M

In collaboration with MIT architecture students for the 150th celebration of the FAST festi-val, Skylarn Tibits created the Voltadom installation. The installation is a series of curvilinear vaults that span the glass and concrete hallway between building 56 and 66 on campus. The series of vaults created is reminiscent of the Gothic cathedrals, the design inspiration comes from the articulation of cellular systems. It is an analysis and representation of how cells will multiply and grow, creating a solid exterior border wall35. The material from which the installation is a lightweight and cut into foldable strips by machine, allowing for time efficient installation and ease of construction. What this installation is exploring is whether through the combination of parametrics and biomimicry, if architecture of the future will be able to self replicate and fill space through the creation of insulating boundaries.

BIOMIMETIC PRECEDENTF A U L D E R ’ S S T U D I O - J A P A N

Faulders studio in Tokyo, Japan is an artists studio and family home sitting at a busy city intersection. The house of the previous owners was significantly smaller than the current construction and was masked by a thick layer of vegetation. The aim of the designers Studio M from San Francisco and Hajime Masubuchi was to create a profes-sional and private mixed use set of spaces over four levels with the bottom two acting as commercial spaces and the third and fourth housing loft type apartments. The previous buildings vegetation was immedi-ately recognizable in the area and acted as an identifier, the architects wanted to keep this aspect. The new buildings facade was commissioned as a screen that would identify the building, provide privacy as the balconies opened onto the facade and would protect the building from weather. Through parametric modelling, studio M looked to create a system that was drawn from natural systems of protection. In ap-pearance the screen facade is a series of overlapping void spaces to create a co-herent white membrane like covering. Stu-dio M looked at the protective systems of fur, the massing of animal fur protects the skin, repels water and traps warmth without being a closed system 36. The second sys-tem looked at was that of the sea sponge, being an immobile organism, the sponge interacts with it environment through the distribution of water flows through millions of chambers which change the velocity of water flow as it passes through. This is the way in which the sponge absorbs nutrients. In looking at the sponge studio M could theorise on how the building facade could work to mitigate energy and water flows through the facade.

By determining these two natural systems and they way in which they could relate to the protection of Faulders studio the archi-tects came up with a cellular matrix. They created two layers of facade which act-ed independently of each other. Through parametric design the facades were de-signed by inputting a series of parameters such as voids for views, engagement with natural light and rooms that required more privacy. Environmental parameters such as typhoon wind loads, installation and ap-pearance were then parametrically input. The result was 2 screens that were unique to each other that were set to be installed above the ground floor as to appear to float above the street scape. Once the installation was completed the result was a facade system that was visual-ly striking in the landscape, it ‘optically’ re-sponded to the environment through light and climate conditions reflecting on the facade material. During the rain, the exte-rior facade screen uses capillary action to catch rain water and chanel it downwards and towards a drain, the void systems cre-ate a wind buffer to reduce interior airflow. Visually the facade creates a parallax ef-fect when walking as the dynamic screens visually shift when passing. The overall ef-fect of this facade, mimics what the pre-vious residences vegetation would have achieved, allowing light, privacy, wind and rain protection.

REVERSE ENGINEERINGS H A D O W P A V I L I O N

CURVELOFT

SURFACE DIVIDE

DIVIDE

SURFACE DIVIDEDECONSTRUCT VECTOR

SURFACE BOX

BREPMESH MORPH

U COUNT 20U COUNT 20

U COUNT 20U COUNT 20

The Shadow Pavilion by Ply Architects was a self supporting structure created for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The pavilion was based upon phyllotaxies, which is the natural formation pattern of layering of petals, nodules and leaves. The result was a geometric, circular dome type pavilion immersed in the soil. it was constructed out of lightweight strips of metal bent into connected open cones. The cones allow varying light and sounds into the space to create a sensory experience for the user.44

DEVELOPMENT

R E C O N S I D E R I N G T H E B R I E FR E F S H A L E Ø E N , C O P E N H A G E N

In developing a parametric definition for the LAGI con-test, the brief and site must be reconsidered and examined concurrently. The brief asks us to create a ‘three dimen-sional sculptural form that has the ability to stimulate and challenge the mind of visitors to the site’ while also gener-ating renewable energy on site that can be put back into the electrical grid in Copen-hagen. Copenhagen aims to become carbon neutral by 2025 and therefore this competition aims to reinvent views on renewable energy in the mind of the site users and the wider populous. The type of renewable energy we have decided on as a design group is solar energy harness-es using photovoltaics, in par-ticular thin film dye-sensitized cells. This particular technol-ogy is relatively low in cost and works more effectively in indirect or low light conditions which is suitable for a north-ern European country in the winter time. The cells are small and flexible meaning they have easier application on structural forms and their co-loured properties from being dyed can also enhance the visual effect of the project in conjunction with the design.

Contextually Refshaleøen is a flat site bordered by water on three sides and sitting oppo-site the Little Mermaid statue, a Copenhagen landmark. Formerly the Refshaleøen complex was a prominent shipping industry site. The area designated by LAGI is reclaimed land and was cov-ered by an old factory type building with a basin in the northwest corner. It is most likely there are still founda-tions in the ground and there is a soil change where fill was used to cover the basin. It is quite a large sitting covering a 330 x 150 m site in an irregular rectangle shape. The longer sides are oriented westward to the harbour and statue. Our LAGI project that will be generated through grasshop-per should aim to create inter-esting aesthetics on site and create a symbiosis between design and energy produc-tion. The project should be interactive for users as well as defining the landscape by sitting on it prominently, as a proud display of renewable capabilities

R E C O N S I D E R I N G T H E B R I E FR E N E W A B L E E N E R G Y S O U R C E

Dye- sensitized photovoltaics are a renewable solar technology that is still be-ing refined. In a manner that is closely related to photosynthesis. The chemical dyes in the cell react with sunlight and convert the energy into electricity. The cell is made of a dye and a metal oxide electrical conductor. Compared to traditional photovoltaics and thin film photovoltaics these cells are more cost efficient, they have a greater ability to conduct electricity in low light condi-tions. One of the major appeals of these cells is that they come in a range of colours and transparencies which enhance the aesthetic appeal. 42 The ability of these cells to work more efficiently in low and indirect light is par-ticularly advantageous in the European winter. Similar to traditional photovol-taic cells these dye-sensitised strips should be oriented on an optimal angle to the sun for maximum solar gain throught the year. Copenhagen sits at a lattitude of 55.8 º and should therefore PVC should be angled between 50-55 ºsouth facing 45, however for this technology it is not imperative that they are angled to the sun as they work in a range of conditions 46. Research and development companies such as GCell as leading the way in dye -sensitised cell (DSC) developmenta nd have created dye-sensitised pho-tovoltaics cells that can be created to custom order depending on the size and needs of the project at hand. They have created then film with a minimum size of 50 mm x 24 mm that generates 4-7μW/cm² at 200 lux. The reason for the selection of this technology is not only the aesthetic qualities but also the ease of integration into a structure, DSC can be printed onto any rigid material ranging from steel to glass which has great application for our project if we want to use a completely transparent material.47 DSC can also be printed into flexible sheets like the ones produced by GCell, they then only require strong double sided tape the integrate them with a structure, however this is not suitable for a large scale design such as ours.

0

150

300

Hour

s

Month

Average Sunglight Hours, Copenhagen

43

D E S I G N C R I T E R I A

We are looking for a parametric design that will seamless integrate with our re-newable technology; dye-sensiteized photovoltaic thin cells. We want the de-sign to feel in place on the Refshaleøen site while also provoking interest from not only the site but surrounding areas that look onto it such as the harbour and the Little Mermaid statue opposite. The brief asks us to create and engag-ing sculptural space that can be used for educational purposes and stimulate de-bate. The main criteria for the structure is that it should create renewable energy without producing waste, that can be converted to electrical energy and fed into the Copenhagen grid. We want to meet all these criterion with a harmonious form that occupies majority of the site.

In terms of aesthetic we want to create a minimal, cohesive structure that has a cer-tain transitional quality about it, coalesc-ing with the site. We want to generate a space that is conscious of the climate and weather systems of the site, relating is phys-ical properties to the site conditions and using these to inform design. We want the design to be light and airy, a clean beauty that reflects the beauty of clean energy production. The design should stimulate thought on the potentials of renewable design, a removal from the idea of renew-able energy being limited to cumbersome and clunky systems such as traditional pho-tovoltaic panels or towering wind turbines.

S E L F E N G I N E E R I N G 1T U B E P A V I L I O N

The precedent we based this definition on was the Peace Bridge In Calgary, Canada again by Santiago Calatrava. The bridge as created to connect workers that travelled into the city daily for work. It required no piers and is cylindrical in form from bank to bank. 41

These iterations were interesting when we were able to change the base shape with-out the form becoming to far extracted and intersecting at chaotic angels. Where i could see the potential of this iteration going is to create a circular enclosure of thin tubes that could be covered in the thin photovoltaic cells. Finding a way of changing the base shape of the form was difficult and hindered our project. With further iterations the form stopped being aesthetically appealing and for that reason we decided not to progress to further development.

S E L F E N G I N E E R I N G 1T U B E P A V I L I O N

S E L F E N G I N E E R I N G 2H E X A G O N P A V I L I O N

S E L F E N G I N E E R I N G 2H E X A G O N P A V I L I O N

The basis for our hexagon pavilion was a complet-ed parametric project by a group of students at NTU Athens. They created this ‘Honeycomb’ feature us-ing grasshopper and a plugin called honeycomb. The groups design aim was to create an organic form that could be applied to a series of different design needs. The static form of the hexagon was chosen do to its ability to be ‘combined and deformed in many different ways’4, the use of this form creates dichoto-mous transparency and screened privacy. The pro-cess used nurbs modelling to create the parameters of the form then parametrically input the hexagonal forms as to morph smoothly. The final outcome is an aesthetically interesting form that is multifunctional. In our design we took the hexagonal paramteres and set them onto a series of changing surfaces, altering the hexagonal boundaries and the overall morphol-ogy.

S E L F E N G I N E E R I N G 2H E X A G O N P A V I L I O N I T E R A T I O N S

CURVELOFTSURFACE HEXAGON CELLS

ATTRACTOR WAVE CURVE SCALE

MOVE

INTEGER DIVISIONAMPLITUDE ]GRAFT

GRAFT LOFTEXTRUDE

U DIVISIONS 15V DIVISIONS 15

POINT ATTRACTOR

FACTOR 0.59

The result of creating a parametric definition based on the honeycomb project was quite successful in its variation from the original. The forms created were made by lofting and extruding hexagonal cells from a surface. By changing the parameters of the surface and the extrusion height we were able to create an interesting and var-ied set of forms that i think could have potential with the LAGI brief. When considering the solar technology we have chosen (thin film dye sensitized cells) it has potential as the extruded surfaces offer a lot of available surface area and the variation in ap-pearance could work well with changing cell colours.

S E L F E N G I N E E R I N G 2H E X A G O N P A V I L I O N I T E R A T I O N S

CURVELOFTSURFACE HEXAGON CELLS

ATTRACTOR WAVE CURVE SCALE

MOVE

INTEGER DIVISIONAMPLITUDE ]GRAFT

GRAFT LOFTEXTRUDE

U DIVISIONS 15V DIVISIONS 15

POINT ATTRACTOR

FACTOR 0.59

HEXAGONAL GRIDPOINT XZ PLANE

UNIT XRADIAN ]MOVE

ROTATE x6 POLYLINEOUTER HEXAGON EXTRUDE

OFFSET OUTSIDE HEXAGON

MOVELOFTINSIDE HEXAGON ]SOLID DIFFERENCE

BREP

MORPH

CURVELOFT SURFACE DIVIDE

DECONSTRUCT VECTOR

DIVIDE

SURFACE BOX MESH] ]

XZ PLANE UNIT Y

NEGATIVE 1

UNIT YEXTENT X 1EXTENT Y 1

EXTENT X 1FACTOR 4 FACTOR 1 FACTOR 1DEGREE 60

UCOUNT 20

UCOUNT 20

EXTENT Y 1

S E L F E N G I N E E R I N G 2 . 1H E X A G O N P I P E P A V I L I O N I T E R A T I O N S

HEXAGONAL GRIDPOINT XZ PLANE

UNIT XRADIAN ]MOVE

ROTATE x6 POLYLINEOUTER HEXAGON EXTRUDE

OFFSET OUTSIDE HEXAGON

MOVELOFTINSIDE HEXAGON ]SOLID DIFFERENCE

BREP

MORPH

CURVELOFT SURFACE DIVIDE

DECONSTRUCT VECTOR

DIVIDE

SURFACE BOX MESH] ]

XZ PLANE UNIT Y

NEGATIVE 1

UNIT YEXTENT X 1EXTENT Y 1

EXTENT X 1FACTOR 4 FACTOR 1 FACTOR 1DEGREE 60

UCOUNT 20

UCOUNT 20

EXTENT Y 1

S E L F E N G I N E E R I N G 2 . 1H E X A G O N P I P E P A V I L I O N I T E R A T I O N S

This was the second lot of iterations we developed for the hexagon definition, this time rather than having the honey-comb structure open out to the exterior, they curved like pipes along the surface. This iteration was less interesting and more complex than the last and i therefore think it has lesx potential than previous.

S E L F E N G I N E E R I N G 2 . 1H E X A G O N P I P E P A V I L I O N I T E R A T I O N S

S E L F E N G I N E E R I N G 2 . 1H E X A G O N P I P E P A V I L I O N I T E R A T I O N S

S E L F E N G I N E E R I N G 3T R E E P A V I L I O N

POINTPOINT VECTOR 2 POINT

VECTOR 2 POINTCIRCLE DIVIDE

ARC ARC CIRCLE DIVIDE

UNIT Z

MOVE

PIPE

Z COORDINATE 9RADUIS 16 RADUIS 16

FACTOR 0.5RADUIS 16

RADUIS 16 COUNT 6

S E L F E N G I N E E R I N G 3T R E E P A V I L I O N

S E L F E N G I N E E R I N G 4P A V I L I O N

DOMAINRANGE POINT

DIVISIONNEGATIVE

]]

CIRCLEMERGE

MERGE

DIVIDE] ]ROTATEFLIPINTERPOLATE

CURVELOFT

PROJECTEXTRUDE AREA

EXTRUDESURFACE FRAMES CULL

FLATTENCULL

DOMAIN END 0DOMAIN END 0

DATA 2 100 UNIT ZNUMBER SLIDER 1.28

NUMBER SLIDER 1NUMBER SLIDER 1DATA 3 18

B VALUE 31

B VALUE 31A VALUE 654

These two pavilion definitions were not created with a precedent in mind, rather they are a free form result from experimenting with grasshopper pa-rameters. I feel that these two prior iteration definitions have limited potential with the LAGI brief. This second iteration has potential as a covering pavilion structure and the first serves well as a space to be in, however I don’t think they are visually interesting enough. The first definition created i find to be too busy overall as well as being too analogous with the form of a sunflower, i feel that the users would take that visual away rather than the point of the entry which is to engage and create renewable energy. Where the first defi-nition is too busy, the second is to simple in design and does not allow for much parametric manipulation.

S E L F E N G I N E E R I N G 4P A V I L I O N

DOMAINRANGE POINT

DIVISIONNEGATIVE

]]

CIRCLEMERGE

MERGE

DIVIDE] ]ROTATEFLIPINTERPOLATE

CURVELOFT

PROJECTEXTRUDE AREA

EXTRUDESURFACE FRAMES CULL

FLATTENCULL

DOMAIN END 0DOMAIN END 0

DATA 2 100 UNIT ZNUMBER SLIDER 1.28

NUMBER SLIDER 1NUMBER SLIDER 1DATA 3 18

B VALUE 31

B VALUE 31A VALUE 654

F I N A L S E L F E N G I N E E R I N GF R A N K I E P A V I L I O N

A x BSINE

RADIANRADIAN

DOMAIN] x 6

REMAP x 6

A + B x 4

A - B x 2]

POINT ] x 4

] ]YZ PLANEMERGE

MERGELOFT

POLYLINEOFFSET

END POINTSLINELINE

SHIFT PATHS

END POINTS

-1 to 1

DISTANCE 83STEPS 368

DEGREES 80DEGREES 100DEGREES 100DEGREES 30

B VALUE 60 B VALUE 2.4B VALUE 3.6B VALUE 2.75B VALUE 2.6B VALUE 2.5B VALUE 4.1

F I N A L S E L F E N G I N E E R I N GF R A N K I E P A V I L I O N

A x BSINE

RADIANRADIAN

DOMAIN] x 6

REMAP x 6

A + B x 4

A - B x 2]

POINT ] x 4

] ]YZ PLANEMERGE

MERGELOFT

POLYLINEOFFSET

END POINTSLINELINE

SHIFT PATHS

END POINTS

-1 to 1

DISTANCE 83STEPS 368

DEGREES 80DEGREES 100DEGREES 100DEGREES 30

B VALUE 60 B VALUE 2.4B VALUE 3.6B VALUE 2.75B VALUE 2.6B VALUE 2.5B VALUE 4.1

Sitting on a completely flat landscape, the Stazione Reggio Emilia high speed train station by Santiao Ca-latrava was our final strips and folding precedent to experiment with parametrically. The form of the station is created by using a sine curve to define to alternat-ing lifts of the 10 meter tall steel members which are spaced at 1 meter intervals. The overall form of the sta-tion is dynamic, congruent with the function of the sta-tion. The sinusoid curved facade is undisturbed though the length of the station creating a beautifully undulat-ing impression on the country landscape.Our iterations for the station begun simple then morphed into more erratic and complex forms. Through model-ling these forms we hope to understand the relationship an iteration of this form could have on its landscape and how it could be altered to fit the LAGI brief.

S E L F E N G I N E E R I N GF R A N K I E I T E R A T I O N S

S E L F E N G I N E E R I N GF R A N K I E I T E R A T I O N S

S E L F E N G I N E E R I N GF R A N K I E F A B R I C A T I O N

S E L F E N G I N E E R I N GF R A N K I E F A B R I C A T I O N

We decided to fabricate our models in rhino through the fab lab from 3 mm clear Perspex, it was a relatively easy process as our model was already a series of flat surfaces therefore required no unrolling. We then laid them out and sent them to get fabricated.

T E C H N I Q U E D E V E L O P M E N TF R A N K I E P R O T O T Y P I N G

We prototyped the first of our Frankie iterations using 3 mm clear Perspex so that we could model the light quality through the curvilinear form. We had to alter the form from the original 3D parametric model after releasing that it would not physically hold or stand unless a flat surface was cut from the sinuous curves at the base. This made the fabrication process easier and meant we could control the flow of the curve better. The curved surfaces of the interior and exterior blended into one because of the clear materiality which i feel gave it a beautiful transitional quality. What i think would be interesting would be to experience the interior of the space when it is panelled in transpar-ent photovoltaics of varying colours, it would distort the view of the exterior landscape and create a transitional space.

T E C H N I Q U E D E V E L O P M E N TF R A N K I E P R O T O T Y P I N G

This was our most abstract prototype iterations in rhino, but i feel turned out to be one of the more success-ful physical models due to the nature of its seemingly random angles formed by the input of a tangential curve. This models seems to grow out of the ground in an unplanned manner and would create an in-teresting space to walk through and explore. I feel that it could work as a successful interaction space for younger children who would use it as a climbing frame or playground. Each vertical plane is at a dif-ferent height, this would mean that if users were to walk through it they would have to duck under some spaces rather than simply meander through it in a straight line. As the Refshaleøen site is so flat and lin-ear i think that a design that is more abstracted and forces the user to consider how they traverse the site could be more engaging.

T E C H N I Q U E D E V E L O P M E N TF R A N K I E P R O T O T Y P I N G

This final iteration prototype works on chang-ing the base shape of the definition to follow the sine curve rather as well as the corner points following the same curve. The elements are held together on a flat base plane. Again the model was laser cut from 3 mm clear Per-spex, at a larger scale than the other previous models. The interest in this model came from the shadows produced from different per-spectives and light angles. The spacing and height of the Perspex planes creates evoca-tive shadows, when considered as a physical manifestation on site it could act as a sun dial tracing shadows on site throughout the day. I think this could be interesting when combined with our dye-sensitized photovoltaics, it could be an interesting look at how solar light can be collected throughout the day and at vary-ing times of year.

P R O P O S A L We want to create a space for the user to pass through and circulate within generating views of the harbour and views onto the site from surround-ing areas. Our emphasis for the part B is to create a transitional space that consumes the site and pushes the users to explore the site boundary in its entirety. In modelling our definitions with a clear material what i think what has revealed itself is the alterable qualities of light and shadow that can be played with on site. The materiality will be important in our final iteration of the design as it impacts on the phenomenological qualities of the space and the user experience. I believe that the innovation of our design comes from the integration with a little used renewable technology that has the ability to change the aesthetic quality without encumbering the de-sign itself.The design would sit on site lightly with minimal ground works having to occur, rather that being a traditional pavilion space it would be a circu-lation and gathering space. This is where i think some of our other designs were limited, as they only really had capabilities in a static form in which users did not have the opportunity to ex-plore the site for more than a few minutes. We want to use parametrics to create a form that moves away from the pavilion as many past parametric precedents seem to be limited this type of design. We want to create a sculptural form that efficiently and emotively uses a renew-able technology to generate electricity for Co-penhagen.

L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E SI N T E R I M R E V I E W F E E D B A C K

After the interim review the direction of our design changed somewhat. Initially we had chosen to integrate both the Frankie Pavilion design with our hexa-gon pavilion to create a single form. However we then realized that the de-sign was not as successful as we had hoped and the form did not relate well to our renewable energy technology. We then decided instead to focus on our Frankie design as this could be inte-grated with solar dye-sensitized cells in a more attractive way and the relation-ship between our flat rotating surfaces were ideal for integration with the cells. Therefore our further design explora-tions will examine the relationship be-tween integrating cells on our site and better understanding the relationship of site and technology. We will be look-ing at a sculptural form on site rather than a series of walk ways that didn’t really connect to the site. Our design will head towards being a form that at-tracts users to the site from surrounding areas because of its architectural ap-peal that is then expressed better when on site. We want to create a form that directs views outward from the site onto the surrounding context. I feel that we now better understand how our tech-nology works and how it can best be applied onsite and that it is the right choice of energy production in relation to the climate systems of Copenhagen and the design aesthetic that we want to produce.

Through looking at quite a range of precedent studies, both paramet-ric and computational architec-ture we better understood how to create forms that were interesting and diverse, the tasks of reverse engineering solidified how to use grasshopper in range of ways to create varying forms and how al-tering parameters affects the de-sign process. Part B has strongly reinforced my understanding of what the generative design pro-cess is and how it differs from tra-ditional pen and paper design. While i feel that generative design is an interesting process to be able to use, I’m not yet fully convinced that its a process that I am confi-dent at or enjoy. We have been able to successfully re-engineer a series of projects and understand how they can be created through parametric computation rather than computerising an existing de-sign in nurbs modelling. Our itera-tions however demonstrating the huge range of potential that gen-erative design has which i think is a very useful tool and surpasses tra-ditional design processes in that it create as a series of paths that a design can go down which con-ventional design does not offer.

One of the best skills that i have better developed is how to put together a proposal which the interim presentation helped with. I feel better equipped to put together a design proposal understanding that it should not be a reiteration of our process but our final design and the fu-ture direction that it will take and why. Before we had de-cided to introduce our proposal that was an integration of two existing definitions, i had pre-empted that it was not our suc-cessful design as it was not fully relating well to the site and the technology, therefore going through the process of present-ing it as a proposal and receiv-ing feedback against it was a good step to solidify what con-stitutes a good proposal.

A P P E N D I XA L G O R I T H M I C S K E T C H E S

DIVIDECURVE CLOSEST POINT2 POINT VECTOR CONSTRUCT PLANE

PLANE SURFACEGRAFTMULTIPLY

POINTPOLY LINESHIFT PATHSREGION UNION

]BREP| BREPMOVEEND POINT x2

POINTPOLY LINESHIFT PATHSREGION UNION

This task was an extapolation on the previous driftwood paivlion excercised, The aim of this was to use cull to create surface geometry that would create the framing components of the pavilion. I had to create vectors between points on the interior and exterior curve and create a closed curve around the interes-tions.

SURFACESURFACE DIVIDE TREE STATISTICS

TAG

GRAFTSIMPLIFY

FLATTEN

This was a basic exercise to find out how to display input information by grafting and simplifying tree statistics

SURFACESURFACE DIVIDEMOVE TREE STATISTIC

TAG ITEM

SERIESZ PLANE

This task showed how to represent data in a grid and make this grid 3D. this system can be used to creae paths through data.

A P P E N D I XA L G O R I T H M I C S K E T C H E S

SURFACE SURFACE DIVIDEPATH SHIFTAVERAGE

This was a really basic introduction of how to use path shift when controlling data structures.

+

A P P E N D I XA L G O R I T H M I C S K E T C H E S

The image sampling task this week was based on the M. H de Young Museum in San Fransciso by Herzog and de Meuron. The pair punched and extruded a metal sheet with various patterns to create a textured metal surface. These were the principles used in the image samoking task. Two images were imported onto a surface and out-put as circles with smaller upward extrusions. The two circles could then be lofted to create the images above.

SURFACESURFACE DIVIDEPICTURE INPUT

EXPRESSIONEXPRESSIONZ PLANE

CIRCLECIRCLE

MOVE GRAFT

GRAFT] LOFT

U COUNT 100V COUNT 100

RADIUS 0.08VARIABLE Y 0.15EXP 1: (X x Y) + 0.1EXP 2: tan(y)x (x-0.1) in RADIANS @ 45 DEGREES

]x2

REFERENCES32. Biomimicry institute, 2014, What is Biomimicry?, last viewed April 4, http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/about-us/what-is-biomimicry.html

33. Biomimicry institute, 2014, What is Biomimicry?, last viewed April 4, http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/about-us/what-is-biomimicry.html

33. Biomimicry institute, 2014, What is Biomimicry?, last viewed April 4, http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/about-us/what-is-biomimicry.html

34. Swedish Industrial Design Foundation, 2013, Design Spiral, last viewed April 2 2014, http://www.svid.se/sustainabilityguide/Possibilities-Tools/Reduce-impact/Design-spiral/

35. SJET, 2011, Voltadom, last viewed April 2, http://www.sjet.us/MIT_VOLTADOM.html

36. Thom Faulers, Faulders Studio, 2008, last viewed April 2, http://faulders-studio.com/LAYERED-REDUNDANCY

37. Repository of Computation Design, Biothing: Seroussi Palilion, 2010, last viewed April 2, http://www.biothing.org/?cat=5

38. Arch20, Biothing: Seroussi Pavilion, 2010, last viewed April 2, http://www.ar-ch2o.com/seroussi-pavilion-biothing/

39. Herbert Muschamp, The New York Times, Architecture review: In the Gar-den of Art, Structure Tempts, 1998, last viewed April 9, http://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/06/arts/architecture-review-in-the-garden-of-art-structure-tempts.html

40. [C]Space Pavilion by Alan Dempsey and Alvin Huang, DeZeen Magazine, last viewed April 9, http://www.dezeen.com/2007/11/04/cspace-pavilion-by-alan-dempsey-and-alvin-huang/

41. DesignBoom, Top Ten Public Spaces, 2010, last viewed April 26, http://www.designboom.com/architecture/designboom-2012-top-ten-public-spaces/

42. CSIRO, Dye-Sensitsed Solar Cells: The Third Generation, 2010, Last viewed April 27, http://www.csiro.au/Outcomes/Energy/Renewables-and-Smart-Systems/dye-sensitised-solar-cells.aspx

43. World Weather and Climate Information, Average Hours of Sunlight in Den-mark, 2013, last viewed April 27, http://www.weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-hours-Sunshine,copenhagen,Denmark

44. Andrew Michler, Shadow Pavilion Informed by Biomimicry, 2011, last viewed April 9, http://www.evolo.us/architecture/shadow-pavilion-informed-by-biomimicry-ply-archi-tecture/

45. http://www.academia.edu/4927395/GLOBAL_DISTRIBUTION_OF_OPTIMAL_TILT_AN-GLES_FOR_FIXED_TILTED_PV_SYSTEMS

46. Rossella Corrao & Marco Mrini (2012), Integration of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells with Glass block, Civil Engineering, Issue3, Year 109

47. Rossella Corrao & Marco Mrini (2012), Integration of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells with Glass block, Civil Engineering, Issue3, Year 109

48. Yong-Jin Liu (2012, Department of Compuiter Sceince and Technology, Tsinghua Uni-versity, Beijing, China, Developable Strip Approximation of Parametric Surfaces with Glob-al Error Bounds, National Natural Science Foundation of China

50. Architectural Detail, (2012), Perfect Wave: The New High Speed Railway Station in Italy, Last viewed April 3, http://www.detail-online.com/architecture/topics/the-perfect-wave-new-high-speed-train-station-in-italy-021674.html

All images presented are sourced from relevant sources stated in the page text. Model photography and Grasshopper definitions/ sketches are own work.

PART C: DETAILED DESIGN

D E S I G N C O N C E P T

Moving towards a final design concept we have taken input from the prior presen-tation and decided to create a more educational and purposeful design for the LAGI site, rather than have a sculptural walkway across the site we are creating series of greenhouses that are for public use and demonstration. We felt that the prior form lent itself well to becoming a greenhouse because of the materiality and sinuous form that would increase sunlight input. Reexamining the annexeses supplied by LAGI helped up to better understand not only the brief and the competition aims but the site itself and what would work best at Refolsheøen. Being such a large flat site we want to put more spaces on than in our previous proposal that will undulate across the site creating more visual interest and attracting visitors. In creating a greenhouse we will also be creating an educational environment that can be used for school classes and public demonstration for topics such as using sustainable energy materials such the dye-sensitized photovoltaic cells that we are using, to how to use water wisely and how to grow your own vegetables and food.

S I T E E N G A G E M E N T

The site will be an attractor for a varied demographic of users but a large percentage will be made up of school groups and weekend visitors. The intended use of the greenhouse space at refoshaleoen will be to educate people as well as creating beautiful interior gardens. The at-traction of the greenhouses comes from their sinuous forms as well as the varied environments the four spaces have. The largest greenhouse on the northern side of the site will be open an house a condensed fir tree forest, there will be an exotics greenhouse, a flower meadow of flora specific to the region and finally a local fruit and vegetable garden for home growing demonstrations. In having four types of greenhouse there is interest created about the site as they all have different space requirements and therefore have varied phenomenological us-ersresponses.

P R E C E D E N T S T U D I E SS I N G A P O R E C L O U D G A R D E N S

Gardens by the bay in Singapore is the result of a cultural project that was a collaboration between landscape architects Grant Associates and archi-tecture firm Wilkinson Eyre Architects. Winner of the world architecture de-sign award in 2012, the gardens are impressive in scale and diversity, hous-ing a wet ‘cloud’ forest garden and a cool flower dome, bot similar to what we want to achieve, as well as many other plant rooms. What i want to take from this precedent is the atmosphere created in their ‘forest room’ the fog and immense scale of this project create an amazing atmosphere that if applied on site at refshaleoen could work really well to create visual interest not only on site but from afar. Similar to what we want to do, gardens by the bay uses photovoltaics to power the site and run the greenhouse by plac-ing PVC on a number of ‘Super trees’, large, looming structures that shade the site during the day and are illuminated at night. Their highest structure reaches 35 m high and houses plants from every continent. I think what can be taken from this project is the scale and phenomenology created in each of the interior spaces 51.

P R E C E D E N T S T U D I E SSWISS TECH CONVENTION CENTRE, SWITZERLAND

Built fo rthe Universit of Laussane in Switzerland, the Swiss Convention Centre is an innovative auditorium/ conference space that uses 300 m2 photovoltaic dye-sensi-tised cells in transparent colours on its western facade. The cells don’t need direct solar radiation to generate electricity and also act as shading to the interior of the building, reducing heating and cooling costs. The advantage of these cell types is that thier energy generation is not dependent of the angle of incidence in the way that traditional PVC’s are, they work equally as well in low and indirect light, making them a viable and reliable source of solar energy generation. The Swiss tech con-vention centre uses a small range of colours on the facade in thier cells, all of which are 100% transparent, internall theses cells create beautiful shadows remininscent of stained glass cathedrals 52. The internal lighting and the energy generatiuon success is somehting that we wish to emulate in our LAGI design.

P R E C E D E N T S T U D I E SW I S T E R I A F L O W E R T U N N E L , J A P A N

The Wisteria Flower Tunnel in the Kawachi Fuji Gardens in Kitakyushu, Japan is a season-al flower garden than attracts many visitors annually. After the famous cherry blossom season in Japan comes the Wisteria season 53, another favorite for tourists. What i want to emulate in our project is the atmosphere and phenomenology of these gardens. The walk through aspect is something that could be recreated within our four green houses.

P R E L I M I N A R Y S I T E D E S I G N S

D E R I V I N G A F O R M

Our initial greenhouse form and site plan were constructed and designed rather arbitrarily by creating a collection of lines based upon the form of near by lake system Utterselv Mose. These curves were input, lofted and piped to create a series of meandering greenhouses across the site whose form has a relationship with the access routes and creates an inte-rior circulation space. These forms however were created manually and were not de-rived from a parametric input or iterated and developed with parametric consideration, it is for this reason we decided to change our design and go re-iterate the forms in grasshopper with solar analysis parameters.

PARAMETRIC DEFINITION

INPUT CURVE X 5 ]

] ]PIPE SURFACE ON CURVE X3CURVE OFFSET CURVE X2

LOFT CURVE

EDGE SURFACE

DIVIDE CURVE 3 POINT ARC

BREP] DECONSTRUCT BREPSURFACESURFACE DIVIDE

COUNT 30 PIPE RADIUS 0.2/ 0.4 OFFSET DISTANCE 1.0

V COUNT 12U COUNT 82

P A R A M E T R I C D E F I N I T I O N

PARAMETRIC DEFINITION

INPUT CURVE X 5 ]

] ]PIPE SURFACE ON CURVE X3CURVE OFFSET CURVE X2

LOFT CURVE

EDGE SURFACE

DIVIDE CURVE 3 POINT ARC

BREP] DECONSTRUCT BREPSURFACESURFACE DIVIDE

COUNT 30 PIPE RADIUS 0.2/ 0.4 OFFSET DISTANCE 1.0

V COUNT 12U COUNT 82

Our new form in grasshopper is simpler than our prior one but creates more engaging and free flowing forms.

EXPERIMENTING WITH FORMF I R S T I T E R A T I O N

EXPERIMENTING WITH FORMS E C O N D I T E R A T I O N

ENTRY POINT 1 FROM

REFSHALEØEN

COMMUNAL CENTREPOINT

VEGE PATCHGREENHOUSE

FOREST GREENHOUSE

FLORAL MEADOWGREENHOUSE

JUNGLEGREENHOUSE

ENTRY POINT 2 FROM WATER

TAXI

VIEWS ACROSS HARBOUR TO THE LITTLE MERMAID

NORTH

REFSHALEØENINDUSTRIAL SITES

AND WAREHOUSES

EXPERIMENTING WITH FORMR E F S H A L E O E N S I T E P L A N

ENTRY POINT 1 FROM

REFSHALEØEN

COMMUNAL CENTREPOINT

VEGE PATCHGREENHOUSE

FOREST GREENHOUSE

FLORAL MEADOWGREENHOUSE

JUNGLEGREENHOUSE

ENTRY POINT 2 FROM WATER

TAXI

VIEWS ACROSS HARBOUR TO THE LITTLE MERMAID

NORTH

REFSHALEØENINDUSTRIAL SITES

AND WAREHOUSES

EXPERIMENTING WITH FORMT E S T I N G L I G H T Q U A L I T I E S

Testing different light qualities was an important step in our design process as the solar panels are coloured transparent and the shadowws created will have a hung impact on the interior spaces and thier phenomenology. Here we experimented with a few fest colours to understand the way the ribs would define coloured pan-els and thw shadows that would be created throughout the day.

S I T E M O D E L P R O T O T Y P E

This and the above model prototypes not only test the form of our intermediate designs but the light qualities that would be given off by the dye sensitized solar cells. The site plan displays how our forms would spread around the site and use the entire given space as well as the height achieved in relation to context. The light testing models were great examples of the evocative shadows that can be creat-ed through angling the light source and how the Copenhagen sun path could affect the onsite shadows.

SITE MODEL 1:500

SITE MODEL 1:500

EXPERIMENTING WITH FORMI N S I D E V E G E T A B L E G A R D E N

EXPERIMENTING WITH FORMO U T S I D E F L O R A L G A R D E N

EXPERIMENTING WITH FORMO U T S I D E C I R C U L A T I O N S P A C E

EXPERIMENTING WITH FORMI N S I D E F O R E S T G R E E N H O U S E

EXPERIMENTING WITH FORMV I E W F R O M S O U T H

I

EXPERIMENTING WITH FORMV I E W F R O M S O U T H

I

RE-EXAMINING SITE AND TECHNOLOGY

After our final presentation there were a few changes that had to be made to out LAGI deign in reponse to te feedback given. From this point onward we increased our para-metric involvement and climate analysis to greater inform our design decisions. While our form is somewhat similar the changes that we have made were in reaction to the site needs and other parameters.

TOURISTS

FAMILIES

BOTANY ENTHUSIASTS

CHILL SEEKERS

EDUCATIONAL GROUPS

NORMAL PEOPLE

HOME GROWN VEGETABLE FANS

U S E R A N A L Y S I S

TOURISTS

FAMILIES

BOTANY ENTHUSIASTS

CHILL SEEKERS

EDUCATIONAL GROUPS

NORMAL PEOPLE

HOME GROWN VEGETABLE FANS

SITE USE AND SURROUNDINGS

Refshaleøen is a mixed use site with a number of operat-ing businesses onsite as awell as views across the harbour. To the north of the site there is a treatment plant as well as a solar wind farm. West of the designated LAGI site are fac-troy buildigns and entrepre-neur offices. At the south west edge of the site is a boat dock designed by Claudia Munke-boe for visitor access to the site from across the harbor. On the other side of the harbour is the Kastellet, a military base, as well as the famous Little Mer-maid state which pays tribute to Hans Christen Anderson’s fairy tale of the same name. Pedestrian access to the site is from the inland road at the south of the site.

D A N I S H C L I M A T E P A T T E R N SS O L A R R A D I A T I O N

These graphs show Copenhagens weekly climate trends over thr course of a year, most importantly the diffuse and direct solar radiation. During the summer months there is obviosuly a lot of solar radiation across Copen-hagen decreasing over the winter months, most dramatically in the dif-fuse data. These graphs are impor-tant to analyse when decided how to arrange our solar panels onsite and how much radiation, both direct and difuse, we can expect over the course of the year 52.

F I N A L F O R M

R E I T E R A T I N G T H E F O R MT E S T I N G S O L A R R A D I A T I O N

These test shapes displauy what the optimal shape for a surface should be accord-ing to Copenhagens annual sunlight hours and patterns. This analysis was calculated through the grasshopper plugin ‘LadyBug’ which uses real weather data to analyse existing grasshopper and rhino meshes as a means of direction design decisions. The above experimentation into form and radiation has shown that the optimal forms are those that have outwardly curved surfaces have the highest amounts of direct solar radiation upon them. Therefore when determining the form of our greenhouses we should consider the sun angle and the curvature of the form towards the sun.

LADY BUG

LOAD EPW FILEGENERATE CUMULATIVE SKY MATRIX SELECT SKY MATRIX INPUT BREP

RADIATION ANALYSIS

LOAD COPENHAGEN EPWBOOLEAN TOGGLE TRUE

INPUT ANALYSIS PERIOD PARAMETERS GRID SIZE 2DISTANCE FROM BASE 2BOOLEAN TOGGLE TRUE

R E I T E R A T I N G T H E F O R MT E S T I N G S O L A R R A D I A T I O N

By running a series of varied forms through Ladybug we could define a shape with the best kW/h solar conversion output. The final for we arrived at was a derivation of a highly folded surface based upon the folded structure of Mitochondria which, because of its fold has a high surface area to volume ratio for sun absorption. However through it-erating our form with solar analysis, we found that rebuilding the fold-ed forms created a greater active surface area for our solar panels. Therefore the final form is the most effective and aesthetically interest-ing form for our greenhouses.

JANUARY APRIL AUGUST DECEMBER

D A N I S H C L I M A T E P A T T E R N ST E S T I N G S O L A R R A D I A T I O N

JANUARY APRIL AUGUST DECEMBER

DYE SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLS

Dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC) have been around since the 1990s but have only recently begun to be taken up to a greater investment in research and development. The cells will have good application to our design as they are lightweight and come in a range of colours that will suit our want to have a colour gradient over our greenhouses. The main advantage of these cells is there application in low and diffuse light, while their conversion rate may not be a high as conventional solar cells, their ability to work in a range of light over a greater time period makes them a better choice. The colour ranges and efficiency of DSSC is based upon the principles of photosynthesis, a research team from China has just broken the record for creating the most efficient DSSC cells by changing the molecular properties of the dies and altering the colour to a cobalt blue, increasing their ef-ficiency to 12% raising the theoretical efficiency of DSSC’s to 30% compared to 25% of traditional monocrystalline sili-con PVC panels. The differing colours change the amount of sunlight that is captured and converted, therefore colours that can absorb lights from a wider range in the light spectrum are more efficient 54. There is currently a range of colours that can be used in DSSC, the most effective of which are dark pigments.

DYE SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLSE N E R G Y E F F I C I E N C Y

The advantages of DSSC come through their relationship between embodied energy and energy output. DSSC are made from non-toxic and abundant materials that can be produced easily with little expense. The embodied energy of DSSC is roughly a quarter of that of monocrystalline PVC and has an energy payback pf under a year.

2000 KWhProduced anually by the

Swiss Tech convention centre with 355 active solar panels on the west facade

240 Inhabitants worth of elec-tricity will be offset anually.

equivalent to 60 four person households

163,200 Kg of carbon dioxide will be anually offset by our

green house

306,892 KwhProduced onsite by green-house’se 2000 active solar

panels

DYE SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLSC O N N E C T I O N T O C I T Y G R I D

There is a multi-step process to get the solar energy harnessed via our greenhouses into the Copenhagen city grid for public use. The energy generated directly on the solar panels is collected as DC energy and stored into a battery before fed through an inverter which converts the energy to 240V AC electricity which is then useable onsite and can power any electricity that is needed to power the greenhouse. The surplus is then fed through a meter where the amount os calculated as surplus before being fed back into the mains grid system.

D C

2200 Kwh/ m²

913 Kwh/ m²

570 Kwh/ m²

228 Kwh/ m²

D A N I S H C L I M A T E P A T T E R N SS O L A R R A D I A T I O N C O N V E R S T I O N

For the public to be able to identify that our site design is a solar energy generating form, we de-cided that keeping the solar analysis colours on site would be an aesthetic link to solar gain that the public would be able to identify with. The co-lours of the solar panels are thereforeranging from cool blues to warm oragnes, based on the annu-al average solar gain. Each colour tile is directly proportional to the kilowatt hours it generates. We hope that in keeping the colour relationship with the solar analysis, the users are able to recog-nise the efficiency of this new trype of renewable tehnology as well as the interesting ways in which it can be applied.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

‘WE CANNOT GET AWAY FROM IT: THE CLI-MATE IS CHANGING, AND IN THE FUTURE WE WILL GET MORE RAIN, HIGHER SEA LEVELS ADN WARMER WEATHER. THIS PRESENTS COPENHA-GEN WITH WITH A NUM-BER OF CHALLENGES... IN ORDER TO AVOID SERIOUSLY DAMAGIN OUR CITY WE ARE MEET-ING THE CHALLENGES NOW...’

- AYFER BAYKAL COPENHAGEN MAYOR OF TECHNI-CAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ADMINIS-TRATION

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTMATER IAL I TY AND EMBODIED ENERGY

Our greenhouses are constructed to generate energy in a clean manner through harnessing solar radiation on site. Us-ing dye-sensitized solar cells we can power the equivalent of 33 households in Copenhagen through harnessing energy on transparent coloured photovoltaic panels. DSSC have lower embodied energy than its photovoltaic counterparts, as it is manufactured at half the temperature at 500 ˚C, compared to standard photovoltaic cells at 1000˚C while also using less and different materials. Overall the thin film DSSC has almost a quar-ter of the embodied energy of traditional monocrystalline PVC panels. The greenhouse is composed of a recycled aluminum frame in which the photovoltaic cells fit into. Although the alu-minum frame has higher energy than steel, the material is light-weight and thus takes significantly less energy to transport and being recycled has lower embodied energy than newly pro-cessed aluminum. The panels that cover the green house that are not photovoltaic are standard glass panels for transparen-cy, having relatively low embodied energy. The footings that the greenhouse sit on are made of concrete which is high in embodied energy however the amount used is relatively small and in comparison to a traditional buildings concrete needs,

our usage is quite small.

F I N A L F O R MS I T E P L A N

Each of the greenhouses has a cir-culation path relating to its exterior form that would enhance the user ex-perience whilst walking through the space. The form of the greenhouses also relate to the entrance points that currently exist at Refshaleøen, one be-ing by water taxi across the harbour and the other the pedestrian route.

GREENHOUSES

VEGETATION

CIRCULATION PATHS

ACCESS PATHS

NORTH GREENHOUSETropical and exotic plant types

SOUTH GREENHOUSENative forest and fir tree types

EAST GREENHOUSENorthern European flower

typesWEST GREENHOUSE

Vegetable garden and home planting greenhouse

NORTH GREENHOUSETropical and exotic plant types

SOUTH GREENHOUSENative forest and fir tree types

EAST GREENHOUSENorthern European flower

typesWEST GREENHOUSE

Vegetable garden and home planting greenhouse

SOUTH ELEVATION

NORTH ELEVATION

EAST ELEVATION

WEST ELEVATION

F I N A L F O R MS I T E E L E V A T I O N S

F I N A L F O R MS I T E S E C T I O N S

The interior negative space created by our four forms will be used as a cir-culation and meeting space witin the site, depending on the time of day the shadows will create interesting patterns within this space.

F I N A L F O R MS I T E S E C T I O N S

The sections reveal the difference in height between all of the greenhous-es, both to accommodate plant spe-cies as well as maximise solar gain and electrical output onsite.

1

1

2

3

4

2

3

41:100

SITE MODEL 1:500

SITE MODEL 1:500

SITE MODEL 1:500

FLORAL MEADOW MODEL 1:200

FLORAL MEADOW MODEL 1:200

FLORAL MEADOW MODEL 1:200

FLORAL MEADOW MODEL 1:200

S I T E M A PC O N S T R U C T I O N D E T A I L S

The greenhouses are composed of a simple aluminium frame and glass composition system. Each solar panel sits witin an alu-minium frame similar to that of a window, but with an anode and cathode on each edge to col-lect solar energy. This grid system then sits within a largeer steel superstructure with pile footing ground connections. The steel su-perstructure is a series of arched square hollow sections that con-nect to the panel grid every 3.5 meters through angled support arches that also allow the wir-ing to flow through the structure without altering or impeding the structural stability or strength.

ALUMINIUM FRAME ARCHES

SOLAR FRAMING SYSTEM

DYE SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLS

SURROUNDING BUILDINGS

PILE FOOTING SYSTEM

REFSHALEØEN

100 MM

DYE SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLELECTRICAL ANODE

ELECTRICAL CATHODE

C- CHANNELWIRING CHANNEL

WIRING CHANNEL

1:1 SCALE

T E C T O N I C D E T A I L I N G

The DSSC will sit in a recycled aluminium frame system that will then be supported by an aluminium (also recycled) superstructure sitting on piles in the ground. The super structure will be a series of ribs that cre-ate the overall form of the greenhouses. The then inlaid DSSC panels will create the enclosure and colour of the greenhouses. The frame in which the panels sit are quite similar to the fitting on a window into the jamb, the electricity is generated in the panel by the light excit-ing titanium particles within the panel which then coduct an electrical charge through the anode, this energy is collected at the edge of each panel and then transferred electrically through a wiring system that runs through the wire channels in each rib and frame.

100 MM

DYE SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLELECTRICAL ANODE

ELECTRICAL CATHODE

C- CHANNELWIRING CHANNEL

WIRING CHANNEL

1:1 SCALE

T E C T O N I C D E T A I L I N GP A N E L C O N N E C T I O N S

3700 mm

ALUMINIUM CHANNEL FOR WIRING

ALUMINIUM GRIDSHELL FOR WIRINGA ND SOLAR PANEL SUPPORT

HOLLOW ALUMINIUM SECTION FOR WIRING

1:20 SCALE

0 50 100 CM

ALUMINIUM GRIDSHELL FOR WIRINGA ND SOLAR PANEL SUPPORT

STEEL HOLLOW SECTION SUPPORT ARCH

C- CHANNEL FOR GLASS CLEANING AND MAINTAINANCE

3700 mm

ALUMINIUM CHANNEL FOR WIRING

ALUMINIUM GRIDSHELL FOR WIRINGA ND SOLAR PANEL SUPPORT

HOLLOW ALUMINIUM SECTION FOR WIRING

1:20 SCALE

0 50 100 CM

ALUMINIUM GRIDSHELL FOR WIRINGA ND SOLAR PANEL SUPPORT

STEEL HOLLOW SECTION SUPPORT ARCH

C- CHANNEL FOR GLASS CLEANING AND MAINTAINANCE

T E C T O N I C D E T A I L I N GP A N E L C O N N E C T I O N S

3700 MM

5400 MM

1:50 SCALE

0 200 CM

3700 MM

5400 MM

1:50 SCALE

0 200 CM

This grid system is an adaptation of the structural system created by Wilkinson Eyre Architects for the Gar-dens by the Bay conservatory. Our strutural system however has to allow a lot of wiring to pass through the sys-tem to our battery and the copen-hagen grid. Each of our solar panels is 100 mm x 100 mm sitting in a large 3700 mm x 5400 mm superstructure grid createcd by the steel arches.

T E C T O N I C D E T A I L I N GG R O U N D C O N N E C T I O N S

Each of the steel arches is suported on an connected to the ground by an individual pile footing down to the bearing depth of the ground, while they also rest on a pad footing system. While the superstructure is not particularly heavy in re-lation to its volume, an adequate footing system is necessary on reclaimed and fill land, of while Refshaleøen is made on.

L A G I B R E I F R E Q U I R E M E N T SDesigned for the European capital city Co-penhagen, the LAGI design project is an international brief that aims to create an engaging and visually aesthetic form that generates onsite renewable energy for the city as well as educating users and creat-ing a discussion around the future of renew-able energy generation. Our project is the result of generative design in parametrics and computation, taking a set of param-eters relevant to site and design style and creating a viable form. In response to the LAGI brief requirements we have decided to create a series of greenhouses of different form and use across the entirety of the site as a means of attracting, engaging and educating users. Our form are parametrically derived and site responsive to the climate and solar pat-terns that Copenhagen experiences. Each greenhouse has a different type of eco-system on display, one being a forest en-vironment native to northern Europe, one a floral meadow show casing local flora, a tropical setting to house beautiful and exotic plants, and finally a vegetable and fruit garden for home growing and organic demonstration as a means of educating users. These green houses are placed on Refshaleoen, the site defined by LAGI to the north east of the city, on a former ship yard by the harbour. Our greenhouses re-spond to the flat typology and entrance paths through their sinuous and undulating forms, widening near entrances and rip-pling along the site to create visual interest from across the harbour.

Through using parametric design we were able to not only create interesting forms but make our building solar responsive and energy generative. We decided to use an up and coming solar energy technology to create clean, renewable energy. This tech-nology is called dye sensitized solar cells. Although not a new technology, it is only recently that they have been developed with a viable solar conversion percentage, which currently sits at 12% just under the av-erage of 15% for traditional solar panels. The solar cells are available in far more varied sizes that PVC panels and are complete-ly transparent and coloured. These cells work in system of sandwiched glass panels with active dye chemicals. When sunlight hits the panels, similar to photosynthesis, a chemical reaction takes place. The sensi-tized dye within the panels reacts with tita-nium dioxide particles, this reaction sends electrical energy to the anode at either side of the panel and the reaction is com-pleted. To convert this solar energy into us-able energy it must be sent to an inverter, where it is converted from DC electricity to AC voltage, from there it is sent to an onsite battery where it can be stored and used as well as being transmitted to an electri-cal meter before being fed back into the mains electricity. By feeding back into the mains system it is offsetting and replacing traditional coal generated energy.

Copenhagen is moving towards a green future and hopes to be carbon neutral by 2025, this means that all of their electric-ity will be generated through renewable energy source eliminating a reliance on carbon generating and polluting elec-tricity and minimizing the effects of cli-mate change such as adverse weather events and carbon dioxide pollution in the atmosphere. While a majority of the population are aware of the effects of anthropogenic carbon dioxide pollution and the wider effects of climate change, there is an ignorance about the ways in which renewable energy can be creat-ed and the appearance of renewable energy. Traditionally viable and com-mercial renewable energy is generat-ed via large wind turbines or traditional and clunky PVC panels. Our technology has been seamlessly integrated into out form through parametric design and so-lar analysis. By analysing the amount of sunlight that falls on site over the year we were able to create and modify optimal forms that would harness the maximum solar output throughout the year. The parametric tool we used is called grass-hopper and is able to mesh the solar out-put onto any given form, we decided that aesthetically, relating the colours of the solar panels to the amount of so-lar energy and kilowatt hours they pro-duced would be a good visual link for us-ers to greater understand just how viable solar energy harnessing is and how well it can work. In particular when using DSSC as they also work extremely well in low and indirect light. We based our energy collection data on that of our precedent the Swiss Tech Convention centre at the University of Lausanne. On their west fa-çade they had 355 active DSSC panels that over the course of the year gener-ated 2000 kWh of energy.

By going off their conversion rates our project, which is oriented south wards is able to generate 306, 892 kWh annually, providing for the electricity needs of 204 people in Copenhagen and offsetting 163,200 of CO2 that would otherwise be emitted into the atmosphere. We were conscious in our design of the material usage and embodied energy that they would have. DSSC have lower embodied energy than its photovoltaic counterparts, as it is manufactured at half the temperature at 500 ˚C, compared to standard photovoltaic cells at 1000˚C while also using less materials and not con-taining the same chemicals. Overall the thin film DSSC has almost a quarter of the embodied energy of traditional mono-crystalline PVC panels. The greenhouse is composed of a recycled aluminium frame in which the photovoltaic cells fit into. Al-though the aluminium frame has higher energy than steel, the material is light-weight and thus takes significantly less en-ergy to transport and being recycled has lower embodied energy than newly pro-cessed aluminium. The panels that cover the green house that are not photovolta-ic are standard glass panels for transpar-ency, having relatively low embodied en-ergy. The footings that the greenhouse sit on are made of concrete which is high in embodied energy however the amount used is relatively small and in comparison to a traditional buildings concrete needs, our usage is quite small. Our environmen-tal impact on the site therefore would be quite small in comparison to the amount of energy being generated, the payback time would be a fraction of that of a tra-ditional building.

L E A R N I N G O U T C O M E SOver the course of a semester my knowl-edge and understanding of computational and generative design has increased great-ly, while my appreciation for it has somewhat faltered. From answering the LAGI brief I have been required to create a form through parametric design that is site responsive and energy generating. Our project is innova-tive in its use of dye sensitized solar cells as a new technology and its application and aesthetic form. While we could have simply computerised a form using NURBS modelling to fulfil the brief, it would have completely side stepped the generative process. Our design process rather than being a pen to paper activity was completely created in 3D computational and parametric process-ing. Performance based design has defined our project, whereby the building perfor-mance in particular solar energy output has defined and driven our project rather than being form driven. Sustainability has been a very large factor in the recent push for per-formance design over form 55, which is what our design capitalizes on. By simultaneously considering the energy output we were able to form a space that has the maximum so-lar gain and electrical output. This was done through finite element method of computa-tional analysis (ref), this is a quantitate evalu-ation of the design propositions that uses mesh elements to perform accurate energy analysis, the tool that we used for this was the Grasshopper plug in called Ladybug, which uses real time weather data to analyze de-sign performance. Running this plug-in was the only way in which we could understand solar performance and its relationship with parametric design, through using this tool simultaneously with computer experimenta-tion we found what forms would work best and be the most visually stimulating.

The most interesting aspect of using para-metric and generative design is the limi-tations that one can face as the result of lacking confidence in the ‘liberating’ technology. Personally I found that being relatively new to grasshopper and not fully understanding the tools and commands limited my ability to undergo the gen-erative design process. I believe that the advantages of computational and para-metric design lay in the hands of those who understand the scripting elements of computational tools, as stated by Burry (2011) when scripting is understood the the ‘tool user’ and the ‘tool maker’ are able to become one, therefore affording ‘the designer opportunities to escape the strictures inherent in any software’56. I be-lieve that with further exploration into the field of parametrics and computation I will be able to further my design skill set and use the generative process at a more ef-ficient level. Having said this the Studio Air course and its resources that delve into the ‘live hive’ of idea and process sharing online has opened a door into the innova-tive and interesting world of computation which will define the next era of design in architecture.

Our parametric definition not only creat-ed the form but tectonic detailing and the way in which we would panel out form with DSSC and integrate the technology seam-lessly. The pattern was straight forward as DSSC can come in a range of custom-built and flexible forms, therefore patterning and panelling was not parametriclly rigid. Computation helped us specify the larger scale construction detaining of our model in relation with how to connect the pan-els in a grid structure and support it with larger arches in a super structure.

51. Vinnitskaya, Irina. “Gardens by the Bay / Grant Associates and Wilkinson Eyre Architects” 26 Aug 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 10 Jun 2014. <http://www.archdaily.com/?p=155467>

52. ”Richter Dahl Rocha Develops Innovative Façade for SwissTech Convention Center” 03 Apr 2014. ArchDaily. Accessed 10 Jun 2014. <http://www.archdaily.com/?p=491135>

53. The Trend Sifter, ‘The Wisteria Flower Tunnel at Kawachi Fuji Garden’, written Fed 27, 2013, accessed http://twistedsifter.com/2013/02/wisteria-flower-tunnel-kawachi-fuji-garden-kitakyushu-japan/

54. http://actu.epfl.ch/news/dye-sensitized-solar-cells-break-a-new-record/graph http://www.nature.com/srep/2013/130815/srep02446/full/srep02446.html

55. Kolarevic, Branko (2014). ‘Computing the Performative’, ed. by Rivka Oxman and Robert Oxman, pp. 103–111

56. Burry, Mark (2011). Scripting Cultures: Architectural Design and Programming (Chichester: Wiley) pp. 8-71

All diagrams and renderings completed were completed by myself.