MODULE four

REFLECTION

VIRTUAL environments 2012 semester 2 Group 6

Wendy Zhang 586019

WINDPATH IDEATION NATURAL PROCESS

After going through days of having a hard time trying to figure out the initial natural process of the design, I knew that my lucky day finally arrived the moment I saw a rose petal falling and floating in the air that created a graceful path by the force of invisible wind.

WINDPATH IDEATION NATURAL PROCESS

Sketch of the rose petal and the emphasized wind path.

WINDPATH IDEATION PLASTICINE MODEL

The final outcome after playing with plasticine was just a simple but elegant curve, it was an emphasize on the actual path I saw the petal took.

WINDPATH IDEATION REFLECTION

Module one was actually the most confusing part of all. At the

beginning it was tough for me to understand the concept of a natural

process, in my mind I always thought of natural forms from

nature, always the shape but not the abstract ‘process’. After having a

hard time realizing the actual meaning, it had already had weeks

gone pass, meanwhile I was frustrated and worried, that I am so

slow of pace in line with everyone else in the group.

However for the initial shape from the natural process, I took minimum

time to figure out, as looking at others’ progress, most of them took longer time in generating their basic

shape, I then found myself in pace again.

WINDPATH DESIGN DEVELOPING

WINDPATH DESIGN FINAL OUTCOME

In order to obtain a special shape whilst still maintaining the smoothness and flowingness of the path wind takes which was initially inspired by, a final, 2D panels were chosen. Even though it does not look complicated in shape , however by having multi-directional surfaces it added characteristics to the design which made it special. In addition, the specially designed front and back open, it also symbolized the characteristic of wind, which is free.

WINDPATH DESIGN REFLECTION

As someone who never used Rhino before, this module had been extremely difficult and time consuming for me. My initial idea for the model had many curves and a curl in it, due to my limitation of using Rhino, I could not possibly figure out, therefore I changed the design much simpler, which at that time seemed a sacrifice, but now as I finished the model, that decision seemed like a intentional move for having more flow of line which was neither too fancy nor complicated but still maintain the initial key idea.

Managing time was again, an huge issue here, up to this point, I had to really reflect on myself with this problem, because if I had worked more efficiently, I may still have time to consult tutors or even group mates for the problem I was encountering with program Rhino. As my lack of computer knowledge, when I first installed Rhino, I did not have paneling tools, which took me awhile to fix that. As I took up too much portion of the time I had, for still trying out the final shape of the design, I again did not have sufficient time in completing panels. Because of the irregular and curvy shape I end up with, trying out personalized 2D and 3D panels were not successful, faults like overlapping, intersecting happened all the time. After all the disappointment felt, a basic triangular panel were tried out for desperation, and surprisingly it turned out to be better than all the other mostly complex shapes.

WINDPATH FABRICATION UNROLLING

The model was divided into two sections, left and right. This grouping made the construction of the model simpler and clearer to separate. Then 10 pieces were formed in sequence to safe time finding pieces and putting them together in the correct place later on when building the lantern.

Did not do double tap because wanted to create a pattern and also by making several small tabs it holds better

WINDPATH FABRICATION TABBING

Do

ub

le sided

tape

Super glue from 2 dollar shop

No

rmal clear tap

e

Cotton tip for applying glue

WINDPATH FABRICATION EQUIPMENT USED

WINDPATH FABRICATION CONSTRUCTION PROCESS

After I received from Fablab, most edges were for some reason not cut.

Therefor I had to manually cut the pieces

out

Used ruler (lost metal ruler) and utility knife

to cut the edges

Used clear tape to reinforce the bonding

Creating different panels

WINDPATH FABRICATION CONSTRUCTION PROCESS

Front half done Back half done

WINDPATH FABRICATION CONSTRUCTION PROCESS

As I mentioned before, the construction were of two parts, front half and the back half for

easier building.

However as I finished both parts and time for combining them together, I realized it was so much harder than I thought, since some of the surfaces were concaved and some were convex.

A monolith of light and shadow The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York/USA.

I was particularly interested in the light and shadow used for this

building, “Where there is light, there is also shadow”. Some

corners were intentionally left in shadow which dramatizes the

building.

For further experiment I was thinking only to put the LEDs in the place where there would be space rather than small corners to create

contrast.

WINDPATH FABRICATION PRECEDENT

WINDPATH FABRICATION LIGHTING

This picture gives an idea of where the lights should shine the most, which were the areas with most space, this idea was inspired by “A monolith of light and shadow”

WINDPATH FABRICATION LIGHTING EQUIPMENT & MATERIALS REQUIRED

Switch electric soldering iron soldering tin

Wires battery holder insulating tape

Parallel LED

WINDPATH FABRICATION LIGHTING (connecting)

I had chosen to solder LED with the battery holder and the switch with the use of soldering tin because with my past experience of connection wires, I had found that simply using tapes to wrap them together can sometimes be not as stable and the wires would have a greater chance of disconnection.

WINDPATH FABRICATION LIGHTING

Result with finished soldering

WINDPATH FABRICATION LIGHTING (COVER UP)

In order to make them not too noticeable and also not too bright, I decided to cover it up with tissue papers.

WINDPATH FABRICATION FINAL

WINDPATH FABRICATION FINAL WITH LIGHTS

WINDPATH FABRICATION FINAL

Without light With light

Due to transportation, the model was slightly damaged inside the think card board box, as the front and bottom of the final work were pointy, they would easily get squished, and other delicate parts too

WINDPATH FABRICATION NOTE

WINDPATH FABRICATION REFLECTION

Considering the medium of cards with the fact it is two dimensional, the ability for a virtual design to transform into a more 3D form which with depth is notable. Virtual design allows elaboration whilst maintaining a more precise quality that normally will not meet in drawings or hand making models. It allows designer to exceed their own expectations. However when it came back to making models, as I was new in the hand crafting field, the whole process of constructing it was way harder than I thought it would be. That contributed to part of the reason why I did not have sufficient time in sending more prototype files to FabLab. There were constantly occurred problems, such as choosing the right glue and usage techniques etc. which caused huge mess to the appearance of the model.

WINDPATH REFLECTION Indeed there will be differences between the digital model and the physical one, not necessarily all in negative aspects, however unfortunately mine turned out disappointing the moment I received my final FabLab cut file. Other than my first time sending FabLab the file for prototyping which turned out exactly how I expected with which edges to be cut and which to be folded, the later files were all with most edges uncut which made the finish look of the model more messy, less perfect since if not cut on the line it was folded, a great chance of having peeled edges will happen. as construction continued to process, more and more troubles had encountered. From the prototype and first attempt for the model, it was clearly realized that I could not one hundred percent transfer the digital world to reality. Therefore at places, some sacrifices and changes were necessary, e.g. some thin surfaces needed to be removed.

Overall this subject was a complete challenge to someone like me who never got in touch with modeling software like Rhino, never had the experience of making models like these and moreover, never knew how to connect parallel LEDs. At the same time this subject has also been stimulating, personally, I prefer practical work rather than theories, which are indeed both essential, however in designing and making thing, I feel more enthusiastic and motivated towards them, and by learning all other theories in the foundation of architecture, Virtual Environments had let me practice and apply my knowledge in actual models, and by thinking in design, we were thinking outside the box and pushed and challenged ourselves in thinking uniquely and be creative, which in my own opinion was a great and different approach in learning compared to other introductory foundation subjects. As having a desire to be an architect, Virtual Environments had provided me with one step closer to my dream career. In addition, in this environment, we are all learning, no matter we think we had everything perfect or not, there are still improvement that can be further achieved, we can discover these improvement by learning from others’ works, what they had done may inspire me to reflect on what I am still lack of and is able to improve on. In essence it had been a total pleasure in choosing this subject, this had not only gained my great interest on, but also while enjoying completing the modules, at the same time I was also exploring so much more in the professional architecture world. This subject had provided me with a nice introduction of starting to feel how an architect work. Even though it was quite time consuming in completing the modules, however valuable lessens were learnt, from what I had done and more importantly what I should have done.