uva school of architecture, 3d metropolis

3D METROPOLISLu c i a P h i n n e y

University of Virginia | Department of Architecture

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Publisher

Editors

Research Director

Credits

Paper Matters Press | Department of Architecture, University of Virginia

Iñaki Alday, Ryan Carbone

Lucia Phinney

Copyright Texts | By authorCopyright Drawings | By authorCopyright Model Photos | Scott Smith / By authorCopyright Edition | Department of Architecture, University of Virginia

Graphic Design | Ryan CarboneLayout | Ryan CarboneProduction | Ryan Carbone

Printing | Department of Architecture, University of VirginiaISBN: 978-0-9892273-8-4First Edition | March 2016

Architecture, as part of a research institution is a pedagogical program based in social responsibility, critical thinking and innovation. And as a design discipline, architectural innovation is achieved through design research in different ways. We “search” for information, and we “research” creating knowledge, most often on new scenarios through design speculation seriously informed. Rigorous collection of data, spatialized through mapping and diagraming, create the basis for design research. The critical step forward, assuming the risks of proposing future scenarios, is the unavoidable outcome of the creative work of the research teams.

The Research Studio system is the pedagogical innovation that merges instruction with faculty and students research. Two studios in the undergraduate program (3010 and 4010) and another two in the graduate program (7010 and 8010) are focused on profound architectural research aligned with research interests and expertise of the faculty members. The instructors commit for three to five years to sustain a research line, offering a series of Research Studios that take on a variety of relevant contemporary topics in a consistent multi-year research agenda. Students define their personal path through the program, selecting the research studios offered by Architecture faculty (and Landscape Architecture for the graduates), in their own preferred sequence for the fall of the last two years (3010 and 4010 or 7010 and 8010).

The diversity of topics reflects the intellectual diversity of the Department of Architecture of the University of Virginia. Research projects take on urgent international crises such as the changing condition of the Arctic, neglected cultural landscapes in depressed regions, or one of the most pressing urban ecologies challenge in the world (Delhi and its sacred and poisonous Yamuna River). Others work within local conditions, disciplinary inquiries or philosophical and spatial investigations.

Started in 2012-13, these first four years have been especially instrumental for the development of the youngest faculty, raising $529,000 in grants, five awards and two international symposiums. One of the research projects has become the first all-university grand challenge project. The Research Studio system of UVa has proven itself to be invaluable in defining what “design research” means, its potential to reach broader audiences and impact critical contemporary situations, and to redefine the research culture in the design schools.

Charlottesville, Virginia | March 2016

IñakI aLDayQuESaDa PROfESSOR anD ChaIR, DEPaRTMEnT Of aRChITECTuRE

3D METROPOLIS

P R E FAC E

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A Lecturer at the University of Virginia since 1981, Lucia Phinney has been a Distinguished Lecturer since 1996. Lucia Phinney notes that while common sense reveals a vital biotic and meteorological milieu, representations of new construction nearly always portray buildings as sited in a context of blank surfaces. Seeking to remedy this lapse, her research and studio teaching are directed towards the rescue of the natural world through both representation and presentation. Her work explores the means to reveal rather than erase the incredible potential for natural systems to effectively engage and inform the places we make. Drawing on the history of painting, poetry, drama, and music, where hypotheses about the relationship between nature and the human condition are a constant thematic presence, she and her students propose interventions that change the definition of architecture to encompass natural process. Lucia Phinney has addressed these issues outside of the classroom through \”The Covesville Odyssey\”, a hypothetical reconstruction of the island landscape and home of Odysseus (a metaphorical tale of how humans dwell in the natural world); and through the research and design associated with the management of the gardens, fields, and forests of a farm in the Virginia Piedmont. Lucia Phinney’s recent work has been published in the following books and magazines: House Beautiful; Elle Décor; Storage, by Sally Clark; Architects House Themselves by Michael Webb; and Eighteen Houses, W. Jude LeBlanc, ed. A 2003 graduate in Landscape Architecture at the University of Virginia, her master’s thesis examines the possibility that weather construction can instigate active urban life.

LuCIa PhInnEyaSSISTanT PROfESSORDEPaRTMEnT Of aRChITECTuRE

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Victoria amatocharis armstrongsalVatrice aulmakayla bellamylemara blancoJennifer bostismaelia DeJoie naDiaeJ elliottchristina griggsfrancisco hernanDezJae leeXiashuo leisasha lightboning luorob manionmargaret nerstenaJ Petersmichael Petersonisabel PreciaDo

santiago roDriguezrebecca sanchezsuzanne sharPcatherine smithyuni songceylan tomrukyizhou Wanggrace Willis

3D METROPOLIS 3

ST U D I O T E A M

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Three dimensional dexterity is the core of our expertise as architects. Developing the creativity to imagine the physical qualities of fully three dimensional space, to diagram the geometrical properties of that space, to transform the space in response to local pressures and to accommodate specific and flexible programs, is certainly central to an architect’s education. Here we will advance the cause of 3D education through a set of spatial challenges leading to a highly articulated intervention set within the dense fabric of Hong Kong. These exercises will push beyond such inherent polarizations of mid-twentieth century modernism as outside/inside, public/private, enclosed/open, and figure/ground. Challenging these abrupt polarities, we will pursue spatial continuity through gradations, transformations, operability, dynamism, and the geometry of curvaceous surfaces.

“Hong Kong is a city without ground. This is true both physically (built on steep slopes, the city has no ground plane) and culturally (there is no concept of ground). Density obliterates figure-ground in the city, and in turn re-defines public-private spatial relationships. Perception of distance and time is distorted through compact networks of pedestrian infrastructure, public transport and natural topography in the urban landscape. Without a ground, there can be no figure either. In fact, Hong Kong lacks any of the traditional figure-ground relationships that shape urban space: axis, edge, center, even fabric.”1

We will use highly articulated seed pods to provide an initial geometrical construct for analysis and spatial testing. Then, following a speculative construction of the Hong Kong site, the pods will be transformed in relation to this new context. The transformed pod, to be fully presented via digital and physical models, will house a Seed Research Library developed from the confrontation of the site with the pod studies.

1Frampton, Solomon, Wong. Cities Without a Ground: A Hong Kong Guidebook. Hong Kong: ORO Editions, 2012.

POD ADAPTATIONS

POD OBSERVATIONS

POD TRANSFORMATIONS

POD CONSTRUCTIONS

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R E S E A R C H D R I V E RS

POD OBSERVATIONS

What are the parts or elements of the pod?How do these relate to each other?What are the textures of the pod?Construct model sequences that reveal the pod elements, relations and textures. Document the sets of actions involved in constructing the pod. Create a set of instructions that explain the best way to construct these models.

Can you determine an essential form of the pod? If so, can you define types of de-formations that occur? Can you define pod families based on modes of deformation (or adjustments due to local constraints, pressures, or other circumstances)? Are actions implied in the deformation or reformation of the pod (twisting, pinching, extending for example)? Construct a model sequence as an example of a pod family.

In terms of structure, insulation, cushioning, how is/are the seed(s) held in the pod? What holds it in place? In what way does the pod protect the seed or seeds? Can you associate verbs with this protection or this structure? Create a set of model studies focused on the elements and structures that protect the seeds.

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Blanco, L | 3D METROPOLIS 7

DRIVER 1 | POD OBSERVATIONS

Rodriguez, S | 3D METROPOLIS

D R I V E R 1 | P O D O BS E RVAT I O N S

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Seed Pods to Observe

Iris(Iris foetidissima, hexagona, pseudoacorus, versicolor, etc.)Capsule Check the various wetlands around grounds

Golden Rain TreeKoelreuteria paniculataCapsulePavillion VIII (lower bank)

Bell PepperCapsicum annuumBerrySupermarket, grocery, or farmers’ market

Milkweed Asclepias syriacaFollicleR/R @ Lambeth Love-in-a-MistNigella damasceneCapsuleThey are nearby, but I do not know where…

Luo, B | 3D METROPOLIS

D R I V E R 1 | P O D O BS E RVAT I O N S

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Seed pods (or, to be botanically correct, seed capsules, follicles, and berries) are amazing 3D structures with elegant, apparently simple geometries capable of responding to complex external forces, such as light, wind, heat, etc. well beyond the capacities of typical architectural constructions. We will study the changing growth and form of a select group of pods, representing these via sketch, model, and diagram. The internal logics and the responsive nature of these organisms can be systematically transformed, scaled, and otherwise hybridized to form spatial prototypes that are new and more capable of dealing with the complex conditions of the contemporary world.Create a physical model of your pod (or part of it) as if it were a building.Make multiple iterations to become an expert in this mode of model crafting.

POD CONSTRUCTIONS

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Please consider...Resolution: number of parts in capturing the character of the podJoints: firmness / elegance of pod construction for tab proportions, interior/exterior tabsOrientation: symmetries, grids, diagonal grids, etc.Materials: scale, flexibility, translucency/transparency, effect of laser, etc.

Peterson, M + Elliott, EJ | 3D METROPOLIS

DRIVER 2 | POD CONSTRUCTIONS

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Luo, B + Willis, G + Blanco, L | 3D METROPOLIS

D R I V E R 2 | P O D CO N ST R U CT I O N S

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In this final phase of the pod study, we will focus on adaptations.Light, interior partitions, asymmetries, and contextual connections.Each student will study light plus one other topic.

POD ADAPTATIONS

Greg Lynn, Embryologic House

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Elliott, EJ + Griggs, C | 3D METROPOLIS

abstraction

ideal

slant

overgrowth

concavity

DRIVER 3 | POD ADAPTATIONS

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LIGHT

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Luo, B + Hernandez, F | 3D METROPOLIS

As a seed research library, the pod interior will have a variable distribution of light for programs inside and outside of the layers of thermal barrier. Based on hints from the form and detail of the pod over time, please propose three strategies to achieve this

aim. Define how these strategies might be constructed as panels or other human scale elements. The light strategies will be presented as physical model details and studies.

D R I V E R 3 | P O D A DA PTAT I O N S

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INTERIOR PARTITIONS AND ROOMS

spatial relationship the rule...with variations exhibited beneath

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Lei, X + Aul, S + Hernandez, F | 3D METROPOLIS

The research library will require a range of rooms and interior volumes. These might vary from edge reticulations and repetitive cellular elements to singular honorific

enclosures. These rooms and partitions must be organized to allow smooth passage for people, light, air, etc. Based on hints and speculations from your pod architecture, please propose three room/partition strategies as diagram sequences (5 frames) and

develop one as a digital and/or physical model.

how leaves are partitioned

volumetric transition from faces to spaces in overall leaf structure

leaf in plan view leaves as facets


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ENTRY AND CONNECTIONS

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Luo, B + Willis, G | 3D METROPOLIS

The site for the library is complex with many potential entries and spatial connections on different levels. Many of you have discovered that your pods change as they

mature. Some pods harden and shrink inwards, others open up. Still others become desiccated and reveal cellular patterns. How do these processes suggest strategies for

creating entries and connections?


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+Y+2X+(-Y) +Y+2X+(-Y)+(-X) +1.5Y+2.5X+(-Y)+(-X)

+2Y+2X-(0.5X+0.5Y) +1.5Y+1.5X-(0.5X+0.5Y)+2Y+2X+(-X)

+2X-Y +2X-Y+(-Y) +2.5X+0.5Y+(-Y)

SEED RESEARCH LIBRARYHONG KONG

SEED POD OF BELL PEPPER

RESPONSIVE DEFORMATION

Responsive Deformation

ASYMMETRY: DEFORMATION AND RE-FORMATION

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Peterson, M + Wang, Y | 3D METROPOLIS

External Control Point Study on Geometrial Forms I

+X+(-X) 0

+(-Y)

+(-Y)+(-X)

+Y +Y+X +Y+2X

+2Y +2Y+X +2Y+2X

+2X



RESPONSIVE DEFORMATION

Integrated Deformation: Elimination of Orthogonality

Balanced State



CORRELATIVE DEFORMATION

Potential of the Surface Thickness

Balanced State



SURFACE SPACE

We imagine these pods in an ideal state as symmetrical objects. Yet, discovered within their ecological context, these symmetries become adjusted due to various

environmental and process factors. What are the various forces that affect the shape of your pod? What is the outcome of this morphing process on the various elements

of the pod? These re-formations will become useful as a means to adjust for site and program asymmetries in the seed research library. Please propose three strategies as

diagram sequences (5 frames) and develop one as a digital or physical model.

Responsive Deformation

Correlative Deformation

Surface Space

External Control Point Study on Geometrical Forms

Integrated Deformation: Elimination of Orthogonality

Potential of the Surface Thickness


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The road builder is a script that the students created with the Grasshopper plug-in for Rhino. This created a matrix of roads where each team could determine the correct curvature for their assigned road. Then the students could manipulate the result so

that all roads intersected properly with each other.

The “Road Builder”

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POD TRANSFORMATIONS

Preparatory to transforming the pods, consider: forces, flows, and connection possibilities around the site. These contextual potentials will be understood as analogous to the forces that determine the shaping of pods for light, asymmetry, and connections. They are key to the process of transforming the pods to engage the site.

Please consider:important connections (e.g. Botanic garden)flow of people (seeds, plants, animals)entry potentialslightviewsbest outdoor places

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Blanco, L | 3D METROPOLIS

DRIVER 4 | POD TRANSFORMATIONS

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Blanco, L | 3D METROPOLIS

The seed library acts as a public center that connects all pathways along this part of Hill Road. Green lines represent different connections to the city.

Radial green lines represent milkweed movement. These vectors are employed to create openings in the wall as if the wall were starting to crack. The multitude of openings in the wall creates a visual mesh that extends inside forming individual, group and double height archive spaces. As the mesh (wall) grows higher and becomes increasingly dense, the space within the

wall changes its program.

D R I V E R 4 | P O D T RA N S FO R M AT I O N S

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This is a studio in search of 3D extremes, and Hong Kong- the city without a ground- is the perfect milieu to launch this exploration. The site will be chosen in a territory of intense circulation and inhabitation near Hong Kong’s Botanical Garden. With curvilinear roads, flyovers, and pedestrian stairways threading through exuberant vegetation plus a built domain without a dominant orientation, the site is itself a major 3D challenge.

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Song, Y + Griggs, C | 3D METROPOLIS

final designCOMPONENTS

seedskin

openingsD R I V E R 4 | P O D T RA N S FO R M AT I O N S

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Located in relation to the Hong Kong Botanical Garden, the Pods will undergo a further set of transformations in order to become Seed Research Libraries. The library program- with layered reticulations of various scales, particular uses needing various levels of enclosure, and an extensive reach to engage neighborhood landings at many levels- is closely analogous to pod formations.

Using the pod adaptation studies, consider how your pod might adjust for asymmetries due to the site forces and asymmetrical forces within the seed research library program. The seed research library (both indoor + outdoor aspects) that you introduce at this site should operate both as an internally driven resistive entity (shaping rather than being shaped), and as an elastic resilient mass that adapts to external forces.

Smith, C + Elliott, EJ + Armstrong, C | 3D METROPOLIS

D R I V E R 4 | P O D T RA N S FO R M AT I O N S

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University of Virginia | Department of Architecture

A

uva school of architecture, 3d metropolis

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