JOURNAL WEEK FOUR: VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTSMODULE 2: DESIGN Kim Nguyen

PANELLING TOOLS

2D PANELLINGUsing the Panelling Tool in Rhino allows for the application of customised or preset patterns onto a surface through the use of grids which allows for faster connection of points and generally saves time. The numbered patterns shown below display the preset options (1-9: Box, BoxX, Triangular, TriBasic, Dense, Dia-mond, Angle Box, Wave, Brick) however I opted to create my own pattern to suit my recipe of the model.

When creating custom patterns (via ptManage2DPatterns), they can be stored and edited for later use and application and are accessed in the same way as preset pattern options (via. ptPanelGrid). On the top right is the first pratice of creating a custom hexagonal pattern and while the shape is present, they did not fit together and some spaces remained where other quadrilateral shaped filled it void.

To resolve the problem, the pattern needs to be shifted in the horizontal and vertical directions while in the ptManage2DPatterns command. The bottom right is the result of the applied pattern after shifting and unlike the first image, all the shapes fit together across the surface.

List of key commands:

• ptGridSurfaceDomainNumber: create a grid from a surface

• ptPanelGrid: Apply a custom or preset pattern to a grid

• ptManage2DPatterns: Edit, Delete, or Create 2D Patterns

3D PANELLING

Patterns which are applied to grids and surfaces aren’t only limited to 2D - pat-terns which also have an element of height can be created and applied. The image on the left shows the customised pattern which is the same as the 2D pat-tern except all the vertices of the shape meet at one point in the centre of each shape. Again, shift the pattern so that it fits evenly and the pictures on the right show the result of the pattern applied to a small half sphere as well as a simple curved surface.

I liked the sharp and geometric look that this pattern created, especially when applied to a curved surface but I also liked seeing the pattern’s ability to curve in different directions. Some issues with which faces of the patterns were surfaces arose, areas which I wanted to be surfaces didn’t necessarily become so and spaces which I wanted to be open were covered.

Above is the finished pattern with different variables: (L-R)• Original grid and surface without applied pattern• Applied pattern onto 40x25 grid with Offset: 2.5 • Applied pattern onto 40x25 grid with Offset: 5• Applied pattern onto 25x25 grid with Offset: 5

Top to Bottom: • Front View• Perspective View• Back view

DIGITILIZING REAL-LIFE FORMS

There were a variety of different options I had in terms of which clay model I would try and transpose onto Rhino. The images at the top represent some small prototypes and the image on the right is the design I chose to model. This will not necessarily be the design of my final produce but I mainly wanted to explore the way different curves affect the design in a digital context. I also wanted to see what kind of shapes and patterns will be present on the inside of the form as well as outside.

To make the model, con-tours were taken at seper-ate intervals which were then lofted together and merged. Scaling this to a 1:5 ratio proved to be a little larger than expected so the ratio was changed so that the clay model was roughly 1:3.

The resulting digital model is shown on the right from a perspective view with the first model on the left with a greater amount of grid points than the one on the right.

TED talks - Thomas Heatherwick• As a young child, Heatherwick was surrounded by what he described as very ‘cold’ and ‘soul-

less’ buildings and structure around him and so derived properties from designs from other sources to give his designs more ‘life’, such as designs from pottery and musical instruments. Because of this background, Heatherwick used life and plants as the main motif for his “Seed Cathedral”, a structure which breaks all the conventions and expectations of buildings, as it is far more organic in form, and plants, as one usually imagines trees and flowers as opposed to seeds.

• Much like our lantern project, the design of the Seed Cathedral focused on elements such as texture, light and space. These elements were also not only focused on from the outside but also from the inside - Heatherwick and his team studied the different ways light would move both in and out of the structure and how the usage of optics would transport the light. Because of this, the space of the outside of the buildilng as well as the inside are both transformed into structures reflecting the life and movement of nature itself as it moves with the wind and lights up like a starry night sky.

READING RESPONSES

Scheurer,F. and Stehling, H. (2011): Lost in Parameter Space? IAD: Ar-chitectural Design, Wiley, 81 (4), July, pp. 70-79• In this writing, different terms are defined and analysed all in relation to the introduction and

improvement of CAD systems. As CAD became more widely used amongst designers and architects the use of mathematics in design was largely forgotten - but now designers are rein-troducing mathematics into design and looking at the way geometry affects as well as deter-mines design. The term “abstraction” is used for the disregarding of superficial information and elements as well as the need to focus on patterns and generalities amongst structures. When this information is retained (unless deemed redundant) but only interpreted in a more efficient way, this is defined as “reduction”.

• Much like the reading in Module 1 (Poling), the writers make a point that to truly understand and convey a structure requires an understanding of the very core elements and geometry of the structure itself. As well as this, sometimes structures (such as patterns) will form on their own according the their unique mathematical formula - or as well call it, a “recipe”.

Above: UK Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010 ‘Seed Cathedral’, Thomas Heatherwickz