IC.3 Advanced Architecture Concepts » 2014

Digital Logics – T2

Maulidianti Wulansari — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 21:58:59 +0000

Form has been one of the most important elements for architects to achieve. There will be a set of perimeter in the sense of form that architects always want to excel at or push beyond. Has been said on my previous critical thinking that architecture is one of humans’ attribute, thus as long as it exists in a functional manner to human, I am agreeing that any kind of form should be always advanced progressively according to human’s growth of needs. Architects spent their entire lives to work against gravity and climate,but sometimes in a ambitious manner that it put itself away its main purpose of existence.

Deleuze’s understanding on Spinoza, that a matter is not an attribute of something and it is a singular self-subsistent substance, somehow will make you rethink about how can you ‘force’ a material to achieve more then what it was made for. At the same time it is rather restraining from the fact that in this time frame, where technology is advanced, material is always could be improved.

As architects, we have to know at our best about the advantages and disadvantages of the material that we want to use, that approach is more subtle to be applied on my understanding about Deleuze. A matter has been having its ‘blue print’ ever since they exists and the final result is less important that the transition forms that occur before the final form, is quite of the opposite on the approach by SANAA to apply their design where material is pushed to its limit by the help of other supporting system (technology). In that sense, actually the technology itself could be mediator to see possibilities how a matter is actually more powerful that what it seems.

Rolex Center has proven that technology could push the use of material advantages, but also its consequences. It has 1400 unique modules that were pre-casted, the fabrication process was a huge work, but still that the fact it is can be done. Deleuze also pointed out that the process of forming and reforming before a matter reaches its equilibrium stage is more important that the last shape a matter will eventually become;

“It is only in these far-from-equilibrium conditions that the full variety of immanent topological forms appears.” page 4, paragraph 1, Deleuze and the Genesis of Form.

But in architecture, a form has to reach its final form, as how Rolex building evolved into a magnificent piece of architecture that bare a important role on providing space for human needs. Concrete that is used to built the shell has its own nature blue print that somehow by the help of technology that now SANAA could control, those blue print showed on the force that could make a form deflection.

Research approach I want to take is on how we as architects could really understand the “blueprint” or the molecule compositions of matters that going to give us the most advantages and at the time give a more challenge. So, in that manner, anything could be design in an effective way and right on target. Also the behaviour of every material that we are going to use, not necessarily to be used to make a parametric architecture design. Material that we have from nature personally for me has the best manifesto that perhaps you dont have to process or extract them again. My approach to this is to focus more on the research about every matter that I am going to you so every elements will act at its best to support the design as a whole. I think vernacular architecture shows the best result on that effort.

http://www.afritecture.org/tag/vernacular

Digital Logics- On growth and form

Ninada Bhaktavatsala Kashyap — Sun, 23 Nov 2014 21:39:52 +0000

Thompson wrote On Growth and form in the maturity of a career that lay somewhat outside the mainstream of the biological sciences of his day. His writings were a large contribution for the study of morphology. On Growth and Form is essentially an attempt to establish a concept of organic form based upon the physical and mathematical laws governing the development and function of organisms. He demonstrates in this chapter that how organic forms once put in a Cartesian grid can change forms in the same species and how this method could be used to find missing parts in the series of relative species

During the debate in the class we found the book is more of a concept and basically starts with the theory of transformation and is solidly based upon the laws of Newtonian Physics. All the experiments D’Arcy conducted were in 2D and not in 3D and gives a mathematical approach to the biological forms. He tries to show how the relationship between similar species is still there but changing their coordinates and the position of the parts changes. It’s a form finding method found over 100 years ago and gives us an idea of multiplicity during that era. Topology has been explained as a concept here with no real results. It’s a relation of a part to a whole.

The Next part of the critical analysis was The Water Cube-Beijing National Aquatics Centre by ARUP. The structure is made up of the soap bubbles which symbolise the square in the Chinese culture. The beautiful geometry is based on Weaire Phalen foam structure with an array of soap bubbles where 75% of the cells have 14 faces and the other 12 faces. In spite of the complete regularity, the structure when viewed at different angle looks completely random and organic. The polyhedron structure works perfectly as an extremely energy efficient and possibly the most earthquake resistant building. The water cube is a steel space frame structure with 4000 ETFE bubbles, the material being 8 times thinner than even a penny, which are pumped in with a low pressure. The building captures 20% of the incident solar energy and requires 90% less potable water than an equivalent building and uses 55% less artificial lighting. The ETFE IS 1% of glass weight and acts as a thermal insulator. The whole structure weighs almost as much as the Eiffel tower.

Research line:

After reading On growth and form, I’m interested in studying and researching more about Topology in Architecture. Architectural topology is a mutation of form, structure, context and interwoven patterns and dynamic complexity in space. Topological space differs from Cartesian space within which it forms different forms. It’s a process of continuous deformation. There are differentiable dynamic systems in architecture like chaos theory and fractal geometry. Would like to research on the role of topology in architecture and which structure/buildings it can be applied to.

Image reference-http://futuresplus.net/tag/topology/

Relational Logic

Ninada Bhaktavatsala Kashyap — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 01:47:20 +0000

Text Analysis-

The Conditioned Outdoor room

Bernard Rudofsky stresses on the need to merge with the nature and not isolate ourselves from nature. He imagines the future generation living hundred and thousands of feet below the ground without imparting their happiness. In the text he talks about the importance of gardens by giving examples from the Roman Garden, Garden of Pompeii and the Japanese gardens. Man can establish an “environmental relationship” with the outdoor gardens during the transition of various seasons by seeing it as an additional living space. He also talks about the “positional relationship” a wall creates by enclosing the garden within its space and the importance of the wall in climate control and maintaining a buffer between the indoor and the outdoor. Rudofsky also brings in a “metaphorical relationship” thought the relation between the man and the nature was resuming into economic advantages- man failed to produce anything revolutionary because he retreated into his house. This text dates back to the 1950’s where technology wasn’t a part of life as it is today. The question is “Is the garden an additional living space achievable in today’s world”

House Analysis-

Studio House by F451 Arquitectura

Rudofsky’s idea of “relationship between man and nature” in “The conditioned outdoor room” is quite evident in this house. The Studio house is a faceted house and a studio with emerge from the slope of the hill in Gijon, Spain. This house is hybridization of two typologies- the modern house and the industrial warehouse. The house develops a “positional relationship” with the slope of the site as the house does not sit on the ground, but in fact the relationship with the ground changes in conjunction with the plan. We can also observe a “metaphorical relationship” – the house tries to branch out from the foot of the hill with a green roof over the house and hence dividing the two storey residence into four sections, which include living quarters, a double-height atelier, a guesthouse and a car parking garage. The building is in an “environmental relationship” with its surrounding by its double orientation, juxtaposition and location of the north lighting

Conclusion

As a conclusion, we should try to incorporate the benefits of “The conditioned outdoor room” instead of being fixed on the idea of the “garden” and the “wall”. We need to find the perfect balance between human beings, technology and nature.

Research Topic

I would like to explore the balance which can be created between human and nature taking in consideration the technological advancement.

How the environmental relationship can affect the form of the structure and vice versa.

References:

The conditioned outdoor room- Bernard Rudofsky