Final Y Block Plantroom

Final Arch Plantroom

First Workshop

 In this workshop we were taught how to use Rhino, 3ds Max Design, and ArchiCAD to create a textured mesh for a part of our hotel. 
We started on Rhino, and made a series of curves that would outline the shape of our wall. Then, we made a series of curves to make a "texture" to make a weave. The curves had to have a three dimensional aspect. From there we set the curves in a Grasshopper file given to us and piped the functions. The results are seen below

Peer Review 3: Lu-man Riches ( Team 13)
       
            It was really interesting reviewing this group, and they presented to us, their two facades made in second life for the "Between two walls" workshop. Both their facades were designed delicately and they had quite some similar qualities between them. Also their interacting element in both their media surfaces showed subtle movement, as they should according to the given brief  Though they had similar type of facade elements, both of them had their unique structure. One facade gave us a tunnel like experience where as the other one gave us a more sculpture like feeling. We must say, both the facades were very carefully designed and their presentation showed us all the aspects of their two facades and the concepts behind them.
         Their second life movie took us for a journey between the two facades. The movie was a little blurred and we had to squint our way through it and they did tell us before the start of the movie that, "This movie was made with an intention to make people squint their eyes while they watch it".
        As a team, they were well organised and showed us a very successful presentation. The print material that they used for their presentation showed several sections and details of their facade elements. They also showed us a sense of scale in a very subtle manner which helped in supporting the delicateness of their entire facade. Both the printed sheets for the presentation were works put together in a really interesting way. They also showed us their attempts at matrices. We discussed about their matrices which helped even us to get a better understanding of how the matrices work.

Their blog address : http://lu-man-riches.blogspot.co.nz/

Y blocks and the pyramid plantroom

An utopian tree

Make 3D structure by using the Y-blocks

8 Y blocks forms a loop, and the space inside will be the plantroom 

Laser cut perspects as the surface walls of the pyramid, also they support themselfs

the final y-blocks and pyramid plantroom

Laser cutting and fabrication of the arch-plantroom

The foamboard model

The base plan

Laser cutting the arches

Sand the edges and the burn-out surfaces

Fabrication

Spray Painting

Material Card 7: Poured Glass

Poured Glass

Poured Glass is made with poured resin cast holding some organic material or fabric. It is based on proprietary liquid lamination technology that allows for even distribution of objects in the glass and opens up possibilities for frameless application due to its clean exposed edges. The use of Poured Glass means the beauty of the material inside can be retained while having a deeper piece of glass. Poured Glass results in beautiful, striking panels of interlayers which are preserved and fused together smoothly with the glass and resin.

The implications of this material could mean large panels of interesting and visually striking textures or materials on buildings. It allows for the larger panels to be created without having to use an excess of the interlayer texture/material. 

W Y Chan

Material Card 6: MDF

Medium-density fibreboard (MDF)

MDF is an engineered wood. It's formed by residual  wood fibres held together with wax or resin, pressed tightly into panels. While MDF holds some similar properties with natural wood, it does not contain rings or knots found in natural woods. It is advantageous in the sense that it is has a very hard, flat, smooth surface and is much stronger and denser than other engineered woods made from chips or shavings. In application, it can be used similarly to plywood and common connection methods include glue, t-nuts, screws and dowels. MDF often refers to any general engineered fibre board or any size despite its name.

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Atmosphere 2

The second atmosphere looks more at the ideas of modules and a warmer scene. The pictures show a repeated motif of bricks and tiles and the colour palette is warmer in general. The last picture looking into the window is somewhat similar to the picture in the first atmosphere of looking into the alleyway through the gate. However this picture is different as when you look into the window, you would want to go inside, and there would be a sense of longing while the alleyway has a much more foreboding atmosphere.

Atmosphere 1

These are the key pictures in the atmosphere that we decided to explore. The images show a small alley behind a gate hidden within a tunnel. We want to explore the idea of hidden spaces, screens and barriers. I find the gate that blocks the entrance to the alleyway an interesting aspect to explore. You can see the space without being able to go inside, this is similar to the other atmosphere but there is a colder, more foreboding sense to this atmosphere. This atmosphere would be more appropriate for the "dystopian" hotel.

Connection Research(First Exercise)

The first connection

The connection was of foam board locking together. There was experimentation in the arch shape and the different shadows that were created as well as using a simple 2D element and connecting it in a manner which created a 3D shape.

The second connection

This looked at using a twisting method to connect pieces together. Paper was used in this experimentation and different and unusual forms were explored.

The Third connection

The third connection method played with the idea of modules, using foam board and wire. The foam board emulated the brick work in the second atmosphere and gave the effect of the bricks all being linked and then unraveled. The exploration of modules and repeated elements is used later on in our plantrooms.

Fourth Connection

The fourth connection looked at the connection between balsa wood and wire, particularly looking at ways we could use the wire to reinforce the connections of the balsa wood. The connection was made by creating grooves within the balsa and then wrapping the wire tightly around it and linking it to other pieces of balsa.

Fifth Connection

The fifth connection was looked at making a screen/gate like connection method between wires. WE used masking tape to hold the wires in place and then morphing the wires to make an interesting shape, as shown in the second picture. The wires held by the masking tape are thicker, approximately 30 gauge, while the smaller wires wrapping around them are only about 26 gauge. The thin wire being wrapped around creates a more delicate intricate feel to the connection. The connection allows for twisting, and morphing of shape. 

Texture Rubbings

Texture rubbings taken for raster engraving. (Clockwise from top left): Taken from masonry wall, plaster ceiling texture, textured wallpaper. The plaster texture was the texture I ended up using for my test raster engraving.

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Texture

Random-arranged strings

Cobblestone

                                                                                                                                           by Ting Huang

Plants: Week 4

Thyme plant

Violet plant

The thyme plant is still growing well and is blooming. There are now around 10 clusters of flowers and many more buds are appearing. The height is still at 6cm, so I presume that it has approximately reached its maximum height. Thyme is a "groundcover" plant and therefore is expected to not grow very high. There is an increase in the number of stalks and flowers. The violet, still growing taller, is reaching about 25-27 cm tall. It is still growing taller but there is increased foliage. Because the stalks are still growing taller, there is more support needed to make it stand vertically. The bamboo skewers were helping slighting, but to reinforce it even more, I looped some wire loosely around the stalks to keep the stalks somewhat vertical. I also added another skewer so the stalks wouldn't have to crowd around one skewer.
The temperature this week fluctuated between 16-19 degrees approximately. It was generally colder due to the increased rain this week. 

W Y Chan

Material Cards 5: Rice Paper

Vietnamese rice paper is used mostly for wrapping spring rolls. When we were experimenting with it, we found that when dry it was incredibly brittle, far more brittle than the seaweed. Because it breaks so easily when dry, we found it was only useful to us after we wet it. Wet rice paper becomes very malleable and sticky. It holds very little form on its own but can be sculpted around things to create a mold. Because it is so sticky when damp, it doesn't need any additional adhesive to connect pieces together. 
The rice paper is relatively resistant to fire. It withstands heat better than seaweed of filo pastry but does still burn under excessive heat. Rice paper was useful for creating stronger material but it was much heavier than the seaweed and often could not be sculpted into the exact shape you wanted without creating some distortion due to the water. This especially caused problems in the plane as using rice paper for the wings would lead the wings to be distorted, causing it to not glide as far.

W Y Chan

Peer Review 2: Simpli-city

Team 22 (Simpli-city) designed two plantrooms for their workshop, focusing on an exploration of materials, connection methods, and the experience of the space. The brief entailed them to design for "plants", whether that be organic foliage or machinery, and use laser cut elements to model their designs for the plantrooms. 
Simpli-city's plantroom for their utopia showed a relaxation space on top of their hotel where people could walk through and congregate. The plants would hang down from the ceiling which was made of a series of asymmetric, but modulated, shapes held together with cable ties and chicken wire. The interior was considered well, with a water feature designed to move through the interior, conserving the excess water from the rain. The plates for the water to run over were cut in a shape rather reminiscent of a stegosaurus spine. These plates were also engraved with  an interesting texture. Overall, the utopian plantroom showed an interesting exploration of a variety of materials, intriguing forms and shapes, and a carefully considered "experience" interior space.
The dystopian plantroom was designed for machinery, which was clear in the overall more geometric and coloured a silvery grey. The function of the architecture was expressed clearly in the structure of the room. The strong use of geometric elements and cutouts assist the ideas of "machinery" and industrialization. The plantroom had a large sliding element which showed a consideration for controlling the light and air quality/quantity for the building. This plantroom, unlike the utopian one, is almost entirely made of spray painted MDF. The pieces are connected with wire (which links well with the chicken wire on the utopian plantroom) and the connections are given expression, with no attempt to smooth or hide them. 
Simpli-city have two very successfully designed plantrooms which show a consideration of space, the experience of the client, light, air, a variety of materials and different connection methods.
Their blog: http://simpii-city.tumblr.com/

Plants: Week 3

Thyme plant

Violet plant

Approximately two weeks into planting, the white flowered plant (thyme) is growing well. The height of the plant is approximately the same at 6cm.It has started to flower well, with seven clusters of flowers, significantly more than the one cluster when first planted. The number of leaves and the foliage has also increased since planting.
The violet plant has grown significantly taller over the last two weeks. It's height has now reached approximately 21cm. There are also more stalks and flowering buds are forming. Because the plant was growing so tall, bamboo skewers were added to help support the tall stalks. 
The temperature inside the studio stays comparatively constant, staying between 17-20 degrees. The plants get a good constant amount of lighting placed right on the window sill. 

W Y Chan

Auckland City Dock

The dock for the boat in Auckland City is influenced by the shape of the funnel. The funnel is sliced through the middle and then the curves of the funnel extend down to create a series of arches. The arches are made of steel and large panes of glass fill the steel frames. 

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Waiheke Island Dock

The dock at Waiheke Island functions for both the plane and the boat. The pier for the boat doubles for a runway for the plane to land. The pier/runway is raised above the water and supported by columns with mangroves growing among the columns. This encourages ecological growth and minimizes the overall environmental impact of the pier. The pier stretches out to the edge of the bush where there is a winding path leading back to the beach. The path is paved using clay Y blocks, which emulate the shape of the mangroves. 

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3D Printing