ASSIGNMENT 03 TEXT

Project
Description:

Circular Quay Hotel is a new 5 star hotel, to be built over the site of the Bennelong Apartments, located in Circular Quay. This high density commercial property is intended to provide a boost in aesthetic quality to the surrounding environment, as well as provide a temporary living space for people such as tourists, close to Australian cultural landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House.

The proposed building will be 50 stories high, overlooking the harbour, and the botanical gardens. Retail areas will be designed on the ground levels to accommodate businesses as well as visitors.

The design of the building will aim to be of an advanced topological form, with emphasis on the building facade. Complex forms will be generated on the 3d modelling application ‘Rhinoceros’ and will be used as a basis for the buildings ambitious design.

Inspiration for this design comes from the work of Toyo Ito, in particular, his building facade which he designed for an apartment complex in Barcelona, Spain:

Topological
Forms

The basis of my model, and its iterations are derived from topological forms.
Throughout the last decade, there has been progressive development in a topological approach toward architecture. The advancement of technology and digital media has allowed for architects to design complex, yet aesthetically pleasing forms in their architecture.

Topology is the mathematical study of basic geometric forms which are not affected by changing the size or shape – i.e. geometric forms that generally remain the same through transformations and deformations such as stretching or twisting. An example of this continuous deformation from a doughnut (torus) shape, into a coffee cup – the geometric form remains continuous.

The study of topology can be applied into architecture, as the “emphasis shifts away from particular forms of expression to relations that exist between and within an existing site and the proposed program” These ideas become the basis for the “generation and transformation of form”.

Inspiration

The study of topology can be applied into architecture, as the “emphasis shifts away from particular forms of expression to relations that exist between and within an existing site and the proposed program” These ideas become the basis for the “generation and transformation of form”.

The study of topology can be applied into architecture, as the “emphasis shifts away from particular forms of expression to relations that exist between and within an existing site and the proposed program” These ideas become the basis for the “generation and transformation of form”.

The method of topology can be greatly seen within the work of Ito – deriving design philosophies such as collage architecture, and superficial architecture. These two concepts are closely linked to each other, fitting underneath contemporary architectural ideas. Ito suggests that modern Japanese society lives in an urban culture, where infinite symbols are seen everywhere, “covering the surface of the built environment”.

ASSIGNMENT 03 GRASSHOPPER SCREENCAPS & EXPERIMENTATION

My Grasshopper definition basically consists of a circle, with points set at random positions, which is then offset and extruded to make the base shape. Sliders are set to affect the sharpness of the shape, or its radial curve. The extruded base shape is then multiplied in the 'Z' axis, and rotating a small degree with each level. I have set the shape to decrease its size at each level past the sixth, up to 12 levels. My iterations are based on the different base shapes which could be achieved but changing the positioning of the points on the original circle, and also, changing the radius of the curve from those points.



Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Architectural Design Influences

Innovation Tower, Hong Kong, by Zaha Hadid





















http://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2008/01/view-from-street_sq.jpg






Klein Bottle House, Mornington Peninsula, Australia, by McBride Charles Ryan
















http://www.mcbridecharlesryan.com.au/#/projects/klein-bottle-house/





Guggenheim Museum, Manhattan New York, by Frank Lloyd Wright
















http://sfmorrisnyc.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/guggenheim-museum.jpg

Sources on Design & Complex Geometry

Source 1.

Architectural Science and Design in Harmony; Joint ANZAScA/ ADTRA Conference UNSW, Sydney 10-12th July 1990; Edited by Jim Plume; School of Architecture UNSW 1990;ppg 229 - 238

"This paper analyses some arguments and beliefs and presupposititions about the nature of design and the relations between design and science common in the literature to illustrate this point, and to contribute to the the foundations of design theory."


Source 2.

Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design; Robert Sommer; PrenticHall, inc. 1969

This source reflects on the idea of user behaviour as a basis of design, and that "effort should be made to see how satisfactory a building is from the standpoint of the different publics involved".Sommer suggests that people have "accepted physical forms and administrative arrangements based upon outdated views on human activity" - how we accept things the way they are without recognising the fact that "designers are shaping people as well as buildings"



Source 3.

Acoustics for Architects; E.G. Richardson, B.A PhD D.Sc; Edward Arnold & Co reprinted 1948; ppg 80-88

This source proposes general fundamentals and rules on acoustic design. Richardson suggests a number of acoustic principles for various public building types, to aid the designer in planning for the best conditions of listening.




Source 4.

An Algebraic Introduction to Complex Projective Geometry; Christian Peskine; Cambride University Press 1996This source is an introduction to commutative algebra; aiming to prepare and lead the student to complex projective geometry. This book discusses the general theory of rings and modules with an emphasis on modern algebraic geomtry.



Source 5.

Global Aspects of Complex Geometry; Fabrizio Catanes, Helene Esnault; Alan T Huckleberry; Klaus Hulek, thomas Peternell; Springer 2006

This source is a collection of surveys presenting an overview of recent developments in Complex Geometry, ranging in topics such as curve and surface theory, to Kahler Geometry, Hodge theory and P geometry.



Source 6.

Several Complex Variables and Complex Geometry Vol 52 Pt 2;Eric Bedfor, John P d'Angelo, Robert E Greene, Steve G Krantz; American Mathematical Society 1989; ppg 619 - 625

This source discusses the proposals of a generalization of the classical uniformization theorems, and reviews what has been accomplished, and also what could be expected in the future.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

A2 Poster & Grasshopper Definition















Please click the links below to download the PDF version of the poster & the Grasshopper definition:

Assignment 01 A2 Poster .pdf

Grasshopper Definition .ghx





References:

Tower Tutorial pt1:

http://designreform.net/2009/04/rhino-grasshopper-tower-tutorial-part-01/




Thursday, March 24, 2011

some more experimentation

After a bit of playing around after completing some tutorials, I came up with this pretty cool looking model. Here are a couple of really quick renders:



































A couple more renders of more experiments:



Experiment Progress

Some screen captures of experiments & tutorials I have attempted


Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Tutorial

I was unable to find a tutorial to create the branch effect I was aiming for. My tutor did however mention that using the 'Random' button on Grasshopper was needed to be used to achieve my desired effect. I have found a helpful video tutorial from Digital Toolbox which covers topics like evaluating length, and using a random generator.

Branches

I have decided to continue with the 'branches' concept, mainly because I feel as if there is a beauty in the scattered, sprouting look of the branch.





















The definition of a tree/branch is greatly varied - but most commonly known as the woody part of a tree.
















In more detail though, a branch is protruding structure which connects to the central trunk of a tree. They are attached to the tree trunk by interlocked branch and tree tissue. The branch is held up by a woody branch collar which is produced from the tree trunk. Food does not move from the roots or from other branches - so the leaves on each branch must produce enough food to prevent a branch from starving. If a branch is on the interior side of a shaded tree, it does not recieve adequate light, eventually dying and falling off the tree.

























In a much more simpler sense, a branch is something that connects one thing to another. The most common example is the connection of a tree trunk to its leaves, the woody structures branching out multiple times. However, more diverse connections could be made, like different branches of banks, the connections of different relationships in an evolutionary tree etc.












Sources:
-http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/trees-new/text/tree_anatomy.html#branches
-Trees, Chapter 2 Page & Holmes (1998) Trees pg 11-13

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Concepts














http://www.mikeedmondson.com.au/images/gallery_images_1/ice_crystal_al.jpg


Ice Crystals

These small crystal ice forms are naturally developed, yet their symmetrical form makes it seem almost man made. There is also a sense of explosion from how the ice crystals seem to branch out from the centre in random directions.



















http://www.1adventure.com/archives/images/tree-branches-sunset-enhanced-lowres.jpg

Trees & Branches

Another natural form - trees, when seen as a mass group like a forest shows a complex pattern, with trees and their branches growing in different directions. When a tree is viewed by itself, it seems a little more organised. When viewed at a smaller scaler - a sense of repitition is seen with the leaves & also, the grains found on the tree bark.






















http://www.vectorstock.com/assets/preview/19804/veins-vector.jpg

Veins

Veins & the human circulatory system can be looked at like a highway with the veins as the road, and blood cells as vehicles. Veins branch out, like ice crystals & trees, but in different lengths depending on the location of the body - forming a very complex yet beautiful pattern.