Digital Physicality

Emergent Urbanism

Digital Physicality

Adam Blaney

06092109

0.1

Unit......Emergent Urbanism

Contents

Preface 1

Interactive city 2

Reactive city 3

Hull 4

Site research 5-13

Site research ratios 14

Learning diagrams 0.1 & 0.2 15-16

Pupil facility ratios 17

Export 18

Site location plan 18

Site location plan 19

Form/organisation 20

Quasicrystalline 21

Adaptable structure 0.1 - 0.5 22-26

Contents

Prototype 0.1 27

Prototype 0.2 28-29

Floor plate plan 30

Pod plan 31

Pod section 32

Pod schematic 33

Floor plates 34

Diagrams 35-38

Internal pod view 39

External pod view 40

Bridge 41-42

Visualisations 0.1, 0.2 0.3 43-45

P r e f a c e

This amalgamation of work has adopted a visual style of a digital interface/world that is inhabited by it users and programmes such as TRON. TRON is of interest as the user and eventually programmes could flick between the environments that the inhabited (digital or physical). This allows for digital design that can maintain its efficiency in design through to physical manifestation, it may also allow for true bottom up design in a digital world as manifestations of programmes can ulti-mately lead to a evolution in form created with no human input which can then be physically manifested. This ultimately leads to a physically inhabited environment physically manifested. This ultimately leads to a physically inhabited environment that mimics the characteristics of and ecosystem because it can self organise evolve and physically adapt based on real/physically true factors, it also opens up the possibility of physical people inhabiting their own individual digital environ-ment for as long as they wish. This may lead to a complete revolution of who is needed in the building industry if anyone and a new government regime as a computer programme can be hacked therefore distorting or manipulating another’s digital environment. There could also be a danger of place losing its sense of place as a computer programme may not priorities distinctive design factors such as cultural requirements and may abolish heritage therefore creating globally generic environ-ments.

“Seymour Papert was, with Marvin Minsky, one of the people in at the birth of the MIT artificial intelligence (AI) projects in the late 1950s.”1 This department along with many people such as McCarthy, Chomsky who started to explore the artifi-cial capabilities of a computer systems and a applicable computer language that surpassed BASIC.

“Papert reserves many words of abuse for BASIC when talking about using computers to teach children.”2 Parpet also worked with Piaget to develop strategies for learning “For Papert, Piaget introduced the distinction between concrete thinking and formal thinking, between learning and teaching. Piaget insisted in the Geneva Institute that we should see children as ‘builders of their own intellectual structures’”3

If children are able to talk/apply/learn computer code language just like speaking If children are able to talk/apply/learn computer code language just like speaking another non native language and the environment is designed digitally and is then manifested physically the boundary is blurred between digital and physical, the oc-cupiers can ‘hack’ and deform the digital ultimately altering the physical to meet the demands of their own cultural requirements. Culture and heritage is not lost but lives as a virus in the system, this ‘virus’ can evolve creating new heritage. The urban context becomes more individual as it can respond to individual needs on a city scale something that current town planning codes do not cater for.a city scale something that current town planning codes do not cater for.

1,2,3 – Paul Coates, Programming Architecture, p27

1

Destination

Cafe’

Cinema

Parks

More options

InteractiveCity

An interactive environment that extends that of digital networks such as the i-phone but diminishes it being confined to a hand held device and using the fabric of the city (walls etc) to become the users manipulative touch screen, allowing for the urban context to be digitally tagged or altered such as the eye writer project.

It allows for social networks to manifest in certain parts of the city redefining district boundaries and what social groups actually predominate in these areas physically but is recorded digitally, tourism will no longer exist as global brand saturation can occur instantly and on a global scale.

Games that involve avatars can also be integrated into the cities fabric creating Games that involve avatars can also be integrated into the cities fabric creating digital environments that are at real life scale that can be physically inhabited by the gamer/s which can also redefine how a city is used by its occupants. This may produce global generic environments and no specific identity but if the system is open source or is ‘hacked’ by its occupants then the digital network becomes very individual again but in a different medium that never stagnates.

2

Reactive City

AReactive city – A reactive urban context that meets the demands of its inhabit-ants in real time, this concept is based on the work by Soo-in yang and David Ben-jamin and there projects such as Living city, and work by Philip Beesley and his projects Hylozoic ground.

It employs the combination of an urban context being digitally designed (parametrically modelled) with bottom up principles that are based on the parameters/information obtained from its inhibitors, climatic, economical condi-tions etc of a specific context, along with the use of programmes that can monitor evaluate and react in real time so changing conditions. Certain programmes struc-turally evaluate designs and self design the structural members therefore it can bridge a gap and also react and manipulate a physical member to the required optimal form meet the structural demands when its form alter to meet real time changes in climate or user input etc.

It adopts the ideas of Peter and Alison Smithson such as Golden Lane in London and The Park Hill scheme by Jack Lynn and Ivor Smith and their concepts of streets in the sky, the urban context can become an adaptable mesh that is no longer confined to a 2d plane of current cityscapes. These networks of travel are in a constant state of flux that react on a micro scale (user) in order to create optimal travel routes whilst also maintaining its form manipulation with respect to macro factors that it will impede on when constantly altering its form.

3

Library

All house prices are based on 3 bedroom detached properties (HU 1 based on 2 bedroom apartments).

Theatre

Museum

5

£62,500£116,175£174,950

House Prices

Population1,858

Number of leisure & sporting facilities

Hu1

House Prices

Population3,453

£57,500£99,600£77,400

6

Hu2

Theatre

Leisure centre

Library

Population30,369

House Prices

£35,000£82,600£109,905

Bowls

Hu3

Library

Leisure centre

FootballPitch

7

Library

Leisure centre

Cricketpitch

Bowls

Fishing l a k e

Population19,713

Hu4

House Prices

£87,500£142,450£219,950

8

FootballPitch

9

House Prices

£49,950£88,900£159,950

Population46,906

Hu5

Leisure centre

Cricketpitch

Footballpitch

Library

Tenniscourt

Leisure centre

Fishing l a k e

FootballPitch

Library

House Prices

£55,500£137,400£179,995

Population44,272

Hu7

11

Leisure centre

House Prices

£63,000£104,150£199,995

Population33,916

Hu8

Cricketpitch

Bowls

FootballPitch

12

Library

Hu9

House Prices

£45,000£98,800£159,995

Cricketpitch

FootballPitch

Bowls

Library

Tenniscourt

Population44,240

13

Facilities pp

1:1792 1:5863 1:3377

1:6324 1:3319 1:4915

Area that is most deficient in facilities to ppulation ratio

1:142 1:690 1:5061Facilities

People

Area with lowest individual house pice

Area with highest average & individual house pice

Hu1 Hu2 Hu3

Hu4 Hu5 Hu6

Hu7 Hu8 Hu9

Museums-9Leisure centres-0Football pitches-0 Theatres-2Fishing lake-0Cricket pitch-0

Library-2Tennis court-0Bowls-0

















Sprawl of the proposed educational network can respond to the urban requirements, the construction process and the integrated technology will allow for it to become self organisingorganising with regards to certain parameters. The sprawl is concentrated around water networks as it attains its energy for these water systems. The network intrudes on existingexisting redundant warehouses, the redundant warehouses then become rejuvenated by producing the pods, this provides Hull with a industry again. The pods can then be exported globally with the port infrastructure already present in Hull.already present in Hull.

The units are orientated around redeveloped green space in a redundant area in the city, the units orientation also access as much natural light as possible along with the integration of the revolutionaryrevolutionary format of this independent open source learning scheme, all of these factors aim the achieve an environment for students that maximises their learning capacity.

The stacking of low population and reduced spatial density units will allow for vertical density, although it has been proven it is detrimental to a learning environment if the units are not orientated aroundaround natural light and visible/easily accessible green spaces.

1

2

3

Learning diagram 0.2

1453

1:12.61:13.41:21.4

1:5.71:13.21:6.8

16962165

9628151124

Havering average GCSE pass rate 73% (A*-C)National average GCSE pass rate 43% (A*-C)National average teacher student ratio 1:16.6Havering average teacher student ratio 1:15Havering average computer student ratio 1:5National average computer student ratio 1:3.4

71% 73%

18%

1:13

1:11.9

77

Hull trinity house

Endeavour high

Pickering high school

Kelvin hall secondary school

Pupil facility ratios

Number of students

Teacher student ratio

computer student ratio

Number of computers

All information taken from state schools

1219 1:15

HU9HU8HU7HU6HU5HU4HU3HU2HU1

Havering

National average

1527 1:16.6

1:3.4 Secondary schools1:4.8 6th form colleges

449

1:5243

Newland school for girls

Kingswood college of arts

Mallet Lambert school

Andrew Marvell

St Mary’s college

Sir Henry Cooper school

Winifred holtby school

David lister school

Archbishop Sentamu Academy

1:7.7

1:4.9

58

285

1:8.3

1:2.9

240

695 923

48%

33%

57%

Sir Henry Cooper school

21%

24%

51%43%

18%

61%

32%

1:12.51:14.11:13.8

1:9.71:4.11:8.2

60387103

5861590844

1:27.41:15.3

1:29.81:11.5

4775

1405857

1:8.1

1:45.4

179

1:17.3

1:5.2

189

985

18

E x p o r t

StudentsPods

New York478,544 students119,636 pods

Reo di Janeiro1,050,127 students262,531 pods

Mumbai2,000,000 students500,000 pods

The ideal number of students per pod is four to optimize the learning environ-ment, the below graphs demonstrates a global impact this new learning revolu-tion can have on rejuvenating Hulls industries that have diminished by taking advantage of the facilities (the port/docks) that are still active in Hull. Hull therefore becomes the export centre for this new educational format. (number of students / 4 = number of pods requiered per city)

Glasgow175,000 students43,750 pods

Hull53,927 students13,482 pods

Site Location Plan

The starting origin of the proposed ‘cocoon’ scheme is at the centre of Hull so it does not discriminate against any suburb. It originates here also because of its direct transport link with the water way systems that follows directly down to the port of Hull and the sea, therefore the pods can be globally exported. The sprawl of the scheme will be dictated by parameters based on educational performance in certain areas. If the scheme proves to be better than the traditional system it will move in to replace these areas that are most educational deficient. The systemssystems will be self organising (number of required pods) and other established structures will network with one another to obtain micro and macro gains and information.

HU9

HU8

HU7

HU6

HU5

HU4

HU3

HU2

HU1

500meters

19

Form/Organisation

20

Below is Konrad Waschsmann diagram ‘organism’ from his insti-tute of building research, this diagram has no hierarchical order because they are all dependant on one another, without one another the system fails, it was based on the six parts of Konrads institute. “A drawing of what Waschsmann calls the un-limited expansion of any given problem or task simultaneously reaching in all dimensions”. 3 This diagram provides organisation that is endless in what scale it can be applied a series of these diagrams in plan would have an endlessly variable overall form but it is constricted to a minimum/solitary form due to top down planning and is dictated to consist of a six sided principle, therefore in the truest essence it cannot be self organising at all scales.

The floor plates of the proposed scheme have been based on this diagram for the propose that it can be applied to any scale.

3 – Network practices, page 46, Princeton architectural press

Quasicrystalline

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Quasicrsystalline - Research into the quasicrystalline structures and there applicability to design has been car-ried out by the architectural studio Aranda/Lasch founded by Benjamin Aranda and Christopher Lasch. “Our obsession is the pursuit of order that are rigor-ously modular but wild-almost out of order. Quasicrystals, a new phase of matter discovered in 1974, represents this kind of material structure that hovers on the edge of falling apart.”4 The significant property of the quasic-rystals is that is never repeats its structural pattern twice, the struc-tural system of this material is self organising and is endlessly uneven and never the same but is structurally sound.

Images taken from Form Control to Design

“The key to the quasicrystals aperiodic structure is that they are organised by so-called ‘forbidden’ symmetries (such as 5, 8 or 12-fold symmetries) that, until re-cently were not thought to be able to tile space without leaving gaps.”5 In 1974, Roger Penrose managed to produce a 5-sided tilling that was aperiodic and always changing. The molecules that assemble themselves using local forces are found to be organising over long ranges so as to orientate themselves correctly, therefore the individual parts would have to know the orientation of another individual far away which is impossible.

This system of organisation allows for a single unit to be tilled over an infinite distance that is different to each other, it is not dependant on a minimal six sided form like the Waschsmann diagram and is organised bottom up.

4 - Form control to design, page 196 5 - Form control to design, page 197

Above - Quasicrystalline studies 3d printed creating a sructural mesh.Below - Plan of self organising quasicrystalline structure.

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The below diagrams explore the possi-bilities of a structural skeleton that can contorted and manipulated to an individual’s requirements, this is of particular interest to obtain a learning environment that helps to maximise learning factors as stated inin the previous headings learning diagrams 0.1 & 0.2 such as natural light and views onto green spaces. As these pods are stacked vertically a network can be implemented as they will be all digitally connected so as they can react to one another’s form as they are constantly altering. as they are constantly altering.

Adaptable structure 0.1


A physical prototype that explores the form in a static state of the moveable struc-ture, after carrying out this experiment it became apparent that the structure needs an external skin that can adapt and its form therefore is dictated by the internal skeleton of the pod as it moves. The model itself was constructed via a sectioning method as shown below, this is done to minimise waste by obtaining maximal density of the constituent parts on a sheet of material, this is a method is explored in greater detail in the book - Digital Fabrications, Architectural & material tech-niques by Lisa Iwamoto.

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Further detail was needed in order for realisation of an adaptable structure to come to fruition, the prototypes and experiments of Philip Beesley and his work with projects such as Hylozoic ground, an interactive structure that can respondrespond to human movement but lacks its own emotional qualities, it therefore explores adaptation to external influences so structures can respond to their context and grow decomposable matter.

In particular the work by David Ben-jamin and Soo-in Yang Living city from AD, Territory, Architecture beyond the environment, 2010. This project explored a physical struc-ture that adapts in real time to human interaction and other set parameters that can ultimately de-velop into a network as all of these structures will be digitally con-nected and inform one another to obtain maximal gains.

The adaptable horizontal parts of the structure has sensors integrat-ed into it that responds to the di-rection of human movements in order to adapt to meet the requirements of the user.

Detail - Sensors integrated into structure

25

The below diagrams represent the den-sification of structure in order to form the touch screen that is inte-gral and allows for an interactive learning environment, resulting in a digital integration of the physical users and digital subject matter being explored. This densification of the structure that occurs again around the users requirements results in an internal arrangement that is constantly in flux and therefore has no set orientation. This is done so it matches the skeletal structure so the useruser can obtain as much natural light and any views of the surrounding con-text that they desire which previ-ously have been proven to have a sig-nificant impact on the learning envi-ronment.


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“Our work begins with the premise of a dynamic world. Political and cultural condi-tions change: what if walls and windows morphed in response"? The work by David Ben-jamin and Soo-in Yang looks at an urban environment that can physically morph to ac-commodate to the user. The installation above (living city) is designed for physical structure to be adaptable based on users input.”

‘Living City’

‘Living City by David Benjamin & Soo-in Yang

Hylozic Ground by Philip Beesley

Initial prototype that explored density in structure that allowed for manual linear movement. This experiment was successful and proved that manually dragging out the structure was achievable and could support its own weight when fully opened with little vertical deformation. The main problem that was highlighted was the friction produced by the slots, this needs to be resolved as it is too great for a small motor to move the structure.

Prototype 0.1

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Prototype 0.2 explores the digital bridging between human interaction and the digital process in order to respond to the human input so the structure alters its state/form with no manual human force implied on it. This prototype employs the use of a servo motor and a potentiometer to manually control the structure, a thermo sensor is also incorporated into the system which opens the structure in increments according to the increase in temperature. This is done to cool the structure automatically and main-tain a constant temperature throughout daily/seasonal changes.

For video of prototype 0.2 please use cd

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Prototype 0.2

#include <Servo.h>

int servoPin = 2; // Control pin for servo motorint minPulse = 500; // Minimum servo positionint maxPulse = 2500; // Maximum servo positionint pulse = 0; // Amount to pulse the servo

long lastPulse = 0; // the time in milliseconds of the last pulseint refreshTime = 20; // the time needed in between pulsesint refreshTime = 20; // the time needed in between pulses

int analogValue = 0; // the value returned from the analog sensorint analogPin = 0; // the analog pin that the potentiometer's on

void setup() { pinMode(servoPin, OUTPUT); // Set servo pin as an output pin pulse = minPulse; // Set the motor position value to the minimum Serial.begin(9600);}}

void loop() { analogValue = analogRead(analogPin); // read the analog input pulse = (analogValue * 19) / 10 + minPulse; // convert the analog value // to a range between minPulse // and maxPulse.

// pulse the servo again if rhe refresh time (20 ms) have passed: if (millis() - lastPulse >= refreshTime) { if (millis() - lastPulse >= refreshTime) { digitalWrite(servoPin, HIGH); // Turn the motor on delayMicroseconds(pulse); // Length of the pulse sets the motor position digitalWrite(servoPin, LOW); // Turn the motor off lastPulse = millis(); // save the time of the last pulse }}

Prototype 0.2 code

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Floor plate plan

Floor plate plan -scale na

The floor plates are stacked vertically floor density. Surrounding the floor plates are the individual pods where the new learning environmentenvironment is housed. The floor plates that connect these pods act as a meeting place and also have all of the vertical circulation punctuated through it, the structure also punctuates these plates also houses all of the buildings services.

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The ideal number of students per pod is four/five within each pod. The pods meet the minimum area per person a single person needs.

StaticStatic structural columns - These col-umns cannot be manipulated by the user, there purpose is act as an origin point for the adaptable structure.

Permeable skin - The skins form is de-pendent on the adaptable skeleton, as the skeletons form alters so does the skins accordingly.

Stacked adaptable structure - The structure originates and dissipates to and from the static structural columns.

Entrance - The entrance is created the same way as the views are obtained via the structure sensing specific move-ments of the user to enter and the moves with the structure. The entrance is hidden to create a sense of isolation.

Touch Screen - Position created to meet the user’s requirements.

Floor plate plan

a a

Pod Plan 1:40

Section aa 1:20

a a

32

33

Pod Schematic Diagrams

1:20 detail of skin

Adaptable skeleton

User operated skeleton

Adaptable touch screen

A gel between the two layers of the skin turns opaque when an elec-tric current is induced on it, as the it, as the

structure opens the current dissipates and the skin turn clear. This controls solar gains and therefore temperature.

Floor plates

Underside floor plate section 1:20 b

Underside floor plate plan 1:50 b

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Underside floor plate plan 1:50 a

Underside floor plate section 1:20 a

The pods underside adopts the felt vacuum scheme proposed by Robin Evans architects (1969), the felt vacuum wall purifies the polluted air of the city, it attracts floating dust particles and outputs reusable felt. The underside of the floor plates act as a buffer zone to clean the polluted air due to manufacturing and use of the pods.manufacturing and use of the pods.

The form of the underside can alter in order to maximise its cleaning ability (by increaseing its curface area to the areas where most air flow is occuring) The air flow can be altered by the adaptable skin of the pods, the pods act as a network inorder to alter the overall form of each pod in the system to maximise the cleaning of the pollouted air.cleaning of the pollouted air.

V i e w s

Internal views;As the pods skeleton is adaptableadaptable and therefore the skeletons configuration is based on a specific users pa-rameters the pods can adapt to any form to accommodate for any required view as the skins form is dictated by the adaptable skeleton.

Floor plate views; Perforated floor plates allow for the social learning network to be strengthened as visible links are available over many floors.

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S o l a r

Internal views;AsAs the pods skeleton is adaptable and therefore the skeletons con-figuration is based on a specific users parameters the pods can adapt to any form to accommodate for any required view as the skins form is dictated by the adaptable skeleton.

Internal sun;As the pods skeleton is adapt-able and therefore the skin based on a specific users parameters the pods can adapt to accommodate for any required natural lighting conditions.

Winter sun

Summer sun

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Ventilation

The pods act as a network therefore the overall forms of the pods can alter with respect to one another in order to optimize air flow across the underside of the floor plates to get maximal cleaning. The pods act as a system to clean the air that is pol-lutedluted as a result of the construction process and the overall use of the pods.

Above left the outer skin alters and the floor plate buffer zone increases its direct surface area on the out-side to clean the air.

Above right the skeleton adapts in order to get more fresh air directly into the pod that is in use, this air current naturally ventilates and cools the pod but also draws the pol-luted air to the buffer zone of the above floor plate, again the direct surfacesurface area at the centre of the floor increase in order to clean as much polluted air in one go.

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The pods underside adopts the felt vacuum scheme proposed by Robin Evans architects (1969), the felt vacuum wall purifies the polluted air of the city, it attracts floating dust particles and outputs reusable felt.

Underneath of the pods floor plates act as a buffer for cleaning polluted air, the felt is adaptable in order to maximise its cleaning performance combined with the pods form altering in order to maximise airflow to the buffer zone.

a

a b

b

N e t w o r k

The sensors that are incorporated into the individual pods allow for a physically adaptable environment that is determined by the occupiers requirements, an individual can also be incorporated into the network so individualindividual preferences can be catered for, the individual is incorporated into system via microchipsmicrochips embed into the individual that stores information on personal preferences, these preferences are detected and can then be catered for. The pods are also apart of a greater system where an individual pods form is orientated towards the whole system obtainingobtaining maximal gains such as air flow and ventilation to be passively cooled or heated and to also clean the polluted air, incorpo-rating this technology can allow for a self organised and operated structure that is impartial but is based on specific parameters.

Air quality sensor Temperature sensor Motion sensor

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Internal Pod View

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Bridge 0.1

Land Securities Bridge

Bridge section aa 1:100

41

Design based upon the Land Securities Bridge, a design that explores the theme of ‘discretization’ and ‘simplexity’. The cladding acts as the structural system, but the significancesignificance is that this structural system looks to minimise materiality as it significantly increased cost with this proposed cladding/skin. An algorithmalgorithm was developed that operates on a stress distribution diagram.

“The“The emergent irregularity of the mesh is a reaction to the algorithms attempt to simplify and equalize the stress diagram”.

units

load

Information taken from Form control to design p 136-137

3 - Pattern densification using stress distribution

2 - Tiling of the parametric space of the surface

1- OutputThe resultant form shows a more organic anddynamic distribution of hex-agonal patterns, that is more true to the architects’ intention with simpler stress distribution and same number of nodes for fabrication.

1

2 3units

load

a

a

Bridge 0.2

Internal bridge views

Bridge structural cladding system

42

Visualisations 0.1

43

Visualisations 0.2

44

Visualisation 0.3

45

Digital Physicality

Documents

Transcript of Digital Physicality