Development DevelopmentModel Making Model Making

1. 2.

I began constructing my model by cutting out 3 pairs of strips of papers of different lengths and same width as photo 1. The shortest ones are 9cm long, the medium are 12cm and the longest are 15 cm. All have a width of 1cm. The dotted lines indicate where these strips of paper would be stuck together, and all bear a length of 1.5cm at both ends. The two ends were glued together with extreme accuracy, then I motioned my hands closer and further for a few times to give these strips some elasticity. The curvy section in the middle, at the same time, was slowly gaining the form that I desire. The result of a perfectly executed piece of pattern is shown in photo 2.The same process was then repeated for other pairs of strips. After having done a few, I started to assemble these seperated components into one whole sample. This proposed another challenge as once again precision is required , otherwise the entire model would be crooked with uneven surfaces.

3.

Photo 3. - the final product of the process

The whole process took me about 2 hours to finish. As we can see the curves start to lose their original, intended shape as more and more are attached together. This could be the result of the medium quality of the paper that I chose to work with, or that the measurements are not accurate enough, causing inequality in each component. The fact that each curve was arbitrarily formed plays another important role as the angles the degrees of the loops vary. Hence many of them are not incorporated well together. The experiment was, nevertheless, very enjoyable and helpful in improving my method of forming the patterns.

The pattern, on the other hand, was very easily manipulated into differ-ent shapes - an advantage when try-ing to bend and explore the overall shape for my lantern. On top of that, the flexibility of each loop proven use-ful in expanding one element of the lantern without compromising much of the pattern’s original state.

Development DevelopmentRhino-based

Rhino-based

It took me a while to utilise the software fluently with the help of various tutorials posted on the LMS, and finally I managed to trace the curves using the original picture of my chosen pattern and the command Pictureframe. As the image on the left depicts, I successfully outlined the shape of these ripples in the sands. The next step is extruding curve which would be demonstrated below.

The curves are then extruded with the height of one centime-tre. At first there were overlapping curves due to the inaccura-cy of my tracing, and therefore when extruded they were on top of one another, producing an uneven surface. Rhino can be handful at times, yet its efficiency is undeniable. On the left is the screencap of the base image after all the curves are ex-truded and fixed. As you can see there is a slight pattern in the ripples, particularly those in the middle of the photo - they are usually braanches of an original line which is another branch of another line. This process is repeated endlessly, hence the miles of ripples of sand on desert or beaches. Patterns are af-terall, as mentioned by Phillip Ball, formed from the most sim-ple rules. Adding some touches of the Mother Nature and we are given what is seemingly spontaneous and unsystematic.

I then moved a small curve out of the original base extruded lines to further develop the idea. This time I decided to close both ends of the curves, shortening their lengths as it would be more applicable this way. Both Copy and Paste commands were heavily maneuvered to construct a repetition of shapes. The three different sizes of the curves were also thought of when the cropped image was produced as at the two corners of the photo, the curves were significantly shorter than the ones in the middle. Once one section was done, I joined them together and then came the two aforementioned commands. The final product is as shown on the left and below. As we can see the ends of the curves sometimes are still invis-ible as they were not assembled into closed curves as I wanted them to. This would be fixed when the actually model.

Due to my inexperience with Rhino, it took me quite a long time at the lab to get such simple steps done. More prac-tice and, perhaps, tech sessions are needed to improve the skills that I still lack.

Precedent Study Precedent StudyAnti-smoking Centre - Paris Anti-smoking Centre - Paris

The building promoted the idea of having a more sustainable en-vironment in France, and more generally in our world as a whole. Vincent Callebaut - the architect in charge of this project - has in-corporated the greens into the building using various advanced techniques and technology. It was built in 2007 to emphasise the importance of nature in our lives. Not only so, it takes a step further to actually accomplush the concept of harmony between humans and Mother nature, proving that we don’t have to destroy our habi-tat for the sake of art.

The pattern used on the roof bears a striking resemblence to that of mine, making this a prioritised case to study. The design on the cy-lindrical building is more similar to my emergent form though not as curvy, while the on the elliptical has more layers to it, constructing a more complex pattern to the overall roof.

It is possible that Callebaut drew his inspiration from the weaving straws of an animal’s nest, seeing how they could hold a certain amount of weight. This is even more applicable when the purpose of the design is to utilise as much natural energy as possible by making use of the hol-lowness of the pattern, hence allowing sunlight to shine through during the day. The shape of an ellipse could also be from the nest or the egg itself, once again relating to the nature and its inhabitants. The multiple layers of repeti-tive curves could be an attempt to fabricate arbitrariness and randomness. The windows are also shielded from ul-traviolet rays from the sun using special type of glass as well as screens, enabling the users to enjoy the sunlight while not having to worry about getting cancer or other skin diseases.

The techniques of weaving and packing were applied onto this case to form such kind of patterns onto the roof. For the cylindrical building, it’s the intersection of lines that divide the surface into equally hollow diamond-shaped windows. The ellipse inserted in each of these gaps perhaps is to link a certain connection between the two buildings - a friendly reminder that they come in pair rather than two individuals just happened to be put next to each other.Similarly, the inner layer of the pattern on the other edifice’s roof is shaped in diamond forms, possibly constructed using the Tiling method of joining points, lines and so forth. They then are alternatively placed by weaving, resulting in a tight-knitted structure to the overall structure.

The problem arises for this type of pattern is that it is not extremely unique and the overall structure of the building, particularly those glass need to be meticulously calculated to avoid collapse. Hence the material chosen plays another crucial part in constructing this edifice - not only does it have to be environmental-friendly but also secure in a sense. Perhaps another layer of lines or patterns slightly differ-ent to this would create more dimensions while being more firmly held.

Bibliograpghy

1/ http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs50/f/2009/313/4/f/Lines_in_the_sand_by_Midge_cat.jpg

2/ http://pcdn.500px.net/12683967/927d808b1679029ef73fc58f4c636f94620a2cb8/4.jpg

3/ http://patternizer.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/chameleontail2.jpg

4/ http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000zoLSjIEzhlY/s/900/900/Patterns-in-the-sand.jpg

5/ http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2010/09/fractal_9b.jpg

6/ http://rosafrei.photoshelter.com/image/I0000bmEt57HM4Eo

7/ Pooling, Clark (1987): Analytical Drawing in Kandinsky’s Teaching at the Brahaus, Rizzoli, New York, pp 107-122.

8/ http://crazy2world.blogspot.com.au/2010/11/anti-smog-center-brings-cleaner-air-to.html

9/ Ball, Phillip (2012): Pattern Formation in Nature, AD: Architecture Design, Wiley, 82 (2), March, pp. 22-27.