Project 06 - Submission

As expected, the “Hail Mary” 3D printed model making did not quite work out. The facade was fundamentally too thin in places that the plastic lost cohesion during deposition, which resulted in more than one wiggly line, and that was before the wastage. I wanted to 3D print the model as prior experience with the technique has produced, for the most part, less waste than laser cutting, CNC milling or other methods of model making. However, due to poor decision making on my part (an unfortunately common occurrence during this project), there ended up being a rather silly amount of support material, which resulted in a rather significant pile of waste plastic. With one reason or another, I simply have not had a good project. Win some, lose some. It is just gutting that this happened with the final project. I hope I am able to scrape something through, as frankly, right now, I am utterly knackered. Maybe I’ll be able to scrape one last perspective render in tomorrow morning, as it turns out our submission window is later than originally advertised, but we shall see.

~ Pinup Layout LR.jpg

Projects_06

Portfolio Submission & Pin-Up

Project 06 - 11 days to go...

I have no idea what week it is, so I’ll just call this T-11 days.

You know that you’re getting tired and stressed, when despite planning things out, you miss bits and pieces here which throw off your workflow, and have to go back and re-do various bits and bobs. Yeh, that has happened a lot over the past couple of days.

We have our final tutorials over the next two days - sessional tutors on Thursday (today), and visiting architects & engineers on Friday. My primary focus tomorrow will be on getting as much help on the 1-50 technical section as I can. The spruced up façade that my tutor was hinting at has not materialised. How much of a detriment that will be is, well, to be seen. I’m extracting the last linework for the 1-50 from the model as I type this, and originally I was thinking about going for a completely different 1:50 section, but decided against it as I did not feel the tradeoff was worth it (basically what gets shown where didn’t feel any better).

Speaking of models - the physical model. The only year I seem to actually have had my arse in gear with respect to that was last year’s archive project, but on the flip side, I never finished inhabiting that digital model or finished the plans. Plans are in a better state for this project, but there are still some howlers that will ideally need to be corrected (and have been waiting for a while). But back to the physical model. The queue for the 3D printers at Uni was 1 week, as of yesterday, so probably beyond that now, which means that if I wanted to 3D print any parts, I’m looking at purchasing and getting them delivered. A laser cutter slot is booked for Monday courtesy of a colleague, and I’ll need to figure out how to tackle the model tomorrow.

I have definitely overstretched with this project. Frankly, i would prefer to (re)-learn this lesson now - as a 3rd year undergrad, rather than in professional practice. I’ve realised for a while, but only recently accepted, that I still struggle to deal with the stress.

1-50 section render, 14k x 10k pixels - 68131s, or 19hrs. I’ll be giving my GPU a rest tonight. A little overbright in parts, but I’ll fix that in photoshop. Already darkened elements of the interior, and I think I’ll give that another pass - the library and reception areas are too dark now.

Project 06 - Easter Update 2

Ok, so this is basically my expected pin-up for Tuesday’s final formative crit of the project. I haven’t touched the actual design drawings since Easter Sunday, primarily because I was sick of looking at them and needed to take a step back so I could get a clear view of the entire picture again; as well as bring some of the “narrative” elements up to speed. I think, whilst some may question the move, it was in fact beneficial. I can see a lot more now of what needs to be done with the 1:50, amongst other things, and the week “break” from that particular element also allowed me to better understand how Vray works, so hopefully I’ll be able to apply it better to the 1:50 & other drawings when I get some better textures. The biggest thing that is missing is a wider context map of the city. The one I have, and have worked with, I’m not happy with how I’ve represented it previously; and there are new layers that I want to add to it. I’d also prefer to avoid doing “yet another isometric” view, as I have so many. So, I’ve got that to work out. Elements of the stacked plans also need to be fixed.

Still a lot of work to do.

Annotations still to come, added hidden linework. Also, there are a significant number of elements to be added or fixed - add in geology, indicative foundations, better drainage indicators, better suspended ceiling indicators, along with ventilation (especially in the datacentre). Oh, and of course, add some damn framework to the huge vertical screens on the stage. These ain’t Monoliths from 2001…

Trying a collage using the poster from the beginning of the project, shrinking down to A3, to use as the cover image for the folio/blurb.

Exploded “worm-eye” axonometric of the auditorium space w/ atrium canopy above and columns. Love the image, will use it for collage purposes, for e.g. see the poster.

Reworked version, with new key text and rearranged clipping masks. Loved the way previous photo fit seamlessly, but I felt that a cluster of people, rather than a single person, better fit the narrative. Can’t have everything :/

Reworked version, with new key text and rearranged clipping masks. Loved the way previous photo fit seamlessly, but I felt that a cluster of people, rather than a single person, better fit the narrative. Can’t have everything :/

The “narrative” element of the pin-up. Need to figure out how I can incorporate, or translate, some of these to diagrams, or iconography.

The “narrative” element of the pin-up. Need to figure out how I can incorporate, or translate, some of these to diagrams, or iconography.

Second exploded axonometric for the pin-up. This one is the combined programmatic & technical diagram. Again, annotations still to come, along with additional technical highlights - for instance, the electrochromic windows (considering how I currently lack any other obvious acknowledgement of environmental e.g. solar, concerns).

Blue version, with some annotations added. I think I prefer this one - mainly because it fits with the massing & enviro diagrams, shown to the right.

Blue version, with some annotations added. I think I prefer this one - mainly because it fits with the massing & enviro diagrams, shown to the right.

The massing & enviro diagrams. Some bits and pieces can still be added. Both this and the previous image taught me a lot about how VRay works, as well as how cool atmospheric scattering can be when you get it right.

The massing & enviro diagrams. Some bits and pieces can still be added. Both this and the previous image taught me a lot about how VRay works, as well as how cool atmospheric scattering can be when you get it right.

Render view of the proposal, looking from Kristof ter. The plaza is the last big thing I need to design.

Render view of the proposal, looking from Kristof ter. The plaza is the last big thing I need to design.

Internal view of the atrium, looking from the first floor access corridor.

Internal view of the atrium, looking from the first floor access corridor.

Stacked axonometric of the plans. Elements are missing or incorrect, still to be fixed.

Stacked axonometric of the plans. Elements are missing or incorrect, still to be fixed.

These sections and elevations haven’t been touched since last week.

These sections and elevations haven’t been touched since last week.

Found a new, better, texture to represent the exterior stonework. I’ll look at re-rendering this to incorporate the new one.

Found a new, better, texture to represent the exterior stonework. I’ll look at re-rendering this to incorporate the new one.

Hello, I’m a section.

Hello, I’m a section.

Photos of the site.

Photos of the site.

Budapest.

Budapest.

Project 06 - Easter Update

Things have been chugging on slowly but steadily this past week, and there have been some technical problems which have required a rethink on how to approach certain aspects.

1:50 Section, WIP

I’m still figuring out how to best leverage V-Ray for interior renders, especially with additional lights, and this in turn also poses an issue of exposure - that is, many of the renders I’ve done so far have come out rather dark (I’m aware exposure is a thing, and yes I’ve looked into it), however I’ve yet to figure out (or search for) a way around this that doesn’t cause a huge technical challenge. What do I mean by “technical challenge”? Well, my desktop set-up is reasonable - liquid cooled 6th Gen i7-K, fan-cooled MSi 1070 GTX 8GB, 64GB DDR4 3000MHz RAM, PSU etc all up to spec. I knew there was I reason why I had doubled the amount of RAM in the machine over Xmas, and I discovered the “why” when I attempted to do a 16k, then 14k, then 12k render of the 1:50 section: I ran out of RAM. Why was I attempting such a hugh render? Well, to print an A0 at around 300DPI, you would need at least a render of 14000 pixels x 9900 pixels at 72DPI - which is then sized down (pixel density increases, thus DPI increases). My hope to generate a usable shadow-map, with bump-maps, for the 1:50 has hit a bit of a snag. I’m pretty certain that the real limiter was the number of textures - and size - that were in use, despite using mip-mapping, it kept hitting the RAM limit. Number of lights used was just impacting the render time as far as I could tell (although it did increase the memory usage due to the light cache). All is not lost however, as I’ve compromised and for now at least, fudged the texturing/rendering background, so it is at least something that is kind of fun, if not wholly realistic right now. Ultimately, I will probably have to go back to more traditional methods of texturing - I can already hear Illustrator swearing blind at me.

The wall is a little less sparse - front elevation, and two 1:200 sections are at least relatively presentable, and the stacked plan axonometric w/ programme schedule is on its way (even if I kinda screwed up the toilets on one floor, and have a gaping hole where the M&E service room & EPS are located).

Next up - to plan/sketch out the technical exploded axonometric (which will need to be information dense, yet smart, to fit on an A1); along with additional programmatic massing/enviro/anything I’ve missed diagrams, mappings, visualisations and the city panorama/aerial (already have a couple of photos in mind to use as a backdrop for that).

Am I on track? Eh… I’ll never be happy until I’ve got everything to the required standard, and submitted. Even then I probably won’t be happy until I’ve confirmed I’ve at least hit the bare minimum grade i’m hoping for (not expecting a miraculous grade this year, just want to get this to a respectable level). Even then, I probably won’t be happy until I’ve got my portfolio updated, and sent off to prospective employers, hopefully leading to securing a job. Yes, that terrifying spectre of the real world is showing it’s face once again! OoooOOOooooOOOOooooooh. …

WIP 1:200 Stacked plans in an axonometric view. Plan is to place a faded render below as background to help liven the image up. Also, plan to colour-code usages, thus amalgamating two required diagrams into one.

Project 06 - Week 11

Based upon feedback from the crit (which also allowed me a good rant), I started working on a completely alternative proposal over the previous weekend, so I had something to compare the previous iteration to; both for my benefit, as well as my tutor’s (potentially). The reasoning behind this was one of the criticisms I received was that I had not demonstrated how that particular form & programme had been derived - something I need to work on - and after showing my tutor the working drawings and key lines, he did mention that it was overly complicated. Hence why I decided to try a far simpler proposal - which we both ultimately rejected as the original was fine, I just needed to explain it better.

This leads us to the third proposal (and another round of massing: red = core, black = atrium, white = inhabitable space) - still an Art & Design school specialising in digital & virtual development, attached to the Moholy-Nagy University of Art & Design (and possibly working in partnership with the ELTE - to be worked out). It has moved away from the educational/professional/research/implementation approach, as I was struggling with working out the mechanisms and precise reasoning behind it. Hence adjusting to a purely educational/research approach. Fortunately, the programme remains almost completely the same (phew!) and it allows me to cut out an entire floor - as I no longer need ‘professional studio’ spaces. Bits and pieces are being re-arranged, and that will be formalised in the coming days, as we have our final pre-Easter crit next week. If I understood correctly, my tutor wishes to see a technical exploded axonometric of the proposal as well as a single plan for the crit - due to the fact I’m working in 3D, rather than 2D (the latter being the one that is encouraged for the most part). In addition - one key piece of advice he gave was to look into creating a facade system that can be varied enough to prevent monotony and allow space differentiation, in addition to aesthetic considerations.

Enscape_2019-03-27-21-24-09.jpg

Type A

Proposal 3.Facade B.jpg

Type B

Variable Facade Generator script

Apologies for the differing exposures - still getting used to the Enscape rendering engine (also, probably used different Photoshop layer combinations…). The reasoning behind Type A was the desire to seek a ‘chunky’/heavy appearance, as I have settled on stone cladding (to blend with the local limestone and sandstone), as well as integrating static louvres into the fenestration by way of setting back and angling the glass in addition to providing a tapered frame. Whilst I felt that the aesthetic at least worked on the front facade, the moment I tried to turn the corner, the system ‘broke’ visually in a way that I couldn’t get my head around. So I moved on to Type B - heavily inspired by the Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre by Heneghan Peng Architects, which uses basalt columns arrayed around the facade to provide a weight to the structure, along with solar control. I turned to grasshopper again to rapidly (after spending an hour setting up the script…) iterate facade formations based upon the manipulation and summation of sine waves. Then I manually tidied up the output to achieve Type B - which by no means is the final version.

In addition to sorting out a facade system, I was investigating two (narrowed from three) structural concrete systems: plate/column, two-way beam slab/column, slab + drop-cap column. I disregarded the plate/column system that I used in the first proposal after further structural considerations, which left me deciding between the two-way beam/slab and slab w/drop caps; ultimately settling on the latter due to both aesthetic and structural considerations. I’m still looking to have a suspended ceiling on all floors bar the basement, which will have raised floors - in part due to there still being a server/data block incorporated into the programme. Which leads me to another structural consideration - one which I had the chance to discuss with an engineer on Friday: walls & column thickness. The engineer talked me through what ‘effective height’ means wrt. columns and how that affects stability, along with how lateral forces act on a structure, and thus placement of shear supporting walls, and the symmetry in such a system; along with reminding me of what does and does not constitute a load-bearing wall, and thus reducing the mass of non-load bearing walls. As such, I spent most of Friday afternoon going over with a fine-tooth comb the placement of load-bearing walls, non-load bearing walls, internal partitions, additional support columns (especially for the atrium canopy, and how that interacts with the primary structure) and the makeup of each. Currently I have 9 different types of load-bearing and non-load bearing walls, and internal partitions. One mistake I realise that I have since made: I figured that if I did not insulate the external walls surrounding the basement server block, then the ground would help provide a natural way to dissipate the excess heat generated. However, I forgot that a) this is an urban environment, b) the basement is only a single storey underground, c) insulation works both ways. Whilst this may provide a slight aid in a cold winter, in summer, the ground would be a lot warmer and negatively affect the server block. Something to clarify. It is a quick fix fortunately - just need to offset a line and add another one (if only other things in life were so easy!).

Current working notes. Certain plan elements have changed from those shown - rearranging walls to better align with structural considerations, for e.g.

The engineer also provided me with useful insight into the construction of new buildings adjacent to existing structures: in that as in-situ concrete is being used, the formwork will need space to be created, and possibly dismantled afterwards or otherwise constructed in such a manner that it will remain safely hidden and not provide any structural malus should it not be possible to remove the formwork after the concrete has set. This came up as of course my proposal butts against the existing wall of the adjacent bank, so the suggested course of action was to simply pull the structure away from the bank (by a couple of meters perhaps?). There was also the issue of the planted terraces - which of course would need to be sloped (already factored in), however one thing I hadn’t realised was that it is common practice to cut the slope into the insulation layer, thus allowing the top layer to be level, and forgoing the need for a significant amount of extra screed (which adds both mass and financial cost). Last point on construction (for now) - another thing that the engineer mentioned was that usually you just took the required thickness of the thickest slab element, and applied it to the entire floorplate, rather than creating different slabs of different thickness along the same floorplate (again, ease of construction - only one level of formwork required rather than multiple).

Alright, so, reality check. We have our pre-Easter crit on Thursday, which gives me 5 days to bring up an exploded axonometric, perspective elevations, indicative plan(s) (and after, start on the two-point perspective 1:50 section). We then have one week of term, and two weeks of Easter ‘break’ prior to our final crit, followed by two and a half weeks to submission. Call it six weeks. We have six weeks left. We’ve got this, right?

Project 06 - Week 10, Pre-Crit

Truthfully, I’m currently feeling like i’m in need of a full MOT. Ok, so I’ve realised that the workflow that has seen me this far over the past year and half doesn’t seem to be working for me anymore. Made a daft error late last week which has cost me valuable time - in that I complete forgot about the existence of “cad-blocks”, and had been doing some things from scratch that may have been unnecessary. Rhino has also been slowing me down (I really shouldn’t be surprised by this point - I’d been warned by not one, not two, but three tutors of the dangers of digital 3D modelling as primary over the past 3 projects), and I’ve been going off it anyway - certain graphical outputs aren’t working for me as they used to. I don’t know whether it is the tiredness that comes from a long project, or an accumulation, but I feel a genuine creative block on this project that I think started with the Aylesham one.

What have I got for tomorrow? I haven’t worked on the 1-50 since I printed the test off last week, as I’ve been focusing on trying to finish the plans so that I actually know how things will be shown in section (already know the programme just, how to show it). One (and a half) elevations, sans embellishment, and the plans as they are, sans embellishment. I have some programmatic diagrams, but the mapping I’ve started from scratch (at least graphically, as I wasn’t happy with how I presented it the last time). I’m planning on pinning up the WIP scribbles I’ve been using as well, and I think I’ll be taking markers to the 1:50 tomorrow morning once it is all up.

From this point, we have 2 months, that is 8 weeks. That isn’t any time at all. Also, I’ve been typing this whilst watching Apollo 13… that is currently where my sense of humour is.

Project 06 - Week 9

Another short entry this weekend - primarily because I want to focus on pushing out the required deliverables for the crit next week (of which I currently have none finalised). One head-desk moment I had yesterday was realising that I had only factored in half of the plant/mechanical room, but fortunately I still have plenty of space in the basement so I’ll just push the datacentre down a bit and increase the current area provisioned for the electrical support equipment, to include the mechanical support equipment as well. Some more refinements were made to the structural grid per visiting architect’s advice, although I’m angsty because I still haven’t had the chance to speak with an engineer yet. However, another moment of realisation led to relief as I’ve covered planted/”green” roof systems in prior projects, so I know the makeup of them rather well by now - which is benificial as the 1:50 has plenty of work to be done on it. Currently figuring out the angle of incident and spacing required for the louvres, as well as filling out the plans - still got three floors to fit out, and then its throwing them into sections. I’ve had thoughts on materiality - white stone exterior on walls adjacent to the bank, white matte finish on the concrete columns & slabs, translucent (white finish) glazing leading to clear glazing with wooden louvres, and wooden accents on exposed walls leading onto the roof terraces. I would like to emulate Selgas Cano with coloured accents delineating internal pathways (alternatively, perhaps material accents instead), but we shall see. Currently just trying not to panic that we have <9 weeks to go and an awful lot of work to do. As one of my colleagues said - we should be used to this by now! Also, I still haven’t figured out the atrium canopy. Less panicking and more working!

Below are plans, elevations and the 1:50 section exported prior to working on and annotating by hand. Yes, they are pretty bare-bones right now.

Project 06 - Week 8

Short post today - been redrawing the plans the last two days, tidying up lines, structural points. Rethinking the columns again, after looking at images of existing slab/column structures (as the spans seemed rather short, and columns were not lining up properly - something that cannot happen afaik). As a result, currently redoing the model, so the below images are slightly obsolete now, but still provide an indicator of direction. One key thing that worked itself out yesterday was the public realm/entrance. Spent the entire day working on it, and it works (I think so anyway). Hopefully I’ll be in a good position tomorrow, as I really need to start extracting 1-200 sections and elevations. One other item that informed the re-draw of the model was changing the relationship between the envelope/skin and floorplates. I’ve adjusted it so the skin wraps around, rather than sits on top of - as I believe this is more of a direction that I will go in.

Project 06 - Week 7

Just a brief update this week.

Plans for the structure are WIPs, and I’ve made some adjustments to the LG entrance (namely, pulling it out onto the plaza slightly), which has caused some complications for how to approach the facade… The reasoning behind this move was to allow for greater circulation space on the interior LG, along with provide an explicit reception/security area at the front. The column grids were created in Grasshopper using the script shown on the right. Short version - create grid based upon single line, add options to fine-control position (relative to world axis, not c-plane :/), provide drop-boxes to select parameters based upon floor, which in turn provides boundary domains for the grid curves and grid points. Create circles of r radius, extrude based upon floor height. Simple once you get it working… There are times where I feel that I should be banned from grasshopper. Why did I do this in grasshopper? A) To demonstrate to myself that I can. B) To “reduce time” required to create multiple grids and rearrange them or respawn columns. “Reduce time”… yeh. *ahem*

Left is a script that works on a similar principle to obtain points within the atrium canopy/ceiling, to inform a voronoi cell test. This was done as I’m trying to figure out a “sexy” way to do the glass canopy, taking inspiration from the atrium in the Jewish History Museum, Berlin.

What I am hoping will be the penultimate iteration of the programme is shown on the left, along with a test of a new rendering plugin (Enscape) which was recommended to me by several members of the class. The render plugin is currently worknig at 4K/72PPI. I’m unsure as to whether the PPI can be increased, as if it cannot, then it will be of limited usefulness. The other key limiter of this plugin is that it unfortunately cannot be set to parallel projection, thus it will only be useful for inhabitation shots, or in-situ views. And yes, I’m aware that the entrance to the proposed structure is currently floating in the air - I’m having to rethink the plaza, and, well, *insert crying emote here*. I’m also not convinced by this new protrusion either, and there are far more windows. Again limitations, and I’m effectively rendering a slightly more advanced massing model here.

We were duly warned about spending too much time in Rhino for these last two months - all about LOD, as well as the specific views required. I completely understand where are tutor is coming from. Plan tomorrow is to sketch out how I think the spaces are supposed to look as an Iso or Perspective sketch, so that I can really bang out the plans, and then the 1-200 sections/elevations etc. I already know how the 4th floor is supposed to look to an extent - imagine a bit of the Peres Peace house, but white, and with an entire facade that opens out onto a terrace.

Addendum: below is a quick test of an adjusted mapping test layout, as I really wasn’t happy with how “playdoughie” the version was I had at the crit.

Project 06 - Week 6

‘Reading week’ came at a good time, and whilst I’m not 100% confident that I’ve got everything I need for Monday’s crit/review, I’m planning on doing a lot of scribbling over the next couple of days to hopefully flesh things out. The biggest weaknesses I feel that I have here are two-fold: my mapping is rather anemic at the moment, especially with respect to justifying the particular direction of the project, and I feel like the project lacks a solid premise or premises (socio-technologically) and so the argument is weak. Below are the completed slides for Monday’s presentation.

Where do I see this going right now? I think the project has evolved partly from my obsession with Cyberpunk & TRON; along with my (currently dormant) political activist streak. What does that particular mix seek to achieve? Formation of a type of safe haven; am I at one level creating a hacktavist collective? I don’t believe so, as it currently is far too formal. It is about hunkering down, laying groundwork and evolving stratagems in a view to then alter the landscape via deployment of said stratagems, inevitably through an asymmetric approach. The architecture that I seek to achieve is itself a stratagem. Then there are the backers, or instigators of this clandestine (or is it clandestine? They are in plain view after all, their work and approach able to be monitored in real-time) operation. What happens if you hold a mirror up to society? Does it become incessantly narcissistic, or revolted by it’s own reflection? Or does it make light of the entire situation and turn even more vile and virulent? I do not wish to create the spectacle that was ‘Big Brother’, nor do wish to continue the fiction that the other began as either… do I? What does this simultaneously virtual/actual inhabitation with corresponding action truly accomplish? Where did this all begin?

Evolution and creation of a seed, an idea, a series of stratagems, leveraging the virtual not just for telepresence but to allow for hiding in plain sight, active camoflague if you will; and storing of vast amounts of data for analysis and leveraging; along with the allowing of formulation of tests, or the testing of systems prior to application. A virtual/physical laboratory.

The single, largest problem to all of this? The problem is Binary - Humans are not logical, the Virtual is.