A completed, compiled image demonstrating some of the work I've done in Rhino and Grasshopper.

Top: Example configuration of shade wall, depicting shadows cast when encountering light.

Bottom (left to right): Original solar shade study lofted with thickness, regularized shade wall with uniform plane rotations, contrasted attractor based surface grid (back view).

 First image: A script that I stumbled onto online, which describes a system that forms the foundation of the model I created; in this version, a series of triangles lofted between two curves "dance" as sliders for different parameters are manipulated.

 Second Image: Experimenting with a rather dramatic lofted surface, while attempting to rebuild the model system in grasshopper. This really helped me to understand better what each function does, as I worked through trial and error to replicate some of the properties in the exemplary script.

 Third Image: In this version, I tamed the surface itself to a more simple surface, a simple curve duplicated and lofted upward. This process breaks the surface itself into vertical and horizontal divisions which form a separated grid system of subsurfaces within the lofted surface.

 Fourth Image: The model system is completed for the most part here. At this point, I was experimenting with different aesthetics by playing with the grid parameters and seeing how the attractor point would affect each piece of the broken surface.

Fifth Image: To add a level of reality to the system, I replicated the system, offset it, and lofted to create materials with thickness. Here is what will be rendered for the presentation images.

Grasshopper Model - Video

 

A video that shows the nature of the final model that I've generated using Grasshopper. The premise of the model is what I've called a "shade wall"; essentially it is a divided grid of rectangular panels generated from a lofted surface between two identical curves. The individual grid pieces rotate and reorient in response to an attractor point in the model, which results in a variety of configurations of each individual piece of the grid. 

As a result, generative modeling has provided a system by which an entire "wall" system or skin is controlled at any given time by the distance and location of one point, ultimately dictating the overall look and permeability of the surface itself. Rendered images include shadow to demonstrate this.

 Today I sat down to move forward with my model, incorporating some new principles of using attractor points to suggest physical surfaces that articulate reciprocity, inverse relationships, and spatial patterns.




After several hours, I found myself not too far along in pushing those concepts... I worked through a tutorial on attractor points on a 2D plane, which is the first image you see. Then, in an effort to manipulate this gridded and attractor-based pattern in the vertical dimension, I went through a tutorial that taught me how to coordinate a 3D surface based off a point grid to react to an attractor point.

My next idea was to create a grid of these grids, and compose a pattern that would show a slight variation based on slight changes and translations of each surfaces attractor points, but was unable to independently attach each copy to a new attractor point. This pulls from the concept of matrix that we applied in project 1. I'm struggling to put the 2 and 2 together from the different strategies that I've learned, because neither of the tutorials, nor most that I find in general, do much to explain what the tools really do. I'm a bit frustrated by my inability to work this out, but I'll revisit tomorrow and see if I can make any more progress before placing onto a presentation sheet.

So just playing around in Grasshopper with the existing file that I produced to replicate from the tutorial, I started to tweak a couple of the properties of the model just to see what it would look like.

I started by attaching new curves which would act as the rails replacing what was before, two straight vertical lines. These curves are drawn freely, without any sort of underlying logic or order, for the time being. Furthermore, to start to suggest the pulse motif, I alternated straight vertical lines with a fabricated free form curve, and applied the loft tool in grasshopper to see what the resultant was. The images below show a couple of different conditions, where I am just orbiting around the surface, and then I change a couple of the model parameters such as the number of shade divisions along the curves and lines, and the depth of the shade itself in relation to the line it is attached to. This started to remind me of the discussions we had earlier in the semester about understanding how a model changes when you start to simplify or remove information, and allow it to reach a "cruder" form.

At this point, being perfectly honest, I'm not really sure where to go from here, and I have just been experimenting with the software given the exposure to the provided tutorial. I guess I will be refining the geometries and hopefully applying more complexity to the model so it is more than just a couple of tweaks from the original shade model. I also am not sure how grasshopper defined components are rendered; I don't think Rhino recognized them formally as objects, so I just took screenshots.

Rhino & Grasshopper this time...

So I went through the tutorial provided for the Grasshopper solar shade model, and as you can see, it looks exactly the same as what the tutorial was intended to create (a success for me at this level).

I think at this point, I'm siding with Grasshopper over Generative Components, and I plan on moving forward with a model that suggests some of the relationships of time, space, and surface that I suggested in the previous projects.

I will be using the concept of rhythm and pulse as a starting point; not sure what that will branch out into...

Worked through the tutorial on Generative Components to generate a simple grid of control lines, as instructed from the video. This alone took a considerable amount of effort as I learned my way around the interface; many of the buttons referenced in the video are represented differently or not at all on the workspace I was on. Maybe I clicked out of some things that would have helped.

Anyway, I will be revisiting the Grasshopper tutorial tomorrow and comparing that system of organization to GC.

My reiteration of animation for 300. This one breaks down the structural components by assigning them very simple forms. 

The grid pattern in the back grounds the movement of the sphere in the foreground by offering a visual cue against which the sphere moves. The camera moves in a simple linear path; however the interaction of the sphere with the trellis-type arrangement in the background is where the structure of the video starts to come through. 

I synchronized moments in the animation where the camera movement slows down with the points where the sphere is intersected with the trellis grid. This motion represents the occurrence of penetration between two solids, which is directly reflected in the 300 video, when the moments that are recorded in slow motion are when King Leonidas is forcing his spear through enemy soldiers, an act of penetration.

In addition, this motion is repeated a couple of times in the video, and establishes what could be continued perpetually as a rhythm of entrapment through penetration and escape between the two solids. This was a prominent component of the way the scene in 300 was structured.

New Render - Surface

2B - Surface Fabrication

Moving forward towards creating a surface that will relate to the video and my previous animation, I started by taking snapshots of the video at the points where I had originally diagrammed them for my first animation. Here you see 10 shots arranged on artboards in Illustrator. Image below:

Then I paid particular attention to the hierarchy of the visual representation of each frame, this time noticing the red cape as the most prominent feature of color throughout the scene. So I drew vector paths over the cape forms to create a set of base geometries that could start to inform my surface contours. I also drew over dark spots in each frame, provided mainly by the body figures that King Leonidas is approaching with each stride; however, I ended up abandoning those forms and looking at just the cape:

So, working still in Illustrator, I took the corresponding cape geometries from each scene and laid them out independently, spaced them evenly and blended them to create intermediate geometries for transition:

Finally, I went into Maya and started to take each of these pieces to fabricate my surface. The way I wanted to do this was to treat each piece as a cross section of a lofted surface, so that the contours of each piece start to form the combined piece. Here's a couple shots of the workspace:

And, ultimately, some rendered views of the resultant form:

 This piece is particularly interesting; although the form was continuous and the cross sections lined up consistently, there was a hiccup along the line where certain contours cross into each other. This might be the way for me to incorporate the "pulse" motif that was discussed last class. I will start thinking about how to move along the surface and "film" it.

An interior view of the surface, "tunnel vision."

Surface Consciousness - Between Surface and Substance

Reading Notes:

"honesty of material" - surface is a conscious expression of the qualities of the materials used to construct it

study in a context where material integrity is irrelevant, using digitally produced images, comparing digital models to physical models

conforming to style reduces architects from creative makers to informed copyists

conceptual art is being questioned beyond its more superficial qualities and critics have started to look deeper for the real substance and form to art, in relation to architecture

idea over art leads to relationships between projects described, in which mathematics is the bridging factor that unites their formal qualities

Gaudi and the Sagrada Nave Roof

the roof is embellished and detailed with great effort; however, the complexity of the surface texture masks the simplicity of a second order Euclidean geometry that uses mathematically predictable hyperbolic paraboloids

therefore the construction of the form is actually relatively easy, although the anticipated product appears far more complex

exterior - easily constructed ruled surface, interior - because the roof must have a thickness, the interior, an offset ruled surface is not a ruled surface also, and must be treated as a different condition

so the move from perfect mathematical geometries face difficulty in practical applications; real materials have thickness, and so either the interior or the exterior, cannot express the ideal geometry of the other side does

Paramorphs

transfer from one schematic design team to one digital production team involves a reassessment of the form being proposed

mathematical matching and manipulation of cylinder and cube led to the design of a reading room for a library

resulted in a system of louvers with a dynamic surface quality, in which different configurations lead to a varied external expression of the room's surface

Perplications (Non-Euclidean)

cross foldings between complex repetitions

treating thoughts an ideas as an interwoven interactions of subconscious desires, ideals, and intellect, rather than a linear passage of continuous trains of thought

the image or representation is a snapshot of a particular configuration of those interactions

in the mind

Hyposurface (Non-Euclidean)

the design of a wall that would not be possible without digital technology

surface that moves and reacts to stimuli, comparable to a living nervous system

an attempt to model a skin that experiences a wide variety of conditions, between a flexed tautness and a dynamic, bent or curved contour

Reflection:

This article starts out by pointing out and questioning the place of style in architecture in a contemporary setting: what is the value gained in marking your work as an architect by attaching a certain style to buildings or structures?

The article criticizes a tendency for the superficial appearance of a building to monopolize on a building's worth or design validity, and instead asks for a more critical examination of the processes by which buildings are constructed, especially in using digital technology that is paving the path for the architecture of the future.

The article goes on to describe computational means of deriving form, where mathematics and the immense computing power of today's technology can give rise to a whole new methodology and approach to the way that built structures are conceived and ultimately erected. It goes on to describe a series of projects that demonstrate this recent wave of philosophy and thinking on the topic.

I think what I most agree with is the need for architecture to be constantly assessed in terms of structural and surface construction; since it is so intimately related to the available technology of the age, it makes sense that building technologies stay up-to-date with newer, more economical, efficient ways to build with new materials and construction procedures as they emerge. I think the points that trouble me slightly are the fact that technology moves at an alarmingly fast rate, and this can adversely affect the subsequent architectural products in a number of ways: if advanced too quickly, there is not sufficient time to assess the long-term effects and reaches of an architecture that is constantly changing and on its toes, if advanced too slowly, the changing practice of human technology and culture may outdate buildings and render them incapable to appropriate response to programmatic needs and human activity. I wonder about the conception of abstract forms that have spearheaded the contemporary architecture movement, and whether it is at a stage to be understood by the greater public of building users, and not just architects. It is society at large for whom we are designing after all; we should not be moving forward at a rate that far exceeds the sentiments of the human population that we serve.

Vigorous Environments - Reading Notes

Reading Notes:

prescribed meaning and functionality of design forms is no longer practical, pushing towards a design product more focused on process, qualities of spatial relationships, and development of dynamic surface forms. 

ecological design paradigm shifts from one of stable alignments and characteristics to "temporal regulation of generative processes"

spatiotemporal design processes attempt to address the problem of installing more permanent structure in an environment that is temporal and changes over time

"synergy and feedback as core functions of performativity"; the ability of structure and architecture to converse with its environment, and for technology to enable architecture to facilitate an adaptive response 

Umberto Eco states that the ambiguity of a work is what allows its openness to afford flexibility in response to external condition, "deliberate ambiguity"

proposes a field of possible orders, instead of one prescriptive type

multiple arrangements of the constituent parts, based on the user's preference

avoid conventional forms of expression and prescribed interpretation

in an effort to detach geometrical forms and associated interpretations, Ocean North attempts to fragment familiar geometries and form new spatial relationships that are not associated with a particular preconception or preconceived interpretation, "unfamiliar geometric composites"

Extraterrain furniture project - simple material surface with varied potential, but evades an "indication of proper use"

destabilized spaces and the heterogeneity of the material surface prompted the users to perceive its qualities differently in different environments at different times, with varying amounts of company. "territorial negotiation between simultaneous users."

contemporary solutions that seek to provide individualized products are still working with a mix and match technique of a finite set of choices; the goal is to break away from this method further, and instead move to a "dynamically evolving production of nonprescribed possibilities." 

Reaction:

My interpretation of the reading takes the generative process of the relationship between object and user as analogous to the neurons of the brain and the human adaptive response. Just as the brain learns new things and consequently creates neural connections that bridge the interaction between the new thing learned and previous knowledge, the architecture being described here is one where the preexisting condition or perception is not the foundation upon which relationships are derived; rather, an ambiguity or openness of interpretation and use creates new types of relationships that are detached from familiar forms or conventions. This is similar to the brain's ability to create new relationships of the phenomena that it observes through our senses and experiences.

Another statement I'm sensing is that the goal is now to create an architecture whose ambiguity is its redeeming feature, a sort of precise ambiguity, that allows it to perform a wide variety of functions, but also over a course of time in which environment changes. I'm a bit skeptical about this stance, though I understand the rationale. I wonder where the balance is struck between prescriptive form and complex, unexplainable geometries so that both practicality and intuition directed towards the possible functions and performances of built forms can be understood.

Animation Update

An image of the workspace from the animation I've been working on most recently. 

I've modeled two very simple objects (to represent shield and spear), and stopped them along key frame moments moving from left to right, that replicate the structure of movement from the 300 clip. Also, in red, is an outline of the camera's movement as it observes the actions I've plotted. 

So the objects and the camera position in relation to the objects has been determined; however, I have been trying to figure out how to render the actual animation, and struggling to figure out how to preview the actual motion. Once I figure this out, I'll be able to adjust the camera's angles and positions to correctly document the movements. In addition, I'm not quite satisfied with the shapes I've created, though they are acting more as markers at this point, and it's my first pass at the animation. I think they're a bit too literal in keeping with the 300 clip, and I'll be thinking of ways to abstract them more deeply.

Storyboard/Structural Analysis

Below is an image that breaks down the scene I will be trying to abstract and animate:

This top half illustrates the linear movement of events. The pattern breaks down into an alternating sequence of stabs followed by transitive movements such as pulling the spear back, or lifting it up to throw. It lines up the motions of the spear with the geometry of the shield (line and shape).



This is my first sketch that attempts to break down the clip into chunks that I can comprehend. Here, I've highlighted the spear and shield in particular to understand them as possible abstract shapes that I will model for my animation. The goal will be to take these moments in time and stitch them into a linear sequence.





In addition, I have also plotted an approximation of how the camera will interact with the subject. It is represented in a relatively simple line "graph" shown below:

The next step for me is to explore the animating software to execute the commands dictated by the analysis I've done above. I will be trying to do this at first with a simple moving object and mimic the camera's motion temporally and spatially.

Movie Clip Selection

For my movie clip selection, I will be looking at a scene from Ocean's Eleven. 

It is the scene in which Danny Ocean describes the details of the casino heist: in the movie, the events are occurring as he describes them. 

If you've seen the movie, you'll know what I'm talking about. I hope to have the clip up soon, updated to this post, as I'm working on getting a movie file. I think there's plenty of action with the filmmaking in this scene: switches in character and view, as well as an interesting composition of linear movement along spaces in the scene and following the various characters as they play out their role in Ocean's intricate burglary. 

**Update:
I have switched gears and decided to study a scene from "300" instead. This is the scene where King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) is fighting through a series of Persian soldiers, a particularly interesting scene in a cinematic sense (the link is shown below). Looking at the camera and its relation to the subject, the camera breaks down a series of King Leonidas's movements into moments of fast or slow movement, as well as closer and farther shots in the frame of view. These contrasting moments dramatize the action of the scene but also describe the very sculptural and choreographic nature of the fight scene. The subtle but smooth sweeping movements of King Leonidas's figure become an interesting sequence of images that are strung together using the medium of film.

Moving forward, I will be creating a story board of the scene, breaking it down into a series of images from which to animate one to the other. I think my focus will be on two parts of the frame overall: King Leonidas's arm and by extension his spear, and his shield. When modeled independently, can represent an abstract form.

This has always been one of my favorite scenes from the movie; the intensity is matched by the drama of the filming style.

300 Fight Scene - King Leonidas 

on Versioning: Connubial Reciprocities

Initial Reading Notes:

-surface and space are reciprocal and codependent entities

-reconciling between rationalist and empirical ideologies

-rational is about resolution, determinacy and exactitude

-empirical forms expressions and structural mechanics

-the reconciliation is embodied by taking the formal and structural effects of empirical product and approaching with the rational through precision

Syntax: Polyglotomy and multiple effects

-Renaissance and Baroque used poche to articulate solidity between a building's interior and exterior spaces

-facade is objectified, architects seek a formal purity to paste onto the mass of the building

-le Corbusier and the advent of modern architecture opens spatial condition and thins out the poche line that separates the mass of the building from surroundings; open plan

-surface is the essence of a building's formal and tectonic expression

-example: the manipulation of brick work and the formal construction of a brick wall can -express the load bearing qualities of brick in a new way

-new forms and surfaces are derived through this exploration of surface that critically questions the potential of materials which have just become materials as part of a palette of building construction choices

-Kahn manipulates bricks in an exacting way to create patterns that are independent of the brick function of serving in the structural system of the building

-Dieste does the opposite with concrete, but with similar approach, through exacting of concrete forms, he ties the form and structure together; the interior of the building is created by the shell that makes up the exterior surfaces

-skin and structure are interdependent and related

Synopsis:

     The essence of this post was to identify and clarify the processes behind which the construction and structure of a form has an inextricable relationship with the spaces and surfaces that they create, or ought to. Ponce de Leon and Tehrani emphasize and recognize works of architecture that demonstrate a deep understanding of materials and its implication on the tectonics of a building, and manipulating the material and its incorporation into a building's structural formwork to achieve a conscious effect relating the nature of the material, and its visual or experiential perception. For example, the implication of using the column orders to express the loading diagram of a building in the form of the physical structure is overturned by the trading in of new elements that do not represent strength or load bearing qualities, revealing a fallacy or deception in the structural expression. This leads to the exploration of a logical expression of surface through the character of the material of which it consists; this intimate relationship, once understood, invokes a deep and truthful understanding of the capability of materials, and how they can create the surface of a building, which in turn affects the space that it encloses or touches.

Pattern Render

More on Patterns

Applying some new surface transformations:
1) applying rotation to a line of control points: creating an undulating pattern that becomes more pronounced/disturbing to the smooth surface
2) rotation of hull in the perpendicular direction: mountainous texture that reminds me of the construction of topography along a smooth field

3) creating the grid, and manipulating the rows by offsetting each row by one piece and staggering their positions

4) manipulating the alternate rows in the perpendicular direction again, and rotating them to create yet a larger undulating pattern across the whole piece

a view of the surface as completed (refined rendering to come):

Project 1c - Pattern

Approaching forward progress by first revisiting the previous components of project 1, I went back to my object (Chevy Camaro) and tried to model a new part of the car body. This time I went ahead and made a simple shape based off the ridge along the hood of the car (I don't know if there's a specific name for this piece), highlighted below in orange:

After building this piece, I started to reconstruct a matrix, and I want to take a slightly different approach with the transformation. What I plan to do is make very slight alterations along a single line of transformation, and then replicate those rows, and manipulate them as rows perpendicular to that first line, in order to start creating the grid that will make up my pattern. Here's a process image, and I will have a more complete rendered image for Tuesday's class (left is original):

I rebuilt the original piece on the left for more control, and I will be experimenting with pulling individual points from the surfaces to create cavities along the movement of transformed pieces.

Versioning - Evolutionary Techniques in Architecture

notes_during read through

open models of practice: technique over image

freedom of discipline when understanding versioning as an attitude

borrow from film, food, fashion for use in design and vice versa: the interaction among problem solving work fields

computer has impact on construction practices and design methodologies, which ultimately affect traditional relations of power

horizontal integration of design transitions to vertical integration

removing the traditional notion of an archetypal solution; rather, versioning relies on a set of conditions, capable of evolving parametrically

specific formal means of production to address variable conditions

aesthetic is a result of the interaction between external influences on the object and the ease of manufacture or fabrication; a continuous feedback from a building's users that the design can adapt to is desired

architect takes on the role of translator of unforeseen relationships in both imagined and actual space

synopsis & reflection

     This reading takes on a similar sentiment to that of the Performative Effects passage: the general idea that I'm sensing is that architects and designers are realizing the potential of computer technology as more than just a tool for representation or for creating substance to the designs that we formulate in our minds; rather, the computer's immense computing power catalyzes our abilities to analyze design problems. Beyond the effect of catalysis, the computer liberates design thinking to levels that actively engage with sensibilities of design construction, and expands our possibilities of prediction and projection in the category of contemporary social and spatial discourse. Ultimately, these capabilities not only change the substantial nature of design, but the structure and power relations among disciplines in the field of creative design.

     In these ways, we can optimize our understanding of what can be physically constructed, what types of construction techniques can be challenged, discarded, or expanded upon, and how to most efficiently utilize methods of manufacture and fabrication to create architecture that transcends the superficiality of image, and addresses the most pressing notion of change. As we become increasingly aware of the rapid pace of change in our natural environment and the conventions and practices of society, architecture must seek to move in stride with those changes; no longer can we accept static and unresponsive buildings and construction methodologies that, upon completion, find themselves already outdated from their time of conception.

Blog Comment Posts?

I can't seem to comment on other people's posts... anyone else having this problem?

Matrix Transformations

For the matrix assignment, I worked using the side paneling surface of my car model, highlighted below:

Taking this piece into Maya, I explored a few different types of transformations; the transformations, however, are continuous from one type to the other, so the final form is completely different from where I started. Below are some images from the model scene:

 Transformation order: 

1) horizontal lengthening of the whole piece (x-axis left-right)

2) vertical manipulation along top edge

(y-axis up-down)

3) extrusion to augment the "bulge geometry"

(z-axis forward-backward)

4) folding the surface over itself

(lower points up, upper points down)

5) horizontal lengthening

The transformed pieces move in a snake pattern starting from the upper left, toward the lower right. The most interesting transformations for me were the extrusion and the final horizontal stretch after all other changes were applied. Once the bulge started to carve out a distinct region of space, I thought it would be interesting to fold the surface over itself; then I stretched it back out to clarify the spaces that were trapped in that fold. Here are a couple of snapshots of one of the pieces I found particularly interesting:

In this case, the two peaks that originally accommodated space for the tires of the car have become a part of this system, which most reminds me of two lateral wings intersected into a central planar surface; however, there is a tube of space that is trapped and hidden from view behind the planar surface which dominates the foreground here.

The Perspective Hinge - Perez-Gomez Reading

Reading Notes (during read through):

"tools of representation underlie the conception and realization of architecture"

projective tool as product of philosophical tradition

symbols embody specific historical and cultural values

architecture as a formal order reflective of the depth of the human condition

architecture as a poetic translation rather than a prosaic transcription

Architectural Meaning & Tools of the Architect

Gothic period - the creation of a city of God on earth, rhetoric and geometry driven construction process

Renaissance period - geometric physiognomy of a building is conjured and divined by the architect

Seeing and Being Seen

objective basis for beauty is cognition - 

Thomas Aquinas

vision related specifically to mathematics and used to grasp the physical structure of reality - Euclid

light of the heavens and experience of the human are united by the phenomenon of vision - Plato

act of perception occurs in the head, not between object and eye - 

Al-Hazen

humanity exists in the light of God

Natural Perspective to Artificial Construction

     I found this passage fairly confusing and was struggling to understand a holistic concept beneath all of the various examples and philosophies of different architects and philosophers; however, my general understanding is that the development and understanding of perspective as a reality of perception had a monumental impact on the way that architecture was conceived and conducted. 

     The accurate portrayal of perspective was tied intimately with the ambition to communicate truth, and questioned distinctions between architecture, art, and sculpture. The evolution of architecture from the mission to repair the distorting effect of perspective to the consideration of designing in perspective is reflective of a changing intellectual construct about the way that the human eye sees the world, and how the built form accommodates the psychological connections between the experience of space and the human condition.

Potential Performative Effects - Rahim Reading

Reading Notes (during read through):

technique as a driver for the architectural prod uct

mutual effects of technology and culture

"transmissions across lineages is the major source for cultural change"

material attributes of an object are linear and causal

internet as an example of the transformation of an identity once new uses and applications are discovered

contemporary processes allow for exploration of possibilities; processes amplify the distinction between the possible and the real

simulation and the contemporary process make actualization an ongoing process throughout the project

"matrix of possibilities coded into a specific, but flexible organization"

combinations of space use are redefined by a merging of programmatic solutions, which allow new possibilities and assign new meanings to spaces that can be reflected in the physical realities of the space

     The Rahim reading elaborates on two main topics: 1) the conversation between the advent of technology, its effect on culture and the design process, and vice versa, and 2) an analysis of Variations, a residential project in Islamabad, Pakistan, including a breakdown of the spatial organizations of the project. 

     In the first topic, the passage presents the point that the contemporary process has changed the way that we design, because the importance of the design has become the careful consideration of a multitude of options, and the need to explore many options to achieve a strong solution. Since technology has offered the freedom to do so, challenging the threshold between possible and real with regard to structure and building construction has become an increasingly prevalent consideration, and the versatility of space as well as the discrete and complex interactions between spaces and their functions are examined more critically, and with more vigor than ever before. 

     In the second topic, the reading summarizes many of the features of the residence to point out that the immense capabilities of simulation and realistic situational modeling allows an iterative design process to integrate all aspects of a project's design, and even to push further and discover unpredicted or unrealized adjacencies and overlaps in the way that spaces are used by their occupants.

Switching Gears

Feeling a bit confused by Rhino still, I decided to also give Maya a try.
Below are some images of a model I started on a different object (Chevy 2009 Camaro).
I think I'm understanding Maya a bit better; maybe it's just the interface, or maybe it's just because we started class working in Maya (I haven't had prior experience with either program before this course...).

Some of the new things I've figured out, although they still don't seem like the best ways to model the objects still:

_taking multiple cross sections of the car, and lofting them to provide a more continuous, detailed surface
_creating solid faces to the sides of the car by using the planar surface tool
_experimenting with beveling the edges of a cylinder to create a softly rounded contour to represent tires

Some of the things I'm still a bit stuck on:

_manipulating the outermost lofted surface's control points for a continuous surface from top of car to side of car (you can see a gap between the side faces of the car and the top; I used the planar surface tool and am not sure if that's how you create that connection properly)
_breaking down a planar surface of a NURB curve into the same type of grid that we can create with a typical rectangle plane

In these images below (especially the second one), you can see that I've modeled the front tires differently from the back tires; I think that moving forward, I will be focusing on this portion of the car, and I plan to develop this portion of the model in more detail this week, in preparing a matrix for the next assignment.

Skin and Bones - Vidler Reading

Some focal points of the Skin & Bones reading:

1. the implication of the fold - its transcendence past a physical form to permeate into ideas, concepts

2. the influence of emerging technology in architecture to redefine the exploration of form and fold

3. the response of the eyes and brain to an image, and the ever-changing perception of space through a picture plane: the image represented as a series of folds on a two-dimensional plane

4. illustration: the Baroque House as an analogy, a diagram that refers to the soul as a dark room into which thoughts and experiences permeate, and the analogy of the brain as a screen whose complexity is also characterized by folds

5. analogy of the screen and room, to music: a box and strings that oscillate: the continuing connection between folds in the figurative sense and physical folds 

6. folds as a connective system between two independent parts, the physical and the spiritual

7. evolution of architectural forms into non-platonic, bloblike forms that challenge traditional notions of structure: topological surface

First Model - Working in Rhino

Just getting started with a model of a jet in Rhino... still learning the program!

 *Updated images (2.6.12):
manipulating control points on side view to create the mass for the body of the jet

separate parts of the jet are modeled: the body as a network of curved lines, the wings as a vertical project of straight lines, mirrored across the central axis






still trying to figure out how to manipulate individual lines that were lofted from one section of the drawing to another.