CODE TO CRAFT – BEYOND THE VOXEL

The digital nature of post-industrial societies has profound implications for architectural design, documentation and construction. Digital tools and technologies bridge the representational divide between conception and realization, empowering architects to regain control of the design, fabrication and assemblage processes. This paper will discuss ideas and concepts to facilitate the fabrication of non-standard, context-specific, geometrically complex architecture and components. Two case studies exploring digital fabrication and metal casting will be described alongside implications for the fields of architectural design and construction

Computation and material practice in architecture: intersecting intention and execution during design development

 It is generally believed that computation and computer numerical control (CNC) manufacturing technologies empower architects by enabling better integrated architectural design to production processes. While this is a tantalizing prospect, there is no clear strategy in place for achieving this goal. Furthermore, the extent to which design, engineering and construction might be integrated around digital technologies is currently limited as the computational processes architects use for design exploration are not typically informed by material logic and the logistics of materialisation. My research explores whether computation and CNC manufacturing can support more informed design methods and better integrated production processes in architecture. I identify the critical factors involved in pursuing this goal and elaborate on an integral computational methodology capable of enhancing the bond between designing and making in architecture. My hypothesis is that digitally mediated design and manufacturing can strengthen the relationship between intention and execution by enabling closer engagement with fabrication during early design exploration, and by supporting more informed decision making via dynamic design representations with embedded material intelligence. This hypothesis has been developed and tested through project led research. Although different in nature, the three investigations I have undertaken serve as complimentary vehicles of discovery and evidence for my claims. Each investigation was devised and carried out in response to practical observations, a critical review of literature focu¬sing on historical and contemporary relationships between design and construction, and a series of precedent studies related to materially informed design computing. As a group they contribute to understanding how digital technologies might be employed by architects to enhance and expand design to production processes, and shed light on some of the technical, cultural and philosophical implications of a deeper engagement with materials and processes of making within the discipline of architecture. My research concludes that new kinds of interactive simulation and evaluation tools, and access to digital fabrication technologies, enables an accelerated generation, evaluation and calibration process during early design exploration. This mutually informed digital-material feedback loop makes it possible to rapidly develop acute material intuition, and consequently to conceive new kinds of architectural systems and materialisation strategies which could lead to better use of available resources, more innovative design and a stronger bond between intent and outcome through more streamlined design to production processes. The digitally supported materially informed methodology that I outline encourages a shift in design process and attitude, away from a visually driven mode of architectural composition towards material practice - an approach in which the self-organising logic of materials and the logistics of materialisation are used to actively inform design exploration, refinement and construction processes. My project based outcomes, findings and observations prompt re-evaluation of the conventional distance between architects and processes of making by highlighting the importance of deep material engagement and broad practical knowledge when utilising computation and CNC manufacturing technologies for designing and producing architecture

Effect of cluster size of chalcogenide glass nanocolloidal solutions on the surface morphology of spin-coated amorphous films

Amorphous chalcogenide thin film deposition can be achieved by a spin-coating technique from proper solutions of the corresponding glass. Films produced in this way exhibit certain grain texture, which is presumably related to the cluster size in solution. This paper deals with the search of such a correlation between grain size of surface morphology of as-deposited spin-coated As33S67 chalcogenide thin films and cluster size of the glass in butylamine solutions. Optical absorption spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering were employed to study optical properties and cluster size distributions in the solutions at various glass concentrations. Atomic force microscopy is used to study the surface morphology of the surface of as-deposited and thermally stabilized spin-coated films. Dynamic light scattering revealed a concentration dependence of cluster size in solution. Spectral-dependence dynamic light scattering studies showed an interesting athermal photo-aggregation effect in the liquid state.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figure

Intermediate phase, network demixing, boson and floppy modes, and compositional trends in glass transition temperatures of binary AsxS1-x system

The structure of binary As_xS_{1-x} glasses is elucidated using modulated-DSC, Raman scattering, IR reflectance and molar volume experiments over a wide range (8%<x<41%) of compositions. We observe a reversibility window in the calorimetric experiments, which permits fixing the three elastic phases; flexible at x<22.5%, intermediate phase (IP) in the 22.5%<x<29.5% range, and stressed-rigid at x>29.5%. Raman scattering supported by first principles cluster calculations reveal existence of both pyramidal (PYR, As(S1/2)3) and quasi-tetrahedral(QT, S=As(S1/2)3) local structures. The QT unit concentrations show a global maximum in the IP, while the concentration of PYR units becomes comparable to those of QT units in the phase, suggesting that both these local structures contribute to the width of the IP. The IP centroid in the sulfides is significantly shifted to lower As content x than in corresponding selenides, a feature identified with excess chalcogen partially segregating from the backbone in the sulfides, but forming part of the backbone in selenides. These ideas are corroborated by the proportionately larger free volumes of sulfides than selenides, and the absence of chemical bond strength scaling of Tgs between As-sulfides and As-selenides. Low-frequency Raman modes increase in scattering strength linearly as As content x of glasses decreases from x = 20% to 8%, with a slope that is close to the floppy mode fraction in flexible glasses predicted by rigidity theory. These results show that floppy modes contribute to the excess vibrations observed at low frequency. In the intermediate and stressed rigid elastic phases low-frequency Raman modes persist and are identified as boson modes. Some consequences of the present findings on the optoelectronic properties of these glasses is commented upon.Comment: Accepted for PR

The Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference of the Association of Architecture Schools of Australasia

The Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference of the Association of Architecture Schools of Australasia. Each paper in the Proceedings has been double refereed by members of an independent panel of academic peers appointed by the Conference Committee. Papers were matched, where possible, to referees in the same field and with similar interests to the authors

An energy centric approach to design - abstracting the material to co-rationalise design and performance

Not availabl

Context-specific lightweight structures in architecture

Not availabl

An Energy Centric Approach to Architecture: Abstracting the material to co-rationalize design and performance

This paper begins by exploring matter as an aggregated system of energy transactions and modulations. With this in mind, it examines the notion of energy driven form finding as a design methodology that can simultaneously negotiate physical, environmental and fabrication considerations. The digital workspace enables this notion of form finding to re-establish itself in the world of architecture through a range of analytic tools that algorithmically encode real world physics. Simulating the spatial and energetic characteristics of reality enables virtual “form generation models that recognize the laws of physics and are able to create “minimumi surfaces for compression, bending [and] tensioni (Cook 2004). The language of energy, common in engineering and materials science, enables a renewed trans-disciplinary dialogue that addresses significant historic disjunctions such as the professional divide between architects and engineers. Design becomes a science of exploring abstracted energy states to discover a suitable resonance with which to tune the built environment.  • A case study of one particular method of energy driven form finding is presented. Bi-directional Evolutionary Structural Optimization (BESO) is a generative engineering technique developed at RMIT University. It appropriates natural growth strategies to determine optimum forms that respond to structural criteria by reorganizing their topology. This dynamic topology response enables structural optimization to become an integrated component of design exploration. A sequence of investigations illustrates the flexibility and trans-disciplinary benefits of this approach. Using BESO as a tool for design rather than purely for structural optimization fuses the creative approach of the architect with the pragmatic approach of the engineer, enabling outcomes that neither profession could develop in isolation. The BESO case study alludes to future design processes that will facilitate a coherent unfolding of design logic comparable to morphogenesis

Kinetic Tensegrity Grids with 3D Compressed Components

This paper details a series of preliminary explorations into the concept of kinetic tensegrity grids that can respond to stimuli by changing their shape, porosity, and transparency. The research presented explores double-layer tensegrity grids that utilize 3D “compressed” components. A case study demonstrates their applicability to the formation of sophisticated building envelopes that can actively or passively respond to changes in the environment. A computational form-finding tool is introduced to study design variations in real time. This tool is shown to expand the design spectrum by supporting increased complexity and revealing unexpected design potential. This research is significant as it outlines a practical methodology for conceiving responsive building systems. In particular, it illustrates an approach that synthesizes design concerns with engineering and fabrication goals