Category: LookingOutwards-03

Blog 3

Computational Design
Looking at the link to the pinterest board titled “computational design”, a lot of interesting and unique patterns are saved onto the board. Some are more geometric while others are more organic but they all seem to fit together as a whole. I often am pretty pessimistic and feel like I don’t learn as much as I would like to in classes and moments like these are nice because they show that I actually have. If you asked me three weeks ago how I thought that these patterns were created I wouldn’t have been able to tell you, but after learning the random line generation code I have a simplified idea of how they were made. It seems like a lot of interesting and efficient patterns can be made this way. Unlike people the computer can consider and compute an answer while considering tons of variables. For example structure, weight, direction, etc can all become complex variables that are called upon while creating a pattern like the ones we saw. A lot of these kind of look like those “futuristic” ultra light shoes that companies love making renderings of.

Looking Outwards 03: Computational Fabrication

This project is called Mygenchair by Teemu Seppänen An and it produces a random chair with different design every time with existing dataset of chair designs. The random and creative nature inspires me because it is continuously creating creative designs while not being creative. This program lets the computer, which has no creativity do creative work just with existing data sets. The algorithm is very complex because it creates a 3d object in great detail. The creator uses eiganface algorithm to identify the similarities and differences in chairs to auto generate chaid designs. Also, since the program subdivides mesh faces, the creator is able to create small details in design which adds complexity to normal 3d art. The creator’s artistic work can also be applied in real life very easily if he 3d prints the objects. The program is very impressive because it does the job of what multiple people would do: brainstorms, creates design, and produces.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/67342956900650454/?mt=login

Mygen Chair

Assignment 3 – Game

bouncy_ball_game
//David Vargas dvargas

var vVelocity =1; //direction and speed of ball
var hVelocity =5;
var x= 100; // x position of ball
var y= 100; // y position of ball
var diam = 35; //diameter of circle
var points=0; // number of points
var title = true; //title screen text variable


function setup() {
    createCanvas(200, 200);
    background(220);
    
}

function draw() {

    background(220);
    fill(150,160,240);
    ellipse(x,y,diam);
    textSize(15);
    text(points,width/2, 20);

    x += hVelocity; 
    y += vVelocity;

    // this makes ball bounce when it hits vertical walls
    if(x> width-diam / 2){
        hVelocity= random(-5,-1);
    } else if (x< diam/ 2 ) {
        hVelocity = random(1,5);
    }

    // this makes ball bounce when it hits horizontal walls
    if (y > width -diam/2){
        vVelocity= random(-5,-1);
    } else if (y < diam/2){
        vVelocity = random(1,5);
    }

    if(points>4){ //this creates the "you win" screen
        background(100,250,100,50);
        textSize(20);
        fill(255);
        text('You Win',width/3 ,height/2);
        noLoop();

    } else if(points<-4){ //this creates the "you lose" screen
        background(240,100,100,50);
        textSize(20);
        fill(255);
        text('You Lose',width/3, height/2);
        noLoop();
    }

    if(title){ // displays tile screen before mouse is pressed
        textSize(25);
        text('Click the Ball',width/6,height/2)
    }
    print('points='+points);

}

    function mousePressed() {
        if(dist(mouseX,mouseY,x,y)< diam/2){ //this changes circle direction after being pressed
        points+= 1
        vVelocity=random(-5,5)
        hVelocity=random(-5,5)
    } else (points+=-1) 

    title= false // title screen dissappears once mouse is pressed
    }

Looking Outwards Blog 03

Arclight: https://www.matsys.design/arclight

Andrew Kudless, the founder of Matsys, his design studio, focuses on material sciences to combine digital and physical craftsmanship. Projects the studio has released like “Arclight,” developed as part of the Sydney, Australia Vivid Light Festival in 2015, show off the exact connection between digital and physical that they strive to achieve. The interactive lighting installation mimics natural mangroves found in Australia and uses LED lights with various colors to light up the structures. While the actual structures are made of bent plastic sheets, the light seems to move up and down the forms in lines to create a dynamic installation. I greatly admire Kudless’ dedication to combining the physical and digital worlds in such a dynamic and entertaining way, as the algorithms used to construct the installation probably use LEDs connected in some way so that when the “string” of lights reaches the bottom of the structure, another begins. As someone just beginning to learn about lighting LEDs using Arduino boards, it is especially inspiring to think of the possibilities that await when combining physical architecture with digital developments.

looking outwards – 03 Section A

Chrysalis by Matsys (Andrew Kudless)


This piece is a static parametric object after a certain point of algorithmic generation that is supposed to represent a “chrysalis” of sorts made of barnacles. I really like how natural it looks, like a naturally formed coral of sorts, or just marine rock that is completely covered with barnacles. A computational medium actually seems perfect for this type of creature as they are inherently geometric in form yet uniquely distinct from one another.
From the video Kudless provides on his website, you can tell that he wrote an algorithm that has all the shapes of the barnacles set already being attached to each other, so the shapes changing are all relative to each other–they all change together. Thus, the physically fabricated product is a static rendering of a paused moment during this algorithm.
In lieu of what I usually love about algorithmic art is its capability of simulating spontaneity through a controlled form of randomization–a combination of pattern/regularity but with the “naturalness” of how uniquely arbitrary entities in nature are from their own species. So, Kudless’ sensibilities work perfectly with emulating the “generativeness” of how barnacles reproduce and exist and infusing that with the medium of sculpture to create an aesthetic beauty.

https://www.matsys.design/chrysalis-iii

Looking Outwards – 03

Rock Print is an architectural sculpture by Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich, and the Self-Assembly Lab, MIT constructed using robots. The sculpture was designed using algorithms that guide a robotic arm to place wire and low-grade granular material precisely so that the structure can be held up by only these two elements. I find it interesting as the structure uses material to form something that would be almost impossible without the help of robots. This material would normally be used as a base layer for other materials (concrete, asphalt, etc) to be put on top. It is interesting to see it being used in other ways that seem to contradict its normal usage. In the world of architecture, reuse is something we need to think about and have not thought about for a while. This project starts to consider reuse as it reuses material that could be considered scrap and it also has a simple deconstruction process that returns the materials to their original state by just unraveling the wire holding the structure together.
https://selfassemblylab.mit.edu/rock-printing
https://gramaziokohler.arch.ethz.ch/web/e/forschung/297.html

Looking Outwards 03: Computational Fabrication

A project I find particularly inspirational is “P_Wall” by Andrew Kudless (Matsys). I admire that it is a clearly patterned sculpture with a mathematical structure, but it has organic curves to it. I know that this is difficult to achieve because of a project I had done last year in my freshman year design studio in which a group of my classmates and I were to construct an environment with duplicates of small modules. It was difficult to form something that looked natural with pieces that were geometric, so I respect this aspect. This wall also reminds me of beef tripe, which is very soft and flabby, and contrasts the hardness of the wood used in the sculpture. I suppose that the algorithm that generated this structure was based on simple shapes and limited in size per hole. It was likely also randomized in its protruding curves or calculated based on ripples or waves seen in nature. Kudless’ artistic sensibility is seen in this piece, not just in the visually appealing pattern, but additionally in its size, which leaves the viewer with a grander impression and ability to experience the individual modules.

Image of the “P_Wall” by Andrew Kudless

LO 3: Computational Fabrication

I am looking at a concept model created by Zaha Hadid architects of a building
I think parametric modeling in architectural digital fabrication can create amazing building and structural designs. In the example of the model, I am intrigued by the way the shape moves and contorts as it moves up the building. It would be challenging to hand draw this model and with dFab tools, it is also easy to adjust the algorithm behind it to easily create new shapes. In architecture, the grasshopper software or similar software can be used to develop an algorithm that draws shapes and points in relation to each other so the inputs for each element when changed can easily change the entire model. In this model, the designer plays around with lines and curves and through their creative abilities, they created a design that curves in and out from the center axis of the building.

Looking Outwards 03

I’m not sure if my chosen project will fit exactly into the brief, but I’ve found its recency and its potential to be quite relevant. Cornell recently (4 days ago, to be exact) published an article on the world’s first 3D printed home. An industrial-sized 3D printer is used to pour layers of concrete in toothpaste-like rows. Each row builds upon one another to result in a fully inhabitable two-story home. Apart from the sparing of human labour, this hybrid manufacturing process produces minimal waste, and creates more resilient buildings. The project combines 3D printing technology with more conventional framing methods for the most sound structures. The introduction of this hybrid approach creates great potential for “mass-customized” architectural projects, where advanced fabrication methods strategically combine different materials. These emergent methods will hopefully be able to be scaled up to mixed-use developments and serve as a viable solution to housing shortages.

Looking Outwards: 03

Mingjing Lin’s parametric modeling in terms of fashion is fueled by her curiosity of the human body. Lin has created her own definitions of parametric thinking and design, which both pull inspirations from the human body: she refers to parametric thinking 2.0 to an “emphasis on the awareness of the human body,” where she creates parametric design in terms of it. Lin’s body-oriented parametric design is inspirational to me because it promotes inclusivity through an abnormal medium. The dynamic body, compared with the fluidity that is parametric modeling creates a new approach for fashion. As the industry is evolving to include body types that are beyond the standard, there is a greater need for more inclusive fashion. Through parametric modeling, fashion can be much more accessible to the masses.