Mid Semester Break: Drawing Domes Continued

After finally getting the dome structure pattern to work it is time to try implementing it into a full structure over the existing Paddington central building form. More after the jump.
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First the domes were positioned over the existing building, efforts were made to locate key features at certain points over the existing structure.

The carpark section is to be a community area and emphasise the dome structure to its fullest, hence the form is almost completely unbroken over this area.

Moving up towards the main centre the domes become larger to accommodate the increasing area and the driveway entries. The termination of these domes at the site boundaries creates arched façades that have been aligned to accommodate the entrances to the site.

The points where three domes connect were also calculated and controlled, the idea was that ther would always be a low side so the water would not pool and the point where they connect are located over existing structural sections. This allows the existing spaces to function as they did so the project can unfold in stages.

This configuration layout doesn't disturb any buildings in the complex apart from the main two story building at the front of the site. This building will undergo significant renovations to the top floor to accommodate the majority of the projects infrastructure.

The post office building will connect to the dome structure by way of the parapet wall, there may be a slight collision issue on the very outer corner at the Latrobe Warmington end but nothing that will hinder the buildings operation at most it will cause minor disturbance while stage 1 construction is underway.

The cafe on the corner of Morris & Latrobe will also have minor disruptions but otherwise operations shall remain much the same. The service area and air-conditioning units atop the loading dock will undergo a removal/renovation so there may be slight operational changes to the cafe or it could be used as an opportunity to renovate into something new

The only other necessary change to the existing building structure is the removal of the lift core roof structure, the lift itself will remain operational but the infrastructure and data links atop it will ether be moved to the top of the domes or relocated to another optimal position depending on their purpose.

From the positioning of the domes I started trying to place my triangles of hexagons in there (if that makes any sense). This gave me the layout of my panels over the domes for me to start building from. Initially I tried tracing the lines with a sweep command, but it would only recognise a linear path so I would have multiple sweeps going all over each other. Aside from being a messy way of doing it it would take a long time to implement and even longer to change if it wasn't right. the image below is how far I got before I decided to give up and find another way.

So instead I went back to my triangle piece and started filling in the structure to replicate from there. This started to work quite well the results are below.

So the basis of the structure was there now to fine tune the panels and draw in the suporting main structure connections.

Sources: [Original Works]

Mid Semester Break: Project Implementation & Integration

This solution to my project proposal is designed to be implemented over time in stages. After the jump I shall go into detail over how the proposal will roll out in stages.
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So the idea behind this proposal is for it to be functional between stages and be able to be implemented over a period of time as the centre requires it / is ready for it.

The result of this is that the centre can continue its current operations to still remain a profitable entity. Staged timeline details follow.

Stage 1: Dome Construction

• Dome
  
  Construction of main dome structure; this includes all insulation control & circulation systems, all panels & operational control systems, all support columns connection details to existing structures.
  
  
• Insulation Reservoir tanks
  
  Insulation storage tanks installed to sub floor spaces, standard PVC water tanks use for ease of manufacturing, custom shapes may be required however structural integrity can be lowered due to decreased pressure requirements.
  
  
• Latrobe Facade
  
  Dome structure is cut to a vertical plane which intersects the top floor of the main building, the arches this cut creates fly over the existing entry roof structures to retain some outward recognition of the new centre. The second floor balcony area could be used as a relaxation or research space, or as an advertisement space for the centre, showcasing users creations and ideas, all salvageable materials are recycled or logged in the library and stored for use in a later project.
  
  
• Main Building Second Floor
  
  The second story of the main building is to be converted into the projects nerve centre this involves; implementation of the knowledge library, control systems for dome operations (insulation, heat evacuation, ventilation), Administration offices, project logs & public communication, meeting & discussion rooms (double as design studios until stage 2)
  
  
• Knowledge Library
  
  The knowledge library shall be housed on the second story of the main building, with the majority of hard access points located here, data storage is also located here, the libraries information is also available from mobile devices and online.
  
  
• Main Building Roof Structure
  
  The whole roof structure shall be removed and recycled or logged and stored for later use. If areas require sealing then barrisol stretch ceiling shall be applied. existing air conditioning units recycled or logged and stored.
  
  
• Main Building Lower Shops
  
  The existing lower shops shall be refurbished to accommodate the work above, existing shops not below the intersection do not require refurbishment, but could be.
  
  
• Street Hood
  
  Existing street hood in front of main building to be retained, reinforced around dome structures connection to it, upgraded to handle water run off from domes.
  
  
• Post office parapet wall
  
  Dome structure connects to main boundary parapet wall on post office building, impact on post office and building tenants should be minimal.
  
  
• Corner of Warmington & Latrobe post office
  
  The dome structure may slightly intersect the post office building, area to be modified to suit. Should have minimal impact on the businesses operation roof structure to remain during this stage.
  
  
• Cafe Refurbishment
  
  The Morris St corner cafe will require refurbishment when the dome is constructed, particularly the front area. the rear service area will also undergo alterations for the freight elevator to be installed at a later stage.
  
  
• Cafe Hood
  
  The street hood at the front of the cafe will require the same treatment as the othe street hood.
  
  
• Loading Bay Outdoor Area
  
  The area above the loading bay to be turned into outdoor balcony area, could be used by the cafe or as a public space. Existing air-conditioning units in the are to be recycled or logged and stored for materials library.
  
  
• Lift Roof Structure
  
  Existing lift core retained and lift kept operational, roof structure above intersects dome and is to be removed & recycled or logged in library, exiting communications infrastructure atop the lift core relocated as necessary or integrated into the knowledge library.
  
  
• Infrastructure for Freight Elevator
  
  This stage requires the modifications to the cafe area above the proposed freight lift, while this is being undertaken the necessary changes to the area to house the freight elevator shall be done to avoid a second disturbance in the future.
  
  
• Material Storage
  
  The lowest furthest section of the carpark area shall begin the materials storage area, all materials will be catalogued in the knowledge library to allow for easy remote navigation of supply's and ease of retrieval.
  
  

Stage 2: Design Studios

• Existing Shops Relocate
  
  The existing speciality shops to be relocated (onsite if possible) and spaces refurbished for use as community design studios.
  
  
• Existing Roof Structure
  
  The existing roof structure above design studios shall be removed & recycled or logged and stored.
  
  
• New Design Studios
  
  Design studios will consist of desks and materials to document and develop ideas to concepts for production in the centre, these concepts will be logged in the library and advertised in the space for willing participants to bring them to reality.
  
  
• Library Reference Centre
  
  The end space in this section shal be utilised as a reference section for the knowledge library for people working in the design studios to have easy access to the information they require for their projects.
  
  
• Introduction of Community Space
  
  the top level of the carpark shal start being utilised by the comunity for functions markets satalls or anything that the users require it to be, semi peminent structurs could be built from the stored materials frm stage one to kick start this, Mobile units to be utilised to allow the space to be dynamically adapted for different functions and situations.
  
  
• Soft Lab / Electronics Lab
  
  Prior to the workshop being built below the design studios shall be part workshop/soft lab for smaller projects to be accomplished, mostly electronics hacking and some simple furniture manufacturing, upholstery, sewing and the like can be undertaken in this space.
  
  

Stage 3: Workshop

• Woolworths Relocated
  
  Woolworths is relocated offsite, food and produce trading partially carried on in the space through the comunity centre with organised markets or integration of existing community markets into this space.
  
  
• New Freight Elevator & Access
  
  During woolworths refurbishment to workshop space the proposed freight elevator is installed allowing materials to be easily transported from the carpark storage sections below to the production floor in the old woolworths space, it also allows deliveries to the loading dock to be catalogued and stored easily to the lower levels.
  
  
• New Workshop Space
  
  The design studios workshop spaces are moved down to the new area in woolworths and further workshop spaces are created for more intensive tasks; wood working, metalworking, plastics, electronics, spray booths, cnc machines as well as disasmbly and recycling stations located at the back near the freight elevator for incoming materials.
  
  
• Community Space Activities
  
  As the project gains momentum the community space shall to, manufactured items from the workshop can be trialled or implemented here, mobile stalls & other spaces can be manufactured in the workshop and used in this centre or others like it.
  
  

Stage 4: Future Developments

• Existing Shops
  
  All the existing shops left out of the proposal can keep operating normally if they choose, the spaces could be renovated and harvested for materials, they could be re purposed into new spaces for the centre & community it is entirely up to the direction the project users and community want to take.
  
  
• User Created Intermediate Spaces
  
  all other circulatory spaces and extra space throughout the centre can easily be adapted and re purposed by the users as there is no weatherproofing or professional knowledge required for them to do so thanks to the superstructure these new areas can be dynamically adjusted to receive sun or shade and can be constructed out of the materials library.
  
  

Sources: [Original Works]

Mid Semester Break: Issues and Limitations

When I started this project I set out with 2 goals, the first was to use this project to increase my knowledge and proficiency in solidworks (a program that is equal parts wonderful and frustrating), and also to explore solidworks as an architectural design testing and implementation tool. My thoughts on how the project is going relative to those goals is after the jump.
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Goal 1:Learning Solidworks

First off, learning solidworks, that part at least has worked a treat, I am much more proficient at drawing and trouble shooting problems that occur. However I'm running into a massive limitation, solidworks is a very heavy program.

This screenshot wasn't taken at peak times, just during normal drafting where each movement and input was taking 10-30 seconds sometimes upwards of 20mins just for a rebuild. Needless to say this is quite frustrating, during rendering images however the CPU load was at a constant 100% and the temperatures went to 59°c (3°c below failure point) so excess cooling had to be implemented.

So learning about the program was a big tick, the second goal, to see if it is capable of being an architectural design tool, that's a little harder to answer.

Because I have run into so many issues with the speed of drawing and the overall complexity of the model my second goal has really suffered. I had intended to create a full animation of the operable panels on the building along with some fair flow studies of how the space would ventilate, but the panels were much harder to draw than I anticipated. They would require me to draw each individual panel which if I were to do I would still be doing in December, so I'm going to have to rely on a diagram and a bit of imagination to get that element across. Even the flow studies would take a week or so to calculate on a model that large, I was considering doing a small detail of the flow study but haven't gotten to it yet.

The second problem I was hoping to tackle was the structural simulation of the domes, to see if they would stand up. This one I am really sad about not being able to get to work. The way solidworks computes these problems is to create a mesh of the model that breaks the components down into bite sized chunks of model that it can then analyse. Prior to this subject I had been doing some stress tests for a modular system I have been designing. I was applying a force to a 35mm SHS about 1.5m in length with an array of holes cut into it, when I finally got the mesh to create (it fails to create if the setting or model aren't quite right) it took 2 days to calculate the results.

Unfortunately I couldn't even get the mesh to create for my dome structure, the problem seems to be in the way I have drawn the domes. If I had have drawn each structural member as its own part (attempt shown in the next drawing post) then I think the model could have dealt with it. But Since I had drawn just one triangle element and replicated and scaled copies around to form the structure the meshing always fails to create, and therefore it cant run the structural simulation study.

Fortunately I have run into this problem before and this is one of the reasons that I decided to go for simple dome structures over complex irregular shapes, because even without the structural modelling simulation it is a tried and proven structural shape. The only sections I would be slightly concerned about would be the points where three domes intersect and the cut sections around the perimeter.

Another feature I was hoping to play with was the thermal transfer simulation, which could be used to calculate how the dome spaces would heat up throughout the day and how effective the insulation and ventilation could be at counteracting and stabilising the area at a comfortable level. This was the feature I had most been looking forward to applying to a building because for me it is basically the basis of designing buildings.

Unfortunately the complexity of the model was again hindering my implementation of this feature, it failed to run on the full model. Prior to this realisation though I ran a test on a basic model of Paddington central, the result failed to complete because "solid bodies have melted". This was surprising as the model was designated to be made of concrete with the heat element apparently set to normal sun levels, as far as I know concrete doesn't melt in sunlight. So I wasn't quite sure what to do about that one, I think the error lies in my implementation of the study and its parameters.

Aside from all the studies not working for me, I think the idea of using these features to aid in the design of a building is a sound concept, just the experimentation of it would best be confined to a smaller building concept.

Next time I'll get it to work.

Sources: [Original Works]

Week 9: Building Form Ideas

I have been looking at geodesics for a while now, but I want to investigate if using the same arrangement of structural components over a more irregular form will achieve a better result.
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So to kick this off I first looked at constructing a simple elliptical dome to see how it performed.

This worked ok but there are some obvious problems, the structural components were a little too varied in length. I think this will cause problems later on as I'd like to keep things simple and easy by using the same sized components through out the dome.

Of course this issue could be rectified by increasing the number of panels over these areas, but I feel this is an inelegant solution and one that could end up in just a mish-mash of panels all over the place. Also such a technique could result in some panels being too irregular to be openable or waterproofed adequately

Not to give up to quickly on the whole irregular form idea I wanted to trial a few different forms for the skin to see how they could function.

The first I tried was an arched loft along the carparks length, the sort of worked, solidworks had some major issues with it though. it couldn't handle more than 3 profiles in the loft, so it kind of ran out of steam before I got to the main building. Also I wasn't completely sold on the structural side of things, it curves in one direction so it is strong enough but creating it out of shorter components might be an issue, and when it comes to the main building i think the size of the arcs needed to bridge the entire structure would be a little to large and tall, it's likely to be out of proportion with the current scale of the building.

I tried a few other variations on this theme and some elliptical domes (not pictured) but they just didn't have the right look about them, too many variables to adjust and too many collisions with the existing structure.

Then I tried a more regular dome shape (in plan) but bulged out the sides to created a toroid type shape. I thought this was rather promising as it allowed the existing building to be fully enveloped but didn't require the height and scale of a regular dome. For a little while I thought this was a good solution, but again, i wasn't completely sold on the structural integrity, I knew it would hold up (at least as a sing domed entity), but it may have required a centre support which detracts from the openness and free floating nature of the building skin.

There is also the problem of waterproofing the setup, with such a shape you end up getting a major pool in the centre of each toroid, which would either have to drain down that centre column I didn't want or it would require a flying roof over the top to enclose it all. Again I felt it was getting too complex, its fine for a single dome structure, but I was to be putting quite a number of them together which would have compromised them.

Sources: [Original Works]

Week 9: Superstructure Technology Intergration

Part of the reason I'm going to such lengths to draw a true working model of these domes is because I'm not really changing much inside the buildings. They are already functional spaces in for what they are currently being used for (shops & commercial premises) and my intended re purposing of these spaces will be quite an organic user driven and needs driven process. This process will happen over an extended period of time and will be documented by means other than in the model, but for this post I would like to talk about what technology I'd like to incorporate into the skin structure to facilitate the user experience inside.
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• Basic Structure
  
  The core structure of the domes will be created from PVC pipe, I've selected this material for a few reasons.
  
  Firstly, it's readily available, although the specific sizes may differ from what is currently manufactured, the process and infrastructure for manufacturing this product is already set up.
  
  Although it is not what I consider to be a sustainable building material It is less energy intensive to create and manipulate than that of steel or most other traditional building materials that could be suitable for this application. The tubes can be extruded and cut to length prior to construction, they shall be joined using PVC connectors in the same way you would plumbing
  
  
  
  
  Ideally I would love to build this thing out of wood but due to other functions that I would like to incorporate a few other features such as pneumatic insulation control, which I shall discuss next. In order to move the insulation freely around the structure its best if the supports were hollow, so wood is off limits.
  
  The main PVC structure will be somewhat protected from the elements and UV damage by the outer skin, but as it is a structural component the PVC will need to be UV stable and resistant to the brittling damage the sun can cause. Either an additive to the production process (ideally) or the completed structure painted or rendered (or both).
  


• Pneumatic Dynamic Insulation
  
  A little while ago I was browsing a book store in West End and I came across a solar architecture book, I really should have bought it at the time but didn't. Anyway in it a system was described where the windows of a building were double glazed with a cavity between them of maybe 100mm or more. This cavity allowed a vacuum system to pump it full of polystyrene balls (bean bag balls) at night to insulate it, then during the day when the window was needed for light the same system would extract and store the balls.
  
  I would like to propose a similar system for this project. The panels of the domes are to be hollow and able to be independently filled or emptied with polystyrene insulation to block thermal transfer and light transfer.
  
  This system could completely insulated the dome during colder winter nights and allow the sun to penetrate during the day, as well as offer the reverse in summer. This idea coupled with the user adapted spaces, would allow the users to dynamically control where is shaded and where receives sun & light.
  


• Openable Membrane
  
  Of course this insulation alone is not enough to adequately control the climate of the space, ventilation is required. To achieve this is quite difficult, the panels at the top where the hot air congregates are unable to be waterproofed effectively enough to allow it to move. So the lower panels shall be made able to pivot open to allow cross-breezes where required.
  
  
  
  
  The very top centre panel shall be able to be raised open to allow hot air to escape when required and the weather allows.
  


• Control System
  
  With all these dynamic components there needs to be some sort of control system in place to facilitate the harmonious operations of all these systems. Naturally a computer system would control everything but there would be some specifics and key components that require clarification.
  
  As mentioned above users can designate spaces to be kept in full sun or shade

Sources: [Original Works]

Week 9: Drawing Domes

I've already done a bit of research on how domes are constructed so now its time to start drawing them for real.
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I went through so many iterations to try and get a workable dome, it was crazy. Partially it was because I was trying to draw them in solidworks one way, by constructing and dividing great circles, but the program didn't like it and it was way to trial and error.

Eventually I managed to trick solidworks into letting me draw a true icosahedron, for some reason binding points to the surface of a sphere and telling them to be equal distances from one another did not work. And with that I began to divide the curve section above one of the triangle faces, this did not work either.

Success came when I realised the key was to divide the flat triangle face of the icosahedron equally and project them out to the spheres surface.

This is where the problems really started.

With the partial dome sketch drawn I then tried numerous ways of adapting it to the building model. Which I shall continue in a future post.

Sources: [Original Works]

Week 8: Presentation Results

We got our results back today reflection & discussion after the jump.
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So, we got a four.

It goes without saying that that's not what we were aiming for. I think it's mostly because we strayed from the criteria to present an idea in a format we thought would carry more weight.

Our idea of an over-arching fabric that ties the individuals need to the communities need

Sources: [Original Works]

Week 8: Solidworks

So As mentioned Earlier I've decided to trial Solidworks as a building design and documentation tool for my project this semester. Some discussion and initial results follow after the jump.
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so the main problem with solidworks is that you have to define everything, any physical object is either the product of an extrusion or revolution process, each sketch has to be linked to a plane, and the plans have to be fully defined by markers in the model. What's more is there is a hierarchy to the parts construction. An initial defining sketch for a part cannot use a reference from drawn elements lower in its file.

But im willing to overlook this drawing method because it also has some advantages. objects can be dynamically altered with dimensions, even from the documentation drawings, and the entire model will update to reflect the changes.

But the main reason I wanted to try this program is because it has very powerful structural simulation tools, computational flow dynamics tools, animation tools and the rendering engine is simply amazing.

I've been tinkering with it for a while and have become basically proficient in it but the fact of the matter is I'm taking a bit of a gamble. While I have performed the simulation tests and modelled things in the wind tunnel of solidworks before, they have always been small simple objects, and I've had all manner of errors spit back at me from the program. What's more is that even a basic flow analysis takes about 4 hours to render, simulations take a similar time.

Nevertheless I'm going to give it a go, and am interested to see how it turns out.

Sources: [Original Works]

Week 8: Site Documentation

The first task I have set myself is to create a fairly detailed model of the existing site, as the basis of my project is recycling and reuse, this will be one of the main influencing agents for my design.

After the jump are some Plans and pictures of the documentation process so far.
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This is just the fist stage of documentation, to achieve it I accessed the site plot data and contour information on the Brisbane city plan through my workplace. this information was then used to model the site and context terrain as well as the site boundaries in ArchiCAD.

Next to approximate the roads and footpaths of the immediate context, Nearmap Images were placed over the site data and traced, not ideal for the road placement but it is good enough for the purposes of this assignment.

Then for the actual building elements, I used a mixed method of visiting the site and sketching, taking photos and tracing from Nearmap to locate the main building elements.

Again this method is not ideal, I spent some time trying to track down a set of plans but was unable to get my hands on any and decided to just bite the bullet and get into it. For the purposes of this assignment though approximation will be good enough.

So in the end I've ended up with a (hopefully) Fairly accurate model of the bones of the building structure in ArchiCAD. However for this assignment I've set myself a goal of determining the viability of using Solidworks as a building design and analysis tool. I have been self learning the program over the last 1 1/2 years and am interested to see how the programs features and tools can be utilized to analyse and inform the buildings design. I shall discuss what I hope to achieve with it in the next post.

Sources: [Original Works]

Week 7: Project 2

So now onto Project 2, below is a breakup of the criteria with my proposal interspersed.
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SCRIPT

Following criteria are to evaluate your ability to strategically communicate an architectural proposal through a creative as well as logically and realistically constructed series of events in the form of a factitious story.

• Reality (12.5%)
  
  Have relevant contexts you can observe today been studied and well incorporated into your Architecture Fiction?
  
  So this criteria is all to do with the immediate context of the site, both socially and geographically, I hope to represent this in my final concept by having the building form relating to both the existing building form and a representation of the maker culture I hope to capture in the building.
  
  The social context I hope to draw from is one of re-use and recycling, hopefully taken one step further with the introduction of a maker culture to the area. There are a few sites already around brisbane (most notably in Southbank and the valley) where groups have set up hacker spaces (predominantly to modify electronic hardware & Prototype level 3D printing). These are spaces where like minded individuals can pool there resources and skills to achieve goals and projects.
  
  The physical context of the site and surroundings I hope not to disturb to much, as the building is quite a prominent landmark of Paddington. Also to be as ecologically sensitive as possible I believe it is far better to re-purpose and recycle what is there instead of demolishing and starting on a blank canvas (which is all to often the case these days).
  
  I intend to leave as much of the existing structure intact as possible all floor slabs and structural walls shall remain largely untouched. What I am planning to do is completely enclose the space in a weatherproof dynamic skin allowing user driven adaptation of spaces.
  
  
• Creativity (12.5%)
  
  Have background contexts extracted from your team’s scenario developed in Project One been refined and developed into a unique and imaginative plot for your Architecture Fiction?
  
  I think that the emergence of a maker culture and a dedicated space for community groups to interact and achieve is something that is lacking from the modern society we have developed for ourselves. Our work lives have become so defined that we almost get trapped into one role or one skill. I believe to lead a fulfilling existence our work environments, projects and skills should be as creative as we are. This space will allow anyone to come; learn, design, build, socialize, teach, or just watch.
  
  By having a free and open creative environment people can engage the top two tiers of individual needs esteem and self actualisation, a level that can sometimes be painfully out of reach for people in certain situations.
  
  Of course not everyone will play nice in this situation so there will need to be mediators and regulatory controls put in place to avoid all the obvious problems.
  
  

STAGE

Following criteria are to evaluate your ability to design an architectural entity that works. Your architectural entity can be considered as the main stage for your Architecture Fiction. Your story should be constructed so that it best describes the most important aspects of your proposal as well as your proposal should be a response to the future contexts that you are to communicate in your story.

• Purpose (15%)
  
  Has the purpose of your proposed architectural entity been defined in response to needs and desires of future citizens? Is the design response appropriate?
  
  In my mind, sustainability is the most important aspect of everything we do, if we want to survive as a species, then we really need to clean up our act. It alls starts with baby steps, education and co-operation are key, and I think this proposal satisfies both of these criteria. Although it's not education and co-operation specifically about sustainability it still has its ideas and principle at it's core.
  
  
  
  
• Navigation (15%)
  
  Has specific uses of you proposed space been studied and the circulation with and or access to the entity been studied and demonstrated? Is it evident in the design?
  
  
• Integrity (15%)
  
  Is a good level of structural and/or operational integrity and unity clearly visible in your design proposal? are suitable structures, details, materials and/or technologies used to construct your proposed spaces?
  
  

SCENES

This is to evaluate your ability to communicate the value and relevance of your architectural proposal. They can be best described as specific scenes in your architectural fiction.

• Presence & Identity (15%)
  
  Has the presence and relevance of the proposed architectural entity and its identity in its location (site) been considered with strong understanding of what it should provide and be known for?
  
  
• First-person Experience (15%)
  
  Has the experience of users been considered and effectively presented from the perspectives of users?
  
  

Sources: [Original Works]

Week 7: Presentation Reflection

We had our presentations on Friday and after the jump are a few reflections on how it went and what I think we could have done better.
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On the whole I wasn't happy with it, the presentation structure was a bit average I thought. It lacked the respect that a critique gives the presenter, the entire room was filled with a constant chatter so you had to talk over everything to the markers. That coupled with the fact that the two minute presentation guideline seemed to apply to no one but us.

It was a little disappointing.

Sources: [Original Works]