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a product of process

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Archive for the 'Thoughts' Category

12JanOn Aluminum Superplastic Forming

As mentioned briefly in the previous post, SPF (superplastic forming) is a process by which a superplastic aluminum alloy is formed over a single surface tool using heat (500°c) and air pressure. While quite common in automotive and aerospace manufacturing, the deployment of SPF for architecture has been rather limited. Among others, The Financial Times Print Works and Sansbury’s Store Camden London, both by Grimshaw Architects have used this process.

There are several advantages to the SPF process that make it uniquely suited to produce complex, weather-resistant, architectural surfaces. First, the heat forming process is extremely accurate with very little variation between panels, particularly when compared to cold form processes such as stamping. Second, extreem relief and surface detail is possible. As a general rule, the depth of a panel feature can be up to half its width. With regards to detail, Heather reports the registration of minute details, offering the potential to produce richly textured surfaces. Finally, SPF is cost-effective for projects requiring ‘hundreds or thousands’ of components, lending itself to an architectural scale.

I will try to briefly explain the process: A digital model is created of an intended surface. Depending on the characteristics of the geometry and the production, a specific grade of aluminum is selected for forming. The forming process is simulated using finite element analysis to confirm geometric accuracy and to detect any problems before tools are produced. After the geometry is confirmed, a tool is produced either by CNC milling a solid block of aluminum, or, for larger production runs, a mold is milled and the tool is cast in iron. Depending on the geometry of the panel, a number of forming processes may be used. The most common are male forming, where the material is pressed over a male tool, drape forming, where the material is forced into a female cavity over a male tool, and female forming, where the material is forced by air pressure into a female cavity. More information is available from Superform.

Image: Material Elongation of Superplastic Alloys v. Standard Aluminum

in Between the Sheets and Thoughts. 5 Comments

12OctEmergence (Analog Generative System pt2)

In my research of ordering systems, I found the concept of emergent structures to be a relevant model for my own work. I will be posting images of my final model shortly.

Emergence (n) In philosophy, systems theory and the sciences, emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions. -Wikipedia

First Order Structures

At a local level, connections rely upon material elasticity in bending and torsion. The confluence of opposing forces yields stability at the unit-unit level. Therefore, connections with opposing bending and torque vectors will be highly stable (fig.1). This prerequisite for structural stability serves as the primary regulator of potential unit-unit connection types. Agglomerations of semi-autonomous bodies, or clusters, result from these conditions.

Second Order Structures

Clusters are best understood as ‘seeds’ with specific capacities to spawn further growth in the system. At this level, growth is regulated by input nodes and proximity to other clusters in addition to the aforementioned qualifiers for unit connections.

Third Order Structures

The system as a whole is also subject to performance constraints. Mass is accommodated by a density gradient, moving from the most dense at the bottom, to the least at the top. Directionality results from transfer of system-wide forces. Emergence, in this case, is a product both of the physical parameters of the unit itself and a system of behavioral tectonics that yield myriad growth patterns. The resulting complexity is characteristic of emergent systems and can be seen in natural phenomena such as termite mounds (fig. 2).

in Analog Generative System and Thoughts. 1 Comment

29AugOn Algorithm

An algorithm is a process of addressing a problem in a finite number of steps. It is an articulation of either a strategic plan for solving a known problem or a stochastic search towards possible solutions to a partially known problem.

-Kostas Terzidis

The most compelling proposition of Kostas Terzidis’ Algorithmic Architecture is the thought process introduced through the grammatical exercise of generating an algorithm. The rational definition of rules, constraints, or problems implies a rigorous methodology – relevant beyond mere translation into computational terms. In fact, an algorithm may be divorced from computation entirely, thus becoming a means of codification for analysis.

Using algorithmic processes as a framework for conceptual design forces a logical definition of a given problem. Through this process, one separates what may be quantified or definitively established from the more arbitrary or qualitative dimensions of the design process. This disconnect is not meant to subvert the validity of intuition or interpretation; rather it necessitates certain honesty, establishing grounds for critique. Thus a design solution can be evaluated against pre-established rules in a coherent, intellectual fashion.

The process of formulating an algorithm separates the numerous dimensions of a problem into discrete tasks. In doing so, it presents these tasks as performance criteria. Views, structure, solar exposure, ventilation, access, etc. provide a point of departure and inform the design process – conventional or computational. Measurable variables initiate a search for optimization and allow designers to make rational decisions about form.

Computation, in opposition to what Terzidis refers to as computerization, has two primary applications: form generation and form analysis. Terzidis is predominantly concerned with the former, which as of yet remains widely unexplored within the field of architecture. A variety of reasons are given for this condition, but I would argue that the key problem is interface. Computer scientists have developed advanced programming environments such as Ruby on Rails and Apple Inc.’s Cocoa to streamline tasks and increase legibility. Mathematica offers scientists, mathematicians, and engineers a powerful GUI and kernel. Processing affords artists and designers a simplified and comprehensible Java-based environment for generative and interactive work. More recently Grasshopper for Rhino and Paracloud have offered architects similar expandable toolsets. All of these are essentially interfaces for computation that increase usability and consequently, usefulness.

The second computational operation, form analysis, has rapidly gained prevalence in the fields of industrial design and engineering. Solidworks, Fluent and Catia to name a few, offer designers different ways of seeing and evaluating design decisions. The implicit potential for architecture is the promise of performance. Ideas may be tested, optimized and fabricated using advanced technologies.

The Point: The thought processes involved in developing an algorithm may be applied to conventional design approaches to considerable benefit. This process is as much a way of thinking as it is a way of executing computational models.

in Thoughts. 1 Comment

27AugTraversing the American Landscape (Inauguration)

A geographic relocation was the catalyst by which works-thoughts was conceived and initiated. To begin, this BLOG will operate as a metaphysical counterpart to the physical journey that brought me to Los Angeles and UCLA’s Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Design. As such, the shifts and fluctuations visible in the unfolding of the physical landscape are a metaphor for my current intellectual pursuits– while aware of the intended destination; the journey itself is an essential undertaking.

In the coming weeks, I will address a range of topics to establish the scope and direction of works-thoughts. Posts will initially be presented as topic-based short essays, formulating the category ‘thoughts’. The category ‘works’ will be comprised of projects and experiments and will be an active segment of the BLOG shortly afterwards. This dichotomy is meant to highlight parallel developments in ways of thinking and ways of doing.