March 2009 Archives

I don't know why!  Been in front of my laptop for the whole weekend, and don't have much to show (edited dwgs mainly).  Working now on how the main frame fits together in the corners (what a B****)

Going back to the circle.  The post tensioned cables are arcs of a circle, so I thought it could be interesting if the start to define the texture of the surface.  The basic premise of thick vs thin, is thick in the corners (story points), and thin in the center.  The first image shows the edge of the surface and one direction of tension cables.  The magenta profile affects the magenta structure lines etc. 

the two methods of introducing light 1) breaking the shell into two parts (which can then be linked to the transportation issue since the pannels as they are, are too large for trucks), or bricks, in which case the whole thing would be floated down the nile.  (the cuts in the blocks, are currently rectangular they need to be designed, not sure if its worth pursuing)

With the light creases generally determined, the next thing is to design the actual panels.  I've been looking at a bunch of books and images from the beginning of the year, and I keep coming back to baroque ornament.  The first image is showing a tension cable mesh, the second, trying to determine a possible language of ornamentation for the sides of the panel, which would draw the eye up to the story points.  The third image is showing how a light crease can be introduced and the light emanating from behind a heavily ornamented portion. Possibly most of the high points great treated similarly with extreme ornamentation which spreads out. 

The Light creases begin to deal with marble as drapery and create folds which hide openings that will allow the infiltration of direct light.  I'm now looking at how these cuts and folds can be generated.  Going back to the circles that generate the arches, I have developed them into spheres, and the creases occur when the sphere intersects with the boundaries of the space.  The top image shows one of the spheres and how it cuts into the surfaces, and the lower three are showing the intersections of all three spheres (three spheres since there are three arcs towards the top of the building)

Using the same form, I modeled it quickly and the result is interesting.  The intention was for the image on the left to be seen from inside, however the back proved to be interesting, so maybe the 'grid' is seen from outside and the anomaly from the inside?  Don't know, just a test.  I had a TS with John Noel, who suggested I come to a conclusion about density and 'meshing' through test models, so...  To model the negative to be cast each time will take ages, so I'm thinking about testing thickness vs. thinness and gridding as opposed to 'detailed effect'.  Thoughts?

following this mornings conversation, I was thinking about how much light would be needed to illuminate the interior.  I am primarily relying on the translucency of the marble to achieve this.  I also thought it could be interesting, if massive areas got 'carved out' and allow natural light in.  It is important that there are no windows, so if there are creases in the marble, there could be a cutout behind the crease that would let a wash of light in

a trial showing a possible tiling solution, from dense and small to larger and sparser.  At the moment the tiles are all the same in that they have a thick border and thin mid-area which 'enhances' the structural mesh