Units all increase in all axis as units become longer and progress throughout the system of 1 - 5. 1 being straightest and shortest unit, 5 being longest and most curved unit.
100131 - posting protocols
Good job on posting your units everyone. Its nice to see all your work on the blog. If you haven't already done so, include the written procedure for producing the unit with the photos. And of course, those of you who haven't made a post yet (Rony, Azhar) need to do that asap.
Please stick to the post title format I am using: "date(yymmdd) - title(all lowercase keep it short)" And add appropriate labels, you can see the list of all available labels by clicking the "show all" button at the bottom of the posting window.
Nearly everyone needs to be a lot more careful about framing and formatting photos. Whenever you are presenting your work (pin-up, blog, portfolio, whatever) do so with care. Photos should cropped and the background should be considered (we shouldn't see the edges of a black piece of foamcore for example). For these wood models, grayscale photos often look best. Joseph's last post is a nice example of good blog presentation. Let's keep the blog beautiful!
Please stick to the post title format I am using: "date(yymmdd) - title(all lowercase keep it short)" And add appropriate labels, you can see the list of all available labels by clicking the "show all" button at the bottom of the posting window.
Nearly everyone needs to be a lot more careful about framing and formatting photos. Whenever you are presenting your work (pin-up, blog, portfolio, whatever) do so with care. Photos should cropped and the background should be considered (we shouldn't see the edges of a black piece of foamcore for example). For these wood models, grayscale photos often look best. Joseph's last post is a nice example of good blog presentation. Let's keep the blog beautiful!
100130 - amir's units (v2)
Angle shift, and length increase as the units are numbered 1 - 5. They are all rotated about the same concave point within the molding.
100128 - injunction
It may be helpful to realize…that the primary form of mathematical communication is not description, but injunction. In this respect it is comparable to practical art forms like cookery, in which the taste of a cake, although literally indescribable, can be conveyed to the reader in the form of a set of injunctions called a recipe.
- G. Spencer-Brown
Laws of Form, 1969
An injunction is a command or directive. When working by injunction, a procedure (set of commands or directives) is specified and then carefully implemented. This mode of working is fundamentally exploratory because outcomes cannot be fully anticipated. It involves iterative improvement (recipe for baking a cake is followed, results are evaluated, recipe is adjusted to achieve a better outcome, and the cake is baked again). It is a technique for avoiding pre-figuration and extending beyond the expected.
Much of the work you are currently doing is by injunction; keep this in mind as models and maps evolve and increase in complexity.
CLUSTERING – PACK AND CONNECT
A cluster is a number of similar units gathered into a larger organization. In a cluster, characteristics of individual units are secondary to characteristics of the larger organization. For example, the origami units above connect in a networked pattern and the dahlia petals incrementally change size and proportion forming a gradient. Observe that patterns and gradients are not visible in a single unit; they emerge when many units combine.
Develop three unique clusters by packing and connecting five wood units. One cluster must connect all five unit types in order (1-2-3-4-5). Another cluster must connect five of the same unit type at one end of the family (1-1-1-1-1). And another must connect five of the same unit type at the other end of the family (5-5-5-5-5). In the same way that precisely identified geometries in the molding profiles inform a procedure for producing the unit; precisely identified geometries at the scale of the unit will inform procedures for producing the cluster.
Model the 1-2-3-4-5 cluster in Rhino. Create a top view, side view and a series of sections from the digital model. Compose these drawings on 18” x 18” sheet(s). Drawings must be 1:1 scale. There will be a Rhino tutorial on Saturday covering tools required to complete this model.
Go here for examples of cluster development.
MAP DEVELOPMENT
Continue developing dunescape maps according to feedback received in class. Focus on the meta-analysis (comparisons of directly mapped data) and on calibrating notations to form a field without gaps.
Identify three conditions critical in understanding your maps (two conditions from one map and one from the other). Name the condition with a new word, or neologism, that compounds two previously unrelated words. Some examples of this type of neologism from poet Paul Celan: hungercandle, doorcrack, copperglimmer.
- G. Spencer-Brown
Laws of Form, 1969
An injunction is a command or directive. When working by injunction, a procedure (set of commands or directives) is specified and then carefully implemented. This mode of working is fundamentally exploratory because outcomes cannot be fully anticipated. It involves iterative improvement (recipe for baking a cake is followed, results are evaluated, recipe is adjusted to achieve a better outcome, and the cake is baked again). It is a technique for avoiding pre-figuration and extending beyond the expected.
Much of the work you are currently doing is by injunction; keep this in mind as models and maps evolve and increase in complexity.
Cluster of tetrahedral origami units
Tomoko Fuse
Cluster of dahlia petals,
CLUSTERING – PACK AND CONNECT
A cluster is a number of similar units gathered into a larger organization. In a cluster, characteristics of individual units are secondary to characteristics of the larger organization. For example, the origami units above connect in a networked pattern and the dahlia petals incrementally change size and proportion forming a gradient. Observe that patterns and gradients are not visible in a single unit; they emerge when many units combine.
Develop three unique clusters by packing and connecting five wood units. One cluster must connect all five unit types in order (1-2-3-4-5). Another cluster must connect five of the same unit type at one end of the family (1-1-1-1-1). And another must connect five of the same unit type at the other end of the family (5-5-5-5-5). In the same way that precisely identified geometries in the molding profiles inform a procedure for producing the unit; precisely identified geometries at the scale of the unit will inform procedures for producing the cluster.
Model the 1-2-3-4-5 cluster in Rhino. Create a top view, side view and a series of sections from the digital model. Compose these drawings on 18” x 18” sheet(s). Drawings must be 1:1 scale. There will be a Rhino tutorial on Saturday covering tools required to complete this model.
Go here for examples of cluster development.
MAP DEVELOPMENT
Continue developing dunescape maps according to feedback received in class. Focus on the meta-analysis (comparisons of directly mapped data) and on calibrating notations to form a field without gaps.
Identify three conditions critical in understanding your maps (two conditions from one map and one from the other). Name the condition with a new word, or neologism, that compounds two previously unrelated words. Some examples of this type of neologism from poet Paul Celan: hungercandle, doorcrack, copperglimmer.
100128 - shachar's units
Unit Production Instructions
Cut piece no. 1 with 30 degree angle on the Z axis of the right side and a straight cut on the left side.
Cut piece no. 2 with 10 degree angle on the XY plane on the right side and a straight cut on the left side.
Cut piece no. 3 with 30 degree angle on the Z axis of the right side and the left side.
Cut piece no. 4 with a straight cut on the right side and a 10 degree angle on the XY plane on the left side.
Cut piece no. 5 with a 30 degree angle on the Z axis of the left side and a straight cut on the right side.
Attach pieces with 10 degree rotation, using the middle convex curve of the molding as a pivoting point.
Variations (In order of pictures):
2 . For pieces 1, 3 and 5, add a 10 degree angle on the XY plane.
3. Continuing from previous variation, for pieces 1 and 3 add another 10 degree angle on the XY plane on the other side, plus a 30 degree angle on the Z axis.
4. Continuing from previous variation, incrementally increase Z angle going from left to right throughout the unit.
5. Continuing from variation no 3, incrementally increase XY angle going from left to right throughout the unit.
100126 - critique partners
These will be the critique pairings for the first half of the semester. After midterm, we will evaluate whether to keep the pairs or switch them for the remainder of the semester.
Amir, Rony, Kyu
Sylvia, Kirsten
Shachar, Steven
Joseph, Justin
Sebastian, Azhar
Start familiarizing yourself with with your partner's project(s). We will do desk crits in groups tomorrow.
Amir, Rony, Kyu
Sylvia, Kirsten
Shachar, Steven
Joseph, Justin
Sebastian, Azhar
Start familiarizing yourself with with your partner's project(s). We will do desk crits in groups tomorrow.
100121 - scapeshift
Is it possible to go beyond metaphor and show that the genesis of both geological and social strata involves the same engineering diagram? Geological strata are created by means of (at least) two distinct operations. When one looks closely at the layers of rock in an exposed mountainside, one is struck by the observation that each layer contains further layers, each composed of pebbles that are nearly homogeneous with respect to size, shape, and chemical composition. Since pebbles do not come in standard sizes and shapes, some kind of sorting mechanism must be involved here…
- Manuel Delanda
A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History, 1997
This studio will be divided into three phases, all involving issues of landscape:
We will begin by analyzing sand dunes, a type of geologic landscape. Like all geologic landscapes, sand dunes are undergoing a constant process of transformation. An analysis of dunescapes will key into several fundamental issues of the studio including: time, unit variation, and processes of transformation.
SHIFTING SANDS
Using Google Earth, locate two dunescapes that have recognizable patterns but also have some internal variation. The two dunescapes must be clearly different from one another. Carefully observe the morphology of each one, considering issues such as: wind direction, windward and leeward aspects, ridgeline and valley configurations, the basic ‘unit’ of the dunescape, how the unit repeats, and how the unit transforms. Print an image of each dunescape on a 9” x 9” sheet.
For each dunescape, develop a map that tracks organization, variation, and potential transformation across the dunescape. Draw maps in Illustrator over images of the dunescapes. Read posts and study links on the studio blog for details on developing maps.
Print dunescape maps on 18” x 18” sheets. These may be tiled from 11” x 17” sheets.
Go here for examples of the final dunescape maps.
WOOD MOLDING PROFILES
Obtain enough wood molding material to fill an 8”x24”x24” volume. Profiles must be from straight baseboards, crown moldings, door moldings, window moldings, picture frames, chair rails, furniture, etc. See example images below:
All material must have similar, but not necessarily identical, profiles. First look for salvaged material, then if necessary, add to your collection by purchasing new profiles from a lumberyard.
Recommended sources for salvaged material, call ahead to check availability:
Build it Green, salvaged and recycled building materials.
Eddie's Salvage, salvage store that attracts brownstone renovators.
Demolition Depot, salvaged building materials .
In Rhino, draft the profile of each unique molding you have obtained. These drawings must be constructed from circles and straight lines only, no splines allowed! Construction lines, circles and lines not describing the profile of the molding, must be included in the drawings.
Each molding profile is a sequence of curvatures. These curvatures can be concave or convex, flat or steep. Transitions between curvatures can be smooth or abrupt. How do construction lines help describe these conditions? Construction lines must be distinguished from geometry lines with line-weight.
Print these drawings at 1 : 1 scale on 9” x 9” sheets. Arrange multiple drawings on each sheet.
UNIT DEVELOPMENT
Building on principles discovered in dunescape maps and molding profile drawings, develop a ‘unit’ from the wood molding profiles. Start by writing a procedure or set of instructions the unit production. The procedure must identify specific curvature conditions in the profile drawings and respond with a sequence of cuts and re-attachments. Incorporate oblique cuts and slightly rotated re-attachments. The procedure must specify a series of at least four 1/16” diameter holes to be drilled completely through every individual molding part.
Re-attachments will be glued. A unit must fit in a 4” x 4” x 4” volume. Once the procedure is written, build five units each using slightly different angles for oblique cuts and reattachments and slightly different configurations of drilled holes. The variation in the five units should reflect variation in the dunescape units.
WARNING: Carefully inspect all salvaged wood for nails and screws before cutting!
READING
Each of the three phases of the semester will include required readings. They will be discussed in class and your participation in these discussions will be part of your grade. Readings will present challenging material, but they will be relatively short and foundational to the studio. The first set of readings will be discussed in class Mon. Feb. 1; they are available for download from the blog.
Stan Allen. “Diagrams Matter”. Any, No. 23.
Gilles Deleuze. “Rhizome vs. Tree”. The Deleuze Reader.
Manuel Delanda. “Sandstone and Granite”. A Thousand Year of Nonlinear History.
- Manuel Delanda
A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History, 1997
This studio will be divided into three phases, all involving issues of landscape:
- production of a landscape
- analysis of the landscape under environmental and conceptual criteria
- an architectural intervention on the landscape in the form of a roof / enclosure structure
large-scale morphology
Gobi Desert, satellite image
small-scale morphology
surface of a sand dune
We will begin by analyzing sand dunes, a type of geologic landscape. Like all geologic landscapes, sand dunes are undergoing a constant process of transformation. An analysis of dunescapes will key into several fundamental issues of the studio including: time, unit variation, and processes of transformation.
SHIFTING SANDS
Using Google Earth, locate two dunescapes that have recognizable patterns but also have some internal variation. The two dunescapes must be clearly different from one another. Carefully observe the morphology of each one, considering issues such as: wind direction, windward and leeward aspects, ridgeline and valley configurations, the basic ‘unit’ of the dunescape, how the unit repeats, and how the unit transforms. Print an image of each dunescape on a 9” x 9” sheet.
For each dunescape, develop a map that tracks organization, variation, and potential transformation across the dunescape. Draw maps in Illustrator over images of the dunescapes. Read posts and study links on the studio blog for details on developing maps.
Print dunescape maps on 18” x 18” sheets. These may be tiled from 11” x 17” sheets.
Go here for examples of the final dunescape maps.
WOOD MOLDING PROFILES
Obtain enough wood molding material to fill an 8”x24”x24” volume. Profiles must be from straight baseboards, crown moldings, door moldings, window moldings, picture frames, chair rails, furniture, etc. See example images below:
example molding profiles
All material must have similar, but not necessarily identical, profiles. First look for salvaged material, then if necessary, add to your collection by purchasing new profiles from a lumberyard.
Recommended sources for salvaged material, call ahead to check availability:
Build it Green, salvaged and recycled building materials.
Eddie's Salvage, salvage store that attracts brownstone renovators.
Demolition Depot, salvaged building materials .
In Rhino, draft the profile of each unique molding you have obtained. These drawings must be constructed from circles and straight lines only, no splines allowed! Construction lines, circles and lines not describing the profile of the molding, must be included in the drawings.
Each molding profile is a sequence of curvatures. These curvatures can be concave or convex, flat or steep. Transitions between curvatures can be smooth or abrupt. How do construction lines help describe these conditions? Construction lines must be distinguished from geometry lines with line-weight.
Print these drawings at 1 : 1 scale on 9” x 9” sheets. Arrange multiple drawings on each sheet.
UNIT DEVELOPMENT
Building on principles discovered in dunescape maps and molding profile drawings, develop a ‘unit’ from the wood molding profiles. Start by writing a procedure or set of instructions the unit production. The procedure must identify specific curvature conditions in the profile drawings and respond with a sequence of cuts and re-attachments. Incorporate oblique cuts and slightly rotated re-attachments. The procedure must specify a series of at least four 1/16” diameter holes to be drilled completely through every individual molding part.
Re-attachments will be glued. A unit must fit in a 4” x 4” x 4” volume. Once the procedure is written, build five units each using slightly different angles for oblique cuts and reattachments and slightly different configurations of drilled holes. The variation in the five units should reflect variation in the dunescape units.
WARNING: Carefully inspect all salvaged wood for nails and screws before cutting!
READING
Each of the three phases of the semester will include required readings. They will be discussed in class and your participation in these discussions will be part of your grade. Readings will present challenging material, but they will be relatively short and foundational to the studio. The first set of readings will be discussed in class Mon. Feb. 1; they are available for download from the blog.
Stan Allen. “Diagrams Matter”. Any, No. 23.
Gilles Deleuze. “Rhizome vs. Tree”. The Deleuze Reader.
Manuel Delanda. “Sandstone and Granite”. A Thousand Year of Nonlinear History.
100120 - jorinde voigt
Though I have included her website under the 'links' heading I think this work is so inspirational, beautiful, and relevant that I want to dedicate a post to it. Jorinde Voigt's drawings deal with speed, volume, and movement. They relate performance to geometry and they are explicitly about variation in time. These drawings are not about fixing a form or image, but mapping transformations through time.
Clearly this is not the type of purely spatial data that normally comprises architectural drawings (see Stan Allen, "Diagrams Matter"). To convey physically intangible information like speed and movement, Voigt has developed notational systems (look for close up views of these systems on her website). Notations can convey information about magnitude, relative position, duration, angle, etc. Sheet music is an example of a notational system.
Musical notations are a shared language that passes information easily among those who have learned to decode it. On the other hand, Voigt's notations are a unique invention. Looking at her drawings for the first time, one doesn't know all the details of how to read them. One needs to understand the conventions of the system before the drawing can be fully decoded.
So how does this relate to your sand dune mappings?
Well...in order to map information about organization, variation, and potential transformation in the dunescapes you will have to develop your own notational system. Work through these steps as you begin the drawings, develop notations to address some (not necessarily all) of the following issues:
First, it is important to map how the morphology of the dunescapes changes across space. Most dunescapes can be broken down to a unit – a particular shape that repeats across the field. If you have chosen your dunescape well, this unit will be transforming across the field. It will be getting larger, stretched out, more folded, or transforming in a different way. Devise a notational technique to map this change across the dunescape.
Second, look at how the dunescape as a whole is organized. What type of general dune morphology are you dealing with? It is a ridge and valley system? Is it a node system? How does the overall organization change across the field? What is the difference between the windward and leeward exposures? What makes one dunescape organization different from another?
Third, allow for the potential to speculate on how the dunescape might transform as it is exposed to the wind. We know generally that dunes move sort of like other waves, but we do not have time-lapse images (as far as I know) to monitor this movement. So instead, rely on the transformational principles you have gathered in your research to make an informed speculation on how your dunescapes would transform.
images via jorindevoigt.com
Clearly this is not the type of purely spatial data that normally comprises architectural drawings (see Stan Allen, "Diagrams Matter"). To convey physically intangible information like speed and movement, Voigt has developed notational systems (look for close up views of these systems on her website). Notations can convey information about magnitude, relative position, duration, angle, etc. Sheet music is an example of a notational system.
musical notations
Musical notations are a shared language that passes information easily among those who have learned to decode it. On the other hand, Voigt's notations are a unique invention. Looking at her drawings for the first time, one doesn't know all the details of how to read them. One needs to understand the conventions of the system before the drawing can be fully decoded.
So how does this relate to your sand dune mappings?
Well...in order to map information about organization, variation, and potential transformation in the dunescapes you will have to develop your own notational system. Work through these steps as you begin the drawings, develop notations to address some (not necessarily all) of the following issues:
First, it is important to map how the morphology of the dunescapes changes across space. Most dunescapes can be broken down to a unit – a particular shape that repeats across the field. If you have chosen your dunescape well, this unit will be transforming across the field. It will be getting larger, stretched out, more folded, or transforming in a different way. Devise a notational technique to map this change across the dunescape.
Second, look at how the dunescape as a whole is organized. What type of general dune morphology are you dealing with? It is a ridge and valley system? Is it a node system? How does the overall organization change across the field? What is the difference between the windward and leeward exposures? What makes one dunescape organization different from another?
Third, allow for the potential to speculate on how the dunescape might transform as it is exposed to the wind. We know generally that dunes move sort of like other waves, but we do not have time-lapse images (as far as I know) to monitor this movement. So instead, rely on the transformational principles you have gathered in your research to make an informed speculation on how your dunescapes would transform.
100115 - encroaching dunes
Like all geologic formations, sand dunes move. Unlike most geologic formations, they transform fast enough to see in human-scale time frames. This blog post from Through The Sandglass describes dunes that are invading communities, a serious problem particularly in regions of the world experiencing desertification.
Beyond the environmental issues here, what is most important to consider is that landscapes are transformational conditions produced by processes working on their surfaces and in their depths. Any landscape, whether urban, suburban, or geologic is undergoing constant transformation, seeing the transformation is just a question of looking at the correct scale.
ica, peru
Beyond the environmental issues here, what is most important to consider is that landscapes are transformational conditions produced by processes working on their surfaces and in their depths. Any landscape, whether urban, suburban, or geologic is undergoing constant transformation, seeing the transformation is just a question of looking at the correct scale.
100113 - sand dune morphology
There are several general categories of sand dune morphology including linear, dome, star, and crescent-shape. Read more about the types here.
Using Google Earth to scan the globe, it is relatively easy to find examples of different dune types (if you don't have it, download here, free version is fine). Make your own survey of the world's dunescapes. Select two you would like to analyze, and save an image similar to those below. Save the image in 4-6 sections and tile them together to get a high resolution image suitable for printing.
Using Google Earth to scan the globe, it is relatively easy to find examples of different dune types (if you don't have it, download here, free version is fine). Make your own survey of the world's dunescapes. Select two you would like to analyze, and save an image similar to those below. Save the image in 4-6 sections and tile them together to get a high resolution image suitable for printing.
badain jaran desert, china
dun huang, china
great sand dunes, colorado
white sands, new mexico
100113 - sand dune textures
The surface of sand dunes are amazing landscapes of wave patterns. They are micro-scale versions of the dunes themselves, shaped by the same aeolian processes operating at completely different dimensional (smaller) scale and temporal (faster) scales.
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