Week 5 - Assignment 1 Final Submission

Week 4 - Progress

My steps through Grasshopper to create my final product are becoming more apparent and clear as to the context of Experimental Modelling. I can see the ability that Grasshopper and parametric modelling software bestows, and am starting to enjoy it. It takes a lot of time to wrap my head around certain nodes within Grasshopper, as it is completely conceptual at times and requires some perseverance to see some random numbers and shapes turn into some masterpieces. 

Here is my Grasshopper Flow Chart at present. It is a bit messy, but I will clean that up in due time.

 

A rough guideline of what my iterations will focus on.

 

Some iterations in 3DS MAX.

Playing around with some cool textures in 3DS MAX to see which ones will complement my design the best.

Week 3 : Draft Poster

This is just a draft poster of my desired layout for my final poster and assignment due next week. I want to keep the colour scheme fairly simple, to emphasise the power of contour lines.

Week 2 : Sources of Information (Online Journals)

I managed to find a few journals that explore different aspects of contours.

The first journal is for landscape architects, and begins to understand the nature of contours and how they are formed in a natural environment.

Contours For Landscape Architects

This second online journal, by Brigham Young University, is a much more complex and in-depth mathematical perspective of contours, and the different context in which contours can be applied. They show contours displayed through landscapes and anatomical models. 

http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fciteseerx.ist.psu.edu%2Fviewdoc%2Fdownload%3Fdoi%3D10.1.1.49.1158%26rep%3Drep1%26type%3Dpdf&ei=-kVpT-acJsWiiAeaw9ChCg&usg=AFQjCNHUHytA5kavdnAkpPlW0cKCuhzLbQ

Week 2 : Sketches

These are some sketches that try and convey my concept of contours and layering, from which I can extract some key ideas and try to re-create them in Grasshopper.

Week 2 : Relevant Tutorials

Towers

The closest tutorial I have found at the moment that can assist me with my contours is this;

Rhino Grasshopper - Tower (1/2) - Massing - Video Tutorial

It creates layers, or wafers, from which I will attempt to modify to my concept.

Also, although this doesn't exactly use grasshopper, I know there is a node which I can use for contours that does a similar function to this;

Week 2 : Research

 Contours

 Contours form the foundation of the surface of every object in existence. They define the incremental steps of altitude that mask the exterior facing on landscapes, buildings and anything that requires an aerial view. There seems to be such power carried with these simple lines, which can dictate an entire mountain range with the stroke of a line.

Contours have many applications, and can be displayed in a variety of methods. In any case, the pictures below all depict their desired objects in a perspective that is unbiased of decoration, yet makes up for aesthetics and information through its dramatic simplicity.

I'm hoping to create slices of the contours, and modify them to include a network of dimples , which resemble the erosion of rocks as water passes over and creates localised eddy currents. If you refer to my week 1 rock pictures, you will understand the erosion I am referring to. The combination of contours and the intricate mess of dimples inside will develop a very interesting form and design from which I can refine.

 

Week 1 - Natural Systems

My aim was to find some really interesting patterns, shapes or forms which are present in the natural environment. We will eventually be translating this into a physical form, also known as biomimicry architecture, where the concept of a natural form is then extracted into the built environment.

Epitonium Scalare Shell

I find shells to be extremely fascinating, as they are not just a pattern, but also a spatially-effective object which protects and flourishes in dynamic environments.

Leaf Veins

Leaf veins (or veins in general) portray the continuation of life through distribution of nutrients to far-spread areas of a leaf.

Water Vortex

The water vortex is such a powerful natural form, within it appears to contain vast amounts of power and kinetic energy.

Rice Fields

The formation of escarpment through thousands of years of natural water and weather flow create an unbelievable pattern which leaves the environment with a unique signature. It is a macrosystem, capable of hosting millions of micro-system patterns within it, from the ecosystems it contains.



Rock Patterns

I found the creation of rock formations due to erosion to be one of the most interesting natural forms to me. The development and evolution of land as water flows through is dynamic and changes over time, and contours to the also ever-changing path of water. I love how it reflects the demands of nature, and represents the accommodation of the environment for external influences. This can be extrapolated as a physical entity freely manipulating to the characteristics of the interactive components that surround it. It also carries a sense of established confidence and subtle determination with its form, because it takes thousands of years to erode to contours like the pictures shown.  I would love to use these rock contours as a concept with which to start doing some extraction to 3D models.