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3rd May Tutorials
Some pictures of our latest DS10 tutorial session. Less than 10 days before the final jury.
Above: Amazing IKEA-like construction manual for Marina Karamali‘s time bank headquarters in Athens, Greece.
Above: A building made of sand, wind and cow-blood by Jack Munro
Above: a growing and spiralling Tech-Hub in London from Chris Ingram
12th April Tutorials
Below are several pictures from our last tutorials.
Above: An impressively strong laser-cut model from Dan Dodds made of 2mm card. the small four-sided component which is repeated is based on this “space-packing” (leaves no gap) Archimedean solid: http://www.matematicasvisuales.com/english/html/geometry/space/truncatedoctahedrontessela.html
Above: A Grasshopper definition generating an entire building from Chris Ingram. This is for a growing TechHub around the Sillicon Roundabout.
Above: Floating Earth Island for the Twa tribe in Zambia by Kayleigh Dickson. The physical model is made from a steel mesh, a layer of waterproof cement and an earth and straw compound. PLants have started growing on the entire structure now.
FLYING HUMAN
“Bang Goes The Theory presenter Jem Stansfield is attempting to fly a human-powered plane.
Jem designed the plane which works on pedal power and has been doing intense training to prepare himself for the aircraft’s first – and possibly only – flight.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17754246
Great video!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tv/2012/04/bang-human-powered-plane.shtml
No man’s land Project
Cyprus 1974: A War
Since 1974 the political act of partition on the island has been manifested as a rapidly erected and expedient physical partition. The forced geographical separation of the two main communities of the island, the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, today have been developed back to back, creating two realities separated but joined by the third space, the Buffer Zone. Since then, the Cyprus Problem has remain unsolved and the faith of the land and properties laying inside the Buffer zone remains uncertain.
2012: Famagousta “The Ghost city of Europe”.
Every four or five years since 1974 the issue of opening the abandoned and fenced city, that lies inside the Buffer Zone of Cyprus, is brought forward. The discussion is based on the argument whether the city should be returned right away in its current condition to its inhabitants or it should be kept fenced for some years more in order to be restored and rebuild, since after 37 years of abandonment virtually all its infrastructure, if not the whole built environment, is not reusable and beyond repair.
The no-man’s land project is an architectural case study and a future challenge for Cyprus which is based on the hypothetical return of the abandoned and fenced city of Famagousta to its former inhabitants and beyond. It brings an opportunity for an innovative urban space. Different teams under the umbrella of the Project explore different scenarios for the future of the city worth to look at.
ECOVATIVE GROWN MATERIALS
Ecovative are a New York based research group who are growing a new material using fungi. The process uses an organic aggregate, such as seed husk or other agricultural / industrial by products, as its base. This aggregate is mixed with mycelium fungi and packed into a former to give it the desired geometry. Being a loose aggregate it will fill any former created. The mixture is then left for several days, over which time the fungi grows into a microscopic web of fibres which bond the aggregate into a solid mass. This growth requires no water, light or petrochemical inputs. Every cubic inch of material contains a matrix of 8 miles of tiny mycelial fibres. At the end of the process, they put the materials through a dehydration and heat treating process to stop the growth. This final process ensures that there will never be any spores or allergen concerns.
The company are currently exploring applications of the material in multiple industries from packaging and consumer products to architecture and automotive manufacture. They are also looking for potential partners with which to develop aspects of the material further.
More info: http://www.ecovativedesign.com/
Latex & Thread Skin Model 02
This model takes the Latex & Thread Skin Model 01 to a larger scale developing the minimal system and forming a 1:20 fragment of a potential skin. The result is an intricate but surprisingly strong web.
Latex & Thread Skin Model 01
This small scale model attempts to create cleaner intersections between threads of the minimal system by using latex instead of resin, previously explored. The latex forms a web like surface joining the threads smoothly. This model is made by cross referencing all points i.e. each pin is connected to all other pins by the thread. The latex is then applied and the model is then relaxed to allow the overlength of thread to form find its minimal path.
Algae Growth
Vertical growth/closed loop production has been developed by biofuel companies to produce algae faster and more efficiently than open pond growth. With vertical growing, algae are placed in clear plastic bags/tubes, so they can be exposed to sunlight on all sides. The extra sun exposure increases the productivity rate of the algae, which in turn increases oil production. The algae are also protected from contamination due the closed envionment of their growth.
This small scale experiment shows the growth of algae in a clear plastic tube of rainwater exposed to sunlight. An air pump is used to circulate the algae solution and to provide ample ‘dirty’ air including carbon dioxide. The rainwater provides nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus also required for algae growth. It can be seen that algae grows rapidly – in a matter of days – unlike seasonal crops.
BLOOD GLUE – FIRST EXPERIMENTS
Here are the results of my initial experiments in developing a blood based glue for used as a structural binding agent. Unfortunately the glue was not entirely successful due to its setting by water loss as opposed to chemical reaction. On to round 2…
