Fractals vs Digital Fabrication

Since the last post on the 23rd October our students have been exploring how to materialise their research into fractals (which they generated with Mandelbulb3D). The conflict between endless geometry and finite material world creates a creative tension that pushes innovation in digital design and fabrication. From parametric equations to parametric design, students have explored fractals as self-generating computer images and attempted to control them, first through changing their variables and then by extracting the most appealing fragments and recreating them using Grasshopper3D . From pure voxel-based images to NURBS or meshes and to 3D printing, laser-cutting, thermo-forming, casting..etc… students are confronted to the limitation of the computer’s memory and processing power as well as materials and numerical control (NC) programming language such as Gcode.

Navigating through fractals, exploring their recursive unpredictability to create more finite prototypes is like walking through the forest and noticing a beautiful flower to design your next building – it helps to let go of a fully top-down approach to architecture, it encourages a collaborations with your computer and a deep understanding of machines and materials. It anticipates a world in which the computers will have an intelligence of their own, where the architect will guide it onto a learning path instead of giving him instructions.  Using infinite fractals to inspire designs helps instill infinity within the finite world – bringing a spiritual dimension to our everyday life. 

Below is a selection of our students Brief01 journey so far:

Manveer Sembi’s Aexion Fractal imported from Mandelbulb3D to Rhino and 3D Printed

Alexandra Goulds’ MIXPINSKI4EX fractal

Michael Armfield’s parametric exploration of the Amazing Surf Fractal

Michael Armfield’s parametric exploration of the Amazing Surf Fractal

Michael Armfield’s parametric exploration of the Amazing Surf Fractal

Henry McNeil’s Fibreglass modelling of the Apollonian Gasket.

Henry McNeil’s 3D printed support for his fractal

Henry McNeil’s 3D printed fractal imported from Mandelbulb3d to Rhino

Henry McNeil’s Fibreglass Fractal prototype from Ping-Pong and tennis balls

Ed Mack’s laser-cut Fractal Dodecahedron.

 

Ben Street’s auxetic double curved paper models

Ben Street’s single curved paper models

Lewis Toghill’s composite shells with Jesmonite, plaster, wax and fibre glass

Alexandra Goulds’ flexible timber node

Manveer Sembi’s paper cutting for double curved paper sphere

James Marr’s single curved wood node with rotational geometry for subdivided mesh geometry

Nick Leung’s 3D prints of the different recursive steps of a space-filling curve

 

Rebecca Cooper’s Fractal truss study on parametric structural analysis tool Karamba3D

Manon Vajou’s burnt polypropelene studies

Thursday 19th October Pin-Up

Diploma Studio 10 is back with 21 talented architecture students from 4th and 5th year working on the Brief01:Fractals. Here is an overview of their experiments so far after 4 weeks of workshops.

Sara Malik’s Dodecahedron IFS Fractal (with Julia set) modelling with a handheld 3D printing pen.

Sara Malik’s matrix of fractals using Mandelbulb3D

Ola Wojciak’s beautiful collection of Mandelbulb3D experiments using the Msltoe_Sym Formula with the Koch Surface.

Ola Wojciak’s beautiful collection of Mandelbulb3D experiments using the Msltoe_Sym Formula with the Koch Surface.

Ola Wojciak’s beautiful collection of Mandelbulb3D experiments using the Msltoe_Sym Formula with the Koch Surface.

Ola Wojciak’s first physical model expressing her fractals using ropes cast in plaster

Beautiful twisting L-System from James Marr on Grasshopper3D using Anemone.

Matthew Chamberlain’s Strange Attractors Study using a combination of Blender and Grasshopper3D

Matthew Chamberlain’s Strange Attractors Study using a combination of Blender and Grasshopper3D

Matthew Chamberlain’s Strange Attractors Study using a combination of Blender and Grasshopper3D

Matthew Chamberlain’s Strange Attractors Study using a combination of Blender and Grasshopper3D

Manveer Sembi’s Aexion Fractal Matrix with Julia Set.

Michael Armfield’s Amazing Surf Fractal on Mandelbulb3d

Lewis Toghill’s Fractal Matrix using the cyripple , KalilinComb, sphereIFS, Isocahedron and genIFS fractals.

 

Brief 2017-2018

Woodchip Barn, Hooke Park. and Wooden Waves, BuroHappold.

We are back after a year exploring Symbols & Systems, and an inspiring unit trip to South India, visiting the Hempi Valley and Auroville. This year our focus is on Fractals, not just as forms but as tools to understand how geometry can become infinite and how it can be built within the constraints of the physical reality. Fractals gives the opportunity to expand confined spaces, to let the mind fill the gap that reality had to stop. Therefore it also provides a great tool for the second brief, which is the Tiny Home movement, society’s need to create more compact, efficient homes to face the environmental and economical crisis. As per our previous briefs, we would like our students to build their projects, whether it is a giant fractal at a festival or an actual home within a space that would otherwise be left empty, we want students to raise funds and make, using digital fabrication tools combined with off-the-shelf material. Our goal is to continue training the entrepreneur-makers of tomorrow. Below is a breakdown of our briefs as they are being drafted:

• Studio A4 describing the briefs
• Slide Show Unit Presentation

Fractals in nature & structures

Unit trip to India studying the links between recursive structures, spirituality and aggregation

The Tiny Home Movement

 

3 Days left to help us with the Tangential Dreams Crowdfunding Campaign

Hello WeWantToLearn community. We’re going to Burning Man in less than a month!

Our project this year will be a physical manifestation of our collective dreams and is called Tangential Dreams.  It is a seven meters high temporary timber tower displaying inspiring messages from around the world, written on a multitude of swirling “tangents”.

We need your help to realise our project! There is only three days left to collect the missing £5,000 on our crowdfunding campaign to finance the many expenses associated with the creation of such an ambitious project.

Please click on the image below or use the following shortlink to share/help – everything helps: http://kck.st/28KlbPk 🙂

 

 

The project is a climbable sinuous tower made from off-the-shelf timber and digitally designed via algorithmic rules. One thousand “tangent” and light wooden pieces, stenciled with inspiring sentences, are strongly held in position by a helicoid sub-structure rotating along a central spine which also forms a safe staircase to climb on. Each one of the poetic branches faces a different angle, based on the tangent vectors of a sweeping sine curve. In line with this year’s theme, the piece is reminiscent of Leonardo’s Vitruvian man’s movement, helicoid inventions such as the “aerial screw” helicopter and Chambord castle helicoid staircase as well as his deep, systematic, understanding of the rules behind form to create art. From a wave to a flame all the way to a giant desert cactus, the complex simplicity of the art piece will trigger many interpretations, many dreams.

The art piece attempts to maximize an inexpensive material by using the output of an algorithm – (the value of the piece being the mathematics behind it, as well as the experience, not the materials being used). The computer outputs information to locate the column, sub-structure and tangents.  We believe digital tools in design are giving rise to a new Renaissance, in which highly sophisticated designs, mimicking natural processes by integrating structural and environmental feedback, can be achieved at a very low cost. We worked very closely with our structural engineer format, sharing our algorithms, to give structural integrity to the piece and resist the strong climbing and wind loads. There are now three “legs” to our proposal, each rotated from each other at 60 degrees angles around a central solid spine, to ensure the stability of the piece, similarly to a tripod. The tangents are not just a decoration, they act as a spiky balustrade to prevent people from falling.

We have a fantastic team for the project:  Philip Olivier, Eira Mooney, Maialen Calleja, Aaron Porterfield, Sebastian Morales, Antony Dobrzensky, Laura Nica, Karina Pitis, Hamish Macpherson, Jon Goodbun, Yannick Yamanga, Matthew Springer ,Josh NG ,Lola Chaine, Dror BenHay, Peter Wang, Charlotte Chambers, Michael DiCarlo, Sandy Kwan.

 

We want our structure to have an intangible aspect, a magical side, one that is beyond matter and geometry. We want to connect our art with every each of you and make you part of our own BIG DREAM, building Tangential Dreams.

 

We use physical modelling as a way to understand how the pieces fit together, the best assembly sequence as well as the structural integrity of the project. It takes time, material, money to create a truly original project.

 

Gif Animation of the assembly process. the project will take two weeks to pre-cut and assemble together with volunteers. We need your help for all the expenses.

 

 

Exciting rewards to thank you for your supports! from top left to bottom right: Pendants, Earrings, T-Shirts, Tangents, Vase, Ceiling Panels, 3D Printed Smoke Stool, Full Physical Model.

 

 

WeWantToLearn.net at Burning Man 2015

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I will learn.” Xun Kuang (312-230 BC)

WeWantToLearn.net at Burning Man 2015 – A video by Freddie Barrie

“We believe that Architecture should be fun and in giving our students the opportunity to build projects in the real world. We want them to dare to be naïve, curious, and enthusiastic,  to think like makers and to act like entrepreneurs, creating an architecture of joy. Burning Man is the playground for our dreams.” Toby Burgess and Arthur Mamou-Mani, DS10 Studio Leaders, University of Westminster

Team: Toby Burgess and Arthur Mamou-Mani (tutors), Tobias Power (Designer of The Infinity Tree), Jon Leung (Designer of Bismuth Bivouac), Lorna Jackson (Designer of reflection), Maialen Calleja, Andrei Jipa, Josh Potter, Aaron Porterfield, Aigli Tsirogianni, Alex Fotherby, Andrew K Green, Ben Brakspear, Ben lloyd Goldstein, Charlotte Chambers, Deepak Krasner, Eira Mooney, Eliana Stenning, Elizabeth Ripps, Felix Thiodet, Garis Iu, Jack Hardy, Jasmine Low, Jon Goodbun, Lianne Clark, Maria Sobrino, Martin Brien, Matthew Lee, Michelle Tanya Barratt, Neale Shutler, Phil Olivier, Ricky Chandi, Sarah Stell, Toby Plunkett, Tom Jelley, Elan laplain, Innes Shelley, Jake Spruyt, James Abbott, Jasper Sauve, Joe Leach, Julian Sauve, Klina Jordan, Joshua de Matteo, Maria Vergopoulou, Kris Leung, Ben Metcalfe-Penny, Willem Ossorio, Sebastian Sauve, Tim Hornsby, Tim Martin

Engineers: Format Engineering (The Infinity Tree and Bismuth Bivouac) Price & Myers (Reflection)

Special Thanks: BettieJune Scarborough, Ben Stoelting, Brody Scotland, DaveX, Harry Charrington, Thomas Ermacora, Betty Lam and to all our Kickstarter Backers.

Here are some stills extracted from the video:

 

 

 

19th October 2015 Tutorials

Hello Everyone – Back in our studio studying mathematical, biological and made-made systems using parametric tools and digital fabrication for our BRIEF01: EXPLORE. Here are couple highlights from yesterday’s tutorial showing the initial study models and drawings needed to explain the rules of the system and their creative possibilities.

Thin layered structures based on Japanese craft and the artist Shono Shounsai by Hamish Mac Pherson

Auxetic Structure from Paper by Alex Sommerville

The mathematics of moire patterns by Tom Jelley

Variations on Curves of Pursuit by Josh Potter

Extending the faces of Isocahedron variations creating interlocking structures by Aslan Adnan

Variations on interlocking hexagons by Vlad Ignatescu

Variations on interlocking hexagons by Vlad Ignatescu

Variations on interlocking hexagons by Vlad Ignatescu

Truncated Polyhedron shaped from the planar corners by Agnieszka Tarnowska

 

 

Brief 2015 – 2016

We are back after building three projects in the desert!

This year we would like our students to become Entrepreneur Makers, looking for funding opportunities to build projects in the real world.

Have a look at our 2015-2016 briefs and presentations below:

• A4 Presentation Page
• Presentation Slideshow
• BRIEF01: EXPLORE
• BRIEF02: ENTREPREND
• BRIEF03:EXPAND

Entrepreneur Makers Article in the last AD with Joe Leach’s temple for Burning Man

Reflection by Lorna Jackson – Picture by Andrew K. Green

Bismuth Bivouac by Jon Leung – Picture by Toby Burgess

The Infinity Tree by Tobias Power – Picture by Arthur Mamou-Mani

Three student projects completed at the Burning Man festival 2015

A quick update from Burning Man’s dusty “Playa” on which three Diploma Studio 10 students have built their academic projects together with a team of 60 volunteers from the University of Westminster and beyond. You can follow our Instagram account for more pictures of the journey and we will post more details and pictures on our return. Thank you so much for your support and hope that the projects will inspire you!

The Bismuth Bivouac designed by fourth year student Jon Leung

 

The Infinity Tree designed by fourth year student Tobias Power

 

 

Reflection designed by fifth year graduate Lorna Jackson

Thursday 14th May Cross-Crit and Future Cities

Some images of our final cross-crit of the year! Our students presented their Brief03:FutureCities. Have a look at how the next generation of architects envision the future of our cities.

Thank you to Andrei Jipa, Kester Rattenbury and Lindsay Bremner. Final sprint to the portfolio submission and end of year!

Eva Ciocyte – Aral City – As the earth gets too polluted to allow the growth of any edible crop, Aral City attempts to purify the soil progressively by building giant evaporative and inhabitable greenhouses.

Alex Berciu, The Algorithmic City, In the presented scenario, the natural environment in which human beings live today will no longer exist, having been replaced by fully computer generated habitation. As the Earth’s surface will have been largely damaged by pollution and natural disasters, the only solution for living pushed human society upwards in suspended structures developed through the technique of extruding concrete and drone assembly. Based on a growth algorithm that evolves with relation to continuous feedback gathered from climate data, structural qualities and population needs, the system can perform in any given location. in the generated structure, the algorithm places accordingly a selection of 8 typologies considered suitable for the needs of the future human society. These are: aliment production/farming, aliment storage, housing, education hubs, culture hubs, spiritual hubs, places of sin and production laboratories. Each typology is designed to fit within the modular grid and is placed according to density and distance rules. The ratio between the 8 typologies is also adaptable, responding to possible changes in societal needs.

Garis Iu – The Inflated City – Marine Pollution has become a growing plaque as plastics are accumulated into patches within the gyres around the world, damaging the marine ecosystem and entering the marine food web. As these plastics are not biodegradable, they continue to pose a threat to the marine wildlife as well as humanity. Centuries into the future, people have begun to seek for ocean colonization in an attempt to tackle marine pollution and the rising sea level. The Fluas is a self-sufficient city that realises the potential of ocean plastics as a source of reusable material. Situated within the North Pacific Gyre and consisting of clusters of floating platforms, the city is centred on the collection and recycling of these materials into elements of the city – in the form of pneumatic structures. As plastics are salvaged from the gyre, the inflated city continues to grow while its inhabitants live a seaborne lifestyle.

Garis Iu The Inflated City

Joe Leach – Cidade de Árvores
The Atlantic Forest in southern Brazil has long been viewed as a vast quilt of rain forest interspersed by small river outposts. The surging population growth has seen these remote settlements transform this ancient rural vision to an expansive city scale. Cidade de Árvores (City of Trees) envisions an environment where both the city’s infrastructure and its inhabitants maintain a symbiotic relationship with the surrounding natural environment. Built entirely from locally grown timber, the Cidade de Árvores exists as a network of steam bent beams, joined to form a structural space frame. Like the forest, the frame is allowed to grow and develop organically over time with inhabitants adding to structure to meet their requirements. The city is powered through the use of micro wind turbine electricity generation which manifests as a series of towers scattered throughout the forest. For the city and the environment to function in harmony, the city access routes manifest as elevated walkways around large courtyards, allowing light to penetrate to the forest floor.

Tobias Power’s Infinity Tree for Burning Man development

The Infinity Tree – Updated structure with the help of Format Engineers and Ramboll

The Origami City – Naomi Danos – This project seeks to develop a response to the combined challenges of natural disasters, the aging population and over-fishing. All three are closely connected in Japan. In Japan, where life expectancy is one of the highest in the world, 1 in 3 people will be over 60 by 2050. Unfortunately, Japan is also a country that has been hit by major natural disasters such as tsunamis, during which the vulnerable elderly suffered the most. Finally, in Japan fish is the main food source and over fishing may become a major issue in the future. Moreover, Japan has one of the highest percentages of labour force of people aged 60 and over within the fishing industry. I am proposing a self-sufficient, resilient city for the super-aging Japanese fishing community along the coast, as a response to these future scenarios. The structure of the proposal would not only act as a vertical evacuation point, and accommodation for the elderly and their families, but would also be used as sustainable fish-farming.

Naomi Danos, The Origami City

Lorna Jackson presenting her Burning Man proposal and future city for women only.

Diana Raican – Fractal BreakCity will act as defence and breakwater structures against tsunamis and floods. Benefiting of internalised creation of food, resources and objects, a trade based economy will emerge, while the cult of product marketing will shrink to its essential. The city is based on recursive aggregation: one geometry is repeated in a self-similar way to create a complex looking aggregation, following a fractal pattern. The system consists of one module, with structures of different scales according to their function, so that the bathroom will be the smallest box unit, the bedroom slightly larger and so on. The largest box unit at the center of an aggregated module, will consist of the communal and production based spaces. Cellulose mixed with water, can be 3D printed to create structures stronger than steel and will become structural elements for the city, while aerogel wall components (made of silica, which is found in sand, across the world) will clad each unit’s sides.

Jon Leung’s developments on the Bismuth Bivouac for Burning Man

Jon Leung’s Bismuth Bivouac updated render with latest development with the help of format engineers.

John Koning’s power generating Ron Resch origami city

Irina Ghuizan’s flying city

Toby Plunket’s Silent City in China

4th May 2015 Tutorials

Hello everyone, here are couple pictures from our last tutorial showing some of the best future cities that our students are currently working on in response to the Brief03:FutureCities.

From an open-source green city living in symbiosis with the Amazonian forest to a terra-forming city on Mars made from 3d printing robots carrying giant Fresnel lenses all the way to a rent-for-advertisement growing infrastructure covered with LED screens – we are look forward to discovering with you the cities of tomorrow from our wonderful and creative DS10 students next Thursday at the Interim Crit.

Joe Leach’s green city, built in harmony with the Amazonian forest, based on an open-source catalogue of beautiful curved wooden trusses

Alex Berciu’s Cellular Automata city providing an 3d Printed infrastructure for the people

Diana Raican’s Fractal City on the rising sea provides protection from Tsunami and a gradation between private and communal spaces.

Garius Iu’s inflatable curved origami city recycles the ocean’s plastic patches while providing a playful shelter on the rising seas.

Diana Raican’s Fractal City on the rising sea provides protection from Tsunami and a gradation between private and communal spaces.

Lianne clarke’s growing pixel city offers reduced rent for advertisement campaigns and provides LED clad cubes connected together with a plug-in cross system.

Diana Raican’s Fractal City on the rising sea provides protection from Tsunami and a gradation between private and communal spaces.

Lianne clarke’s growing pixel city offers reduced rent for advertisement campaigns and provides LED clad cubes connected together with a plug-in cross system.

Vlad Ignatescu is terra-forming mars with 3d printing robots that solidify sand dunes using giant fresnel lenses.