STUCK ON ONE PART

How annoying! Wasted so much time. I came up with the shape that I want to manipulate, but I can’t manage to wrap my structural roof around the form. The whole design relies on this element. I have been trying to solve this for hours now. I’ll still keep going, but I am losing hope. Just doesn’t want to work with me.

I am still currently looking at ways to approach the site itself. I have decided to work with the entire export park precinct as discussed in my pitch report. Its a massive area. However, I don’t want to make the same mistake as I did last year, where I concentrated on elements that were not that important. I must constantly remind myself that I am doing FABRICATION, and my task and focus need to tie back in with that theme.

 

Anyway, this was my starting point. Its a quick sketch of what I am trying to aim for. Obviously it’ll be changed once i concentrate on specifics.

 

I used the same method I’ve been using on other models. To create the vortex I am manipulating circles at different points throughout curve. Sort of looks like a stomach at this point.

Here is where I am stuck. Bloody thing won’t wrap the shape. Tried everything I can think of. Used every rotating key possible. The reason its not working is because I haven’t figured out how to rotate around the different sized circles whilst maintaining the central point of these circles, as well as not rotating in every other direction – like it has been. Damn It!

Close, but no cigar. Who am i kidding, its not even close. Can only manage to rotate it along its own end point curve axis.

GRASSHOPPER TESTING

My aim here was to produce a vortex which i hoped to follow along a curve to give me a primitive view of my buildings exterior and structural form. However, I ran into some problems, and since this point I have changed my design somewhat. Using the techniques I learnt from the Gherkin experiment I was able to produce a manipulated form of a basic vortex.

Once I got to this point though, I was stuck for a while. I could isolate the points that I wanted the vortex curve to follow, but i couldn't figure out why my rectangles weren't travelling along the form I had created:



I expanded my rectangle sizes using the slider so I could see what was happening.



I knew it had something to do with the direction function. Turns out a simple addition to the rotate key made all the difference. Earlier on in the file I have the circle a direction of XY. Once i added the same direction to the rotation I was free of my hold up (which was ages, not going to lie):



I then lofted my form which produced this. This wasn't exactly what I wanted. I needed the rectangles to rotate over again to 90degrees so the form was sitting flatter:



All I did to produce this was to apply my rectangle size slider to the Y axis instead of the X axis:

This still wasn't exactly what i wanted, but it was close. I am currently trying to solve this rotation here. I need it over just a little bit more. I may leave it for the moment as my design has changed, but I think I need to add a 3D rotate key in there somewhere.

I am also struggling to get the spiralled form to follow a curve. I think I needed to concentrate on this part a little bit earlier, but that the great thing about Grasshopper, I can just add whatever in whenever I need to. I'll figure it, but for the moment i need to be looking at my varied design idea.

THE INSPIRATION

Early on in the semester I found these images that I thought I could relate to my design. We have been asked to 'movement' designs that relate back to our individual building types (shown in a previous post). Because my building type relates directly to the aircraft which service it, I think that the vortex and engine wake forms will provide a unique design prototype which will reflect the nature of the built form.




I really want to try and work this into the design. I have already played around with this form in grasshopper (I will post that shortly) as being the driver to my design. Obviously the form will be challenged and manipulated, but its good for a starting point.

These Baileys stands provide a 3d image of a possible built form, which are pretty interesting and cool:

BRISBANE AIRPORT - FREIGHT/CARGO TERMINAL

So, to catch you up, we needed to produce a 'pitch' report to explain what we wanted to do with our project. I chose to concentrate on the freight/cargo area within the airport. My research illuminated the lacking feature of this in Brisbane Airport.

One of our tasks was to rework the current masterplan. I chose not to drastically change this, however I did point to an increase in public transport around the entire airport zone, as well as an internal system of transportation. I also tried to utilise the close proximity of the Brisbane River by incorporating a canal system to ship freight out via shipping channels.

Here is a satellite image of Brisbane Airport:



A closer view of the export park/zone within the Brisbane Airport site:



My Pitch board:

A LITTLE BIT OF FOSTER

I decided to go ahead and try and teach myself Grasshopper. Try and try I did. After much annoyance and frustration i started to understand the concepts behind the program. Efficiently using it in my actual will be a different manner. Anyhow, I followed the explanation of the Gherkin in Zubin Khabazi's 'Generative Algorithms' book. It wasn't an actual tutorial, so I had to find out stuff on my own, which was a better way of learning the program to be honest. I have so good ideas about my own design now, incorporating some of the features i learnt into it.

The following 4 images are just a break down of the Grasshopper file i ended up producing for the gherkin in Rhino:

Here I have highlighted the final components of the form which appears in Rhino. One is a loft which illuminates the gherkin cigar form, and the other two images show the structural spiralling supports.

The Final Grasshopper file:

And its Rhino'd production:

PRODUCING INITIAL MODEL WITH LASERCUTTER

So for a quick exploration of Rhino I used the contour command to produce the cross sections which I can then dump into CAD and organise the layout which I then dump into corel draw for the laser cutter

FABRICATION

OK, so I am once again back at it. I have been lazy in posting and updating my blog, but I am here now. So this year in my masters course I have chosen to focus on fabrication. It will be hard work, as I am once again being introduced to programs I am not too familiar with. However, I shall prevail. At the moment I will be looking at Rhinoceros and Grasshopper to assist in my overall design output to produce a freight terminal for Brisbane Airport.

So, to introduce myself to Rhino I did a quick exercise which was suppose to incorporate Grasshopper, but I am not up to that stage yet. Here is a quick lofting exercise using curves that relate to my building type. I chose the resulting drag forces in an aeroplane which were taken from NASA's drag experiments and representations.