Application

Spacial Abstraction

Grasshopper Script and Form

Grasshopper Scripts

Grasshopper Script without any Reference Objects

The Grasshopper plug in for Rhinoceros allows a designer to visualize the intricacy of the design process from start to finish. In this script, an object is created from nothingness, eventually allowing an interplay between two offset circles defined within the Cartesian Grid. By creating this series of objects without reference points, it can then be applied to a physical object, and ultimately a point-attractor could be interfaced with the composition.

Animation of One Slider

Animation of Rotation Slider

Some Thoughts / 2b

The space between surfaces, the rules that we follow in order to obtain objects, the very media that we use in order to obtain these objects are all dynamic. We can follow the rules of a program or we can bend them until they break. We can parametrically alter the space between two surfaces to the degree that overlap or great distance is easily controlled. The very essence of rules within architecture is that they are meant to be either followed or broken, and the latter seems to allow for more interesting results. The avant-garde, or rule breakers, have often been at the precipice of shaping the trajectory of the discipline for years to come. In our current paradigm, there is a dichotomy between the parametric and the mundane, one that highlights the struggle of economy versus intrigue. The Barclays center economically harnessed the power of parametric design in order to provide a building on a tight budget that is also a intriguing place maker.

With regards to the spaciality of Burry's Between Surface and Substance, the relationship between Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometries / rules is explored through a series of case studies. The Dunn reading examines various media for the creation of architectures, giving the reader tools with which to either break or follow rules. In the context of parametric design, rule breaking is in the pushing of the envelope to see what is possible to rewrite the book from within.

2a - The Perspective Hinge

Masaccio - Holy Trinity

Reexamining The Perspective Hinge through the lens of animation sheds new light upon the aesthetic of vision, framing, and architecture. It also alleviates some issues that one may have with theories of representation, giving a historical focus to the practice. "For architects concerned with ethics and not merely with aesthetic novelty, who seek the realization of places where a fuller, more compassionate human life might take place, that these mediating artifacts [drawings, models, animations, etc.] and tools be appropriate is paramount." The understanding of vision evolved through the classical and medieval eras, prior to the mathematics and geometries that grew out of the Renaissance. It was in this period that light, spaciality and framing became important. These qualities are visible in the realm of animation, not only in the way one positions the environment but also in the way one designs, particularly with respect to views. Architectural tropes were employed in order to frame the audiences understanding within their built environment. For example, the fenestration in Hagia Sofia hides the massive structure that holds the dome, elevating the religiosity of the space and altering the perception between interior and exterior. In a similar way the camera in an animation program can be controlled in order to reveal or deny view, giving the designer a greater understanding of their space prior to its realization. This realization, however, should pull from the imagination as much as from the software. When drawings become to instructional and the architect is merely a button pusher, the value of the built environment is found sorely wanting. Drawings and the buildings they produce serve a function, but functionality can sway between the beautiful and mundane. It is important to pull from the past when harnessing the medium of the present in order to more intelligently shape the future.

2a - Spiller and Burry

Neil Spiller - Towards an Animated Architecture Against Architectural Animation

The process of architectural animation too often homogenizes the uniqueness of the architecture that is being put on display; it results in a banal movement across vistas or along paths, degrading the intrigue or mystique surrounding the design of an individual building. This problem arises because of a seemingly static progression through a site or down a corridor, putting the minutia of the building on display instead of highlighting the "fluid multiple viewpoint 'snapshot in time.'" These snapshots in time or framed clips left pieces of the building in the 'dark,' giving the architecture a realm for imagination. In the realm of artistry, the most successful enterprises are those that leave the finessed details to the imagination of the beholder. In a similar way, the most unique and intriguing architectural animations leave the audience the ability to complete the story of what they are seeing. Animation as a tool for the representation of architecture is capable of producing stunning results, but it is equally capable of muddying the intent of the design. How can one harness this medium without adding to the cacophony of badly animated architecture?

Mark Burry - Beyond Animation

"In teaching architecture one often ponders on what today's student, released by the computer from the hours of hatching and other manual craft-based time-consumers prevalent in traditional architectural study does in their stead. What should we offer in their place, of equivalent usefulness and less excruciating time commitment?" The world of animation has the potential to release the designer from the tedious work of crafting details within drawings. We are freed to bring life to our creations by digitizing their being across a series of virtual Cartesian coordinates, creating infinite variability. Yet something is missing within the digitization of Our World; the answer to that age old question -'Why?' Yes, we should tackle this new medium of animation and define the animate, and the precision with which Burry accomplishes the translation between Phileban geometries is certainly laudable. Yet there seems to be a disconnect between the digitized translation of these geometries and the art of the "master-builder." How does the shifting of a cube to a sphere create better spaces for people to live - are these spaces animated without thinking about life? Are these digitized geometries getting in the way of our imagination?

Animation 2

Animation Attempt 1

Square cropped animation

Widescreen Animation