“I can’t believe it’s over,” was the phrase heard everywhere when the “training” and “workshop” programs at SpotCamp ended. It was clear from the enthusiastic faces of the participants that everything was not in vain: the students received a charge of energy from the masters of "advanced" architecture for further development and creativity.
SpotCamp is a brand new educational format. Far from the bustling metropolises, it strikes a balance between professional growth and leisure, while providing a deep dive into one of the hottest topics in architecture and design.
The main topic of SpotCamp 2014 was computational design. The lecturers and moderators were practitioners and researchers of this area, well known in the professional community - employees of Zaha Hadid Architects, UNStudio, Enric Ruiz-Geli's bureau, teachers from the IAAC Institute in Barcelona and Design Research Lab and Emergent Technologies of London. schools of the Architectural Association.
The first part of the training program was an intensive training aimed at learning one of the popular parametric modeling tools - Grasshopper, a plug-in for the Rhinoceros program.
The training was aimed at confident knowledge of the studied tools and design techniques, as well as at achieving a deep understanding of the logic of work in Grasshopper, thanks to which students will be able to create their own complex algorithms. The whole process of preparing the necessary documentation and the features of working with various industries were also taught. Much attention was paid to the possibilities of implementing the designed objects from various materials (wood, composite, artificial stone) using CNC production.
The course was divided into 3 parts: Grasshopper Modeling Basic, Grasshopper Modeling Advanced and Grasshopper Prototyping Basic + Grasshopper Fabrication.
The second part of the program was the beginning of the "advanced" level: students were engaged in the development of complex algorithms that combine several techniques, and the main attention was focused on in-depth work with data.
The third part was aimed at learning the basic techniques of prototyping. The students examined the process of creating layouts and preparing documentation for CNC production. In addition, the features of working with various materials and industries were studied.
During the second program of the course - "workshop" - teachers gave lessons on the use of popular parametric modeling and research tools in architecture and design for the implementation of future projects. For shaping, Maya was proposed - a fairly simple program to master: after a little practice, students could freely model shapes.
For the analysis of solar radiation, an algorithm was considered in Rhinoceros + Grasshopper with the Geco plugin. This algorithm allows you to get the analyzed model from the Autodesk Ecotect program for further work.
The students also worked with the algorithm generated using the Millipede plugin for the Rhinoceros + Grasshopper program. This plug-in allows you to perform structural analysis of a structure and visualize the forces acting inside it under the influence of a load, which allows you to explore the volumetric shape.
Eight project teams were formed for research work at the workshop. The main task of the students was to develop a project for one of four structural elements: a column, a node, a floor slab or a shell.
At the same time, it was important not only to create the required product as a result, but also to go all the way to a specific solution. Each group tried to create a “family” of related objects and, on the basis of it, arrive at the desired result.
During the workshop, 3 project presentations were held, each of which identified the pros and cons of a particular work and helped students choose the best solution for further development.
Commands 0 and 7. Development of the column
Team 0 developed the branched column design system, in accordance with the structural scheme in which they are used. Parametric schemes created in Grasshopper (the algorithm specifies the number of control points and branches of the column) are calculated in Millipede to obtain curves (visualization of forces at a certain column load), which are used for further geometry and design development.
Team 7 members chose several formative and design principles as a basis, on the basis of which they tried to derive a “family” of structures and assemblies ready for use in structures of different functions using various diagrams of the column construction and various methods of its application.
Commands 2 and 3. Development of the floor slab
Team 2 worked on an algorithm in Grasshopper to create an optimal surface that deflects in areas where the load is significant, and rise when the load is not significant. When changing the position of the supports, the students read the internal stress diagram of the floor slab from Millipede and converted this data into a surface.
Team 3 used one of the shaping methods to use the Millipede tool during the shape search stage. Students identified internal stresses in a simple element and, on the basis of them, were engaged in shaping, which made it possible to achieve an optimal shape.
Commands 4 and 5. Development of the node
Team 4 proceeded from the search for a modular element, on the basis of which a “family” of objects of different scales was created: connecting rods in a structure; connecting modules to each other and creating facade panels and developing their constructive function; an attempt to consider a knot as a connection of spaces.
Team 5 was guided by three principles in their research: spatial connection, pipe + pipe and pipe + plane connections. This project showed the variability of the given nodes, their work and conditional expediency.
Commands 6 and 1. Shell Development
Project Team 6 created a shell catalog through a shape search and analysis at Millipede. Then the students examined the resulting shapes according to two parameters - the amount of the cast shadow and the volume of the material, and as a result of the work carried out, the optimal surface was selected.
Team 1, based on the analysis, took the aspect of maintaining the stability of the structure as a basis. This decision influenced the shape: in addition to the vertical ones, side supports were designed for horizontal stability.
After the final presentation, the models of the designs of structural elements were printed on a powder 3D printer.
The final work of the teams was the assembly of the installation. The main design concept was to create a relief pattern that visualizes the forces acting inside the column under load. For production, a special algorithm was created in Grasshopper, which set the milling machine to the desired trajectory to create the relief.
The model was preliminarily divided into segments.
After manufacturing, the parts were assembled into an object identical to the project.
The art object is made of polystyrene.
Authors: Mustafa Al Sayad, Suryansh Chandra, Leonid Krykhtin. Featuring Vladimir Voronich and Maxim Malein
Feedback from SpotCamp participants:
“I got the impression that it is absolutely unnecessary to spend huge sums on studying abroad. The place is not the most important role. I am sure that this direction will develop in Russia, including thanks to the guys who met at Spotcamp."
Maxim Mikhailov
“For me, it was also the realization that you are not the only one so crazy. In our company, they start to look a little strange after the stories about parametrics and Grasshopper."
Artem Mavlyutov
“One of our teachers once told me that this workshop is the strongest he has ever taught. It is difficult to say how much confidence such words of a tutor of the Architectural Association can give a Russian student."
Anna Blinova
"Returning to Moscow evokes a feeling of impending change in my life, one about which I do not know anything yet, but which I look forward to with delight and anxiety."
Sergey Nadtochy
“What is SpotCamp to me? The opportunity to bring to life sketches and sketches, to make the transition from a purely theoretical plane of scientific research, writing a dissertation and articles into the field of practical shaping."
Konstantin Burlakov
"Now Grasshopper for me is not a collection of endless nodes and mathematical terms, but a very real, and most importantly, a rational design tool."
Madina Suyunova
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Drafting of the text: Anna Blinova.
Photo: Kirill Matveev, Elena Zhdanova.
Retouching: Kirill Matveev, Anna Blinova.
Graphics: Sofia Zhukova, Anna Kharchenko, Anna Blinova.
