Program and Design Development

So we continued with the sphere diagram to figure out where our programs will be located. We used the points where the circles intersected to locate the vertical elements of the building that will hold the floor platform, they also double as buoys that keep the station afloat and will also tie into the sky skin that monitors and encloses the entire system.

The active systems we have in mind involve the office and hotel rooms of the facility. We envision them as active pods that can dock into the station but are also free to roam off into the ocean. There are various motives for this, they can serve as sources of energy, leaving the station to gather energy and bring it back to the station to charge, like an army of batteries. It also has a human side to it in that researchers can link several office pods together and venture out for ocean research, or hotel goers can leave far out into the ocean to be alone for a moment of peace. We also want to create some kind of adaptive nature of the docking system than can allow for more pods to link into the dock in the future and allow for more docking space so the entire system can grow with time and adapt as see fit. The pods can also be programmed to act and drive themselves based on environmental controls learned throughout the age of the facility, for example where the highest wing velocities are located, where there is shade or sun during the day and how to align itself with currents to minimize disturbance to other hotel pods, like a network connected to each other cognizant of each others existence.

For the sky skin we envision it as a very three dimensional all inclusive system that solves all of the buildings needs in dealing with the outside. Energy Absorption, Ventilation, Shading, Lighting, etc. The system will involve a thick fragmented network of energy collectors that filter light into the spaces but also retain and absorb what is not retained. Active systems will allow them to align themselves for the most optimal angles and positioning eventually growing smarter over time.

In affect the project becomes a sandwich of stability amid chaos above and below, trying to be tamed with the help of technology.

Here is the conceptual diagram of how we arranged the vertical elements within the project:



Here is how it translated to the program and column placement:





There is a hierarchy involved within the vertical elements with the tallest and fattest being near the main gallery and the shortest and skinniest being towards the end where the loads are seemingly much less.

here's a side view to illustrate:




This is a conceptual sketch showing the envisioned section:


This is the sandwich system illustrated:




example of fragmented skin affect: image


This is a rendering of the floor system we have started so far:


This is an animation of how the buoy columns maintain a stable interior condition similar to shocks on a car:





Here is a simplification of our idea of the pods moving out and docking into the space as well:




this is how we see the skin elements understanding the sun's position:



Here's an idea about how they can connect to the edge of the station:

Programming

Concept Development

So i kind of went through this exercise of extracting some kind of form from the leaf image i saw and i took some screen shots of the process i went through. i think its kind of intriguing, there's still some research to be done in the area and I'm going to get some sources in the area of water lilies soon but i had to keep busy and i learned some things about the structural organization by going through this pretty formal gesture.

I tried to execute the same idea i mentioned earlier about how the concept can be about vertical members meeting up to hold an all encompassing skin that provides the shelter and can breathe for the building, there's also much talk of shade and ventilation, very similar to the leave's role in the natural environment.

Heres some progression shots and a quick rendering:

Aquatic Research

So I've kind of taken the route of trying to boil down aquatic plant life and derive my buliding concepts for this quarter from the various methods they've used to survive for the past thousands of years.

The most interesting picture for me was the ribbed underside of the giant water lily which in affect trapped air in multiple crevaces and organized small subcompartments in between rigit walls. I thought it was an ingenious system that can be transformed into an architectural language.

My reserach has driven me to some general facts about aquatic plant life that id like to organize here:

1. aquatic plants dont require the thick waxy outer flim (cuticle) that plants require since they are in constant contact with water, losing water isnt that much of an issue, therefore thier skins are more fluid and they are usually less rigid plants in general

2. water plants in general can afford to have a more permiable leaf system with more and more stomata since (again) they dont have to worry about dehydration constantly.

3. the purpose for large flat leaves is to distribute the weight of the plant for floatation. (I'm starting to think of a system or network of units that come together as a whole.)

4. the plants usually stay afloat by having air embedded into thier leaves or by actual pockets of air that they grow called aerenchyma


here an example of the ribbed underside of a water lily that traps air and spreads the weight:
























i think that this language can be reduced to verticle elements and a skin above that they hold in place. i think theres quite a bit of potential.

China Sketches

I never posted my sketches from China...

here's a few that i scanned recently and fixed up in Photoshop.

enjoy

Natural Inspiration

So I've been looking into water based plants for natural inspiration and i came across a bunch of little plants that work like sea stations since they don't anchor to anything and they just float.

Heres some names:

coontail
water lettuce
water hyacinth

the other main contender is water lilies but they are anchored, they are really still interesting in the mechanism of how they float and how the different varieties create forms.

underside
high edge

im gonna do some more research and figure out how it can be translated and boiled down.

Conceptual Sketches

So here are some conceptual sketches we have for our project so far.

None of these ideas are concrete, just a starting point.

also..

here's a world map to help us decide upon a site. We've agreed that it needs to be two hours away from some coastal region and should technically be within the equatorial zone...

map

enjoy!

Ehsaan (and now Owen!)

Assignment One

Hi guys!

Me and Owen are in a group for the space elevator studio. SURPRISE!

These two powerpoint pdfs are summaries of our research articles for the class.


mine
owen's


enjoy,

Ehsaan

A New Era Has Begun

Hi All!

So since the last time i posted anything (CHINA!) ive enrolled in a new class about "space elevators". I actually had one quarter in between summer and now (its called fall, we worked in Tijuana Mexico) but i didn't blog about it, i really should, that will come later, once i have the whole class's picture archive.

We are basically designing a spaceport that will have a ribbon extending into the cosmos where people can ride some kind of space bus and visit an altitude of 30,000 km look into outer space and ride back to earth.

Sounds kind of wacky but a lot of serious companies and goverment organizations have been throwing money at the idea considering the ridiculous cost of sending a shuttle into orbit every time.

This seems like its going to be interesting!

Above is a picture of what other people envision the future of space travel via "space elevators". Interesting eh?