Scripting And Algorithm: Digital Applications In Architecture Mar-203

SCRIPTING AND ALGORITHM GUIDED BY

SUBMITTED BY

AR.FARAH NAAZ

ANUBHAV RASTOGI

AR.NAUSHEEN FATIMA

ARPIT JAIN FARJANA MD. ATHAR MANSURY

PRIYANKA SENGAR

ALGORITHMS

DIGITAL APPLICATIONS IN ARCHITECTURE MAR-203

2016-2017 M.ARCH 2nd SEM

 Scripting languages are mathematical solutions that are define by set of rules and based on parameters. It is a programming language that controls a software application .  Scripting provides a number of advantages when applied as a tool for architectural design. It gives the power of recursion and allows performing repetitive tasks in a faster and efficient way. Recursion provides speed for calculating large number of functions or operations that are of the same kind. It allows automating iterations, to construct complex objects or methods using smaller and simpler functions, which are repeated several times. •

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It involves the designation of software programs to generate space and form from rule-based logic inherent in architectural programs, typologies and language itself. Instead of direct programming, the codification of design intention using scripting languages available in 3d packages can build consistency, structure, coherency, traceability and intelligence into computerized 3d form.

Scripting in architecture denotes the use of algorithms to generate form, solve, organize, or explore problems computationally by using numeric data and variables to address problems. First eg. Was use of genetic code from biology that was formulated by Frazer (1995) on his research ‘Evolutionary Architecture.’ Evolutionary architecture proposes the evolutionary model of nature as the generating process for architectural form

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SCRIPTING

INTRODUCTION

ALGORITHMS An algorithm is a process of addressing a problem in a finite number of steps using logical

operations. It can also be a rationalized version of human thinking.

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According to Kostas Terzidis, “An algorithm is not only a computer implementation, a series of lines or code repercussions.”  Algorithms are represented either in diagrams as Flow Charts or by using computer languages in the form of Scripts or programs.  Thus an algorithm can be seen as a mediator between the human mind and the computer’s

processing power.  The ability of the algorithm to serve as a translator can be interpreted as bi-directional: either as a means of dictating to the computer how to go about solving the problem, or as a reflection of a human

thought into the form of an algorithm.  Spaces, numbers and processes that are conceptualized in architect’s mind are algorithmically and mathematically stored on computer systems and used as a generative tool to model building forms.

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in a program, or a language, it is also a theoretical construct with deep philosophical, social, design and artistic

HISTORY OF ALGORITHMS Historically algorithms have been used quite extensively in architecture.

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While the connotation of an algorithm may be associated with computer science, nonetheless the use The rationalization of the design process necessarily involves the use of structured, discrete, and well defined instructions for the accomplishment of design projects. While many definitions and models of design exist, most agree that “Design is a process of inventing physical things which display new physical order, organization, form and function.

 However, since no formula or predetermined steps exist which can translate form and function into a new physical entity, design has been held as an art rather than a science.  If design is to be studied as a process then a series of reasonable justifiable and consistent steps

should be established.

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of instructions, commands, or rules in architectural practice are in essence algorithms.

ALGORITHMS IN ARCHITECTURE DESIGN 2016-2017 M.ARCH 2nd SEM

In recent years, algorithms in architectural design have been able to transcend their role as

This has been made possible in a large part by the integration of scripting languages into CAD programs. ‘Algorithms’ output can now be directly visualized, and through digital fabrication methods, this

output can be built. This opens up a new role for algorithms as a design tool. As such, they provide the benefits of depth and breadth. On the one hand, their computational power can address processes with a scale and complexity that precludes a manual approach. Also, algorithms can generate endless permutations of a scheme.

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frameworks of formalization and abstraction.

ALGORITHMS IN ARCHITECTURE DESIGN A slight tweaking of either the input or the process leads to an instant adaptation of output. When

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functional and aesthetic level. Yet beyond this, a computational approach to architecture enables the generation of the previously unseen forms that can longer be conceived of through traditional methods become possible, thus opening up new realms.

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combined with an evaluative function, they can be used to recursively optimize output on both a

THE COMPUTATIONAL TURN • While previously architects were obsessed with the reduction of complexity through algorithms, today they are trying to explore complexities based on the generative power of algorithms and computation. • For architects and artists like Karl Chu, Kostas Terzidis, George LiaropoulosLegendre, MikeSilver and CEB Reas, scripting is the means to develop their own design tools and environments. The computer is no longer used as a tool for representation, but as a medium to conduct computations.

Algorithms provide a framework for articulating and defining both input data and procedures. This formalization can promote structure and coherency, while systemically maintaining full traceability of all input.. preset rules: line by line, generation by generation

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• It helped to expand the limits of human imagination. Hence what was inconceivable once is possible even enhanced by computeraugmented human thinking. • We are now witnessing a ‘computational turn’ that countermands the reduction of architectural praxis to the mindless perfection of modelling and rendering techniques. • Most architects now use computers and interactive software programs as exploratory tools. • All their work is dependent on the software they are using, which inscribes its logic onto their everyday routines.

ALGORITHMIC PROCESSES IN DESIGN

Brandon Williams/Studio Rocker, Recursions, 2004

Brandon Williams/Studio Rocker, Expression of code, 2004

• Brandon Williams’s design is a two dimensional surface. Modes of transposition determine how the abstract code, consisting of As and Bs,realises and thus becomes realisable as surface andstructure. • Obviously, the chosen mode of transposing code into its expression is just one of many possibilities. • Anycode’s expression is thus always just one of an infinite set of possible realisations.

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Aims at a better understanding and exploration of computation’s genuine processes and their potential for the production of architecture. It is fascinating to understand how complex architectures emerge from simple rules and models.

ALGORITHMS IN ARCHITECTURE

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ALGORITHMIC PROCESSES IN DESIGN It is fascinating to understand how complex architectures emerge from simple rules and models.

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EXAMPLESThe prime objective of the Serpentine Pavilion of Toyo Ito and Cecil Balmond was the integration of a structural system as an integral function of the skin. Since the formof the structure was given as a simple rectangular box, it was necessary to find a technique for subdividing the skin in order to create a structure. Fractals are chosen as the process for subdivision since they enable the design of a structural system based on a square shape that could be propagated to infinity. The output of the algorithm was a two-dimensional pattern, and the thickness of each beam was defined according to the distribution of stresses along the surface.

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SERPENTINE PAVILION ALGORITHM

DOUBLE-CURVED SNAKE SKIN FACADE Panel configuration diagram and graphical evaluation representations.

The design of a double-curved, ‘snake skin’ façade for the Pinnacle using a single, yet flexible module type in order to avoid wastage in fabrication is an example of how a rather common problem was solved.  The designers, Kohn Pedersen Fox, developed a novel approach by embedding analytical algorithms within the design process. This enabled them to integrate optimization routines for constructability and cost efficiency. Geometric elements were equipped with ‘software sensors’ and the parametric model developed ‘geometric indicators’ around the ‘irritated areas’ where panel clashes occurred. This analytical problem-solving approach was incorporated into the design process, rather than being a process of validation applied to a finished design. The application of algorithms for the organization of proliferated material components over a predefined form is increasingly used in the design of structural skins.

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2016-2017 M.ARCH 2nd SEM

NATIONAL AQUATICS CENTRE IN BEIJING, THE WATER CUBE

The algorithm developed by Chris Bosse for the design of the National Aquatics Centre in Beijing, the ‘Water cube’, moves the algorithmic process one step further. In this design a single material system produces structure and at the same time defines space. Structural stability is apriori assured by the design choice itself –the formation of a stable configuration of the geometry of bubble packing that also occurs spontaneously in many natural systems.

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 This concept was inspired by nature’s forms and geometries.  The theory of the biologist Aristid Lindemeyer was used on this project, which was formulated from string rewriting of algorithm based on the formal grammar theory to model plants and their growth processes.  This theory is now known as L-System, specifically the integration of scripting languages into CAD applications that enables the direct visualization of objects using algorithmic processes.

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L-SYSTEM IN ARCHITECTURE, MICHAEL HANSMEYER (2003) SWITZERLAND

NEW PLAYHOUSE FOR THE ROYAL THEATRE IN COPENHAGEN

3D Generated Model of System

3D Model of System

Splines & Vertices of 3d Model Form Adapted from System

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 A continuous surface was developed, the folds of which is to provide a variety of different conditions of enclosure, climate, sound and light.  This performative curvature and self intersection of the surface has been informed by correlative digital and physical modeling, employing different CAD/CAM technologies.

PROGRAMMABLE WOOD - CUSTOM PRINTED WOOD GRAIN 2016-2017 M.ARCH 2nd SEM

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Traditional wood-bending techniques require complex steaming equipment, labor-intensive forming processes, and a high degree of expertise. In addition, the natural pattern of wood grain and its physical properties make it difficult to curve into complex shapes. Novel printing and composite material technologies can now overcome prior limitations of wood forming. Flat sheets of custom printed wood composite can be designed to self-transform in controlled and unique ways. While the lab has used water as a medium for activation, we imagine that we can also create wooden composites that radically adapt to extreme environmental conditions.

PROGRAMMABLE TEXTILES 2016-2017 M.ARCH 2nd SEM

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The translucent, lightweight, and malleable properties of textiles have been utilized for centuries in architecture, furniture, and apparel design. Typically, stretching fabric onto rigid structural frames requires complex molding and mechanical methods. Our research demonstrates a new method for utilizing textiles that can take advantage of its unique properties while reducing the complexity of forming processes. By printing material in varied layer thicknesses onto stretched textiles we are able to create self-transforming structures that reconfigure into pre-programmed shapes. Programmable textiles open up new possibilities for furniture, product manufacturing, and shipping as well as new methods for self-assembly and user interaction.

TRANSFORMABLE MEETING SPACES

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Transformable Meeting Spaces are aimed at reimagining interior office or building environments. The research proposes an alternative whereby structures can easily transform between private phone booths, lounge spaces or other quiet meeting spaces into open flexible areas. By utilizing woven and transformable materials these meeting spaces can expand and contract to create a meeting room for 6-8 people or morph into the ceiling leaving a clear and open area below.

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CONCLUSION

Earlier, Architecture forms were usually created by a traditional designing process and creativeness is relatively limited on the architects point of view resulting to predictable and similarity of design. As a result, buildings had been designed using standard geometrical linear forms. With algorithmic architecture, architects can now use these end-user programs to breed new forms, a form not just for representation but a form that integrates the underlying logic of architecture-aesthetics, function and strength. It does not intend however to eliminate architects’ creative power, but to combine its synergy with the power of computing in order to design buildings that is performance driven in a more efficient way.

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 Processes generating shape must be the object of studies which is always more profound and conscious. This will give modelling control and conscious decision making back to architects.  The algorithmic design approach can deal with a large number of competing constraints simultaneously, and can be used to explore numerous differently weighted design solutions within time frames that are just not economically feasible by more traditional methods.  Though algorithms are becoming widespread in many design and fabrication industries, perhaps their best use is in architectural design, where they can enable designers to work in intuitive and nondeterministic ways.  Thus new and innovative designs can be produced that achieve structural and environmental performances that were once considered to be post-design optimization processes.  Digital modeling and visualization of architectural buildings has become the benchmark in the work of architects and is unavoidable in architectural education. From the original 2-D programs used for drawing architectural designs, the software used for computer aided design has now turned into intelligent 3-D software packages based on parametric modeling.

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2016-2017 M.ARCH 2nd SEM