Previously on 'Say Something':
Steve is out of action fighting a mystery illness. He suspects big-game nerves have got the better of him and eats more of Nicola’s lasagne hoping it might settle his stomach. However, the lasagne is the culprit and part of Nicola’s crazy idea to secure her place in Miranda’s life. Will Nicola’s drastic plan put Steve's life in danger?
... actually that zany plot is from Neighbours, the longest running medical action comedy in Australian history. With plots like those it seems almost as formulaic as an episode of House. I'm sure this kind of stuff happens to real people all the time though.
In relative seriousness, here's the other result of my ridiculously long semester. The subject is called Digital Design Applications and teaches different methods in which architectural form can be created with the assistance of algorithms. This has the distinct advantage of being able to execute complex repetitive modules as many times as you need it to, saving on both time and effort.
After a lot of tinkering and procrastinating during the first half of semester I settled on the exploration of boundary creation through the use of sinusoidal spirals. These 'spirals' change shape as the value of the n constant increases and transforms from parabolic curves to circles and infinitely complex loops as seen below.
The next step was to compose an algorithm that was capable of generating this diverse range of shapes and turn it into something semi-meaningful. I seriously doubt you would want to read my script in fine detail but if you want your mind to be boggled beyond relief here it is. The code was written in RhinoScript - part of Rhino, a powerful 3D modelling program used in various industries including industrial and marine design.
Above are a couple of examples of what profiles can be generated with my script. At this point, what I need to do is select a range of n values that will generate a diverse number of shapes, as well smoothing out a couple of problems such as the points which as seen above, initially seem a bit random. This is due to the fewer number of points being plotted around the radius which leads to essential points being skipped. Eventually after a long round of fine tuning I was ready to turn this in at the new laser cutter in the Archi building. Expensive model making toys are nice to have, that's all I'll say.
The laser cutter can create some really detailed pieces of work and can cut to different depths so that it can do both cuts and etches. The above shows each frame of my structure and the detail within each one.
Initially I attempted to string everything up according to how it would actually be set up. This did not go too well because it was extremely difficult to string up each frame to a level of tautness that was sufficient to look authentic. Extra slack in the supporting strings would also lead to inaccuracy in the overall structure, making things more difficult when stringing between each frame.
Here's a shot of my model mid construction. You can really get a feel of how big it is by looking at the objects around it.
Nearing the end of our photo journey I began to document what the model would look like from the ground level. At this stage I changed the supporting material to perspex to further assist in the visualisation of the frames and threads.
And here it is in all its glory. This was taken at the end of year exhibition where among other things, every piece of work from our class was put on display for all to see. Check out the slideshow below to see what else the other guys created.
Fancy stuff, eh?