p i n u p s p a c e » grasshopper

AMPS Mockup

ted — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 04:31:39 +0000

Full scale mockup of the Active Modular Phytoremediation System. This is both a visual mockup and a testing prototype we will use to collect data. It’ll be installed inside SOM’s office where we will track the rate of VOC removal, plants’ behavior and lighting requirements, and the automation of lighting, moisture sensing and irrigation systems.

Ecophysiological Architecture

ted — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 03:57:01 +0000

Through evolution, animals and plants develop strategies to survive and thrive in their own environments. Survival mechanisms such as thermoregulation, water economy, and energy metabolism, are common to all organisms. Physiology, since the famed French scientist Claude Bernard, has become the study of how such mechanisms manifest under isolated and controlled conditions. Ecophysiology, on the other hand, pursues the studies in the subject’s own environment and allow for a much more natural observation and analysis of the organisms’ responses to the dynamics of resource availability and diurnal and seasonal switches. Architecture, often conceptualized as the third skin, can learn much from such physiological approach, particularly in the face of global climate change and energy crisis. Unlike conventional architectural practice, organisms do not deal with heliotropism separately from thermoregulation, nor would do they handle water economy separately from energy conservation and metabolism. To maintain a stable internal environment, organisms must rely on everything at their disposal as part of their survival strategy. Therefore, ecophysiological architecture posits the same fundamental basis and asks a simple question: “what if buildings have to develop heating, cooling, lighting, daylighting, and ventilation strategies as part of its morphology?”

The following are selected works from a studio investigation that attempts to reapply these highly coupled physiological systems with the building’s mechanical and morphological system to imbue a behavioral solution to address the ecology of our built environment.

Projects

Joe Hines | Active Thermoregulation

Shima Miabadi | Counter Current Heat Exchange

Nicholas Stipinovich | Wind Responsive Envelope

Lauren Thomsen | A Photoperiodic Envelope

Adam Petela | Adaptive Networking

parametric design workshop 2010

ted — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 17:33:08 +0000

Here are some selected images of a 5-week design workshop held by and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute School of Architecture and the Politecnico di Torino Faculty of Architecture II.

Design approach is based on the ecophysiology of animals. Students research and analyze an animal’s mechanism for thermoregulation, photoperiodism, water economy, and other energetics exchange, and develop an architectural integumentary system that deals with heating, cooling, ventilation, and lighting, which, when combined, accounts for almost 70% of all electricity consumption in the US.

Extensive parametric and analysis tools are used for the design of these projects, all of them can be found on my website here.

Workshop Instructors
Ted Ngai, RPI
Cesare Griffa, PoliTo

Workshop Coordinator
Graziella Roccella, PoliTo

Workshop Description
The parametric workshop engages the problems raised by our rapid pace of urbanization and the ecological impact of our built environment, using two main drivers: the evolving of digital technologies, and the growing of ecological awareness.

Digital technology plays a critical role in acknowledging change and difference in the way we design, build and live architecture. Ecological awareness, on the other hand, requires one to observe and understand the behavioral tendencies of our natural and built systems. The use of parametric design software in this context will enable designers to use design not only as an organizational device serving semiotic, pragmatic and aesthetic functions, but also as a regulator of the internal and external environments, managing bioclimatic flows to maintain homeostasis through intelligent morphologies.

In this framework, the workshop program will develop a Physiological Skin, a concept that explores the “envelope” as a mean to capture, transform, store and distribute various energetic flows to maintain a stable internal environment appropriate for housing in the city of Torino.

The Physiological Skin will not only take on the bioclimatic exchange as its main design challenge, but will also consider the aesthetic vision as it is situated in the historical Italian neighborhood. This includes addressing the Renaissance and Baroque, and times of new discoveries and new aesthetics, which will also be main criteria for the successful development of the project.

Projects:

(RE)TENDER | John Baker | Frank Florian | Chris Nobes | Salvo Terranova

ADAPTIVE RESPIRATION | Marco Caprani | Alexandra Dorn | Cesar Madrigal | Andrea Terreno

SUSTAINA(BUBBLE) | Alyssa Johnson | Christos Constantinou | Giulia Mondino | Marco Palma

ALGaeRITHM | Monica Cazzamani Bona | Jillian Crandall | Nathalia da Rosa Pires | Tyler Hopf

AQUALIBRIUM | Angie Ohman | Sarah Murray | Marina Milia | Matteo Miroglio

PASSIVE FLOWER | Christine Koch | Alicia Miksic | Matteo Tron

SHARK SKIN SMART SKIN | Davide Speranza | Evelina Micono | Kate Lisi | Kateri Knapp

BARE NECESSITIES | Matteo Amela | Gianni Bruera | Morgan Danner

insolar louver system

ted — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:00:48 +0000

This definition extends the GH powercopy to be parametrically associated with the solar geometry obtained through the insolar radiation algorithm. It is part of a larger series related to the idea of Environmental Parametrics.

download

[vimeo 7077759 720 396]

GH powercopy

ted — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:24:13 +0000

This definition is inspired by David Fano’s Parametric Truss tutorial, which can be found here. This version extends the approach to the 3 dimensions by utilizing the normal vector of the surface. Please complete Fano’s tutorial before viewing this one.

download

[vimeo 7078235 720 396]

insolar component population

ted — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:21:10 +0000

This is a follow up tutorial that shows the whole process of using the insolar definitions (analemma, day and current time) in conjunction with the mesh component population definition. It is a 2 step process and make use of box morph. It is part of a larger series related to the idea of Environmental Parametrics.

[vimeo 7078045 720 396]

component population on mesh

ted — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:18:17 +0000

This file populates a set of geometric components (examples with 4 or 8 components included) on a colored mesh. The color information is a way to embed external data into the geometry and give you instant feedback about the perfomance. The data can come from Ecotect analysis, the sun system which is available here, or any other analysis software. Meshes do need to be quads.

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[vimeo 6996063 720 396]

image mapping on mesh

ted — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:13:41 +0000

This example shows how to map images onto NURBS surfaces and output as mesh. This is one part of a larger series that uses the color space method of component population, which as a conceptual framework, I will name this Environmental Parametrics here. It uses the RGB space as a way to to embed external data to create a dialogue with geometry, thus giving it an overall geometric intelligence

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[vimeo 7005274 720 396]

multipoint attractor on mesh

ted — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:09:16 +0000

This example file shows how to use 3 points (or as many as you want) to create a color mapping that can be used with the component population tutorial. As a conceptual framework, I will name this Environmental Parametrics here. It uses the RGB space as a way to to embed external data to create a dialogue with geometry, thus giving it an overall geometric intelligence

download

[vimeo 7005368 720 396]

geodesic sphere

ted — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:51:43 +0000

a simple construction of a geodesic sphere in a hex grid. the construction method is based on a icosahedron.

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