Assignment 2 Proposal

A long site allows for a panoramic view of the harbour, tying in with the theme of wave formations which I will incorporate through the building, not only in its façade but also its structural form and room layout. My building concept is to create a building that reflects the scenery around it, by using shape, form and materials. In order to replicate characteristics of water throughout the building several techniques will be utilised.
Firstly the overall form of the building, I intend to create spaces with different view points and a unique ambience for each room of the building. This will be achieved by creating split levels throughout the building mimicking a series of waves, there will be highly obtainable views of all surrounding landscape from almost every angle of each room with the allowance for natural ventilation, and thoroughfares between each spilt level. As each room is staggered there will open space surrounding each, this provides free air flow to pass through the spaces, as this is a building built to represent the environment solar passive design is an integral characteristic of the structure so it needs to embrace every aspect as much as possible, having highlighted louvered windows will ensure maximum air flow throughout the entire building. The change in levels also provides for different ceiling heights allowing for multifunctional rooms.
The buildings façade acts like a thin skin covering the buildings portal frame structure, the cladding will replicate water ripples representing a wave like appearance. Every unique contour will seem as if it is crawling across the structure giving it an amalgamated form.
In order to incorporate the vegetation at the rear of the site and reflecting the colours of the water the materials are carefully selected. Using Gehry’s building Gallery of Ontario as inspiration the cladding will be Titanium skin with a blue tint in it combined with green tints in particular areas of the building. Its reflective surface allows the building to blend well with the landscape becoming a natural looking part of the environment. The form and shape of the building may be strikingly bold although the materials allow the structure to evolve with the surrounding environment. The green tint predominately used on the rear of the façade will become a stage echoing the trees surrounding it through reflections. To view the structure from the back will definitely seem as though it has slightly distorted looking vegetation creeping over it. While at the front of the building the water will be reflected through the blue titanium skin. This is intended to represent a wave emerging from the harbour.
To create this in Grasshopper will be difficult for me as I am to some extent struggling to fully harness the capability of the program. I already have a basis to start with from Assignment 1, the wave iterations I created will act as the skin of the structure, in simplified terms I need to replicate the flat planes over an articulated surface being the over structure form of the building. The above mentioned characteristics of the building will not change, this is what forms the buildings core, although the aesthetics of the exterior will, the iterations I intend on producing will create different wave like forms changing the buildings skin and slightly altering the shape of the internal spaces. By changing numbers in the main equation and selecting a different centre point in Grasshopper will redefine the iterations.

12 citations for assignment 2

Title: Architectural metals: a guide to selection, specification, and performance.
Author: L. William Zahner.
Published: 1995 by John wiley & Sons Inc.

Title: New organic architecture: the breaking wave.
Author: David Pearson.
Published: 2001 Gaia Books Limited.

Title: The buildings of Frank Gehry
Author: Peter Kandela
Available online 24 August 2001.

Title: Freeform Construction: Mega-scale Rapid Manufacturing for construction
Authors: R.A. Buswell, R.C. Soar, A.G.F. Gibb and A. Thorpe
Available online 30 June 2006.

Title: Theory and design in the first digital age
Author: Rivka Oxman
Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning Technion, Haifa 32000, Israel
Available online 9 January 2006.


Title: Digital architecture as a challenge for design pedagogy: theory, knowledge, models and medium
Author: Rivka Oxman
Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion, Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel
Available online 28 January 2008.


Title: Rapid prototyping and its application in architectural design
Author: Thomas Kvan, Guest Editors, Branko Kolarevic
Department of Architecture, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Available online 19 February 2002.




Title: Waves
Author: Frank S. Crawford
Publisher: New York : McGraw Hill
Date: 1968

Title: Breaking ocean waves : geometry, structure and remote sensing
Author: Eugene A. Sharkov
Publisher: Berlin ; New York : Springer
Date: c2007

Title: Wind generated ocean waves
Author: Ian R. Young (Ian Robert), 1957-
Publisher: Amsterdam ; Oxford : Elsevier
Date: 1999

Title: AIR-SEA INTERACTION- Surface Waves
Author: L. Lya and A. Benilovb
Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, USA
Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, USA
Available online 2003.

Title: Breaking Waves and Near-Surface Turbulence
Author: J. Gemmricha
University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
Available online 2 December 2008.

6 exploratory citiations of sources for Assignment 2.

Title: Rapid prototyping and its application in architectural design
Author: Thomas Kvan, Guest Editors, Branko Kolarevic
Department of Architecture, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Available online 19 February 2002.




Title: Waves
Author: Frank S. Crawford
Publisher: New York : McGraw Hill
Date: 1968

Title: Breaking ocean waves : geometry, structure and remote sensing
Author: Eugene A. Sharkov
Publisher: Berlin ; New York : Springer
Date: c2007

Title: Wind generated ocean waves
Author: Ian R. Young (Ian Robert), 1957-
Publisher: Amsterdam ; Oxford : Elsevier
Date: 1999

Title: AIR-SEA INTERACTION- Surface Waves
Author: L. Lya and A. Benilovb
Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, USA
Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, USA
Available online 2003.

Title: Breaking Waves and Near-Surface Turbulence
Author: J. Gemmricha
University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
Available online 2 December 2008.