AIR

FERNANDA BATISTA 2013

STUDIO AIR2013, SEMESTER 1

FERNANDA BATISTA

TUTORS

Daniel DavisKirilly Barnett

“If you can draw a building with a few sweeps of the pen and everyone recognizes not only the structure but also associates it with a place on earth, you have gone a long way towards creating

something iconic”

Tom Wright, 2000

03

PART I - CASE FOR INNOVATION

INTRODUCTION

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

WEEK 01 - ARCHITECTURE AS A DISCOURSE

CITY OF ARTS AND SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT OF ISLAMIC ART LOUVRE

WEEK 02 - COMPUTATIONAL ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECTURE, TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN TECHNIQUES

BURJ AL ARAB

YAS VICEROY

WEEK 03 - PARAMETRIC MODELLING

ARCHITECTURE AND PARAMETRICISM

DANISH PAVILION

LONDON AQUATIC CENTRE

04 Introduction

Introduction

Hi!

My name is Fernanda, 21 years old and I am a study abroad

student here in The University of Melbourne for this semester.

I was born in Brazil, and live in a city called Sao Luis in the

northeast region. Currently I am in my last year of the

Architecture course. The reason I came to Australia -

Melbourne was to discover how the cities, people and culture

work in here. I really enjoy visiting new places, getting to know

different cultures, and as far as my conditions can lead me, try

to experience real life in new environments.

In Brazil I have worked with several softwares, such as

AutoCad, Revit, Adobe Photoshop and Corel Draw, that helped

me to develop projects and improve my habilities to present

them. In order to create 3D models, I mostly use Google

SketchUp associated to Vray plugin. Rhino and Grasshoper will

be a new experience for me, and I am really glad to have the

opportunity to learn and work with it. I believe they are

powerful tools and in the architectural world can be very

helpful in the creative process.

What I think it will be the most interesting thing for me in the

subject it is the opportunity to practice things there I was

introduced before just in theoretical manners, as well as see

the opinion that other people from this course have about the

new possibilities that technology has to offer to us.

05Previous Experience

One of the projects that I have done in the university in Brazil in partnership with two friendsConvention Centre

Previous Experience

Architecture has allowed me to experience things that I have

never imagined it would be possible for me in this stage of my

life, study in this university at this moment is one of them. thDuring the 5 semester of the course I started to work as an

intern in some architecture offices, and have stopped just

before come here. In the offices that I have been I had

opportunities to work with interior design and development of

architectural projects of different typologies.

I also had the opportunity to be part of an international

workshop, called Equinox, during three editions, one of them I

went to Paris – France, to work with the students of the

Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée and develop a project for a city called Mont-de-Marsan. In the most recent edition of this

workshop I worked as tutor, aiding the groups – formed by

people of three different nationalities, to develop projects for

the city of Sao Luis.

As a future architect I face all the experiences that life can

put me through as an opportunity to learn about different

environments, cultures, cities, countries, etc. The world and

what it has to offer is the most valuable source of knowledge

for the type of professional that I want to be.

06

References

KOOLHAAS, Rem. Nova York Delirante. São Paulo: Cosacnaif, 2008.Hajer, Marteen. The generic city. in Theory, Culture & Society 1999. Vol 16. p 137-144

Williams, Richard (2005).'Architecture and Visual Culture',in Exploring Visual Culture: Definitions, Concepts, Contexts,ed. by Matthew Rampley

(Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press),pp. 102-116

Architecture as a discourse

“Above all, architecture ought to be seen as discourse. Buildings as material facts are small part of the overall field of

architecture, a field which is better regarded as a network of practices and debates about the built environment.”

WILLIAMS, Richard (2005). 'Architecture and Visual Culture', in Exploring Visual Culture: Definitions, Concepts, Contexts,

ed. by Matthew Rampley (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press), p. 115

Some days before I wrote this text I was talking to a friend of mine about future plans and some things that we might do in the

next years. I was telling him that I will do whatever it takes to go to New York and spend at least a month in there, his reaction

was not that positive about this wish of mine. He started to question me why would I want to go there, if the city was made

basically of traffic and inconvenient skyscrapers, I decided not to argue about my position, instead of it I just said it would be

nice for my career and that in New York there is a whole lot more to experience behind skyscrapers and crazy traffic.

Architecture is more. In the common sense people think about architecture and usually think about nice building, houses.

Unfortunately most of them cannot see what is behind those single elements that they see. Many cities around the world, even

if destitute of projects of renowned architects, have their own architectural experience working as network and involving many

elements of the urban space.

A single skyscraper when inserted in determined urban environment can lead to different outcomes. It happens because the city

is made of different elements, each one of them with its different meanings, different aims, working in this network that

defines the urban space.

Rem Koolhaas defines New York as a result of an unlikely marriage between appearance and performance where architecture

was not only aesthetics but had succeeded in providing the basis for a unique metropolitan life (HAJER, 1994). This idea proves

how great the outcomes that architecture can lead are. If a set of buildings and designed spaces can make people interact with

each other and influence the way they behave it demonstrates how beyond single constructions architecture is.

Architecture and its product has to be seen in a context, independent of the way that it is thought, as a form of art, as a

symbolic realm, or as spatial experience. The person who thinks about architecture has to be open-minded and consider it an

important element with a huge power of interaction. Power because the modifications caused by the product of architecture can

revolution determined space, society, city, or country. Imagine Paris without the Eiffel Tower.

Even the crazy traffic in New York, the yellow cabs all around, are part of the city network, and above all, are part of its

identity. New York's culture of congestion is a result of the interaction between the diversity of activities and the composition

of the urban space itself. The world is not made of single positive elements, the interaction between all of them is necessary

and turns the networks alive. This life surrounds architecture and its product providing possibilities to interact with societies

and ability to influence their cultures.

Part 01 - Case for Innovation - W1

Burj Al Arabsource: http://dimscale.blogspot.com.au

Yas Viceroy Hotelsource: http://visitabudhabi.ae/

Danish Pavilionsource:www.big.dk

London Aquatic Centresource: www.zaha-hadid.com

New York Citysource: www.thelittlewomaninsideme.blogspot.com

08

The City of Arts and Science

Here is one example of a project that had a great impact in the logical dynamic of a city. Valencia, Spain, itself is an amazing

place, however the insertion of this project in its context turned the city into a much more interesting space, as well as

renovated a degraded part of it.

The City of Arts and Science designed by Santiago Calatrava and Felix Candelas was inaugurated in 1998 and finished in 2005,

corresponds to a big complex formed by four main buildings - L' Hemisferic, EL Museu de les Ciencies Principe Felipe,

L'Oceanografic and the Palau de las Arts Reina Sofia. In additional to the fabulousness of the buildings and its different

shapes, the complex has an amazing landscape project that turns the master pieces even more extraordinary.

Many were the sources that inspired the concept of the complex and led to its final outcome. It is located in an area that used

to be the end of the former riverbed of the river Turia, which was drained and rerouted after a natural disaster in 1957. The

project was supposed to renew the area, protect its environment, and symbolize the 21st century in the city scenario, which

was marked by architecture styles from periods before the introduction of modernism.

Calatrava's intention was to bring the sensations of the sea a little bit closer to this part of the city using the water as a

major element for the whole site. The shapes of the buildings along the linear park formed by the complex were inspired by

many elements, such as a boat and an exoskeleton of a prehistoric animal, they are also a reflection of the styles of their

designers and the use of shapes to generate structural components.

The results of the implementation of this project transformed the city in many aspects and created an amazing public space for

its population. The image of Valencia as a historic site was overcome and it also incited the propagation of contemporary

architecture in its surroundings. The experiences that the linear park provides to the population is unique, it allows the contact

with the nature, the use of urban equipment distributed around the area, suitable ways to pedestrians and accessibility, as well

as a sensorial experience provided by the materials and elements that compose the complex.

To create a symbol of the contemporary times was a goal that was achieved with success by its authors. With the City of Arts

and Science the architects were able not only to show their style and design approach but also to imprint the contemporary

way of solving urban issues by creating something iconic in the local and global scale.

The way Santiago Calatrava and Felix Candelas work with the shapes, curves and the structural elements is unique, it defines

their personalities and discoveries as architects and in all their projects it is possible to notice the interaction between the

desired shape and the structural elements in a balanced way. Although Santiago Calatrava is the architect that receives most

credit for this project, the presence of Felix Candelas and his way of thinking can be noticed in the works of Calatrava, his

influence in his way of designing, and the use of elements and shapes according to structural definitions.

Referenceswww.arcspace.com

Mukherjee, Creating Public Realm through Urban RenewalLearning from the City of Arts and Sciences for the

Indian Urban Scenari.Published in Bonfring International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management Science, Vol. 2, No. 4, December 2012

Grandes Arquitetos. Santiago Calatrava. Colecao Folha de Sao Paulo. 2012

Rukmini.

Part 01 - Case for Innovation - W1

City of Arts and Science Valencia, Spainsource: www.cac.es

10 Part 01 - Case for Innovation - W1

Department of Islamic Art

Another example of contemporary architecture that has been very well accepted and has a great significance for what it

represents in the global scenario is the new Department of Islamic Art in the Louvre Museum. It was designed by the Italian

architect Mario Bellini and his French colleague Rudy Ricciotti, inaugurated in 2012. The roof is the highlight of their creation, it

represents an undulating golden blanket. The contrast between the new architecture and the surroundings of neoclassical

facades turns the space into an extraordinary environment where the old and new coexist.

The department of Islamic Art is the first contemporary intervention in the Louvre Museum after the glass pyramids designed

by I. M. Pei. As the glass pyramids the golden blanket represents the architecture of the contemporary times in an ancient

scenario. It also highlights its timeless feature and the attempt to renew its spaces according to nowadays moment.

The intention of the architects was to reach a design that could achieve a gentle and non-violent integration between a

contemporary architectural design and the historical place that is the Louvre building. This way the 'Veil' represented by the

golden blanket visually is a subtle undulating surface for observers in the level above of the courtyard in which is located. The

building was designed with the aim to use natural light and diffuse it through the area of exhibition.

As well as the project of the City of Arts and Science the new Department of Islamic art has single shapes that ally the use of

technology, materials, and structure to generate the design that differ from some other examples of architecture around the

world. Even being from different times, with those projects it is noticeable how great are the results achieved by an architect

using the alliance between design, technology and structural knowledge.

References

www.bellini.itwww.dezeen.com

www.designboom.com www.lemonde.com.fr www.louvre.com.fr

Department of Islamic Art - Louvre Museumsource: www.bellini.it

12 Part 01 - Case for Innovation - W2

ARCHITECTURE, TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN TECHNIQUES

The architecture that is produced today represents different times. Depending on the places in which the examples are taken in

consideration people can see young old products of architecture. Those young old elements are a result of the alienation that

dominates the mentality of the human being according to its conditions. Some people just close their eyes to the possibilities

that the world has to offer. The relationship between technology and the creative process is an example of a range of

possibilities that are offered today. Many are the softwares that aid in the development of ideas, projects, etc. However, the

use of those tools are becoming even more frequent, it is noticeable a certain amount of prejudice surrounding the discussion

of how effective those softwares can be.

It is interesting how the world reacts to the new. It does not matter in which field it is applied, there are always positive,

negative and neutral opinions about the introduction of determined thing. Although the use of computational design techniques

in the architecture field is not so recent, new materials and possibilities are released frequently. These are capable of improve

the results that were achieved before as well as add new ideas that can be integrated in the creative process.

With the aid of these softwares the architecture of the future can be materialized in a smaller amount of time, different if it

were produced only with the use of traditional techniques. Parametrical design might generate the idea of future, although we

can notice examples of parametrical models that certainly were produced by using traditional techniques, the introduction of

softwares that can improve the efficiency of the design according to different aspects represents a big step in the association

between technology and the production of ideas.

Physical examples of the use of those associations are becoming each time more frequent. It represents the acceptance of

those ideas by the designers and also the discovery of how to work with the tools that technology has to offer in order to

achieve determined result. In some countries of the Middle East those examples of contemporary architecture are already icons

of determined cities, most of them have an important ideological meaning to those cultures, they do not represent just a

building itself.

The Burj Al Arab for example, was created to be iconic, people were supposed to see the building and reference it to the city

of Dubai, something that was extremely successful. The exterior and interior of that building represents the use of great

design techniques in accordance with the environment of the new city. Abu Dhabi, another Middle Eastern city also has many

buildings that were designed with the aid of computational techniques, the Yas Viceroy and its cover is already an icon of this

city and what it represents to the world nowadays.

With the aid of technology the architecture of the future is being created. The discoveries and productions that have led to the

moment lived now have showed that the evolution of techniques applied in the design process are constantly changing and have

proved to be very effective. As far as the possibilities can take the designers the more varied will be the results achieved. The

questions behind the discussion about the acceptance of contemporary computational design techniques are not related to the

style of the designer, but the way how those people can perceive the possibilities that are offered by the evolution of

knowledge.References

www.archdaily.comwww.atkinsdesign.com/www.visitabudhabi.ae/

WOODBURY, Robert (2010). Elements of Parametric Design (London: Routledge) pp. 7-48

Burj Al Arabsource: http://dimscale.blogspot.com.au

Yas Viceroy Hotelsource: http://visitabudhabi.ae/

14

Architecture and parametricism

Part 01 - Case for Innovation - W3

“Parametricism is the great new style after modernism. The new style claims relevance on all scales from architecture and

interior design to large scale urban design. The larger the scale of the project the more pronounced is parametricism's

superior capacity to articulate programmatic complexity.”

Parametricism - A New Global Style for Architecture and Urban Design

Patrik Schumacher, London 2008

Architecture styles are always something difficult to understand. Their ideology becomes clearer to the society by the time

some other style appears and contrasts with it. In the case of parametricism it is even more difficult to understand because it

is relatively young, and at least in some cultures, the presence and physical examples of the previous styles still being very

strong. In addition to all of it, the discussion around a new style always represents a source of polemic and prejudice till the

time it is legitimated partially by the world community.

Parametricism has been developed over the last 15 years and is now claiming hegemony with avant-grade architecture. Closing

a transitional period of uncertainty generated by the crisis of modernism and marked by a series of short lived episodes such

as Postmodernism, Desconstructvism, and Minimalism, it introduces new ideas and strategies based on the use of computational

design techniques (Schumacher, London 2008). It is based on the use of technology as a source and tool to improve the design

process and reach innovative outcomes. With the rise of parametricism, models first denied by the principles of the previous

styles could be developed. The tools generated to support parametricism made the creative process and development of

design easier. Imagine, create different shapes and materialize it in the real world became simple than it was before.

Although parametricism seems to be much more unrestricted than other styles of architecture there are plenty of discussions

and prejudice around its approach. Some of them are related to the principles of design in its most natural way, such as

sketching, using pencil and paper. However it gives the impression to be different, those principles still happening with

parametricism but within a different interface, in which, the tools are always commanded by the designer, like this, the

sketching process still present but in the design space.

Another source of discussion around the principles of parametricism is related to the use of tools designated to aid the design

process. The main point of discussion is how to use them effectively and follow their evolution, something that is extremely

important in parametricism as it is based on the use of technology as a source of strategies. Like this parametricism evolves

according to the development of the tools and what technology enables it to reach.

Despite being a young movement physical examples in the architecture field can be found with some sort of relevancy

nowadays. Parametricism as a style is expensive, the same way it is based on technological principles it requires profit and

technology in order to be materialized. Many examples that can be found around the world are already symbolic for their

magnitude, what the buildings represents to the local community, their content and function in determined moment and urban

space.

15

References

www.e-architect.co.ukwww.archdaily.com

www.big.dkwww.zaha-hadid.com

ALLEN, Stan. The Future That Is Now. Published in:http://places.designobserver.com,2012.Schumacher, Patrik.Parametricism-A New Global Style for Architecture and Urban Design.

Published in: AD Architectural Design - Digital Cities,Vol 79, No 4, July/August 2009.

WOODBURY, Robert (2010). Elements of Parametric Design (London: Routledge) pp. 7-48

Part 01 - Case for Innovation - W3

Danish Pavilion – Shangai EXPO 2010

The Danish Pavilion in Shangai (EXPO 2010) is a project that summarizes contemporary architecture with an interesting

approach based on the attribution of significance to the elements of the project and what it aimed to be. Designed by BIG

(Bjarke Ingels Group), the main goal of the project was to design a pavilion that could represent the Danish culture, its

environment, and lifestyle. Through interaction the visitors were able to experience some of Copenhagen's best attractions –

the city bike, the harbor bath, the nature playground and an ecological picnic. It was designed as a traffic loop to provide the

idea of motion and aid the transition through the different scenarios that compose the pavilion. An important element of this

project is the harbor bath, which is the central element of the pavilion, and was designed with the purpose of lodging the real

little mermaid, a symbol of Denmark, during the EXPO 2010. The pavilion is movable and could be placed in a different space

after the exposition, a feature that proves how successful this project was related to its flexibility purpose. Although the

attribution of meaning in architecture is a very common fact what makes this project unique is the association between the

ideas of the space that it makes reference and the use of special elements from it highlighted in the conceived design.

London Aquatics Centre

Zaha Hadid is one of the biggest references of the use of parametricism today. Among the various projects developed by her

practice The London Aquatics Centre highlights the use of parametric shapes in accordance to a logical structure developed to

accommodate the crowd in a flexible way during the 2012 London Olympic Games. The concept that inspired the geometry of the

building was the idea of water in motion. Based on it, the design of the Centre reflects the purpose of the building, extending it

to the development of structures and mechanisms to provide efficiency during its use. The roof definitely is the most relevant

feature of this project as it expresses the aimed idea of fluid movements and reflects the style of the designer. As it was one

of the main spaces during the 2012 Olympic Games, this building received a considerate amount of attention during this event,

as a result it promoted the style applied in its designer to the global society, what makes it a really important piece in the

history of parametricism as a design style.

Among the many examples of parametric architecture the flexibility of the structures and models can be perceived. Although

as a style it is supposed to turn some features of the design process more efficiently the implementation of new tools are

adding and transforming the approach of it. The new ideas introduced by parametric systems have not been able to improve

some important features of the traditional methods of designing, which are also part of the new approach established by

parametricism. Till now one of the main contributions of parametricism to the architecture field is the flexibility generated by

the models or shapes reached by the designers. As a style it is becoming more popular but still not being effectively

accessible. There is a long path to course till the achievement of partial legitimation.

Architecture and parametricism

Burj Al Arabsource: http://dimscale.blogspot.com.au

Yas Viceroy Hotelsource: http://visitabudhabi.ae/

Danish Pavilionsource:www.big.dk

Burj Al Arabsource: http://dimscale.blogspot.com.au

Yas Viceroy Hotelsource: http://visitabudhabi.ae/

Danish Pavilionsource:www.big.dk

London Aquatic Centresource: www.zaha-hadid.com