Education:
2019 - current Bachelor of Design (Architecture) at The University of Melbourne
2008-2018 Westbourne Grammar School
Work Experience:
2016 Architects EAT
Awards / Exhibitions:
2019 Tongji International Construction Festival (Third Place)
2018 Chris Balnave Art Award
2017 Year 11 Art Award
2016 High Achievers Award
Skills:
Rhino
Grasshopper
Unreal Engine
Photoshop
Illustrator
Indesign
Fabrication
SketchUp
Hand Drawing
REFLECTION
Throughout this subject, I was motivated by a curiosity to learn about new digital design programs such as Grasshopper and TwinMotion and their capabilities to produce and communicate parametric designs. I developed a keen interest in textures and diagramming within the subject, learning how to better communicate drawings in isometric and section. I learnt how to use Grasshopper scripts to produce my desired outcome and learnt the benefits of controlling parametric design to create iterations quickly. I learnt how different fabrication techniques can produce different desired outcomes, exploring 3D printing and laser cutting, employing methods of radial and contour waffles as well as additive and subtractive techniques. The most important lesson learnt was the significance of organisation, ensuring that files, grasshopper scripts and matrices were properly documented and labelled to allow ease of understanding and navigation throughout the design process.
My aspiration as a designer is to create designs that juxtapose their environments and create a sense of unease that prompts curiosity and exploration. I also aim to create drawings that are easily read, with a simple monochromatic aesthetic. Through diagramming design precedents I employed my drawing skills to create a monochromatic drawing with light shadows and minimal texture. By generating ideas through process, I was able to employ the same drawing techniques and create an angular, geometric language through the use of parametric design and an interest in irregular geometry. In my final design project, Stardust, a pavilion for the Queen Victoria Garden, I was able to combine all the techniques learnt this semester in designing an angular, geometric pavilion space that features a layering of angular facets and panels.
Areas of improvement I have identified include the complexity of my grasshopper script and how it could be less restrained and further developed to create a more interesting result as well as the employment of different Grasshopper Plug-Ins to stretch the bounds of the final design geometry created.
The key concept of the precedent study is that of a net, and its purpose - to collect things. The woven net that serves as a shading envelope of the structure takes its form from the existing tie holds of the courtyard.
While modelling the pavilion, I learnt about the construction techniques of the shading structure, in which a metal frame was first constructed and put into place before the fabric overlay was installed and attached to the structure and surrounding walls. I learnt how the entrances were used as thresholds into the exterior space which in itself has thresholds defined by each shaded component of the pavilion.
The iteration matrix created focuses on geometry, scale and rotation both using series and point attractors.
The geometry used consists of: diamonds, cubes, irregular diamonds and pyramids.
The primary parameters of my matrix were to follow a strict series of: geometry, scale, then rotation to create the iterations - completing the series iterations prior to the point attractors.
I considered iterations that had variation across its grid successful, as well as iterations in which the geometry touched one another both horizontally and vertically, to allow the cropped bounding boxes to have a solid piece of geometry when completing both the boolean difference and boolean intersection commands.
The parameters which guided these were often the scale and rotation commands. These were easier to manipulate using point attractors than series adjustments.
Using two point attractors, I created a growth geometry using a regular diamond geometry - with each growth scaled at 0.7 of the previous geometry.
I chose to capture the results above because of its seemingly symmetrical appearance and intersecting lines. I like the triangular facets created and the curved effect through the centroids due to the point attractors.
I can envision this as a potential seating element within a larger pavilion context where the geometry could balance on either leg to create an interactive play area for children and informal resting space for adults.
The iteration process allowed me to explore different geometry and how each modular element interacted with its adjacent geometry at different scales.
XY Waffle Structure with contours at distances of 8mm.
This scale was selected to create a sense of intimacy and shelter in a seating arrangement that enabled a casual setting for both retreat and socialization.
Thin sharp edges were removed in the process of creating the waffle as the geometry was limited by the need for interconnecting notches between contour intersections.
As a construction method within the pavilion, the inclusion of dirt and plants in the hollow sections could become a possibility to transform the built structure into a garden element.
Radial Waffle Structure with disks on the edge of the geometry and a radial count of 30.
This scale was selected to create a sense of intimacy and shelter in a seating arrangement that enabled a casual setting for both retreat and socialisation.
As a result of the radial positioning, the geometry takes on a more fluid, smooth transition from left to right, creating a gentle curve in the seating rather than emphasizing the angular nature of the overhang.
The concept of ‘Stardust’ is a foreign element that has landed in the Queen Victoria Garden. Following the sliding, curved indent of the topography, the Stardust pavilion appears to have crashed from outer space. The angular, faceted geometry and reflective surfaces aim to provoke a sense of intrigue and curiosity to the seemingly out of place structure.
The design employs the use of a concrete base that carves, in a similar angular geometry, seating and standing elements. One of the raised platforms has the ability to be appropriated as either a seat or a standing platform for the presenter of the lunchtime seminar while the raised element on the opposing side angular to produce seating for the 15 people attending. It also facilitates a capacity of 30 people during the evening quartet through the definition of heights of the concrete base to provide standing room outside of the main structure to allow visibility to those further from the quartet set up central to the pavilion.
(1) This iteration, resembling angel wings, was of interest in its dramatic sweeping motion but was not chosen due to its lack of shading as a pavilion element.
(2) The iteration has interesting intersections of form and a sharp angular geometry that created an eyecatching appearance, however, was not used due to the lack of space and centralised volume.
(3) The geometry’s ability to be adapted to an external pavilion space was enabled by the changes in layers that facilitated step and changes in height but was not used due to the requirement of a shaded structure.
