project 01b: capturing the ripple.

here are a few images from the second week of the 2 week project we had at the beginning of the new term…

Above: these are a series of playful tests trying to understand the behaviour of the water. By obstructing the path of water the ripples can be dictated. Each series of images represent just under half a second of time.

overlaid ripples: half a second of movement.

traced geometry of the movement of ripples

by tracing the ripple I worked out how the ripple behave relative to the obstructions – so I decided to create a random situation by placing the different obstructions into random places within the boundary. I then predicted how the ripples would behave by following the rules I had made from the previous drawing. Below are the results….

my prediction…

overlay of prediction and the experiment

verdict: it was close… enough! the prediction I made following the rules I had made from the previous experiment actually produced a quite accurate prediction – however, it did not take into account the interference caused by the more perpendicular obstructions. Also, these experiments were not carried out in any lab conditions (far from!) so there were many variables (amount of water poured, accurate water entry etc…)

switching the scale.

applying the same principle into the urban fabric. ok – I have fabricated a fake scenario (one which is unbelievable – well at least seems so at the moment!)

crude i know! testing the ripple shadow with the urban fabric.

islands brygge, copenhagen

overlaid ripples

the idea behind this was to show how the urban fabric would begin to adjust/adapt itself to the forces created by the ripples. Where there places of ripple shadow would be places of opportunity for easy construction. However, the idea of the ripple and its shadow can be multi scalar and self initiated. The scenario above shows a scenario closer to a massive bomb in a flooded copenhagen, but the ripples can be caused by a leaf falling on the water, and the shadow can be made from a door frame.

and as a very loose link – but to something that I find interesting… how can I three dimensionalise this idea… maybe like this!

This is non-newtonian fluid. It reacts to the different frequencies pumped through the speaker. My initial thoughts were can you dictate the “flow” of this semi solid/fluid material by simply created a frame work that is needs to grow around to create space? Along side this thought was the idea of the composer. By playing different frequencies you can achieve different effects (I have never done this but I am assuming the different effects would be related to growth speed, height of growth etc.) This means you can begin to create different spaces depending on the different frequencies played. The architect must compose a track of different frequencies to achieve different things – or maybe has to compose a track of varying frequencies just to keep this fluid erect as gravity is always working against it. Obviously, these experiments are on a very small scale, and I highly doubt you can achieve something like this at a much larger scale… but ideas have to start from somewhere!

If you want to see what this can achieve on a larger scale see the video below! I was thinking, why don’t they just use this in gyms!? Why do we use treadmills when you have non-newtonian fluid where you have to keep moving on it, otherwise you will be eaten by the ground… haha!

project 01a: capturing a ripple.

I have set out to capture a ripple – but how!?

A ripple is something that is in continuous transformation. And there are many factors that effect a ripple which gives it a sense of randomness. These are just a few experiments of trying to capture a ripple – nothing more, nothing less…

I thought of a way to capture the force of a liquid passing through another liquid, therefore creating a kind of under water ripple. I used molten wax and cold water. Below are a few examples and a video of how this turned out…

ripples 01

ripple 02

The above examples are products of pouring cold water into a layer of molten wax that sits above hot water. As the cold water passes through the molten wax, it cures the wax and it is instantly cooled into the shape of the water passing through. The process is random, but can it be controlled? Is it possible to deploy the same form over and over again – probably not – especially in these non-scientific conditions!

I began to try and dictate the flow of water by adding obstacles – this was unsuccessful. The idea behind this was that you could “print” certain forms by directed the flow of water. Here are some results…

ripples attached to frame

ripples attached to frame

As you can see, the frame acted as a net and stopped the wax form from passing through the frame. Instead the results was more of a surface rather than a deep shape. The wax would set instantly, therefore preventing water to pass freely. In other words the path of water was actually guided through the instantly solidified wax.

After trying to capture a ripple it made me think of the idea of freezing a moment. Tidal waves create habitable spaces – but can only be inhabited by skilled surfers which must remain in motion to stay inside. Eventually these spaces disappear again until another one is generated. It is a type of instant architecture. 

tidal wave – a type of instant architecture

Could we generate instant architecture and keep it for a certain period of time?

frozen tidal wave!

…maybe.

ok – I admit…

I have been a major flop. I have not managed to update this blog at all!! However, the new academic year has begun – and so should a new approach to this whole blogging thing!!!

Just to round up last years project – here is a quick edited down version of it that was entered into a competition, and magically won a prize!!! I am still surprised now!!! [click on the image below!]

a reduced version of my fourth year project

… when I have some time I will upload more process from this project. I was a long journey, and is interesting to see how many ideas came about and were disposed of! Also – I may in the future, want to carry on with this project as I enjoyed it so much!!