EXPERIMENT 1 - THE STAIR CONCEPT MODEL

Concept

Using my current understanding of the components of a stair, I experimented with the shapes and geometry of my stair concept to ensure fluid movement and ease of transit of Trent Jansen Studios projects between work and gallery spaces. This is achieved through the circular shaped treads which enable space for large items to rest as well as ridges which secure the items . Furthermore, the ribcage-like balustrade not only compliments Trent Jansen Studio’s sense of cultural and historic fusing with contemporary design, but also enables furniture to rest in transit on the cobweb system of the rails and thus emulate the notion of 'biomimicry'.

Sketches
https://davidpaulramos-arch1101.blogspot.com/2020/02/stairs-and-crossections.html

https://davidpaulramos-arch1101.blogspot.com/2020/02/scheme-2-stairs-and-cross-sections.html

Process

https://davidpaulramos-arch1101.blogspot.com/2020/02/cad-process-model-and-stairs-1032020.html

Most relevant Sketches 

Images of Sketch Up Model

Front view of stair concept for Trent Jansen Studio

Rear view of stair concept for Trent Jansen Studio

Trent Jansen Studio stair concept relative to immediate studio space

Top view of Trent Jansen Studio stair concept

Cross section showcasing where the stair concept is located relative to the CAD building model

CAD Process - Model and Stairs 1/03/2020

Sketching

Before progressing with my CAD model, I attempted to revisit and sketch the biomimicry-visceral datum concept in an attempt to visualise how the cross section of the building would work. This time, attempting to place a greater emphasis of space and proportion of the gallery and studio spaces which can be used by the two designers. 

CAD Process - Model

I continued my CAD model by drawing a similar shape of the base of the building and making it a component. This was only done because I had forgotten to keep the initial shape when I first started modelling and while this may be detrimental, this could create the opportunity for an interesting shape.

I commenced modelling by alligning the base of the model with the newly drawn shape and subsequently lock the shape down along the blue axis. It was here that I used the two-point arc tool to join the top and bottom of the datum together.

Once this was complete, I attempted to create faces out of the arc lines using the 'loft along path' tool from the Curviloft extension. This produced an unorthodox and strange shape which can be experimented and explored during design development. How this may help with the work flow and effectiveness of using space must be critically analysed later for Mountain and Moon and thus changes may need to be made.

However, it is worth noting that while curviloft could achieve and interesting shape, two gaps where made on both sides. Again, while this may be an issue and as oppose to troubleshooting this, I will use this as an opportunity to think critically, laterally and fill space.

I progressed development on the work space of Trent Jansen Studio by considering a dome like feature which could be situated within the space, both for aesthetics and potentially natural lighting. I created this by using a 'circle platform component' I had drawn previously and drawing to arcs so that it could be later 'skinned' into shape.

I considered placing another circle platform within the 'shell like' component of the building as a means to separate the space within that area into two storeys. The curved feature that had been 'skinned' had its edges flattened using the move tool and was scaled to fit into the building model.

CAD Process - Stairs Concept (Trent Jansen)

Importantly, the size of the model seemed proportionally big relative to human scale. I had attempted to fix this by selecting all components and scaling down the Sketchup model so that the spaces were more appropriately sized. This also enabled the stairs to be more suitably sized and scaled while producing them. 

Before I began designing the stairs I had sketched, I had to consider where I was going to integrate each pair for each respective designer. Using the cross-section tool, I made a cross section of the building to consider how this may be achieved. In addition to this, I used circular platforms to minimise the distance between each stair well to control my use of space.

Once I had decided where the stairs would be located, I began drawing my first set of stairs for Trent Jansen studio. I used the two point arc tool to create the curvature and face which was then duplicated and rotated. The two shapes were joined to form until it was satisfactory and a small shape was drawn in between to bridge them.

Afterwards, I used the push/pull tool to create a thickness for the stairs and it was then made a component. Through the alt and move key and arraying shortcut (x18), I quickly made 18 identical stair tread components along the blue axis which bridged the vertical transition between two platforms.

To quickly form the staircase using components, I used the select shortcut (space), move shortcut (m) and rotate shortcut (q) to quickly interchange amongst the appropriate tool. (space) was used to select all relevant components as I moved the group to form each step of the stair. The stair had to curve to maintain an appropriate shape within the model which is where the rotate tool was effective.

Shortly after the stair was formed, circles were drawn underneath the stairs to form pillars which would support them (this was initially designed to be risers at first). I used the copy and paste shortcut as well as the move tool to efficiently place the 2D circles underneath each platform.

Once all circles were drawn, I used the hide tool to conceal the platform but also the 'view hidden objects' option in Sketchup to maintain its visibility. This resulted in a quick and efficient push/pull process to quickly snap the pillars to an appropriate length.

To create the balustrade of the stair concept, I had drawn an enlarged circle and a two x,y lines along the diameter of the circle in order to produce a straight line along the blue axis. This was used to create two arcs to form a horn-like shape which was then 'skinned' using curviloft to produce a shape.

The 'skinned' component was then duplicated and flipped along the red axis to complete the horn shape.

Once the horn was created, it was scaled down and copy and pasted into the 'stair tread' component. This allowed the horn to be effectively replicated on all of the stair treads. The horn was then angled from the stair to form the balustrade and the line tool was used to project its cobweb like features. 

Once the stair concept component had been complete, the cross section tool was used to open up the CAD model and place the stair into the building where appropriate. 

Scheme 2 - Stairs and Cross sections

During my design process, I had sketched two more sets of sections (4 more stairs) to branch out in my ideas. I had selected a scheme with the same clients of Trent Jansen Studio on the top and Mountain & Moon on the bottom of the relative datum. Using the words, iridescent and elegant, I had produced interesting results.

First Set

Second Set

Importantly, in my synthesising of ideas, I had achieved perhaps my most significant idea in approaching a design of stairs that can exclusively cater to the unique needs of client. The iridescent idea can be reframed into the 'biomimicry' context by using its distinct balustrade as a 'spider cobweb' like design to hold and stabilise the furniture during transit for Trent Jansen Studio.

Similarly, I can attempt to reframe elegance for Mountain & Moon, by using a similar idea, but making the shapes sharper to suit the noun of 'visceral'.

Experimenting with CAD 26/02/2020

In my experimentation with Google SketchUp, I sought to enhance my skills in the CAD program through my research and learning of tutorials and downloading of plugins and extensions to increase the versatility of the software.

This was in an attempt to create a 3D model of the cross section I had made for my Trent Jansen Studio and  Mountain and Moon clients as opposed to just merely extruding the cross section as I did here.

I had downloaded the 'artisan' toolkit but had little knowledge as to how to effectively use the software, so I had to predominantly use tools which I had more experience and time with and had already invested in for the time being. That is the Fredo6 Tool kits, including Curviloft and the JHS powerbar.

I had begun my second attempt at a 3D model by producing, two circles which overlapped each other and using the offset tool and push/pull to produce walls about 0.5 meters. The previous CAD model I had created was still helpful as I made it into a component which could be loaded directly into the Sketchup file to be used as reference to the cross section of the building. 

Using this, I created a slight ramp on the surface of the model to reflect the cross section I had made using the move tool. The Fredo6 tool, smooth run was then used to smooth out the surface and clean up the lines. 

It was here that I was able to use a 2 point arch to project onto the height of the two overlapping circles and subsequently use the move tool to create a curved and interesting shape. 

As the curves of the model were slightly messy due to the warping SketchUp had done through the move tool. I used the little knowledge I had of the 'artisan' tool kit to subdivide and smooth out the edges I had.

As I continued to experiment, my design had begun to drastically change as I used hidden geometry produced by the curves in Sketchup to produce arcs and interesting shapes to reflect my 'biomimicry' design. However, the design is starting to lean more towards 'biomorphic' and a shell like design which I will need to address later. I ensured my previous model was a component so that the new lines I produced did not interfere with my current model.

Using, Curviloft, I was able to using the 'skinning' tool to make the shapes I had drew into a 'face'.

Whenever this tool is used, the faces produced became components to my benefit. The gaps that did not become a face had to be manually selected and 'skinned' separately.

I used this knowledge of SketchUp mechanics to my advantage by creating a duplicate of the shape by selecting the component in the components window and further experimenting with the types of shapes I could create.

 A conclusion I eventually drawn on was to angle the shape on top of its self and create arcs to join them together.

For now, I have 'skinned' the arcs using Curviloft to make a face, but I intend this component of the Trent Jansen Studio to be hollow and void in consideration of how the building reflects the notion of 'biomimicry' and perhaps a canopy like or plant like structure in terms of space, form and structure.

I have made this into the a component to further experiment with and use later. I plan to revisit sketching of this model building in an attempt to evaluate the human experience of the architecture of the building and how the clients may operate within. Throughout my experimentation, the essence of 'biomimicry' had become loss in imagery instead of immersing within the concept of being inspired by the 'process of nature' which I had intended for Trent Jansen Studio and thus, more sketches may need to be produced.

Stairs and Cross sections Ideation - (Biomimicry - Visceral)

First Set

Second Set

Third Set

Fourth Set