Module 2-DesignRonald Wong Teck Yih610134Virtual Environments Semester 1/2013Group 8

Much of our work in Module One can be reflected in the article “Lost in Parameter Space”. The article introduces two concepts which are ‘abstraction’ and ‘reduction’. Though the two words are new to me, but the meaning of the words are easy to grasp as I had experienced them in Module One.

Abstraction is the simplification of com-plex systems. It is the method of simplifying something while pre-serving the essence and the idea of the object. This can be related to Poling’s “Analytical Drawing” where objects are sim-plified into their very basic structural form in a two-dimensional plane. Also, the meth-od of abstraction has been used in making the analytical draw-ings that explores the ideas of movement, sysmetry and balance in module one.

Reduction is the method of finding the optimal way to transport informa-tion. An example of this would be the recipes done in module one. The recipes are simple step-by-step guides on how to obtain the patterns de-rived from our cho-sen natural pattern. It takes in the con-cepts of normaliza-tion and refactor-ing.

The projects done by Thomas Heatherwick can be related to the modules and the designing process of our lantern. Heath-erwick takes the concept of a design and tranforms and evolves it into a final structural product. Much like our lantern, we started off with a natural pattern, then slowly let it meta-morphosize into of final lan-tern product. Also, the designs done by Heatherwick are not about the form of the structure but rather the effects created by the structure. His Rolling Bridge can be seen as a simple bridge spanning across a body of water. However, once the Rolling Bridge starts to curl or uncurl, it creates a bizzare ef-fect for the viewer. The bridge creates a flowing effect which could relate to the waters un-derneath it ultimately creates spatial effects.

The Rolling Bridgeby Thomas Heatherwick

Physical ModelThe idea of my lan-tern was a horizontal spiral infused with the wavy patterns of my emerging form. Due to the spiraling and the wavy nature of my clay model, it was hard to recreate the physical model in Rhino by means of contouring. Therefore, I directly reproduced my physical model in Rhino with the help of the 3D tools.

Sketches of the lantern from Module 1

I started out my model in Rhino by drawing a spiral using the Helix tool in.

Then, I turned on and added more control points to my spiral to have more control over it. I moved the control points around until I ended up with my desired form.

Next I created an ellipse-shaped cross section for my spiral then used the 1 Rail Sweep command to complete my model.

After creating the model, I realized a great weakness of it if the model were to be made into a lantern. Firstly, it would be too fragile due to the physical structure and the material that it is made from. The spiraling nature was simply to frail to be put into a paper model. Therefore, I looked at my clay model again for ideas to rede-sign my lantern.

After inspecting my clay model, I realize that my lantern could take on a spherical body. I continued searching for inspiration in my emerging form.

The wavy patterns of my emerging form gave me an idea of waves of the ocean. Finally I decided that my concept would be waves moving on a sphere, much like how the waves of the sea move on Earth.

I tested out my concept on the previous clay model by sharpening the curvy surfaces into wave-like shapes.

The design idea turned out well so I proceeded to creating my idea on Rhino.

I created a sphere in Rhino then used CageEdit to mark control points around the sphere. I adjusted the control points and pulled them until I got my desired form.

Finally, I played around with the paneling tools to discover the effects of it around my model.