Advanced Design Studies Blog: Critical Mass
Below are photos from the symposium itself, which included lectures from Matthias Kohler, Dr. Russell Loveridge, and Yusuke Obuchi. Students and attendees were able to see their multiple perspectives on computational design, and the talks were followed by a productive debate and question session centered around the role of the human in digital fabrication.
This week we have the pleasure of participating in a series of events between ETH and UTokyo. These events are organized as part of a strategic partnership between the two institutions, and culminates in a symposium event on January 19 and 20. Professor Matthias Kohler, Dr. Russell Loveridge, Dr. René Jähne, and Senior Researcher Hannes Mayer stopped by our laboratory for a visit with professors and students. Mr. Matthias Frey and Ms. Kyoko Suzuki, of the Swiss Embassy in Tokyo, were also kind enough to participate, providing a generous gift of Swiss wine, in addition to taking time to speak to the students in our laboratory about the importance of collaborative efforts.
On Thursday afternoon, we participated in a poster session on the UTokyo campus, speaking with researchers and students from a variety of difference scientific fields. It was a great opportunity to exchange ideas and share inspiration.
Our first years recently went on a field trip with their Japanese Architecture and Cities class to Kyu Asakura House in the Daikanyama district. The house was built in 1919 by Torajiro Asakura and survived the Great Kanto Earthquake and the Pacific War. In 2004, the House was designated as an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese government and is open to the public.
This week we held the AR Toolkit Workshop, aimed at familiarizing students with the production and usage of AR Markers. Using Processing, Grasshopper, and AR Toolkit, students developed their own markers and used cameras to detect distances and synchronize them to points in a virtual model.
Photos by Veronika Smetanina.
The display period for the Computational Clay Pavilion project is now in its second week. Visitors have been curious about the pavilion, especially children (who are very enthusiastic about trying to climb it)!
Photos taken by Veronika Smetanina.
パビリオン公開 // PAVILION DISPLAY
12月5日（月）– 12月18日（日）// December 5 (Mon) – December 18 (Sun)
10:00 – 17:00
東京大学本郷キャンパス工学部1号館前広場
The University of Tokyo, Hongo Campus, Engineering Building #1 Plaza
パネル・模型展示 // PANEL AND PROCESS EXHIBITION
12月5日（月）– 12月17日（土）// December 5 (Mon) – December 17 (Sat)
平日と土曜日のみ // Weekdays and Saturdays only
(12月5日は13:00から) // (Open at 13:00 on December 5)
東京大学本郷キャンパス工学部 11 号館1階展示スペース（入場無料）
The University of Tokyo Hongo Campus, Engineering Building #11, 1F Exhibition Space (free entry)
主催: 東京大学建築学専攻 Advanced Design Studies（T—ADS）
PRODUCED BY: Advanced Design Studies, Department of Architecture, The University of Tokyo
企画: 東京大学建築学専攻 Digital Fabrication Lab（DFL）
鹿島建設株式会社
東京大学大学院情報理工学系研究科コンピュータ科学専攻 五十嵐健夫研究室
東京大学大学院新領域創成科学研究科社会文化環境学専攻 佐藤淳研究室
素材協力： 株式会社エコグリーン、株式会社東邦アーステック（順不同）
PLANNING:
Digital Fabrication Lab (DFL), Department of Architecture, The University of Tokyo
IN COLLABORATION WITH:
Kajima Corporation
Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Department of Computer Science, Takeo Igarashi Laboratory
Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, Department Socio-cultural Environmental Studies, Jun Sato Laboratory
MATERIALS PROVIDED BY:
Eco Green, Toho EarthTech (in random order)
東京大学建築学専攻Digital Fabrication Lab（DFL）では、建築施工におけるデジタル技術の活用をテーマに、毎年実験的なパビリオンを制作しています。単に技術による自動化や高度化を目指すのではなく、そこに「人間が関わること」の可能性を探る実証の場として、これまで「人間と機械が融合した3Dプリンター」（2014年STIKパビリオン）や「巨大3Dペン」（2015年TOCAパビリオン）を建築スケールで再現してきました。
本年Computational Clayプロジェクトでは「人間が関わること」をより一層推し進め、個性としての身体パフォーマンスを建築表現に反映させるため、人の動きと素材と関係に着目したユニークなパネル加工システムを開発しました。
Every year in the University of Tokyo’s Digital Fabrication Lab (DFL), digital fabrication technologies are used to produce an experimental pavilion project. The aim, rather than being simply to achieve automation or precision through use of such technologies, is to explore the potentials for human and machine collaboration. Past projects have focused on fusions between humans and machines through the use of 3D printers: the 2014 STIK Pavilion explored this theme through guided aggregation, and the 2015 TOCA Pavilion by using humans as a parameter along with an oversized 3D pen.
This year, in the Computational Clay Pavilion, we advance the role of the human in construction one step further, examining how an individual’s capabilities and performance can be expressed in an architectural output. We have developed a unique panelized construction system wherein the movements of humans and their relationship to the material are explored.
Two arches completed on-site.
Structural optimization.
Guidance sequence.
Scanning process on-site.
Panel-making process.
Preparation for guidance.
Scanning sequence.
The two images show the stages of panel production used for the 2016 pavilion project.
Panel Bag Sealing Steps (image 1):
Step 1: Wood chips are mixed with resin and poured into a pre-made wooden frame, which sits on top of a double layer of plastic bags to decrease possibility of holes forming.
Step 2: The frame is removed and another double layer of plastic is put on top of the wood chips. The outer bag is then closed with a heat sealer. Two adjacent lines of sealant help to prevent air leakage during vacuuming.
Step 3: The panel is vacuumed and any small holes that may be produced due to the combination of sharp wood chips and high pressure are taped.
Step 4: Reflective marker guidance system tracking points are applied. This is for the panel shaping process, which comes next.
Panel Shaping Process (image 2):
A Kinect camera uses an infrared projector to detect the contrast between reflective markers and the background. When it finds a point of contrast it produces a tackable point, which is then compared to predetermined points in the computer model. The manipulation of the panel is articulated according to the difference between the points on the model and the points (reflective markers) on the actual panel. After the panel has been shaped, the points are re-scanned to quantify the difference between the physical and computer models. A light-absorbing cloth is used as a backdrop to create total contrast between the panel and its environment. This allows the physical panel to be easily tracked and manipulated in space.
