SURFACE

MODULE . CLUSTER . SURFACE

digital media 2 |
arch 3341
fall 2010
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digital media 2 fall 2010

SURFACE MODULE . CLUSTER . SURFACE

We will be investigating the fundamental and process of surfaces.

+ Freeform Surfaces |
= will be examined through their construction digitally to their use in
architctural practice.
+ NURBS Surfaces |
= will also be examined through their benefits in digital modeling to
their importance in fabrication process.
QUESTION
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SURFACE MODULE . CLUSTER . SURFACE

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Free-form Surface

+ Allow a great deal of flexibility that other tradi-

tional surfaces such as cones, cylinders,
spheres, rotational surfaces, and ruled surfaces
cannot.

+ Were initially used in digitally primarily in ani-

mation industry, due to the restrictions of B-
Spline and Bezier surfaces.

+ Animators used subdivision surfaces to allow

for greater control and manipulation.
TYPE OF SURFACE
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TYPE OF SURFACE

Free-form Surface
+ CAD software’s use 2 basic methods for the creation of such surfaces.

= The first begins with construction curves in which a 3d surface is then

swept of lofted through.

= The second method is a direct creation of the surface and manipula-

tion of its degrees or control points
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+ the Form of a Freeform surface

= they are not stored in CAD software in terms of polynomical equa-

tions. They are defined by their poles, degree, and number of patches
(aka, segments with spline curves).

= degrees marks the variable change in either the positive or negative

directions, dependant on the user.
TYPE OF SURFACE

= Poles are called control points (CP).

= the CPs are defined by the position of the first and last. They also act
as magnetic boundaries, drawing the next surface in their direction.
However, the CP doesn’t necessarily follow the furface, much like a
Bezier or NURBs curve.
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+ the history

= These types of surfaces can be found dating back to the first known
dome like shelters made from wood and
willow about 400,000 years ago.
TYPE OF SURFACE

= It was only in the nineteenth century that architects were granted a

significant amount of freedom in their expression of forms and styles
with industrialization and improved building materials such as iron, steel,
and reinforced concrete.
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Antoni Gaudi | Sagrada Familia

Barcelona, Spain

Achieved a deep understanding of the

statics and shape of freeform surfaces
through the development of

form-finding techniques and physical

models. Sagrada Familia and the Casa
Mila are the most prominent
examples
TYPE OF SURFACE | examples
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Antoni Gaudi | Sagrada Familia

Barcelona, Spain

Under construction since 1822 will be

completed in 2026. Gaudi used hyperbo-
loid structures and was influenced by
nature for much of the design especially
for the spires. Ruled surfaces are also
prominent in the cave’s vaults and win-
dows.
TYPE OF SURFACE | examples
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Antoni Gaudi | Casa Mila

Barcelona, Spain
TYPE OF SURFACE | examples
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Sydney Opera House | .

Australia

Early Attempts to reduce weight include

the segmentation of the desired surface
into structural members and cladding
elements.

An example is the pre-fabricated shells

of the opera house. Early Attempts to
reduce weight include the segmentation
of the desired surface into structural
members and
TYPE OF SURFACE | examples
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Frank Gehry | the Guggenheim

Bilbao Museum

The use of CAD (computer aided design)

was really first used with freeform
shapes by Frank Gehry. He is well
known for employing shapes that are
approximating developable surfaces in
his designs.

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

"signal moment in the architectural cul-

ture" because it represents "one of
TYPE OF SURFACE | examples

those rare moments when critics, aca-

demics, and the general public were all
completely united about something."
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Peter Cook | Kunsthaus Graz

Like a bubble of air, the bluish, shimmer-

ing skin of the Kunsthaus floats above its
glass-walled ground floor.
Spanning up to 60 meters in width, the
biomorphic construction
TYPE OF SURFACE | examples
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SURFACE MODULE . CLUSTER . SURFACE

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NURBs Surface

+ Began in the 1950’s by engineers who needed

a mathematically precise representation of free-
form surfaces like those in the shipping industry,
aerospace and automobile industries, which
could be exactly reproduced whenever techni-
cally needed.
TYPE OF SURFACE
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NURBs Surface

+ NURBS are commonly used in

CAD and CAM manufacturing and
engineering and are part of nu-
merous industry wide used stan-
dards.

+ Also found in many software 3D

modeling and animation pack-
ages such as FormZ, blender,
Maya, Catia and Rhino.
TYPE OF SURFACE
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NURBs Surface

+ NURBS that connect/intersect.

+ NURBS generated from surface

components.

VILLA NURBS |
ENRIC RUIZ GELI
TYPE OF SURFACE
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NURBs + Fabrication
+ NURBS allows a simplification in terms of modeling techniques which other software cannot.

+ In most software’s curves at high resolution are shown as stair steps but not NURBS they are calculated
with pinpoint accuracy, regardless of resolution.

+ The benefit of NURBS is that they have geometry that easily lends itself to IGES and STEP formats

+ These are universal file formats which comport with a variety of automated shop tools, such as CNC ma-
chines, laser cutters, 3D printing
TYPE OF SURFACE | why fabricate?
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+ NURBS that are NEAT

ASSIGNMENT 03 | a morpho-process
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+ NURBS that are NEAT

Assigned: Tuesday 14
Discussion 1 : Tuesday 14
Discussion 2: Thursday 21
Due : Tuesday 28
ASSIGNMENT 03 | a morpho-process