Findings

Modern architectural facades have taken on a number of different forms and functions throughout the last 100 years. More recently the different ways of using facades as an expression of the architectural intent of buildings has increased to include a number of complicated systems and processes. The reproduction of an image on the elevation of a building has been a relatively recent architectural technique. The evolution of this idea has seen the image being created through the process of printing images and then applying them to building facades. The next iteration of this is the movement away from applying images onto a facade by using a separate medium like adhesive film and instead using the existing common place architectural facade features to reproduce an image. This is done by using the facade elements almost like pixels to create an image on the building.
The research project proposes to investigate the possible ways of creating imagery on a building facade. Exploring the way existing architectural elements of building facades can be manipulated to create a desired effect. The research will be analysing existing examples of architecture that use building facades to recreate images. This will explore the different techniques that that have been used to make these images. One of the main focus points of the research project will be to decipher the processes that are used to translate the original photographic image to the building facade. In doing this it is expected the there will be a number of computer software programs and processes that will be essential for the translation of the images. After the analysis the project will attempt to design a new way of using building facade elements to recreate an image.
This research by design project will investigate the process involved in the recreation of images on and as building facades as a design element. The process will be explored through the analysis of existing projects and will use experimentation as a way of understanding and decoding the processes used in the existing examples. Further experimentation and modification to the process will be used to create a unique and new way of representing image in a building facade.
This Blog show the process and experimentation of the project and proposal that is described above. Through the study and analysis of the existing precedent of image re-production on buildings a number of things have become apparent. The process of translating an image from the photographic to the medium of a building facade is an extremely complicated process. I the progress of this project I have explored a number of ways in which to possibly translate an image onto a building. I believe that I have been relatively successful in exploring these options. Although it is apparent after these design based explorations that there is in fact many possible ways to achieve the desired outcome. The processes that I used could defiantly be used and may have already been used to represent image on buildings. However I was unable to find the exact process used in some of the precedents studied. In particular the ARM Dupain building and the Camberwell Rd office building. The proposal of coming up with a new way of representing image using building facade feature turned out to be unfulfilled through the process of this research. However the techniques and processes that were successfully explored proved to be complicated and still showed much potential for variation and applicability to the buildings. The possibilities of the use these techniques and other within a number of different contexts and meanings are almost unlimited. There are yet still many opportunities that could be experimented with for the use in the re-creation of image on building. The following explores just some of the possibilities.

Norfolk House

This is the intended aplication of my final project. Shown here as incorperated into one of my designs for a house in Swanbourne. The creation of the photograph within the facade of the house is intended to evoke thoughts of the West Australian beach lifestyle.

Texture Pines

So this is what I want to do as my final project model. Using the image of the Cottesloe pine trees that I have decided on. Firstly I opened the original Photograph in Photoshop. I then adjusted the image to black and white. Then I simplified the image into just the silhouette of the trees. The next step was to take that simplified image into Illustrator, here I continued to reduce the complexity of the image. This was done by using the live sketch command to stylise the outline of the trees. I then used illustrator to turn the picture into a vector file. I had to do a tutorial on this to figure out how it could be done. It basically came down to turning the file into a bitmap and the re opening it in illustrator and then using the embed and live trace functions to create an outline of the image. This outline was then exported as a dxf file and opened in Autocad. Once in Autocad the now line work of the image was cleaned up, removing all of the extra un necessary lines.

The line were then taken into Rhino.

Then I began extruding the lines to create solid objects.

Then I gave the model some extents to exist within.

I then subtracted the main outline of the trees from the larger square.

This subtraction would represent how the image could be created using inserts within the form work of a concrete wall.

Once I had the model basically as i wished I did a test render to see what the progress looked like.

During the rendering process I could see that the surface of the solid was not properly meshing within the boundary of the image of the trees.

The completed render shows where the complexity of the model and the curves of the tree outlines had caused the surface of the solid to fail.

This image shows the way in which i tackled the failed surfacing of the solid. Firstly I had to split the solid into two. Then by exploding the original line work and the re building the lines into new polylines that divided the outline of the trees into section I was able to extrude them successfully.

The process of rendering.

Some initial renders of the final object.

Some better renders of the wall with the image existing within it.

Scripted Pines

This is a set of screen shots and renders from my work on the image of the pine trees at Cottesloe. Its basically the same process as the other experiments I did with the attractor scale rhino script. I started out with the original image and the took a vector tracing of the outline and major features of the image. Then I imported the line work into rhino and extracted the points from the polylines. The next step was to create an array or field of objects that the script can act upon to create the image.

This screen shot is of the extracted points and an array of circle curves.

After running the script command this screen shot shows the result of scaling the circles using the outline of the image.

This next shot show the process of extruding the circles to create the object. The level of complexity in the model meant that the extrusion had to be done in stages.

Here's the first render.

And a couple more. I think that this has a really cool look about it but the actual representation of the original image is really abstracted. So I'm not convinced that this is the best option or process to follow.

flower

Saw this cool building on Archdaliy.com. Its a renovated rejuvinated appartment building in Gratz Austria. I like the use of the rose/flower motif that is repeated in lots of diffrent ways all over and inside the building. The Architects are INNOCAD.

Pines

After some thought I've decided that the image of the Cottesloe norfolk pines is probablly the best image to go with for my project. It has, what i think is the most emotive type of imagery. This image I find creates a real sense of what life in Perth is about. On the way to the beach, in the sunshine and the heat with those big pines marking the way and creating some much needed shade.

Theatre

If the new performing arts theatre in the Perth city cultural precinct was still going to honour Heath Ledger maybe an image of him could be used an the buildings exterior. Or maybe even though the new theatre is not to be named after him it could still bear his image in a subtle not clearly of instantly obvious way. Just a thought.