Advanced Construction [ARCH-678]
Course Outline
Aim: Provide knowledge and expertise to develop complex architectural structures from conceptual design to fabrication using advanced technologies for modelling and simulation.
GENERAL INFORMATION
· The aim of the course is to provide knowledge and expertise to develop complex architectural structures from conceptual design to fabrication using advanced technologies for modelling and simulation.
· ARCH 678 - Advanced Construction is a compulsory course within the March programmes:
· M.Arch. (Non-Thesis) – Design Studio (45 credits)
· M.Arch. (Non-Thesis) – Design Studio - Directed Research (60 credits)
· Duration: 13 weeks in total for the fall term (1st Sep to 3rd Dec) / 15 weeks for the winter term (Jan 4th to April 14th) [final number of weeks to be confirmed]
· Credits: A total of 3 credits are awarded for the course. These are structured as follows:
· 2 hours per week on Lectures (8:30 to 10.30 am – Mondays)
· 0 hours per week on Field Trip
· 7 hours per week on assignments/workshops
· Instructor: Maria Mingallon, (Msc Distinction Architectural Association, MEng CEng MICE)
· Classes scheduled for Mondays 8.30 to 10.30 am. Tutorials to be held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays from 6.30 to 8.30 pm. Some tutorials are scheduled for Saturday mornings, 10.30 am to 12.30pm. Please refer to the attached programme.
· Prerequisites: Bsc (Arch or equivalent); good knowledge of Rhinoceros; basic knowledge in Vbscript, Vb.net, Grasshopper and Excel. During the first two weeks of the course the 7 hours/week tutorials will be dedicated to Vbscript and Grasshopper. This will start from a very basic level and provide students with a fair foundation to carry out more advanced tasks which will be demanded as the course progresses. Students need to have installed the following software to be able to follow the tutorials:
Vbscript tutorials (1st week):
· Software requirements: Rhino 4.0 Service Release 5 (compatible with Grasshopper) and Monkey editor (http://download.rhino3d.com/en/Monkey/1.0/wip/download/).
· Students are encouraged to review the tutorial by David Rutten at McNeel Associates available at (http://download.rhino3d.com/en/Rhino/4.0/RhinoScript101/) in preparation for the course.
· Students also require a vbscript library which can be downloaded from: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1498149/designscripting.rvb
Grasshopper tutorials (2nd week):
· Software requirements: Grasshopper 1.0 version 0.6.0059 which can be downloaded from: http://www.grasshopper3d.com/page/download-1
· Students are encouraged to review the series of tutorials available at the above website in preparation for the course.
· Access to Instructor:
· Tutorial hours: 6.30 to 8.30pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays.
· Personal email:
· University contact email: to be confirmed
· Office Contact details: to be confirmed
School of Architecture, Macdonald-Harrington Building, Room XXX, 815 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2K6, Ph: 514.398.XXXX, Cell: 514.458.5679
· Teaching Assistants:
Jason Crow, RA, LEED AP, Phd Candidate
· Calendar Course Description:
· Refer to pages 9 & 10 of this document.
MCGILL POLICY STATEMENTS
· “McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore, all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures (see http://www.mcgill.ca/students/srr/honest/ for more information).” (approved by Senate on 29 January 2003)
· “In accord with McGill University’s Charter of Students’ Rights, students in this course have the right to submit in English or in French any written work that is to be graded.” (approved by Senate on 21 January 2009 - see also the section in this document on Assignments and evaluation.)
· Course Outline - Introduction
· Use of Text-matching software: "Instructors who may adopt the use of text matching software to verify the originality of students' written course work must register for use of the software with Educational Technologies () and must inform their students before the drop/add deadline, in writing, of the use of text-matching software in a course." (approved by Senate on 1 December 2004).
· Please also note the following additional policies:
o “If you have a disability please contact the instructor to arrange a time to discuss your situation. It would be helpful if you contact the Office for Students with Disabilities at 398-6009 (online at http://www.mcgill.ca/osd) before you do this.”
o "Additional policies governing academic issues which affect students can be found in the McGill Charter of Students' Rights (Chapter One of the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook available as a PDF on (http://www.mcgill.ca/files/secretariat/Student-Handbook-2009-English.pdf)."
o "McGill University shall strive to be recognized as an environmentally safe and responsible institution, and as a model of environmentally responsible living. (see www.mcgill.ca/tls/policy/environmental_policy)"
o In keeping with McGill's preparedness planning strategies with respect to potential H1N1 flu concerns, the Administration suggests that all course outlines for the 2010-2011 academic year contain the statement: “In the event of extraordinary circumstances beyond the University’s control, the content and/or evaluation scheme in this course is subject to change.” (see http://www.mcgill.ca/health/)
LEARNING OUTCOME
At the end of the course students are expected to have developed their skills in the following areas:
· Conception:
o Understand the behaviour of any given structural system
o Identify the main force paths and the nature of the force (compression, tension, shear, bending)
o Understand material choice, use and distribution within the structural system.
o Appreciate how the form and geometry in a structure should be the result of the forces acting upon the material.
o Finally, demonstrate critical and technical analysis in the conception of structural systems
· Construction:
o Demonstrate abilities to apply critical and technical analysis to historical modes of construction
o Be able to connect this analysis to design philosophies and material strategies, and relate them to manufacturing processes and construction.
o Approach design and production as reciprocal methods of project development rather than as successive stages of a project.
o Identify how computational tools can facilitate the liaison between the design and construction phases, and be able to employ them.
· Leadership:
o Ability to present and communicate research findings individually and as part of a group.
o Acquire skills to contribute to interdisciplinary professional teams.
course content
The following is a summary of the main concepts to be developed throughout the course:
· Structure related: Force paths, Principal stresses, tension, compression and shear stresses; antifunicular; form finding techniques.
· Biomimetics related: Thigmo-morphogenesis, natural constructions, material organisation, etc
· Material related: plasticity, elasticity, homogeneous, heterogeneous, anisotropy, isotropy, composites, fibre materials (natural and man-made), etc
· Geometry & Structure related: slenderness, buckling, main structural typologies (beam simply supported, beam encastrated, from a beam to a slab, columns, trusses, bow-tie effect, cable-stayed structures, suspension structures, arched structures, sky scrapers structural typologies, etc.
In addition, specific tutorials in Vbscript and Grasshopper are to be held during the first two weeks of the course. Refer to Calendar Course Description in page 9 & 10 for further information.
insTructional method
The course will be structured in two main parts: Cases Studies and Final Project. A total of 7 weeks will be dedicated to Cases Studies and the remaining 6 weeks to the Final project.
PHASE 1 - Cases Studies [1st to 7th week]: First 7 weeks will consist on lectures studying different case studies representing different structural typologies. For each set of typologies, there will be a lecture based on the theory of the structural typology, followed by a lecture and tutorials dedicated to build up the 3D model of a representative example using Rhinoceros & Grasshopper. Students will choose one of the two models for fabrication during the 7th week of the course.
· 1st, 3rd and 5th week (2 hours): Design & Material:
o These lectures will study the logics between structure, form and material in all types of constructions, both natural and man-made. Each Design & Material lecture will concentrate on a certain structural typology.
o Assignment (7 hours x 3 =21 hours in total - Individual): Seven of these hours will be dedicated to grasshopper tutorials. For the outstanding 14 hours, students will have to individually write a critical essay (1000 words max) analysing one built example for each of the three structural typologies studied. At the end of this series of lectures, students will need to compile the three essays into one single document and provide overall conclusions as well as their opinions (3500 words max).
· 2nd, 4th and 6th week (2hours): Tools:
o These lectures are to provide the students with the skills necessary to model the structural system studied in each of the case studies. Prior to these lectures, additional tutorials will be provided: during the first (Vbscript) and second (Grasshopper) weeks of the course. Refer to page for the calendar course description.
o Assignment (7 hours x 3 =21hours): with the tips provided in the lecture, students will have to fully develop the model using associative modelling software and/or scripting.
· 7th week (2 hours): Fabrication:
o Students will explore laser cutting and/or CNC-milling as forms of design output, pursuing an opportunity to work directly with advanced design technologies reproducing one of the digital models prepared during the ‘Tools’ series lectures described above.
o Assignment (7 hours): Fabrication of a scaled model using laser cutting/CNC milling. This is to ensure students familiarise themselves with the tools available in the prototyping lab. Students can choose to realise one of the two models previously developed and for which they would have already built the digital model. The assignment will consist on the adaptation of the digital model to laser cutting/CNC printing technique. This assignment will be done in groups of 6 students. Ideally the arrangement used for these groups should continue to the next phase: the Final Project.
PHASE 2 - Final Project [8th to 13th week]: consists on the development of a structural system from design to fabrication and construction of a real scale prototype. Students will form groups of 6 people.
· 8th week (2hours): Introduction to the Final Project Phase.
o Lecture will provide Final Project Brief outlining the main requirements and material constraints/opportunities to allow students to start with the design, material selection and development of the digital model.
o Assignment (7 hours): design and material system proposal together with the computational model. Digital model should be developed considering already how the proposal is going to be fabricated. Each team is expected to present one final project, i.e. 6 final projects in total.
· 9th week (2hours): Invited guest Lecture.
o This week’s assignment will consist on preparing the work already done on the FP to be presented in the following week. An Invited Guest Lecture is therefore to be scheduled at this time to help inspiring students.
o Assignment (7 hours): Prepare presentations and panels draft submission.
· 10th week (2hours): Presentation (2hours).
o Presentation of the Design and Material system used and the way the digital model was built up.
o A number of guest critics will be invited to attend the presentations with the aim to provide external feedback on the design and material system employed as well as some hints on how production could be oriented.
o Assignment (7 hours): will be used to continue the presentations.
· 11th week (2hours): Fabrication: Fabrication technologies will be analysed in depth for the particular group projects. This will help students focusing on tiding up their models ready for fabrication during this week’s assignment.
o Assignment (7 hours): Finalising digital model for fabrication and start of fabrication.
· 12th week (2hours): Invited Guest Lecture: Similarly to 9th week, this is invited guest lecture is to encourage students, inspire them and avoid overloading with extra assignments.
o Assignment (7 hours): Finalising full scale prototypes for the final presentation. Presentation should include critical analysis of both the design and fabrication process, highlighting both the strengths and weaknesses of the project. Panels should also be prepared using the documentation employed for the presentations.
· 13th week: Final Presentation (2hours): Students will present their full scale prototype along with descriptive panels. Presentation should include critical analysis of the project as described above. A number of critics (architects and engineers) will be invited to the final presentations providing external feedback to the students and contributing to the critical discussions.
o Assignment (7 hours): will be used to continue the presentations.
course materiaLs
· Required Reading:
o Vbscript Tutorials (1st week): Students are encouraged to review the tutorial by David Rutten at McNeel Associates available at (http://wiki.mcneel.com/developer/rhinoscript101) in preparation for the course.
o Grasshopper Tutorials (2nd week): Students are encouraged to read the tutorial by LIFT architects, Grasshopper Primer which can be downloaded at: http://www.liftarchitects.com/storage/research/Grasshopper%20Primer_Second%20Edition_090323.pdf
o Design & Material Lectures:
§ Francois Gabriel, J. Beyond the Cube: The Architecture of Space Frames and Polyhedra. Wiley, 1st edition,1997.
§ Otto, F. Finding Form: Towards Architecture of the Minimal. Edition Axel Menges, 1995.
· Suggested Reading:
o Vbscript Tutorials (1st week): In addition to the required reading listed above, students are encouraged to read the tutorial by
o Grasshopper Tutorials (2nd week): In addition to the required reading listed above, students are encouraged to read the tutorial by Zubin M Khabazi, Generative Algorithms, which can be downloaded at:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/mcneel/grasshopper/1.0/docs/en/Generative%20Algorithms.pdf
o Essential Mathematics Second Edition:
http://download.rhino3d.com/en/Rhino/4.0/EssentialMathematicsSecondEdition/
o Additional Tutorial videos and related files can be found at:
http://web.mac.com/rhino3dtv/GH/GH.html
o Design & Material Lectures:
§ Gordon, J.E. Structures: or Why Things don’t fall down. Da Capo Press, 1st Edition, 2003.
§ Thompson, D.A. On Growth and Form. Cambridge: Ed. Cambridge University Press, 1994.