possible questions & projects

• can we change the way we occupy and experience certain spaces? i would like to 're-design' the way we interact with spaces within a building. i find that sometimes a problem that arises is how people use spaces and the space efficiency to do with that. for example, there are 6 levels in the building and each level holds 50 people to study in. there are 20 people in the whole building, yet they occupy 4 of the 6 levels. why can't we place them all on the same level so the building can sustain electricity and other energy. with this in mind... can we use technology to help us exercise this idea? another way in which we can change the way spaces are occupied is to group people according to their interests, subjects, year, role (staff, student, visitor), age and etc. can we have a program which will help allocate spaces for these users? this all depends on the time and occupancy levels of the building as well. for example, if a group of students came into a building at 7pm (all from different years and such) and wanted to study in the building, how can we save space and help these users find a suitable place to study in? i'm proposing an idea which would help group people to certain spaces depending on what they study, what year they're in, interests and so on. this could also be linked to the idea of how social media can be used. depending on time and occupancy, if a person likes photography... they can be allocated to an available space within the building that has others with the similar interest. or even if they do the same subject... they will be allocated a space that would be filled with their classmates. thus, a system that analyses certain information and checks certain criteria to help you find a space within a building. with this in mind, if a building is full of students and no study spaces.. it would also save time and effort for the student to find a space to study. this could also help students know which staff members are 'in' on a particular day. through this proposed system.. it combines digital information/architecture with physical architecture... through the use of data from social media (or something similar) and spaces available in a building.. it helps us better interact with the building and its spaces, better utilize the building for energy consumption, and provides accurate data in how spaces are really used. although there are some issues such as privacy... its something that has sparked my interest.
  
  
• how can we analyse and interpret spaces/areas in the city to help us better understand how to improve them? i want to study the way in how the public use certain spaces or how often they occupy spaces. for example, if there is an area in the uni which is not being used or occupied as much.. how can we use this information to better improve the uni? what if there were too many people occupying the Quad? could we use this 'empty' space to design new seating areas for eating? how can we use technology in this sense? i would like to see whether i can use visualization and possibly social media/online means as a form of understanding how we can better use spaces. we can use technology such as the 'check-in' app within facebook to see where people are most. this can help us analyse data and understand where we can further improve other spaces depending on the 'needs' of the public. if we could visualize crowd density we can gain a visual understanding of what spaces planners can work on. i think we can use the idea of visualization to help generate thinkings about this topic. it can be in the form of real time or computer generated images which can show density within a set area.
  
  
• can online activity be used to digitally 3d a building? what i've been thinking is if we're able to create usable 3d models from 2d drawings... are we able to create 3d models from other sources such as online activity? the 3d model is not to create an exact replicate of the actual building but to show other information. information such as which areas do people mainly use the internet.. by obtaining this data... it would be possible to create a 'digital' space or building. a problem that i was able to come up with was the indication of where certain wifi hotspots were. since wifi is 'invisible' to us... how can we exactly know where is the best spot to be on the network? we can use this data of online activity to approximately map out the best wifi connection spaces. although it may not be a physical space... it may be a digital space (a space that can be defined by technology and data). this concept can help us view spaces in a whole new way as understand how there can be both digital space and physical space.
  

further brainstorm: visualization

i know that this area has been over-done a lot in the past years. however, i'd like to think of new ways of visualization and how to point out certain thoughts and ideas. visualization is a form of presenting ideas, through images, animation, interactivity, data and etc. i find that another problem with this area is that it has somewhat been narrowed in what it can do. can it show something else? can we use it for a form of action to something? can we create a new level of interactivity for it? i don't think we're limited to the technology we have... i think that with the technology we have, we're able to create and think of new ways to utilize them.

further brainstorm: real time environments

i've been exploring real time environments and it's potential use in architecture since first year. i find it a means of representation where the user is able to somewhat experience the space. its a form of collaboration, problem solving, and interactivity. with this, i find that these ideas have been over-used. i think the main problems of using real time environments to present architecture is that although it has been thought about/used for some time now... the awareness of it in the industry isn't as strong as i would expected it to be. this may be because of the client's view of the area. however, with software such as Unity3D, it makes access to such technology a whole lot easier for those creating the environment and those experiencing it.

further brainstorm: photogrammetry

this area is still quite new to me, but i do find interest in how 2d images can create 3d models. with this technology, i feel that on a surface level of understanding... it's main use is for existing buildings for renovations and planning. from images i find that it is an accurate form of pinpointing how a building should be like. because of its accuracy, it can help planners, architects, designers, engineers and etc better understand the environment and situation of a particular building or space. so in what ways can we utilize this technology? i think one way of using this is the ability to design 'change' in a building. "how would this space look if we added this to it?", "how would it affect this or that?" or "what alternate ways can we explore to reach the same idea?" are questions that would link to my interpretation in how this technology can be used. can we use different sources to map out a building? things such as social media or video? does it have to be an exact 3d model of the building? can we use certain information to detail something else?

i guess i'd like to understand whether photogrammetry is a narrow field in which its ONLY 2d-3d drawings, or whether we can warp this idea and use it for other things.

further brainstorm: spatial planning

i have an interest in how the way space is used and experienced.

can we change the way we use a space or experience one? can we make a 'dull' space, a space that can be interactive to the users? how does technology play a role in this? what information can we gain from understanding the way in which spaces are used? how can we act upon this?

space is defined as: is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction.

a space can be on a large scale (urban planning) or smaller scale (office space). i think by understanding the usage and problems of particular spaces, we grasp an idea of how to improve it. improvements such as user experience and sustainability.

i would then like to a way in how technology plays a role in this... how can we combine digital 3d architecture and the physical architecture together? is there a way where these 2 things can operate together?

more interests

space - the way space is used and experienced (spatial layouts)

urban planning - similar to above

real time environments - a means in how architecture can be experienced and presented

photogrammatry - looking into the way 2d images and be transformed into 3d models

visualization (animation, renders and QTVR) - a means of presentation and representation

social media - how people can collaborate online and how we can use their online footprints for something

definition of a client

after my consultation with Tam and meet-up with Danny... i was able to understand a much better definition of what a client is. a client can be seen as a person/group of people who don't have the skills and technical knowledge to perform something they want/need. from the view i see it, a client can be the daily commuters on public transport, where they want a new system in the way public transport is better for them. they hire a person/group of people who have the technical capabilities to solve their problems for them. this new definition has broaden my ideas for my project this semester.

goals

post graduation project, i aspire to be in the design industry using some of the skills and thought processes i've learnt through architectural computing. i feel that the design industry and the digital architecture industry link nicely together because both require a deep thought process in problem solving, the importance to point out an idea, and in some elements, where aesthetics is key.

possible projects

• Can architectural images produce usable 3D digital models of buildings?
• What form of visual aids best represent modern architecture?
• What impact will social media have on architecture?
• How will over population affect the design of modern architecture?

client v research

Since the course meet up a month ago, I’ve been quite confused in whether I should take a client-based project or a research-based project. Before the meeting, I was quite convinced that a client-based project would be the best option for me. However, after the meeting it seems that the course has became a little more challenging and now, a research project seems a possibility. Here are just a few pros and cons I thought of for both project types.

Client-based project
Pros – work with a professional in the industry; gain industry experience; client may have a prepared BIM model to work on; opportunity to collaborate with other architects and network.
Cons – difficulty in finding a suitable client in time; risk that architect may not have time for follow ups

Research-based project
Pros – be able to talk to lecturers at uni; able to be in control in what to research; able to develop prototypes (depending on project); peer support from other friends who have done research
Cons – possibility of being ‘stuck’ on research topic; quality of writing

weakness

There are a few things which I am not confident in. I guess this would either discourage me from doing certain projects or encourage me to learn and understand as much as I can about the particular project. The main topic which I find a bit of a challenge is scripting. My understanding of scripting is quite basic, since not studying for a semester; I have forgotten much of the scripting I have learnt from collaboration studio. But in saying that, I believe one of my strengths is working hard to achieve a goal. So I’ll be hopeful that scripting will not be that much of a discouragement.

ideas generation

From the ideas I’ve gathered, my attempt now is to further develop them by linking different areas together to create a possible project. Below is a quick brainstorm of the ideas that I had thought about.

Presentation of Architecture
How phone technology will change the way architecture is presented
The introduction of tablets and its effect on this matter
The various ways in which architecture can be presented

Photography
Using images to create computer generated architecture
The utilization of images to create QTVR

Web
The link between online collaboration, social media and architecture

Development of Architecture
How can the experience of the ‘user’ be changed
Over population and how it will affect development of architecture

areas of interests

Over the last few years I have developed an interest in the areas of presenting architecture and the impact of collaboration. Although these areas are quite broad, there are only a few ideas in which I would consider being a possible project for myself this year. These ideas include:

• Real-time environments
• Presentations/visualizations
• Web design
• QTVR
• Gyro-technology
• Other/new means of presentation
• Effects of online collaboration
• Effects of social media

I also have interests in the fields of Architectural Photography and the development of architecture in today’s society in terms of sustainability; performance; and experience.

At the moment, these are the main areas/topics in which I would like to further develop for my graduation project this year.