An Exploration of Materials and Methods in Manufacturing: Shoreline Membranes by Ryan C.C. Chin Bachelor of Science in Architecture Bachelor of Civil Engineering The Catholic University of America, Washington DC 1997 SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE AT THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY FEBRUARY 2000 2000 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. All rights reserved. Certified by:_______________________________________________________________________ Ryan C.C. Chin Department of Architecture January 14, 2000 Certified by:_______________________________________________________________________ Peter A. Testa Associate Professor of Architecture Thesis Advisor Accepted by:______________________________________________________________________ Bill Hubbard, Jr. Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture Chairman, Department Commitee on Graduate Students ADVISOR Peter A. Testa Associate Professor of Architecture Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts READERS William J. Mitchell Dean, Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Architecture and Planning Professor of Architecture and Media Arts and Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology James Glymph Partner, Frank O. Gehry and Associates Santa Monica, California THESIS COMMITTEE 3 4 An Exploration of Materials and Methods in Manufacturing: Shoreline Membranes by Ryan C.C. Chin Submitted to the Department of This thesis is an investigation into the design methodologies and ideologies of manufacturing Architecture on January 14, 2000 in Partial processes specifically related to automotive design. The conceptualization, prototyping, Fulfillment of the Requirements for the testing, and manufacturing of cars is a discipline that would yield exciting results if applied to Degree of Master of Architecture architecture. The hybridization of different processes of design will raise interesting questions of how built form is conceived, designed, developed, and constructed. An essential part of this thesis research is the study of materials. After an intense investigation of the potential uses and intrinsic properties of new materials in the automotive and construction industries, a select few materials will be applied directly in the thesis. The final component of the thesis is a programmatic theme that will revolve around shoreline membranes. They provide a lightweight and flexible system of architecture for many different building types. The investigation will involve the design of a structure in which its conception, function, production, and form are the direct result of inspiration from automotive manufacturing techniques and material research. Thesis Supervisor: Peter A. Testa Title: Associate Professor of Architecture ABSTRACT 5 6 Massachusetts Institute of Technology My exploration and research for this thesis involved many people from abroad and within the School of Architecture and Planning, United States. I would like to thank MIT, the Media Lab, and the Ann Beha Travel Scholarship Media Lab Fund for the opportunity to travel the summer preceding the thesis to research automotive companies. The Marvin Goody Award also funded much of my travel and research at BMW and at the Art Center College of Design in California. At the Institute, I would like to thank Peter Testa, for the design framework established in previous studios far in advance of thesis. In addition, I am grateful to Bill Mitchell and his forward thinking and his ability to open new ideas of how we can inform design outside the architectural forum. At the Media Lab, Betty Lou McClanahan of the CC++ Car Research Consortium was instrumental in both organizing most of the travel research and setting the research base for the thesis. Without Betty Lou, the depth of this thesis would be not possible. Automotive Professionals During my summer travel to Germany, Italy, and California, I was fortunate to meet with many Designers knowledgeable professionals willing to spend some of their time speaking to me. Richard Engineers Meyer and Veronika Kain of Chris Bangles office at BMW in Munich were extremely helpful in Executives describing much of BMWs design process and philosophy. Gregory Brew of the Art Center College of Design and Alec Bernstein of BMW Designworks were extremely revealing during our joint interview and shed light on BMWs styling and prototyping methods. Wolfgang Ungerer was tremendously helpful in organizing my entire research visit to Daimler-Chrysler in Stuttgart. His efforts led to visits to Mercedes factory and museum and meetings with professionals such as Dr. Haepp and Mr. Hammer. In Italy, Michael V. Robinson of Lancia and Paola Carrea of Fiat were gracious with their time and made the investigation clear. They also introduced some potential technologies and concepts to the design process. Finally, Dr. Gian Luigi Longinotti-Buitoni, CEO of Ferrari North America, gave insight to the potential of new technologies at MIT that not only could be helpful to architecture but to the automotive industry as well. Most of those listed above were directly linked through Betty Lou McClanahan and without her and the help of the aforementioned people, this project could not have progressed. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 7 Frank O. Gehry and Associates I am grateful to have worked with Jim Glymph of Frank O. Gehry and Associates and for his precious time as a reader and confidant. The time spent was very productive. Jims sensibility toward the project and my work made the research and design enjoyable and rewarding. Also I would like to thank Bryant Yeh, who is also in Santa Monica, for his help during my visit and the countless videoconference preparations. Harvard GSD The component prototyping class held at GSD taught by Kimo Griggs and Martin Brechthold provided me the opportunity to explore the thesis in a class environment and also provided the physical prototyping means necessary to design and make components for the project. Their practical, generous advice and efforts were extremely helpful and added immeasurably to the project. MIT thesis Thanks for my friends and colleagues in and outside of thesis space 7-402 who had to contend with my sporting and musical needs and also helped me with this project. I extend my thanks to Jessica Zlotogura for her guidance and support, Jeffrey Tsui for his collaborative efforts in past and present projects, Benjamin Chung for his humor and help on the web page, Constance Lai for her past collaborative efforts and HTC consulting, Stephen Duck for Lightscape consulting, Ho-Jeong Kim for her everyday support, and Louie Tak-Wing for a witty and always uplifting conversation. Parents Finally, thank you Mom and Dad for all the support you gave from the beginning until now and into the future. Without your help I would not be the person I am today. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 8 Title Page 1 Thesis Committee 3 Abstract 5 Acknowledgements 7-8 INTRODUCTION Conceptual Framework 11-12 Design Exploration 13 RESEARCH Introduction and Questions 15-17 Process Diagrams 18-23 Computer Aided Styling (CAS) 25-27 Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) 28-29 Styling 30-33 Rapid Prototyping/Manufacturing 35-39 New Materials 40-41 SHORELINE MEMBRANES Concept 43 Renderings 44-46 Intelligent Kinetic Systems 47-49 DESIGN Sketches 51-57 Models 59-69 Renderings, Diagrams, Animations 71-78 CONCLUSIONS Future of Research, Design 79-84 APPENDICES A: List of Figures, Web Sites 85 B: CD-ROM Information, Software 86 BIBLIOGRAPHY Books, Journals, and Interviews 87-88 TABLE OF CONTENTS 9 10 Conceptual Framework The mode of operation in this thesis is the exploration of design technologies and their potential applications to architecture. The program and site where chosen specifically in order to facilitate the maximum degree of universality. An underlying level of aesthetic quality reminiscent to that of the automotive industry is also not an accident but intentional. The questions that emerge from the research lie within architecture and the automotive industry. Overlap in design, manufacturing, and construction occur throughout the design and research. The goal is to spot these commonalities and discontinuities, and then to question their context and look for solutions. The primary areas of investigation are in automotive design, philosophy, production, and new materials. Automotive Design The car industry uses many different technologies in the design of automobiles. Such and Production technologies include the use of CAD-CAM systems which are able to digitally construct, visualize, analyze, prototype, and provide manufacturing data for the production of automobiles. While taking full advantage of new technologies to further expedite, streamline, and enhance their design process, automotive designers do not need to be in the same location for a design to materialize. The application of such design processes have already entered the architectural profession, yet have not become widely used. This thesis will address this issue by testing the limits of current manufacturing technology. Metal, Glass, and This thesis will push the boundaries of design methodology by emphasizing the intrinsic Innovative Composites properties of materials. The design constraints will take into account strength, weight, durability, cost and aesthetics. Material selections will come from both the automotive and building industries. Metals such as steel and aluminum have been used conventionally in the fabrication of beams and columns