Intervention of Performance: Applications of Parametric Studies on Connective Design in Public Interaction A thesis submitted to the Graduate school Of the University of Cincinnati In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture in the School of Architecture and Interior Design of the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning By Joshua Funderburk B.S. Architecture, University of Cincinnati May 2019 Committee chair: Joss Kiely, Ph. D Committee chair: Ming Tang, M. Arch Abstract In the turn of a new digital era, processes of design have advanced with new modes of analysis and form generation. New systems of parametric design promote the articulation of new design philosophies, giving rise to new forms of spatial designation and social interaction. The history of structure and its importance to the growth of architecture is an ever-expanding coordination between the built form and the purpose for that form. The use of digital techniques has given rise to opportunities for greater complexity of form and thus a greater expression of character and design philosophy. This thesis examines how the new digital age, as described in works by Mario Carpo, can be used in the qualitative design of public space based on formal actuation from quantitative parametric manipulations, expressed through the design of the urban site intervention. A study of works done by Greg Lynn, a pioneer of digital techniques, Zaha Hadid, Preston Scott Cohen, and others, on the influence of digital computation on the spatial quality of buildings relative to the form and structure used in the projects to create the social and performative nature of interaction as precedent analysis as to the reasoning behind the computation. Digital computations have become a sort of fascination throughout all of design, with the application of these computations ever growing. The ability to assign parameters to design decisions lead the way in constructability, energy efficiency, aesthetics, and user engagement. The selection of these parameters becomes an indicator of the important criteria on which the project is going to be based. Through the use of new digital technologies, this thesis will look into an exploration of formal and spatial qualities of design based around a parametric rigor of formulation with regard to the enhancement of an urban scale site intervention and its relation to the program of public areas and a system exterior space. This is a space of primarily ii public orientation, with the instilled purpose to transform to fit the needs of the users. The use of digital techniques feeds into the qualitative nature of the space in response to its usability. With parametric ideas on a site wide scale, the urban intervention can create a place of motion and responsive building form that compliments and communicates with its surrounding. iii © Copyright by Joshua Funderburk 2021 All Rights Reserved iv Acknowledgments I would like to start by thanking my advisors for their commitment and continued support throughout the entire thesis process. They have been a great source of knowledge, guidance, and inspiration as I have worked towards a final project identification. The help they have offered and the passion they show to the field of architecture has only helped to grow my own passions. I would also like to thank the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, and specifically the School of Architecture and Interior Design. The work I have been able to accomplish through the guidance of the professors and staff have shaped my interests. My time in this school through undergraduate and Graduate studies has been an excellent education and preparation that I look forward to taking with me in into the professional world. Without the suppose and comradery of my colleagues, peers, and friends that I have had the pleasure of making through my time at the University of Cincinnati, I do not think I would have enjoyed my education nearly as much. From the late studio nights to great project reviews and discussion, the work done beside my classmates has had as mush equally influence me as the professors we studied under. For the friendships I have made I will be eternally grateful. Lastly, I would like to thank my family, without whom I would not be where I am today. Their full and constant support has given me the drive to pursue my dreams and ambitions. Thank you for having open ears listening to me ramble on about the projects I have worked on and for the encouragement when I most needed it. v Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... v Contents ....................................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ..............................................................................................................................viii Chapters 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 The Start of Parametric Design .................................................................................... 1 1.2 Historical Context ........................................................................................................ 3 1.3 Recent Evidence leading to Modern Parametric Design .............................................. 5 2. Developments in Computation and Parametric Design ................................................... 12 2.1 The Modern Turn Towards the Digital ....................................................................... 12 2.2 Parameters of Simulation in Qualitative Analysis ...................................................... 18 3. Case Studies ..................................................................................................................... 22 3.1 Technology ................................................................................................................ 22 3.2 Form Finding Geometry ............................................................................................. 26 3.3 Atmospheric Description ........................................................................................... 30 4. Project Design .................................................................................................................. 33 4.1 Decisions of the Site .................................................................................................. 33 vi 4.2 Engagement through Intervention ............................................................................ 36 5. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 42 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 44 vii List of Figures Figure 1 Frontispiece of Marc-Antoine Laugier: Essai sur l'architecture 2nd ed. 1755 by Charles Eisen (1720–1778). Allegorical engraving of the Vitruvian primitive hut. ............................................................. 3 Figure 2. James Dwight Dana crystal projection drawings, ca. 1830. Image credit: https://medium.com/designscience/1568-1919-6f24460d0ff8 .................................................................. 7 Figure 3. Antoni Gaudi, Catenary model. Image credit: https://atmosphericfront.wordpress.com/2011/10/30/gaudi-catenary-curves-and-other-sources-of- inspiration/ .................................................................................................................................................... 8 Figure 4. Soap Bubble Model, Frei Otto. Image credit: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Frei-Otto- Experimenting-with-Soap-Bubbles_fig2_318103333 ................................................................................... 9 Figure 5. Ivan Sutherland with SketchPad, ca. 1963. Image Credit: https://www.designworldonline.com/50-years-of-cad/ ..............................................................................13 Figure 6. Abstracted Form by Mario Carpo. Image Credit: https://www.metropolismag.com/design/design-education/qa-mario-carpo-on-architectures-digital- past-and-present/ .........................................................................................................................................14 Figure 7. Pedestrian Simulation on MassMotion. Image Credit: Oasys ........................................................20 Figure 8. Conceptual Diagram – Greg Lynn. Image Credit: Microsoft HoloLens. .........................................23 Figure 9. Overlaid Hologram model. Image credit: Microsoft HoloLens ......................................................24 Figure 10. Physical Model from 3D print. Image Credit: Microsoft Hololens ...............................................24 Figure 11. Simulation forces along path. Image Credit: Greg Lynn Form .....................................................26 Figure 12. Lofted surface form. Image Credit: Greg Lynn Form ...................................................................26 Figure 13. Rendering of Bengbu Opera House. Image Credit: Preston Scott Cohen ....................................27 Figure 14. Geometry Finding