Costx for Breakfast

Making life easier

About

  • Flight Simulation Center Project

    Project is designed based on knowledge approached design styles. Transparent design methodology is being used in the project as the main decision taking mechanism. In according to these two main settings, required functions and necessary spaces arranged with a space syntax according to the space hierarchy rules. Such as reception desks placed at the main entrance, ceiling height maximized to relieve the stress of the people at the first view to create positive human feelings in accordance with their perception mechanism.

    Following functions such as simulation modules are placed in a pier manner, because they do require an upper floor to access and also they need mechanical and electrical spaces to accommodate the technical requirements.  These technical rooms are topped with a pilot’s chamber and a personal pilot trainer room to correspond the needs by giving visual aids plus to all the technical simulation control systems via computers and other virtual reality remote controls. By evolutionary principles human needs to see ( to see, he/she needs to penetrate the material in-between the target and self ) to get more control which will give psychologically required satisfaction which is indeed evolved through basic needs such as;  in case of an emergency at least glass is penetrable by the eye. 

    After sorting out the pier with simulation machines and necessary related room, as per the requirements educational rooms and other spaces related are created. Such as winter gardens, balconies, cafeterias to serve people in the lesson breaks. 

    Educational assistants / teachers / pilots recreation and restroom also enchanted with glass wall which can see all the place to give them better comfort.

    As the prime request, the second phase of the structure is designed to provide easily expandable system to serve in a near future. Therefore the pier system’s small room’s multipurpose storage areas will be converted to a second pilot room or any other necessary room to accommodate the simulation machines to operate efficiently. 

    Green design is a prime thought of the project as the century’s one of the common request to care for the nature and to reduce the costs up to a feasible percentage. This feasible percentage, as discussed for now, let to operate a tromb wall to reduce all the heating costs in winter months at the front entrance which has the maximum energy required to heat up the place till the comfort levels stated by ASHRAE at the site location. 

    Other than that, at the first floors northern wall this tromb wall continued to reduce the heating costs to these rarely populated spaces such as pilots room, trainers personal room etc. The rooms below these areas are populated with classrooms and meeting rooms with cafeteria and recreational spaces which can indeed have the advantage of densely populated while they are in use. Because each human will produce considerable amounts of energy. On the other hand another reason for not using a tromb wall at the ground floor is it may raise the heat levels in summer times while they are using massively. 

    Roof design is based on throwing out the extra heat in summer times via their sky-windows which are placed where necessary. Also roof slope will give extra advantage on getting rid of the snow in winter times. When it comes to insulation, in green design creating a live layers in the structure will reduce all the costs and provide effective insulation by giving aesthetic and psychological aid. Such as the proposed roof layers; they include a soil layer which has more than 40 cm to provide enough insulation in summer when it’s dry. In winter it will have grass which will cause to provide extra biological activity to keep the roof at a constant degree, in tests it is seen that a green roof with a 1 meter thickness can provide extensive insulation when it has living organisms over it. By making it feasible a 40 cm thickness green roof will give required amount of advantage. 

    At the end of the structure an emergency fire exit has been placed to act on necessary times and another space for meetings and presentations with a fine winter garden / balcony for breaks. This space will also act on enchanting the aesthetics which will end up with cinematic moments added to people’s memories. A nice recreational space also is one of the important points in this project to serve everyone’s benefit. 

    Further than these, other technical rooms such as the underground generator room and the infrastructure below the main pier are serving for utility. Separate underground generator room will reduce the sound and other unwanted effects of such as smell etc. Infrastructure below the pier will greatly ease the process in engineering difficulties.

    Extra provided tennis court will act to relieve stress and that will give an extra function to the structure. Having a multi-purposed design with feasible more investment will indeed result a greater success while the buildings operation period. This essence should be protected until the end of the life cycle of the structure. 

    Function Plans : Ground Floor
    Function Plans : First Floor
    Function Plans : First Floor
    Sections
    Sections
    Elevations

    by

    Dennis

    –

  • A Critique About “Architectural Theory is no Dicipline”

    In this essay, I aim to write a brief critique of “Architectural Theory is no Discipline” by Mark Linder. After engaging with his essay, my perspective on Kant’s relevance today has fundamentally shifted. I’ve come to see the limitations in our capacity to introduce new categories and systems of thought.

    I’d like to start by drawing an analogy between the content of our last lecture and Linder’s essay. In our last session, during our discussion with Sait Ali Köknar, he contrasted “Folksonomy” with taxonomy. He argued that folksonomy expands the boundaries of taxonomy by adding more functions and facilitating the creation of multiple taxonomies from a single folksonomy, making it a superior approach.

    Philosophical movements have historically opposed their predecessors, each new theory refining or challenging the last. Prior to 1924, architectural theory was mired in binary right-wrong judgments. However, Scott introduced a perspective that encouraged the analysis of architecture to discern its merits and faults based on evaluative reasoning.

    “My contention is that ‘theory’—the attempt to decide right and wrong on purely intellectual grounds—is precisely one of the roots of our mischief.”

    Sir Geoffrey Scott, The Architecture of Humanism, 1924

    Scott’s approach to observing and analyzing architecture to determine its rights and wrongs was revolutionary in 1924. Today, we understand the importance of defining problems accurately before attempting to solve them, a principle reminiscent of Kant’s observation that without a clear definition of God, seeking metaphysical truths is less critical than other pursuits.

    When problems are ill-defined, their solutions remain elusive. We are faced with a choice: halt our inquiry and seek personal fulfillment, or continue our research, focusing not on definitive answers but on understanding the process itself. This shift in focus can lead to a deeper understanding of issues by examining the processes that define outcomes, thereby offering a new lens through which to view problems.

    “Architects could be architectural in their formulation of the theory, rather than the theory in their formalization of architecture.”

    Richard Rorty, Architectural Theory is no Discipline

    Rorty suggests that instead of defining what architecture is, we should explore its functions, methodologies, and impacts. This leads to questions about the nature and diversity of design approaches, the basis of design decisions, and the relationships between them, laying the groundwork for a new architectural theory.

    In conclusion, the definition of architecture is constrained by its broad applicability, from computer architecture to philosophical movements. Mark Linder’s exploration resembles the sociological quest to understand human character, emphasizing the evolving nature of our subjects. Just as in sociology and psychology, where the process of categorization becomes more critical than the categories themselves, architecture should be viewed as a living entity, evolving alongside human tools and habitats. This perspective underscores the importance of focusing on processes to illuminate areas obscured by traditional approaches.

    As Huseyin Kahvecioglu remarked in studio lessons, “Perhaps the collapse of a philosophical system is more significant than its existence.” This sentiment encapsulates the evolving nature of architectural theory, suggesting that its transformation could offer profound insights into the discipline and beyond.

    by

    Dennis

    –

  • Arts School / Refunctioning an Old Factory

    The project was designed on a freelance basis, with the aim of repurposing an old factory into an art school. It falls primarily within the realms of interior design and architecture. The main structures have been preserved, although some interior walls were modified to meet specific needs, such as creating openings in walls to establish connections.

    The structure consists of three stories. The first one, at the top, is the ground floor. The first floor is designated for the washrooms, archives, etc. The second floor houses the cafeteria and management offices.

    Movement Diagram


    The Movement Diagram is based on user classifications, dividing users into four categories: service workers, students, university employees, and civilians for public access.

    Each group’s movement paths are delineated according to their specific purposes. This wire diagram is dynamically used in the design process to determine the final spatial arrangement. It’s seen as a traditional method to guide design, but it offers more than that; it makes the process more enjoyable. I appreciate designs that are grounded in factual logic, similar to machine code or clear rules (e.g., 2<5, so room 1 is placed beneath room 5). However, I must admit that the tools available are not yet sufficient for these tasks, at least not to my current level of knowledge. While this approach might not be scientifically rigorous (as it lacks empirical evidence) and is not entirely opaque, in my humble opinion, I have done what I could to steer the design process towards a more transparent methodology.

    Section A
    Section B

    by

    Dennis

    –

  • Space Syntax Exploration for Hotel Project Development / Infographic – Nodebox Experiments

    The diagram illustrates the spaces and their sizes, aiming for a sleek infographic aesthetic. I’ve now redefined the standards for working on each project, realizing that even a design for a project lesson should include a space schedule, similar to a matrix in Excel. This allows me to visualize every space in this manner to convey the main ideas effectively.

    I plan to explore NodeBox for further tinkering, but it appears that Grasshopper offers more capabilities for generating variations of these types of infographics.

    by

    Dennis

    –

  • Model Fixing Operation

    Model Fixing Operation

    After a one month blockage at the customs, two days ago we received the physical model of the airport. Due to the extreme temperature, the petroleum based parts of the model lose their flexibility and bumped to the limit. Some of them indeed was fractured, if you’re lucky you can spot them from the photos. Now i fix them all, there are thing that i can’t do but for the rest they seem ok. 

    This is a photo from the autopark, it’s a very common stereotype for the autoparks, here they always do the same shader for cars. 

    A monumental entrance like in all kitschy projects. I guess the first time that i have seen similar geometries in airport projects was from the year one of my architecture degree while checking Calatrava….

    I really like these close shots of nicely detailed models, but the since the model was consisting of flat grass fields it’s a no no from me for future designs.

    Common roundabouts from Saudi Arabia, these are really a pain the ass in the traffic because there is no traffic rule here. A couple of days before, we had to round three times because we could not turn to the way we want. People are driving like crazy it’s hard to anticipate what will they do next. 

    These are Hajj Pavilions, they are for the people who comes for hajj, a series of temporary buildings. There are five of them and all of them has membranes, air conditioners will be cooling inside, wall will be from drywall or block wall i’m not sure about that. 

    Yeah, that’s the Mosque, which was positioned in a wrong angle for Mecca. It was 6 degrees off the prophet thing, they now fixed the foundation and continuing the construction process. Was a big mess when they found out that it’s not facing the right direction for Mecca. 

    This is a photo from the first section model. I did not check but it was a 1:50 scaled section representation. This is the Terminal Buildings entrance. 

    As always, i really don’t say anything about designs in a negative way especially when i reconsider the county that i work these days. Yes you should have laughed now. This steel structure is based on a Palm Tree as every other thing in this country. Designs still based on things like hey this county has apples, lets make them an apple airfield. 

    by

    Dennis

    –

  • 50 Degrees In Desert Construction Site Office – We Definitely Need a Menu for the Teaboy

    Nara’s Beverage Menu

    Yeah, it’s 50 degrees outside the site office which is in the middle of a desert here. I got bored since I upskilled my drafter team, I actually earned some time to do research and development. Today’s goal is a menu for the teaboy – cafe chief in the office. He is from a village which is at 500 km east of Kathmandu, near a river which goes till it reach oceans. Now i have a guaranteed host at his village, which he says i won’t even drink a single bottle of water if i go there cause i will drink their local beer named jaand. (or something i really don’t remember)

    by

    Dennis

    –

  • Coding Facade Systems | Concept Stage – WIP

    Another experiment from my half an hour projects. After taking down all the library about parametric architecture and computational design, though a painful 2 year grasshopper experimenting, checking c++, rhinoscript and python, now i guess i can form voltron to get designs such as these, in only half an hour 😀 

    Ps: If you check i did not even trimmed some of the elements, projects such like these are a rehabilitation lunch break for me.

    by

    Dennis

    –

  • Vray | Rendering Parameters

    Playing with Vray rendering parameters for self learning to score the most before spending man hours on post processing tasks.

    by

    Dennis

    –

  • Macro Operation | Annoying Contaminated Object Libraries


    I recently came up with the idea for an automatic chair generation program for Rhinoceros because I always had to import and then copy furniture models from web when fitting out layouts after drawing. However the chairs I stumbled upon over the web were containing a high number of polygons. In fact, for some chair types, even my Quadro 4000 graphics card couldn’t handle the situation when there were about 10 chairs in the view. Outrageous. So at first I managed to reduce the models to more manageable sizes without losing too much detail using the Reduce Mesh feature. However, last week I decided I didn’t want the unnecessary excess and wanted to do it properly. Therefore, I decided I wanted to use the simplest possible chair and table, material-free, with a single keystroke within Rhinoceros, much like using a toolset in AutoCAD.

    image

    I began my research with Rhinoscript and, after looking into Python scripts and comparing them with C++ and Java, I decided to continue with Rhinoscript. Without going into too much detail, in a way that architecture students would understand, Rhinoscript seemed suitable, but since my program needed more time than I could devote, I resorted to using a macro. Macros are the simplest form of programming, though calling it programming might already be too generous. They are a series of commands that automatically execute a series of operations with a single activation.

    Chair Macro:

    Here are the source codes:

    ! _noecho _rectangle _pause r0.05,0.05 _sellast -_extrudecrv _cap=yes 0.5 _sellast _array 2 2 1 0.5 0.5

    _enter _rectangle r-0.05,-0.05,0.5 0.55 0.55 _sellast -_extrudecrv _cap=yes 0.03 _rectangle r0,0,0.03 0.55 0.03 _sellast

    -_extrudecrv _cap=yes 0.5 _echo _exit h _enter

    Table Macro:

    ! noecho _rectangle _pause r0.05,0.05 _sellast -_extrudecrv _cap=yes 0.8 _sellast _array 2 2 1 2 1

    _enter _rectangle r-0.05,-0.05,0.8 2.05 1.05 _sellast -_extrudecrv _cap=yes 0.03 echo _exit h _enter

    This is how my automatic chair and table creation system works. If you’re interested, give it a try!

    by

    Dennis

    –