Catenaries

Before last week’s class the idea was to create a model in GS, by using a formula of the catanery and then entering points so it would make the environment in which points could be added being columns which made the landscape change. In class axel told me this could not be done because in the formulas there were too many unknowns to solve. He showed me another program called CADenary, in this program it is possible to pick points, from these points the computer will calculate the arch along the catenary line. Not only is it possible to put in the points for an arch but also a membrane. The disadvantage of the program is that it is hard to alter the input later on, so it was a nice program o see what actually happens when u create a membrane or an arch.

To work some more precise it was needed to work whit another program, which is the base behind the Cadanery; this is the program processing. Processing is a scripting program, which gives the output in a java run applet. My luck was that because of the CADenary the script for the catenary already existed. So to work whit it, it was only needed to alter the script in the way it alters the landscape of the floor.

The script in processing works whit springs and particles. The springs don’t have any mass but they are linear elastic. Attached in between the springs are the particles, they do have a mass. By applying a force to the particles in this case gravity the particles start moving. By moving they elongate the springs. At the point there is equilibrium in the springs they stop moving.

In the first case a model was made with 10 x 10 particles and in between the springs, so it would behave as a membrane. At first the first two sides were pinned later on the other 2 sides, by pinning other points it would react in the same way like a column is placed there.

The second step is a bigger model with 20 x 20 particles. The same steps described above were used. Starting by putting columns in the middle so the biggest difference would be overcome.

The question now is how to put this in a model which can be calculated and also how to test the models to the research questions, to test it to the research question some standards have to be added on which the model can be checked. Also a hypothesis has to be made whit these standards.

Off course it is also good to look at other models in which the floor is sculpted in other ways besides the sculpting used with the forces as a tool.

Today I was not in class because on Friday I started to get ill and Saturday I had a temperature and it’s still lasting so I hope I will be in the faculty by Wednesday.

Last week we had our presentation to point out the research questions. My research questions are the same in my blog as last week, but one: The opinion of other people is left out, this is too hard to work out, because if I want to get an accurate opinion I will probably need an 1 on 1 model.

One of the other points made in the presentation was that I can create my own boundaries within the model and by creating the boundaries landscaping it.

Axel Kilian told me to start looking at cathedral structures. Last week I started to look at the structures of different cathedrals. And how they work. Depending on the country the difficulty of the systems difference, but al the structures are based on a catenary system. In this system we look to the stresses in a chain, because of the gravity the chain will get a bow formed like structure and there is an optimum in stresses. By mirroring the chain an arch appears. Also in this arch there is an optimum in the stresses.

I am still looking into the structures of cathedrals, the next step is to set my boundaries for the calculation.

And at last, one of the research tutor told about a television program related to my research questions. I want to ask if she can still send me the data. Thanks in advance!

At first I want to apologies for the mistake I made with the word with, I know it’s with but still when I write something I have a habit of writing whit instead of with. Thanks for pointing it out and I hope it will not happen again!

After a while of thinking I came up with a few questions I could ask myself with the topic of interest:

1. How could a flooring landscape change by using the forces applied on the floor?
2. What would be a good setting to landscape the floor?
3. What kind of effect would such a landscaped floor have on people?
4. What could this typology add to the already existing typologies?

These topics could be investigated with different programs like Diana for the structural analyses and Maya in combination with Rhino to sculpt the landscape. For the effect the landscape would have I could run a survey on my blog so it could be commented by the readers of the blog. I hope that in the end I will have gathered enough information to make a conclusion.

Topic of interest

When I started my study a couple of years back whit “bouwkunde” at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam, I started to whit the intension to do something whit construction. Later on this changed and I started to do building technology. But still, construction is a very interesting topic for me.

This is why whit this elective I wanted to do something whit a construction in a different way. Over the last decades, people have tried to change things in the construction in the façade, but not really whit flooring. Flooring always is a plain surface, sometimes whit different heights, but still plain. By changing something or taking a way something from what people expect, it will be more interesting for them.

The idea I had was to do something whit the floor, by using the forces working in and on the floor, changing the floor and landscaping it. In this way a different typology in flooring would be created.