Thursday, November 5, 2009

Final Submission Experiment 2 & Research Assignment

Experiment 2 Final Submission



The exact texturing of Town Hall station was not important for my experiment, as it was the amount of advertising that altered the environment.
By covering the walls of the tracks, and the stairways/escalator ways, I was able to make one side of the station completely bare, and the other swarming with advertisements.

The desired effect was achieved as my experiment showed that advertising did have affect the porosity of the building.

I could have got many more subjects to take part in the experiment, which would've have smoothed out the results, and maybe created a better perspective on the affects of advertising. All the outlier results might be singled out and a better understanding could be shaped.

The paths of the subjects through the space were not as direct as they were in the control test. They were also slightly halted as in some cases the subject actually stopped or turned to look. In other cases they simply turned their head while moving.

It could be improved by adding bots to the environment in order to simulate another factor that might alter the effects advertising has on porosity.
For example the awkwardness of public spaces might find someone looking at advertising in order to avoid eye contact with strangers. Or while moving people might be less likely to look at advertising as it might provide some distraction from the environment now having more obstacles in the way than the simple layout of the building.

Another factor that may have altered the results is that the game simulation simply does not provide the atmosphere and mindset that one might have while mindlessly moving through Town Hall station on a regular day. The fact that they are merely sitting at a computer, and somebody asks them to "simply walk from the bottom level to the concourse" does not create a proper simulation to walking out of the station as you've arrived after a long day at work or university.

There are many factors that could have altered the experiment, and they should all be taken into account in order to improve the experiment.

File download link

Research Assignment



This experiment could've been improved by having a lot more candidates take part. A wider range of media available would have been extra help too. There are many students who have experience with 3D modelling and a more well rounded result could've been achieved had I asked a wider range of students.

Another aspect that could help improve the experiment would be to make a more technically challenging object. The object had it's technical difficulties with accuracy, however did not provide an huge insight into the methodology.
For example, all the students created the table top, and then continued to the legs. This was a particularly logical series of events, however an object with more stages that interconnect would have provided more options for the students to approach the task from.
And greater insight into their methodology could've been achieved.

Most students opted for sketchup when choosing their preferred option. This was assumed to be due to the fact that it's very common, easily accessible and a program used by many people new to modelling. Even with a greater candidature this result might be assumed.

The students opting for 3D modelling programs like Cinema 4D and 3D Studio Max had a slightly different approach to Solidworks. Solidworks being a very precise engineering program, it offers a very different angle on modelling as opposed to the aforementioned programs.

9 x Realtime Image Captures

Student 1 Solidworks - Rotating their final Product













Student 1 Google Sketchup - Completing the 10cm x 10cm squares for the legs













Student Two Solidworks - Smart Dimensioning the Base 2m x 1.5m rectangle













Student Two Google Sketchup - Alternative cut-extrude method of creating the table













Student Three Solidworks - Smart Dimensioning the legs













Student Three 3D Studio Max - Positioning the table top













Student Four Solidworks - Smart Dimensioning the table top













Student Four Cinema 4D - Interesting choice for modelling

Creating the shape before inserting measurements












Gridding the shape for ease of extrusion

Monday, November 2, 2009

Week 6 - Research Question Progress and Camstudio

Footage used for my research:
-screenshot footage: this will better communicate the participants fluentness in using the programs.
For example, if they use shortcuts, or click on the menu icons specifically?
If they make mistakes and are clumsy or not when modelling?
If they use a logical series of modelling forms to create the final product or if they proceed using arbitrary orders for creating the model?

This realtime footage will hopefully communicate the results of the experiment in a clear and concise manner, addressing the question directly and relaying the results in a simple and clear way.

Various text overlays and subtitles will be used as the video progresses in order to keep the viewer up to date with results and to make sure the question is still the focus of the vide and the viewers idea does not stray from the question at hand.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Week 5 - Research Question

How do peoples workflows differ when they are given an option option of what medium they would liek to model in, as opposed to telling people to model something in a specific program?

Issues to be taken into account when tallying results:
-varying experience in modelling will have an effect on the results as some people might be experienced in a range of programs, where as othersmight be completely new to modelling
-the restricted option test will vary as the given medium might be the favoured medium of the participant

Week 4 - Unfamiliar Navigator of my Building

Week 3 - Sketch Installation

Week 2 - Town Hall Imported to Crysis












Realism is a key factor in pure war, as without realism in the simulations of war, proper measures can't be taken to prepare for actual war. Pure war in all it's forms and angles shows how far as a society we've come. We are able to create simulations of conflict with other humans in order for us to properly prepare defensively and offensively. We are some how creating war, before it has happened, just in case it happens. We really don't trust eachother. In the same way as we have our own form of pure war while trying to simulate realistically Town Hall, the security measures taken to hinder our progress is pure war in play, as they are taking action against people documenting the train station. There is an interplay of pure war from various angles.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Week 1 - Measuring Techniques & Solidworks Model











Photos - as risky and difficult they are to obtain, if taken as casual images with friends photos can provide very good references of visual atmosphere and the layout of Town Hall. Colours and various installations that aren't normally on building plans will be able to be taken into account.

Measuring tape - even more risky than photos, although, when done properly, can provide all those smalelr measurements that usually are not taken into account with such elements of the building as steps and handrails etc.

Notepad - a lot more inconspicuous can take lots of notes on different elements of the building, in the form of pictures, numbers and words. One of the most effective tools for takign measurements.

With a combination fo these tools the overall structure of the building can be effectively recreated, as well as any other extra installations that are there such as public phones and newspaper stands. Eventhough the structure of the building is essential, it's the estra elements that create the atmosphere of the building. They effect peoples movement through the building. They are the defining elements to our interpretation of the space as we move through it.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Final Submission 1

Sketchup model
Download

Mapfiles
Download

Video

Research

Astrid Constant

I found an article about a holiday bungalow design by Constant that is designed to maximise the holiday experience and "blur the limits of the inside and outside world, lying somewhere inbetween".

To me this makes an interesting concept with relation to porosity as it simulates one of the aims of porosity yet on another plain. Some aspects from this concept might be of good use in the work on porosity if the ideas can be transferred.

Link

Another article on her page wasabout an Ecotourism Hotel in Cambodia. When looking over this article I noticed that the buildigns all resembled that of traditional Cambodia, which gave the impresion of a space that was fabricated recently for tourists to live in, however gave the impression of an ancient building. Again maybe this idea of illusion can be transferred to the work on porosity to where a borderline is blurred.

Architecture could be abstracted in an illusive manner thereby removing the explicit labelling of public and private spaces, an thus creating new and interesting forms of public space.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Lab Four



In my video I decided to utilise a documentary style that simulates a dramatic and fast paced action movie. The captioning is concise and describes exactly what needs to be known about the shot. The camera shots are all first person views as I felt there would be no better way to place the viewer in the seat of the action than to give them the eyes of the perpetrator. In the end the compilation of shots shown give a clear understanding of the landforms and the environment in which the tests are taking place. This assists in communicating world and the events taking place.

Lab Three

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Lab Two

The exploding of the village buildings was unfirom throughout the experiement, as I had placed explosive barrels infront of each. However, depending on the immediate surroundings of the buildings the visual effect was very different. For those with the ocean as it's background, the explosions seemed to have space allowed for the movement, giving it the appearance of a larger radius. For those with the mountain as it's background, the explosion seemed enclosed and forced into a smaller space, thus giving the impression of an explosion not as great.





Lab One















Enclosed forest space












Long walkways linking the spaces