13. Applications and implications

In this week, we have to answer at these questions for my final project:

  1. What will it do?
  2. Who’s done what beforehand?
  3. What will you design?
  4. What materials and components will be used?
  5. Where will come from?
  6. How much will they cost?
  7. What parts and systems will be made?
  8. What processes will be used?
  9. What questions need to be answered?
  10. How will it be evaluated?

What will it do?

An interactive façade that interacts with sunlight in the daytime and as a piece of art at night.

Who’s done what beforehand?

Enrico Cacciapuoti This project is different than mine but I liked that he used Ladybug ‘plugin in Grasshopper‘ that allows you to import and analyze standard weather data in Grasshopper; draw diagrams like Sun-path, wind-rose, radiation-rose, etc; customize the diagrams in several ways; run radiation analysis, shadow studies, and view analysis. Also, there is Diva plugin in Rhinoceros is a highly optimized daylighting and energy modeling. I have been worked in this plugin for 4 years. And the Speedsim allows running multiple daylight simulations by using the full processing power of multi-core desktops.

But I think I wouldn’t keep through in this point in my project, it takes a lot of time to reach the best design of your pattern to a specific building in a specific location. I just want to learn how can I control of pattern directions to make it Kinetic.

Arpi Maheshwari I loved this pattern… That makes me think in two ways … I need to chose between make one pattern is complicated with small scale like Arpi project … or make an easy pattern and repeat it with large scale.


What will you design?

I am interested more to make multi-panels with simple pattern … I don’t know how large it will be … but I’m interested to make a lot of panels which my concept will be shown as much as I used a lot of panels.

My design will split into many parts …

  • The main is the structure of the façade … mostly we use aluminum boxes to fix curtain walls … there are a lot of solutions to fix curtain walls … but the default way with aluminum boxes structure. So I decided to make a structure from wood with CNC router in making something big week … then I faced some issues with the type of wood. So I need to replace this part. I decided to rescale my design to fit our laser cutter machine. Its dimensions are 300 * 500 mm.

  • The second part is the pattern that includes the panels and fixed with the first part ‘structure’.

  • We need parts to fix the panels in a rotating axis.

I think that what I need.


What materials and components will be used?

I have been used CNC Router, but I didn’t like the result, So I will use a laser cutter with wood material for the structure … 3d printed parts

For the components

I will use Firefly with Grasshopper, I watched a lot of tutorials for this point. I still have no idea how can I use it with our assessment. I have been used it before with Arduino board. Definitely, there will be changes.

But we can deal, I will use servo motors to control in my panels. For this reason, I chose the servo motor board in the output devices week, to test servo motor and read more about codes to be easier for me at the final project stage.


Where will come from?

Here in Egypt, especially Cairo, probably they bought the electronics Components from RAM. I didn’t take this step. It will be my first time to buy electronics components. RAM website doesn’t the best in searching… you can spend a lot of time searching in one compound, so you have to use keywords matched with them.

Also, there is Future Electronics Egypt

AlAmir Electronics

ElGammal Electronics

ElNekheley Electronics

The location and available components with their budged published on their websites. So, I can check with them before I go.


How much will they cost?

Unfortunately, I don’t calculate it now. I still have miss data for the exact components that I will use.

To reach my point in this project, I need to make a lot of pixels which means a lot of panels which means servos!

So, hopefully, I can reach 100 servos! or something like that. but I still reading in the Firefly user’s guide from the last week to imagine how can I use it will reflect in my scale project then the cost!

I searched about Servo motors it started from 60LE up to 215LE, it depends on the torque, type of gears and the weight. I think I don’t need metal gears or high torque. I just control in one panel for each servo.


What parts and systems will be made?

I don’t think the parts are optional to be made … If the parts mean the designs, So I have to do everything as I explained … I will use

  • laser cutter with wood
  • 3d printing for the fixation parts

For the system … Firefly to control in servo motors


What processes will be used?

I have to finish the Firefly user’s guide and use it with our boards, not the commercial boards. I know I didn’t get this point. But I have to close this issue to start determent all variables in my project starts from the main point

The scale of my project…

In parallel, for the design issue … I have to get the language to link between firefly and my design in grasshopper… Now I’m learning about firefly as a separate software… and working in my façade design as a separate file … but still, don’t have the know-how to link between them!

So, more searching and searching and searching…

When I determent all of that, I can start directly to edit my designs to be fitted with my project scale. Also designs my electronics boards … Start fabrication and integration

For this last point, Definitely could back you to the start point!!

So calm down and continue with your project! :)


What questions need to be answered?

Sure I missed a lot of data that fears me… like electronics part… I’m not a master in electronics… I don’t know how we calculate the values … why we used this compound rather than another … why we used this specific value…

The second part about communication … till now I have an issue with C … I didn’t learn C before … or Python … any programming language … So I’m trying to get answers for all my questions … and make sure of that I don’t need to learn one of this programming language for this stage…

So, I will work with firefly and my local instructors don’t have experience with grasshopper … So I have to make it by myself … and if I faced any issue I have to get the answer and solve it by myself.


How will it be evaluated?

My final project can separate into two projects… that what I discover from our discussion with Haggag. He shared a project, Arduino Solar Tracker and made a discussion for this point.

Acutely the second part in my idea that makes an interactive facade acts as a piece of art at night, is very exciting than the first. Also, I have previous experience with Daylight simulation with Diva and I worked with all process so I know it will take a time to reach to the accurate values that make my satisfied of my work… The second point I really more exciting to try something new … and I like the concept of ingrate Media with architecture … these two fields could make amazing staffs!

That what I learned from Mohamed Hossam, He’s a new media artist, co-founder of Creative Coding Cairo… He presents really amazing topics that I learned a lot from them.

So this is my chance to make a project interact with media façade.

For the numbers of servos or panel, I can’t determine it before I conclusion all variables that I have.