Week 5 Independent Study

Strategy for interactively demonstrating the notion of decay:

The marble will lose its polish and shine, as well as having cracks and being detached. This will be shown by using rayfire and blend tool to create cracks and the colour of the marble will be faded. Concrete materials will be dirty and due to exposure, it will crack and detach. This can be shown using rayfire as well. Glass materials will eventually become dirty and cloudy and crack. Metal columns will rust, this is done by applying rusty material to the object.


Reflection:

Today's lecture has really increased my knowledge on realtime. Guest speaker, Jeremy Harkins from ineni helped me realised the importance of realtime and how it is growing beyond traditional architecture. Before this lecture, I knew realtime could offer a lot in terms if management and I did not actually see it until Jeremy demonstrated how it is able to control the system of companies and that impresses me a lot and I believe that more and more corporates will take advantage of this realtime experience in the future.

Week 5 Task

Notion of decay:

1. green marble
- deteriorates due to weather and no maintenance after human life, loss of polish and shine.
- discolouration of marble
- cracked and detached

2. concrete wall
- cracked and detached
- dirty

3. glass
- dirty
- cracks

4. metal columns
- rust

5. the house and surrounding
- vegetation overgrown

Week 4 Independent Study

1. Movie Trailers as reference

(The book of Eli)
The reason for selecting this trailer is because the situation is similar to experiment 2, this movie is a post-apocalyptic movie that shows the world 31 years after the world 'ended'. The scenes in the trailer were gloomy and it is good to see the surroundings after destruction.

(2012)
This movie has impacted me a lot in term of seeing how the world will end especially when the movie first came out. The movie shows how the world coming to an end and disastrous scenes happening at the same time. Through this movie, I thought of having a natural disaster, like water swiping the surface of the earth and wipes out the objects as it is most relevant to my crysis environment because my island is surrounded by water.

(The day after tomorrow)
Similar to 2012, 'The day after tomorrow' shows the end of the world happening and how the earth is taken over by the natural phenomena/disaster. It leads me to the thought of my crysis environment and how it would be like 100 years after these disasters happened.

(I am legend)
I am legend shows how Robert Neville (Will Smith) surviving on earth after a virus spread and killed most people on earth. The setting gives a very good illustration of how buildings and the environment will look like after human is gone. The buildings and places were left without maintenance and everything looks dull and dead.

(World war Z)
The parts that I could apply after watching the trailer were such as things breaking and cracking, for example how glass cracks when hit by a hard object and the destruction of buildings.

(After earth)

This movie is about a father and son crashes on earth a thousand year after cataclysmic events forced human to abandon earth. Although the setting seems unreal but it could be something I want to have as a scene in my own crysis environment, maybe not to the extend of what is in this movie but the idea of having something so superficial is worth a reference.

Reflection:

This week's lecture was really practical, and I think the demonstration given was really helpful to help blend two materials on a surface. Some tips that were given and I should keep in mind while adjusting the texture is making sure the blend layer box is ticked in the shader parameter.

Week 4 Task

Blend Layer

Week 3 Independent Study

BEFORE

AFTER

Direction: An abandoned house.

Background: More than a hundred years ago, the island was a beautiful place visited by tourists. But what used to be a lively and peaceful place was interrupted when intruders attacked and took over the place. Now, the island and all the buildings there are left ABANDONED. 

Direction: When intruders attacked, parts of the house were destroyed. 

The materials of the building slowly failing. Columns left to rust, roof and walls cracking.

My Direction (storyline)
More than a hundred years ago, the once beautiful island was attacked by intruders (terrorists). They took over and inhabited the place. Buildings in the island were destroyed and 100 years after the end of human life, the place is now left abandoned with traces left from the terrorists.
To show that, I will create breakable roofs and wall crackings. The house is abandoned and surrounded by overgrown vegetation.


Reflection

This week during lecture, we saw some post-apocalyptic movie and the idea I have gotten from these movies (the day after tomorrow, i am legend, etc) was how to make a scene realistic by looking at some actual natural disasters such as hurricane katrina and the aftermath of it. I'm starting to think of what barcelona pavilion will look like in 100 years the materials were strong materials such as solid wall, glass, and marbles and it should not corrode or deteriorate that fast.  

Week 3 Task

3 Sketches:

Reference Images:

Abandoned Building in Pripyat/Chernobyl
by DannyBoy @http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/100-captivating-examples-of-urban-decay-photography/ 

Abduction by Chris Smart @ http://digital-photography-school.com/20-beautiful-examples-of-urban-decay-photography

Abandoned place by Wisniowski, M @http://blueblots.com/photography/urban-decay-photography/

After following Jointed breakable object +Rayfire tutorial:

Roof falling apart

Experiment 2. Week 2 Independent Study

Progress in Max- remodeling Barcelona Pavilion

Material Research

1. Concrete

http://www.arroway-textures.com/files/gallery/1/demoscene_concrete-30.jpg

The basic concrete mix is formed from combining Portland Cement, water and rock. It is one of the most used material for buildings, bridges, tunnels and dams because of its strength and durability. Concrete gains strength over time and it is not weakened by moisture, mould or pests. A good example showing the strength and durability of concrete is the Roman Colosseum that was built nearly two thousand years ago and it is still standing firm now. This building material can last to about 50, 000 years. This building material is compact and non-porous and the fact that it does not lose its properties over time is considered low maintenance. Other than that, being naturally fire-resistant, concrete forms a highly effective barrier to fire spread. Although there are many benefits of using concrete, cracking has always been an issue and the reasons that cracking occur are drying shrinkage, thermal contraction, subgrade settlement and applied loads. One of the leading causes of deterioration of concrete is the corrosion of reinforcing steel and other embedded metals. Prevention can be taken to reduce or eliminate cracking in concrete and one of them is making sure that the concrete is properly placed, consolidate, finish and cured.

2. Glass

http://humanitiesunderground.wordpress.com/2011/05/30/glass-consciousness/

Glass is made by melting a mixture of silica in the form of sand and other minerals such as sodium carbonate, limestone, magnesium carbonate and additives in a furnace of 1700 degrees. Whilst still molten, glass can be manipulated into different shapes and forms. Glass is also a material used in the building construction. The benefits of using glass in construction is because of its high chemical resistance, a strong building material. However, it is a poor conductor of electricity and can be a problem for fire-resistance. Glass, overtime will crack and break due to several factors. One of them is due to the changes in temperature and wind deflects, causing glass to expand and contract and if insufficient space for glass to expand, it binds against the frame and causes breakage as a result.

3. Marble

http://www.essentialingredient.com.au/featured/marble-boards/

Marble is formed as a result of re-crystallization of limestone under pressure and heat of geologic processes. There are two types of marble, one composed of calcite and the other of dolomite. Calcite marble is less resistant to acid attack as compared to dolomitic marble. Marbles are normally polished and they are popular decorative stones for architectural uses. Marble deteriorates due to exposure to the weather and other natural effects such as wind, rain and change in temperature. This causes the marble to lose its polish and detailing. Another condition that the marble will face is crumbling. This may be cause by the source of salt migration and this weakens the strength and durability of the marble and causes it to crumble.

Reference
Cement Sustainability Initiative 2013, <http://www.wbcsdcement.org/index.php/key-issues/sustainability-with-concrete/properties-of-concrete>.

GSA 2012,< http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/111858>.

Portland Cement Association 2013, <http://www.cement.org/tech/faq_cracking.asp>.

Viridian, 2011, <http://glasstalks.com/2011/03/16/physicalproperties/>.


Reflection

This week we learnt about material and looked at formwork. Structure and materials are really important as to what is placed and where the location of the building is cause it might caused damage. One really interesting event mentioned was a building in London melted a car. And I did a little reading on it, the Walkie Talkie skyscraper reflections melted the side mirror of a jaguar car. And this is due to the concave of its design. This has made me more aware of the choice of materials and the considerations that should be concerned, such as sunlight.

Experiment 2. Week 2 Task

Using Crazybump

The brick looks darker

Before Crazybump

Using Crazybump

After Crazybump

After researching on the three buildings last week, the house that I've chosen is the Barcelona Pavilion.

Experiment 2. Week 1 Independent Study

1. Export Process attempt#2

Issues: The material seems to be working a little better compared to the attempts in class. However, it still fails to be properly assigned in CryEngine.

Attempt #3- Succeeded at last

Research

1. Barcelona Pavilion by Mies Van Der Rohe, 1929

Credits: Bruno Struck
http://www.GreatBuildings.com/cgi-bin/gbi.cgi/Barcelona_Pavilion.html/cid_1195531959_mies_pavilion_out.jpg

The Barcelona Pavilion was intended as "a symbol for a nation that had reinvented itself- as what is historically known as the Weimar Republic- after the social and cultural upheaval of the First World War". (Unwin, 2010)

The seminal character of the Barcelona Pavilion is the rule of asymmetry, with elements placed on an axis. The first move was to create a platform, and subsequent elements arranged on the horizontal surface of the platform. One of the significance is the flat rectangular roof, floating parallel to the platform's top surface. Mies also uses solid wall and most of them wrapped around the edge of the platform. To differentiate the zones on the platform, Mies reserved the onyx, the rarest and most valuable stone to clad the 'altar' wall. Other materials used were marble, steel, chrome, tinted glass, double wall of translucent white glass, polished stone walls. 

2. Rudin House by Herzog & de Meuron, 1997

Credits: Apartment Therapy
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/rudin-house-by-herzog-de-meuro-55630

The Rudin House is located at the foot of a hill within a conventional central European private urbanisation in the city of Leymen, Upper Rhine, France. The house is a heavy concrete mass and the exterior is mostly concrete but set up on stilts. The house gives a feeling of simplicity yet modern at the time. The house, unlike houses near the area, looks like a floating house with the platform lifted or raised from the ground. 

3. Maison Bordeaux by Rem Koolhaas, 1998

Credits: Beka & Lemoine
http://we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2008/11/koolhaas-houselife-is-a-film.php#.UlTTOyiDqfQ

This house was designed for a client confined to a wheelchair. It incorporates a hydraulic platform and it moves between the levels of the house. Having said that, only when the client is on the level, the level is complete. The house consists of three levels; the lower level sits as a heavy mass carved into the hill, the highest volume is looks as if it is floating on the middle volume because of the transparent glass and cantilevering it over it and the cantilevering volume supported by a steel tube and there is an L-shaped braces supporting the back of the house. 

References:

Apartment Therapy 2013: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/rudin-house-by-herzog-de-meuro-55630

Kroll A 2011, AD Classics: Maison Bordeaux, http://www.archdaily.com/104724/ad-classics-maison-bordeaux-oma/

Unwin S 2010, Barcelona Pavilion, Twenty Buildings Every Architect Should Understand, Routledge, pp.25-42.

Reflection
Life after People.

This week, videos related to what experiment 2 were shown and these includes Abandoned city, Ukraine and Hashima Island which used to be a coal mining town. I was fascinated to see how different materials react after a period of time and I thought that if I want to make my building in Cryengine decay, studying the material is really important so that it will be more realistic in cryengine.

Some research I did myself, and I found this website showing places abandoned by humans.

13 Hauntingly Beautiful Places Abandoned by Humans

this particularly interests me

The Hotel del Salto in Columbia opened in 1928

I would probably think of my building in the jungle, near the beach overtaken by nature because of the moisture and environment in my crysis environment.

Experiment 2. Week 1 Task

1. Completed the 3ds Max 2012 to CryENGINE3 video tutorial.
2. Post an image of the resulting exported objects in CryEngine to your blog.

Creating Materials in Max

Assigning materials

Exporting Materials to Sandbox

Assigning materials in material editor

Export the model from Max

Exported Objects in CryEngine