Showing posts with label Report. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Report. Show all posts

Thursday, 18 June 2009

The MAarch Report at the Bartlett

The Altering Body
A white dress as an interface between the body and its environment

Friday, 10 April 2009

The First Draft of Report

Introduction
Human body has been used as the basic architectural elements to create space. In the past, Da Vinci and Le Corbusier presented the relationship between the static body and space on proportion scales. ‘Users will mark the architecture with their actions during occupation, leaving traces that suggest how it should be inhabited.’1 Le Corbusier explained Le Modulo as ’a man who upraises his arm presents the space which he occupied’. The development of the model was based on the proportion of human body as the basic calibration for design. 2
However, the shape of body can change and alter because of the effects of factors in the surroundings. The traces of body also reflect how body relates to the environment and create a new space with body movement.3 Furthermore, the altering body creates a continuous rhythm and dynamic motion as it agitates or disturbs the elements in the space and reforms the dynamic motion.
The aim of this project is to interpret the relations between the body motion and the space by represent the idea of ‘agile’ within the environment. The first part of this project focuses on recording, analysing and creating the boundary of a field where the observed body exists. Body motions are recorded to find out the relationship between body and environment and the field of body. Moreover, the experiment also explains how a body generates turbulence in the air of a field and agitates the pollutants that have settled on surfaces.
It is undoubtedly that body motion reflects the environment and altering body defines a new space. Greg Lynn, author of Animate Form, who was inspired by E.Muybridge and E.J Marey, discussed the methods of capturing and analysing the fluid status of body motions to create new spatial forms. The body motion system would help to construct the tactic and frame of architecture. Therefore, the altering body not only creates the new space in the environment but also is one of the tools to calibrate the four dimensional space of body. The analysis and calibration progress will create a new body space. Moreover, it uses prosthetics to adjust the body movement.
The outcome would be expected to construct a new spatial type and to build a prosthetics which are the extended devices form the observed body in order to adjust the relationship of body and environment and be a tool of reforming body space.

Theoretical and aesthetic methodology
Idea of capturing fluid space
In pursuit of discovering the space from a dynamic movement and developing a scheme in a three dimensional space, the techniques for capturing the fluid status of body motion and scanning the environmental factors are fundamental.
Several methods are applied to record the dynamic fluid movement, which flows with the space over time. These methods are essential to obtain the data of body motions. The recorded data of the physical space are transformed into a method of creating/designing space.2
Moreover, from the research of Muybridge, the dynamic body is in the fluid states with the changing time. With the upgrading of technology, the changes of body can be recorded precisely. It can assist with the recording and analysis of body motions. Furthermore, the observer draws the field of body by the recorded of motion, like the scanning of the body.
Also, the theory, Herztian space3, explains how body motions and environmental pollutions form an invisible space in physical space. Body motion is like ‘the Hertzian space’ which can leave the form and traces as a new surface during every motion.
Moreover, one of the methods was inspired from the picture, in which a dancer leaves her motion traces and creates a new spatial dialogue with the original field. Another method was learned from the idea of motion capture by studying Muybridge and Marey’s photographic and the ‘Instructable’ website.4

The methodology – Light trace + 3D scanner
Light trace
Marey’s photographic work showed the record of dynamic figures by using the tiny reflecting optical disks with rhythms and motion.5 The methods were meant to pursuit the technique for capturing the ever-changing body. My ambition is to use the skill of motion capturing and photographic to develop and draw the animation of a four dimensional space. The body would be able to draw a new surface in the present space and the trace could construct the basic calibrate to measure the space.
If the ‘Hertzian Space’ is transformed to be visible by using scanner, it would help us to record the boundary of dynamic field of body. The methodology is inspired from using the idea of scanning ‘Hertzian space’ 1 to record body field to environment and spatial issue. (Figure xx light test) Therefore, light bulbs, as the electromagnetic radiation, are used to leave the trace of altering body motion. Light bulbs are the medium to be scanned in order to record the boundary of body motion. Photography is used as a scanner to record the changing body and to scan the electromagnetic radiation from the body.
To explain in detail, light bulbs are set on every main joints of the body. The purpose is to eliminate the body profile in the picture and only record the movement of joints in order to read the relationship of altering body and the environment. (Figure xx body light bulb)The experiments show that the light bulbs also draw out the motion in the space. Furthermore, the speed of motion represents the ‘time’ in the space. The exposure time of each frame is set at the same length. The different motions show the different speeds of ‘agile’ in the environment.
3D scanner
Mist, one of the environmental pollutants, is released from body and has settled in the existing space. Human body generates and disturbs this particle in the environment. Body releases pollutants through breath, body heat and vibrates the particle on the body. The altering body could generate mist and form the body-landscape. For example, the Blur (Diller+Scofidio, 2002) 2 releases the mist and reforms the original space and blurs the original boundary of building.
On the other hand, the 3D scanning method scans and records the environmental factors (pollutions and dust). The movement of body can disturbs the mist in the environment. The mist not only leaves the moisture in the space but also releases the smoke to reform the object. The experimental object would be placed on the body which releases mist (smoke) to form a space as the results are being recorded. The 3D scanner also scans the shifting motion figure with the ‘time’ element and is expected to read pollutants surrounded the body in the space. The study supports the understanding of how the altering body and drifting pollutions creates space. Next step is to attach an object which generates the pollutant (mist) on the altering body and record the misty landscape which releases from body with 3D scanner.
Generate Geometry
Although Marey was certainly not interested in higher spatial dimensions, Duchamp engaged with the four dimensional presenting which time and motion are played by. As Duchamp generated higher dimensional form by tracing body motions that were left in space in ‘Nude Descending’, it measured time in a static image of movement.1 Inspired from the idea of Theo Jansen’s shifting work, a four dimensional geometry based on the traces of body will be constructed. It would be a prototype of frame to generate space and a new prosthetics for the body in 3D space. It would also be built in 3D software.
Project tactics
As the ‘Automarionette’ used body to reflect and develop the system of architecture, the strategy of this project is to attach light bulbs on the body in order to record the motion, and track the body field.1 It would calibrate the basic layout of four dimensional body spaces and then create the dynamic geometry by analysing and transforming. The trace of body acts as a ruler of Duchamp to measure the time-based space. It would be a prototype of prosthetics and a frame of spatial geometry of body. The prosthetics are a machine to adjust the curve which is traced by the light bulbs of body as an ideal shape of movement.2

Initial body study work
Agile environment and Prosthetics
The studies of term one focuses on the research of agile ‘environment’ and ‘body’. In order to represent the 'boundary', 'speed', and 'agile' of the environments, the density of lines and the distribution of action symbolise 'the different level of terrain' in three environments (swamp, forest and cliff) which are seen as a continuous landscape. (Figure1) In addition, the bending lines which are continuous and dynamic show the 'agile' movement of body in the environment. The project applies photography which collects and analyses data from the human actions to figure out the relations of the body and the environment because of the inspiration of Eadweard Muybridge and E.J. Marey.4 (Figure2) The series of study in body motion can help to comprehend how body alters in these environments and construct the basic time frame on drawing.
In addition, legs are the key points of human body’s motion and knees are the ‘hinge’ of legs. An additional object is defined as the extra prosthesis that is attached to human body and it is the most important basis to interpret the boundary of body and how it alters in different environments. In the swamp, it resists the buoyancy of water and transforms with amphibious from swamp to the forest. In the forest, it swings between trees and shuttles through to the next tree. On the cliff, it finds out the location where it can anchor and climb to the top to resist the gravity by the depth of the anchor point. By the interpretation of the attached object, the places where the body passes by emerge new relations to space and new surface. (FigureX)
Also, the object records the traces of the shifting body to nomad within three environments. It might be like a sewing machine on the body to weave the surface of body in the environments.1 The trails of nomadic move reflect the environmental status and the object reflects the status of fluid body to adapt space. Therefore, the object of the body is used to travel in different environments and record the regional data where the object passes. The datum of motion provides the basic information for the next move in a new field.

Sites with environmental illness
The project sets up for three body sites, patient / horse rider / model that have sensitive for the environments which are hospital / wild field / catwalk corridor. The choices are applied in the purpose of producing the unseen interface in present environments. The sites are chosen based on the body training system to adapt their movement to environment. Also, technology is used to support and record the motion, and reform the space. However, I will focus on the one site to find out the system of project.
Patient (in corridor) - the patients with environmental illness
Breakspear Hospital: Produce a foggy corridor for environmental illness patients to rehabilitate. The transforming of humidity can help doctors to understand the degree of recovery of patients. There are some different rehabilitation courses for different patients’ symptoms.
a. Basic training of original skeleton- the patient cannot squat
b. Training legs as grasshopper – the patient cannot jump continuously
c. Extending body as the Chimera – the patient’s feet and hands cannot coordinate to climb

The first scenario is constructed at a hospital corridor. The corridor is a passage connecting each room. At Breakspear hospital, electronic physical therapy is used to cure the environmental illness patient. Scanning how patients walk through the corridor is similar to the procedure of curing, in which human body is affected by the events in the corridor and creates new fields. Bodies show different agitating states in the corridor. Different agitating bodies moves along the corridor again and again. The space eventually becomes more agile from the trace of light. As the drawings, Skelton / Grasshopper / Chimera, are generating the initial geometry in order to develop in 3D space.

Project Further work
Another strategy is to choose one site and focus on the bodies that go through the corridor in the hospital (maybe it could be in a different environment). Discussion will stress the character of corridor in the building. For example, the corridor which is between two patients’ rooms shows different spatial characters with the corridor which is between the doctor room and the operation room. Therefore, the different events would affect the motion of body and construct the different geometry because of different character corridor. This is aim to create new infrastructure in the space. Possibly, the system will be able to be applied to another environment for constructing the new relationship of body and the corridor and the relationship of corridor and ‘the building’.

Monday, 16 February 2009

thoughts of project

The body, the movement
Users will mark the architecture with their actions during occupation, leaving traces that suggest how it should be inhabited. (Nat Chard, 2005) The traces also reflect how body relates to the environment and create a new space with body movement. It records body motion to define the relationship between body and environments and what field is the body in.

The Hertzian Space
The idea is inspired by the picture. The white trace of naked dancer leaves her motion traces to create a new spatial dialogue with the original field as the fluid states of space. (see the picture of blog posted on 18 Nov) “…Electornic objects are not only ‘smart’, they ‘dream’ – in the sense that they leak radiation into the space and objects surrounding them, including our bodies.[…] Hertzian Space is three-dimensional and spatial. It is an environment that needs to be fully understood if it is to be made habitable. […] We believe that there is room for a new category of objects that provide complex aesthetic and psychological experience within everyday life…” (Raby+Dunne, 2005) If the Hertzian Space is transformed to be visible by using scanner, it would help us to record the boundary of dynamic field of body.

The events and environment
Tschumi suggests that architecture can accelerate the events of everyday life through new forms of organisation. Using various modes of notation ranging from rough models to sophisticated computer-generated images, he reveals the complexities of the architectural process and the rich texture of events that define urban reality today.Therefore, the physical events also influence body motion. – adding events at the existing space e.g. desk, chair, sofa, table, open window, going to the storage which is under the stair, and so on. It tries to know the field of altering body relating to the spatial events.
The system
Environmental illnesses – it is divided into three parts. User (the person who release the electronic radiation and show the body motion which are scanned), reader (the people who reconfigure the trace of user to draw the space by the result of scanning), and observer It is the representation of body to space that figure motions are recorded by the observer and then pass the information for the reader. It’s a process of creating space by user’s body in current environments. The reader uses the records to draw the space of user. The relationship of this system is to present the system of architecture which… The purpose of scanning is to figure out the influence of altering body from the environment and then creates new space of body. And it also knows how environment reflect to the motion of body. Maybe user can change his movement to adopt the environment or represent the relationship to field.

Constructing a system notation of my spatial language (thoughts of these two weeks)
According to the ‘Hertzian space’, ‘as the environment becomes flooded with electromagnetic radiation, all our senses are swamped with energy and information. While the entire world becomes electrified we are being overloaded by a vast world of electronic images, lights, and sounds, as huge amounts of information travel around the world at the speed of light and interact with the millions of electrical processes in every living cell of our bodies.' The methodology is inspired from using the idea of photographic and ‘Hertzian space’ to record body field to environment and spatial issue. Therefore, light bulb is as the electromagnetic radiation used to leave the trace of altering body motion. The scanner is used by photographic to record the changing body and to scan the electromagnetic radiation from body. Like Breakspear Hospital, it scans the body of patient then figure out the environmental illness. It needs to use numbers of electronic instrument to record and transmit the information of body motion during the testing process of this system. It is like ‘Hertzian Space’ that constantly draws the new spatial landscape for habitable. Light is a medium to be scanned the field of boundary of body motion. The light trace of basic movement will construct the basic language (notion) to help user to read the space of motion. How the notations which were tested from movement are organised the melody of body motion. The invisible events (e.g. light/ hot/ rain) also influence the body motion. The body reaction is affected with the environment to alter and adapt it, and also trace the new field in the existing space.1. Adding events - the changing housing 2. The static body (one snapshot of movement) with the dynamic events – what environment is surrounding it.What does it reflect to architecture?Environmental scannerTwo parts. Firstly, the object is set as the moment of body movement. Scanning it would realise the status of surrounding environments. Second, the object is as the static status. When other events and environments are still passing and changing, it would figure out the relationship of body and field.
Setting sites and Scenarios (Idea of Nomad life)
The three sites, model/pony rider/patient, present their bodies in the environments (the temporary stage / wild field / hospital corridor respectively). The observer and the reader construct a new frame of fluid surface by editing the photographic and video. Furthermore, the instrument scans the information of altering body from the sites for the observer and leaves the new surface such as the Hertz space which produces the unseen skin of interface.The system focus on three tests – Breakspear Hostipal curing / Fashion Catwalk performing / Polo training
The scanning tool is made as body scanner for observer to record the movement of body. The nomad life is from last term and relate to body motion with human behaviour. It hope to use ‘nomad’ to connect three sites and discuss the architectural issue. At this moment, I think I have to think what the relationships are between the fields of those sites. (maybe they would have short change after I think clearly)

Monday, 2 February 2009

[ text ] The idea of 'altering body'

ALTERING THE BODY
In the past, Da Vinci created the ‘vitruvivs’ to present the perfect scale of human body and it influenced the architecture and the art. Body is usually used to be the basic scale and proportion for design. Therefore, the relationship between the body and space is always the main point in discussion of spatial design. For example, Le Modulo used the proportion of human body as the basic scale for design. Le Corbusier said, ’a man who upraises his arm presents the space which he occupied’. Those drawings and photographic of his designs and observations were used to discuss the relationship of body and space, and they mostly emphasised on the static state of the space and functions.
However, the most interesting factor of the body is its ever-changing states. Also, the altering body also has the continuous rhythm and dynamic motion. In 1980’s, Muybridge and Marey had a serious photographic to record the figure of human and animals. They inspired Thomas Edison and Dickson William to discover the technique of photographic and to develop dynamic photos and drawings, such as techniques of filming and drawings of Francis Bacon’s work. The way of recording dynamic photographic and the instrument of photographic were developed and devised. That is when the research of the dynamic body motions and the body proportions were stressed. Greg Lynn was inspired as well. In his book ‘Animation Form’, he referred to the methods of capturing and analysing the body motions. The alteration of figures was drawn into a new curve, and simulated by the latest media, finally transferred into the basis of design and changing form. Furthermore, body motion is always by the outside elements. For instance, ‘Event City’, which is directed by Bernard Tshumi, presented the chain reaction of every event. The chain reaction of body showed the essence of the body is to sense the space.
Designer used to concern about the relationship of the static body with and space. However, the body is changing and altering because it is influenced by the people and the elements of surrounding environment. The procedure of altering body reflects the type of space, even only to focus on one part of the changing body. For example, the research of term one presented an object from one part of body (knee and leg) to adapt three sites. This object reflects the altering body which is affected by the environment. Moreover, from the research of Muybridge, the dynamic body is in the fluid states with the changing time. However, the technology is upgrading. It can record the precise changes of body. Furthermore, the observer draws the space of body by the recorded of motion, like the scanning of the body. Also, body motion likes ‘the Hertz space’ to leave the form and traces as a new surface during the every motion.
In the pass, the photographic of body motion by Muybridge was shown the record of dynamic figures in two dimensions. The methods were meant to pursuit the technique for capturing the ever-changing body. My ambition is to use the skill of motion capturing and photographic to develop and draw the animation of a three dimensional space. The body would then be able to draw a new boundary and a surface of landscape in the present space.Aim of term two is to find out the prototype of tools and explore the ways of recording the altering body in order to develop the static of three dimensional spaces.
The three sites, model/pony rider/patient, present their bodies in the environments (the temporary stage / wild field / hospital corridor respectively). The observer and the reader construct a new frame of fluid surface by editing the photographic and video. Furthermore, the instrument scans the information of altering body from the sites for the observer and leaves the new surface such as the Hertz space which produces the unseen skin of interface.
The idea came from the way of motion capture. Light bulbs were set on the every main active joints of the body. The purpose is to get rid of the body profile and only record the relations of jointed-point in order to read the relationship of altering body and the environment. Furthermore, the light bulbs were used to draw the motion in the present space. In the experiment, the brightest light bulbs were set on the central part of the body. Different coloured light bulbs were meant to distinguish the left and the right side in the purpose to show the depth in the photographic. One more factor, the ‘time’, was added to record the four dimensional space.
During this experiment, some points were not recorded accurately because some light bulbs are not bright enough and some light bulbs are broken. Fortunately, remaining lights drew the traces of motions and the blink of some figure motions for the reader.
The 3D scanner skill was learned from a website called Instructable. It is still in the progress of development. The results are not perfect. Actually, I do not want it to scan the real figure. I hope it only records the profile of the moving motion and the result can be combined with the experiment A. Furthermore, it only can scan the static objects. The challenge is how to scan the dynamic motion figure with the ‘time’ element.



Three sites – Breakspear Hostipal curing / Fashion Catwalk performing / Polo training
User Reader Observer/Environ. Reason – Why need system
Doctor Patient Corridor Healthier
Fashion Designer modle audience/temporary Changes in Performance
Polo trainer Hourse/player Field training to play