The proposed sections are useful to understand the spatial qualities for each area at each tide level [ high tide, mid tide and low tide]. These sections were further developed once the material system was applied.

Stanley Carroll
Jose Garcia
Alessandra Fabbri
Daniel Zaldivar

The system explored different configurations utilizing a highly tensioned flexible isotropic material (latex) and a flexible boundary beam (piano wire). Initial experiments explored fabricating the two material systems into different geometries: triangles, squares, circles, and tear-drop shapes. Each of the different geometries displayed a dynamic movement when the parts were physically constrained at two opposite corners and an external force is applied at the remaining corners and counter to the current natural bending direction.

Stanley Carroll
Jose Garcia
Alessandra Fabbri
Daniel Zaldivar

Additional experiments were performed by conjoining several teardrop shapes together in a single fabrication. The tear drops were flipped in a yin-yang relationship where beams were aligned in a tangential relationship. In order to achieve a shape that was neither overly bent or under bend, the boundary must be flexible enough to bend and stiff enough to pull the membrane out and generate the shape.

Stanley Carroll
Jose Garcia
Alessandra Fabbri
Daniel Zaldivar

Straight stiff pipes provided the ability for the structure to withstand even the highest wind velocities but offered limited movement possibilities actuated by the tidal changes. By pre-curving a stiff pipe, the tidal movement caused the pipe to move in a programmed way based upon the shape of the pipe as it moved through the deck. The physical model was worked with piano wire as a form finding tool.

Stanley Carroll
Jose Garcia
Alessandra Fabbri
Daniel Zaldivar

The creation of the global design was based on a number of major regional aggregations, subsequently populated by minor elements useful to increase the on-pier offered protection. With the materials previously analysed, a highly tensioned flexible isotropic material (latex) and a flexible beam boundary (glass fibre) was used.

Stanley Carroll
Jose Garcia
Alessandra Fabbri
Daniel Zaldivar

The initial structural solution for this global form was to place bimetal panels on top of the structure frame of another material on a regular grid. In order to maintain material integrity, it was necessary to interlock and overlap these panels to add to the local stiffness. The stress-lines of the global surface were traced and a vector field based on these stress-lines was generated in order to have equally distributed load beams.

Amro Kabbara
Samidha Kowli
Alessandra Lazzoni
Lei Zheng

The purpose of the digital analysis, with Ansys, was to see how much the wind is reduced by the curvature of the panels and their area of openings. This informed how the wind could be modulated for a certain local and global curvature by varying openings through differentiated geometry.

Amro Kabbara
Samidha Kowli
Alessandra Lazzoni
Lei Zheng

The global surface curvature was to be designed based on the opening percentage needed. By applying the calculated opening percentage on the differentiated panels, a series of shadow changes throughout the year could be estimated.

Amro Kabbara
Samidha Kowli
Alessandra Lazzoni
Lei Zheng

Physical testing was explored of heated expansion in a laminated sheet to investigate the maximum curvature with an increase of temperature. The bimetal, which is formed by two metals of different coefficients of expansion welded together, buckles on heating.

Amro Kabbara
Samidha Kowli
Alessandra Lazzoni
Lei Zheng

The main aspiration of the global surface was to shelter the commuters from the incident winds. Therefore, it was imperative that the global form should be symmetrical with minimum eccentricities to be responsive to winds. The form, panellized and divided into a regular grid pattern, could be varied depending on the pattern and on the panel sizes.

Amro Kabbara
Samidha Kowli
Alessandra Lazzoni
Lei Zheng

The final global form has differentiated bimetal panels overlapped and interlocked with each other along the stress lines. The form was punctuated with the existing circulation to determine the major openings and, through analysing the wind forces through these openings, zones for better ventilation were marked out for additional bimetal element openings. The aim was for the specific global curvature to cut down the winter and summer wind speeds.

Amro Kabbara
Samidha Kowli
Alessandra Lazzoni
Lei Zheng

The design research for this project involved a geometrical exploration of folding patterns, applied to stainless steel sheets in order to achieve a self-supporting structure to create a sensory experience for people passing through Masthouse Terrace Pier, based on a modulation of wind velocities.

The areas of the vertices are highly stressed and locally deformed (a, c, d), while the material failed at an edge, when folding (b)

Antiopi Koronaki
Rachelle Spiteri
Camille Saad
Anja Hein

A series of physical models were explored that were later translated to steel sheet metal. Through this exploration it was found that the final global form, which could obtain self supporting stability from the geometry's curvature, could be connected together along the top section by the clusters of arches; this would provide shelter from rain for people walking beneath the arches while providing structural stiffness of the geometry against lateral wind loads.

Antiopi Koronaki
Rachelle Spiteri
Camille Saad
Anja Hein

The purpose of this research is to create a differentiated surface geometry to attain spatial variation by defining spaces for different events to happen along the pier; thus distinguishing between waiting spaces and spaces for circulation. To achieve this spatial variation with the Yoshimura fold, a series of paper models were made, each with a different distortion of the folding pattern.

Antiopi Koronaki
Rachelle Spiteri
Camille Saad
Anja Hein

The design research for this project involved a geometrical exploration of folding patterns, applied to stainless steel sheets, in order to achieve a self supporting structure. The architectural ambition was to create a sensory experience for people passing through Masthouse Terrace Pier, based on a modulation of wind velocities using the Venturi Principle.

Antiopi Koronaki
Rachelle Spiteri
Camille Saad
Anja Hein

The plan is arranged around the circulation routes between points of arrival on the pier. By varying the geometry of the folding pattern, a series of differentiated spaces are created. The effect of accelerating wind velocity is also differentiated as one progresses along the length of the surface.

Antiopi Koronaki
Rachelle Spiteri
Camille Saad
Anja Hein

Wind Analysis of the folded geometries in the larger scale was tested in a process to inform the global shape. This was tested in both breezes or gusts, and parallel or normal to its main direction.

Antiopi Koronaki
Rachelle Spiteri
Camille Saad
Anja Hein

The component has three parts: the aluminium frame, ETFE membrane with an opening, and the drum. The central drum consists of rigid compression members pivoted in the centre of a ring. When the membrane is exposed to winds of high velocity, it is subjected to deformation. The deformation along the direction normal to the faces pushes the rigid members in turn the membrane on the rear side. The rear membrane opens up causing a levered action to reduce the opening size.

Shahad Abdulmonem
Radhika Amin
Georgios Bitsianis
William Haviland
Balamurugan Rajakumar

The wind on the surface of the structure vary periodically at different points. Therefore, a mechanism was developed within the component to respond to the fluctuating wind. As the wind velocity increases at a particular panel the opening size of the corresponding component reduced accordingly.

Shahad Abdulmonem
Radhika Amin
Georgios Bitsianis
William Haviland
Balamurugan Rajakumar

There were two main considerations in choosing the type of structure that would be best for the intended architectural imposition onto the site. Firstly, anything that would be built would have to be supported by the floating pier, and therefore could not be too heavy. Secondly, the structure must cover a large area of the pier and encapsulate a large volume. The result of these requirements, following a number of design and construction experiments, was a grid-shell structure that could accommodate membrane elements between each panel.

Shahad Abdulmonem
Radhika Amin
Georgios Bitsianis
William Haviland
Balamurugan Rajakumar

Based on Bernoulli principle, this project aims to lower wind velocity on the pier through a porous membrane. As a structural system, membrane lightweight structures are ideal, as they would add minimal load onto the pier whilst providing dynamic surfaces.

The resulting project aims to provide a precise geometry with maximum clear usable space, a reduced interior velocity, and surrounding views by the use of transparent material.

Shahad Abdulmonem
Radhika Amin
Georgios Bitsianis
William Haviland
Balamurugan Rajakumar

ETFE membrane was analyzed based on several tests in STRAND 7. It is been found that the opening size is inversely proportional to its resulting deformation (i.e. as the opening size increases the deformation decreases).

Shahad Abdulmonem
Radhika Amin
Georgios Bitsianis
William Haviland
Balamurugan Rajakumar

Wind moves from a region of positive pressure to negative pressure. As a result, the enclosed space created a negative pressure inside causing the wind to penetrate through structure with a greater velocity. To reduce the high wind velocity to a comfortable level, opening sizes of the inlet and the outlet were regulated. To determine the opening sizes of the inlet and outlet, fluid dynamic study tests were set-up in Ansys.

Shahad Abdulmonem
Radhika Amin
Georgios Bitsianis
William Haviland
Balamurugan Rajakumar

The apertures on the membrane were generated based on the surface pressure values obtained from Ansys. The pressure values were remapped to determine the size of the opening. Higher the pressure - lower the wind speed, therefore a bigger aperture would be generated and vice-a-versa as the pressure decreases.

Shahad Abdulmonem
Radhika Amin
Georgios Bitsianis
William Haviland
Balamurugan Rajakumar