Thermoplastics

What is Thermoplastic?

A thermoplastic, is a plastic polymer material that becomes pliable or moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling. Most thermoplastics have a high molecular weight.
Materials needed for Thermoplastic

100% polyester Fabric, Aluminum foil, objects that will not melt (marbles & bottle caps), rubber band, boiling water.
Thermoplastic

Tie objects (marble & bottle cap) that will not melt using rubber band onto the 100% polyester fabric. Cover the whole  with aluminum and boil it for 45 minutes before removing it. After removing the object inside, the fabric will retain the shape. 















What is Vacuum forming?

Vacuum forming is a where a sheet of plastic is heated to a forming temperature, stretched onto a single-surface mold, and forced against the mold by a vacuum.
Materials needed for vacuum forming

PVC sheet, Heat resistant objects with no undercut, Vacuum Forming machine. 
Vacuum Forming

Preheat the machine for 20mins. place object to be form at the platform and lower the platform. place the PVC sheet on top of the platform. Lock the lever and pull the heating element to the top of the PVC sheet. Wait for the pvc sheet to be smooth, pull the lever and lift the platform upwards, at the same time press the vacuum button to suck the pvc sheet onto the object. 

















 

 

 

 

Printing with special inks: Etching, Bleaching & Rastering

What is Etching?

Etching is also commonly known as Devore. Devore is a fabric technique particularly used on velvets, where a mixed-fibre material undergoes a chemical process to dissolve the cellulose fibers to create a semi-transparent pattern against more solidly woven fabric.
Materials Needed for Etching

Silk Viscose Velvet Fabric, Fiber Remover, Screen print Stencil & Squeegee
Etching

Using the screen printing method, replace the ink/paint with Fiber Remover and print on the Silk Viscose Velvet Fabric. leave the fabric to dry for 24hours and apply heat to the fabric with iron to remove the fiber. Instead of using the Screen Printing method, user can also use brush to paint on the fabric. 













What is Bleaching?

Bleaching is a method whereby it removes the colour from the fabric or whiten it by oxidation or reduction. Bleaching can be use to create beautiful design/pattern on clothes or fabric. 
Materials needed for Bleaching

Bleach, Dark colour !00% Cotton, Spray bottle, Rubber band
Bleaching

Cover the part of the fabric that you do not wish to be bleach by folding, twisting or cover it with an object. Spray it on the floor and open up and leave it under the sun for it to observe the changes.















  



What is Rastering?

Laser etching also known as rastering  is a method whereby the laser head engraves by moving from left to right slowly down the material. 
Materials needed for Rastering

Laser cutting machine, wood or acrylic
Rastering

First create an image using 2D software and save it as DXF. file and open the file in coreldraw. Image that want to be raster need to be in black when image that need to be cut out need to be in red. This is because laser cutting machine are set to print black first then red. After changing the colors, set printing properties according to image and send for printing.











 

 

 

 

 

Printing with special inks: Thermochromic ink

What is Thermochromic ink?

Thermochromic ink is a type of dye that changes color when temperatures increase or decrease. Often used in the manufacture of many toys or product packaging. Thermochromic ink can also turn transparent when heat is applied; an example of this type of thermochromic ink is found on pizza boxes to show the temperature of the product.
Materials needed for Thermochromic printing

Thermochromic Pigment, Fabric Paint, Screen Print Stencil, Squeegee, Fabric.
Thermochromic Printing

Mixing 7 table spoon of thermochromic Pigment with 2 table spoon of Fabric Paint. Using screen printing method, replace the paint with thermochromic mixture to print on fabric. 











 

Reflection 

Once I saw this amazing technique, I thought of using this in the SAF. where soldiers loss theirs lives due to heat stroke/injuries. If we design clothes or wearables using Thermochromic ink this could notify them that the heat might be too intense for training or even notify the leaders that someone is having a risk of heat injury. this could save lives. 

 

Knitting

What is knitting?

Knitting is a method by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile or fabric, often used in many types of garments.

Knitting creates multiple loops of yarn, called stitches, in a line or tube. Knitting has multiple active stitches on the needle at one time. Knitted fabric consists of a number of consecutive rows of intermeshing of loops. As each row progresses, a newly created loop is pulled through one or more loops from the prior row, placed on the gaining needle, and the loops from the prior row are then pulled off the other needle.
Materials needed for Knitting

Knitting Needles, Wool Yarn, Paper Yarn, Denim Yarn, Copper wire
Knitting

1. Cast on the first row on one of the needle.

2. Insert another needle into the stitch and start knitting.

3. Cast off method.

4. Tie a knot at the end.



Wool Yarn



Thick Wool Yarn



Denim Yarn

 

Paper Yarn



Copper Wire

 

Reflection 

I feel that I need to use different strength while knitting when using different materials. e.g. I can use more strength while using wool as its a material that can be stretch. However, I need to do it very gently on the copper wire, as the material is very rigid and might break easily if I bend it too much. All in all I think I did pretty good for a first timer.  

Materials exploration: Fabric Manipulation, stitching with elastics

What is Smocking?

Smocking is an embroidery technique used to gather fabric so that it can stretch. Before elastic, smocking was commonly used in cuffs, bodices, and necklines in garments where buttons were undesirable.
Materials needed for Smocking

Fabric, Sewing needle, Thread, Smocking template
Smocking

Search for smocking template and draw the template onto the fabric. Stitch the end of the red line together and make a knot to form a wave effect. 









What is Elastic Band Sewing?

It is a narrow fabric that stretches due to its composition. Rubber or spandex cores are wrapped in a fiber such as polyester, nylon or cotton and then woven, knitted or braided to create the elastic. This technique also creates a unique pattern/texture on the fabric. 
Materials needed for Elastic Band Sewing

Elastic Band, Elastic thread, Fabric, Sewing Machine
Elastic Band Sewing

Start by winding bobbin with elastic thread. Then properly load the bobbin into sewing machine. Start sewing in a straight line and keep sewing until desired shape. 



 

 

Atmospheres – Peter Zumthor

Zumthor mention that to him a quality architecture is not about inclusion in architectural guides or histories of architecture or getting my work into this or that publication. Instead, a quality architecture is when a building manages to move him. Meaning, a good architecture is not just about how much awards that building has got but how it makes people “feel” something.

He also mentions we should be able to have an emotional response when we see or enter an architecture just like how we all know emotional response through music. For example; whenever u hear a song, you will feel and know what emotion the composer is trying to convey; happy, sad, intense, scary, etc. Architecture or space should do the same. Which makes me wonder what emotion are we trying to convey to the people visiting the eco-garden?

The author mention about 9 things that he considers when generating an atmosphere for his buildings.

  1. The body of Architecture

The material presence of things in a piece of architecture. Different materials and combines them to create a space like this. For example; how could we use materials to cover up the frame/structure/body of the building and still give it meaning and purpose.

  1. Material compatibility

Materials react with one another and have their radiance, so that the material composition gives rise to something unique. Material is endless. There are thousand different possibilities in one material alone. For example; In ADM, if you see from the side the building is made up of glass panels. However, the “roof” is made up of grass which gives the building a whole different look and feel. In addition, the sunken plaza there are water which shows the reflection of the “glass” again which then gives a feeling that the building is huge.

  1. Sound of a space

Interiors are like large instruments, collecting sound, amplifying it, transmitting it elsewhere. That has to with the shape peculiar to each room and with the surface of the materials they contain, and the way those materials have been applied. Which makes me think, since we are doing on solitude, how can we make the space we are creating in the eco garden quiet without covering the whole space.

  1. The temperature of a space

Every space or building have their intended temperature. When we were at the Jurong eco-garden, all we want to do is to design something to cool down that place because it was so hot that day. We definitely could do something about that, using materials that are bad heat absorber or light colors to reflect the sunlight.

  1. Surrounding objects

Every space or buildings definitely has an object in it. It is for us the designers to put what is necessarily to create that sense or feeling that we want to portray.

  1. Between composure and seduction

The feeling that I am not being directed but can stroll at will – just like drifting along and it’s a kind of voyage of discovery. an example is how the escalators in the mall are at a certain location so people will walk pass some stalls before going elsewhere. This can also be applied in the eco-garden to “attract” people to move around and stroll in the eco-garden.

  1. Tension between Interior and Exterior

Every building has an exterior and interior. However, he said that architect’s job is not just about creating that tiny box. There are things in the box (interior) that creates the overall design, for example furniture, products, etc. we can also have windows to reveal the interior or walls to conceal. As for our project on solitude, we could use this. Example we created the chair to prevent user to look at what others are doing; however, they feel too constrain when their whole vision is being block, thus, how can we create something that only block some of their vison without feeling trapped.

  1. Levels of Intimacy

The proximity and distance generate a feeling of association and disassociation. Example again for our solitude concept, how far are the user supposed to sit in order to feel that they are in solitude.

  1. The Light on Things

Light is an important role in design. However, I feel that not everyone is paying much attention to light. Lights reflect on objects which gives a certain feeling. Lights also creates shadow which is something we could consider when designing a space in the outdoor.

ANOTHER SCALE OF ARCHITECTURE

From the reading I understand that whenever we design an architecture, we are not creating the architecture alone. We are creating the whole environment, and how can the environment and architecture intergrade together. However, Junya Ishigami is saying that whenever you are intergrading the two things together, you should not intergrade objects that are in the same scale. E.g. If I were to build a house in the forest, I should not just intergrade the house and the trees (same scale). Instead we could intergrade the house with the small animals or bugs (smaller scale) or I could even intergrade with it wind or rain (not obvious) to create a more unique and different outcome.