The Urban Sail - Design Portfolio by KEN-ABD

Illustration by Author CFD Simulation / Eddy3d in GH Rhinoceros 6 / Paraview

El Kendi Abderrahmane Semester III / Portfolio Tutor:David Garcia The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts School of Architecture IBT, Architecture and Extreme Environments

CONTENT_ P .2

1_ Introduction

P .3-20

2_ Information gathering

P .20- 44

3_ Prototype design

P .45-58

4_ Prototype Fabrication

P .51-62

5_ Expedition

P .63

6_ Bibliography

INTRODUCTION_ This portfolio is a summary of design & investigation work developed during the third semester studio of the Architecture and Extreme Environments course, at the Institute of Architecture and Technology, in the Royal Danish Academy - School of Architecture. The studio aims to investigate contexts that may be described as Extreme Environments : ones where environmental, political or social complexities arise, and have subsequently important impact on the built environment in the area. In this case, the studied context is Torshavn, in the Faroe Islands, a site of high interest for the program : as one of the world’s most remote countries, but also one where the climate can be extremely powerful, with wind speeds casually reaching 17 m/s.

INFORMATION GATHERING _ PHASE ONE

4 INFO

Torshavn Old Town Author

The information gathering phase consists of a studio group assembly of different types of information on the studied context, in this case : The Faroe Islands, in order to generate as much knowledge about the context as possible. The gathered data is presented in the form of Infographics, and is susbequently used as a reference in developing the core element of the AEE research process : prototypes and devices.

5 INFO

PREFACE_ This project aims to investigate potential existing links between Faroethe Islands urban developement of cities and environmental conditions of the site context, mainly focusing on wind velocities as a tool to understand old forms of Architecture, while speculating about the future applications of such knowledge in new Urbanism and Architecture.

URBAN COMFORT IN THE FAROES : CONJECTURES & GAME PLAN. Political impact

High Wind speed

Urban Wind

Danger The most endangered form of urban mobility is cycling, as wind can cause tilting and loss of control over the vehicule, or in the case of rain, visibility and focus of drivers can be greatly reduced.

Cyclists Psychology

Pedestrians Impact on choice

Consumption User Surveys Statistics / Real-time footage

The comfort level ends up impacting the consumption choices of users : Shops and stores in calm areas attract more buyers, as users have the comfort needed to look and analyze products / services provided, that is to the contrary of highly uncomfortable zones where people just want to «exit» the uncomfortable areas, usually not even paying attention to the shops.

Mobility Choices

User behaviour High sale shops VS Ghosted Shops

The strong wind impacts the user choices in urban mobility. One naturally tends to escape streets and areas where wind is too strong, and visualize these as «avoid» or «fast pass through» areas, while comfortable zones are perceived as preferable for passage or stay areas.

Busier plazas / streets VS «Fast pass-through» areas

User Surveys Statistics / Real-time footage

User Surveys Statistics / Urban survey

Category The people impacted by the strong urban wind are mainly the Pedestrians and Cyclists, as car drivers are generally not confronted with the discomfort or the dangers of fast urban winds.

The City

Real Estate Valuation

User Surveys Real-time measurements

Mobility & Safety The strong wind negatively impacts urban mobility. This is through generating both terrible pedestrian and bike rider discomfort, but also increasing the risk of accidents within those areas.

Impact on users

CFD // User Surveys Calculations of UTCI

Urban Comfort In the Faroes, throughout mutliple large cities and mainly Torshavn, wind speed generates great discomfort within urban environments, especially in certain urban infrastructures like bridges and large roads.

User Surveys Statistics / Real-time

Impact on wind

Environment

Urban Form

Cities are, unfortunately, not decided by Architects or Urban planners : They are decided by Politics and Money. Through this reasoning diagram, we can see how urban comfort and especially Wind speed comfort can strongly influence Real Estate value and urban flows planning and hence strongly influence what our cities look like and how they perform.

User Surveys Statistics / Real-time footage

Tools Methodology

Economic impact

Urban Politics

6 INFO

CONTEXT_

FAROE ISLANDS ACCIDENT

http://local.fo/van-blown-over-by-powerful-gust-of-wind/

Not only do wind speeds in the Faroe Islands have important impact on the developement of cities, they can also cause major accidents both for pedestrians, and vehicules. This has caused wind to be one of the shaping factors of the built environment in the Faroes, in ancient planning or contemporary territorial decisions.

Illustration by NESDIS NOAA US DEPARTEMENT OF COMMERCE https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/content/hurricane-florence-nears-east-coast

8 INFO

/ A STORY OF WIND & PEOPLE

The fact that storms are a common occurence in the Faroes, generates an interesting relating between residents of the country and the outdoor environment. Socially, as the book «The land of maybe» describes, individuals have their weeks and events planned based on the weather, rather than personal preference. This creates a strong need for climate resilient urban spaces, as the interaction of people with the outdoors can be very limited. for extended periods of time.

9 INFO

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/12/metro/expect-strong-windsheavy-rain-possible-power-outages-monday/

CFD ANALYSIS / Wind speeds in urban area https://www.simscale.com/projects/dheiny/urban_development_cfd/

WIND / DANGERS AND DICOMFORT Multiple urban environments, especially in contemporary cities, have known major complexities and incidents during climatic events. Fortunately, contemporary computational tools allow to understand and assess risks and wind velocities before even deciding on a specific building proposal.

10 INFO

Faroes/ Wind/ Wave speed measurements https://www.ventusky.com/?p=61.90;-6.97;8&l=wave

TORSHAVN / SHELTERED CAPITAL The site choice of the city of Torshavn reflects a relevant study of the wind conditions of the country by the original founders of the city. In fact, it can be noticed through multiple wind analysis of the country that Torshavn is placed in a sheltered area, while the Southern area are facing much intensive winds.

12 INFO

INFOGRAPHICS_ As the studio aims to investigate contexts that may be described as Extreme Environments : ones where environmental, political or social complexities arise, and have subsequently important impact on the built environment in the area. The infographics consist of different topographic and ocean depth developements based on GEBCO XYZ data.

11 INFO

Infographic / Climate data of Torshavn, The Faroe Islands Lotta E. Locklund

11 INFO

Infographic / QGIS Generated Depth map / Rhino Generated Topography Author

12 INFO

Infographic / QGIS Generated Depth map / Rhino Generated Topography Author

11 INFO

Infographic / QGIS Generated Depth map / Rhino Generated Topography Author

12 INFO

Infographic / QGIS Generated Depth map / Rhino Generated Topography Author

P R O T O T Y P E DESIGN _ PHASE TWO

14 DESIGN

The process of design consists of multiple proposals and idea developements in order to test different iterations and formalizations of the theoretical framework of the project. In this case, the attempt is to design a structure that interacts with the wind, testing different factors that shape the structure and it’s interaction with the environment.

15 DESIGN

WIND SCULPTURES _ Anthony Howe, is a leading sculptor and artist when it comes to viusalizing wind : His sculptures ,with their complex patterns and shiny surfaces, create an intriguing visual spectacle that helps to shape what wind is, and what it can look like. This is an interesting approach to the matter, as one of the most interesting elements about wind, such a large force, is that it is mostly invisible, except through the objects it interacts with.

Howe / Wind Art scultupre

16 DESIGN

KINETIC & DATA SCULPTURES

David C. Roy Woodthatworks

Wood scultpures that interact with kinetic energy are also interesting reference when they are thought about as a tool to visualize wind.

This data based scultpure is an interesting example of a data related sculpture that itneracts with the environment based on the environmental data that it receives.

Data based sculpture WEATHERVIZ

17 DESIGN

Urban surfaces project

18 DESIGN

Urban surfaces project

This research paper tests the impact of multiple shadign planes in the urban realm and how simple surfaces utilized as urban vaults can have important impact on the wind speeds that shape the urban environments. The CFD test shows relevant knwoledge about how small design iterations can have large impact on wind performance.

Anthony Howe 20 DESIGN

ARTISTIC_ VISUALIZING WIND

One of the main aims of this project is to generate a protected urban area that allows passerbys to conceputalize about the impact of wind on their daily lives. This is thought to be achieved through a prototype that is both a sculpture and a shelter at the same time. Rotating with the wind, while shielding users from wind speeds and the discomfort they may cause.

21 DESIGN Tools Methodology

STATE OF THE ART : WOODY WIND.

The strong wind negatively impacts urban mobility. This is through generating both terrible pedestrian and bike rider discomfort, but also increasing the risk of accidents within those areas.

User Surveys Statistics / Urban survey

User Surveys Statistics / Real-time

Kinetic wind sculptures

COMMUNICATIVE & INTRIGUING

WIND SCULPTURE

User Surveys Statistics / Real-time footage

SUSTAINABLE MATERIAL

DATA GATHERING

- CO2 Footprint - Mostly wood - (Recycled wood if possible?)

- Wind speed - UTCI - Temperature - User Behaviour

Wood Kinetic Sculptures

Data-driven sculptures

The strong wind negatively impacts urban mobility. This is through generating both terrible pedestrian and bike rider discomfort, but also increasing the risk of accidents within those areas.

User Surveys Statistics / Real-time footage

- Urban discussions - Interactive platform ( at least output)

Statistics /

CFD // User Surveys Calculations of UTCI

Anthony Howe The strong wind negatively impacts urban mobility. This is through generating both terrible pedestrian and bike rider discomfort, but also increasing the risk of accidents within those areas.

User Surveys Real-time measurements

Tools Methodology

Faroe Islands

22 DESIGN

~ PROCESS

/ CONCEPTUAL INTENTIONS Multiple tests and conceputal developements have taken place in order to generate a more final proposal, these vary in depth, complexity, structural performance, artistic quality, and design efficency. The attempt overall is to generate an optimizied design for all these matters.

ELEVATION Shield / Safe space The safe space generated by the structure aims to protect the user from wind within the center of the installation, protecting from face until knees of the user, while the feet receive normal wind speed, as the comfort requirement in them is minimal.

004_Typ.01

005_Typ.01

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009_Typ.01

010_Typ.01

011_Typ.01

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/ DESIGN DEVELOPEMENTS

23 DESIGN

Akhfennir Salt extraction site / Author

DEVICE TESTING SITES _ The chosen testing sites in Torshavn are two light poles that are found in waiting or sheltered areas, in order to make the prototype as useful as possible for the users, and to avoid placing them in a highly dynamic area.

24 DESIGN

PROPOSAL 1 Static structure

The static structure blcoks wind from one direction only, generating no impact if wind is coming from a different direction. The structure is also incredibly heavy for the role it plays.

PROTOTYPE PROPOSAL 1 _

One of the first attempts of designing the project is the fixed shelter. This is inspired mainly from the research paper : The main issue in this proposal is that wind does not come from one direction, and so it would be inefficient during multiple times.

Metal pipe

Plastic sheet

27 DESIGN

DESIGN DEVELOPEMENT AXONOMETRY

DESCRIPTION This attempt at designing the ptototype focuses on the physical components that make up the device : A rudder, A roof, and a shield. The design is not highly homogenous, which will be attampted to be solved in other versions.

Wind Sail Rotation element

Light post Structural element

Shield Cover Sky Cover / «Roofing»

Wind guiding

28 DESIGN

DESIGN DEVELOPEMENT ELEVATION

ELEVATION

DESCRIPTION Shield / Safe space

This attempt at designing the

The safe space generatedfocuses by the structure to ptototype on the aims physical protect the user from wind within the center of the components that make up the installation, protecting from face until knees of the device rudder, A roof, and user, while the feet receive: Anormal wind speed, as a shield. The design is not highly the comfort requirement in them is minimal.

homogenous, which will be attampted to be solved in other versions.

Wind Sail Rotation element

Light post Structural element

Cover Sky Cover / «Roofing»

Shield Wind guiding

PROTOTYPE STRUCTURE AROUND URBAN LIGHT POLE

3 PLANES / 1 STRUCTURE This proposal aims to create one single continous surface that plays the role of 3 different planes : The Rudder, The Roof, and the Shield. Although this is interesting artistically, and from an efficency perspective, it presents high levels of complexity for construction, especially given the time frame for it.

26 DESIGN

SHAPING LINES PROTOTYPE AS A LINK BTN PLANES

3 PLANES SHIELD PROPEL COVER ROOF WALL ENGINE

DESIGN PRINCIPLE

SHIELD DESIGN

29 DESIGN

Shield_01

Shield_02

Abstract The computational aspect of the project is about minimizing material use, as this project tries to be conscious of the SDGs, and to minimize the carbon foorprint of the construction process. The computational aspect also aims to test wind optimizing performance through CFD simulations which allow us to know more about the wind qualities of each iteration. This is done via Eddy3D, and Ocotpus for multi-goal evolutionary solving. Different proposals are being tested in order to prepare an optimally efficient structure. As this is a WIP, and CFD simulations are highly time consuming, only few proposals have been fully tested in Eddy3d.

Sharp

Smooth

30 DESIGN

001_Typ.01

002_Typ.01

003_Typ.01

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005_Typ.01

006_Typ.01

007_Typ.01

008_Typ.01

009_Typ.01

010_Typ.01

011_Typ.01

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32 DESIGN

001_Typ.02

002_Typ.02

003_Typ.02

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008_Typ.02

009_Typ.02

010_Typ.02

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014_Typ.02

015_Typ.02

FINAL PROTOTYPE SKETCH / OPTIMIZED FOR STRUCTURE / FABRICATION PROCESS The final prototype presented aims to marry structural and constructive effiency with artistic qualities and a dynamic nature that allows it to be reactive to the wind.

Design Axonometry / Installed around light post

33 DESIGN

34 DESIGN

FINAL PROTOTYPE SKETCH / OPTIMIZED FOR FABRIACTION The final prototype presented aims to marry structural and constructive effiency with artistic qualities and a dynamic nature that allows it to be reactive to the wind. For structural ,testing and transport purposes, the beams are diviided into 3 segments, each one of them is a different performance level for the prototype.

Wind Sail Rotation element

Light post Structural element

Cover Sky Cover / «Roofing»

Shield Wind guiding

35 DESIGN

Light Post Structural support for entire structure

Wind Rudder Wood

Structure Shield Wood / Metal

Cover Sky Cover /Textile - Plastic

Structure Junction Metal

36 DESIGN

Plan View

More coverage

Less

Most covered

Mid

Least covered

CFD

Tested empirically + CFD More structural efficency

P R O T O T Y P E FABRICATION_ PHASE THREE

11 38 PROGRAM

39 FABRICATON

40 FABRIC.

TESTING BUILDING PROTOTYPES _ The final prototype presented aims to marry structural and constructive effiency with artistic qualities and a dynamic nature that allows it to be reactive to the wind. For structural ,testing and transport purposes, the beams are diviided into 3 segments, each one of them is a different performance level for the prototype. As the number of beams is large, they require a high production effiency with high accuracy which is why laser cutting plywood was chosen for the beam structure. The beams will be subsequently bolted around the metalic support to create the core and cover of the prototype.

47 FABRIC.

METAL LASER CUTTING STUDIES The metallic core of the prototype which will be hanging to the light post is built from 2 mm and 1 mm steel sheets for optimal structural performance. Metallic laser cutting is used for the process, follwoed by smoothing and welding the surfaces of the steel elements.

48 FABRIC.

49 FABRIC.

POSTCUTTING METAL SMOOTHING

Handle

Metal sheet smoother

Steel surface / Dennis hands

50 FABRIC.

EVAPORATION AS ENERGY_

43 FABRIC.

Metal beam supports Bolts : Wheels to plate Light post Metal beam supports

46 FABRIC.

EVAPORATION AS ENERGY_

Beam support

Exterme environments

Light post

Clamping elmeent

Plate to beam element

45 FABRIC.

44 FABRIC.

42 FABRIC.

EXPEDITION TO TORSHAVN_ PHASE FOUR

52 SITE

70 m/s Highest wind speed ever recorded in The Faroe Islands

n ba

56 SITE

/ WINDY TORSHAVN - THE FAROES Torshavn, the capital of the Faroes, although being one of the best sheltered cities in the country from southern atlantic winds, still has extremely high wind speeds, and knows regular storms. This is one of the main reasons why the prototype will be installed in the city. The second reason is the urban density that the city generates as the capital, which is unmatched in all the country.

STRUCTURE INSTALLATION The structural integrity of the prototype transits from wooden beams to metallic core all the way to the light post.

58 SITE

AROUND THE LIGHT POST INSTALLATION _ The structural integrity of the prototype transits from wooden beams to metallic core all the way to the light post. The rotation element relies on wheels that allow the rotation process to take place with the wind.

SCIENTIFIC RESULTS The prototype was installed in downtown Torshavn , nearby the main bus station of the city. The exact location is in a street intersection, in order to have less wind blockades which would allow to study the impact of the prototype geometry on wind speed, avoiding the influence of urban form and buildings, which also play a role in mitigating the wind speeds. Due to legal constraints, the full prototype iterations were not tested as that would have created a danger on the pedestrians, following notes received from the municipality. The collected data on site is considered insufficient to run a correct comparison between the 4 different states of performance of the prototype, and the 4 different generated comfort levels for the human body. Hence, the wind speed and comfort comparison will be based fully on CFD analysis. Within the CFD process in Eddy3D, the following details were inputed into the model : EPW file : Torshavn_2004To2018 from Onebuilding Number of iterations in running process : 1000 Turbulence model : Kepsilon ( Residual studies can be found in the Appendix) In order to optimize the CFD process into reasonable time frames, surface and meshing optimizations were required : Firsly, the surface area of the shield structure has been represented as a 2D extruded element ( a surface from a single extruded curve). Secondly, this surface is then rebuilt utilizing Rhino’s «_Rebuild » command with the following parameters as shown in figure 7

Grasshopper script / CFD Analysis

From Right to Left : From 2D Curve To 2D Extrusion to rebuilt Surface Rhino 6

Rebuild Command / Rhino 6 Surface rebuilding parameters

-12.2°C

5 3 2

Partial Wind speeds / UTCI

Total body UTCI Factor

Total body UTCI

60 SITE

Wind speed : 9.10 m/s UTCI : -18.5°C

Wind speed : 7 m/s UTCI : -14.5°C Wind speed : 7 m/s UTCI : -14.5°C Wind speed : 3 m/s UTCI : -3.3°C

Wind speed : 9.10 m/s UTCI : -18.5°C

-12.2°C

Wind speed : 6 m/s

Wind speed : 7 m/s

Wind speed : 3 m/s

UTCI : -14.5°C

UTCI : -3.3°C

Wind speed : 9.10 m/s UTCI : -18.5°C

5 -4.9°C

3 2

Wind speed : 2 m/s UTCI : 0.1°C Wind speed : 7 m/s UTCI : -14.5°C Wind speed : 3 m/s UTCI : -3.3°C

Wind speed : 9.10 m/s UTCI : -18.5°C

11°C

Wind speed : 0.3 m/s

Wind speed : 1 m/s

Wind speed : 6 m/s

UTCI : 5.1°C

UTCI : 3.3°C

UTCI : -12.2°C

SCIENTIFIC RESULTS

-12.2°C

Partial Wind speeds / UTCI

Total body UTCI Factor

Total body UTCI

The captured solar radiation in each distinct weather state ( Clear / Overcast / Rainy / Night time) allows us to compate how much water cane be captured under each condition, and the variance of that captured water

Wind speed : 9.10 m/s UTCI : -18.5°C

Wind speed : 7 m/s UTCI : -14.5°C

Wind speed : 7 m/s

Wind speed : 3 m/s

UTCI : -14.5°C

UTCI : -3.3°C

Wind speed : 9.10 m/s UTCI : -18.5°C

-12.2°C

Wind speed : 6 m/s

Wind speed : 7 m/s

Wind speed : 3 m/s

UTCI : -14.5°C

UTCI : -3.3°C

SCIENTIFIC RESULTS The captured solar radiation in each distinct weather state ( Clear / Overcast / Rainy / Night time) allows us to compate how much water cane be captured under each condition, and the variance of that captured water

Wind speed : 9.10 m/s UTCI : -18.5°C

5 -4.9°C

3 2

Wind speed : 2 m/s UTCI : 0.1°C Wind speed : 7 m/s UTCI : -14.5°C Wind speed : 3 m/s UTCI : -3.3°C

Wind speed : 9.10 m/s UTCI : -18.5°C

11°C

Wind speed : 0.3 m/s

Wind speed : 1 m/s

Wind speed : 6 m/s

UTCI : 5.1°C

UTCI : 3.3°C

UTCI : -12.2°C

62 RESULT

/ 3D CFD

3D illustration of the cfd analysis

71 BIBLIOG.

BIBLIOGRAPHY_ - Jianong Li, Jianlei Niu, Cheuk Ming Mak, Taiyang Huang, Yongxin Xie, Exploration of applicability of UTCI and thermally comfortable sun and wind conditions outdoors in a subtropical city of Hong Kong, Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 52, 2020, 101793, ISSN 2210-6707, https://doi.org/10.1016/j. scs.2019.101793. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/ science/article/pii/S2210670719300885) - Kastner, P., Dogan, T. (2020). Predicting space usage by multi-objective assessment of outdoor thermal comfort around a university campus. Proceedings of SimAUD 2020. - Kastner, P., & Dogan, T. (2019). A cylindrical meshing methodology for annual urban computational fluid dynamics simulations. Journal of Building Performance Simulation, 13(1), 59-68. - Dogan, T., Kastner, P. (2018). Streamlined CFD Simulation Framework to Generate Wind-Pressure Coefficients on Building Facades for Airflow Network Simulations. Proceedings of IBPC 2018. - Beyer, Hans Georg & Niclasen, Bárður. (2017). Analysis of the Match of Heating Load and Wind Turbine Production – a Case Study for the Faroe Islands. 10.18086/swc.2017.37.02. - Poulsen, Turid & Beyer, Hans Georg & Øihusom, Øystein. (2019). Spatial dispersion of the wind and produced power in the Faroe Islands.

BUILDINGS, THE STATE OF THE ART. - NASA Photography / International Space Station photography - Ivanco, Thomas & Keller, Donald & Pinkerton, Jennifer. (2021). Wind Tunnel to Full Scale Mapping of Winds and Loads for Launch-Vehicle Ground Wind Loads. 10.2514/6.2021-1072. - Natanian, J., Kastner, P., Dogan T., Auer T. (2020). From energy performative to livable Mediterranean cities: An annual outdoor thermal comfort and energy balance cross-climatic typological study. Energy & Buildings. - Kastner, P., Dogan, T. (2020). Predicting space usage by multi-objective assessment of outdoor thermal comfort around a university campus. Proceedings of SimAUD 2020. - Kastner, P., Dogan, T. (2020). Solving Thermal Bridging Problems for Architectural Applications with OpenFOAM. Proceedings of SimAUD 2020. - Kastner, P., Dogan, T. (2019). A cylindrical meshing methodology for annual urban computational fluid dynamics simulations. Journal of Building Performance Simulation, 13(1), 59-68.

- The Skin Senses, edited by D. R. Kenshalo, Springfield, IL, 1968

- Kastner, P., Dogan, T. (2019). Towards High-Resolution Annual Outdoor Thermal Comfort Mapping In Urban Design. Building Simulation 2019 Conference.

Y. Hashim, Aqeel & Al-Asadip, J & Alramdhan, Wathiq. (2010). An attempt to solar still productivity optimization; solar still shape, glass cover inclination and inner surface area of a single basin solar still, optimization. 39-48.

- Dong, Xinghui & Li, Jia & Gao, Di & Zheng, Kai. (2021). Wind speed modeling for cascade clusters of wind turbines Part 2: Wind speed reduction and aggregation superposition. Energy. 215. 119145. 10.1016/j.energy.2020.119145.

- Fundamentals of wind energy, Wei Tong ,Kollmorgen Corporation, Virginia, USA.

- Windy.com / Map wind and weather conditions analysis

- https://www.gebco.net/data_and_products/ gridded_bathymetry_data/ - Gunawardena, Tharaka & Fernando, Shiromal & Mendis, Priyan & Waduge, Bhathiya & Hettiarachchi, Dilina. (2017). WIND ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF TALL

EL KENDI ABDERRAHMANE M.A - 5TH YEAR / PORTFOLIO