Rhino Progress and Renders

Base shape from which the geometry is made

Feather Information

"Feathers perform a number of functions for a bird. Firstly, they provide insulation, this is very important in a warm blooded animal (body temperature of most birds is maintained at around 40C). It is believed by most scientists that this insulating effect was the primary force driving the evolution of feathers, i.e. ancestral birds developed feathers to keep themselves warm. Feathers also protect birds from UV light." [1]

I am going to be using this quote and fact about how feathers work and what their job is, to build on my concept and model. This iterations within my model will occur due to changes in Light, i.e. the time of day, changes in temperature, i.e. seasons and also changes in weather, i.e. sunshine or rain. 

The iteration for the time of day will be represented by the overall coverage of the tunnel that my objects cover. The iteration for the change in temperature will be the objects getting thicker, and more dense, to relate directly to the insulating properties of the feather. 

The iteration of the weather, rain or sunshine, will be represented by changing the overall span of the tunnel to cover a greater distance.

[1] http://www.earthlife.net/birds/feathers.html written by Mr Gordon Ramel

A2 POSTER LAYOUT DRAFT 1

Related Tutorial

Rhino Grasshopper - Parametric Truss

 

 http://designreform.net/2009/07/rhino-grasshopper-parametric-truss/

A truss system can be useful in the creation of my structure as the truss can become the main structure for which the feathers are layered across. 

Randomized Field Tutorial 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLp6wyjNznE

A randomised field can be used to create points at which feather-like models are created and dispersed.

Facade

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnjY99i3qVY

Feather Structural System

I have chosen to focus on the structure of feathers and the role they play in the protection of birds.

I will be looking to create a structure than can be changed as it relates to weather, time of day and season. The structure will be based on a walkway and the main cladding of the structure will be based on the structure of feathers, and the role they play with birdlife will be similar to the role they will play with the walkway, opening closing, stretching across and fully enclosing. 

"There are two basic types of feather: vaned feathers which cover the exterior of the body, and down feathers which are underneath the vaned feathers. 

The pennaceous feathers are vaned feathers. Also called contour feathers, pennaceous feathers arise from tracts and cover the whole body. "

Prum, Richard O. & AH Brush (2002). "The evolutionary origin and diversification of feathers" 

"Although feathers cover most parts of the body of birds, they arise only from certain well-defined tracts on the skin."   

Pettingill, OS Jr. (1970). Ornithology in Laboratory and Field. Fourth edition. Burgess Publishing Company. pp. 29–58. 

"A bird's feathers undergo wear and tear and are replaced periodically during its life through molting. New feathers, known as blood, or pin feathers (depending on the stage of growth) when developing, are formed through the same follicle from which the old ones were fledged. The presence of melanin in feathers increases their resistance to abrasion." Bonser, R. H. C. (1995). "Melanin and the abrasion resistance of feathers". Condor  97 (2): 590–591

Week 1 Ideas

FEATHERS

Feathers are among the most complex integumentary appendages found in vertebrates and are formed in tiny follicles in the epidermis, or outer skin layer, that produce keratin proteins. The β-keratins in feathers, beaks and claws — and the claws, scales and shells of reptiles — are composed of protein strands hydrogen-bonded into β-pleated sheets, which are then further twisted and crosslinked by disulfide bridges into structures even tougher than the α-keratins of mammalian hair, horns and hoof. (R. Schor and S. Krimm (1961). "Studies on the Structure of Feather Keratin II. A β-Helix Model for the Structure of Feather Keratin". Biophys J. 1 (6): 489–515. doi:10.1016/S0006-3495(61)86904-X. PMID 19431311. ^ Linus Pauling and Robert B. Corey (1951). "The Structure of Feather Rachis keratin". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 37 (5): 256–261. doi:10.1073/pnas.37.5.256. PMID 14834148)

 CRYSTALS

The process of forming a crystalline structure from a fluid or from materials dissolved in the fluid is often referred to as the crystallization process. In the old example referenced by the root meaning of the word crystal, water being cooled undergoes a phase change from liquid to solid beginning with small ice crystals that grow until they fuse, forming a polycrystalline structure. The physical properties of the ice depend on the size and arrangement of the individual crystals, or grains, and the same may be said of metals solidifying from a molten state.

CAVES

The formation and development of caves is known as speleogenesis. Caves are formed by various geologic processes. These may involve a combination of chemical processes, erosion from water, tectonic forces, microorganisms, pressure, atmospheric influences, and even digging.

Most caves are formed in limestone by dissolution.