M.ARCH. B.ENG.
CHIEN-HUA HUANG

This semester we are asked to design a concrete shell structure for a hamam in Istanbul. Through active structural analysis and energy design tool, the shell structure should perform as a viable system that inform the space and quality. We invent a tool that allow a dramatic shift of sensation within one space by controlling the geometry of shell to respond to the environmental condition.

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In our concept, we choose three profound effects: Acoustics, given that the Hamam was exceptionally reverberant, Lighting, given the changing qualities of light in the space, and Thermodynamics, given the importance of heat in the spaces. We used pixel-based diagrams. A green channel represented the acoustics, a red channel, the density of penetrations for lighting, and a blue channel for the distribution of the heat source on the floor, known as the navel.  Because we could generate these maps automatically and manually, we had a nearly limitless combination of spaces to choose from simply draw three different channel in RGB. In the example, we chose two options, one with more intimate effects and spatial qualities, and one with more communal effects and spatial qualities. Finally, these two systems are connected by four self-supporting shell to separate it from urban influence.