Uncontentional Representation for Unconventional Architecture:
Arimasuton Biru
This project proposes the use of unconventional architectural representation to represent unconventional architecture.
environment design ✔virtual reality ✔3d modeling ✔
About This Work
Becuase of the freehand and sculptural nature in which Arimasuton Biru is built, it is impossible to apply traditional methods of architectural representation and convey accurate and technical information. This work explores alternate means of archtiectural representation.
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GoogleMaps, Maya, Meshlab, Open Streetmap, Photoshop, Rhino + Grasshopper, Unity, Skanect, Sketchfab, SketchUp
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Arimasuton Biru is a 3-story plus basement house designed and built by Japanese architect, Keisuke Oka. He has been building this house, by hand and without industrial machinery, since 2005.
In the summer of 2018, I had the opportunity to visit Arimasuton Biru and meet with Mr. Oka to conduct an analysis and documention of his building and site. Data collected was used to create digital representations of the House.
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Site Context
The house is located in the Mita Ward of Tokyo, Japan. The area is densely populated and features mostly mid to high rise buildings.
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Arimasuton Biru
Arimasuton Biru is irregulalry shaped and built of reflective concrete. It is built by hand, resulting in unique architectural detailing.
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Experience
Tools, artwork, and toys amassed from over a decade of construction fill the relatively compact space, leaving a memorable impression.
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360° Tour
The first floor of the house can be viewed in 360° on Google Maps.
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3D Scans
Artifacts and portions of the house can be viewed on Sketchfab.
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Virtual Tour
A playable version of the immersive VR environment is available online.
Workflow
Methods for documentation included photo and video recording, 360° photography, and 3D scanning. Using this data, an interactive tour on google maps, an archive of digital scans, and an immersive VR experience were created.
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360° Photo tours are an emerging trend in architectural representation. The immersive quality facilitates spatial thinking by positioning the viewer directly into the space, providing full context. They convey information such as orientation, distance, and size in a way that is natural for viewers to interpret.
A 360° camera was used to take photos throughout the house. The images were post processed in Photoshop. A 360° photo tour was created in Unity, however because Google Maps is a widely known and accessible platform for 360° tours, the tour was rebuilt in the Google Street Maps app. The tour has been viewed 100k+ time a year after publishing.
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3D Scanning can measure, document and record precise data pertaining to the physical world.
3D Scans of the house were taken using Skanect software. Resulting meshes were cleaned up and optimized in Meshlab. The 3D scan artifacts are available to view on Sketchfab.
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SketchUp was used to create surrounding topography. Open Street Maps and Grasshopper were used to create site building context. Immediate building context was modeled in Revit.
Arimasuton Biru was modeled in rhino based on interpretations of elevation sketches. Reference images were used to create textures. Materials and uv maps were created and applied in Maya.
Props were modeled with Maya and Rhino. Models were optimized for improved performance and added to unity as prefabs.
Virtual Environment
Space and how it is perceived is evolving congruent with emerging technology. The mirror world created conveys Arimasuton Biru’s unique character through visual, spatial and audial interaction which can be experienced regardless of physical location.
