Materializing Palladio s Ideal Villas Computational Reconstruction through Physical Representation of Digital Information

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1 Materializing Palladio s Ideal Villas Computational Reconstruction through Physical Representation of Digital Information Digital Design and Fabrication Group Department of Architecture and Planning Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA Lawrence Sass, PhD Assistant Professor School of Architecture, MIT 1.0 PROJECT OVERVIEW 1.1 Project Motivation For the past 15 years computer models (CAD Computer Aided Design) have been used to represent architectural form and space as line drawings and hyper realistic renderings, 1 but these drawings and renderings say little of how buildings are constructed. For physical information, architects typically fabricate scale models by hand after the CAD drawings and renderings have been made. This project is a new way to explore architecture by taking information used to create 3D renderings to make physical models. The process is fast and inexpensive. Most architects pay more than $10,000 for physical models similar to the model in figure 1. Using 3D print technology this model was printed from a digital file for less than $2,000. Another advantage of 3D printing is that the same digital file used to build physical models can also be used for renderings (fig. 1 right hand image) and drawings. This process changes our understanding of the method used to generate architectural products (renderings, drawings and physical models). fig. 1 3D Print of the villas Cornaro and internal rendering created from the 3D model based on Palladio s drawing in The Four Books of Architecture 1 Larson, K., 2000

2 1.2 Posting Physical Information on the Web All CAD files used in this project will be posted on the web, allowing other schools and organizations with three dimensional printers to physically build exact copies of the villa models in this proposal. These villa models will be one of the first online open-source examples of three dimensionally printable objects, and certainly the first completed project of its kind in the field of architecture. The process and final results will allow for a greater understanding of Palladio s ideal villas through physical representation, built from his rules of construction (fig. 2). 1.3 Computer Models, Publication and Exhibit This proposal for funds will go towards the continuation of stage I of a process began this past September. To date 3 of 9 villa models have been 3D printed, and new funding is needed to cover the cost to 3D print and evaluate the remaining 6 this spring. Stage II (not covered in the proposal) will be to write a short manuscript to serve as a textual guide to the construction and model fabrication process used to build the 9 models. This text will illustrate Palladio s design and construction rules used to construct each villa and explain how the rules are translated to build computer models (fig. 2). Stage I Stage II Stage III Print 9 Villas Text Manuscript Traveling Exhibition of Models fig. 2 3D Print of a balustrade detail built in CAD from Palladio s rules of construction to be applied to a villa models

3 2.0 PHYSICAL REPRESENTATION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION 2.1 Reproduction Technology - Woodcut 2D Printing Palladio was the first architect to use woodcut printing technology to reproduce drawings. Before the Four Books of Architecture was published in 1580, the only way an aspiring architect could learn the craft of design and methods of construction was to see another architect s portfolio of drawings in the form of a personal visit or to travel to places like Rome to learn the craft of design through sketching. The use of wood cut technology invented in the 15 th century changed the field of architecture by making drawings portable and clear. Once the drawings were in reproducible form, architects of the 17 th century were able to learn Palladio s style of design and construction by reading and tracing drawings from the text. His architectural style and construction methods influenced many architects throughout northern Europe and the US. Architects Inigo Jones and Thomas Jefferson both learned architecture from copies of Palladio s text. 2 fig Palladian woodcut drawing on paper along side a D Printed model of plaster in the Digital Design Fabrication MIT. 2 Beltramini, G. 1999

4 2.2 Reproducible Technology Plaster 3D Printing Three dimensional printing was developed at MIT In the mid 1980s by Emanuel Sachs in the department of mechanical engineering. The process takes a CAD model and slices it horizontally into sections, sending each section as a print file to the 3D printer. The printer builds a model one section at a time by spreading liquid onto a paper thin surface of plaster much like inkjet printer & paper. The machine then spreads another layer of powder on top of the previous layer, then another section of liquid is spread on top of the previous layer of moistened powder, then another layer of powder, then liquid, etc. The final outcome is a physical model that can be held in your hand, created from a CAD file and built of plaster and water (fig. 11). Although the technology needed to print each villa is expensive, as with most technologies, cost will decrease over time, and quality content (the online CAD models) will be the most valued part of the printing process. 3.0 PALLADIO S IDEAL VILLAS 3.1 Printed Drawings in the Four Books of Architecture (Why Palladio wrote the Four Books) Palladio s woodcut drawings in The Four Books of Architecture are impressions of what he wanted to the villas to be, not a presentation of the existing conditions. For many reasons common to the practice of architecture, Palladio was unsuccessful at building his ideal villas. His initial designs were compromised by cost, issues over the procurement of land and family conflicts. The Four Books of Architecture, published in the last 10 years of Palladio s life, contains images of architectural perfection, and villas built of perfect proportions and to completion. Bertotti Scamozzi 3 was the first to publish reconstructions of these ideal villas in detail in the form of lithographic prints. The CAD villa models and text in this proposal will be the second attempt to represent Palladio s ideal villas and just as with Scamozzi the villas will be fabricated from Palladio s rules of design and construction found in his text. 3.2 Printing From Rules (Building with accurate design information) Although Palladio presents drawings of his ideal villas with some dimensions and parts configurations, it is not clear how each building should be constructed or detailed. This part of the process requires a careful interpretation of Palladio s rules of design and construction. 4 These rules are complicated and vast, covering several areas of the design and construction process. Most masons of the time working on Palladio s villas were quite familiar with his methods of construction. Now almost five centuries later it is difficult to figure out how his rules should be applied to the floor plan drawing to start the building process. In particular, this applies to rules for wall thickness - Palladio does not identify this value in his text. The final 6 models of this proposal will be built from rules determined through a careful extrapolation rules from the text, 3 Scamozzi, B Sass, L 2000

5 photos and past field measurements of existing villas. The application of 3D printing calls for many contributions of construction rules, and the accuracy of each rule ultimately contributes to the quality of the final representation. I have identified these rules in previous papers by illustrating Palladio s construction rules. 5 fig. 4 3D printed wall sections created from Palladio s rules on wall thickness, window openings and floor to floor heights found in his text 4.0 PROJECT HISTORY Palladio s Villas on CD This project began as a graduate workshop at MIT in 1996 led by William J Mitchell. The goal of the course was to create content that presented Palladio s built and un-built villas for a retail CD. Each villa model was a virtual representation including background text on each villa and a 360 degree interactive animation. The target audience could span from students new to Palladio, to historical scholars focused on the history of the villas. After one year of CAD modeling the final results of the project were 30 computer models representing all of Palladio s built and un-built villas in the form of axonometic renderings. These models (fig. 5) were built of simple shapes with very little detail. The expected viewing range was not closer than 20 feet, and therefore details such as column capitols and moldings were omitted. 5 ibid.

6 fig. 5 CAD models of villas from The Four Books of Architecture and The buildings and designs of Andrea Palladio, the darker villa renderings are built, the lighter are representations of the un-built Printing in Plastic In 1998 with the purchase of a Stratasys FDM (Fuse Deposition Modeler) Modeler the project changed from virtual (using CAD files and computer rendering) to physical representation. Physical models were fabricated in CAD first, and then sent to the FDM printer to be built layer by layer of plastic. By 2001 there were four large 3D prints of Palladio s villas of no particular scale. Each was built of many layers of detail in a matter of weeks, all funded by the office of the Dean of Architecture and Planning. The limitations of working with an FDM modeler was that the models had to be printed in many small parts then glued together to fabricate a complete model (fig 6). Due to the need for supporting materials in areas with cavities or voids models could not be printed as one solid object. Final models were always a messy assembly of smaller printed parts and glue. The final models looked more like plastic toys than architectural representation.

7 fig. 6 3D printed model for the villas Cornaro from a Statasys FDM modeler, the model is printed in layers of ABS plastic and has minimal levels of detail based on the modeling type. Each floor was printed as one unit with many smaller details glued to a larger structure Printing in Plaster In 2002 a ZCORP 402z printer was purchased with my faculty startup funds, each test model was outstanding printed exclusively of plaster. These models were printed using a layered process much like the Stratasys printer except the ZCORP prints of plaster verses plastic. This method of working with loose powder allows for voids and small details. Powder not touched by liquid is removed with fine brushes leaving objects of any shape or shape relationship (fig. 10). This method of printing allows for monolithic prints of one complete section at a time with no gluing, and is a prefect way fabricating architectural models that by nature contain many solids and voids. Each printed section is approximately 10 x 8 x 8 (fig. 7). fig. 7 3D printed model of the Villa Cornaro built with a ZCORP 3D printer. The Z CORP modeler allows for models to be printed in sections with many voids and many levels of detail. This model is printed with a base of 14 x 26 x ¾ in depth.

8 5.0 BUILDING A VILLA MODEL The proposed 6 villa models will be reconstructed in the same manner as the three completed villa models illustrated in this proposal (fig. 8). Created as solid model using Autocad r2002, printed in 3 dimensions using a ZCORP 402 printer, each physical villa model is broken into 3 stages of reconstruction then solidified using wax to assure hardness. Completed Completed Completed fig. 8 Floor plan list of completed and proposed villas 5.1 Reconstruction Phase I - Clarification of Palladio s Plan The first phase of the reconstruction process is to clarify the floor plan woodcut drawing from Palladio s text, because his drawings do not account for wall thicknesses. Defining wall thickness is where the process starts, and because each rule builds from the previous rule, the starting point must be perfect. Based on research found during a survey of six of the nine villas and historical information provided by Howard Burns, wall thicknesses can be determined by the size of the Vicenzentine brick. Here I have chosen the walls at the piano noble to be constructed of three bricks across for a wall thickness of 18. Palladio s rules for the thickness of walls at the basement and second story are based on the thickness of the walls at the piano noble.

9 5.2 Reconstruction Phase II - CAD Modeling The second phase of the reconstruction process is to apply Palladio s rules of construction found in his text to the clarified floor plan drawing. I have developed twelve steps to reconstruct each villa model. Within each step there are many rules and ways to apply them to a floor plan. Some rules are object based - such as those used for columns in a portico, and some rules are procedural - such at those used to find the height of the ceiling, determined by a mathematical procedure. It turns out that most model parts are not pre-made objects. The rules used to make villa objects are determined as the villa model is being constructed in CAD and in some cases new rules are invented when existing ones do not work. Results of the application of the 12 rule sets to the clarified plan are a villa model built of a number of parts and details; unfortunately many of Palladio s rules for construction conflicted and contradicted the layout of the plan. Rules must be reworked or adjusted to match each situation. For example, Palladio used a different cornice type with each villa. This means that a new fascia molding has to be designed with each new villa model, a very laborious way of working which requires that each model takes hours to build. The final results of the 12 steps is a villa model composed of many lines and geometric components (fig. 9) fig. 9 3D CAD villa model of the villa Cornaro, this model was built in 12 steps. 5.3 Phase III - 3D Printing The last phase is to group all parts of the CAD model together to create one solid representation that can be chopped into printable sections at a scale of 1 = 8-0. At this point the scaled model is 3D printed in eight vertical sections, each printed as one object later combined with other printed sections to present a single physical villa model (fig. 7). The villa model is printed to a

10 particular size based on scale. I have prescribed two standard width and depth sizes for the model s base, and the villa model is printed with this base. The first is 26 wide by 14 deep by 3/4 in height - in real scale this translates to villas that are 208 wide by 112 in depth. The second base is 16 x 30, translating to a real scale of 240 wide by 128 deep. These two base sizes allow for model transportation, handling and storage. Each villa model takes up to one month to design (phase I), assemble (phase II) and physically print (phase III). fig. 10 Graduate student removing 3D printed model from ZCORP machine, the model is made from built horizontal sections of liquid binding material and plaster. Loose plaster untouched by the liquid binder is brushed away, leaving a solid model. 6.0 EVALUATION AND PROJECT ASSESSMENT Each physical model will be evaluated twice by noted historian Howard Burns of the University of Venice, and once by James Ackerman of Harvard University and Gary Van Zante of the MIT Museum, in a manner similar to past workshops on Palladio (fig. 11). The first evaluation will be at MIT in June of 2004, and the second evaluation will be at the Center for Palladian Studies in Vicenza, August 2004 as part of the centers annual workshop on Palladio. Changes will be made to each villa model after the two evaluations and reprinted incorporating all comments. This process of working in CAD and reprinting in 3D will allow for highly detailed, very accurate representations (fig 11).

11 fig. 11 Left - Spring 2001 Howard Burns and James Ackerman attending the final review of the Palladian workshop focused on reconstructing the Villa Porto in Molina. Right -Two 3D prints from two villas models printed at 1/8 = 1 =0. Each models containing columns, balustrades, walls and floors. These two models can be measured in relationship to rules found in the Four Books. REFERENCES Beltramini, Guido, Howard Burns, Kurt Foster, Werner Oechslin, Christof Thoenes, 1999 Palladio and Northern Europe, Skira editore, Milan Larson, Kent, 1999 Louis I. Kahn : unbuilt masterworks The Monacelli Press Palladio, Andrea 1965, The Four Books of Architecture, translation by Isaac Ware in New York, Dover Publications Sass, L, 2001, Reconstructing Palladio s Villas: An Analysis of Palladio s Villa Design and Construction Process. PhD Thesis Bertotti Scamozzi, Ottavio Bertotti, : The buildings and the designs of Andrea Palladio, Trento: La Rocchia, 1976.