ArchiBJZ vehicles review

Manu:

The group we previously overviewed consisted of the making of two vehicles, each joining from a landing point to another (Auckland and Waiheke); ones function revolved around the use of non-renewable energy in order to travel from one side to the other, while the other relied on renewable energy. The first compulsory vehicle they used was a lantern that operated by the combustion of hydrogen produced from the flames created underneath of the lantern. Few modifications had to be made in order to improve the function ability of the vehicle, including the idea of adding and removing parts of the object, as well as distorting the shape of it. Materials such as seaweed and rice paper had to be involved for the process of modifying it. As we got to the part of testing the flying vehicle, the lantern unexpectedly caught fire and turned into ashes within seconds after the incident. That resulted from the distraction of the wind blowing the flames of the lantern too close from the actual paper material. The second vehicle consisted of a generated hydro powered water bottle attached from a horizontal rope (ones that connects to Auckland to its destination) from one point to another. The idea of this vehicle worked by the pressurized force applied within the bottle originated by an air pump, which was then released once the bottle was as its maximum pressure load capacity, creating a powerful forward force, dragging the vehicle in front in a very quick motion. Although this idea was well thought, one major default could be spotted, and that is the question on how does the vehicle keeps moving when no more forces is being applied to the vehicle during its trajectory

From what we have learned from the group, lots of research experiments were made in which most of them ended up being drastic failures for the sake of finding a way on how to improve the flying ability of the lantern. Useful information such as learning about the weight of the materials in relation with the lantern had to be considered, in which they concluded that adding pieces of seaweed ended up increasing the downward force of the flying vehicle when being lifted in the air. At the end of the day, we left knowing that the amount of choices we had on improving the lantern was very limited due to the increase rate of risks having the paper material (of the lantern) being caught on fire. Learning the ‘hard way’ through try outs and failures seemed to be the best appeal the vehicle workshop had to provide in order for us to succeeding in making a decent flying object.

Andy:

Recently, we have reviewed the work done by Group 38 - ArchiBJZ. This group focused on the vehicles, the journey and the landing area between the two hotels (cities）that were based heavily on working with 3d modeling such as 3dsMax and 3D printer. Compare to the other two work shops, this one seems more practical and realistic rather than thinking about the appearance. The ideas for these vehicles are also restricted by the rules of using renewable energy and non- renewable energy which makes the task even more complicate.

Through their blog, there is a huge amount of work evident showing their trials of the modified vehicle. From their first experiment to the final result they created, Group 38 used a variety of materials trying to improve the vehicle through different aspects. For instance, a number of seaweed and rice paper were attached on their lantern to change the proportion between the weight and the air within it. They also applied larger surface area on the lantern to adjust the gravitational force . With having such rich experience behind their vehicle, it provides our group a great opportunity to learn from their mistake and success.

In designing their vehicles, ArchiBJZ made the good decision of their garages and consider them not just a place where they could put into the hotels, but also how they could affect the overall shape of their hotels. Their two images of the landing area showed a clearly contrast between Auckland and Waiheke Island. Although they didn't pin up additional information of their hotels, we still can understand the differences between two sites and how they are contrast to each other giving distinct feeling to the people inside the hotels.

Ingrid Anna:

Trial and error, Ju An Teo, of ArchiBJZ told us, was the key to their work, 2 Vehicles.
ArchiBJZ went through a rather long process in order to produce their final outcomes: two vehicles; one rather elegant looking decorated lantern and a very effective bottle rocket. They also put great effort into their process, something which we learnt a lot from.

They experimented with using natural materials to renovate the cheap flying lantern, by cutting patterns out of seaweed, which were intended to reflect upon a utopian society, and sticking them onto the top of their lantern. This, they informed us with a rather beautiful description, would not only bring environmental ideas into their design, but also transformed the interior experience of the space. The travellers would be high up in the air enjoying life, tilting softly as they travel slowly between the sites. Light would shine onto their lantern as it transported their travellers, and the seaweed on its exterior would create shadows within, enhancing the interior space. This lantern would take off from a landing platform which had been equally considered; A screen around the space was designed to prevent wind from affecting the lighting of the paraffin, and they mimicked the city scape using a section of a hairbrush modelled in 123D Catch.

Their second vehicle, a bottle rocket, created a contrasting experience. With the aim of creating something that didn't need to be held, ArchiBJZ developed this rocket, which works with pressure, shooting away after being pressurised with water. The speed of the rocket contrasts with the relaxing experience of the lantern, hurtling the travellers to their destination in a parabolic manner. The path their rocket takes was shown on an extremely carefully drawn map, handdrawn on an A2 page with lots of intricate contour lines. The seaweed they had floating in their rocket not only linked this vehicle with the aesthetics of the lantern, but also created a lava lamp like effect. ArchiBJZ also got to make use of one of their transmaterials, moulded silicon, to create a cork for this rocket.

We learnt a lot from ArchiBJZ, who put a lot of effort into their process, which really showed how much trial and error had been a significant factor for them.