Drawing Analysis Heydar Aliyev Centre

Heydar Aliyev Centre by Zaha Hadid (elevations) Sourced from: ArchDaily

Without access to the site or direct communication with an architect or client I have had to rely on collecting a large amount of data through site images and dedicated databases to source information on the colours, materials and technical drawings. Although communication was an extremely useful asset during our external brief project, this has led to me improving my research skills and resourcefulness to obtain all necessary information required for the build.

As Covid is still a factor to be considered and studio time is limited to the allocated time slots of groups A and B. Rapid prototyping, specifically 3D printing, seems like a viable option for construction massing. Also helping to familiarise myself further with CAD / CAM process' in preparation for work as an architectural modelmaker. Skills that have been called upon frequently during previous work experience placements.

Through initial inspection of the drawings, the best way to accurately replicate the building's structure and panelling appears to be through the construction of two-dimensional drawings along their corresponding planes and positions as seen below. This then allows for construction lines to be drawn following the contours of the technical drawings and creating a highly accurate representation of the original building. It would then be possible to network surface (Command: 'NetworkSrf') the resulting lines to produce a flat surface for further development Grasshopper.

Whilst this method is excellent for modelling any building, the network surfacing appears to have caused some minor issues. Some construction lines or more specifically curve points must be ever so slightly manipulated to smooth out curves. Removing kinks from the resulting surface. To achieve this, I have found it useful to spit the surface along the kink followed by an edge duplication (Command: 'DupEdge') that results in an additional construction line. This in turn solves the issue by providing Rhino with more contouring data for the network surfacing command to build a surface from.

Following this, I can reference the site images containing pictures of construction form start to finish ensuring all elements are true to the original.

Heydar Aliyev Centre: Site Images - Sourced from: ArchDaily