Interesting example of experimentation taking place by Alan Berger and others at MIT and the GSD. The work involves examining different wetland configurations and how they effect the flow of water to maximize the cleansing effectiveness of the vegetation. The forms and experiments are beautiful and intriguing, it is great to see hydraulic experiments taking place through physical models. Berger describes natural systems as functioning through inefficiency, I would disagree with this. Our narrow view typically pegs the idea of efficiency around a single attribute, such as water flow. Berger is designing systems that trend toward maximum efficiency across a range of attributes which is how natural systems function. Water flow may not be at maximum efficiency but the composite system is at maximum efficiency resulting in greater ecological fitness. Great images and videos at MIT news page and an interesting post on mammoth.

More videos from 5D Event.

Hyper-real architectural visualization.

Squint/Opera Melbourne Future Wheel Illustration

More animations and illustrations at XVIVO

Abstract representation style by homologue.

Taco truck visualization by Baoquoc Doan. Shows how an element may be related to the surrounding environment as change occurs.

Analog visualizations edited to correspond to music.

Flow visualizations, created using medium and static photos that show moments in time.

Rob Carter  Uses stop motion video animation to physically manipulate aerial still images of the city (both real and fictional) to create a landscape in constant motion.

Photography, motion and graphic animation overlay is combined with sound to illustrate a process.

Interesting article in the economist about printing body parts. The possibilities are fantastic and possibly frightening, I would say I lean towards fantastic on this one. The printing of biological systems leads us to believe that not only will we be able to replicate but also iteratively engineer/design new systems. Is it feasible that we could print new plant species?

image from The Gothamist

This is a great example of how framing can change the perception of scale in representation. By manipulating the the focus plane Sam O’Hare created “The Sandpit,” a time lapse film that makes shots of New York appear as a model. The technique is tilt-shift photography, and typically uses image editing software to change or minimize the area of focus on an image.

Tilt-Shift miniature faking is a creative technique whereby a photograph of a life-size location or object is manipulated to give an optical illusion of a photograph of a miniature scale model.

Altering the focus of the photography in Photoshop (or similar program) simulates the shallow depth of field normally encountered with macro lenses making the scene seem much smaller than it actually is.

In addition to focus manipulation, the tilt-shift photography effect is improved by increasing color saturation and contrast, to simulate the bright paint often found on scale models.

Most faked tilt-shift photographs are taken from a high angle to further simulate the effect of looking down on a miniature. The technique is particularly effective on buildings, cars, trains and people.

Tilt-Shift photography is all about changing the angle of the camera to give a different perspective and to make something look bigger or smaller. -from http://www.tiltshiftphotography.net/

An interview and more information about the shots and film are at Aero Film.

The Sandpit from Sam O’Hare on Vimeo.

Tilt-Shift Specific Equipment on Amazon

The ability to simulate natural processes through scaled models ties back into the Mississippi Basin Model. In this sense the abstraction occurs because the media (alfalfa sprouts, sand, plastic) perform as scaled counterparts to the real world.

Fantastic tutorial on Video Copilot that shows some of the possibilities available using After Effects. The illusion of moving through strata could be an excellent illustrative technique to show vertical relationships.

Interesting shot showing the possibilities of using camera matching. Similar techniques are possible using the 3D featurs in After Effects.

“Aerobic conditions” in water ways signifies the presence of oxygen in a hydrological system.  The natural cycles of the water feature may be more or less in balance until an excess of nitrate, or nitrogen, and/or phosphate enters the system. At this time, water plants and algae begin to grow more rapidly than normal. There is also an excess die off of plants and algae as sunlight is blocked at lower levels. Bacteria try to decompose the organic waste, consuming the oxygen, and releasing more phosphate which is known as “recycling or internal cycling”. Some of the phosphate may be precipitated as iron phosphate and stored in the sediment where it can then be released if anoxic conditions develop.

Industrial agriculture is a leading cause of water pollution in the U.S. In the 2000 National Water Quality Inventory conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), agricultural activity was identified as a source of pollution for 48% of stream and river water and for 41% of lake water.  Many small sustainable farms conserve water and apply waste and fertilizer to fields responsibly, minimizing their impact on local water systems.

Framework

In order to establish a point of reference for modeling various methods of combating contamination of runoff and filtration processes, we will model existing conditions of a watershed within an agricultural region. This agriculture practices modeled in this section will consider base agricultural situations with no consideration of runoff treatment or control.

First, a typical watershed will be constructed in 3ds Max. Then the hydrologic properties of the watershed will be modeled using the 3ds Max Particle Flow system.  Finally, fertilizer type contaminants (Nitrogen, Phosphorous) will be distributed on the site and both the groundwater infiltration and watershed infiltration. Other factors that will be modeled are soil porosity, crop type, rainfall/irrigation frequency and amount, and vegetation density and type.

Process

The process portion will consist of small scale modeling of the contamination and filtration process of runoff and river systems using a particle flow simulator. The focus in this model will be the exploration and experimentation of various runoff containment and filtration strategies. Some examples that will be modeled are on-site detention, vegetated filters, and synthetic filtration systems. The effectiveness of each model will be analyzed to determine the strengths and weakness of each method.

Experience

The information gathered from analysis of the first two sections will be synthesized into the basis for a comparative model. This model will be presented in such a way that clearly represents the difference in impact on watershed ecosystems when exposed to both untreated and effectively treated agricultural runoff. This model will give viewers a firsthand demonstration of the dispersing of contaminants and the chain of effects these contaminants create on a watershed.

Sources:

http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/nutrient/

http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/waterpollution/

http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/water/water-pollution/figures-and-maps/sources-of-pollution/

http://www.water-research.net/phosphate.htm