Zihui Xie RC11

tag02 #color map

tag03 #color classification

tag04 #music

tag05 #urban design

I used Rhino and Grasshopper to generate a new city model based on the strokes from different stages.

example：New urban spaces in the same color scheme

Topological Mapping (2D to 3D): In Blender, I used displacement mapping to convert the brightness of the image into height. The white lines that originally existed on a flat plane were “pushed up” in three-dimensional space, forming an undulating terrain. At this stage, visual information is transformed into a topological structure.

Organic Reconstruction (Volumetric Formation): The original lines are sharp and discrete. Through voxel remeshing and smoothing, these fragmented geometric structures are fused into a continuous whole. This process is like wrapping the city’s skeleton with plaster or biological tissue, transforming it from mechanical linework into a continuous, organic volumetric entity.

Edge Detection：If the left side is black (value 10) and the right side suddenly becomes white (value 200), the algorithm determines that there is an edge at this location. Then, a white line is drawn at the corresponding position on a black canvas.

What is it drawing? This image represents the cumulative overlay of the contours of all objects in the original photographs. Because the outlines of different buildings are stacked on top of each other, the original architectural forms are no longer clearly distinguishable. What remains is a dense, abstract network of lines, which creates the visual texture resembling a “neural system” or a “complex root network.”（For example: window frames, roof edges, brick joints, and utility poles.）

why?

Find A Bus Stop | Washington DC Bus Tours | Big Bus Tours

This ring route is about 14 to 16 kilometers long.

Start / End: Inner Harbor

East side: Fells Point / Canton

North side: Johns Hopkins Hospital / Mount Vernon

West side: Camden Yards (the stadium)

My future proposal is to develop a speculative methodology for 'Synesthetic Urban Morphology,' which operates in three strictly logical steps:

First, the Context (The 'Why' for AI Images):

I argue that standard mapping misses the emotional history of Baltimore. Therefore, I will use AI Style Transfer not just to create images, but to establish a qualitative, atmospheric substrate. By processing street views through local art history (like the Ashcan School), I generate a base layer that represents the city's latent cultural memory.

Second, the Logic (The 'Why' for Color Dictionary):

To intervene in this context, I need a rigorous translation tool. I will establish a 'Color-Frequency Dictionary.' This acts as my central algorithm. It creates a bridge where the visual data of art and the auditory data of music share the same quantified values, ensuring that any form I generate is mathematically consistent with the city's identity.

Third, the Intervention (The 'Why' for Drawing Lines):

Finally, I will inscribe generative lines directly onto the AI substrate. These lines are driven by the temporal rhythms of Music and the social energy of Sports.

Why draw them on top? (Or maybe it can exist in a 3D space）