Material strategies in digital fabrication [Second edition.] 9781138654181, 1138654183, 9781138654204, 1138654205

Table of contents :
Part 1: Timber/Wood Products Case Study 1: Dunescape, SHoP Architects Case Study 2: The Sequential Wall, Gramazio & Kohler Case Study 3: Stratifications/ Echord Gramazio & Kohler Case Study 4: Zip Rocker, Schindlersalmeron Case Study 5: ICD/ITKE Pavilion, Achim Menges and Jan Kippers Case Study 6: Winnipeg Skate Shelters/One Fold, Patkau Architects Case Study 7: Bodhi Tree PROJECTiONE Case Study 8: Hygroscopically Enabled Responsiveness Steffen Reichert - Achim Menges Case Study 9: Le Cafe Cache Sebastien Wierinck Case Study 10: Trondheim Camera Obscura, Norwegian University of Science and Technology Part 2: Metals Case Study 11: Real Good Chair, Blue Dot Case Study 12: Material Formations In Design, Elijah Porter Case Study 13: FlatForm, Marble Fairbanks Case Study 14: Croatian Pavilion, Leo Modrcin Case Study 15: Aqua Tower, Studio Gang Architects Case Study 16: Wave Pavilion Parke MacDowell and Diana Tomova Case Study 17: La Maison Unique Heatherwick Studio Case Study 18: Single Point Incremental Metal Forming Digital Arts Center Case Study 19: Between the Sheets, Heather Roberge, Instructor Case Study 20: MX3D Metal MX3D and Joris Laarman Lab Part 3: Concrete/Masonry Case Study 21: C.A.S.T. Beam, Mark West Case Study 22: P_Wall, Andrew Kudless Case Study 23: UnikaBeton, Asbjorn Sondergaard, Per Dombernowsky Case Study 24: 290 Mulberry Street, SHoP Architects Case Study 25: Structural Oscillations, Gramazio & Kohler Case Study 26: Freeform Catalan Thin-tile Vaults/MLK Stone, Phillipe Block Case Study 27: PreVault Dave Pigram, Ole Egholm Jackson, Niels Martin Larsen Part 4: Composites/Plastics Case Study 28: Composite Cladding Jefferson Ellinger Case Study 29: Periscope: Form Tower, Matter Design Case Study 30: Iridescence Print Gramazio & Kohler Case Study 31: Microtherme Matter Design Case Study 32: Varvac Wall Houminn Studio Case Study 33: bitMAPS PROJECTiONE Case Study 34: Feathered Edge Ball Nogues Studio Case Study 35: Elytra Filament Pavilion Achim Menges, Jan Knippers and Thomas Auer Part 5: Recycled/Pre-Cycled Case Study 36: P. F. 1 WORK.AC Case Study 37: Packed Tom Pawlofsky, Instructor Case Study 38: Bin Dome Rory Hyde Case Study 39: CHROMAtex.me SOFTlab Case Study 40: Pallet Canopy Digital Arts Center Case Study 41: Pipe Furniture Sebastien Wierinck Case Study 42: Table Cloth Ball Nogues Studio Image Credits. References. Index.

Citation preview

MATERIAL STRATEGIES IN

DIGITAL FABRICATION In this second edition of Material Strategies in Digital Fabrication are new case studies, improved wayfinding, the inclusion of composites and plastics, and references to similar strategies between different projects. In 400 step-by-step diagrams dissecting 39 case studies in 10 countries on 3 continents, the book shows you how material performance drives the digital fabrication process and determines technique. The book identifies the important characteristics of each material, including connection types, relative costs, deformation, color, texture, finish, dimensional properties, durability, and weathering and waterproofing to link design outcomes to form. The book is divided into five main chapters by material; wood, metal, concrete/masonry, composites/ plastics, and recycled/pre-cycled, to help you reference construction techniques for the fabrication machines you have on-hand. Includes projects by SHoP Architects, Gramazio Kohler Research, Schindlersalmeron, The Institute for Computational Design (Achim Menges, Patkau Architects,Sebastien Wierinck, Blue Dot Furniture, Marble Fairbanks, Studio Gang Architects, Macdowell.Tomova, Thomas Heatherwick Studio, Heather Roberge, MX3D, Matsys, Asbjorn Sondergaard, Block Research Group (Phillipe Block), Ball Nogues Studio, Matter Design, WORK Architecture Company, and SoftLab. Christopher Beorkrem is associate professor of architecture at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.

MATERIAL STRATEGIES IN

DIGITAL FABRICATION Second Edition

Christopher Beorkrem

Second edition published 2017 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2017 Taylor & Francis The right of Christopher Beorkrem to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. First edition published by Routledge 2013 Second edition published by Routledge 2017 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Names: Beorkrem, Christopher, author.Title: Material strategies in digital fabrication / Christopher Beorkrem.Description: Second edition. | New York : Routledge, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index.Identifiers: LCCN 2016055266| ISBN 9781138654181 (hb : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781138654204 (pb : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781315623368 (ebook)Subjects: LCSH: Building materials. | Architecture--Technological innovations. | Manufacturing processes--Data processing. | Manufacturing processes--Automation. | Computer integrated manufacturing systems.Classification: LCC NA4100 .B46 2017 | DDC 721/.040285--dc23LC record available at https://lccn.loc. gov/2016055266 ISBN: 978-1-138-65418-1 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-65420-4 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-62336-8 (ebk) Publisher's Note This book has been prepared from camera-ready copy provided by the author. Book Design: Mikale Kwiatkowski Cover Design: Jenny Beorkrem

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank first the talented designers, architects, artists, and photographers who supported this book through their work and contributions of drawings, diagrams and images. I am grateful to my friends, colleagues and students at the College of Arts and Architecture at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, for the generosity of their time and thoughtful feedback throughout this process. In particular, the support of Eric Sauda, Greg Snyder, Matt Parker, Bryan and Jen Shields, Jeff Balmer, Nick Senske, and Jefferson Ellinger was invaluable. I could not have done it without them. UNC Charlotte has provided financial support for this project, thanks to Ken Lambla and Jay Dominick. My bright, patient, and diligent student collaborators included: Ryan Barkes, Andrew Beres, Samantha Buell, Wynn Buzzell, Dan Corte, Ashley Damiano, Patrick Gaither, Mikale Kwiatkowski, Rafael Lopez, Daniel McBride, Marlena McCall, Mitch McGregor, Taylor Milner, Noushin Radnia, James Rodgers, Carson Russell, Jeff Scott, Christian Sjoberg, Brian Smith, and Paul Stockhoff. (All student collaborators who worked on this project were compensated financially for their time.) To my parents for their continuous love and support. I would like to thank my sister, Jenny, for her impassioned design sensibilities, and constant willingness to collaborate, in work and in life. And to Kelly, for her enduring love, encouragement, guidance, and patience throughout both editions of this project.

CONTENTS 8

Foreword

10

Introduction

16

Chapter 1 Timber/ Wood Products

18

Dunescape SHoP Architects

24

The Sequential Wall Gramazio Kohler Research

28

Stratifications/Echord Gramazio Kohler Research

36

ZipRocker schindlersalmerón

42

ICD/ITKE Pavilion Achim Menges and Jan Kippers

48

Winnipeg Skate Shelters/Cocoons Patkau Architects

56

Bodhi Tree PROJECTiONE

60

Hygroscopically Enabled Responsiveness Steffen Reichert -Achim Menges

68

Le Café Caché Sebastien Wierinck

74

Trondheim Camera Obscura Norwegian University of Science & Technology

78

Chapter 2 Metals

80

Real Good Chair Blu Dot

84

Material Formations in Design Elijah Porter

88

Flatform Marble Fairbanks

94

Croatian Pavilion Leo Modr~in et al.

98

Aqua Tower Studio Gang Architects

104

Wave Pavilion Parke MacDowell and Diana Tomova

110

La Maison Unique Heatherwick Studio

114

Single Point Incremental Metal Forming Digital Arts Center

118

Between the Sheets Heather Roberge, Instructor

122

MX3D Metal MX3D and Joris Laarman Lab

Chapter 3 Concrete/Masonry

126

C.A.S.T. Beam Mark West

128

P_Wall Andrew Kudless

132

Unikabeton Asbjørn Søndergaard, Per Dombernowsky

136

290 Mulberry Street SHoP Architects

142

Structural Oscillations Gramazio Kohler Research

148

Freeform Catalan Thin-Tile Vaults/Armadillo Vault Philippe Block

154

PreVault Dave Pigram, Ole Egholm Jackson, Niels Martin Larsen

162

Chapter 4 Composites/Plastics

166

Composite Cladding Jefferson Ellinger

170

Periscope: Foam Tower Matter Design

176

Iridescence Print Gramazio Kohler Research

182

Microtherme Matter Design

186

VarVac Wall Houminn Studio

190

bitMAPS PROJECTiONE

194

Feathered Edge Ball Nogues Studio

198

Elytra Filament Pavilion Achim Menges, Jan Knippers and Thomas Auer

204

Chapter 5 Recycled/Pre-Cycled

210

P. F. 1 WORK.AC

212

Packed Tom Pawlofsky, Instructor

216

Bin Dome Rory Hyde

222

CHROMAtex.me SOFTlab

226

Pallet Canopy Digital Arts Center

230

Pipe Furniture Sebastien Wierinck

236

Table Cloth Ball Nogues Studio

242

FOREWORD TO THE SECOND EDITION KIEL MOE According to the terms developed by Gilbert Simondon (and later Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari), the traditional model of design in architecture is hylomorphic. In the hylomorphic schema, ideas are imposed on seemingly inert matter. As such, forms are determined independent and a priori to material. This schema is therefore transcendent and teleological, in that it assumes that the world is but the substrate of human agendas and action. The prevailing AngloAmerican discourse on “form”, as developed from the late sixties through today in architecture, has been overwhelmingly hylomorphic in its orientation. The epistemological limitations of this schema are great and continue to constrain the evolution of architecture. It now repays to ask: How else might something come to appear in architecture? Other models of causality for form (and more importantly, formation) are possible and were in fact common in the history of techne prior to the development of professional education in the 19 th century. In the more immanent modality of this line of thought, form is not determined by matter but it is dependent on it. As Deleuze and Guattari note, “one addresses less a form capable of imposing properties upon matter than material traits of expression constituting affects.”1 From this, formation is characterized more by its capacity to affect and be affected than the imposition of form through the mechanics of geometry and narration. To illustrate this modality, Deleuze and Guattari use wood and metallurgy as examples. “It is a question of surrendering to the wood,” they observe, “then following where it leads by connecting operations to a materiality, instead of imposing form upon a matter. ...this matter-flow can only be followed.” In metallurgical terms, they state that “it is not a question of imposing a form upon matter but of elaborating an increasingly rich and consistent material, the better to tap

increasingly intense forces.”2 This points to an entirely distinct epistemology for what we assume a form(ation) to be and how it comes to appear in the world. Formation is foremost an expression of the intensive, rather than merely extensive, properties of architecture. Extensive properties depend on the amount of matter present and are proportional to the amount of material in the system, such as mass, volume, weight, and length. These are the traditional variables of hylomorphic design methodologies. But even in the most sophisticated transformation of extensive properties, the resulting physical state of the system remains extensively the same. This lack of state change is one of the primary epistemological limitations of hylomorphic models of design: it occludes the possibility of other states. Intensive properties— such as temperature, pressure, density, specific heat capacity, and conductivity—are not proportional to the amount of material in the system and thus introduce degrees of freedom and transformation into questions of formation. A fully immanent expression of architecture’s intensive possibilities in its formation remains largely dormant in design discourse today. But it would be a mistake to assume that design ought to be determined by the intensive properties and propensities of architecture’s constitutive matter and energy. Rather, how designers both seek order from matter and energy, as well as direct the transformation of matter and energy. Indeed, to “follow” matter and its traits of intensive expression does not preclude novelty in the physical development of design, but it does temper it and direct in ways that our overt hylomorphic design training never could. The central claim of this book—that material performance drives fabrication technique and

processes—represents at least partial turn away from the hylomorphic habitus of architectural design. In the salient examples illustrated here, the flow of matter affects the formation in ways that enhance the performance of architecture (hopefully in all its spatial, material, energetic, and political dimensions). In other, more recidivist cases, designers impose form on matter through more familiar parametric, fabrication, and most overtly, geometric processes. In some examples, formation is over-determined by the technics of fabrication. But, all taken together, these projects provide a spectrum of consideration about non-hylomorphic possibilities in architecture. The texts and projects frame ways that fabrication processes can “follow” matter in novel ways. What is at stake in this book are some strategies for tapping into the intensive propensities of architecture’s perennial materials through by now familiar fabrication processes. Beyond more limited discourses on ornament or surface, the ultimate agenda here is an epistemological turn towards other theories and practices of architecture formation.

Notes 1 Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1987. P. 408. 2 Ibid, p. 411.

9

INTRODUCTION Manuel DeLanda in his article “Philosophies of Design: The Case of Modeling Software” described the tendency for humans to value knowledge over know-how. With the advent of computational design technology, that tendency is reversing; machines are fully capable of storing the knowledge necessary to play chess, or to solve a math problem, while engineers struggle to design a "mechanical hand." DeLanda is pointing to humanity’s technological innovations as the actual source of the problems society had hoped they would solve. In design, this is most obvious when a material’s character (touch, density, and durability) is ignored in the production of architectural design. In other words the type of knowledge that we always thought was the most characteristic of human rationality, and hence, what made us different from animals is, in fact, the easier to mechanize. And the minor, less prestigious skills which we have always neglected to study, are the hardest to transmit to a machine, hence, the least mechanical.1 DeLanda goes on to describe how so often designers first select a ”surrendered” material, so that it can be used to create any shape desired. The projects in this text seek to find an alternative working method, one which relies on the material and its tooling first in the derivation of form. Process-based design has quickly become an accepted method for the conceptual development of architectural form. At a multitude of scales, architects define systemic parameters or networked linkages that value relational dynamics over traditional, linear notions of design. From SHoP Architect’s materially constrained methodology,1 defined through Dunescape designers are drawn away from the metaphor, back to logicbased (responsive) form-making processes. Designers empowered by new technology now consider form

as it is defined by identifiable systems. This evidencebased, parametric methodology is a response to two decades of computationally derived projects, often produced simply for their novelty. As far back as 1993 Juhani Pallasmaa was recognizing (and arguing for) a new “eco-functionalism” derived through linkages between technology, materiality, and form. Ecological architecture also implies a view of building more as a process than a product. And it suggests a new awareness in terms of recycling and responsibility exceeding the scope of life. It also seems that the architect’s role between the polarities of craft and art has been redefined. The priority of representation will be replaced by the priority of performance. After decades of affluence and abundance, architecture is likely to return to the aesthetics of necessity in which elements of metaphorical expression and practical craft fuse into each other again; utility and beauty again united.3 Material-constrained processes, as they have been used to date, are typically tied to unit-based logics or systems, often limited in scale and scope by relatively tight parameters. For instance, the precast brick veneer used on SHoP’s 290 Mulberry development is constrained to a 3 ⁄ 32" (2.3mm) corbel or overlap, brick-to-brick. To minimize cost they were required to create a single precast mold, but inventively blocked out portions of the mold to create a variety of different building façade components, from that single mold. The project becomes a diagram of its own constraints, minimizing customization, while maximizing formal outcomes. It is a process with a sustainable ethic applied not as an overlay but embedded in its very inventions.

The material performance of a project such as 290 Mulberry (p. 142) is defined primarily by the designer’s need to create an identifiable façade, within the constraints of a city’s zoning regulations and a developer’s pro forma. The use of a certain lot size predefines a number of units, of a particular size, which will ensure profitability. However, there is also a desire to create an identifiable icon for the project on a prominent corner site. The material response, in this instance, helped create an iconographic brick façade, while minimizing the effect on the unit size and overall construction cost (see details on 290 Mulberry p. 142).

is defined by the tangible knowledge of material characteristics, such as: dimensional properties, durability, deformation, waterproofing and weathering (if applicable), connection types, relative costs, color, texture, and finish. These characteristics define some of the performance criteria, which can and should be layered into the early stages of each design process, linked to their formal expression through parametric design. Further, these performance-based characteristics can be identified as the primary device for delimiting form through parametric design, most often through geometric relationships.

The parametric links, which SHoP created between the city’s zoning regulations, the developer’s fiscal constraints, the manufacturer’s construction specifications, and their own design intentions, exemplifies the type of parametric relationship this text seeks to celebrate.

“Form-finding” as defined by Andrew Kudless is “the self organization of material under force to discover stable forms.” Using both analog methods of tension-only models hung in chain and fabric, and using advanced software tools such as Thrust Network Analysis (Philippe Block), there are many examples included in the following pages of work which attempt to respond to the form as it falls into stasis with gravity. These tests can result in forms hung in space as with Feathered Edge (p. 198), by Ball Nogues, or the fabric-formed beams of Mark West and C.A.S.T. (p. 128). These forms can also be inverted to create compression-only forms as with Philippe Block’s Catalan Thin-Tile Vaulting (p. 154).

THE MATERIALLY RESPONSIVE PARAMETER In recent years, designers have developed processes for layering performance-based feedback into the early stages of design development. 4 This is often a response to the tendencies of a construction industry that values efficiency-resulting in excessive waste-over environmental steadfastness. However, a systematic design process, applied specifically to material constraints could frame awareness of the interconnectivity between the mediums of ecology, parametric modeling, and CNC fabrication. David Gissen outlines an architectural ideology based upon the definition of Architectural Political Ecology. 5 Gissen defines a variety of concepts to accomplish a “production of nature.” He is attempting to look beyond the superficialities of so-called “green” design to a set of strategies that embrace substantive design rather than the relatively mundane aesthetics of environmental awareness as an applied layer to architectural design. This type of substantive design

THE MATERIAL PARAMETER Material selection can be based on a variety of choices. Often designers select materials for their shelf life, phenomenological qualities, or for the flexibility of their detailing or connection. However, the connection detail is most crucial to a system’s flexibility and the aesthetic of complex architectural forms. From a simple nail to a custom-fabricated joint, the connection detail contains the information for delimiting the articulation and performance of a system.

11

Throughout this text the connection detail will be mapped as visibly as possible and discussed in language describing the specificity of its geometry (dimensions, angles, rotational capacity, and strength). Materially relevant computational design was most visibly and memorably defined by one project; Dunescape, by SHoP Architects. Dunescape used a simple construction technique, uniquely grounded in its own efficiency. The simple wood lamination creates a repetitive spatial sequence of sections. The construction technique afforded the designers the ability to work through the material to articulate a new formal typology of construction and craft within computational design. Dunescape's ultimate success rests fully on a keen understanding of the relationship between method, material(ity), construction, and assembly; all of which are critical elements of the knowledge necessary to produce a model of craftsmanship (see Chapter 1 for details on the material responsiveness of Dunescape). The intent of this text is to map through materiality the simplest methods for making complex parametric forms, whether constructed by unskilled labor, or using complex systems of hybrid materials and assembly with 7-axis robots. Contrary to the simplicity of a cedar 2" x 2", a renewed cultural attitude towards recycling has given designers the agency to consider salvaged products as plausible construction materials. However, the 21st century use of these materials must be predicated on the idea that they be employed in elegant and efficient construction processes. Parametric construction with recycled components can create iconic and aesthetically striking designs to impress the need for the industry and society to more readily accept and employ non-toxic, societal, or industrial by-products.

This text will provide clear narrative and diagrammatic, dissections of the computational and physical construction processes used in some of the more inventive solutions constructed since the advent of widespread parametric design. The text is divided into sections according to materiality. This has two purposes; most materials have relatively consistent performance criteria and connection types (connection details are often what ultimately defines the constraints of each system) and because most materials are processed using machines (both CNC and traditional) particular to their material composition.

THE MACHINE PARAMETER The ubiquity and availability of CNC technology was driven by the mass production of servo and stepper motors, the most widespread method by which computers precisely control machine components. Originally developed in the 1950s and used to perform hard-coded repetitious tasks. The availability of complex pieces of software has broadened their applicability to nearly every possible field of manufacturing. However, buildings are constructed at a scale typically beyond that of conventional CNC machinery. For this reason, many of the projects constructed using CNC machines are relatively small. To increase the scale of their use, they are combined with off-the-shelf components or other conventional processes. The smart and ethical use of CNC technology is ultimately defined by the abilities and awareness of the user, and their ability to use the machine with a honed sense of craft. More recently, the use of 7-axis industrial robots has enabled a much broader array of processes and materials to be computationally manufactured. The end-effectors, attached and controlled by these arms, are as diverse as the materials they can process. These have included all of the typical cutting systems (circular saw, router bits, water-jet, plasma and

laser-cutting), as well as grippers, benders, hot-wire cutters, and others. Additionally, the robots’ flexibility has allowed them to break the bounds of the factory floor, and operate on site. Gramazio Kohler Research have worked, most visibly, to establish methods for deploying these robotic arms on site, mounting them inside transport containers, on a set of tank treads, and outfitting them with scanners capable of providing real-time information about their surroundings back to the control machine. They have also worked to develop a system of quadcopters controlled by a computational script to assemble a foam-brick tower, completely freeing the construction process from the manufacturing facility and deploying it as a performance. This second edition of the book seeks to extoll the strengths of many of these new experiments as they expand into new materials and construction methods, well beyond convention. This book celebrates projects which demonstrably strive to minimize CNC customization (as it often produces excessive amounts of waste) while maximizing formal expression. The ratio of customization to surface deviation will often be highlighted. This parameter is an ethical selection that can be paired with material selection to delimit the project’s form, while maximizing the efficient use of CNC machinery. The minimum knowledge for the use of CNC machines, is typically only a superficial understanding of the interface between machine and tool. However, as with any material, there are varying degrees of material intuition. While material knowledge gained through computational tools is different, it can be argued that this understanding is not less informed but fundamentally different, more directly linked to the interaction between tool and material. This perceived lack of tactile reciprocity is replaced instead by a more specific knowledge about the integration in all stages

of the manufacturing process from concept, design, computation, and finally assembly. This text will highlight not only material performance in each project, but also machine performance. This includes highlighting projects which maximize the exploration of a machine’s capabilities to exude new characteristics from a material, giving the material properties unachievable without the machine.

THE APPLICATIONS (SOFTWARE) OF PARAMETRICS Parametric software creates systems defined not by Cartesian coordinate systems, but by linkages and constraints between geometry. By their nature parametric systems do not have a specific solution but are capable of accommodating a range of possibilities. 6 The mapping of material constraints can be parameterized in two ways, through scripted or defined variables or through the definition of geometric relationships. As of publication, there are four primary pieces of software, which are typically employed for this type of user-defined parametric mapping: Gehry Technologies Digital Project, Robert McNeel and Associates’ Grasshopper 7 scripting plug-in developed for Rhinoceros, and Dynamo, objected-oriented scripting for Autodesk Revit and Generative Components developed by Bentley Systems, Inc. As an example, Digital Project uses geometric, organizational relationships to calculate components for complex surfaces for custom building systems and skins. This is most often done to apply a construction system to a predefined form. However, the modeler can also be used “backwards” to design complete, responsive systems and link them to flexible surfaces, allowing them to flow and redefine like they might if attached to a blanket.

13

The underlying geometric definitions of Digital Project allow designers to map limitations across a surface or across its edges. These limitations fail when an iteration of the surface is too dramatic for the constraints of the respective construction system. The topological nature of a form, when combined with the complexities of parametric systems, allow for variation through relationships, instead of individual parts. Additionally, other components of the software (Knowledgeware) can be used to map the maximum deviation of each piece of the system away from the original surface. When the deviation becomes too great compared to predefined standards (for aesthetic pairing or legibility of form) the system will identify the portions beyond those limits, so they may be adjusted. The intent of this text is to communicate in softwareneutral language the processes that designers have used to create materially linked parametric projects. These projects could be modeled using a variety of different computational and analog software and tools. The intent of the text is to break down each project using geometric relationships so that relatively any piece of software could be used to test similar processes with similar materials.

define and recognize craft as an ethic, to be sought after in any trade. By one measure, which Sennett uses, 10,000 hours are required to develop the skill of a craftsperson (Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Outliers, describes the “10,000 Hour Rule,” as the amount of practice necessary for success in any field). The premise of automation stands in direct contradiction to this notion. As a society we search for ways to spend less of our life doing any type of repetitious activity. We must therefore search for methods to teach an apprentice without relying upon pure repetition and experience. Today we struggle to imagine a scenario where an individual would use the same software or employ the same automated machine for 10,000 hours before one or the other is upgraded, or outsourced. Through Sennett’s definitions we must question how we can teach our students to fully master a set of tools, working in a world where the pursuit of perpetual change and novelty are commonplace. In fact Sennett recognizes that the machine,9 computer-aided design in this instance, was used in an attempt to increase efficiency, but in the end, resulted in increased repetition of detail and a relaxing of the user's ability to invent.

THE NECESSITY OF CRAFT (OR SOMETHING LIKE IT...) Whether considering material, machine, or software usage, the understanding of one’s craft is ultimately important. However, our understanding of craft in the 21st century has to be different, defined in the context of alternative methods of communication, learning, and apprenticeship. Richard Sennett’s text The Craftsman 8 defines craftsmanship as both an ancient and modern “basic human impulse, the desire to do a job well ... in any domain. Craftsmanship focuses on the objective standards, on the thing itself.” Sennett goes on to describe how Western culture has long struggled to

The goal for designers can no longer be to use entirely automated processes from beginning to end, as this removes any sense of character or craft from our creations, nor can we strive to become so familiar with the software or the machine as to assume that we may leave our own mark through the process of its use. We are left to determine a set of values, in a process defined through experience, to guide our sense of craft with the machine. To extract new performance capabilities with both materiality and modern fabrication techniques, a dialog between material, machine, and designer must be the result of a refined craft defined in both modern and

historic terms. More uniquely the apprenticeship, which has long determined the process for the development of a craft, has not gone away. The craftsman is no longer a single master but is a social structure of experience and knowledge, made available through 21st century processes of communication and interaction. The infrastructure needed to create many of the projects included in this text requires both a developed sense of computational ability but also, and more importantly, an intimate knowledge of the systems and materials one is employing. Often this can be accomplished by inserting the skilled computational thinker/designer directly into the manufacturing facility (as SHoP and others have done) for an extended period, to observe each step of the manufacturing process, to learn from the experts, and to adapt their process to their observations, not force results based on other parameters. This allows the designer to subvert the otherwise frustrating amount of knowledge required to reinvent a construction system.

6 Cynthia Ottchen’s article “The Future of Information Modeling and the End of Theory: Less is Limited, More is Different” Architectural Design 79 (2) : 22 ~ 27 (2009) highlights the opportunities that information modeling and parametrics can harness when applied to the rigorous complexities of building design and production. She says that “soft” data is typically not considered quantifiable in information models. Ottchen argues that the combination, overlap, integration, and variability of qualitative information can be analyzed and used through not only parametric algorithms but also through the inclusion of underlying and sometimes more difficult to perceive information. 7 Grasshopper is still in beta development at time of publication. David Rutten is the developer of Grasshopper at McNeel Associates. 8 Sennett, Richard. The Craftsman, New Haven: Yale University Press. 9 “The enlightened way to use a machine is to judge its powers, fashion its uses, in light of our limits rather than the machine’s potential. We should not compete against the machine. A machine, like any odel, ought to propose rather than command and humankind should certainly walk away from command to imitate perfection. Against the claim of perfection we can assert our own individuality, which gives distinct character to the work we do.” Sennett, p. 105

Notes 1 De Landa, Manuel. "Philosophies of Design: the Case of Modeling Software," Verb: Architecture Boogazine. Actar. January 1, 2002. Print. 2 The work of SHoP Architects often reflects a subversion of conventional design and construction processes. Dunescape (referenced later in this text) came very early and defined a new era of alternative thinking about process. See also 290 Mulberry and Porter House. 3 Pallasmaa, Juhani, “From Metaphorical to Ecological,” The Architectural Review, June 1993, pp. 74–79. 4 Seletsky calls this the “Computational Design Ecosystem,” Kevin Klinger and Joshua Vermillion call it “Feedback Ecology,” Achim Menges calls it “Computational Morphogenesis,” Rivka and Robert Oxman call it “New Structuralism.” 5 “...it forces us to consider what nature has been and may yet become; it enables us to establish linkages between buildings and nature that are more dialectical than mimetic; and it signals what nature can become when invested with new architectural concepts” (p 63). David Gissen, “APE,” Lisa Tilder and Beth Blostein. (eds.) Design Ecologies: Essays on the Nature of Design. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2010.

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CHAPTER 1: TIMBER/WOOD Wood products are an intuitive choice for materialconstrained design. Regularized components, easy and affordable machine processing, and a multitude of connection types define wood as one of the more varied yet visibly constrained materials architects can use. The examples included in this chapter will vary in scale from thin wood veneers to heavy timber and processing techniques ranging from a handsaw to a 7-axis robotic arm. The projects illustrated here are representative of the processes employed by Charles and Ray Eames in their furniture studies. Drawn to new materials and processes, the Eames worked to develop a method for molding plywood in more than one direction, matching it to simple ergonomic forms. They worked ad hoc with their “Kazam” machine, which pressed electrically heated plaster molds against layers of glued veneers with pneumatic pressure supplied by a bicycle pump. These developments were first put into mass-production not for furniture but for the production of molded plywood leg splints, for the US Navy (they would manufacture more than 150,000 by the end of World War II). This work would eventually lead to a relationship with the Herman Miller Furniture Company, who would market and distribute many of the Eames designs. Most importantly, the DCM chair design, which through the use of a doubly curved seat surface created a structurally rigid yet comfortable chair. This combination of structural expression and ergonomics is what provides a clear trajectory to many of the projects outlined in this chapter. In particular the ICD/ITKE Pavilion by Achim Menges, which uses CNC precision to lock plywood strips into elastic bending compression, creating undulating sets of structural units. Each plywood component has a purpose, either in tension or compression, balancing with one another, to create

rigid strips of what is an otherwise elastic material, 3/8" (10mm) thick plywood. In computational manufacturing, wood products are an excellent material selection for testing parametric conditions. Off-the-shelf wood products come in manageable dimensions, capable of being easily and accurately cut. They can be repaired and worked with comparative ease. Additionally, wood products have a vast set of options meriting exploration of off-the-shelf connection types, affording many different geometric compositions. The thin profiles and smaller load capacities of wood products afford shorter span lengths, meaning that wood is typically used in smallerscale designs. However, the projects represented in this chapter include both industrial design and architecturalscale detailing and assembly. Each project in this chapter will provide evidence of constraints defined by wood’s material performance and connection details. The details often employ off-the-shelf components (Dunescape) or minimally customized objects used in unconventional ways. Wood products, when paired with appropriate machinery, can be designed with built-in connection details. Alternatively, the formal logic of a design can be an expression of the performance of the manufacturing process, not just the material (Stratifications, The Sequential Wall). Wood products have a unique phenomenological character. They are intended to be inhabited in more tactile and intimate ways than almost any other material conventionally employed in building design. The huge variety of color and texture in both manufactured wood products and natural grain woods can be used to mark their cultural significance and to note the craft of their assembly.

The structural capacity of wood products is varied and is most typically driven by their cross section. Wood products are typically supported in at least two directions (creating a diaphragm), as in plywood, by alternating granular layers, or by laterally bracing members on their perpendicular. Connection types for wood products are as varied as their use, and can be as simple as nails, glue, or screws or as complex as custom joinery created with multi-axis CNC machines. Typically, the projects in this chapter have components cut with CNC mills and routers, or robotic armatures with a certain number of axes (typically 2.5–7) and a mechanical head, which spins a router bit upwards of 20,000 times per minute. The radius of each bit defines half the width of its cut, following a command along its centerline, creating a cut that can provide both constraints (no interior corners) and opportunities (beveled edges, and depth cuts). Small parts, with dimensions less than the width of a bit, are often destroyed or chipped during the milling process. Typical bits are incapable of tight interior corners, where they leave a radial or fillet at any corner. This makes it difficult to create accurate interior notching for connecting components perpendicular to each other as in a conventional two-directional, eggcrate section model. This is unique from other CNC tooling for metals and plastics, which often have a much thinner tooling head (lasers, plasma, or water-jets). Though lasers and water-jets can also be used to cut veneers and plywood.

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DUNESCAPE SHoP ARCHITECTS NEW YORK – 2000 Dunescape was constructed in 2000 as the inaugural winner of the Young Architects Program, an award given to a design firm to construct a temporary installation for a “beach party” in the courtyard of the P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center in Long Island City, NY. Dunescape established a process for design as a section-first exercise. SHoP mapped the human occupation of space through a series of sectional diagrams and organized those sections on the site to generate a form. Each section cut was developed to express typical activities found at the beach (cabana, beach chair, umbrella, boogie board, and surf). The forms were delimited by the material constraint of layers of 2" x 2" cedar wood members. SHoP was first to articulate a process defined by the pairing of avant-garde modeling techniques with an awareness of how a simple system could function as a symbiotic, structural, formal, and material logic.1 The intent was to create an installation with unskilled labor (paid architectural students) and without the use of any advanced machining processes. All of the processor-heavy work occurred through design development and was constrained to hours spent modeling in computer. This preemptive processing allowed for a relatively simple construction process. The initial form evolved from a series of simple diagrammatic sections within the courtyard. The form was defined as a surface generated by these sections, creating a clear linear logic. The essential character of the form and the functionality of each section is predicated on the pairing of both the programmatic and structural sections (1:1:1).

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Printed full-scale templates

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MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Cedar is durable yet soft; the intent of the project was to create a platform for all of the activities of a typical beachgoer, and therefore needed to be both a surface to walk on but also one to sit and lounge on. • Relative availability and affordability; the project had a budget of $10,000 and needed to withstand fairly intense use during parties thrown each weekend.

1:1:1 Section diagrams define the logic of the form.

• Simple structural configurations; truss sections could be used to resist vertical loads while layering of the cross sections created a diaphragm for resisting horizontal forces. • Color and texture; the consistent glowing brown coloration of the installation contrasts with the gravel floor and concrete walls of the courtyard. • Simplicity of connection and construction; constructed with relatively unskilled labor using circular saws, framing screws and drawing templates.

1:1:2 Curves are converted into polylines or curves made of straight components.

1:1:3 A set of surfaces created from sectional diagrams.

Along this linear set of surfaces are multiple iterations of each section, each of which is indicative of a variation of programmatic space along the length of the surface. The initial structural moves were made by offsetting or thickening the cantilevered or bridging layers of the surface. Using the isocurves or long grain curves of each surface, the surfaces were divided into appropriately sized lengths. In this case the members were approximately 1'–4' in length. The intent of this evaluative mapping technique is to minimize the number of components while maximizing the legibility of form.

1:1:4 Truss-like profiles were created using triangulation defined by new surfaces between offsets.

To create the triangulated sections, surfaces were defined by mapping diagonal linkages (1:1:4) between edges of every other surface (this creates what looks like a sandwich of diagonal bracing). These triangulated members convert each series of 2" (50mm) x 2" members into what operates much like a truss. The entire system transfers lateral and horizontal loads as with conventional decking or a bidirectional structural system. The smooth surfaces mapped onto each of the sectional diagrams are converted into a linear series of components. This can be done in a variety of ways, by refining the surface with fewer degrees of curvature or by using the edges of the surface to loft straight versions of each. This conversion is also where the overlap between each 2" (50mm) x 2" can be defined. Offsetting the edges between surfaces will allow the depth of adjacent members to overlap. Alternating surfaces need to be grouped separately to indicate which surfaces define even or odd sections. A set of reference points or a bounding box around the entire set of surfaces will help to snap the two systems back together (1:1:6). Contour or cut serial sets of sections through each surface separately (1:1:5). The first set of surfaces should be sectioned on 3" (75mm) intervals (nominal 1.5" (38mm) member + 1.5" spacer). The second set of surfaces should be made of a similar set of section cuts, but the initial starting point should be offset 1.5" from the start point of the first set of surfaces (this allows for alternating members to interlock like the fingers of two hands).

1:1:5 Section cuts are sliced using planes on 1.5" (nominal 2") intervals.

1:1:6 Contour or sets of section cuts (note reference bounding box which will be used to realign sets of members).

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These contours can function as the geometric map of the overall surface. To map the actual 2" (50mm) x 2" members, extrude them 1.5" perpendicular to the direction of the section cuts. Offset the extruded surfaces to create 1.5" (38mm) x 1.5" nominal dimension wood members (1:1:7). The entirety of the surface was broken into sets of approximately 12 section shapes. To construct each section SHoP plotted the section shapes using color-coded (1:1:9) designations so that an entire set could be plotted on one drawing. The cedar 2" (50mm) x 2"s were marked using the plotted drawings and cut using circular saws on site. Sets of section assemblies were constructed directly on top of each plot. Each section was screwed to the one below using 3" screws at each joint. Entire sets were placed aside and screwed together in place to create the final installation (1:1:10).

Note 1 “Surface structure and program collapsed into a single entity.” Sharples Holden Pasquarelli, “Introduction,” in: Sharples Holden Pasquarelli, (ed.) Architectural Design: Versioning: Evolutionary Techniques in Architecture. London: Wiley, 2002. p. 91.

1:1:7 Splitting of the surface components into two arrays.

1:1:8 Merging of two component arrays to create complete model; this realignment is done using the reference bounding box.

1:1:9 Each cross section is indicated in varying colors to create cross-section layers by assembling 8–10 layers to match a plotted set of drawings. Red dashed lines represent plot width.

1:1:10 Final assembly of one set of components, which are screwed to subsequent sections. 23

THE SEQUENTIAL WALL GRAMAZIO KOHLER RESEARCH ETH ZURICH ZURICH - 2008 Gramazio Kohler Research has forged new frontiers in digital fabrication by employing the use of a 7-axis robotic armature. The robot is capable of swapping “hands,” called end-effectors. These end-effectors give the robot the ability to create custom components by gripping, bending, spraying, or using conventional cutting tools (milling, laser-cutting). This project is similar to other work by Gramazio Kohler Research (West Fest Pavilion, Procedural Landscapes) and others (Dunescape). However, the intent for this project was to create a wall cavity found in a typical exterior building shell. This constraint matched with the limitations that each batten on the surface be the same length. The surface used to create each portion of the wall should be a multiple of the width of a single wood batten. A single surface type longer than the complete wall can be shifted along and used again at other heights on the wall. For this system there are two unique surfaces,1 repeated up the height of the wall. One surface falls on even-numbered variations of the batten and the other the odd. In each instance the length of the batten is uniform (1:2:1). To determine the location of each batten along these initial surfaces, array a single line the length of a batten along the face of each surface. The spacing of each line should be twice the width of a batten (nominal 3") to accommodate the width of the alternating battens (1:2:2). A line should be used, as no matter how the line rotates along the surface it does not shift its relationship to the ground (a three-dimensional object will twist relative to the ground plane). Once each of the curves are positioned they can be extruded (1:2:3) parallel to the ground plane. This once again is crucial to ensuring that battens are parallel to one another, but are pivoting along the face of the surface. Add the third dimension of each component by offsetting (1:2:4) each of the extrusions the height of the batten. These sets of battens can be offset in the x-axis against one another in increments equivalent to a multiple of the width of a single batten (1:2:5).

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D • KUKA PRC

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MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Wall cavity; the creation of a wall cavity for its insulative properties was a primary criteria for the creation of this project. The cantilevered members of the wall needed to nest into that cavity while still creating an air pocket of separation. • Water shedding; the wall was intended to be created with a geometry capable of wicking water away from the façade along the length of the members and down to the ground. The wood members would require regular sealants to perform in this way, though the geometry is capable of responding to this criteria. • Ease of assembly and conventional construction; this project would require little more than simple saws and hammers to assemble with the assistance of a template. Each section would be assembled individually and added together aggregating into the entire assembly.

1:2:5 Array the sets of members to create variation across the entire installation.

1:2:6 Trim the surfaces to create straight sections of wall, and split the entire assembly into construction sets.

Odd Even Even

1:2:1 Two versions of each surface are offset from one another by multiples of the board width.

Odd

Odd Even Even1:2:2 Array straight curves along each surface with spacing twice the width of each member to accommodate for the alternating members.

1:2:3 Extrude the curves the width of each member and then offset surfaces the height of each member to create the rectilinear geometry of the board.

1:2:4 Offset or array each set of members the distance equal to a multiple of the width of a board.

The vertical members require custom cutting and are all of unique lengths, though they do not require tight precision, as they serve primarily as spacers. Each of these spacers works both horizontally and vertically to distribute loads down through the surface. The lengths of each vertical can be found by drawing perpendicular lines between the endpoint of each pair of horizontal battens. The two layers of these vertical components create the wall cavity and the structural support for the system. Though Gramazio Kohler Research programmed a 7-axis robot to cut and then assemble this wall system, it is reasonable to imagine a method for assembling the system without access to a tool of this nature. The following section will highlight this process. Similar to Dunescape a series of plotted drawings can be used (1:2:7) as templates for assembly. This requires a conversion of the three-dimensional information into a two-dimensional drawing. The start position and each angle can be measured against the datum of the straight width of the wall cavity. The sets of section shapes were translated into two-dimensional drawings. This drawing can provide the lengths of each of the spacers or vertical members. Each plot provides all the necessary information to assemble sets of sections on the ground (1:2:9-11). Once each section is assembled, subsets are attached to one another to create the final form.

1:2:7 Plotted drawing which could be used for assembly of the subset of the system.

Note 1 The intention was to provide surfaces, which would shield the surface of the wall from rain water, channeling it away from the wall along the surface of the downward shapes.

1:2:8 Equal-length members and planks to be trimmed for spacers, according to plotted dimensions.

1:2:9 Assemble each section from ground up on top of plotted drawing.

1:2:11 Rendering of the subset of the section assembly.

1:2:10 Continue to assemble sections of 8–12 sets on each plotted drawing. 27

STRATIFICATIONS GRAMAZIO KOHLER RESEARCH ETH ZURICH ZURICH – 2012 Building upon the early assembly tests such as The Sequential Wall, Gramazio Kohler Research developed this project to test a responsive construction process using a stationary 5-axis robotic arm. The project is assembled out of three different types of wood blocks. All have the same width and length, but have variable thicknesses. As the robot assembles the wall it pulls blocks from a dispenser. The planimetric location of each block in the dispenser is provided by an automated script; however, the Z-height position of each block is determined individually by a scanner fitted as an end-effector on the robot. This is one in a series of explorations, which are attempting to create more adaptable fabrication tools, initially, investigating how a 7-axis arm could be deployed on site using a shipping container (see Structural Oscillations p. 148). Here the beginnings of that research demonstrate how a robot is able to adjust its script based on information that it collects as it works. Gramazio Kohler Research has also deployed other robots capable of moving on site as they work, including a robotic arm attached to a pair of tank treads, and their late 2011 installation at the FRAC Centre entitled Flight Assembled Architecture in cooperation with Raffaello D’Andrea. In this installation they deployed remote-controlled quadcopters as mechanisms for constructing a foam brick tower inside of a gallery, as an autonomous script. As the robot is static for this installation, the perimeter of this project is constrained to the inner and outer radius of the robot arm. As the robot moves sequentially around each circumference it makes a scan to determine the height that each block needs to be laid. This ensures that it neither bumps into the block below nor drops the block from a height above where it ought to be placed. The shifting pattern of the assembly is simply a product of the number of each block size placed in a row.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D • KUKA PRC

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MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Variable yet limited components; the robot in this instance was pulling three different types of blocks from a Pez-dispenser-like receptacle. This delimitation allows formal expression while minimizing the number of custom components. • Durable yet soft; the project is easily managed by the gripper of the robot and would be relatively soft to human touch. • Relative availability and affordability; simple blocks of wood are readily available in various thicknesses and can simply be cut into uniform lengths.

Each layer is differentiated by a shifting number of each size block as you work from one edge to the next (1:3:3). This causes the diagonal shifting visible in the elevation. The height of the blocks create a visible diagonal shift in the blocks, slightly from parallel with the ground plane to accommodate the changing heights (1:3:5). In this instance, the sequence of blocks, requires responsive machine capable of adjusting to various heights and even human intervention, without the need to adjust the program or script. The ABB robot used in this installation has both a minimal and maximum radius when used in a fixed situation such as this (1:3:1). These radii constrain the form of this wall assembly. The curve used to create this composition falls between these two radii. The robot is programmed to follow this same curve for each row, though each row is staggered to create an overlapping brick composition. Therefore there are two repeating patterns, one for each “type” of row, even and odd (1:3:3).

• Color and light; the patterning of the wall would create a unique expression of light and color when lit from within. • Sequential patterning; the robot is capable of scanning the layer which underlays the upcoming layer, creating an adaptive strategy for assembly, based on sequencing.

1:3:1 Minimum and maximum radii of the robot constrains the form options for the wall.

1:3:2 Every other layer has the same form. Array block shapes along a curve.

1:3:3 Variation within each layer is due to shifting use of different block types. Scale the block shapes in the Z-axis to create each block height

1:3:4 Stack each layer computationally by snapping to the brick set below, along shifting heights, where blocks need to be rotated along their horizontal face.

1:3:5 Rendering and elevation of computational model showing rotated layers; each color designates a thickness of block. 31

The computational layer of this design process is relatively simple as the robot is programmed to repeat two different sequences around the radius of the installation. As noted above the only shift from layer to layer is the number and sequence of each thickness of block in each respective row. To model each row, array a series of the blocks along the curve, starting the first block one half of the width of a block offset in the second sequence or row (1:3:4). As each layer is modeled the user must perform a similar set of tasks to the robot analyzing the height for each block. As each layer is set each block needs to be rotated and set at an angle to the ground plane. The rotation of each block can be done by using a three-dimensional rotation tool along the vertical face of each block.

1:3:6 Sequence of assembly process. Robot uses a scanning device to note appropriate Z-height for each layer.

The only variation, which is programmed into the robot’s repeating cycle, is a variation in the source of each block. The different thicknesses of block are organized into stacks, similar to a Pez candy dispenser. The robot is programmed to select a sequence of one thickness of block, which starts in the first row with one medium thickness block, the second row has two medium thicknesses, each resting on one edge of the thicker block below. The third row has three medium blocks, etc. (1:3:6). This sequence continues as the robot builds, with the inversion occurring on the opposite side of the design, where the thinner blocks are now the exception to the row, beginning with a sequence and subtracting one as each row rises from the next.

1:3:7 Rendering of final installation showing angles of interlocking layers; each subsequent layer grows in height difference.

To create the variation of block heights, create copies of each type or row, even or odd. In each sequence of the blocks scale the heights of the appropriate number of each size of block. As the program proceeds through its repetitious task of stacking layer upon layer, it is scanning to verify or define the appropriate height for each block. As the wall gets higher, the blocks will be at increasingly large variables. As this proceeds, the height is not defined by a set of absolute geometry, or by an adaptive script, but by the scan, which the robot performs, before setting the block down in its position. This project was a successful demonstration of techniques for adapting a machine to changing scenarios for particular components within a script.

1:3:8 Elevation showing shifting heights.

1:3:9 Rendering of the final installation. 33

ECHORD GRAMAZIO KOHLER RESEARCH ETH ZURICH ZURICH – 2012 Building upon the initial research that Gramazio Kohler Research developed with Stratifications, they have created robotic programs which can adjust based on environmental scanned information delivered to the robot system before each motion. This example uses an ABB robotic arm mounted to a mobile tread system with deployable outriggers for stability. The system is compact enough to fit through a typical doorway and was outfitted with universal vacuum grippers and vacuum system to supply them with pressure. By deploying a mobile robotic arm the system is able to adapt to a variety of construction processes and methods unlike traditional construction tools, which have specific tasks-back hoes, or cranes, etc. The possibilities to control multiple robots (see Flight Assembled Architecture p.29), with a single operating system, allow for complex tasks to be completed more quickly. This experiment was constructed in a parking garage, which had a sloped surface and a restricted ceiling height. These constraints provided a challenge to the system, as it would be necessary to calibrate itself to the site conditions-as it would have to on any unknown site. The system employed the use of a 2D scanner to analyze its environment and adjust the relative location for each brick so as not to place the brick too high or too low. The 8m (26’) long wall assembly, is similar to many other experiments, but in this instance the arm was capable of adjusting to its environment. Additionally, and as importantly, the mobile system used a self-defined locating system to allow for its relocation, as it completed parts of the wall, shifting down the length until the design was complete.

Notes: The project was funded through the EU as the European Clearing House for Open Robotics Development (Echord). Additional experiments with the mobile robotic unit have included outfitting the system with a 3D scanner and 3D camera, capable of reading the motion of a human and using that motion to program the assembly of units following the motion. The integration of human skills and awareness with the precision and automation of a mobile robot have the possibilities to create much more powerful and dynamic construction typologies. Gramazio Kohler Research is now working under a Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) funded project entitled “National Competence Centre of Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication” which is focusing their research efforts on operating robotic machinery in uncertain environments. The system was able to adjust its operating location as it completed parts of the wall, shifting down the length until the design was complete.

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ZIPROCKER SCHINDLERSALMERÓN ZURICH – 2010 The ZipRocker is one in a series of experiments in furniture scale molding of ruled surfaces done by schindlersalmerón, a Zurich-based firm run by Christoph Schindler and Margarita Salmerón Espinosa. The system is defined by two surfaces slotted through one another to create complex structural surfaces. Reciprocal kerf-cut teeth interlock with one another only when bent to the appropriate shape. Each tooth is cut at a particular angle, which matches up with its respective slot only when the two bounding teeth on the opposing sheet are bent to the appropriate radius. According to Schindler, the technique is capable of creating radii only five times the thickness of the material.1 This compares with other cold-bending radii typically closer to 50 times the thickness of the material. The system has been developed through a series of different experiments with different profiles of teeth, cut through varying materials, with different CNC tooling. As each “tooth” 2 is cut at a different angle CNC tooling is the primary requirement for this system. The designers used 5-axis milling machines, including open circular saw blade attachments and a CNC hot-wire cutter, capable of vaporizing foam products. In each case the cuts are relatively simple. The axis of each individual cut is unique and requires extreme precision. These two characteristics necessitate the use of at least five axes of control in CNC equipment. Additionally, the system necessitates the use of unique materials. The ability to curve along relatively tight radii, without tearing, defines the constraint of this process. According to the designers, the material most appropriate for these conditions to date is “recoflex” a wood, cork, and latex composite. The material is capable of being cut so that only a thin flexible amount of material remains, and the leftover material is substantial enough not to tear when bent to a relatively tight radius. When the recoflex is locked into a rigid form it is capable of comparatively impressive structural performance. Three processes for routing various teeth are diagrammed here; a 5-axis CNC machine is necessary for each, as the bit must be capable of running along a twisted axis to the plane of the material being cut.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D

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MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Pliable materials can be made into rigid forms through the application of rigid veneers. • Cold forming of wood products typically can only form to radii 50 times the thickness of a material, the ZipShape system is capable of radii 5 times the thickness. • Machining requires a minimum of five axes of movement to accommodate subtle variations in each tooth angle. • Color and texture; the ZipShape system is capable of creating unique patterns if two colors of material are zipped together.

The recoflex material is relatively soft, and was tested with straight teeth (1:4:1), cut with a circular saw blade attachment to a 5-axis arm (1:4:2). Though the blade would appear to be making parallel cuts along the length of each kerf, the cuts are actually slightly different. Two cuts define the sides of each gap which can be finished with a third straight cut or by running a router bit through the center of each gap, removing any material that remains. By creating a straight edge to the profile there is no vertical resistance in the profile. This both benefits and constrains the system during assembly. The two sheets can be “zipped” up (1:4:3) without sliding them horizontally into one another, but would require the application of an adhesive to keep them attached (1:4:5). The second hypothetical process could employ a more complex tooth profile and would be manufactured using a router bit with the matching profile of the tooth attached again to a 5-axis arm (1:4:6). A variety of bits could be used to manufacture this cut; the edge of the bit must match the profile left by its cut, so that the reciprocal tooth would fit seamlessly into its partner. Profiles cut using this method could be

• Simplicity of connection and construction; assembly is embedded in the machined product, there is only one way in which the two layers can be zipped together and this results in the desired form.

1:4:1 Angled form of each tooth flows along the curve perpendicular to the normal of the curve; unrolled strip indicates angles necessary for each cut.

1:4:2 5-axis router carrying a circular saw blade, angled to accommodate each tooth angle.

1:4:3 “Zipping” of two saw-cut surfaces together.

1:4:4 Final “zipped” surface of saw-cut surfaces, perpendicular to the surface.

1:4:6 5-axis router head cutting each respective angle at subtle variations dependent upon final design profile.

1:4:5 Normal surfaces capable of being cut by conventional 5-axis router head, requiring glued edges.

1:4:7 “Zipping” of two routed surfaces (requiring adhesives) as they each slide into one another without any reciprocal angle.

1:4:8 Assembled “zipped” surfaces using simple angled router cut. 39

assembled without the use of adhesives but would require the teeth to be slid together laterally. This process could be relatively tedious as the amount of friction created by sliding along potentially hundreds of edges at once would create resistance as the surfaces rub against one another.

1:4:9 Complex tooth shape allowing two surfaces to slide together.

1:4:10 Hot-wire cutter attached to 5-axis head to create profile cuts.

1:4:11 Assembled zipped surfaces, in foam. These slots would slide into one another or snap together.

The third cutting method highlighted here allows for complex profiles (1:4:9), but has other material limitations. A hot-wire cutter3 capable of vaporizing its way through foam materials would allow for snap-fit profiles to be cut (1:4:10). However, foam does not provide the same structural performance of other materials. The tooth profiles that were tested here provide a method whereby the teeth can snap together rather than being slotted together, avoiding the friction created by trying to slide along hundreds of slot connections at once. The system used here is complex melding of precise modeling with minimal shifts within a profile, and highly precise machining. The information for the tooling is created by defining the desired profile in a two-dimensional drawing. The profile is offset in each direction half the thickness of the material to be cut, and the profile of the cut is arrayed along the curve. The centerline of each profile should be normal to the curve (1:4:8). A normal is a line defined along the axis which is perpendicular to the curve at any given point. The relationship between these normals is what allows this system to perform. Once the profiles are flattened, they appear to be the same, but upon closer inspection define slight deviations in the gaps between each tooth. These deviations form the correct profile of a tooth only when the material is curved to the precise profile. Once the profile is arrayed along the curve, it should be matched up with a second offset of each edge curve. This offset should match

1:4:12 Sliding or slotting of two surfaces together into “zipped” surface.

the amount of material intended to be left after the kerf cut. This appropriate cut of the material needs to be defined through material tests, examining the thicknesses that afford the necessary bending radii without tearing. The only lines necessary are ones which would define the cut path for the tool, rotated to the appropriate angle. The profiles drawn as the centerline for the tooling need to be unrolled to flatten each edge profile or offset. This two-dimensional profile now should have a flat top and bottom edge, but should create slight deviations along the centerlines of each tool. Once cut, each shape should render the slight deviations necessary to create this form.

Notes 1 Schindler, Christoph and Margarita Salmerón Espinosa, “ZipShape Mouldless Bending II– A Shift from Geometry to Experience”, Proceedings of eCAADe Conference 29, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2011.

1:4:13 One surface of ZipRocker; each layer must be preformed to each profile before assembly, the system will fit only when each surface is in the appropriate configuration.

2 Schindler, Christoph, “ZipShape – A Computer-Aided Fabrication Method for Bending Panels without Molds”, Proceedings of the eCAADe Conference 28, Antwerp, Belgium, 2008. pp. 795–802. 3 Work with hot-wire profiles attached to 7-axis arms can also be found in the design of Periscope Tower by Matter Design and the University of Michigan.

1:4:14 Assembled ZipRocker profile in two colors to distinguish between layers. 41

ICD/ITKE PAVILION ACHIM MENGES AND JAN KIPPERS INSTITUTE FOR COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN INSTITUTE OF BUILDING STRUCTURES AND STRUCTURAL DESIGN UNIVERSITY OF STUTTGART – 2010 The Institute for Computational Design (ICD) and The Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE) at the University of Stuttgart constructed this temporary pavilion in 2010. The pavilion is a dynamic expression of the physical behavior present in a material placed under stress. In this instance, thin birch veneer plywood strips, 6.5mm (.25"), are placed in an elastic bend, or “bending active” position to create a rigid structural arch. The form was developed based on a series of lab tests, analyzing the amount of curvature at which the plywood was capable of sustaining strain and eventual failure. Each of the panel strips, once bent, are organized in a circumferential ring of alternating convex and flat panels, which resist the elastic compression of each panel. The model was tested using a finite element analysis simulation. The test estimates the energy contained in the bent strips to measure how the entire system would perform. This project extracts a structural parameter by making a simple change (an elastic bend) to an otherwise passive piece of material. The development of this form began through a series of tests, analyzing the amount of force necessary to create particular profiles in bent plywood. Through these tests a series of forms or arcs were determined to be possible solutions. Within that given range approximately 80 panel strips were arranged into a computationally derived trimmed torus-shaped pavilion. The panel strips were composed of smaller panels, puzzle pieced together. The system creates an integrated form of skin and structure in which each strip alternates from its neighbor to provide the necessary local resistance to keep each bent arch in compression and to alternate the locations of joints to prevent the creation of compounded weak spots in the overall structure. Each joint was secured with a small triangular piece of blocking which helps ensure the proper angle and secures the

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D • KUKA PRC or equivalent

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MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Performance tests on material capabilities resulted in pinned elastic bends, which create structural performance based on form.

connection between adjacent panels. Each individual strip is broken into smaller components using a series of puzzle piece connections, which resist the lateral and rotational forces in each panel. The fabrication of each strip informs the assembly process, as each panel fits precisely into its neighbor.

• Length of each arch is limited by material availability and thickness. • Simple connection and assembly system is defined by the componentry. • Color and texture; consistent flow created inside and out, balance of daylighting and material, which was stained and sealed prior to machining.

1:5:1 Elastic bent plywood braced by neighboring tensioned flat elements defines the unit of the form.

1:5:2 Ribbons of elastic units are shifted against one another to avoid weaknesses at joints.

1:5:3 Each bent component, in compression (red) is braced in place with flat tension elements (blue).

The strips were manufactured using a 6-axis robotic arm. A typical 3-axis milling could be used to create each of the panels as they simply nest against one another and are not otherwise notched into one another. Given the unique angle at which each panel would pass through its neighbor, these type of slots would require geometry cut using a 4th axis. The designers remedied this issue by allowing the curved panels to brace themselves laterally against one another, and then inserted one of 1800 individually fabricated blocks, cut to help define and brace the angular relationship between panels. The fabrication of these blocks involves cuts which could only be fabricated using a multi-axis robot, as the angle of each panel's relationship to the torus form resulted in subtle shifts from panel to panel. Each panel was then screwed to these blocks, locking them into their relative position. A slot connection at the base of each panel strip defines the respective angle from which each strip leaves the base. This is composed of a CNC cut tab which slots into the base of each strip. Small notches at the corner of each slot reveal the constraints of a CNC router, which is not capable of cutting sharp corners. Each of these braces also have a thin strip running perpendicular to the base, helping to support the initial connection and define the angle of each strip. The assembly process is sequential, one strip relies on its neighbor for positioning and can be locked into place using connections on the ground plane.

Note Fleischmann, M., Knippers, J., Lienhard, J., Menges, A. and Schleicher, S., “Material Behavior: Embedding Physical Properties in Computational Design Processes,” Architectural Design, 82, no. 2, Wiley Academy, London, 2012 pp. 44–51.

1:5:4 Torus shape is generated based on FEM simulation of material behavior of plywood units. 45

1:5:5 Nested panel shapes; note that this type of geometry is relatively inefficient.

1:5:7 Detail of CNC-cut custom diagonal blocking between the overlapped area of neighboring panels.

1:5:6 Routing of each panel shape in plywood.

1:5:8 Blocking detail between panels.

1:5:9 Rendering approximation of final installation.

1:5:10 Detail of friction fit connection at the base of each strip.

1:5:11 Fin connections at the base which provide later bracing to each strip end.

1:5:12 Detail of friction fit base connection; note the corners are bubbled as the router cannot cut a clean corner.

1:5:13 The ICD/ITKE pavilion uses a simple material placed into elastic bent shapes creating material strength through architectural form. 47

WINNIPEG SKATE SHELTERS PATKAU ARCHITECTS WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA – 2011 The measurement of a material’s ability to flex through tight radii can be tested in a variety of ways. As Menges used sophisticated testing equipment in the ICD/ITKE Pavilion, Patkau Architects used decidedly analog methods for the development of these small shelters designed to slide along the frozen Red and Assinboine River skating trials. Each winter the City plows these trails along the rivers to create skating paths. Each of the six shelters were designed not through a series of full-scale tests as is typical, but with a variety of scaled models cut in wood veneer. The designers made an informed assumption, that the veneer would curve similarly to thin plywood at a larger scale. As with Menges’ design process, the projects are structured by forming the plywood into curves which naturally resist any flex through their elastic bending. This creates structural panels without any substrate. The form of the six pavilions was optimized to minimize the snow load by creating only a thin horizontal line at the top. Each skin was modeled in thin veneers and pairs of shelters were assembled with various configurations to measure their ability to “herd,” protecting one another from wind. The forms are constrained to ruled surfaces, not through any computational definition but through the use of analog modeling. Each variation of the scale model was an attempt to gracefully express wood’s capacity to curve along relatively large radii. Football-shaped cuts were made in the upper corner of each shelter to allow daylight in.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D

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MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Studies were developed using wood veneers to “mock-up” a variety of scale models that operated with material constraints scaled to match the model. • Plywood performed much as the veneer studies did in full-scale mock-ups of the design. • Models were unrolled, measured and scaled up to create cut sheets for the full-scale components which were CNC cut using a router.

The form of the pavilions was tested through a series of paired (mirrored) studies in veneer, stressing the veneer to near the point of failure and releasing the stress by placing cuts at strategic points (1:6:1,2). Large release cuts are finished at the end with a circular hole to prevent the cut from tearing further into the material, allowing a single sheet to slide in two directions. Tears in veneer typically occur along the grain of the material. In this case the grain of the veneer is running vertically, as the primary curvature of each panel is rotating around that axis. The three-pointed footballshaped base allows for the dominant of the two surfaces to be held in place while varieties of the secondary shape are formed to match the dominant profile. The curve of the intersection of the two surfaces flow along all three axes, resulting in complex intersections. Profiles can be cut in the veneer to find the edge of the intersection over the entrance.

• Plywood was capable of bending in thin sheets to create relatively complex curves. These curves were made more complex through the use of dart cuts which release the material to curve in two directions.

1:6:1 Forms were developed using 1/10 scale models in wood veneers.

1:6:2 Models and their variations were constrained by the grain of the veneer, running vertically up the shape of the shelter design.

1:6:3 Each panel of veneer is unrolled or flattened, measured, and scaled to match the height of the shelter.

1:6:4 Full-scale panels do not fit onto a single sheet of plywood and are broken into smaller panels on two layers; this splitting also allows for two different layers to be cut so that the panel parts are overlapping.

The process for developing the cut sheets for the pavilion panels is relatively straight forward. The model is disassembled and traced to create a flattened profile (1:6:3), the equivalent of unrolling a ruled surface computationally, but in this instance the panels are literally “unrolled.” Once traced, the panels are scaled appropriately for human occupation. The thickness of the material scales with the same factor. The veneer, typically around 1 ⁄ 32" (1mm) was scaled to match the 3 " ⁄16 (5mm) (3 ⁄8 " (10mm) total) thicknesses of plywood, approximately 10–12 times the thickness of the study models. Meanwhile the model was scaled from an approximately 10" (250mm) tall study to an approximately 10' (3m) tall final piece (again 10–12 times the size). 51

To test the final installation the designers assembled a prototype mock-up at full scale. There were two benefits to assembling the final design with two layers of 3 ⁄16" material; two panels are able to curve more easily than a single thickness of 3 ⁄8 " plywood, and the size of each side of the pavilion is larger than the typical 4' x 8' (125 x 250cm) panel of plywood, therefore each side can be assembled of smaller pieces, each layer cut of differently sized interlocking panels (1:6:4). 1:6:5 Panel shapes are routed from typical plywood sheets; perforations are included on some panels.

The panels were nested into each cut sheet and were CNC routed (1:6:5). Some of the panels were perforated with the router to create a small amount of ventilation. The system was assembled around the base structure by attaching the small sheet components of each panel side into a complete sheet. Each sheet would be attached first to the base, and then to one another (1:6:6). The forms themselves determine their final shape, acting as jigs for one another to define the desired curvature to lock the system in structural tension (1:6:7).

1:6:6 Assembly of each pavilion is reliant on the base form to define the curvature of each panel.

1:6:7 Units demonstrate the ability of a material to create a formal logic, which also operates within its climate, shifting out of the wind and shedding any snow load.

1:6:8 Two layers of material were used to ensure that materials could match the shapes of the veneer studies.

1:6:9 Each panel section is connected to the base first.

1:6:10 Units are mirrored and rotated 120 degrees to create relationships between units, protecting them from winds.

1:6:11 Assemblage of units; “herded” together to protect one another. 53

COCOONS PATKAU ARCHITECTS TOKYO – 2012 These variations on the Winnipeg Skate Shelters were designed for the Dover Street Market Ginza, in Tokyo, Japan. As with the skate shelters these units are freestanding and are intended to serve as changing rooms and displays throughout the store. This variation was constructed in metal to meet the city's fire code standards. Each cocoon mimics the same form developed in plywood for the skate shelters but was created using 18 gauge stainless steel patterns which were rolled to match the geometry of the shelters. The sheets were connected and formed using flanges which ran along the splines accepting countersunk screws. Each of the panel shapes had a folded edge along seams where it was to be screwed to the structure, this helped to maintain a consistent folded edge along each of the exposed seams, while also creating a rigid connection. The skins were then welded to a 3 gauge stainless steel base which was covered with a 1” (25mm) thick acrylic sheet, illuminated from below.

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BODHI TREE PROJECTIONE MUNCIE, IN - 2009 This system by the Indiana based firm, PROJECTiONE employs the use of a very simple component made of one of the simplest materials, wood veneer. Wood veneers are single layers of wood thinly sliced off a tree or branch. These layers are cut against the grain of the tree creating a sheet of material whose grain greatly affects its performance. Veneers can be cut to various thicknesses and are typically capable of only a subtle amount of twisting before tearing. This limit creates a material boundary requiring performative testing prior to modeling. The limits of this material are the dominant constraint of the system. The bed size of the laser-cutter is also a condition of constraint, although wood veneers are difficult to find in widths larger than an average laser-cutter (32" or approx. 800mm). This installation was originally developed as a system in part with Steve Deters, from UCLA, and the Institute for Digital Fabrication at Ball State University. The installation was installed in a client’s home with the assistance of the family. It was assembled as a collaborative effort laying out the final version of the installation as they worked. The system is based upon an earlier version of the same organizational system using wood veneers. This version of the installation was created with 3000 veneer components. Each of the original components was scaled down approximately 2/3 the size of the original studies. This scalar shift resulted in parts which were less likely to fold, or crack, and resulted in a stronger final form. This installation tests two primary criteria: methods for tailoring three-dimensional components from two-dimensional parts, and methods for mapping the limits of thin veneers using a conventional CNC laser-cutter.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D or equivalent two- dimensional drawing tool.

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1:7:1 Profile drawing of individual element.

Each component of Bodhi Tree is a simple slender dart-like shape (1:7:1), with a taper at one end, with a slot cut through the center and a tab approximately 1/3 of the width at the other. The components were cut out using a lasercutter from a sheet of wood veneer (1:7:3). In this case a tab and slot system is used to attach darts to one another. The tab is the thickness of the veneer, but the slot needs to be able to accommodate up to four tab thicknesses at once to comprise a larger unit of the system. At this point the drawings should be nested depending upon the size of each panel. Nesting will ensure waste is minimized in the production of the panels. Nesting can be done by sight, laid out in a CAD program, or can be done using plug-ins available for most software. Once the panels are cut, each individual piece is assembled using the tab and slot connection to form the individual three-dimensional shapes made first of only two dart shapes (1:7:5), each curled approximately 90 degrees and each twisted approximately 90 degrees. These twocomponent units are then assembled into a larger component of eight components (1:7:6) in a cloverleaf formation. The assembly of the larger set of cloverleafs was done sequentially inserting subsequent tabs through pre-cut slots. Select tabs were fastened to the wall to hang the installation in the space.

1:7:2 Drawing of nested parts to be laser-cut.

1:7:3 Laser-cut panel of nested parts.

1:7:4 Curled invidual element.

1:7:5 Interlocking tabs of two individual elements.

1:7:6 Clover leaf of eight individual units into sub-assembly.

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Wood Veneers when bent against the grain can quickly fail and tear. • A system like this is going to be fdifficult to deploy across a large area without substantial additional structural elements, which will detract from the aesthetic.

1:7:6 Rendering of complete assembly.

Notes See also the original Bodhi Tree installation. See also the Spot on Schools Exhibition, which used nearly 10,000 parts scaled up from the original investigation and made of multiple kinds of hardwood. A ruled surface is one which can be made of a flat sheet of material, i.e. a piece of paper; this characteristic does not apply to doubly-curved surfaces. See also Immaterial/Ultramaterial by Nader Tehrani in edition one of Material Strategies in Digital fabrication.

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HYGROSCOPICALLY ENABLED RESPONSIVENESS STEFFEN REICHERT INSTRUCTOR: ACHIM MENGES INSTITUTE FOR COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN, UNIVERSITY OF STUTTGART – 2007 Marking a unique shift in how material parameters can be defined, this system links a material’s ability to morph or change depending upon climatic conditions. Wood veneer can curl or twist when surrounding humidity levels rise. The proportions of each panel, orientation, and connection type are factors delimited by this material property. This project is tied first to material proportions and composed of a large number of small panels arranged on a grid. The form of this project is delimited based on a variety of angles and surfaces responding to environmental conditions in three dimensions (1:8:1). The surface is rebuilt or subdivided using equal lengths in each direction to create rough square profiles. This can be accomplished by measuring the length and width of the surface and dividing this length by the desired width of your panel (1:8:2). For example, if the length of one edge of your surface is 9' 8", dividing this distance by your desired component size, 4" (100mm), results in 29 components. To produce 29 components each curve should have 30 points. Performing this same calculation for the width will create segments approximating1 squares of your desired dimension. The creation of each square extrusion on the surface can be accomplished using a plug-in for Rhinoceros called Paneling Tools (1:8:3). This plug-in creates custom three-dimensional componentry and replicates it across the grid of a surface. Parametric componentry is not required in this instance as each component is not intended to be constrained to a precise size. It is instead intended to operate within the range of the surface grid. This represents a significant loss in the precision of materiality.2

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grashopper 3D

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MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Material response to climatic conditions; wood veneer is uniquely suited to respond to climatic change, in particular heat and humidity. In this instance the material responds by curling along its grain in response to increased humidity and heat. The size of each panel must respond appropriately to the thickness and therefore the amount of warp each panel is capable of accomplishing.

1:8:1 Doubly curved surface generated from edge curves.

• Structural componentry; the underlying structure or block of this design provides the appropriate connection point for each veneer panel and the appropriate perforations, allowing ventilation through the surface when the heat index hits the appropriate mark, activating the surface. • Aesthetic expression; the veneer responds to the rise in heat index by curling its edges creating a soft glow of light and flow of air into the space behind. 1:8:2 Subdivide surface into appropriately sized squares, divide the approximate lengths of each side by the length of each panel to get the number of subdivisions.

1:8:3 Create two grids of points by offsetting by the depth of each panel; the grids can be used to define a parametric unit across each box.

1:8:4 Create a thickened grid defining the depth of each cubic component.

1:8:5 Base surface onto which each unit was mapped.

1:8:6 Use parametric copying to create iterations of each cube along the surface.

1:8:7 Triangulate each surface to flatten each warped square into two triangles.

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1:8:8 Offset curves from each triangle to create holes for ventilation in the panels.

1:8:9 Veneer is adhered to the face along the diagonal; veneer curls to create ventilation when humidity is introduced into the system.

The geometry for each component is a triangular shape with two loose edges, which allow for air and light to pass through the surface when the veneer is in its curled state. The panel has a member which cuts diagonally between the two triangles, providing a connection to each piece of veneer along its grain (1:8:7). This diagonal surface has two purposes; each polygonal section of the surface is not flat, but cutting along a diagonal ensures that the component is defined by two flat triangular components (1:8:8). This also provides the appropriate geometric shape for the veneer to be adhered to (1:8:9). The side panels and top of each form can be separately unrolled or flattened (1:8:10). Triangular shapes can be mapped across each object as repetitious geometry helping to minimize the work needed to create the cut sheets. Each panel is cut from a thin plastic sheet creating a crisp fold along a dashed or etched cut. These unrolled shapes can be used to define the perimeter of each panel and each piece of veneer. Tabs must be added to the sides of each panel to provide a surface for connection across corners and panel-to-panel. Each piece of veneer can be cut using a CNC laser-cutter and the plastic panel components can be cut using a CNC knife blade or lasercutter. The veneer components are attached using a bead of glue run along the center diagonal of each square to ensure that no adhesion occurs along the faces, which should remain free to curl.

Notes 1 It is important to note that this is merely an approximation of accurate subdivisions and this process could not be used to accurately map material lengths across a surface. (See sphere-mapping process in Pallet Canopy design, Chapter 5). 2 Each of these panels is approximating a square and are not the same component. This process results in the mass customization of many similar components.

1:8:10 Sequence of steps for unrolling each panel and adding tabs for assembly into cubic shape. 65

HYGROSCOPE ACHIM MENGES IN COLLABORATION WITH STEFFEN REICHERT INSTITUTE FOR COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN, UNIVERSITY OF STUTTGART PARIS – 2012 Building upon five-plus years of research into the hygroscopic behaviors of wood, the Institute for Computational Design, was commissioned to construct a installation at the Centre- Pompidou in Paris. The intent of the installation was to create a dynamic sculpture capable of expressing the responsiveness of the material in a controlled condition. Hygroscopicity refers to the ability of a material to accept moisture out of the air when the atmosphere is wet and to release moisture into the air when the atmosphere is dry. The relative amount of moisture in the material changes the distance between the microfibrils in the wood, which can cause a significant change in overall dimension, resulting in a shape change in the material. The installation was composed of more than 4000 unique parts made from maple veneer and synthetic composites. The different part shapes and their arrangement were intended to create different patterns based upon the relative humidity inside of the installation. Five different variables were used to control the movement and compositions; (1) the fiber direction, (2) the layout of the natural and synthetic composite, (3) the length-width-thickness ratio, (4) the shape of the element, (5) the humidity control. Changes in the humidity of the installation environment were intended to create local behaviors in the movement which were unpredictable and emergent based on climatic events. The humidity in the case was controlled by humidifier and dehumidifier. Changes in the environment were linked to record of humidity levels in Paris and the number of people visiting the Centre.

Notes: See also HygroSkin Pavilion (FRAC Centre, Orleans, 2013). See Also ICD investigations into synthetic variations of hygroscopically responsive materials in Bio-inspired 3D Printed Hygroscopic Programmable Material Systems.

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LE CAFÉ CACHÉ SEBASTIEN WIERINCK PARIS – 2009 Constructed as interior build out of a café in Paris. This system used in this design was intended to create an undulating surface for a ceiling using joinery created through the manufacturing process of the plywood. Using a 2.5- or 3-axis CNC router the panels were manufactured with the ability to adapt to a variety of angles to accommodate a triangulated surface. In each instance the width of the bit or the tool was used to facilitate a friction fit connection. Typically, components manufactured with 3-axis CNC router have difficulty accommodating joints which are not made at a 90-degree angle. As the router bit or tool moves through the material it typically leaves a 90-degree cut (though some bits do afford the ability to cut at angles, those angles are fixed to the tool). The system devised for this installation, however, was developed to allow for a variety of angled connections to interface at a given node. Each node is customized to accommodate the XY angle of the triangles which connect to it, and the edge components of each triangle define their respective angles in the Z direction. The geometry of the system is derived using a tessellated or triangulated surface (1:9:1). In this example the relative angles of the system are quite small as the system is being deployed a ceiling, though larger angles could certainly be accommodated given appropriate conditions. The initial step in setting up a system like this is to establish a maximum sized triangular panel; typically this is going to be driven by the size of the sheet of plywood in use or the size of the CNC router bed being used. The nodes where triangles converge can accommodate a large number of triangles, but the steeper the angle of any given triangle at a node, the more difficult the connection will be. The actual triangulation can be accommodated in a variety of ways. By converting the original surface into a mesh this process is quite simple.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grashopper 3D

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1:9:1 Node-based triangulation pattern.

1:9:2 Offset triangular panels trimmed from surface.

To maintain more design control over the system, triangulations can be created by snapping a series of polygonal lines to the surface or by projecting a mesh layout onto the surface and then removing any curvature from the resulting lines (reducing the number of points on each line segment to only two). Each node location can prove to be important in this system. The nodes can serve to frame lighting as in this example or fire suppression sprinkler heads. The spacing of these elements would be important to any layout. Once the layout is complete the lines must be offset from their original locations to create spacing necessary for the rib profile which will span between each node (1:9:2). Each node is defined by a donut shape cut which is generated by creating two circles offsets from the centroid at the node (1:9:3) These donut profiles are then modified to accommodate the rib joint. Each rib is connected to the donut using a hook profile which inserts into the thickness of the donut and a key shape which accepts a secondary hook outside of the donut profile. Next, the resulting triangular shapes were offset again and filleted to a radius which accommodates the thickness of the donut profile at each node (1:9:4).

1:9:3 Offset panel traingles to create zones for linear cuts in panels.

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Each connection is defined by a depth cut or hooked friction fit connection, and the entire assembly is held together without adhesives or mechanical connections. This can only be achieved by a pairing of material thickness with the appropriate router tool size, and accuracy of CNC tooling. 1:9:4 A script or drawing can be used to create the node profile at each individual node.

• Plywood provides a relatively consistent material thickness (typically varying less than .05" (1mm) across a sheet), allowing the friction connection. • Consistency of machining; the router tool provides the consistent width of .25" (5mm) thick, allowing the friction fit connection between the structural members and their respective panels.

1:9:5 Slot jointery added at each node connection.

• Durability; plywood is relatively durable in interior conditions and provides a material capable of withstanding the typical needs of daily use, though in a ceiling condition such as this could be difficult to clean.

1:9:6 Linear edge shapes of each panel profile link between nodes.

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1:9:7 Rendering of deconstruction of system components

Each triangle side was given a series of fingers projecting perpendicular from is edge, these fingers (cut in pairs) nested into keys which were cut into the top of each of the rib profiles, again in pairs. Each triangle was then perforated using a set of parallel cuts through its center. These cuts are generated by offsetting the triangle once again (1:9:4,5). The remaining profile was then contoured using the twice the width of the tool, in this case 6mm (1/4") so that each cut leaves a 6mm thickness of plywood as a vent in the material (1:9:6). The profiles which are generated with this geometry are nested into cut sheets, spaced apart to accommodate the thickness of the tool being used, 6mm. The donut profiles were cut using 19mm (3/4") plywood and the ribs and panels were cut using 6mm (1/4") material with matching veneers. The entire assembly uses gravity and friction to hold itself together, first by hanging the nodes in their appropriate locations, then “hooking” the rib shapes between each of their respective donuts and lastly nesting the triangular panels into each of their respective sets of ribs (1:9:8–10).

1:9:8 Panels for assembly.

1:9:9 Addition of edge connection members

Note See also, Ripple Wall from Edition One of Material Strategies in Digital fabrication.

1:9:10 Addition of node connectors.

1:9:11 Ceiling plan rendering of final assembly. 73

TRONDHEIM CAMERA OBSCURA NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TRONDHEIM, NORWAY – 2007 Constructed as part of a design studio project at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, this project represents a system made one step more complex by the use of a 5-axis CNC machine. The use of this machine is purposefully minimal based on other material parameters. The project was predicated on the use of heavy timbers. Timber construction, so important to the AEC industry in Scandinavian countries, is used less often with computational manufacturing equipment. The geometry of this design is defined by a cube shape 4m to a side twisted 45 degrees on center to define the roofline. The width of each side is linked to the proportion of a standard length spruce plank, 48mm x 198mm x 4m (2" x 20" x 13'). The width of one side of the original cube is limited by a multiple of the width of the spruce planks (48mm). These planks are used to create the exterior cladding. Each board is mounted straight without twists or warping and is trimmed only to match the roof and floor lines, keeping waste to an absolute minimum (1:10:1). The connection components between the frames of the roof and floor and the spruce planks are the only customized componentry. These forms are milled out of heavy timber members using a 5-axis tool capable of milling, drilling, marking, and lettering. The geometry of each of the eight timber frame components, four at the floor and four at the roof, is defined by booleaning or subtracting the solid geometry of each plank from the original dimensions of the heavy timber. This process can be complicated as the material to be removed often includes geometry in front of the plank. To get a proper cut, a copy of each plank can be scaled beyond the thickened depth of the heavy timber (1:10:2). Once the timber object is “cut” it is necessary to clean up the edges of each component. This is done by selecting the profile curves of the top and bottom of each piece of geometry. These curve profiles can be used to trim away any excess pieces that would break off during

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D

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MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Customizable structure; heavy timbers allow for structural components, which serve as templates for the angle and length of all subsequent members. • Vernacular expression; the use of both heavy timber structural components and wood planking evokes traditional architectural expression of Scandinavia, creating a link between the tradition of place and formal expression of new technology.

1:10:3 Raw booleaned or sliced geometry.

• Minimization of customized componentry; by creating structural components which define the angles of each member, there is no need to use customized components of details to manufacture with this system, loading the form making into only a few choice members within the construction system.

1:10:4 Use converted and trimmed curve profiles to create clean version of geometry.

1:10:1 Curves defining twist of cube constrained to board lengths.

1:10:2 Trim or slice solid extrusions from solids to create a surface to attach each plank.

1:10:5 Base assembly uses both custom cut heavy timbers and a grid of custom components.

milling. Then re-make or re-loft the surface from those two curve components (1:10:3). These same steps can be used to refine the geometry of the set of components. Each spruce plank is lag-bolted to the face of the milled heavy timber brace. In this case the geometry was able to have a large expressive twist and the customization that accompanied it was minimized to only the eight milled heavy timber components. The prefabrication of a system such as this would allow for a quick and relatively simple construction process.1

Notes 1 See also, SHoP Architect’s Greenport Camera Obscura where custom angles similar to those milled in the Trondheim Camera were accomplished by using conventional hinges to secure the top and bottom of each plank to the base and ceiling. This elegant solution would provide for a similar amount of expression without requiring access to a 5-axis mill. Sharples Holden Pasquarelli, “Introduction,” Sharples Holden Pasquarelli, (ed.) Architectural Design: Versioning: Evolutionary Techniques in Architecture. London: Wiley, 2002. Larsen, Knut Einar, Fabian Scheurer, Christoph Schindler and Simen Stori, “The Trondheim Camera Obscura – A Case Study on Computational and Analogue Project Development in Timber Construction,” Predicting the Future [25th eCAADe Conference Proceedings] Frankfurt am Main, 26–29 September 2007. pp. 51–58. Larsen, Knut Einar and Christoph Schindler. “From Concept to Reality: Computational Systems in Architectural Design and Fabrication,” International Journal of Architectural Computing (IJAC), Vol. 04, No. 06, 2009. pp. 397–413.

1:10:6 Rendering of the final assembly, demonstrating a design which minimizes customization while maximizing form. 77

CHAPTER 2: METALS For their strength and durability metals are often deployed in materially parametric compositions. For its flexibility and simplicity of machining, sheet steel is often the material of choice. Metals require a layer of post-processing after cutting adding significant production time compared with wood. Sheet steel is most often processed using a CNC plasma cutter, laser-cutter, or water-jet. Each machine type comes with both strengths and weaknesses. Plasma cutting is quick and dirty, superheating the material through an electrical current, this process leaves a proportionately wider cut line. However, a plasma cutter is capable of cutting thick sheets of steel significantly cheaper than any other method. Laser-cutters require significantly more investment to reach the strength where they are capable of cutting through thicker metal. Additionally, they require a punch of ignitable gas to pierce the material quickly, but they do create relatively thin cut lines. Water-jet cutters provide a clean even cut, but require significantly more investment. They require a high-pressure system to deliver a tiny piercing stream of sand and water. They also require a bathtub to collect the spray following cuts. In addition to cutting machines there are certain types of CNC bending tools that can be used to form certain extrusions into both two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes.1 There are also processes for creating custom componentry through conventional casting processes with CNC tooling, vacuum forming, and explosion forming.2 Richard Serra’s work with massive pieces of rolled steel, most vividly manifest in his Torqued Ellipses helps define methods for developing an idea of craft around metals, and methods for working with materials at scale. Both skills are inherent in many of the projects outlined in this chapter. Serra frames his ideas in an elegant and stoically stereotomic way, where both machine and material have an effect on the outcome of his designs. The scalability of certain materials provides unique clues about how one might create large-scale studies

through small maquettes. Serra developed the forms for his Torqued Ellipses through small-scale studies in wood, discovering how ellipses can be twisted on one another to create stable forms. Each study was wrapped in paper, similar to the methods used by Patkau Architects in studies for the Winnipeg Skate Shelters. Once he moved to find a method for creating his full-scale designs, he discovered that through parametric software (CATIA in this case) there were underlying patterns to his forms. He was able to locate the centerline of each piece allowing him to run a single piece of steel through a conventional (huge, but conventional) steel roller on a diagonal. After much searching he discovered a World War II era roller in Bethesda, Maryland, built for fabricating ships.3 Through necessity Serra must work at scale to first develop his forms. The craft or understanding of a particular material can and often should be honed through the use of thinner materials and machining processes. Small maquettes can effectively function to produce scaled studies, and allow speedy and more thorough testing. Additionally, software can serve as a tool for generating forms, but also and often more appropriately for analyzing and creating patterns. In either instance to-scale iterations can work for a craftsperson similar to the way designers search for structural proportions in early diagrams of a building design. The chapter begins with a simple solution to an always difficult design problem: the chair. Blu Dot’s Real Good Chair, uses a single sheet of powder-coated steel to create a design which folds from a series of dashed cuts to create creases in the sheet. The form is shaped to the ergonomics of the body, while also creating a structural set of triangulations. The Real Good Chair is only part of a set of Blu Dot designed office furniture and implements, which ship flat and in some cases are

nearly zero-waste (100% of the preprocessed material is used) design solutions.

(Longchamp Store) in New York is an entry stair made from a series of formed steel plates.

There are many other examples of projects using thin sheet panels in triangulated complex surfaces. Almost by definition these projects use individualized panels, roughly the same size and shape, but when aggregated, create relatively wasteful systems, in their cutting, production, and assembly. By contrast the panelized projects highlighted in this chapter use nearly 100% of the material in their cut sheet, and often create connections from within their cut patterns.

This chapter concludes with explorations of more experimental processes for metal forming, which are seeking to pair its incredible flexibility with an architectural identity. In Between the Sheets, Heather Roberge’s students explored the use of super-formed aluminum panels, which possess an incredible layer of detail and shadowing. Single Point Incremental Metal Forming (SPIMF) uses a very simple process with a very complex tool, slowly deforming steel using a ball bearing point tool attached to a 6-axis robotic arm. Lastly, MX3D’s exploration into robotics which explores the ability to extrude a weld into threedimensional extrusions, effectively 3D printing in space.

The solidity of Serra’s work also adheres to another possible material constraint, the attempt to create zero-waste design. By beginning with a full sheet of material and folding, tabbing, cutting dashes, a designer can create formal expressions in a material without the usual amount of scrap waste. Metal is one of the only materials analyzed in this text capable of creasing. This flexibility increases with the amount of perforation, inversely to its strength. This is most vividly represented in the work of Elijah Porter’s Material Formations in Design course work at the Yale School of Architecture. This work attempts to create form by cutting patterned releases into sheet steel, not to preprogram a particular surface but to “form-find” post-cutting. These scenarios can also be computationally derived by mapping material constraints into a model, and then searching through each of the possible configurations prior to construction.

Notes 1 See also CNC pipe-bending used in Bernard Franken’s design for Take-Off at the Munich Airport. 2 See also Greg Lynn’s titanium teapot designs for Alessi. 3 Serra, Richard. Richard Serra: Torqued Ellipses. New York: Dia Center for the Arts, 1997.

The last set of projects in this chapter use CNC tooling to form extrusions of steel into complex forms. These projects also follow closely in the footsteps of Richard Serra. The Croatian Pavilion created a complex interior space inside of thousands of feet of reinforcement bar. Thomas Heatherwick’s design for the La Maison Unique

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REAL GOOD CHAIR BLU DOT: MAURICE BLANKS, JOHN CHRISTAKOS, CHARLIE LAZOR MINNEAPOLIS, MN - 2010 The Real Good Chair designed by Blu Dot was released in 2010, and is one in a series of designs which are both flat-packed and minimize the amount of waste created during their production. With the proliferation of fabrication equipment it has become readily apparent that designs more directly affect the amount of waste produced in manufacturing. By definition subtractive CNC equipment produces proportionately more waste than conventional assemblies. In metals and plastics, which are capable of being more readily recycled, we find that these limitations are of less importance. In industrial design processes nesting hundreds or thousands of components results in complex patterns, which otherwise would result in inefficient components. Blu Dot looks to manufacturing processes outside of conventional industrial design processes. Their designs are unique because they design by “making parts not making furniture.” They let the user take the lead in the assembly process.1 Other products in the “2D: 3D” design typology include office equipment, such as the in/out box, letter sorter (2:1:1,2,3), CD holder, magazine rack, and coat rack. Each of these designs fold from a nearly solid, rectangular sheet of powder-coated steel. The form of each of the pieces is constrained by the ability of the steel to fold along a series of dash cuts. Proportionately, the ratio of slot to tab across a dashed edge in steel is directly tied to the ease with which it might fold, and the relative strength the steel maintains once it has yielded. For each of these patterns the cuts are approximately 1 ⁄16" inch wide, and are placed once every inch (2:1:5). Compared to other iterations of folded components this is a very small ratio of tab material to slot. The material is strengthened by two characteristics: the powder coating provides a thickening of the overall cross section of the tab and each form is constructed from a series of small tabs that create a depth or third dimension to each object, as in a pop-up book. Each product design can be assembled relatively easily, as each fold is orthogonal; however, the folds for the chair design are each unique.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D or equivalent two-dimensional drawing tool

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2:1:1 Letter sorter drawing.

2:1:2 Letter sorter, flat pack; nearly 100% material use.

2:1:4 Profile of flat chair seat, laser-cut and powder-coated.

2:1:5 Dash cuts along creases are approximately 1 ⁄16" wide.

2:1:7 Template used to make each fold.

2:1:3 Rendering of assembled letter sorter design.

2:1:6 Template for angle forming cut from drawing on cardboard box, provided.

2:1:8 Template used for second fold.

The computational process for modeling the chair begins with a designer’s analysis of the body type they were intending to map, or by using developed standards for chair dimensions. Each two-dimensional surface of the chair would simply need to be defined as a planar surface attached at each angle. The structural integrity of the chair is the creation of a “cup-like” seat. In this instance, one side of the cup must be broken to release the five sides of the shape to be unrolled, into a single flat shape. Prior to unrolling, a map of the bolt holes for the leg attachments allows the location of each hole to stay attached to the surface as it is unrolled. This technique can be useful whenever unrolling a shape; the designer will benefit from consideration of all three-dimensional connections before flattening. The chair form is split in the seat, creating an overlap at the seam. This has two benefits; it doubles up the thickness and strength, and it creates the appearance of a seamless form, as the split is hidden underneath the panel of the seat. This panel also serves to connect the two halves together, with bolt connections to the legs.

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Flat-pack furniture ships simply and assembles with a template drawn on the box. • Can be nested into relatively efficient cut sheets, using mass-production. • Box contains template for chair angle assembly.

Blu Dot developed a smart, elegant method for creating a fabrication jig to help the user assemble the chair. A pattern tool can be cut out from the box in which the chair is shipped (2:1:6). The three sides of the triangular form each have an angle defined at their mid point. The cardboard can be held against the two sides of the fold, allowing the user to quickly and simply adjust until the two sides are at appropriate angles to one another (2:1:7,8). There are three unique folded angles of the chair, which together place the two panels of the seat plane into the appropriate plane with one another. The seat attachment is bolted through each of the halves, and through to the legs of the chair, creating the final assembly (2:1:9).

Note 1 See also: online video of a costumed squirrel assembling the Real Good Chair. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vflKxF3ROcI

2:1:9 Bolts secure seat to base and legs.

2:1:10 Rendering of final chair design, follows ergonomic shapes, efficient assembly and shipping constraints. 83

MATERIAL FORMATIONS IN DESIGN ELIJAH PORTER, INSTRUCTOR: KEVIN ROTHEROE, YALE UNIVERSITY NEW HAVEN, CT – 2008 Material Formations in Design was a course offered by Kevin Rotheroe at the Yale School of Architecture. The products created for the course tested how patterns cut into sheet material can release the sheet to form into complex surfaces. This type of effort stands in contrast to conventional practices, which articulate tessellation patterns to form predetermined surfaces. The course was formulated to remove variables from a form-generating system in an effort to create explorations akin to scientific experiments. The first of these constraints, was that formal complexity needed to be achieved without reliance on the assembly of discrete elements. The surfaces produced address material and production constraints, pattern studies, and are based in modeling processes. The studies focus on the purity of the patterns and the limitations of plastic bending in steel. The students are asked to reverse course and predetermine a cut pattern, which is then capable of being mapped to a variety of surfaces. First tested in laser-cut card stock and then eventually plasma cut from sheet steel, the surfaces rendered in Porter’s photographs evoke both a formal quality and create a sublime aesthetic. The diamond-cut pattern, shown here, was an attempt to respond to specific surface definitions, by scaling and shifting the pattern as the surface flowed from tighter to wider radii of curvature. This variation could employ more complex models to map curvature as a parametric link to the size of the triangulation. This could be accomplished by performing a curvature analysis on the surface and using the radii at various locations to define the relative size of the triangle at that location. Larger radii result in larger triangles tighter radii result in smaller triangulations. Each pattern must first be drawn. The hexagonal pattern used in this example is defined not by hexagons, but by the rectangles which are to be removed from the zones between each hexagon (2:2:1). This system is arrayed across a panel the size of the sheet to be cut, and trimmed to fit. The system for accomplishing this array is relatively

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D or equivalent two-dimensional drawing tool

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MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Material constraints are built into the capabilities of the system. The cuts allow a certain amount of flexibility which can be tested by pushing the form into desired shapes. It simply won’t form into shapes that it is incapable of making. • Minimize the percentage of cutting by predetermining a surface and scaling the sizes of the tesselations based on curvature analysis.

2:2:1 Hexagonal cut pattern; note shapes of removed parts are rectangles.

2:2:2 Hand-formed shape testing.

simple, as its intent is to build constraints into the full-scale sheet, which can be folded to any configuration by the user (2:2:2). The creation of a responsive version of this system would potentially minimize the amount of waste produced by the cut, and could map an aesthetic value, to the logic of the design. The distinction here is that shapes mapped are no longer the precise triangles needed for each shape but are the hexagonal shapes which define each tile. The use of the hexagon mandates that the system frees itself from the surface along each strip, but is “reset” when the sphere is mapped from each corner back to an intersecting line on the surface (2:2:5). Each strip that is composed of straight triangles would necessitate a release, or a slot in the flattened sheet of material. To sphere-map across a complete surface with strip shapes, the system requires that each strip adjust to contain the void of material that would occur, or to free the corners of each triangle from the surface to create a new “version” of the base shape (2:2:7). This could also be accomplished by layering another shape across the surface such as a rectangle or hexagon.

2:2:3 Base surface for sphere mapping to create adaptive hexagons.

Note See also Jeremy Ficca's (carnegie Mellon University's dFab) robotically expanded metal panel variations of similarly precut panels

2:2:4 Sphere is mapped to surface along inset line.

2:2:5 Intersections based on sphere locations.

2:2:7 Hexagons sphere-mapped onto surface.

2:2:6 Sphere-mapped triangulations 87

FLATFORM MARBLE FAIRBANKS NEW YORK - 2009

Flatform is an installation created for the Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. The intent of the installation is to demonstrate techniques of creating architectural systems free from the typical construction systems, using pre-manufactured components. Additionally, this installation demonstrates a wall assembly system composed of interlocking panels, with connection details built into the fabrication
of the object. The panels are made of brushed stainless steel, which delimits the angle that each tab is capable of folding. The limitations and relationships between the two layers of the system are mapped to a parametric model, able to change the reciprocal tabs from each side as the width of the wall shifts or the relative angle or pattern is shifted across each surface. These parameters shift the tab size and angle as well as create a reciprocal, relationship linked by the location of a notch on each tab that forms the joint where the two meet. Within the surface one tab has a secondary locking tab, which secures the main tab in place. Thirdly, a small tab at the end of the receiving tab locks into the surface of the wall, creating an X-shaped profile braced in three locations.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D or equivalent two-dimensional drawing tool

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2:3:1 Base tab linework and matching rotation.

The edges of each tab are filleted, for safety and aesthetics. Shifting patterns (based on various functions) were used to create variation in the pattern across the wall system. Two types of variables existed within the tab connection systems (2:3:2). Each major tab and its reciprocal minor tab shifted size relative to one another, as one became larger the other receded. Additionally, a second open variable changed the width of the hole from which the major tab was taken, creating more or less perforation in the surface depending upon relational patterns applied to all units on the surface.

Depth variable: Relative to the wall depth Minor tab

Tongue tab hole

Depth variable: Relative to the wall depth

Connection centroid Lock tab

Connection centroid Major tab Open variable: Relative to the wall depth and applied sin function

2:3:2 Tab diagram, showing variable locations which are based upon either the thickness of the wall or the design pattern.

2:3:3 Elevation showing varying sizes of triangulated tab connections.

2:3:4 Cut sheet pattern; highly efficient cut sheet.

2:3:5 Elevation drawings of each side of installation 91

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Tabs can fold to almost any angle, allowing for a variable connection type throughout the system.

The version of the wall installed at MoMA was laser cut out of brushed stainless steel (2:3:6,7). One side of the final piece was powder coated on a single side (the inside) to allow for more expression of the form (2:3:8,9). The panels were shipped flat, folded and assembled on site.

• X-bracing created by pairs of tabs creates a lightweight structural system. • Tab connections create a relatively easy construction process which has an embedded assembly logic.

2:3:6 Laser-cut stainless steel.

2:3:7 Initial folds in stainless steel.

2:3:8 Detail rendering of the final installation showing tab connections inside the wall.

2:3:9 Rendering of the installation, showing powder-coated color on inside surface. 93

CROATIAN PAVILION - VENICE BIENNALE LEO MDDRCIN. SASA BEGDVIC. MARKD DABRDVIC. IGDR FRANIC. TANJA GRDIDANIC. PETAR MISKDVIC. SILVIJE NDVAK. VELJKO DLUlC. HELENA PAVER NJIRIC. LEA PELlVAN. TOMA PLEJIC. GDRAN RAKD. SASA RANDlC. IDIS TURATO. PERD VUKDVIC. TONCI ZARNIC VENICE. ITALY -– 2010 This pavilion was designed through the collaborative effort of sixteen Croatian designers, as an attachment to a typical 10m x 20m barge, to be towed across the Adriatic to Venice. The barge was assembled at the Kraljevica shipyard, taking advantage of local contractors and construction administration. The intent of the project was to create an array of 42 layers of Q385 welded wire mesh, typically used for reinforced concrete slabs. Each sheet of the wire mesh is 6m x 2.15m, and the 7mm wire is spaced on 100mm squares. Each sheet weighs 79.6kg (175.5lbs) and the entire installation weighed approximately 32 tons. The wire was welded to vertical rods spaced on a 50cm grid through the barge. In this instance, the form was defined as a subtraction from each of the 42 layers spaced on 15cm vertical intervals. This spacing was determined to be sufficient to support the occupants of the installation, but also provide some bounce in the surface, creating a softer feeling than the ground. An interior form was designed to create a series of seven view cones from the center to the four sides of the installation. The vertical shifting of the forms creates a moire effect as users move through the form. Each rectangular cone shape creates a thinning form as your view approaches the aperture. The user experiences horizontal views open into specific frames as your eye travels around the form. The geometry for the pavilion was created with a box-shaped base from which the form was removed or booleaned (2:4:1). The approximate dimensions of the base were 10m wide by 20m long by 6m high. The occupation cones, “cut” from the box, are defined as

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D

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2:4:1 Basic blocks of interior form.

2:4:2 Articulated block shapes to views.

planometric profiles through the form and extruded to a comfortable height. The profile shapes of each of the views can be manipulated by using their control vertices to manipulate the size of each opening and the angles used to approach the occupiable form of the interior (2:4:2). This interior form should be removed or booleaned from the base box (2:4:3). The resulting “hollow” form (2:4:4) can be sectioned or contoured horizontally on 15cm intervals. Each of these contours would result in an exterior rectangular line and an interior line of the edge of the space (2:4:5). Each of these sections is used to create the profiles in welded wire. The welded wire sheets would have measurements transferred to them by dividing the overall form into a series of 6m x 2.25m sheets with 10cm overlap. As the interior form is defined by rectilinear edges, each contour results in a profile with straight sides, and can be mapped by measuring and triangulating points onto each welded-wire sheet and striking a line to define the profile cut for each layer. The final pieces were cut using hand-held grinders to match the profile for each layer. A dozen welders worked to weld each sheet to the vertical rods (2:4:6), as they were delivered by an on-site crane. Planks of wood held each sheet at the appropriate height while the sheet was welded to the verticals. The composition of the system created a truly unique experience linked to its materiality and its phenomenological expression.1

Note 1 Due to poor lashing during the tow across the Adriatic the pavilion partially collapsed.

2:4:3 Frame of material box and interior shape to be removed.

2:4:4 Interior shape removed from exterior frame.

2:4:5 Contour of remaining solid shape on 15cm spacing.

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Welded wire is 100% recyclable, and connections can be welded at any corner in the welded wire grid. • Welded wire supported on vertical rods creates a soft yet sturdy surface for occupation.

2:4:6 Vertical rods placed on 50cm grid.

• The ability to create a moire effect by having a consistent density is difficult to accomplish without an intense number of components. • Constraint of the barge form allowed for the piece to be assembled in one location and easily transported.

2:4:7 Rendering of final assembly.

2:4:8 View framed through the installation, showing effect of the density of rods. 97

AQUA TOWER FREEFORM (FORMWORK) STUDIO GANG ARCHITECTS CHICAGO – 2010 Freeform is a formwork system developed for the construction of Aqua, an 82-story tower designed by Studio Gang Architects in Chicago, Illinois. The system allowed for the construction team to pour 82 unique floor perimeters. The design of the tower was conceived by mapping surface undulations to views of impressionable locations in downtown Chicago. The deformations were intended to create specific views where they matter, and to maximize the form of the tower where they don’t. As the slabs move back toward the baseline surface, there is higher heat gain and the façade design responds with more reflective glazing. These glazing areas were dubbed “pools” for their distinct reflective coloring, creating another layer of variability in the façade. Additionally, engineers calculated that the balconies disturbed the wind flow sufficiently enough that the building did not require a tuned mass dampener (a massive weight at the top of the tower to offset any motion caused by wind or seismic activity), as most towers of this size do. The material parameters for this system include a variety of details necessary for pouring each floor plate and for tying it back to the consistent column grid. The table-form column-hung shoring system, used to pour each floor plate, was able to cantilever without transferring any load to the floor below, only back to the column grid. This scaffolding system, used as both the construction surface and the surface for the pour of each floor, was attached to the column grid allowing the loads of each pour to be designed for their final load not their construction load. The scaffolding system allowed for up to 12' (3.6m) of cantilever beyond the curtain wall façade. The undulations had to occupy that zone, between the façade and the edge of the shoring system (2:5:1). The slab is typically 9" (25cm) thick at the cladding line (façade) and gets thinner at the tip of each balcony. An edge form steel plate (the material parameter in this instance) was used to define each of the smooth flowing edges of the balconies, creating the aesthetic of the tower. The flexible form edge was manually positioned and nailed

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • CAD Geoographic Locator

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MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Steel strips are able to bend to certain radii, and create softly flowing curves of a consistent quality. • GPS locator defines the location of points along edges of the slab. • Table-form scaffolding could cantilever 12' (3.6m) from the façade of building, while bracing only to the column grid, allowing for 12' of cantilever in each slab condition.

2:5:1 Three floors of exterior tower form; the geometry of which was mapped by views out to the city.

2:5:2 Contour cuts at floor-to-floor heights.

2:5:3 Extrusion of each floor perimeter.

2:5:4 Trim perimeter to variable thickness of balcony; the balconies become thinner as they cantilever out from the structure of the building.

2:5:5 Floor plate with variable thickness.

2:5:6 Column grid of the tower served as a connection point for table-form scaffolding system.

2:5:7 Glazing system of cladding defined the boundary outside of which the balconies could cantilever. 101

R

2:5:8 Maximum radius of flex-form steel defined the minimum radius of the balcony profiles.

2:5:9 Column grid at tower corner.

2:5:10 Table-form scaffolding at corner.

2:5:11 GPS device used to locate profile for formwork to be attached.

2:5:12 Flex-form steel attached to decking along profile.

2:5:13 Reinforcement is located within profile.

to locations indicated by drawings connected through a survey tool. These points were defined with a GPS location system, synced up with CAD files of each floor profile (2:5:11). The design of each façade had Step 7: relational definitions, which had to undulate between 2' (60 cm) and 12' (3.6m) to create the visual expression of the final tower shape. The geometry of the system is developed from the initial surfaces, which Studio Gang designed. These surfaces are limited by the amount of cantilever, away from the curtain wall, which the formwork was capable of bearing (2:5:1). The curtain wall box is the constant against which changes in the surface can be recognized. The original surfaces are contoured or sectioned to create the profile of each of the floor plates (four are shown here) (2:5:2,3). These profiles could be extruded to the base thickness of 9" (25cm), away from which a sloped surface can be used to create the undercut, allowing the balconies to taper as they move further away from the curtain wall (2:5:5). The drawings of each floor plate used the column grid as reference points. As each floor plate was finished the table-form scaffolding was raised to the next and attached to the column grid. The table form served as Step the 8:undergirding for the pour of each floor, and the flex-form formwork was attached directly to the scaffolding to create the vertical edges of each pour (2:5:12). As with any piece of steel there was a minimum radius, which it was capable of elastic bending without failing. Small angled tabs were welded along the length of each piece of steel (2:5:8), which facilitated the attachment to the scaffolding. The reinforcement was located into each pour, before concrete was pumped up to the floor level (2:5:13,14). The balcony slabs were sealed and protected with a white elastomeric coating, giving them a clean sheen for each flowing shadow to bounce.

2:5:14 Concrete pumped to the formwork.

2:5:15 Rendering of the poured concrete slabs.

Notes “Concrete Forming – The Aqua Tower Concrete Formwork Case Study.” Industrial Services from Brand Energy – Scaffold Services, Specialty Coatings and Insulation Services. Web. 21 Jan. 2012. http://www.beis.com/our-services/other services/ infrastructure-services/casestudies/the-aqua-tower/. “Case Studies: Concrete Mixed Use Buildings: Aqua Tower, Chicago, Illinois | Portland Cement Association (PCA).” PCA – The Portland Cement Association. Web. 21 Jan. 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120213000000/http://www.cement.org/buildings/ buildings_mixed_aqua.asp Gang, Jeanne. Reveal: Studio Gang Architects. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2011. pp. 145–179.

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WAVE PAVILION PARKE MACDOWELL AND DIANA TOMOVA MATO The Wave Pavilion was designed and built at the University of Michigan Taubmann College of Architecture and Urban Planning, using a 7-axis1 robotic arm working in conjunction with a CNC rod bender. The intent of the design was to explore the possibilities for fabricating using precisely bent, cut and welded ¼" (6mm) steel rod to create a selfstructuring installation. While the arm can move with absolute freedom within its work envelope, the CNC rod bender can only bend the rod along a single axis, though it can bend to precise angles along that axis. To create three-dimensional bends in the rod (profiles that move along more than two axes) the robot will spin the rod as it moves it to the next bending position, creating the ability to make profiles of most any shape. The formal premise of the installation is that bent rod, by itself, can form self-structuring geometries, but once it is combined into units which have a deeper depth-to-span ratio it is capable of spanning much greater distances and capable of accommodating larger loads. To that end the design uses as its base geometry two similar surfaces, the distance between which becomes the depth of a truss-like member formed between three rods. One rod formed to the outside surface, one rod formed to the inside and a third rod welded which zigzags between the two to create a truss-like member (2:6:6).2

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D • KUKA PRC or equivalent

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2:6:1 Baseline curves used to define geometry at the ground plane.

2:6:2 Baseline curves used to define geometry at the ground plane.

The geometric development can be initiated with a series of curves which are used to create a pair of lofted surfaces. The distance between each of the two surfaces defines the depth of the member which is spanning across the vault-like geometries. By minimizing the distance of a member which spans over the vault to less than 21' (6.5m) a single piece of steel rod can be used. A simple calculation using half of the circumference of a circle to be less than the length of a factory manufactured rod, the diameter (which could correspond to the approximate span of a vault) would be (r=21/p, r=6.68'(~2m)) approximately 13' (4m). A span of this distance would want an approximate depth of member equivalent to the span(L) when L/20=D(epth) or 8" (20cm). The pair of surfaces should then be cut in section profiles(2:6:3), these profiles do not need to main parallel relationships, as each of the profiles can be connected using three-dimensional connections. The distance between each section cut should not go beyond the capabilities for the rod bender to create a zigzag truss-like members to connect between each cut. The section cuts should be simplified into polylines with equal members. The zigzag members then need to be drawn in two directions. The first member completes the truss and connects the section profiles cut through each surface. The second zigzag member connects profile to profile laterally across the surface.

2:6:3 Second surface creates depth for spanning.

2:6:4 Piping to follow curves cut at a regular interval.

2:6:5 Diagram demonstrating movement and detailing of robot end-effector and rod bender.

The manufacturing process developed in conjunction with the Fabrication Lab at the University of Michigan converted each of the rod profiles into a KUKA Code3 script which coordinated the controls of the KUKA robotic arm and the rod bender.4 Typically the robot feeds the rod into the bender at a particular length and a particular rotation along the axis of the rod. When the rod is positioned the bender creates the bend to the designated angle for that location and then the robot grips the rod in a new location, rotating the rod along its axis to the next appropriate angle, and the rod bender executes another bend. This series of movements continues until each individual rod is complete (2:6:5). The assembly of the entire system is facilitated by welding rods to the zigzag rod profiles to the rod profiles generated by the surface at designated points (2:6:6). The entire assembly was painted (red) to prevent corrosion in its final exterior installation.

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MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS:

• Typical mild steel rod is delivered in 21'(~6.5m) lengths. • The bending limits of the rod bender limited to a 90-degree rotation at a given location. • The proximity of the rod bender and robot to the floor will limit the profile depth of any one rod length. If a rod profile was to be bent so deep that it would run into the floor this would cause discrepancies in the profile.

2:6:6 Detail rendering of welded rod profile.

2:6:7 Plan rendering of final installation.

2:6:8 Perspectival rendering of final installation.

Notes 1 A Kuka robotic arm, like those at the University of Michigan Fabrication Lab has six axes of movement, the 7th axis is created by attaching the arm to a set of rails allowing it to move along a linear path as part of its programming, giving it a 7th axis of movement 2 See also Dunescape (p. 8) 3 This code can be generated with plug-ins for Rhino or Grasshopper including HAL, SuperKUKATools and KUKA PRC (Parametric Robotic Control) which convert geometric information into KUKA Code which can be uploaded to the robot controller interface (KUKA CR4). 4 Typically a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) is an interface which coordinates output codes in a robotic script to coordinate with other equipment in a robotic system, allowing the robot to interface in real time with other equipment, either that which is attached to the arm (gripper) or external tools (rod bender).

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LA MAISON UNIQUE LONGCHAMP GLOBAL FLAGSHIP STORE HEATHERWICK STUDIO NEW YORK – 2006 This design was developed for Longchamp, a French company which produces fine leather goods, as a new flagship store in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. Though the entire renovation of an existing 1930s building totaled over 9000 sq. ft. (830m2), this excerpt is focused on one component, a 60– (20m) atrium entry lobby.1 The installation contains a flowing staircase and display area constructed of 1.25" (30mm) hot rolled steel. The primary retail area was located on the second floor and the roof was opened up to a set of skylights, which brought light down. It was necessary then to bring customers up to the second floor in a meaningful way. This topography was intended to function as the primary entrance into the retail area of the store, while also serving as a display space configured with high-powered magnets used to tie merchandise displays to the wall. The entire piece weighs in at over 55 tons(50,000kg), and totals over 1800 linear feet (550m) of steel strips. The weight of the stair required that a new foundation be poured beneath it to facilitate the spreading of the load. Each strip is coated with a ³⁄16" (5mm) thick strip of natural rubber, on both top and bottom, creating an orange topography of stairs, landings, and display areas. Each of the 30 strips is parameterized by a typical stair tread depth of 11.25" (29 cm). The stair itself rises a total of 17.5' (5.5m) using 7" (18cm) high treads, which weave back and forth through the form. The geometry of the stair was developed by locating each of the treads and landings in a configuration providing enough space to create the radii necessary for the steel to “flow” from tread to tread. Each profile moves from one tread above to one below, and is composed of two quarter-circle shapes, one convex and one concave. The forms each match one another along a line of symmetry and the tread-to-tread distance is consistent. The shapes, which flow up to the back wall of the space are all consistent radii and are accommodated by varying lengths of steel along the wall. As this back wall is not bearing any loads, it is made of 0.5" (12mm) thick steel. The complex shapes forming the area between each of the 7" tread heights are the only CNC manufactured

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D

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MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • CNC cut jigs provide guides for bent steel stair treads. • Stair treads at 1.25" thick are capable of self-structuring. • Frequency of break hitting steel strips increased the curvature of the bend. • Magnetized displays were hung on the sloped sections of the surface. 2:7:3 Profiles of CNC cut profiles.

2:7:4 Hydraulic break used to form steel.

2:7:1 CNC water-jet cut of stair profiles.

2:7:2 CNC water-jet cut detail.

2:7:5 Increment of break contact defines profile; chalk marks were used on the steel to denote the location for the break.

components. In this case these components served as “computational jigs” for each of the bent steel components (2:7:3). These curved profiles were cut using a CNC water-jet. Water-jets use a nozzle typically .004–.015" (.1–.3mm) in diameter to spray a mix of water and fine grain sand (2:7:1). The pressure is typically only 20–55psi, but the velocity not the pressure creates the cut. The water mixture typically leaves the nozzle at speeds over 900mph (1500km/h). The CNC cut profiles were provided to the fabricators to use as jigs for the 1.25" steel plates that would serve as the treads. Each strip panel was incrementally bent to meet the profiles using a hydraulic press break (2:7:4,5). Each piece of steel was marked with chalk on varying intervals to indicate how often the break should hit the steel. Tighter chalk marks will cause a higher frequency for the use of the break, and create a tighter radius for the bent piece of steel. The markings left by the break were ground off. The components were welded together into manageable sections, capable of fitting into the store. The entire system was assembled in the shop, broken down, and reassembled in segments on site (2:7:7).

Note 1 Also of note are custom-fabricated display systems on the main retail floor, which peel from the ceiling. The hung shelving units carry lighting to each shelf in an apparently delaminating set of ash veneer plywood layers.

2:7:6 Rendering of the entire steel system, outside of building form.

2:7:7 Sub-components disassembled for installation. 113

SPIMF UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHARLOTTE DIGITAL ARTS CENTER (DARTS) CHARLOTTE, NC – 2016 Single Point Incremental Metal Forming (SPIMF) is a process that allows architectural panels to be cold-formed from sheet metal into doubly curved complex shapes using a robotic arm and a stylus-like endeffector. SPIMF leverages industrial robots’ precision and strength by gradually pushing the end-effector into vertically supported sheet metal. The system creates the ability to deform steel into complex doubly curved geometries. Typical deformations in steel would be created using a die which limits each panel to a single geometry. This system creates the flexibility to define each panel individually. SPIMF uses a ball bearing held in place with a magnet located inside of a hardened steel tube attached as the end-effector of a 6-axis industrialgrade robotic arm. The robotic arm traces a series of contours, gradually pushing into a 20 gauge piece of steel sheet metal. A steel frame constructed out of angle and tube profiles, bolted to the floor, serves to hold the sheet metal vertically while resisting the force applied by the arm.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D • KUKA PRC

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The process of creating routines for the robot are created using a set of planes (2:8:3) which follow a gradually changing set of contour lines (2:8:2). These lines can be linked into a continuous spiral to help avoid the strain created by suddenly shifting to the next layer of depth in the steel. That geometry can be fed into a separate Grasshopper script that would produce the robotic code for the program, this is done using a variety of code-writing components for Grasshopper depending upon the type of robot being programmed. 2:8:1 Surface formed from curve profiles.

The system represented here demonstrates a feedback loop which provides the ability to control the geometry being fed into the software. While this locks in the overall nature of the input geometry being formed it allows the software to gradually shift in response to a 3D scan of previous iterations of the formed panels tested against their respective computational models. The feedback loop was established to define a tighter understanding of the way in which steel was responding to the incremental molding process.

2:8:2 Horizontal contours cut in surface based on depth of each layer.

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Each piece of sheet metal must be braced in a rigid frame to resist the pressure of the robotic arm(in excess of 100Kg of force). • The reach of the robotic arm constrains the depth to which the steel can be transformed, in this instance the arm is 2m(~6') • The steel will begin to tear when it is stretched beyond its limits, thicker steel will deform further, but requires the system to resist greater forces.

2:8:3 Planes located along divided contours, are used to orient the robot.

Each steel blank was cut using a CNC-controlled plasma torch (2:8:4). After the forming is completed each metal panel was threedimensionally scanned with a Microsoft Kinect mounted to the robotic arm. The Kinect creates a 3D point cloud which was then compared to the original computational forming geometry. A comparison done in Grasshopper matches up points that have the same XY coordinate and compares their Z values. Individual points can be tested for deformation and a heat map diagram (2:8:6) of the discrepancy is also generated. Using this information the system was able to differentiate between distortions created by stretched steel, spring back, and actual forming of the steel.

2:8:4 CNC Plasma cut blank adjusting for deformations.

Notes This work was developed based on earlier work by Anmar Kalo and Michael Jake Newsum’s Incremental Sheet Metal Forming and CITA’s Stressed Skins project. Each panel run becomes another data point, providing us with a more accurate representations of the way in which the steel is responding to this method of cold forming.

2:8:5 Steel panel with straigh edges post forming.

2:8:6 Laser-scanned panel testing for differences between computational model and final panel.

2:8:7 Rendered diagram of robot, tool, and frame. 117

BETWEEN THE SHEETS “BUSTA LINES” DANIEL RENTSCH, LAURA GOARD, CHAO CHEN, KRISTEN WILLEY INSTRUCTOR: HEATHER ROBERGE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES – 2008 “Busta Lines” is one of a series of projects developed in a course taught by Heather Roberge at the UCLA School of Arts and Architecture. The problem statement for this course required the students to design a tile array to be fabricated from superplastic-formed aluminum. The process for super-forming aluminum involves the fabrication of a one-sided custom tool, superheating aluminum alloys, and forcing air pressure into a locked oven to push the aluminum onto the mold. The cost of the custom formwork is, as noted in other projects (290 Mulberry (p. 142) and Unikabeton (p. 136)) relatively expensive to fabricate. With super-formed aluminum this is particularly the case as the mold must be able to withstand the extreme temperatures of the oven. To minimize the impact of these costs, Roberge delimited the students to create systems using only a single tile type. Therefore the students were required to investigate methods for rotating the panels to create shifting surface patterns. These tessellated fields of geometry exemplify the material constraint of both the aluminum processing and the formwork. In this instance, small undercuts were able to be formed as the pressure of the air is able to push the aluminum under curves into bulb-like configurations. Though it should be noted that the production of formwork for those types of components would require a 5+ axis CNC machine to mill. Roberge’s1 course worked with a company called Superform. Typically, their processes are used to manufacture complex airplane components such as the lip of a jet engine, or the elbow between the wing and the fuselage. The process employed for superplastic-forming tile began through the computational development of a form worthy of production. The intention of these shapes were to evoke the qualities of a range of other materials, some included in Roberge’s syllabus were; wrinkled satin, carved marble, stretched latex, fluid filled organic membranes, armor, and cast ceramic.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D

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2:9:1 Profile curves of geometry.

2:9:3 Initial untrimmed surface; often it is simpler to create a smooth surface which is later trimmed to match the tiling profile.

2:9:2 Patch surface applied to curves.

2:9:4 Trim profile of hexagonal panel outline on surface.

2:9:5 Hexagonal tile shape.

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • The CNC tool used to create the formwork for this system delimits whether the surface can have undercuts, which would require at least a 4-axis machine. • Superform aluminum can form to most geometry, as the air pressure pushes it up against any form placed into the oven. • Hexagonal tile, break the visual continuity of the seams. • The plywood frame of the tile allowed for the form to be mounted at various heights to create variations in each tile.

2:9:6 Trimmed profile and plywood frame, which can be used to define adjustable depths for each tile.

The project highlighted here, entitled “Busta Lines,” was created by developing field line work (2:9:1) which crossed the boundary lines of the hexagonal profile. Roberge introduced a vocabulary of terms to help describe the various components of each tile’s geometry, in addition to its possible reconfigurations across a field, including translation, rotation, mirroring, and gliding. The geometric development of the tile forms is constructed on a set of profile curves used to create a surface (2:9:2,3). This surface can be scaled and trimmed to match the boundary of a hexagonal form. With doubly curved surfaces such as this, it is simpler to create a larger surface untethered to the boundary of the hexagon, allowing its edges to flow as necessary, then trimming it to match the hard edge boundary (2:9:4,5). Prior to molding the components, a finite element model was used to optimize the manufacturing process, helping to define the information necessary for the press, heat, and control gas pressure. The molds were initially cut with CNC equipment in-house, out of foam. Lower temperature vacuum formers were used to test the molds in ABS plastic. The aluminum forming process, however, uses steel vacuum forms, clamped shut to create a seal. 500psi (7kPa) of nitrogen gas is used to press a sheet of superplastic aluminum alloy onto the tool (2:9:7–10). The alloy behaves like taffy, expanding without yielding, leaving no residual stresses in the panel. The finished panel can have thicknesses under 1mm. The final components are trimmed using a CNC mill, if necessary and were painted with di-chromic paint. 2 In the Busta Lines tiles shown here the students created a solution using only a single tile, but used inserts which raise and lower the depth of the hexagonal boundary to create variation in the panels (2:9:6). By creating a gradient of different depths and rotations in the assembly of the panels, the wrinkling of the form appears to vary with the complexity of individuated tiles (2:9:6). The system operates within the constraints of the system while creating enough variation to appear more customized.

2:9:7 Oven for superplasticforming aluminum.

2:9:8 Pressure inflates aluminum plate.

2:9:9 CNC mold of surface moved against aluminum sheet.

Notes 1 Roberge, Heather. “Speculations on the Organizational and Cosmetic Potential of Sheets,” Gail Peter Borden and Michael Meredith (eds.) Matter: Material Processes in Architectural Production.  New York: Routledge, 2012. pp. 227–233.

2:9:10 Pressure shifted to press aluminum to surface formwork.

2 Roberge, Heather. “Thoughts on Contemporary Plasticity.” Lecture. USC School of Architecture, Los Angeles. 10 Feb. 2010.

2:9:11 Structural system for linking final tiles. 121

MX3D METAL MX3D AND JORIS LAARMAN LAB AMSTERDAM – 2015 MX3D is a design firm, which has developed the capabilities to print in thin air using various metal extrusions. The technique uses a method in which many researchers are finding more flexibility, using a 6-axis robotic arm instead of traditional CNC machinery. A wide variety of readily available software as well as a relatively simple programming language has allowed for customized programming methods to be employed for various construction techniques. The innovative flexibility of this system is driven primarily by the ability to use a robotic arm, which can move, with precision, anywhere in a three-dimensional field, and extrude a structural metal line along its path. The system uses an advanced welding system to deliver molten metal to the end of the arm, which solidifies quickly and can be then continually added to. The system does not require supports, which are traditionally needed for any type of three-dimensional printing. The system, which MX3D developed can print with steel, stainless steel, aluminum, bronze, or copper. For different types of geometric movements by the arm, the welding tool settings must be adjusted. For example, vertical, horizontal, or spiraling lines require different pulse times, pause times, layer heights, and tool orientations. The programming software developed by MX3D is able to interface between the robot movement and the welder. Examples which have been developed to date include a small bridge and a project entitled the Dragon Bench. Each of the systems employs the use of tessellated forms, creating a bi-directional structural condition much like that of a structural diagrid. The bridge test (diagrammed here) uses a space frame tessellation three units wide. As the bridge gets near the central span each of the space frames compresses, reducing the amount of material in the overall profile to match the moment diagram of the span. SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D • KUKA PRC

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The modeling of this approach could be created in a variety of ways. A with many of the other projects in this text, the threedimensional representation of the final design is not necessary. Robotic programming traditionally relies on a start point and an endpoint in space as well as a movement method and speed for moving between the points. These movements can be along a perfect linear path or arc, or along a path, which the robotic controller determines to be the most efficient for the arm (often called point-to-point).

2:10:1 Extrusion tool placing molten metal.

Using linear paths the endpoints of each of the movements as well as their sequence are crucial to programming the construction of this project. MX3D’s system progresses along each path relatively equally to ensure that connections between linear elements are made when needed and that no one line becomes too long for its base to support. First the arcs of the bridge would be modeled as polylines and the number of elements in each polyline would be determined. The endpoints of the polyline elements would constitute the joints between the space-frame elements. Each triangular connection between the top and lower layer of arcing elements could be joined by drawing in a zigzag pattern from endpoint to endpoint, or by using a script to construct the lines which represent these elements.

Notes See also the work of Vladimir Shukhov who developed the use of diagrid structural logic in the late 19th century.

2:10:2 Robotic arm placing molten metal.

2:10:3 Base linear extrusions of bridge.

2:10:4 Triangulations between linear elements.

See also the proposed bridge, which MX3D has been developing to cross a canal in Amsterdam.

2:10:6 Plan view of completed extrusion process.

2:10:5 Robotic extrusion process of completed bridge.

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • The capabilities of the system to cantilever without counterwieght greatly limit the capabilities. The material is able to support much of its own weight, but connections to the ground and to itself are crucial in its performance. • The reach of the robotic arm greatly limits the ability to make architectural scale variations of this system. 2:10:7 Detail of extrusion members in triangulated pattern. 125

CHAPTER 3: CONCRETE/MASONRY Masonry and concrete construction systems are tied together not necessarily through their construction types but through their relatively high mass. Typically chosen for their durability, concrete and masonry are materials which do not require tectonic structure. Projects in this chapter fall in one of two categories: systems for assembling units, and systems for creating forms mapped with innovative uses of formwork. For both types of project there is a visible desire to break free from Cartesian systems, through specific maps of structural logic. Experimental masonry and concrete systems have a long history of innovative logic driven by their structure. These materials work very well in compression, but not in tension. Catenary forms are created and tested by mapping the shapes that fabric, chains, or string naturally fall to. Most famously this process was used to design Gaudi’s complex, hanging-chain, forms for the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. These same forms are now mapped using finite element analysis (FEA) by Gaudi’s modern-day collaborators, including Mark Burry who is working to complete the Cathedral. Using these same methodologies, Phillippe Block has developed a simple but very useful plug-in for Rhinoceros, called Rhinovault, that allows a designer to explore static vault forms simple based on a two-dimensional plan drawing of a space. Block’s Research Group has constructed some incredible examples of what is made possible with this simple computational tool, including the Freeform Catalan Vault (p. 154), and most recently the Armadillo Vault. 20th century engineers carved the way for structural expression as an artistic form, through a more commonsense approach based not specifically in calculations but through modeling and testing at scale. Robert Maillart used the efficiency of materiality to both sell his ideas, but also to express the natural beauty of his structural systems. His elegant reinforced concrete bridge designs used deck-stiffened arches, which fuse a bridge deck with its arch to create a sinuous structural system.

This was first deployed in 1905 in his Tavanasa Bridge and was most elegantly deployed in the Salginatobel Bridge of 1930.2 In the 1950s these catenary forms were further developed into entire structures, as thin shell concrete forms, by engineers like Félix Candela3 and Heinz Isler. Isler would test his forms; through scale models, unable to use precise mathematical analysis, he used a more analytical common-sense approach to map thicknesses, and locations for reinforcement.4 The results of these experiments are a type of Form Finding: the use of self-organization of material to derive structural forms , 5 which works particularly well for masonry and concrete as they perform so well in compression. Isler used fabric formwork to develop scale models mapping pure tension, which would be inverted to create thin shell concrete systems in pure compression. Isler used formwork made of fiberboard, which was left after construction to create a thermal barrier, allowing the concrete to remain a constant temperature both inside the shell and out, preventing the typical blowouts caused by temperature differential. In the late 1950s and 60s, Luigi Nervi famously mapped structural expression through large span surfaces. Ada Louis Huxtable said “his stature as a designer lies in the fact that although his structure is intricate, and often decorative, it is never arbitrary or obscure. His buildings are most remarkable for the clarity of their engineering.” 6 His work was grounded in specific mathematical analysis and used precast systems to create rhythmic structural systems flowing under the shell of a surface. His works included the Palazetto dello Sport, constructed for the 1960 Olympics in Rome. The structure is primarily constructed of precast diamond-shaped components, joined by poured-in-place connecting ribs. The efficiency of the system allowed the dome to be constructed in 40 days. As Huxtable would go on to say, “New materials, new purposes, and new forms go hand in hand.” 7

As with the more unitized construction process being used by Nervi, Eladio Dieste, a Uruguayan engineer and architect constructed a hyperbolic brick façade at the Church of Christ the Worker in Atlántida, Uruguay (remarkably his first architectural project).8 The system is rectangular at the ground plane and breaks into a series of hyperbolic waves as it meets the roof form. The form was mapped through a structural logic, but creates a truly impressionable façade. Additionally, the section of the church reads as an expression of its own moment diagram. The idea that a form’s structural diagram could help define its form is furthered by C.A.S.T.- (The Centre for Architectural Structures and Technology) at the University of Manitoba, run by Mark West. Highlighted in the following pages is the beam (p. 128), which C.A.S.T. developed and designed with analog systems, but could easily be adapted to use computational manufacturing. The beam’s cross section is defined by the profile of the edge of the fabric, which is attached to the formwork from which it is hung. The profile of the fabric edge is defined by its bending moment diagram. Therefore the variable section beam is both a map of its own structural logic, but also has catenary cross sections. Other more complex systems, highlighted here, use fabric forming to map catenary forms as tiles, including Kudless’ P_Wall (p. 132) installation at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Kudless’ work evokes the experiments with quilted fabric-formed concrete panels of Miguel Fisac. Fisac used fabric formed tiles on projects like his design for the Centro Cultural, Castilblanco de los Arroyos. He uses concrete in ways which to date had not been fully expressed. Juan Daniel Fullaondo stated about Fisac’s works, “the testimony of the material, the anguished, intricate, refined and subtle production disappears from his work, in the interests of achieving emphatic, immediate, and serialized definitions… The building blocks discompose in horizontal strips, units of bone, halfway in between a beam and a tile.” Fisac’s work was developed using a simple system of plastic

sheeting constrained by metal wire. In his design for the Mupag Rehabilitation Center, he began his experiments with flexible formwork. The formwork of plastic not only created a smooth soft surface, but was also relatively inexpensive. As with the Eames, and others, Fisac was interested in more than pure structuralism, but was striving to reinterpret the use of a material through new technologies, which are delicate enough to bear the marks of their process. The machine is also used in masonry to help define the design process. This is most vividly represented by the design for 290 Mulberry (p. 142), by SHoP Architects. This condo development is characterized by a set of precast brick veneered panels, which were all created using a single piece of computationally manufactured formwork. As is characteristic of many of these projects, the development of this system required an immersion with the manufacturer’s process, becoming intimately familiar with the material, to understand the parameters, which would eventually help define the form.

Notes 1 Kolarevic, B. Architecture in the Computational Age: Design and Manufacturing. New York: Spon Press, 2003. p. 160. 2 Billington, David P. Robert Maillart and the Art of Reinforced Concrete. New York: Architectural History Foundation, 1990. 3 See also; Valencia Oceanografic and Restaurant, 2002. 4 Oxman, R., R. Oxman. “New Structuralism: Design, Engineering and Architectural Technologies.” Architectural Design 80, no. 4 (2010): pp. 66–71. 5 Kudless, Andrew. Bodies in Formation: The Material Formation of Flexible Formworks. ACADIA Proceedings of the 31st Annual Conference. Stoughton, WI: The Printing House, 2011. 6 Huxtable, Ada Louise. Pier Luigi Nervi. New York: Brazillier, 1960. p. 9. 7 Huxtable, Ada Louise. Pier Luigi Nervi. New York: Brazillier, 1960. pp. 29–30. 8 Anderson, Stanford. (ed.) Eladio Dieste: Innovation in Structural Art. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2004. p. 42.

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C.A.S.T. BEAM C.A.S.T.: THE CENTRE FOR ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURES AND TECHNOLOGY PROFESSOR MARK WEST UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA MANITOBA, CA – 2001 Parametric design has created the possibility for designing shapes and forms using variable data as a method for defining form. There are as many types of data as there are forms to be created; however, a few particular categories have developed as genres for parametric design: structure, materiality, environmental systems, and genetic systems. Mark West’s work is one of the first to link complex forms to parametric expressions of structure. For West, structural expression also results in the minimization of wasted volume of concrete and formwork. The shape of the beam places concrete only in locations where it is structurally necessary. C.A.S.T. has worked to develop a variety of techniques for using fabric formwork to pour expressive concrete shapes of all kinds, including beams, columns, Shot-crete panels, trusses, and vaults. Additionally, fabric formwork allows the creation of complex shapes without wasteful formwork. Typically, complex forms in concrete require CNC-shaped molds to be milled from large pieces of material. This inevitably results in vast amounts of waste, more so than even typical construction processes. The bending moment of a beam can be described simply by the fact that the beam is weaker the further it is from its support. The center of the beam is the weakest, and the bending moment is shaped in a curved profile back to a column connection at each end. The beams that C.A.S.T. was able to create are relatively close matches to this profile.

SOFTWARE: • Not essential to the process

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3:1:1 Base structure to hold fabric formwork, constructed in wood.

3:1:5 Overhead view of formwork infrastructure.

3:1:2 Fabric hung in formwork.

3:1:6 Overhead view of fabric profile attached to infrastructure.

3:1:3 Formed beam in formwork.

3:1:4 Final beam with formwork stripped.

3:1:7 Overhead view of poured beam.

To create these profiles a beam shape is measured for its relative weight, spanning distance, and uniform and/or point loads. The resulting bending moment diagram is mapped as the profile for the beam by simply tracing the profile of the diagram at full scale and using its inversion as the edge profile for a rectangular piece of fabric attached to the wooden brace (3:1:6). The beam is poured between two boxes, made of plywood or other available easily assembled materials (3:1:1). Each box must be braced to be able to hang the weight of the entire beam between them. On the top surface of each of the supporting boxes the moment diagram is transferred as an inverted drawing, where the center of the beam has more fabric and the edges have less (3:1:6). By fixing the fabric as a rectangular shape the resulting assembly has more fabric where needed in the middle of the profile and smoothly transitions along the curve of the drawn profile. This method requires that the beam be symmetrical and that the fabric be attached the same way on both sides. This ensures that the beam is not skewed along its central axis, and assumes that the fabric will stretch uniformly along the length of the beam.

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Fabric formwork allows for smooth transitions along the length of various cross sections in the beam. • By using a rectangular piece of fabric and fixing its edge to match the inverted profile of the beam, the fabric forms to the profile when filled with concrete. • Fabric formwork creates more efficiency in both the amount of material used for complex formwork but also allows for an equivalently structured beam to be made lighter and with less material.

3:1:8 Final beam shape, the profile of which matches its own moment diagram. 131

P_WALL SAN FRANCISCO MoMA ANDREW KUDLESS, MATSYS CALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF THE ARTS SAN FRANCISCO – 2009 Though the work of C.A.S.T. proves that the use of parametric computation is not necessary for the creation of complex forms mapped to material constraints, Andrew Kudless’ work employs similar techniques in fabric formwork but organizes them through computational logics. Kudless’ work is an outgrowth of many of the projects highlighted in the introduction for this chapter. In particular, Miguel Fisac who used plastic sheeting and metal wire to pour static quilts of concrete. The precast constraint of Fisac’s projects, including the Mupag Rehabilitation Center (1973) and the Centro Social de Hermanas Hospitalarias (1986), creates curtain-like billows across the façade. As with the precast panels of SHoP’s 290 Mulberry (p. 142), the repetition of the façade is defined by the size of the panels or creates a palette through which to create variation, and can be played on a theme. In P_Wall and through other experiments, Kudless has worked with white plaster and elastic fabrics to create bulbous expressions of sinuous form. With this flexibility there are inevitably more risks. Kudless has worked to balance the amount of fabric and spacing between dowels to ensure the desired outcome. If the constraints are too tight, the fabric resists the amount of stretching. If the constraints

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D • Kangaroo 3D

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are too far apart the weight of the plaster can overwhelm the fabric and cause failures.

3:2:1 CNC-cut profile for dowels.

This specific installation was installed in a narrow gallery where it would be seen and experienced primarily on an oblique. To help prevent noticeable edges between the tiles, creating a larger field of undulations, a hexagonal pattern was used. Further, there are four different widths of tile, which prevent any recognizable diagonal lines. The entire wall of the installation measures 45' (14m) long by 12' (4m) high. Kudless worked through experimentation to develop a series of constraints which could be mapped computationally. Using a script, Kudless was able to create gradients of acceptable forms within the bounds of his successful experiments. Using a gray-scale pixelated

3:2:2 Dowels located in profile.

3:2:3 Frame for fabric formwork, requires significant lateral support to prevent blowouts. MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • The fabric used is more flexible, creating forms which are able to flow around dowel obstructions creating the resulting forms. • A script is used to ensure that dowels are frequent enough but not too frequent, based on a black and white image. • Four different widths of hexagonal tiles limit the amount of customization while breaking patterns in the tile layout. 3:2:4 Fabric hung in formwork with dowels.

image the varying levels of gray are constituted as different wooden dowel locations within the formwork. The variable densities of black to white across the image are tested with a script to define the density of dowels on each tile, within a minimum and maximum range (3:2:2). Tight spacing would result in a sunken portion of the surface, retreating from light and therefore darker; reciprocally, zones where the dowels were spaced further apart resulted in larger more bulbous surfaces, catching more light and resulting in brighter reflections. The script places random pixel locations within a field and tests their performance based on the given criteria, establishing a certain density when the image is black and a lesser density when the image is white. The dowel pattern is then divided using the four different widths of hexagons. Each individuated tile is rendered as a frame, which holds the fabric with a particular orientation relative to the size of each tile edge. The dowel locations are defined by a CNC routed template in plywood (3:2:1), which locates each dowel with a hole, where it is attached. The dowel frame and fabric frame are clamped together before each pour (3:2:3). The resulting tiles are adaptations on a system, creating unique pixels within a very specific set of material constraints, both in plaster and fabric.

3:2:5 Poured plaster stretches fabric.

3:2:6 Final poured tile form is a variant of only the dowel locations for each pour.

Notes Kudless, Andrew. Bodies In Formation: The Material Evolution of Flexible Formworks. Proceedings of the 31st Annual Conference ACADIA. Stoughton, WI: The Printing House, 2011. p. 98. Kudless, Andrew. “Bodies In Formation: The Material Evolution of Flexible Formworks,” Gail Peter Borden and Michael Meredith (eds) Matter: Material Processes in Architectural Production, New York: Routledge, 2012. pp. 475–487.

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UNIKABETON ASBJØRN SØNDERGAARD, PER DOMBERNOWSKY AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AARHUS, DENMARK – 2010 The Unikabeton prototype is an installation constructed to test the optimization of doubly curved, non-uniform, reinforced concrete assemblies. The system was attempting to maximize structural expression and material efficiency through dynamic forms. The design evokes the structural logic of Frei Otto’s Tree Columns, which shift the size and number of their elements as they branch outwards from a central column. Parametric structural systems, or optimization, has only begun to influence the formal capacities of complex shapes in architectural output. Gehry Technologies’ Digital Project, in addition to Kangaroo and Karamba, plug-ins for Grasshopper, have begun to allow for this type of variable to influence form in complex systems. Arup has an internal piece of software called the Arup Optimizer,1 which uses iterative calculations to optimize each subsequent component in a system, resulting in decreasing sizes of members as the system spreads out from its main supports. This type of system stands in contradiction to convention, which assumes the worst-case scenario and uses a single calculation to size every member. Advances in the field of optimization have resulted in designs where component sizes vary across a structural system. This is often the case in steel and aluminum construction systems, deployed in automobile and airline manufacturing. The software used in the development of this project was Optistruct. The designers defined a set of rules in which the software operated to develop a form which was both optimized and formally expressive. This process surrenders a significant amount of architectural design to the computational process. The rules for the system resulted in an unorthodox building form which used its geometric complexity to define an integrated structural system. As inverted tension models served to define the logic for complex forms in concrete and masonry from the 1950s and 60s, here designers are defining a new logic, one optimized through software calculations, based on a set of predefined parameters, including form, loading, and reinforcement.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D • Finite Element Analysis- Optistruct

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The designers began with a curved slab condition cantilevered from three columns and defined by a structural condition of thickened ribs, which would not require reinforcement outside of the columns and the top of the slab (3:3:1). The constraints of this system consist of the three column locations and the height and shape of the slab condition. Additionally, the slab could not be perforated. The optimization strived to minimize the amount of concrete necessary to carry the dead and snow loads on the structure. Though a similar system could be designed which did not require CNC tooling, the optimization of structural systems allows for a designer to identify how much material is being “wasted” through more conventional methods of construction. Machining of complex formwork performed with CNC tooling is constrained by the type of machine used to produce the mold. In this instance the use of a machine capable of only three axes required that the formwork be milled from only the Z-direction. The formwork

3:3:1 Rough structural radius of columns.

3:3:2 Scalloped thickness of canopy.

3:3:3 Outlines of computationally optimized structural members.

Step 3

Step 3

3:3:4 Network of members.

was cut from polystyrene blocks, using a large routing bit, which resulted in an expression of the texture of the blocks in the surface of the final product (3:3:10). The polystyrene can be collected and recycled, providing an additional layer of material efficiency compared to conventional formwork. This system provided the means for on-site construction, but requires that the formwork be manufactured off site. The foam blocks are assembled on scaffolding on site and are coated with a releasing agent. It should be noted that this minimizes how much of the foam can be recycled. 3:3:6 Complete canopy profile.

This form was optimized for high-strength concrete with minimal reinforcement, and if reinforcement were included in the calculation for the thickened components of the webbing it would require further optimization.2 This could result in complex rebar locations and shapes, which would potentially create a less efficient construction process. Some of this complexity could be avoided through the use of flexible formwork made of glass fibers, or through the use of robotically bent steel reinforcement.3 3:3:7 Complete canopy profile, below.

Notes 1 Kolarevic, B. Architecture in the Computational Age: Design and Manufacturing. New York: Spon Press, 2003, p. 160. 2 See also pin bed and actuator controlled formwork 3 See also the large-scale 3D-printing from Enrico Dini, of D_Shape and the University of Southern California’s Center for Rapid Automated Fabrication Technologies (CRAFT). See also topology optimization procedures that include reinforcement in the calculations being developed by Oded Baholgmy Amir and Prof. Ole Sigmund at the Danish Technical University.

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Optimized structural members for complex loading surface. • Three column locations ensure that the system is loaded asymmetrically. • Formwork is milled from foam, and would have the grain of the machine tooling remaining in the surface. 3:3:5 Complete column with connections. 139

3:3:8 Surface to be CNC cut for formwork corner section.

3:3:9 CNC routing of foam.

3:3:10 CNC router detail; showing rough edge expression based upon the radius of the router bit and frequency of passes across the surface.

3:3:11 Complete routed formwork.

3:3:12 Reinforcement located in formwork.

3:3:13 Reinforcement was laid only across the surface of the canopy.

3:3:14 Cross section of poured concrete.

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290 MULBERRY STREET SHoP ARCHITECTS NEW YORK – 2006 290 Mulberry is a 13-story, 27,000 sq. ft (2500 sq. m) development located at the corner of Houston and Mulberry in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood. The novel component of the project is that SHoP worked to match the zoning regulations and a developer’s pro forma1 expectations, with an expressive façade design to create an inexpensive yet highly visible project. Per special zoning district definitions, the design was required to use masonry cladding. SHoP worked with a local precast brick panel manufacturer to develop an expressive system, which would effectively cost the same as a conventional one. As has been SHoP’s primary tactic for design, they used code and zoning criteria to help develop the architectural form. Early on, SHoP’s design for the Porter House, also in Manhattan, was a form developed through the constraints of the site and the developer's expectations. They purchased the air rights over a neighboring building to meld the required square footage of the developer with the constraints of the zoning setbacks. Prior to purchasing the air rights the project would not be able to accommodate the necessary number of units for the developer’s pro forma.2 Typical precast mason veneer systems are created by placing bricks into a formwork, which includes bump-outs to hold each brick in place and allowing the concrete to form into what appear to be mortar joints. On top of the layer of bricks is laid a system of rebar for reinforcement and concrete is poured to hold the system together. The rubber molds used to create precast brick systems are typically reused over and over at the manufacturer and are relatively expensive. The façade system required different methods for arrangement around windows, at corners, and at the parapet. They developed a method for using a single mold, which could be blocked out to create a series of different components for the façade. By blocking out various corners and shapes of the mold they were able to accommodate each of the different shaped panels from a single mold.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D

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3:4:1 Maximum perimeter of the panel.

SHoP worked with the manufacturer to find the most expressive method for using their system. This required that within the depth of each panel they create as much undulation as possible. They determined that each brick could cantilever a total of ³⁄ 32" off from its neighbors. Using this as a formal constraint they developed a panel design, which could maximize this option while allowing for each panel to match up at the edges with its neighbors. The mold creates approximately a 10' by 15' (3m by 4m) panel, which holds each individual brick perpendicular to the pour and defines a ³⁄8 " (10mm) wide curved mortar joint between each brick (3:4:1,2). The undulation of the pattern is organized along a 5' (1.5m) grid, two squares high by three squares wide (3:4:3). Each of the squares has a diagonal zigzag pattern, along which each ridgeline of the pattern is organized (3:4:4). The surface created along these twelve triangles is used to locate the height of each brick. The slope of each of these diagonal lines matches the appropriate cantilever for each brick (3:4:5). Across the entire surface the system slopes approximately 7" (15cm).

3:4:2 Conventional brick profile.

The bricks are organized on a Flemish bond, with alternating bricks which appear to be laid perpendicular to the face of the wall. Conventionally a brick wall is laid two bricks thick, which would accommodate the depth of this brick, but as this is a precast panel the perpendicular brick is in fact cut. The brick pattern is projected onto the surface so that each of the corners of the bricks are located perpendicular to the panel (3:4:7), not stretched across the undulating surface. 3:4:3 Grid for undulations.

3:4:4 Diagonals create ridges for undulations.

3:4:5 Shift in depth along ridges.

3:4:6 Surface for brick pattern; should not have slopes greater than maximum overlap of ³⁄ 32" per brick .

3:4:7 Project Flemish bond pattern onto surface.

3:4:8 Extract wireframe of brick projections.

3:4:9 Extrude the depth of each brick.

3:4:10 Layer brick locations into solid box, from which they can be subtracted to create the surface of the formwork.

3:4:11 Subtract brick forms from solid to create the surface of the formwork. 145

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Bricks in the precast system can cantilever up to ³⁄ 32" (2.3mm) off from one another. • Formwork for a precast system is relatively expensive. To maximize the use of a single form, blocks were used to create more options from a single form. • The precast system allowed the designers to use a zoning-enforced material in unconventional ways, while maintaining cost projections for the project.

3:4:12 CNC routing of formwork in positive, to be molded later.

3:4:13 Mortar joints inset into formwork.

3:4:14 Place individual bricks in formwork.

3:4:15 Pour concrete to secure panel.

3:4:16 Block out sections for windows/corner details.

To create the pattern for the system, the corner of each projected brick profile should be used to locate the solid shape of each brick, ensuring that each one is perpendicular to the panel (3:4:9). To create the surface for the mold these brick solids should be subtracted or booleaned from a solid box whose dimensions are offset ³⁄ 32" (2.3mm) from the edge of the outermost bricks (3:4:10). The remaining form represents the mold (3:4:11). To get the appropriate curve for each mortar joint detail, fillet the remaining slots between each brick with a ³⁄8 " (10mm) diameter (3:4:13). The reverse of this form can be CNC cut to create a mold for forming the rubber. However, the CNC tool would need to compensate for the thickness of the rubber mold. Each of the shapes to be blocked out of the form should be manufactured to match the form of the mold precisely. The molds are covered in a release agent, before the bricks, steel reinforcement, and concrete are poured into the mold to create each panel (3:4:14,15).3

Notes 1 A pro forma is a calculation sheet used for estimating the profitability of a future project. 2 SHoP also worked to develop a cladding system in zinc, for the Porter House, which would match the costs of more conventional systems, while creating an iconic expression for the project attached to a conventional brick building below. 3 Moe, Kiel. Integrated Design in Contemporary Architecture. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008, pp. 40–45.

3:4:17 Rendering of the whole panel; the system can be used to create many variations of this same wall. 147

STRUCTURAL OSCILLATIONS GRAMAZIO KOHLER RESEARCH ETH ZURICH  VENICE, ITALY – 2008 This installation is the culmination of a series of investigations in the assembly of patterned brick walls. It was constructed for the 11th Venice Biennale inside Bruno Giacometti’s Swiss Pavilion. The wall uses its setting to help frame the experience, as a Richard Serra piece might, looming over a gallery goer. The wall was assembled using a 6-axis KUKA KR150 L110 robotic arm, mounted in a modified shipping container (R-O-B), which facilitates transportation and protects the robot while on site. The robot is capable of highly complex assemblies of brick that would require the use of a template for a conventional mason. By focusing on additive processes Gramazio Kohler Research attempt to avoid many of the wasteful approaches to digital fabrication, which have been the norm not the exception for the past ten years. As with other installations highlighted in Chapter 1, Gramazio Kohler Research’s work is as much a product of the unit and its materiality as it is the limitations of the machines used to assemble each installation. By loading the KR150 L110 into a shipping container they have, however, freed the robot from its warehouse and are now able to be deployed on site anywhere in the world. To date the robot has traveled to a site in rural Switzerland, to New York City, and for this installation, to Venice. By taking digital fabrication equipment on site, Gramazio Kohler Research have expanded the realm of possibilities for how digital fabrication can redefine conventional construction processes. Gramazio Kohler Research have worked to develop other types of on-site robots, which include a KUKA robot attached to a pair of tank treads and flock or fleet of radio controlled quadcopters. An assembly of foam modules was completed in late 2011 at the FRAC Centre, Orleans France, in cooperation with Raffaello D’Andrea, by quadcopters or remote drones, controlled by a single scripted system (The Foreman), which coordinated their collective efforts. Flying assembly systems would free themselves from the constraints of the precision needed for on-site robotic construction.1

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D • KUKA PRC or equivalent

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12 ‘ (3.5m)

3:5:1 Profiles of lower/upper curves of example section of wall.

LOWER CURVE

3:5:2 Radius of R-O-B available reach.

UPPER CURVE

3:5:3 Lower/upper curve designation.

3:5:4 Lofted surface between two curve profiles.

3:5:5 Contouring of surface.

3:5:6 Divide odd contours by width of brick and spacing.

Though the primary logic of each wall component is defined by the ability to stand as an independent assembly, there was also a larger sinuous form, in which each piece was a part. This form flowed through each of the pavilion’s two sides, and turned back around on itself, broken only by five openings, and the entrance, to allow users to flow around the installation. In locations where the form is on a straight run the base of the wall undulated to create a stable form (3:5:1). In these conditions the top of the wall would flow in the opposite direction to create more architectural expression. Using R-O-B required that each 4m long segment (26 total) of wall be structurally independent. The 4m limit is defined by the length, which would fall into the radius of the arm (3:5:2) as it travels along a short gantry (the 6th-axis), built inside of the container. Each segment of wall was assembled outside the pavilion as an autonomous unit, which could be loaded into position individually and assembled together into longer wall assemblies. The script, which operates the robot, however, relies on the fact that each previous component remains in the relative location in which it was originally placed. This makes it necessary to ensure a relatively stable build area.

3:5:7 Delete every other division to create offset points.

The robot is capable of using a variety of different “hands” or end-effectors, attached to its wrist. In this condition the robot used a clamp system capable of picking up a brick from a conveyer system, flipping it over and sliding it under an automatic caulk gun. After the gun applied adhesive to the underside of each brick it was flipped back over and placed into position. The computational side of this installation was derived on the premise that the form be defined by the overall height and width of each brick. Not just any form can be constructed using this system, it must operate within the parameters of the robot and based on dimensions of the brick. Each segment of the wall can only change in increments of the brick unit, both in width and height, and can only be assembled within the elliptical range of the robotic arm and gantry. The brick widths and heights serve as inputs into the system, locating the curves, which define the form at the appropriate height. The system is defined in this instance by two curves (3:5:3), which describe the profile of the wall at the top and bottom respectively. The spacing between these two curves is determined by multiplying the number of layers of bricks by the height of each brick. It is important, as noted above, to recognize that the height is determined by the courses of bricks, not by random geometry. The surface (3:5:4), which results from lofting these two curves, is sliced into horizontal sections, which are determined by the brick height, evenly dividing the surface by the number of courses of bricks.

3:5:8 Final point configuration for both layers.

3:5:9 Curve normals define brick orientation. 151

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3:5:10 Rotation of each brick from curve normal.

3:5:11 Brick location with spacing to accommodate rotation.

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3:5:12 Brick sizes and spacing.

3:5:13 Constructed panel.

3:5:14 Rendering of complete installation.

Each of the curves which result from these contour cuts are divided by a distance equivalent to the width of each brick added to the size of the gap (3:5:12) between each brick. This gap allows the bricks to rotate off the axis of each curve and creates the texture of apertures in the system. To create the running bond pattern, where each subsequent layer is offset by half the length of each brick, the division of every odd layer of bricks should be divided not by the width of the bricks plus the gap, but by half of the width plus the gap. Every other division should then be deleted to create a pattern of points, offset from the contours directly above and below (the even contours). Gramazio Kohler Research rotated each brick off from its tangent vector to create the texture of the wall system. This is done by rotating each of the bricks on its z-axis away from the tangent, a uniform amount. This is most simply accomplished using the divide distance tool in Grasshopper, as the tool provides a tangent angle (3:5:9) for each of the divisions it creates. Each of the angles, though unique, were changed the same amount so that the system maintains a clear relationship to the curve of the wall (3:5:10). Each tangent line becomes the base location and orientation for the geometry of each brick. To model the bricks, extrude the line and offset each surface using the length, width, and height of the brick (3:5:12). The complexity of this system is most efficiently constructed using a robotic arm to place each of the bricks, though templates could also be manufactured.

Note

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Brick dimensions determine the offset between each of the curves used to define the surface. • The robot arm is able to reach approximately 12' (3.5m), defining the size of each separate panel. • A horizontal gap between bricks allows each brick to rotate based on its normal, and allows a texture of light to filter through the wall. • The bricks are glued together, allowing them to cantilever off from one another, but the overall stability of the wall is contingent upon the wall having a sinuous flowing form at its base. When the wall is straight, its base is allowed to wander in a sinuous shape, creating a more stable base.

1 Stratifications, outlined in Chapter 1, was an installation which capitalized on the possibilities associated with a robot's ability to scan and locate a variable height for the placement of the next block.

3:5:15 Plan rendering of the complete installation. 153

FREEFORM CATALAN THIN-TILE VAULTS BLOCK RESEARCH GROUP - PHILIPPE BLOCK, LARA DAVIS, MATTHIAS RIPPMANN, WITH TOM PAWLOFKSY ETH ZURICH ZURICH – 2010 This project uses a computational tool developed to expand upon the techniques of Heinz Isler amongst others. Isler’s experiments were developed through a series of gravity-formed tests, using fabric formwork to establish thin shell compression-only forms.1 The objective of this study was to test how these 50-year-old experiments can now be refined computationally, creating new shapes, which are still materially efficient.2 The designers of this system used a computational tool they developed called Thrust Network Analysis (TNA), which allowed for the optimization of complex three-dimensional equilibrium shells. This computational modeling allowed the designers to expand beyond the typical constraints of thin-tile arches. In particular, the combination of arches into double domes and the creation of free-edge arches (domes which are not completed). The system analyzes a given surface and provides for the necessary changes between the target surface and the calculated version based on the TNA estimations.3 Typical domes of thin-tile vaulting are composed of more layers at the base of the dome and fewer as the rows approach the cusp of the dome. In this project the analysis concluded that there would be between one and three layers of tiles necessary. The designers decided to assemble the system with two layers throughout and a third layer nested between the interior and exterior layers, when necessary. In particular, additional arches were layered cross-grain through the inner and outer layer to provide extra support, particularly in the valleys between domes. The constructed surface is revised using the TNA plug-in’s calculations to create a compression-only form (3:6:1). The location of each row of bricks computationally can be done by offsetting the edge curves of the surface using the width of each tile (3:6:4). Each of these subsequent offsets on the surface creates a topography across the surface. Each line is offset the width of a tile from the one before (it is important to

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Rhinovault

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• TNA software allows for calculated shifts in form to create compression-only shapes in thin tiles.

note that this is not a contoured set of lines, but offsets along a surface). In the two separate layers of tiles each of these offsets radiate from a pair of edge arches. Each of the two layers needs to run perpendicular to one another, with the reinforcing arches laid in valleys on top of the lower layer. As the lines, which radiate from each respective arch, intersect one another across the surface, they should be trimmed against one another along the ridge of each dome (3:6:5). This trimming process is best done using a guideline, which follows the ridge of the form.

• Cardboard formwork is a lightweight, recyclable, easily fabricated structure, which can be released from the form uniformly, using water-soluble glues.

Complex forms in thin tiles were typically eyeballed by a mason to create the appropriate arc for each structural form. This was accomplished with a wooden infrastructure or formwork. More complex combinations of vaults, required precise formwork to be

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Tile components define the perimeter of the surface.

3:6:1 Initial surface optimized with TNA.

3:6:2 Rendering of elevation.

3:6:5 Use ridge line to separate trim orientations.

3:6:3 Surface wireframe.

3:6:4 Surface wireframe.

3:6:6 Wireframe of offset curves of brick width.

installed prior to the assembly of the vault. For this installation, the designers used a cardboard formwork assembled above a filler of shipping pallets (minimizing the amount of wasted cardboard) (3:6:9–11), which could be recycled once construction was complete. The self-weight of the vaults is relatively low and therefore can be temporarily supported by a material as thin as cardboard. Structural analysis of conventional cardboard boxes was performed to conclude that it would be suitable for this system. The vaulting does require that the formwork be able to be removed as uniformly as possible so that the arches and domes can compress at once. To accomplish this the designers used a water-soluble glue, which could be irrigated, causing the cardboard to slowly release, with relative uniformity. This technique was essential to the success of the installation as a funicular system is designed to support only its self-weight and any distorted loading could have caused a failure.

3:6:9 First set of contours for cardboard formwork.

3:6:10 Perpendicular second set of contours for cardboard formwork.

3:6:11 Extruded contours for cardboard formwork .

3:6:7 Surface representing a row of thin-tile bricks.

3:6:8 Rebuild surface with (length)/(brick length) number of edges. 157

3:6:12 Pallets used for base of formwork.

The geometry of the bracing system was developed by placing the profiles of the shipping pallets into the model with the surface to be built (3:6:14). Between the boxes defined by the pallets and the original surface an eggcrate of contour cuts in two perpendicular directions can be created. Each of these cuts, on regular spacing, is intersected with slots, which allow for each of the profiles to intersect (3:6:13). The assembly of the system follows convention and uses the cardboard base to ensure accuracy. Using quick-drying plaster as mortar, the bricks are assembled from the ground up. Bricks must be trimmed to meet the clean curved edges of the surface defined by the cardboard (3:6:15). Once the first layer is complete, reinforcement arches can be laid along the valleys to facilitate the distribution of the loads to the ground. The final layer is then assembled using a similar method to the first, but following perpendicular grains. The final assembly held over three tons of load without failing and was ultimately disassembled with a sledgehammer.4

3:6:13 Complete tile pattern based on offset curves; some tiles are trimmed to match the edge of the profiles.

3:6:14 Rendering of complete formwork.

Notes 1 Isler, Heinz. New Shapes for Shells, Heinz Isler, Madrid: A.G. Mag, 1960. 2 Felix Candela also experimented with expressive forms in brick, but limited the forms to those capable of being generated with straight members, otherwise called hyperbolic-paraboloids. 3 BLOCK Research Group at ETH Zurich has developed a free Rhino plug-in, which allows for this same analysis, entitled RhinoVault. See also Peter Rich Architects, Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre.

3:6:15 Rendering of installation on formwork, water-soluble adhesives allowed for equal release of the formwork from the cured installation.

3:6:16 Rendered plan of installation on formwork.

3:6:17 Rendering of installation with formwork removed. 159

ARMADILLO VAULT BLOCK RESEARCH GROUP, ETH ZURICH AND OCHSENDORF DEJONG & BLOCK AND THE ESCOBEDO GROUP VENICE, ITALY – 2016 This project was derived as the culmination of more than 10 years of research into stone structures attempting to expand beyond the initial tests created in the Freeform Catalan Vault project by creating a freeform shell whose tile geometries are derived out of a desire to create a vault which is capable of spanning without steel reinforcement and without mortar. The form of the vault is again developed as a product of the Thrust Network Analysis tool Rhinovault, which the Block Research Group has developed. The form stands in pure compression. The vault is made of 399 individually cut limestone tiles, with a minimum thickness of 5cm. Each tile was milled on one surface and to avoid the necessary difficulties in cutting the opposing side was instead milled with a series of grooves into the rough surface. The remaining thin slabs were then hit away with a hammer leaving a rough but repetitive texture on the inside surface of the vault. The vault is braced with a series of steel ribs at the floor which resist the lateral loads created with the vault geometry. The geometry of the tiles derived using Voussoir tile shapes, referencing the gothic masonry term referring to the “turn” elements necessary in archways and vaults. The base stone boundary objects and cut files were generated through software scripts and used to minimize the amount of waste necessitated in the fabrication of the design. A steel and CNC wood scaffolding was used to support the vault during assembly and the steel members were slowly lowered to release the stone elements from its support once all the tiles were in place. The structure was originally assembled in Texas then taken apart, crated, and shipped to Venice for reassembly at the 2016 Venice Biennale (like a massive puzzle).

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Rhinovault

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PREVAULT DAVE PIGRAM, SUPERMANOEUVRE + UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY OLE EGHOLM JACKSON, AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE NIELS MARTIN LARSEN, AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE This project was developed similarly to that of the Block Research Group, attempting to explore funicular forms in masonry. The designers developed a tool similar to Rhinovault (Block Research Group), which operates as a plug-in allowing for two-dimensional mesh or network of curves which is then “pulled” into stable threedimensional geometries called ReVault1 plug-in. In this instance, however, the material is a series of mass-customized precast concrete components, which are formed together to create a hexagonal pattern across the vault. Each profile is a three-fingered tessellated geometry. The individual formwork for each component in the system is manufactured with PETG plastic sheets 1mm (.04") thick, and 100% recyclable. Each panel was laser cut and scored along folded edges, and then riveted together into the final form. The geometry for this system is developed by exploring twodimensional profiles and panel sections, in this instance a hexagonal panel, which as with triangulated geometries is capable of distributing loads in consistent ways across the diagonal members of each panel shape. Using a catenary plug-in2 to test stable vault geometries, a variety of different heights are combined with different two-dimensional geometries.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D • ReVault

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Once a stable and satisfactory design is found, the profiles of each component need to be developed. Because the components of this installation which need to be manufactured first are not the precast components but instead the formwork in PETG. The layout of each panel can be derived from the relative angles and lengths of each of the three components radiating from each node. Each line should be divided in half with each half of the line then associated with its relative endpoint. Each of these three lines or spokes radiating from the center are then used to derive the relative angles between each side of the formwork and the profile depth, which is in essence extruded along the profile. Where joints need to be made in the PETG an overlapping panel should be attached to one side in the drawing being generated.

3:7:1 Initial vault form developed with ReVault.

3:7:2 Rectangular paneling of vault.

3:7:3 Hexagonal paneling of vault.

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Compressive geometries can only work along a single curved volume. • Folded plastic panel formwork is capable of bending within certain constraints and can tear if creased too far. • Minimizing the impact of individually fabricated formwork components can be done by nesting their geometries together in a cut sheet. 3:7:4 Triangular extrusion along hexagonal panel members.

These panels can be generated as two-dimensional drawings which can then be manufactured using a laser-cutter, with each of the edges marked as a cut line and each of the folds defined as a dash or an engraving line which doesn’t cut entirely through the material. It is, however, possible to also generate this geometry in three dimensions, and then unroll the relative panels into a geometry. This method, however, often generates more work as it involves unnecessarily complex three-dimensional modeling, and often requires a significant amount of editing of the unrolled drawing necessary to cut, as the unroll tool cannot define where the overlapping edges should be, and/ or where components might overlap depending on where they are detached from one another. Each PETG panel is individually cut and labeled and assembled into its three-dimensional configuration using rivets to hold the overlapping sides together. PETG comes with a protective plastic sheet affixed to each side, this material can be used to protect the PETG during the pouring process allowing for easier cleanup and recyclability. Reinforcement can be added before each component is poured. Once dry the PETG can be removed and the resulting components are assembled over a laser-cut cardboard formwork, in a similar fashion to the Freeform Catalan Thin-Tile Vault. Each component is connected to its neighbor using zip-ties, as the intent of the installation is to be able to assemble and then disassemble and move to other locations. As with other vault projects lateral bracing to the floor is necessary to brace the lateral loading inherent in vault forms.

3:7:5 Laser cutting unrolled triangular extrusion.

3:7:6 Formwork from folded laser-cut PETG.

Notes 1  Other force testing tools for Rhino include Kangaroo Physics, by Daniel Piker, and the above-referenced Rhinovault from the Block Research Group at ETH Zurich. 2  ReVault uses Hooke’s law, which states that the applied force F equals a constant k multiplied by the displacement (change in length) x, therefore: F = kx. Using this formula the displacement of relative geometries can be tested in stable geometries.

3:7:7 Cast components held together using zip-ties.

3:7:8 Rendered plan view of final vault form. 165

CHAPTER 4: COMPOSITES/ PLASTICS Composites have seen a relatively short but dramatic growth in architectural uses over the last 20 years. Fiber-reinforced composites have been in use since the late 1940s, typically used in marine contexts for their durability, light weight and water resistance. Further developments were made in the 1950s as composites began to be used in the automotive industry.1 As other industries have continued to expand the uses of composite materials, their performance and durability have also grown. This was most obviously exemplified in the use of more than 50% composites in Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. The dramatic growth in wind turbine production around the world has also led to vast improvements and increased production of composite materials. These designs range in their use of fiber composites greatly, including fiber glass, carbon fiber, and many others. Each fiber is engineered for specific uses, often not specifically architectural. However, designers are working to develop uses which capitalize on each material’s characteristics to increase the performance (whether it be durability, weight, structural, or otherwise). Composites, as with most plastics, require a mold and therefore require the production of each object twice. These molds, however, can be used more than once and when used strategically can provide an incredible range of designs without requiring every panel to be created from an individual mold. Greg Lynn has championed the use of composites in the design and construction of architectural design for nearly 30 years. He has written2 : The geometry that defines a space or volume need not be the same geometry that defines its construction parts. In fact, in composite structures as well as the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) that often accompanies their design and engineering, the geometry of shape and the geometry of construction are completely different.

The former logic is of shape and the latter is of load paths. The dissassociation between the envelope’s geometry and its structure can apply to the location, arrangement, or geometry of interior room subdivisions, circulation, fenestration, and mechanical building systems. There is no geometric hierarchy.

The separation of material construction performance from architectural formal performance creates the need for a much broader and flexible set of performance criteria related to human movement and comfort. Composites provide a designer the flexibility to design and fabricate these forms with minimal increases in cost. Lynn goes on to discuss the topic: The contemporary racing sailboat is an example of a building scale object built with the plastic sensibility of multiple geometry. The global form of the deck and hull follows the geometry of hydrodynamic, deck functions and accommodation, whereas the structure and details follow a logic of load paths and reinforcement regions defined in layers and orientation of woven cloth and unidirectional fibers. Increasingly, functional aesthetic and structural components are integrated into fewer and fewer surfaces.

While these materials have long been used in domestic scale applications, for tubs, showers, and counter tops, as well as more recently door and window skins and lentels, they have not typically been used in larger-scale contexts until recently. The proliferation of complex shapes and forms in both interior and exterior designs have led some designers to dramatically increase the use of composites. Additionally, the broader access to and capabilities of CNC tooling and robotics have made the production of complex and precise molds much easier. The most widely published large scale use example of Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastics

(GFRP) is the façade rain screen design for SFMOMA by Snøhetta. This project has helped to propel the use of GFRP in architectural contexts, through its development and testing of fire proofing techniques (passing the NFPA 285 fire test) to allow them to install the panels above the 4th level of the building. This façade was fabricated by Kreysler and Associates, whose process involved the milling of approximately 700 unique panel molds. The milling and manufacturing of each of these individual panels creates a tremendous amount of waste both in the milling process and through the fact that the molds are not actually used on the façade. This chapter will seek to explore other uses of composites which are attempting to explore more

efficient uses of composites while not sacrificing their aesthetic performance. Many of the projects highlighted in this chapter are constrained primarily not by their material, but by the character of the material onto which they are molded.3 These include the VarVac Wall by Houminn Studios, which used tensioned wire to form plastic panels, creating an undulating wall system with only a single mold, and bitMAPS which used bubble packing foam, strategically popped to create a variety of panel forms with a recyclable material. However, some of the projects also highlight methods which are experimenting with methods for minimizing the amount of time and money spent on the creation of molds. E/YE Design’s composite cladding was striving to both create a aesthetic identity for a façade system,

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but also one which improves the performance of the building by creating turbulence close to the façade during windy conditions, reducing the amount of load on the façade and also reducing the differences in pressure between the interior and exterior of the building. Achim Menges’ at the V&A museum has worked with composites to create formwork which is able to be moved to the fiber, more precisely locating strands of fibers in ideal locations. He accomplished this by attaching the mold to a robotic arm and moving the form around a nozzle which pulls the fibrous tape around hardware on the mold. Other composite materials offer challenges and opportunities to define a form by the logic of a material’s unique shape or unique ability to connect discrete elements. As with masonry units, the logic of assembly is essential to constraining form. Each of the projects highlighted in this chapter have specific characteristics and qualities mapped by their material quality. Many of the projects evoke the character of the highly crafted pneumatic and cable-net structures of Frei Otto. Otto used a series of primary members to create a framework over which he stretched cable-net and tensile fabric systems. Using this method Otto created some of the most expressive forms of his era, using minimal variation in componentry and connection systems. Otto worked at his Berlin Institute for Development of Lightweight Construction to develop the test forms for the Munich Olympic Pavilions using photogrammetric analysis to test options for the proposed cable-net structures at scale. Up to 70 individuals worked to calculate the lengths of each individual cable in the system. The cable system was covered with acrylic Perspex panels, each individually cut with neoprene strips used to seal the gaps between panels.3 Otto’s structures were not only incredible expressions

of tensile form-making but were honed using sophisticated methods to translate between small-scale studies and the final design forms. These maquettes are still essential to the development of most materialbased investigations.4 Evoking the aesthetic of Otto’s structures, Feathered Edge by Ball Nogues is one of a series of installations made of twine, which by itself is seemingly too minimal to affect the environment. In fact it creates an intensely phenomenological experience comparable to projects involving much more consumption and constructed effort. The string is hung into the space creating catenary shapes, calculated in similar ways to compression-only forms in masonry and concrete. The installations are enhanced by the controlled coloration of each piece of twine, creating a second layer of form-making by sequencing layers of light and color. Kenneth Snelson, in the 1960s, explored the possibilities of creating floating rigid members hung in a web of tensile cables, called Tensegrities. His most vivid example is that of The Needle Tower, which is held together with a single stainless steel cable. The fact that the compression members do not touch one another allows the tower to appear to float. 5 These constructs, installed as sculptural pieces, evoked a complex balance of structure and material in their assembly and design.6 The Periscope Tower and Microtherme projects, were designed and constructed by Matter Design. The Periscope Tower uses a set of cables in tension, in this case to compress foam into a rigid tower. The form of the tower is an exploration into the use of a hot-wire cutter attached to a 6-axis robotic arm. The arm is able to make broad sweeping strokes across large sections of foam, resulting in a truly unique aesthetic. The Tower is both a measure of efficiency and formal logic, cut and constructed of 100% recyclable foam.

Notes

1 The 1953 Corvette was the first large-production vehicle to use fiberglass, not only to reduce weight but also to avoid the need for expensive dye-cutting tools for the relatively, low-production vehicle. 2 Bell, Michael, and Craig Buckley. Permanent Change: Plastics in Architecture and Engineering. New York: Princeton Architectural, 2014. p. 86–111. 3  See also SHoP Architect’s design for 290 Mulberry, also explored a method for using a single mold to create a variety panel shapes for the façade in a precast brick wall system. 3  Nerdinger, Winfried. Frei Otto- Complete Works - Lightweight Construction-Natural Design. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2005. pp. 260–269. 4  See also Otto’s designs for the German Pavilion at Expo ’67 in Montreal (cable-net structure) and Multihalle in Mannheim which used inverted tensile models to develop compression-only forms in wood “grid shells” (1975) 5  Sandaker, Bjorn. The Structural Basis of Architecture. 2nd edn. New York: Routledge, 2011. pp. 240–241. 6  See also the Tensegrity Bridge proposed by Wilkinson Eyre and Cecil Balmond for the National Building Museum, in Washington, D. C.

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COMPOSITE CLADDING JEFFERSON ELLINGER, E/YE DESIGN WINDSOR FIBERGLASS CHARLOTTE – 2015 Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) composites are quickly becoming an accepted material for both interior and exterior applications in design. This project exemplifies the opportunities that exist with a light weight system capable of being quickly customized and manufactured. The intent of this design was to create an expressive façade panel which helps to insulate the building through its geometry. As air flows across the façade it typically can strip the exposed materials of their heat, but under certain conditions this same airflow can actually create an insulated buffer between the building and the outside air. Turbulence created by the geometry on the façade creates a thickening layer of stagnant air immediately adjacent to the building façade. This turbulent layer can have two effects on the performance of the building façade; the stagnant air adjacent to the façade creates a insulative buffer against thermal transfer, and this same layer works to normalize the pressure differences between interior and exterior created by the air flowing across the façade. The effect of normalizing pressure is important as it helps to reduce air infiltration, a significant factor in energy loss in small-scale structures. The effect of the geometry of the panel creates this turbulence zone only at higher wind speeds when it is most necessary. This layer doesn’t form at lower velocities allowing the building to breath as is typical and necessary. Variations of the panel design were tested using Computational Fluid Dynamics software capable of simulating the performance of the panels at various wind velocities. The capabilities of this kind of specificity and control of form-based analysis has greatly increased over the last decade with the advent of higher processor speeds and software.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Simulation CFD

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4:1:1 Simulation CFD screenshots showing turbulence created by paneling design.

4:1:2 Contouring curves.

4:1:3 Surface created from contours.

4:1:4 Panel geometry with three degree draft angle on sloped sides and flanges.

The geometry for the mold is designed using a series of lofted surfaces generated from base curves. Each side of the model is generated using the edges of the forms face, and is offset to create the necessary draft angle, relative to the depth of the panel shape. This draft angle is typically three degrees or more. A 4" (100mm) panel depth would result in widening of the panel by approximately .25" or 6mm (this can be calculated using the Law of Sines). As the fiberglass is typically laid in sheets into the mold, a small fillet is used to soften the curve of the corners to accommodate the sheet material folds. Typically, the final panel is approximately 3/16" (4.4mm) thick and weighs between .75 and 1.0lbs. (.34–.45kg).

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • GFRP are very flexible, but must be laid up on a mold, minimizing their ability to accommodate geometry which can't be pulled off a mold in one direction. • Each mold should have a minimum three degree draft angle to allow the panel to removed from the mold. • The performance of the façade is increased by the creation of turbulence due to the undulating geometry of the façade panel. • The efficiency of the process is greatly increased by the use of fewer molds across a given

façade design.

3° DRAFT ANGLE

4:1:5 Section through panel showing screw access dimples and three degree draft angle.

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4:1:6 Corner detail of mold.

4:1:7 Corner panel shapes with 45 degree kerf cut.

The panels are manufactured using both decades-old techniques and cutting-edge robotics. Each unique panel requires a mold used to lay up the fiberglass. The precision and finish of the final panel is directly correlated to the precision and finish of the mold. Typically, high-density foam is used to manufacture the mold. This material is manufactured with different densities to accommodate different amounts of precision. The heavier the foam (the higher the material/ air ratio is) the more accurate the final foam mold can be. The foam is milled using a variety of tooling methods, typically CNC routers and/ or robotic arms equipped with a mill head. The mold must have a draft angle (typically greater than three degrees) to any vertical edges to ensure the hardened fiberglass can be pulled off the mold. For molds which will be used many times, a poured form will be created to be used to make multiple molds from the master, and the master stored away to be used to make more molds later. Before being laid up with fiberglass, the molds are coated with a durable spray on gel coat which provides durability through multiple castings.

4:1:8 Rendering of final panel.

Once the master mold is complete, the process of laying up each panel, begins by coating the mold with a release agent, and a gel coat (the material that will be visible once the panel is complete), then three layers of fiberglass are laid into the model in alternating directions. Lastly, a polyester resin is sprayed into the fiberglass, then the wet fiberglass is pressed into each model by hand using small rollers. The panels are allowed to cure for approximately three hours. Typically, panels have an aluminum set of fittings which are set into the resin before it cures. These fittings are used to attach the panels to a substrate which is fixed to the building structure over a vapor barrier.

4:1:9 Rendered perspective of façade assembly. 175

PERISCOPE: FOAM TOWER WES MCGEE AND BRANDON CLIFFORD, MATTER DESIGN ATLANTA, GA – 2010 Periscope Tower was the winning design proposal for “10Up,” an Atlanta, GA-based competition, which was defined in part by its very tight constraints. These included: the ability to be constructed by a two-person team, a $5000 budget, a ten foot square build area, one month to design, and an installation time of only 24 hours. Periscope is 50' tall and was mounted in only six hours. The internal form of the tower is separated from the billowing exterior form, it is defined instead by the two conical forms linking the sky and the viewer on the ground, as a freeform version of James Turrell’s1 installations. The tower was constructed using an inventive combination of robotic fabrication with a hot-wire cutter end-effector. The hot-wire cutter is exactly what it sounds like, a hot-wire which vaporizes polystyrene foam as it moves through a block of it. The technological advances are not necessarily through the combination of these two tools, but through the ability to simulate the location of the end-effector or “bow” as Matter describes it. As the bow moves through a foam block, the simulations ensure that it neither hits the foam or any of the jigs in place to brace the foam. The bow has an adjustable width so that it can be moved to avoid any collisions, which appear in the simulation. The hot-wire is actually .0126" (.25mm) thick nichrome heated to approximately 200˚C. As the wire moves through the material it vaporizes the foam in close proximity, leaving a kerf in the material that is roughly .08" (2mm) wide. As the wire moves through the material it requires very little force; however, it must maintain a relatively constant pace. If the pace is too slow, the wire will scorch the foam, or leave a larger kerf than desired, if it is moving too quickly the wire will come into contact with the foam and will distort, causing inaccuracies in the cut. Additionally, the cut cannot stop at any point without melting the foam. SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D • Super Matter Tools or equivalent

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10’ - 0” (3m)

10’ - 0” (3m)

The expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam which was used here is 98% air by volume and costs about $1 per cubic foot. The Federal Highway Administration2 has used EPS as fill material underneath highway construction, as it can in certain instances be literally cheaper than dirt, depending on the distance it was shipped. The foam can be produced with no CFCs and can also be manufactured to be nearly 100% recyclable. The waving geometry of the exterior of the tower surface and the conical interior shapes have a minimum 4" thickness between them. The complexity of the geometry was limited by shapes, which the hot-wire was capable of manufacturing. All resultant surfaces must be ruled (defined by a loft between an upper and lower curve), all points of which must fall on the wire at any given point. This can be visualized by imagining that you are limited to the shapes that you can make from a single sheet of paper by twisting and trimming along any edge (4:2:2).

4:2:1 Contour profiles for base exterior surface.

4:2:2 Base exterior surface.

The development of this geometry uses a series of sectional shapes organized parallel to the ground plane (4:2:1). The ballast area serves as the base section; a square and the openings to the interior at the base use a sectional curve, much larger so that the openings could eventually be trimmed away from the surface. The shapes used in this installation shifted from a series of concave curves at the top of the tower to convex bowing shapes at the base. Each of these curves along with a series of cross-section curves for the interior shapes were lofted together to create two surfaces, one defining the interior and one the exterior. Each of the ripples, whether convex or concave, were individually cut as the hot-wire would not be capable of moving into the valley of a piece, twisting its axis and then twisting back out the other side all while maintaining a constant speed. By separating each section into multiple blocks the designers had more flexibility to create the assemblage of each shape.

4:2:4 Rendering of the base exterior surface prior to trimming.

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Hot-wire cutter attached to a robotic arm must keep moving at a constant pace to ensure that it does not get bound against the foam, nor begin to burn. • Smaller blocks are assembled into 3' tall pieces held together with a plywood substrate. Three of these stacks can fit in the back of a trailer, as the piece was fabricated in Michigan and transported to Atlanta. • The design had to fit in a 10' square site, and was to be constructed in 24 hours by a two-person team, for 000. 4:2:3 Rendering of the complete tower. 179

4:2:5 Base showing turnbuckle connections for compression cables.

4:2:7 Base assembly unit with blocks offset for fabrication.

4:2:6 Base detail with assembly units.

4:2:8 Assembly of unit sections.

The geometry of the tower is constructed of approximately 500 hot-wire cut blocks. The blocks were assembled into 14 three-foot (1m) tall sections (4:2:6–10), which were reinforced with a plywood base. The plywood frame serves as a jig for assembling the blocks, and reinforces each section during transportation. Three sections stack neatly into the back of a semi trailer, for transport. The entire tower is braced by using tension cables strung from the top of the tower down to a ballast constructed at the base (4:2:5). The water-filled ballast weighs 16,500lbs. (7500Kg) and is designed to resist overturning forces, particularly wind. The organization of the blocks and the subtle variations in their cuts resulted in a unique expression of the construction process (4:2:9). These variations could be remedied by using rods to align each component, or by using other jigs to create alignment. However, the expression of each of the smaller units results in a more authentic expression of the materiality. As each section was assembled on top of a plywood base, it is necessary to trim each assemblage to create a clean surface on to which the next section could be attached. To further emphasize the leaning shape of the tower, and the capability of the robot to cut along any axis, each of the contours are rotated at a slightly increasing angle to the ground plane. The capstone piece was prefabricated with cables attached, which could be strung through turnbuckles attached to the ballast (4:2:10). Once tensioned the form is made into a rigid tower, which could only tip if the entire ballast was overturned.

Notes 1 See James Turrell's 1986 classroom site specific installation “Meeting” at PS1 in New York City. 2 Sheil, Bob, and Ruairi Glynn. Fabricate: Making Computational Architecture. Toronto: Riverside Architectural Press, 2011, p. 78.

 

4:2:9 Base assembly unit with plywood base and top.

4:2:10 Exploded assembly units. 181

IRIDESCENCE PRINT GRAMAZIO KOHLER RESEARCH ETH ZURICH  PARIS – 2014 This installation is an exploration into the development of three dimensional printing at an architectural scale using a 6-axis robotic arm, and custom end-effector capable of extruding plastic filament. The intent of this research project is not to simply 3D print a wall system but instead to print reinforcement for a concrete wall, which will also serve as the formwork for said wall. This process would remove the need for construction of costly complex formwork for curved walls. The print head builds upon relatively conventional methods of extruding filament called Fused Deposition modeling. The extrusion material is acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). The system used an extrusion print head, similar to that which would be found on a traditional 3D printer, such as a MakerBot. However, the print head was controlled using an Arduino Microcontroller linked to the robot’s Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), syncing up the movements of the arm with the extrusion. As heated material exits the extruder, a small nozzle blows room temperature air on the extrusion, causing it to cool and solidify as the arm continues to move. This process allows the extrusion to cantilever in space, which is quite different than traditional 3D printing which builds up layers of material under one another. The geometry of the print itself is generated by dividing the desired geometry into layers. Each layer is approximately 50mm (2") apart. Each of these layers are then divided into quadrants of roughly the same dimension. These corners of these quadrants define the locations which the arm will move to as it deposits the material.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D • KUKA PRC or equivalent

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4:3:1 Base geometry example.

4:3:2 Contour of base geometry.

Each quadrant of material is defined by a pyramidal shape which is constituted of two triangular shapes, the first triangle is “drawn” in space off the base and the second triangle then is drawn up and over the first. As the nozzle passes the apex of the first triangle it makes a small circle depositing material which will tie the two triangles together (4:3:5). Lastly a horizontal line is drawn between the apexes of each triangle to complete the layer. These horizontal layers serve as the base for the next layer of pyramidal shapes. The geometry of the system operates much like a space frame truss, resisting loads in each direction through triangulation (4:3:4). The system is limited only by the restriction of the reach of the robotic arm. If the arm were to be deployed on a rail, the size of an individual print could be quite large, though also time consuming.

4:3:3 Surfaces made from contours.

4:3:4 Triangulation geometry spaces along divided edges of contours at equal spacing.

4:3:5 Detail of extruder and triangulation.

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • The reach of the robot limits

the size of each print, though they can be added together to create larger designs as shown here. • Larger extrusions of ABS

would cool more slowly and may not be capable of becoming rigid quickly enough to accomplish larger prints. 4:3:6 Rendering of final installation with robotic armature.

Gramazio Kohler Research’s group is working to develop a steel version of this same design, which does not rely on extruded material but instead uses a robotic end-effector capable of bending a horizontal wire to a given position, sliding a vertical wire down to meet the horizontal at regular intervals and welding the two together. The vertical wire is trimmed and the system continues along layer by layer, creating a similar space-frame-like truss system, capable of functioning as both reinforcement and as a mold for thickened concrete which hangs in the mesh structure of the print.

• The delivery of the ABS

plastic in this design is relatively efficient and any waste can be recycled.

Notes The color of the filament changes subtlety as the extrusion continues. Small amounts of yellow and blue pigment were added to the ABS granulate as it melted, causing the effect of a gradient of color across the design. See Also Mesh Mould- Gramazio Kohler Research’s work exploring the use of a system similar to this which operates in steel as both reinforcement and mold for complex concrete walls.

4:3:7 Rendering of final installation with robotic armature. 185

MICROTHERME WES MCGEE AND BRANDON CLIFFORD, MATTER DESIGN BOSTON – 2015

Matter Design’s premise for this project was to create a sauna like form which combined two distinct material typologies: one glass-fiberreinforced concrete (GFRC) and Baltic birch plywood. The form is 7' long, 8' wide and 7' high (2.1m by 2.4m by 2.1m and is a cube shape with human-scaled volumes removed from the interior, intended to create intimate interaction between occupants and the object. The installation was suspended from the ceiling by a beam. Copper tubes inside the walls of the installation enable hot and cool water to circulate through the structure. The studio produced the voluptuous forms by using a machined mold made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam. The foam mold was then coated in a water-based surfacing compound and cast with glass-fiberreinforced concrete.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D • Super Matter Tools or equivalent

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The geometry of this project is driven primarily by a series of Boolean operations (solid geometries removed from or added to one another). In this instance a cube geometry was subtracted away from to reveal a series of human scale voids, allowing for the surfaces to intimately interact with those occupying the installation. Each of the subtracted geometries could be modeled using a series of curves to create a closed lofted surface. Typically, a Boolean solid needs to be modeled such that it is water tight, or completely enclosed.

4:4:1 Curves which define void shapes.

Using a Boolean subtract tool, the void geometries can be removed from the base cube (4:4:2). The remaining geometry can be divided into quadrants (4:4:3). In this instance the quadrant sizes were driven by the scale of the 5-axis CNC mill used to create the molds for the geometry. This geometry could also be (and was for this application) be created using a mesh relaxation tool built into Kangaroo, a plug-in for Grasshopper. This tool works by softening the corners of a solid geometry composed of quadrangular meshes. This technique would result in smoother profiles and adaptable controls over the amount of relaxation in the shapes.

4:4:2 Cube shape with voids removed.

4:4:3 Cube form divided into manageable mold sizes.

4:4:4 Robot with hot-wire end-effector.

The production of this installation was completed by first using a 7-axis robotic arm with a large hot-wire cutter attached to its wrist (4:4:4) to create approximations of the geometries in EPS (100% recyclable) foam. This is very similar to the process undertaken by Matter Design in the production of the Periscope: Foam Tower (p. 176). As the final geometries for this installation were not made of ruled surfaces (surfaces which can be created from a single sheet of paper) the final forms were milled using a 5-axis milling machine. The final mold forms were then coated in a water-based release agent, and sprayed with GFRC. GFRC was built up to a nominal thickness and allowed to dry before the molds were removed, leaving the smooth surface of the final piece. The GFRC panels were attached to an concealed rib system, which was then wrapped in a Baltic birch plywood skin. In one instance the birch plywood is also milled to create a bump in the exterior surface which flows into the geometry of the GFRC surfaces on the interior.

Note When modeling the human body, Architectural Graphic Standards provides some excellent dimensioned human body diagrams which can be used to create relative shapes to an average human shape. (Matter Design made reference to these drawings in their own).

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • The use of hot-wire cutting

provides the possibility to create ruled surfaces as any given line across the surface must be a straight line. • Using a 5-axis mill to refine

the forms, provides much more flexibility in formal possibilities but requires a lot more time. • Sprayed-on GFRC provides

a quick method for creating forms off a foam mold. Various applications of GFRC are more or less robust over time and in variable environmental conditions.

4:4:5 Rendering of final design wrapped in Baltic birch. 189

VARVAC WALL HOUMINN STUDIO MINNEAPOLIS, MN – 2014

As established in many of the other examples in this chapter, the production of formwork is both directly tied to the quality of the final product but also has a significant impact on the amount of waste produced in the manufacturing process of molded assemblies. Houminn Studio in this project explored methods for creating molded geometries without the expense of one-off manufactured molds. Instead they explored a method for forming plastic over tensioned wires, in an assembly which can be quickly modified to create a variety of different compositions. Much like Andrew Kudless’ P_Wall system (p. 132) which used vertically mounted rods to support a fabric formwork for plaster pours, this system uses a wood frame to support a series of tensioned wires, which can be quickly reconfigured to a variety of configurations. The geometry functions as many of the other examples have, using a funicular forming method. The geometry follows the catenary curve created as gravity pulls on the material. In other examples (C.A.S.T. Beams, p. 128 and Freeform Catalan Vaults, p. 154) the geometry is inverted to create a compression shape using a geometry found using tension. In this instance though, the surface created in slumping is the final geometry.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D • Kangaroo 3D

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4:5:1 Various catenary options.

4:5:2 Wires stretched across wood frame.

The geometry of a system such as this can be estimated computationally, by first gaining an understanding of the material limits of polystyrene plastic as it is heated and then slumped using gravity. Each thickness of polystyrene is going to act differently, reacting to heat differently, and slumping without tearing across its relative span between cables. Testing can be done discover the rough limitations of a system like this. A variety of tools exist for estimating the geometry that gravity will create across a surface or curve. The simplest of these is the catenary tool in the plug-in Grasshopper for Rhinoceros 3D. This tool simply uses a length of material and a direction for gravity. As the length of the line increases the curve adjusts to accommodate the length. For surface geometry, estimations could be made by lofting between these curve geometries and the straight edges of the wire locations. Other tools exist for estimating the way in which surface geometries can slump into funicular forms. One highlighted earlier in the text is Rhinovault (p. 154), a plug-in for Rhino. Additionally, Kangaroo, another plug-in for Grasshopper can perform rough estimations of physics simulations, which can include applying gravity to a surface geometry.

4:5:3 Plastic deformed through gravity over wires.

4:5:4 Exploded view of system with wires panel and heating element.

The simplest way, however, to visualize the system used in this instance is using the catenary tool in Grasshopper. In this case the locations of each cell located between wires, can be approximated by creating a catenary curve which moves between the two midpoints of two sides of the given cell. Lofting between these edges and the catenary will create an approximation of the surface between each cell. The longer the catenary curve is, the deeper the vault shape. The relative proportion

4:5:5 Example panel before trimming.

between the distance the catenary is spanning and its length can be used as an estimation of when the plastic may fail. If the distance between the two midpoints on a straight line is 4" (100mm) and the catenary used is 5" (125mm), the ratio is 5/4 or 120%. Other studies can test whether a ratio like this can be accomplished in the typically 1–2mm thick polystyrene sheets (4:5:1).

• The wires in this system are

The surfaces were heated and molded using the heating element from a vacuum former (4:5:4). Additional heat can be applied in local conditions to further slump certain areas using a heat gun. Once molded the panels can be trimmed using a scroll saw attached to a CNC router or using a hot-wire cutter. The panels were mounted into a wood frame and backed with a colored panel, so that the holes allow the color to come through (4:5:6).

• The distance between

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS:

constrained to a single plane. Using a heat gun, variable depths can be created by adding more heat to specific locations.

wires directly correlates to the depth of the plastic, depending on the thickness of the plastic. • The size of the sheet can

be constrained by both the extrusion of the plastic sheet and the size of the heating element used to melt the sheet.

4:5:6 Rendering of final installation design.

4:5:7 Elevation of final design. 193

BITMAPS PROJECTIONE MUNCIE, IN – 2009 Furthering the possibilities for creating unique yet inexpensive molds for forming plastics, PROJECTiONE developed a process which uses bubble wrap, inflated pillows between two thin layers of plastic. Each individual bubble can be deflated flat to create a hexagonal pattern across the sheet. The scale of the installation scale tiles matches that of the bubble wrap mold. By using pixelated imagery the designers were able to create a playful pattern of deflated bubbles which read as a larger image across the sheet. Each mold is then vacuum formed with polystyrene plastic to create the final panels. The designers further developed the system by creating a wood tile system which emulated the effect but created a more durable mold. HDPE molds were used to create tiles which could follow the hexagonal circular patterns. Holes cut into each of them could be swapped out with positive, negative, and flat plugs, giving the system an added layer of flexibility. Additionally, after forming the tiles were set into a jig on a 3-axis CNC router, with a saw bit. The bit was then used to trim some of the bubbles to create holes to which defined the three alternative options.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D

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MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Bubble wrap can’t take

recurring heating necessary with vacuum forming, so a lot of bubble wrap could be used to make each design. • By using a more robust design

in wood and HDPE, swapping out each of the tiles could create a lot of analog work for the production of each design.

4:6:2 Bitmap pattern in bubble wrap.

4:6:1 Base of bubble wrap.

4:6:3 Vacuum formed pattern on bubble wrap.

The geometry for this system can be accomplished through a variety of methods and controls, depending on the level of complexity desired. Traditionally a bit map is created using two colors of pixilation. However, other variations can be used, to limit the bit map to three or four colors, depending on the variety of different pixels desired (flat, positive, negative, or hole). Adobe Photoshop and many other photo editing tools can be used to create bitmaps with a limited number of colors from any base image. Once the image has been defined, it can be turned into a template to be used to make the molds. By simply scaling the image to match the size of the bumps in the mold, the image can be used as a printout or projection. A Grasshopper script could be used to translate the image into a pattern to help visualize the outcome of the design before making the molds, though this wouldn’t be necessary in order to produce the tiles to match any design.

4:6:4 Detail of wood-milled variation of bubble wrap showing panel edges.

4:6:5 Rendering of final panel system.

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FEATHERED EDGE BALL NOGUES STUDIO LOS ANGELES – 2009 Los Angeles-based, Ball Nogues Studio was commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art in L.A. to install Feathered Edge as an integration of computationally manufactured and hand-crafted components. The intent of the installation was to create a threedimensionally expressive spatial installation while minimizing material use. This is the third in a series of installations constructed of twine, entitled Suspensions. The installation is composed of 3604 lengths of twine, totaling more than 21 miles in length. Each string was precisely stained with solvent-based inks using computationally controlled airbrushes. A script developed with a programmer projected a map of each string’s location onto a mesh scrim to help define the location of each knot attachment to the ceiling or wall of the room. Ball Nogues describe their intentions as looking to the computer to “push the limits of the hand.” In this instance the forms defined by the twine are inverted catenary arches. The forms play along one another to create an array of bulbous shapes, which appear to shapeshift as individuals move around and under the piece. Segments of each string were stained with cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks using a computationally controlled set of airbrushes. The location of each color is the result of a projection of color onto the form. This creates other patterns of color within the installation. These color patterns come in and out of focus as one moves around the room. The construction of a model of this system is defined by a series of edge-lines (4:7:2). These lines are marked onto a printed layer, which is to be hung on the ceiling and walls of the installation space. These printed plastic grids allow for the demarking of the location of individual strings, but also provide structural support for the piece. The grid creates a subtle attachment for each string to the otherwise smooth surface of the ceiling (4:7:3).

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D • String printing programming or script

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MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Twine hung with only two connections and no weights will hang in a catenary form, purely in tension. • The grid of the “formwork” helps define the spacing of the twine, and to located individual pieces in their appropriate position. • A custom inkjet printer was used to color the twine, creating individual identities for each piece, which define bands of color in the installation as one moves through the gallery.

The form could be described as an onion, with a series of radiating layers. In this instance the layers are composed by variations of the initial two curves on each surface (4:7:4). The first two lines, which determine the outermost layers of string, can be used to define the intermediary lines, which shift between them. A conventional lofted surface can define an infinite set of isocurves between the two edges. The grain of the lofted surface creates versions of each of the curves transitioning between one another. By rebuilding the number of isocurves along the surface, one can define as many or as few iterations of the “in-between” curves as necessary (4:7:5). The positioning of each string could be determined using a model of catenary forms, hung from each of these string positions. To estimate the forms from wall to ceiling, or ceiling to ceiling, surfaces can be created (4:7:6). Structural plug-ins for modeling software can be used to create tension-only forms, which can be used to mimic the way string would hang in the space. These forms should be contoured using the space between each piece of twine (4:7:7). Each string would hang parallel to its neighbors and therefore can be defined by parallel section cuts. A plotted construction grid is hung in space and each respective piece of twine is tied at its appropriate location on the grid (4:7:11,12).

4:7:1 Unrolled ceiling and walls are used to connect each string end.

4:7:2 Profile curves of outer edge of form.

4:7:3 Wrapped profiles remapped to wall and ceiling profiles. Twine was hung from a connection point on the ceiling to a connection point on the wall.

4:7:4 Loft and rebuild curves to generate “in-between” profiles.

4:7:5 Final outlines of curves to follow with string ends. 201

4:7:6 Surfaces created between curves to right side.

4:7:8 Individual string markers.

4:7:7 Surfaces created between curves to left side.

4:7:9 Strings hung from patterns.

4:7:11 Knot tied at each marked perforation.

4:7:10 Strings hung from patterns.

4:7:12 Knot tied at each marked perforation.

4:7:13 Rendering of final installation. 203

ELYTRA FILAMENT PAVILION ACHIM MENGES WITH MORITZ DÖRSTELMANN (ICD),  INSTITUTE FOR COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN JAN KNIPPERS (ITKE), INSTITUTE OF BUILDING STRUCTURES AND STRUCTURAL DESIGN UNIVERSITY OF STUTTGART THOMAS AUER, TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, MUNICH LONDON – 2016 Based upon earlier investigations including the 2013–2014 ICD/ITKE Research pavilion this project seeks to expand upon the use of glass and carbon fiber construction by using a 7-axis robotic arm to create a system of hexagonal panels. Each panel has a unique configuration of pre-impregnatned (immersed in resin prior to placement) glass and carbon fibers to accommodate its respective position in the structural logic of the assembly. Each panel is created by rotating a hexagonal tool (attached to a seperate seventh axis) while winding an extruder of fibers around nodes attached on regular intervals along the edges of the tool. This optimizes the process to be completed with a single robotic arm rather than a two-robot system used in some of the previous reserach. This type of robotic winding process does not require a mold, halving the amount of work necessary to produce the components, as with many other projects in this chapter. The team worked to emulate the Elytron, a shell on potato beetles’ wings and abdomen, which use a double layer of fibers to create a strong composite. Most structural systems in nature are fibrous and the team strived to develop a biomimetic system capable of performing as well as those in nature.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D • KUKA PRC or equivalent • Finite Element Analysis • Other scripting

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Each panel is initiated with a layer of fibers that defines the geometry of the shape, and serves as a formwork onto which the subsequent layers can be attached. A nozzle saturates the fibers in resin just before they are pulled onto the winding tool. The resin hardens over time, leaving a rigid assembly. The winding sequence is crucial to creating the interaction between the two different fiber types.

4:8:1 Base hexagonal shape.

The white or translucent fibers are glass, similar to that used in many other applications, including the Composite Cladding (p. 170). The black fibers are carbon fibers which become incredibly stiff when hardened. The interaction of both fibers works to minimize cost (carbon fiber is relatively expensive) and strength. The final structure weighs only 9kg/ m² (215lbs/ft²).

4:8:2 Edges divided equally to define nodes.

4:8:3 Cycloid pattern of connections between two sides.

4:8:4 Cycloid pattern across all sides of hexagon

4:8:5 Example pattern across individual panel

Though at first glance the geometry for this system seems quite complex, each point location on the tool is the basis for the weaving process. The locations can be defined by dividing the curve which constitutes the centerline of the tool edge to create equally spaced points. The sequence of the weave is further complicated by the need for two layers of points to give the panel thickness. As the seventh rotational axis is not attached to the arm, it is used to rotate the tool to the appropriate location for the robotic arm to wind the fiber around the appropriate node. With each node location defined, the next task is to “weave” the list of points located on each tool level. For the sake of this description the node sequence follows a cycloid-like geometry, where the first node on one edge is attached to the first node on the next edge. This is repeated around the hexagon, until it returns to the first edge, whereby the second node is subsequently attached to the second on the next edge (4:8:1–4).

4:8:6 Exploded panel and column example.

4:8:7 Plan of tyical hexagonal elements showing distance from column panels.

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The weaving of node locations is done through a program. This can be accomplished using a Python Script or by using various components in Grasshopper for Rhino. Each list of points needs to be organized initially by edge, so that the weave can be accomplished by weaving those point locations into the correct order. The robot then should be programmed to perform the same move at each location, a winding curve (defined by a set of planes), which wraps the fiber around the node (4:8:5). Panels constructed over the column locations have a larger oculus created by shifting the lists to create a steeper relative angle between each side’s relative node locations (4:8:6). The composition of the overall pavilion was intended to be adaptable and to continue to grow as the robot continued to work on site. No panel is ever more than one panel away from a column component.

4:8:8 Plan rendering of complete installation.

4:8:9 Perspective rendering of complete set of panels.

Notes: Robots are typically programmed using a set of planes, not points. A point does not have an orientation, but a plane at a given point has an orientation, affording the robot the ability to approach the point on a particular angle to accommodate the desired move. See also the 2013–14 ICD/ ITKE Pavilion constructed in glass and carbon fiber, and using a similar tool, but in this case the tools were attached to two separate robotic arms which were working on the same program and bringing the tool, down to a fixed fiber dispenser (typically a robot controller is capable of controlling two robots at once). See also the 2014–15 ICD/ ITKE Pavilion constructed in glass and carbon fiber, on the inside of an inflated shell.

4:8:10 Exploded perspective rendering of complete installation.

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CHAPTER 5: RECYCLED/PRE-CYCLED This chapter is focused around projects which, in part or in whole, are constructed of components designed to have a second use through digital fabrication tools. As a response to post-great recession expectations and as the natural arc of the evolution of design process, designers are in the midst of a struggle for clearer control over the parametric relationships which govern our design process. This chapter attempts to celebrate projects which employ salvaged components, or use components, which have a planned second life, once disassembled (pre-cycling).1 The EPA reports2 331 million tons of construction and demolition waste and debris was generated in 2008. 60% of all landfill waste is a result of the building industry (not including waste from civil projects such as bridges, roads, subways, or rail systems). Typically, the character of these projects is such that they can be disassembled rather than demolished. The process of designing for disassembly is crucial to performancebased architecture as defined by more than the simple building product. It is composed of a complex set of systems, both technological and cultural, made of physical commodities and human effort. Ultimately, the designer is responsible for coordinating this discourse; responsible from the point of conception to the destruction of the building. This responsibility includes not only how the building performs throughout its lifecycle, but equally how it performs during construction, through adaptive reuse, and in its eventual demolition. We must consider every commodity consumed in the production of building products as a part of its design. We need buildings which fulfill their task today and will do so tomorrow, which in other words, do not age in adhering to

their forms and thus become a drag upon the economy as well as the visual environment. But in order to build adaptably we must try to build as lightly, as movably, as possible and with the greatest perfection technically available.3 These projects represent meaningful responses to a process originally fostered by the excess and flippant use of computational manufacturing equipment and the incredible flexibility of design software. Each of the materials used here afford the designer the ability to argue that there is very little actual new consumption occurring on behalf of their design proposal. In some instances, the designers are using off-the-shelf units, often devoid of architectural typology or precedent, requiring that they develop a truly novel method constrained by a material parameter. Typically, these systems are developed through a series of tests, at first simply by disassembling the unit, then exploring how it can be reassembled into other more spatial mechanisms. Then through a series of both physical and computational models, using the constraints of the system to determine how a form could be applied at the scale of the human body. The work of Ronald Resch, at the University of Utah in the 1970s, exemplifies the type of projects which are attempting to be 100% recyclable. Resch studied how adaptations to topological paper forms could be created using a computational interface. These variations operated within very tight parameters; “only folding of the flat sheet was allowed, no cutting or gluing, and the folded edges were forced to be straight line segments; no curves.” 4 The products were highly constrained, they resulted in patterns which were

elegant and they had an embedded structural logic. The 100% efficiency garnered through Resch’s rules results in an excellent precedent for other uses of origami and sheet folding techniques. This is exemplified in Rory Hyde’s Bin Dome design, which is both efficiently and socially ethical. Public Farm 1, another winner of the Young Architects Program, by Work Architecture Company (Work.AC) takes sustainable approaches to the design through multiple efforts. In particular they developed a system using sono-tube concrete formwork tubes as their primary vehicle for holding various programmatic components up in the air, including planters (hence the name). The Pallet Canopy was constructed by the Digital Arts Center at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, testing a method for mapping fixedsized objects onto flexible surfaces using parametric software. This project uses sphere-mapping to connect a system of salvaged pallets, and steel extrusions onto an undefined surface. This surface can be changed computationally to find the most expressive pairing of the form and the material system. Rethinking the conventional process of aggregating components onto a specific surface, this system allows multiple versions of a design to be evaluated against one another, while only requiring the building of a single geometric model.

designers be more aware of the consumption required for the construction of their proposals. Whether the materials are salvaged en route to a landfill or they are a part of a lifecycle, which will bring them a second life after they are disassembled, the idea that projects have a planned future is crucial to quality 21st century design processes.

Notes 1 Pre-cycled projects are those which strive to use an off-the-shelf product that can be reused after its use as an architectural installation. 2 EPA. 2008 Sector Performance Report. Rep. 2009. p. 41. Electronic. http://www.epa.gov/ispd/performance.html. 3 Larsen, Olga Popovic and Andy Tyas. Conceptual Structural Design: Bridging the Gap Between Architects and Engineers. Nashville: Thomas Telford, 2003. 4 Resch, Ronald. “The topological design of sculptural and architectural systems.” AFIPS ’73 Proceedings of the June 4–8, 1973, National Computer Conference and Exposition. New York: ACM, 1973, p. 643.

Table Cloth, designed by Ball Nogues, is an installation which also maps fixed-sized objects, in this case a series of differently shaped tables into a quilted installation, some are inhabitable and some begin to climb the adjoining wall of the courtyard. After its installation this piece was disassembled and given away. In each instance, the awareness of the temporality of architecture and, in particular, computationally fabricated installations, define the necessity that 211

PUBLIC FARM 1 P.F.1 WORK ARCHITECTURE COMPANY (WORK.AC) NEW YORK – 2008 Public Farm 1 is another in the P.S. 1 Young Architects Program of courtyard installations, serving as the venue for their summer “Warm Up” beach parties. This installation inventively uses cardboard concrete formwork tubes (more conventionally called sono-tubes). Typically these tubes are used as formwork for underground concrete piers, to protect the edge of any concrete pour. Cardboard tubes are relatively inexpensive, recyclable, and biodegradable. The installation was designed primarily as an airborne farm, to create community engagement in the planting of a unique garden. Twenty-four varieties of different edible vegetables and herbs were grown across the upper surface of the installation. The load of the installation rests on tubes, which bear on the ground plane. Each structural column was designated by a program for the area. These varied from a solar-powered juicer for veggie cocktails, to a periscope, to a water spouting column, a towel column, and a solar phone charging station. The installation included 18 photovoltaic solar cells for generating power. The tubes are arranged in a daisy-shaped pattern of six tubes (5:1:3). Each “daisy” was dedicated to a single species of plant. Each of these units was arranged as a pre-assembled unit. The center of each daisy was either one of the aforementioned structural columns, or was designed as a picking station, allowing users to break through the surface for harvesting the garden. Each of these picking holes was outfitted with a picking skirt, fit between the user and the edge of the cardboard tube. The skirt allowed the user to easily collect their harvest before descending back down. An irrigation system was strung through the surface to distribute water collected on site using a large cistern. The system collected 6000 gallons of water over the course of the summer.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D

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MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Concrete formwork tubes are relatively inexpensive, water resistant, and biodegradable. • Consistent surface allows for efficiency in cuts and assembly. • Consistent joinery allows for efficient assembly. • Installation of the garden creates other layers of interaction and benefit from organizational logic.

The form of this installation uses a relatively simple surface, but has a well-developed set of customized componentry to enable the use of a simple building block for an expansive set of uses. The designers used keyed blocking supports bolted to each cardboard cylinder to hold custom CNC-cut discs (5:1:1). These discs provide both structural rigidity for each cylinder, but also a base for the installation of the garden components. A fabric gardening cloth was inserted into each cylinder, filled with 9–11" (25 cm) of soil, and topped with 2" (50mm) of compost. The fabric allowed for moisture to flow through while minimizing the amount of erosion. Individual cylinders were trimmed using a plywood box which held the tube steady, but also framed the diagonal edge of each cut (5:1:2). Each cylinder was attached, using the same key blocks, to its neighbors to create sets of six “daisy” blocks. Each daisy was pre-assembled on a sloped form (5:1:3), allowing for simpler positioning, and hoisted into place on the surface, with a crane.

5:1:1 Cut sheet for plywood inserts, with cut-outs for structural blocking.

5:1:2 Trimming device to create diagonal slices in cardboard tubes.

5:1:3 “Daisy” unit using key blocks and plywood discs to secure units: a diagonal panel was created to facilitate assembly.

5:1:4 Rendering of final installation on slope, showing single “daisy” unit.

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PACKED MICHELE LEIDI, MIN-CHIEH CHEN, AND DOMINIK ZAUSINGER WITH THE HELP OF JEANNETTE KUO SUPERVISOR: TOM PAWLOFKSY ETH ZURICH ZURICH – 2010 Packed is a design/build project defined by parameters of efficiency. These parameters are necessitated by the project needing to be fabricated in Switzerland and constructed in Shanghai. The installation was assembled for the Shanghai Museum of Arts and Crafts as part of the exhibition 3D Paper Art. Constructed of 409 individual truncated cones, each made of 28 layers of corrugated cardboard, this construction method could be adapted to a variety of unique shapes. The radius of each cone is defined by its ability to nest inside of another. This process saves material minimizes the production process, and shipping volume. Each cone was CNC cut from one of 1900 72" by 48" (1800mm by 1250mm) sheets of cardboard. The cones not only nest into each other but the circles from which they are assembled were also nested inside one another. The form of the installation is inconsequential to some of the material parameters and highly consequential to others. The cones are organized to construct a perfect spherical dome; as such, each of the cones taper uniformly toward a point at the center of the dome's base. This system, however, could also be adapted to other shapes, with tapers in (and out) to accommodate undulations in a surface. In this instance, the dome of the sphere also provides a structurally stable system. The patterning of each of the cones on the sphere can be derived as a sort of circle-packing.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D for circle packing

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MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • The use of circular building blocks saves material minimizes the production process and shipping volume for a project which is being manufactured thousands of miles from its final home. • The dome shape of the system ensures an equal transfer of loads and allows each cone to have the same center point.

Circle-packing is the basis for a myriad of tessellation types, attempting to maximize the density of circles in a given area. No overlapping can occur and the circles should all touch each of their neighbors at a single tangent point. Packing density is defined by the proportion of the surface covered by circles and not the space between each circle. For this installation smaller circles were oriented toward the base and larger ones toward the top of the dome. The donut thickness of each circle at the base is thicker than those at the top of the sphere. The combination of thicker circles and higher densities creates a structural buttress for the dome. The circles at the top have a relatively thin donut profile and larger radii, allowing more light to enter and placing less weight at the top of the dome.

5:2:1 Base dome shape with entry removed.

5:2:2 Initial set of spheres mapped to the dome.

5:2:3 Intersection of spheres and the dome.

5:2:4 Entire set of spheres and offsets intersected with the dome.

The example here for locating each of the spheres whose tangents touch one another operates as a kind of sphere-packing as opposed to circle-packing. A given set of circle radii should be determined which allows for efficiently cut sheets and for efficient shipping of constructed cones. For instance, 2" wide circles of diameter 4", 6", 8", 10" (100–250mm) can all be cut from inside of another, and could therefore all be packed as cones inside one another, assuming that the cones all taper to the same angle, as they do with a sphere. The first layer of the system begins by locating a ring of spheres whose tangents touch one another and touch the edge of the dome (5:2:2). Subsequent spheres should be mapped onto the surface by triangulating the relationship between two or three adjoining circles. As long as the center of each sphere is on the surface, and it meets its neighboring spheres at tangent points, the loads of the system should be able to transfer efficiently through the dome. The intersection of the dome and each sphere creates the initial circles, which are now “packed” onto the surface. Each circle should be offset or scaled from its center point to the thickness of each donut (5:2:4). For instance, if the outer circle is 8" and the donut is 2" then a copy of the circle ought to be 6" (150mm) in diameter, creating both edges of the donut. Each donut should be extruded with a taper toward the center of the dome (5:2:5). The depth of this extrusion is dependent upon the layers of cardboard to be used and the thickness of the cardboard.

5:2:5 Extrusion of donut shapes toward the center of the dome. 219

Each unit can be marked to indicate where it is located in the final assembly. Additionally, marks at the tangent intersections of each cone can be used to ensure that each connection is created at the appropriate location. Though each cone could be rotated to any position along its edge, locating the distances around the cone between each mark could ensure that each of the cones is connected at the appropriate location in the assembly. 5:2:6 Nested rings to be cut.

Each cone was glued together from its 28 layers and was waterproofed (5:2:8). The cones were nested into one another and palletized, for shipment to Shanghai (5:2:9). Once on site, they were assembled in sets of units using a zip-tie connection. Zip-ties create a flexible, easily changed, yet structural method for connecting each component. The zip-ties were located by cuts, which the designers produced at each tangent intersection mark to facilitate a rigid cone-to-cone connection. Additionally, component marks were etched onto each top layer to ensure the correct position and location in the installation. Groups of cones were attached to one another on the ground (5:2:10) and lifted into place on the dome, and attached to others already in place.

5:2:7 Packing of cut sheets.

5:2:8 Assembled cones of stacked cardboard profiles.

5:2:9 Nesting of cones for shipment.

5:2:10 Pre-assembled unit of cones tied together with zip-ties.

5:2:11 Entire dome assembly showing sub-assembly component sizes. 221

BIN DOME RORY HYDE MELBOURNE – 2014 This project was developed as prototype test of the use of relatively affordable and ubiquitously recognizable IKEA rubbish bins (IKEA Fniss) as a primary building component. The design used 945 of the roughly three dollar bins locked into triangular components of a spherical half dome. This design doesn’t compromise the use of the bin, as only some small holes are created in the sides of each bin. This provides the opportunity to recycle, or “pre-cycle” the bins by putting them into use for their intended use (as rubbish bins). The structure of the design follows a geodesic logic, and each member is the same. The components of the structure of the dome was created by forming plywood strips into the appropriate radius, and laminating them while clamping them into the appropriate position. Once cured into the fixed radius, the timbers were cut into thin strips, each of which matched the uniform radius of the dome. The timbers matched the edge length of six of the bins per side. Each bin is attached in six locations following a hexagonal pattern across the surface of the dome. The bins were riveted to each other and to the framing members. Each triangular section was assembled and then each of the triangular sections were bolted together into the final geometry. Each of the joints which combines five of the triangular

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D

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shapes is held together with a custom-made star-shaped joint. The effect of the bins, materiality creates a transparent glow which shifts as light hits the sides vs. the bottom of the bins.

5:3:1 Base vault geometry.

5:3:2 Base triangulations in vault.

The geometry of this system is relatively simple as it follows a typical geodesic pattern. The radius of the dome is driven by the size of the bin (280mm (11.125" wide (top), 300mm (11.75") high, 190mm (7.375") wide (bottom)). Each side of the structural members is six times the width of the bin creating a triangular section with 21 bins. A geodesic curve follows the shortest distance along a surface between two points, for a sphere this results in curves with consistent radii. Dividing the sphere into triangular geometries can be done in a scalar fashion, as each triangle can be divided subsequently into three more triangles. Alternatively, the dome could be scaled based on the off-the-shelf bin. The depth of the structural members should be based on the spanning distance of the dome as the depth of the structure. Each member could be manufactured with a CNC router, but that would be far less efficient than the laminated method employed in this design.

5:3:3 Further subdivision of triangles.

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • The use of pre-cycled bins as here, is constrained to the size of the base unit which operates much as brick, though the units can’t be cut so the size of larger units must be derived from the size of the bin. • These bins are not particularly strong, as circular forms can be, and did deform in larger spans. 5:3:4 Detail joint between laminated wood structural elements.

5:3:5 Hexagonal bin configuration in each triangle.

5:3:6 Rendering of complete Bin Dome. 225

CHROMATEX.ME SOFTlab NEW YORK – 2010 CHROMAtex.me was designed and installed at Bridgegallery in New York City in 2010. The form of this installation responds to specific moments in the gallery, with a large storefront window facing onto the streetscape of Manhattan. The form of the installation occupies the gallery similar to some of the work of Anish Kapoor.1 The entire installation is hung from the ceiling, creating two experiences, that of the interior of the form, and the space left between it and the gallery walls.2 SOFTlab has experimented with a series of other installations created with laser-cut inkjet prints.3 This installation was supported by the use of Kickstarter.com, where the artists used crowd-sourcing to sell small shares in the project for anywhere from $5 to $2000. Donors would have their names etched onto the exterior of panels used in the installation, and would receive those panels once the project was disassembled. Using this method the designers raised nearly $6000 toward their efforts. The form of the installation was tessellated into nearly 4000 quadrangle tile shapes. The size of the relative panels is defined by the largest panel, capable of fitting on the sheet of paper from which it is cut. For instance, if all sheets are to be cut from 8.5" x 11" (A4) inkjet printer paper, the largest panel size would be limited to the size of the piece paper, minus the width of the tabs. Over 17,000 binder clips were used to assemble the system. The size of the tabs were defined by the depth of the mouth of the generic binder clip. This creates a variable, which helps articulate the efficiency of construction based on the paper, printer size, and potentially the laser bed size. The color of each panel is defined by gradients between one of six colors. As the form flows from each edge so does the color, blurring between each of the six “pure” colors. Using Grasshopper, the color of the system at each vertex was applied to each individual panel. Eventually this gradient is converted into a jpeg image, which is printed onto each individual piece of paper.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D • Weaverbird Mesh Plugin

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MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • The size of the piece of paper from which each component was to be cut provides the material limit of each panel. • Binder clips define the depth of each tab, and allow the system to be quickly assembled and disassembled. • A fund-raising website was used to pay for the project using collective funding and providing flat-pack components from the installation as compensation.

5:4:1 Form of installation as a mesh.

Management of the system is first accomplished by breaking the form into smaller sections (5:4:2). Between each of these sections a structural acrylic ring was placed into vertical cross sections. These rings served as connection points for hanging the system, and ensured that the panels wouldn’t sag over time. Once the appropriate size and repetition of panels is determined, the tabs used to connect each panel can be constructed computationally by extruding the perimeter of each panel the depth of the mouth of the binder clip. For structural stability each tab was rolled over twice to provide a rigid edge to each piece. Each set of tabs and the panel itself should be joined together and “unrolled” (5:4:4). The unrolled surface typically will unwrap the tabs and maintain connections between each of the short edges. These can be rotated back to the appropriate locations around the edge of the panel (5:4:4). Each tab should be angled back from the corner to ensure that there is not any overlap when panels match up along convex curves. The cut files for each panel are created by converting the panel edges (folds) to dashed or etched lines. For this installation the fold lines were cut as dashed edges. The dashes allow for light to penetrate in an even, ethereal glow, throughout the form. Prior to cutting, each piece of paper was printed with its appropriate color (5:4:6). The panel number could be identified on each print, with an indicator number or barcode in a corner of the page (5:4:5). This indicator could be cut off during laser-cutting. Information management is crucial to the success of an installation of this type. The use of etched marks with the laser and/or marks created by the printer itself could be used to maintain control over the location of each panel. Additionally, the names of donors were etched onto the outside of each panel using the laser-cutter. The panels were folded by hand, and assembled with binder clips, into sets, which would be attached to each of the rigid acrylic forms and hung in the space.

Notes 1 See Leviation at Paris’ Grand Palais.

5:4:2 Subset of panels.

2 See also Dean Ruck and Dan Havel's Inversion which was a similar form created with an analog system out of components disassembled from a soon to be torn down house. 3 See also CHROMAesthesiae.

5:4:3 Subset panel with extrusion for tabs.

5:4:4 Unrolled profile of each panel with tabs.

5:4:6 Panel section assembled with binder clips.

5:4:5 Unrolled panels nested on inkjet printer pages.

5:4:7 Rendering of final installation. 229

PALLET CANOPY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHARLOTTE DIGITAL ARTS CENTER (DARTS) CHARLOTTE – 2010 This design proposes that form not be tied to a preconceived surface or form-making process, but that form be a response to a material system. The project was developed in part through a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, and is intended to demonstrate a process for inventive construction using salvaged materials. The components used in this installation, generic shipping pallets, retain their material identity while also operating as a structural diaphragm. This solution is a response to the frustrating tendencies of a construction industry that values efficiency, which often results in waste, over environmental steadfastness. The designers not only used leftover shipping pallets, but also salvaged steel sections and awning fabric. The pallets create a tight constraint for formal expression, but also operate as political agents, in an iconic expression of alternative building techniques. Through their visually obvious reuse, shipping pallets can assist in articulating a public argument for alternative material uses. The designers worked to minimize the number of custom components to fit onto a single 8 sq. ft. (1m2) sheet of .25" (6mm) steel. They worked with their local code enforcement officials and established new criteria for the use of reclaimed components as primary building elements. The system is easily replicated at many scales, as bus stops, picnic shelters, or building canopies. The premise of the project is to demonstrate useful methods for the interception and redirection of waste products, returning them to the beginning of the supply chain. Ultimately, this project strives to shift societal perceptions of what is considered waste. This project was conceived to test how parametric modeling tools could be employed, not for form generation, but backwards, as a way to map building systems onto a flexible “quilt” capable of many forms and shapes. The system cannot be made to any form, but the model created in Digital Project (Gehry Technologies) allowed the designers to test a variety of examples from a single model. Digital Project uses geometric, organizational relationships to calculate components for

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Digital Project • Grasshopper 3D

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complex surfaces out of custom building systems and skins, as used by many designers. However, the modeler could also be used “backwards” to design responsive systems of components, and link them to flexible surfaces.

5:5:1 Flexible surface and ground plane.

5:5:2 Post locations define their relative height, always 3' above surface.

The designers used a process of sphere-mapping to create twisted shapes, constrained by the fixed-width of the pallets. Sphere-mapping is a method for locating constrained lengths of a shape on a complex surface, mapping the material onto a form, instead of applying it, as is typical. Sphere-mapping (5:5:3) creates relationships linked to the type of physical connection at each edge and the overall geometric capacity of the system. The system creates a “quilt,” a formless parametric model of components, both structure and skin, linked to each other through geometric definitions. Each model is constructed of a pattern, made of fixed objects with variable “hinges” or linkages that provide the ability to “drape” the quilt across any surface. If the geometry of the surface does not comply with the built-in geometric limitations of the “quilt” it will not update and therefore could not be constructed using the system without adjustments. The form is, through those constraints, ultimately defined by its material definitions (5:5:5). Sphere-mapping uses spherical intersections to triangulate relationships of fixed dimensions across the surface. This system stipulates that if the designer knows the lengths of the sides of an object, and therefore its diagonal, the designer could intersect two spheres, on a surface, with radii equal to the length of one side and the hypotenuse of the object. The intersection of the two circles and the surface (5:5:4), define the location of the corner of the triangle, on the surface and on the object. Triangulating fixed-sized objects across the surface allows designers to trace any other set of geometry across the entire surface. The fourth corner of a polygonal object is linked to the others and typically floats off the surface within a geometric limit (5:5:5).

5:5:3 Spheres trace lengths of triangles on the surface.

5:5:4 Intersection of spheres and surface.

5:5:5 Continue sphere-mapping to locate subsequent components.

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Shipping pallets are structural by design and are capable of carrying loads in two directions. • Minimizing customization while maximizing form. Custom components in steel are added to off-the-shelf salvaged components to create structural members. • Responsive geometry: the surface of the system is flexible and can be formed to find ideal variations of the system. 5:5:6 Location of pallets defines shapes of beams.

The geometry for this design is based on an orderly sequence of components defined by one another’s relative position (5:5:9). The initial surface is defined by four edge curves, each capable of three degrees of curvature. This surface is positioned above the ground plane such that no point on the surface is lower than 7' from the ground. The first post is positioned approximately 48" (1.33m) from the long edge and 48" from the short edge of the surface (5:5:2), ensuring that there is enough room for the corner of a pallet to fall onto the surface. When sphere-mapping, the surface being constructed is an approximation, and requires that the construction of the objects be inset slightly from the edge, ensuring that all geometry lands on the surface. The first post is defined by a 5.5" x 5.5" box which is first extruded between the ground plane and the surface and then is extruded an additional 3' (1m) above the surface. At this point, if the surface were to be changed, the height of the column would change as well, always remaining 3' taller than the surface. The initial steps for sphere-mapping begin with the edge of the beam where it intersects the surface. A triangle is mapped which is 5.5" (13cm) wide, 40" (1.2mm) long and has a hypotenuse of 40.37" (a 2 + b2 = c2). By intersecting a 40" sphere from one corner of the post with a 40.37" sphere (5:5:3) from the other corner with the initial surface, one can locate the corner of this triangle on the surface. As each pallet is a rigid square profile, each triangle can be mapped as a square sitting on the plane of the triangle. From this first shape, which represents the space between two pallets, the same process can be used to locate the corner of each subsequent pallet in the row (5:5:5).

5:5:7 Pallets rest on 3" angles.

5:5:8 Single bay of pallet assembly. 233

5:5:9 Sphere-mapping relates entirety of surface to the first post.

Moving along the other direction across the surface, the first 5.5" wide triangle can be used to locate the next column (5:5:5). As the surface becomes more or less extreme the distance between columns changes to ensure that the pallets fit cleanly between them. This method creates a planometric profile which changes based on the undulations of the control surface. Additionally, the entire system aggregates based on the location of the first column, and changes with the control surface. However, certain geometries are too extreme for the system. For instance, if the surface undulates upward or downward more than the width of a pallet, the system would not be able to fit onto that surface. This constraint helps, not hurts, as the logic of the system defines the shape of the form. The underlying geometric definitions within Digital Project allow a designer to map limitations across a surface or across its edges, to identify when surface deviations are too dramatic for the system. The topological nature of the surface, when defined as a parametric (flexible form), allow for variation to arise through relations instead of individual components. Knowledgeware, built into the software, maps the maximum deviation of each piece of the system away from the original surface. When the deviation becomes too great compared to predefined standards for aesthetic pairing or legibility of form, the system will identify the portions of the system beyond those limits, so they might be corrected or the surface might be updated.

5:5:10 Pallets are assembled on the canopy frame.

Generic 40" x 48" shipping pallets were chosen as they are readily available behind almost any retail store and are so prolific that they are often resold for less than the value of their component parts. Additionally, pallets have unique material properties; they are capable of functioning as a structural diaphragm, transferring loads uniformly across their surface (5:5:10). The custom components for the installation were manufactured from a single 2' by 6' (60cm by 2m) sheet of .25" thick mild steel, welded to 40" lengths of 3" (75mm) deep steel angle (5:5:9). The plates, cut on a CNC plasma cutter, were welded to the steel angles and then galvanized, creating structural beams bolted to wood columns. Each custom component functioned as not only a structural device, but also as a jig for squaring and clamping the beam assembly for welding. In turn, each beam informed the location and angle for the pallets in the construction of the canopy. The entire structure is supported by stainless steel cables to create strength and rigidity while minimizing secondary structural components. Benches and tables were attached to the vertical members using recycled steel brackets and pallets for seating and tables.

5:5:11 Rendering of the final canopy assembly. 235

PIPE FURNITURE ON SITE 15.02 PARIS SEBASTIEN WIERINCK PARIS – 2010 Sebastien Wierinck has designed and developed a series of installations which use a computationally manufactured skeleton as a framework for furniture constructed primarily of ribbed plastic tubing. This installation uses two simple systems for bracing and suspending the pipe as it flows through an open gallery space. On the ground the pipe is affixed to a series of computationally manufactured steel braces, which connect to each of the tubes as they pass through. At the end of each furniture piece the pipes launch into the air and are hung from the ceiling like a series of tentacles with “end-effectors” of light. The pipes function well in bundles as human-scale furniture pieces creating smooth surfaces for comfortable occupation. The profile of the form can slide easily between benches with or without back supports, to tables, and back again. Each section frames the necessary human condition between which the tubing is allowed to flow freely. When the tubes are freed to soar up into the space they are braced together with zip-ties, and hung from the ceiling. Wierinck’s installations are all developed around an awareness of the performative criteria of the plastic tubing. The parameters of the tubing include the spanning distance, the radii of its curvature, and the relationship between the human body and bundles of the tubes as seating. Each of the sectional profiles in steel, determine the profile of the tubes, but they are free to move, slide, and rotate freely between each of these profiles. The form is in this way not necessarily determined in the computer before installation, but the profiles and their spacing can be organized with one another once on site. The designer can make some assumptions about the overall shape, but the tubes will settle into a form based on each sectional profile. Each of these steel profiles are held in place with horizontal bracing along the ground plane and x-bracing between each piece just below the tubes. This bracing locks the sectional components together into a substructure or skeleton. SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D

237

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • The system is based on the location of the structural units which locate the pipes as they flow through space. • The diameter of the pipe defines the radius of its position on the structural system and how tight a radius it is capable of forming. The hung form of the pipes from the ceiling are completely in tension and would bend more with smaller diameter pipes.

Made of polyethylene from recycled bottles, the ribbed tubes come in a variety of radii and colors. The tubing is typically used for underground cables, carrying water, gas, data, and electricity. The tubes are produced by a continuous extrusion, using a piece of equipment which crimps each ridge individually as the extrusion is pressed through. Each crimping tooth passes along a conveyer-like system, crimping in sequence and rotating back after the cycle of other teeth have revolved through the process. As the system is less computational, the computational organization of the geometry involves a bottom-up process. Rather than starting with the form of the system, the system instead defines the form. These shapes can be inferred by locating each of the cross sections in place, with reference points for connecting splines, allowed to snake from one profile to the next (5:6:2). Using these splines one could reasonably infer what the final design solution could look like. Once the tubes leave the forms of the skeleton behind, they rise in the air, and are primarily defined by the connections they have to one another and the ceiling. The end conditions of each profile are left to hang from the last point connection and show the natural elastic bending shape of the tubing.

5:6:1 Section profiles of bench configurations.

5:6:2 Lofted section profiles of bench configurations.

Each sectional profile was laser or water-jet cut from steel (5:6:8), and represents a programmatic condition at a particular location. For instance, two bench profiles create a zone of bench between them. However, when one Step 3: profile transitions to another its functionality is left to chance, transitioning from one type of bench to another, or from a bench profile to an organic set of tentacles rising toward the ceiling (5:6:7). The tubes are punctured at moments to allow for groupings to be constrained using zipties. Wiring for each light is strung through the tubes to special fittings attached at each end, inventively concealing the awkward end conditions of each tube.

5:6:3 Contours of bench profiles.

5:6:4 Piped contours arrayed along profiles.

5:6:5 Centers of each circle are connected to define pipe profiles.

5:6:6 Profiles of each steel brace section trimmed from circle locations. 239

5:6:7 Final computational layout of installation.

5:6:8 CNC laser-cut sheet of structural components, cut in steel.

5:6:9 Connection members between structural members, using both a strap along the floor and x-bracing.

5:6:10 Collection of all structural members.

5:6:11 Rendering of final installation.

241

TABLE CLOTH BALL NOGUES STUDIO LOS ANGELES – 2010 Table Cloth is an installation built in the courtyard of Schoenberg Hall at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music in Los Angeles. This project is an excellent example of a temporary installation, intended to create material constraint by its intended purpose after disassembly. This installation was constructed of a series of custom-fabricated coffee tables and seats, complete with conventional table legs. Parts of this assembly function as tables, and parts function as a patterned assembly of components hung through the courtyard. No two of the tables are alike, though each is held up by three off-the-shelf legs. Ball Nogues has called this process “cross-manufacturing” integrating “second uses” for an installation from its very inception. The installation is composed of approximately 500 individual stools and tables; no two are alike. The arrangement of the components on the floor create a small informal performance space, before launching up into the volume of the courtyard. The legs appear like “fur” across the surface of the larger assembly, each set at a different angle as the system curls into the air. Three types of connections were used to create the variable uses and to define the fabric-like geometry of the system. At the ground plane a series of bolted straps attach the tables to one another, constraining their movement as they serve not only as seating, but as the base of the installation (5:7:7). As the tables start to leave the ground plane, they invert so that the legs are sticking out toward the courtyard. Along this surface the system is held together with two types of connections. One is a ring, which is mounted to pairs of tables, creating a flexible chain of tables (5:7:8). The second connection type is a pair of wooden clips, made of the table surface material, which serve to create a secondary rigid connection between tables and infill panels (5:7:9). The manufacturing of these clips can be nested into the cut sheets for each of the tables.

SOFTWARE: • Rhinoceros 3D • Grasshopper 3D

243

5:7:1 Pattern of tables.

5:7:2 Connection devices on vertical.

A system like this forms to a relatively simple set of geometry, and a single ruled surface. The surface rises more quickly to one side than the other (5:7:10). This form, through its simplicity, could be mapped in place and unrolled into a flat version of itself, or could be defined as a flat system, hung in place to define the shape. The diagrams here outline the process of melding a predetermined flat system to a particular form. The pattern of this surface is developed using the functional geometry of a coffee table or stool with a daisy-like pattern in the air. This pattern shifts along its axis, becoming smaller components as it rises into the air. Computationally, the system should be able to nest relatively tightly to one another on cut sheets, as their geometry has built-in relations. The locations of each connection device are relatively complex. Each ring is defined by the point at which two components touch one another on their tangents (5:7:8). At each of these points a circle is removed from the profiles of the adjacent tables. The rotational straps which tie tables together are also defined by adjacent tangent points (5:7:7). Extruded from this intersection a line defines the axis of the strap, which is a rectangular shape with rounded corners. The rigid connections of paired clips in plywood are defined between the tables and the unique components nesting between them as the installation rises into the air (5:7:9). These are offset from each of the centerlines between tangent points, and have a swooping profile matching the axis on which they are cut. Each creates more surface area to help lock the system into place.

5:7:3 Combination of all flat elements.

5:7:4 Table straps on ground configuration.

5:7:5 Pattern of tables (flat) with connections.

MATERIAL CONSTRAINTS: • Tables are designed and built to have an afterlife. Once the installation is disassembled the tables can be donated or given away. • The geometry is entirely relational, and therefore should nest relatively tightly into cut sheets.

5:7:6 Rendering of tables (flat) before deformation.

• An array of off-the-shelf components were used to facilitate the variety of connections necessary for the different parts of the installation.

5:7:7 Straps configured on centerline.

5:7:8 Ring connection configured on centerline. 245

5:7:9 Notched connection configured on centerline.

5:7:10 Base surface.

5:7:11 System applied to surface with bounding box deformations.

5:7:12 Rendered plan of final installation.

5:7:13 Detail rendering.

5:7:14 Detail rendering.

5:7:15 Rendering of final installation. 247

PHOTO CREDITS Cover and inset images: Patkau Architects, Cocoons Photographer: James Dow

CHAPTER 1: TIMBER/WOOD

18  SHoP Architects 19 Top/Bottom, SHoP Architects 24 Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich 25 Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich 28 Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich 29 Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich 34 Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich 35 Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich 36 Kyeni Mbiti 42 Achim Menges 43 Top/Bottom, Achim Menges 48 James Dow 49 James Dow 54 James Dow 55 James Dow 56 PROJECTiONE 57 PROJECTiONE 60 ICD Universitat Stuttgart 66 ICD Universitat Stuttgart 67 ICD Universitat Stuttgart 68 Marlena McCall & Andrew Beres 69 Marlena McCall & Andrew Beres 74 Øystein Hermstad, Norsk Fotofagskole 75 Øystein Hermstad, Norsk Fotofagskole Chapter 2: Metals 80 Blu Dot 84 All Images, Elijah Porter 88 Jongseo Kim 89 Jongseo Kim 94 Leo Modrcin 95 Top, Leo Modrcin; Bottom, Marko Dabrovic 98 Steve Hall, Hedrich Blessing 99 Top/Bottom, Studio Gang Architects 104 Parke MacDowell 105 Parke MacDowell 107 Parke MacDowell 110 David Thaddeus 111 David Thaddeus 114 Paul Stockhoff 115 Paul Stockhoff 118 Daniel Rentsch 119 Daniel Rentsch 122 Adriaan de Groot | MX3D 123 Adriaan de Groot | MX3D Chapter 3: Concrete/masonry 128 Mark West 129 Mark West 132 Andrew Kudless  133 Top/Bottom, Andrew Kudless 136 Asbjørn Søndergaard 137 Top/Bottom, Asbjørn Søndergaard 142 Paúl Rivera 143 Top/Middle/Bottom, SHoP Architects

148 Allessandra Bello 149 Top/Bottom, Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich 154 Klemen Breitfuss 155 Top, Lara Davis; Bottom, Klemen Breitfuss 160 Iwan Baan 161 Top/ Iwan Baan, Bottom, Middle, ETH Zurich, Anna Maragkoudaki 162 Niels Martin Larsen 163 Niels Martin Larsen Chapter 4: Composites/ Plastics 167 ICD Universitat Stuttgart 170 Liquid Design 171 Top/ Jefferson Ellinger, Bottom/ Liquid Design 172 Jefferson Ellinger 176 Matter Design 177 Top/Bottom, Matter Design 182 Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich 183 Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich 186 Matter Design 187 Top/Bottom, Matter Design 190 Marc Swackhamer Houminn Studio 191 Marc Swackhamer Houminn Studio 194 PROJECTiONE 195 PROJECTiONE 198 Benny Chan 199 Benny Chan 204 Victoria and Albert Museum, London 205 Top/ Bottom NAARO

CHAPTER 5: RECYCLED/PRE-CYCLED

212 Top Right/Top Left/Bottom Left, Elizabeth Felicella; Bottom Right, Work AC 216 Michele Leidi, Min-Chieh Chen, Dominik Zausinger, Tom Pawlofsky 217 Michele Leidi, Min-Chieh Chen, Dominik Zausinger, Tom Pawlofsky 222 Rory Hyde 223 Rory Hyde 226 Alan Tansey 227 Top/Bottom, Alan Tansey 230 Matt Parker 231 Matt Parker 236 Sebastien Wierinck 237 Top/Bottom, Sebastien Normand 242 Scott Mayoral 243 Scott Mayoral

PROJECT CREDITS CHAPTER 1: TIMBER/WOOD Dunescape

SHoP Architects Christopher R. Sharples, William W. Sharples, Coren D. Sharples, Kimberly J. Holden, Gregg A. Pasquarelli

The Sequential Wall

Gramazio Kohler Research, Architecture and Digital fabrication, ETH Zurich Collaborators: Silvan Oesterle (project lead), Ralph Bärtschi, Mike Lyrenmann Industry Partner: Häring Timber Engineering, Isoflock Students: Michael Bühler, David Dalsass, Simon Filler, Roman Kallweit, Jonathan Roider, ETH Zurich

Stratifications

Gramazio Kohler Research, Architecture and Digital fabrication, ETH Zurich In cooperation with Bachmann Engineering AG, Zofingen Client: Fabricate 2011/ UCL London Collaborators: Andrea Kondziela (project leader) Volker Helm, Ralph Bartschi, Dominik Weber

Echord

Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich In cooperation with: Bachmann Engineering AG Client: EU FP7 Programme – Echord Collaborators: Dr. Volker Helm (project lead), Dr. Ralph Bärtschi, Tobias Bonwetsch, Selen Ercan, Ryan Luke Johns, Dominik Weber

ZipRocker

schindlersalmerón Christoph Schindler and Margarita Salmerón Espinosa Developed with R. Aimer, K. von Felde, O. Illner, S. Rehders, T. Schütt and H. Wolf ‘ZipRocker’, was developed in collaboration with Fachschule für Holztechnik Hamburg

ICD / ITKE Pavilion

Scientific Development: Institute for Computational Design, Prof. Achim Menges Moritz Fleischmann (Project Management) Christopher Robeller (Detailing / Construction Management) Karola Dierichs (Documentation) Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design, Prof. Jan Knippers  Simon Schleicher (Project Management) Julian Lienhard (Structural Engineering) Diana D’ Souza (Structural Engineering) Concept & Realisation: Andreas Eisenhardt, Manuel Vollrath, Kristine Waechter & Thomas Irowetz, Oliver David Krieg, Admir, Mahmutovic, Peter Meschendoerfer, Leopold Moehler, Michael Pelzer, Konrad Zerbe

Winnipeg Skate Shelters Patkau Architects

Cocoons

Patkau Architects Client: Comme Des Garçons / Dover Street Market Ginza Architectural Team: Matthew Bunza, James Eidse, John Patkau, Patricia Patkau Fabricators / Consultants: Asi Plastics, Carmel Designs, Macs Ii Lighting, Quest Metal Works

Bodhi Tree

PROJECTiONE Faculty: Steven Deters; Lecturer, UCLA + Fall 2008 i.M.A.D.E Fellow, Kevin Klinger Student Team: Deepak Baniya, Elizabeth Boone, Eric Brockmeyer, Adam Buente, Dustin Headley, Kyle Perry, Priyanshu Shrivastava Partners: David R. Webb Company Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen’s Association

Hygroscopically Enabled Responsiveness

Steffen Reichert, HFG Offenbach University of Art and Design, Germany, 2007 Professor: Achim Menges

Hygroscope- Centre Pompidou Paris- 2012 Project Development, Design Development: Achim Menges Architect, Frankfurt Prof. Achim Menges, Steffen Reichert, Boyan Mihaylov Scientific Development, Design Development, Robotic Fabrication, Assembly: Institute for Computational Design, University of Stuttgart- Prof. Achim Menges, Steffen Reichert, Nicola Burggraf, Tobias Schwinn with Claudio Fabrizio Calandri, Nicola Haberbosch, Oliver Krieg, Marielle Neuser, Viktoriya Nikolova, Paul Schmidt Climate Engineering: Transsolar Climate Engineering, Stuttgart Thomas Auer, Daniel Pianka Project Funding: Centre Pompidou Paris, Glasbau Hahn GmbH, Rubner Holding AG, Competence Network Biomimetics Steelcase Werndl AG Le Café Caché

Sebastien Wierinck Workshop Sebastien Wierinck

Trondheim Camera Obscura

Professor Knut Larsen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology Scientific Assistant Simen Stori External Teachers: Ruth Berktold, Christoph Schindler, Fabian Scheurer, Geir Brendeland, Olav Kristoffersen, Christopher Sharples, Students: Eskild Andersen, Åge Eivind Aslaksen, Erik Fjelldal, Sindre Kjetil Frigstad, Kristian Hansen, Madeleine Johander, Maria,Bjørn Olsen, Christian Robberstad, Anne Sandnes, Fredrikke Finne Seip, Ingrid Solbakken, Anders H. Strand, Bjørn Olav Susæg, Ingvild Vatn, and Matti Wiig

CHAPTER 2: METALS Real Good Chair Blu Dot

Material Formations in Design Elijah Porter Instructor: Kevin Rotheroe

249

Flatform

Marble Fairbanks Client: Museum of Modern Art Design Team: Scott Marble, Karen Fairbanks, Robert Booth, Adam Marcus, Zachary Aders, Alexis Coir, Milan Dale, Jennifer Downey, Mallory Shure, Rodrigo Zamora, Darren Zhou Expanded Alliances: AARDVARK (Technical Design); Stevens Institute of Technology, Product Architecture and Engineering Program, Justin Nardone (Computational Modeling) Sponsors: Maloya Laser, Inc. (Metal Fabrication); NCEEC Corporation (Finishing)

Croatian Pavilion, Venice Biennale

Commissioner: Leo Modrcin Architects: Saša Begovic, Marko Dabrovic, Igor Franic, Tanja Grozdanic, Petar Miškovic, Silvije Novak, Veljko Oluic, Helena Paver Njiric, Lea Pelivan, Toma Plejic, Goran Rako, Saša Randic, Idis Turato, Pero Vukovic, Tonci Žarnic Organizer: Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Rijeka, Croatia

Aqua Tower

Studio Gang Architects Architect of Record: Loewenberg and Associates

Wave Pavilion

Parke MacDowell and Diana Tomova [MATO] In collaboration with: Wes Mcgee and Dave Pigram Supported by the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning

La Maison Unique, Longchamps Flagship Store Heatherwick Studio

SPIMF(Single Point Incremental Metal Forming)

UNC Charlotte- Digital Arts Center, Design Computation Program Paul Stockhoff, Marlena McCall, Chris Beorkrem, Andrew Beres, Jonathan Warner, Eric Sauda

Between the Sheets, “Busta Lines”

Daniel Rentsch, Laura Goard, Chao Chen, Kristen Willey Prof. Heather Roberge, University of California, Los Angeles Architecture and Urban Design

MX3D

MX3D Metal is the result of a research initiated by Joris Laarman Lab. Collaborators; Acotech, Autodesk, Heijmans Sponsors: Air Liquide , ABB robotics, STV, Delcam, Within, Lenovo Public partners: TU Delft, AMS, Amsterdam City Council

290 Mulberry Street

SHoP Architects Christopher R. Sharples, William W. Sharples, Coren D. Sharples, Kimberly J. Holden, Gregg A. Pasquarelli Client/Owner/Developer: Cardinal Real Estate Investments Structural Engineer: Robert Silman Associates MEP Engineer: Laszlo Bodak Engineer General Contractor: KISKA Group Precast Fabrication: Architectural Polymers (liner), Saramac (precasting)

Structural Oscillations

Gramazio Kohler Research In cooperation with: Reto Geiser Client: BAK Bundesamt für Kultur Collaborators: Michael Knauss (project lead), Ralph Bärtschi, Tobias Bonwetsch, Nadine Jerchau, Michael Lyrenmann, Gregor Bieri, Michael Bühler, Hannes Oswald, Lukas Pauer Model making: Lukas Pauer, Hannes Oswald Sponsors: Keller Ziegeleien AG, KUKA Switzerland AG, Sika Switzerland AG 

Freeform Catalan Thin-Tile Vaulting

Architects: Dr. Phillipe Block, Lara Davis, Matthias Rippmann, ETH Zurich Construction: Lara Davis, Tom Pawlofsky Sponsors: ZZ Wancor AG, Rigips

The Armadillo Vault

Structural design & Architectural geometry: Block Research Group, ETH Zurich - Philippe Block, Tom Van Mele, Matthias Rippmann, Edyta Augustynowicz, Cristián Calvo Barentin, Tomás Méndez Echenagucia, Mariana Popescu, Andrew Liew, Anna Maragkoudaki, Ursula Frick Structural engineering: Ochsendorf DeJong & Block (ODB Engineering) - Matthew DeJong, John Ochsendorf, Philippe Block, Anjali Mehrotra Fabrication & Construction: The Escobedo Group - David Escobedo, Matthew Escobedo, Salvador Crisanto, John Curry, Francisco Tovar Yebra, Joyce I-Chin Chen, Adam Bath, Hector Betancourt, Luis Rivera, Antonio Rivera, Carlos Rivera, Carlos Zuniga Rivera, Samuel Rivera, Jairo Rivera, Humberto Rivera, Jesus Rosales, Dario Rivera

PreVault

Dave Pigram, supermanoeuvre + University of Technology, Sydney [UTS] Ole Egholm Jackson, Aarhus School of Architecture Niels Martin Larsen, Aarhus School of Architecture Form-finding software by: Iain [Max] Maxwell, supermanoeuvre + University of Technology, Sydney [UTS] Engineering support from: Jacob Christensen and Ronni Madsen With students from Aarhus School of Architecture and University of Technology, Sydney [UTS]

CHAPTER 3: CONCRETE/MASONRY

CHAPTER 4: COMPOSITES/ PLASTICS

C.A.S.T. Beam

Composite Cladding

C.A.S.T., The Centre for Architectural Structures and Technology Prof. Mark West, University of Manitoba

P_Wall, San Francisco MoMA

Andrew Kudless, California College of the Arts Matsys

Unikabeton

Asbjørn Søndergaard, Per Dombernowsky Aarhus School of Architecture Partners: Danish Institute of Technology, University of Southern Denmark, SPÆNCOM, UNICON, MT Hojgaard, Pashcal Danmark, Gibotech

Design and Tooling: Jefferson Ellinger, E/YE Design Manufacturing: Windsor Fiberglass, David Riebe Architect: Liquid Design

Periscope: Foam Tower

Wes Mcgee and Brandon Clifford, Matter Design Design Team: Matter Design, Brandon Clifford, Wesley McGee In collaboration with: Supermanoeuvre, Dave Pigram Structural: Simpson Gumpertz and Heger, Matthew Johnson Build Team: Matter Design, Brandon Clifford, Wesley McGee, Johanna Lobdell, Deniz McGee, Kris Walters, Maciej Kaczynski Rigging: Boutte Tree, TiersonBoutte Fabrication: University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning

Iridescence Print

Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich In cooperation with: Studio Robert Stadler Client: Palais de Tokyo, Paris Collaborators: Andreas Thoma (project lead), Luka Piškorec, Augusto Gandia, Norman Hack, David Jenny, Petrus Aejmelaeus Lindström, Ammar Mirjan, Stefana Parascho, James Yeo Students: Anna Szabo, Bo Cheng, Thijs van der Lely, Anne Cécile, Carfantan, Lex te Loo, Emma Flores Herrera, Nicolas Ganz, Pascal Ruckstuhl, Chen Ken, Altair Cerda Tirado

Microtherme

CHAPTER 5: RECYCLED/PRE-CYCLED Public Farm

WORK Architecture Company (Work.AC) Dan Wood and Amale Andraos

Packed

Michele Leidi, Min-Chieh Chen, and Dominik Zausinger with the help of Jeannette Kuo Supervision: Tom Pawlofsky, ETH Zurich

Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee, Matter Design Environmental: Christoph Reinhart Lighting: Etta Dannemann Structural: Matthew Johnson—Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Project team: Myung Duk Chung, Cody Glen, Asa Peller, Maya Shopova, Tyler Swingle, Luisel Zayas

Bin Dome

VarVac Wall

CHROMAtex.me

Design Firm: Houminn Practice, Blair Satterfield, Marc Swackhamer (Principals) Primary Investigators: Blair Satterfield, assistant professor, University of British Columbia (UBC); Marc Swackhamer, associate professor, University of Minnesota (UMN) Student Research Assistants: Ashley Eusebio (UBC), Philip Bussey, David Horner, Abigail Merlis, Assoc. AIA, Meggen Skilling (UMN) Fabricator: Dave Hultman (Hex mold) Client: University of Minnesota

bitMAPS

PROJECTiONE Adam Buente, Kyle Perry, Eric Brockmeyer, and Elizabeth Boone.

Feathered Edge

Ball Nogues Studio Principals in Charge: Benjamin Ball, Gaston Nogues Project Management: Andrew Lyon Project Team: Chris Ball, Tatiana Barhar, Seda Brown, Patricia Burns, Paul Clemente, Sergio d’Almeida, Jesse Duclos, Matt Harmon, Karlie Harstad, Ayodh Kamath, Jonathan Kitchens, Andrew Lyon, Lina Park, Tim Peeters, Sarah Riedmann, Joem Elias Sanez, Geoff Sedillo, Norma Silva, Caroline Smogorzewski, Beverly Tang, Blaze Zewnicki, Sasha Zubieta, and the preparatory staff of MOCA. Rigging: Kelly Jones of Jax Logistics Custom Software Development: Pylon Technical

Rory Hyde Collaborators: Amy Silver, Ed Hyde, Vaughan Howard, Eugene Howard, Dharman Gersch, Darcy Zelenko, Jon Anderson, Toby Pond, and Tim Black. Engineering: Hive Engineering

SOFTlab Design Team: Michael Szivos, Jose Gonzalez, Carrie McKnelly, Elliot White, Tyler O’Rielley, Troy Zezula, Sean Madigan, Corey Kingston Installation: Julia Schleppe, Andrew Manart, Simon Kristak, David Gonzalez, Andrew Chen, Anthony Buccellato, Laura Vincent, Michael House, Brandt Graves, Austin Smith, Andrew Sutton, Alan Tansey, Mac Glovinsky, Robin Jones

Pallet Canopy

UNC Charlotte, Digital Arts Center Collaborators: Jeff Scott, Wynn Buzzell, Ronna Gardner, Ryan Barkes, James Mattison Prof. Chris Beorkrem

Pipe Furniture

Sebastien Wierinck Workshop Sebastien Wierinck

Table Cloth

Ball Nogues Studio Principles in Charge: Benjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues Structural engineering and analysis by Buro Happold Los Angeles; Matthew Melnyk lead engineer Software Development: Ayodh Kamath Project Team: Benjamin Jenett, James Jones, Jonathan Kitchens, Alison Kung, Deborah Lehman, Brian Schirk,  Rachel Shillander

Elytra Filament Pavilion

Design, Engineering, and Fabrication: Achim Menges with Moritz Dörstelmann ICD – Institute for Computational Design, University of Stuttgart. Team also includes: Marshall Prado (fabrication development), Aikaterini Papadimitriou, Niccolo Dambrosio, Roberto Naboni, with support by Dylan Wood, Daniel Reist. Jan Knippers ITKE – Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design, University of Stuttgart Knippers Helbig Advanced Engineering, Stuttgart, New York Team also includes: Valentin Koslowski & James Solly (structure development), Thiemo Fildhuth (structural sensors) Thomas Auer, Transsolar Climate Engineering, Stuttgart Building Technology and Climate Responsive Design, TU München, Team also includes: Elmira Reisi, Boris Plotnikov. With the support of: Michael Preisack, Christian Arias, Pedro Giachini, Andre Kauffman, Thu Nguyen, Nikolaos Xenos, Giulio Brugnaro, Alberto Lago, Yuliya Baranovskaya, Belen Torres, IFB University of Stuttgart (Prof. P. Middendorf) Commission: Victoria and Albert Museum.

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INDEX Armadillo Vault 126, 161

Grasshopper 15, 153, 227

Atlanta 177, 179

Greg Lynn 79, 166

Ball Nogues Studio 199, 243

Hot-wire 40, 179, 185, 189, 193, 19

Baltic birch 187, 189

Humidity 61, 62, 64, 67

Binder clips 228

Huxtable, Ada Louise 126, 127

Bin Dome 211, 225

Hygroscopic 67

Bitmaps 167, 195, 196

Isler 12 155, 159,

Blu Dot 78, 81, 83

Kangaroo 10, 188

Candela 159

Laser 78, 92

Cardboard 157, 213

London 7, 22

C.A.S.T. 11, 12, 129, 133,

Los Angeles 119, 121, 199, 243

Catenary 126

Lynn 79

CATIA 78

Maillart, Robert 12

Cedar 19, 20, 25, 29, 3 43, 49, 5 61, 69, 75, 81, 85, 89, 95, 99, 105,

Manitoba 12, 49, 129

111, 115, 119, 123, 133, 143, 149, 155, 161, 163, 171, 183,

Matter Design 41, 168, 17 18 189

191, 195, 199, 205

Menges, Achim 15, 43, 45, 49, 61, 66, 67, 168, 205

Charlotte 5, 211, 231

Minneapolis 81

Chicago 99, 103

Nervi 126, 127

Circle-packing 218

New Haven 15

CNC router 140

New York 15, 19, 79, 89, 103, 111, 121, 127, 135, 139, 143, 147, 149, 211,

Cocoons 55

213, 22

Composite Cladding 206

Palazetto dello Sport 12

Concrete 12, 21, 22, 23, 103, 213, 214, 223, 231, 243

Pallets 15 158, 211, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235

Croatia 79, 95

Paris 228, 237

DeLanda, Manuel 10

Patkau 49, 55, 78

Deleuze 8, 9

Periscope 41, 17

Dieste 127

Philippe Block 11, 155

Digital Arts Center 115, 211, 231

Plasma 78

Digital Project 13, 231, 234

Public Farm 211, 213

Dunescape 12, 15, 19, 25, 27

P_Wall 127, 133

Eames 127

Real Good Chair 78, 81, 83

EPA 210, 211

Reinforcement 102, 141

ETH Zurich 25, 29, 35, 149, 155, 159

Resch, Robert 210, 211

Feathered Edge 11, 199

Roberge, Heather 79, 119, 121

Fisac 126, 133

Robot ˇ13, 16, 17, 25, 29, 35, 45, 79, 105, 10 109, 115, 116, 117, 123,

Flight Assembled Architecture 29, 35 Foam 17

124, 125, 149, 151, 153, 168, 174, 177, 179, 183, 184, 185, 189, 205, 207, 209

Gaudi 12

San Francisco 12, 133

Gehry Technologies 13, 231

Serra, Richard 78, 79, 149

Gramazio Kohler Research 13, 25, 2 29, 35, 149, 153, 183

Shanghai 21 220,

255

SHoP 10, 11, 12, 15, 19, 22, 75, 127, 133, 143 SPIMF 79, 115 Studio Gang 99, 103 Stuttgart 43, 61 Super-formed 119 supermanoeuvre 163 Table Cloth 211, 243 Three- Dimensional Scanner 35 Torqued Ellipses 78, 79 Trondheim 75 Veneer 10, 49, 50, 51, 53, 61, 62, 64, 65, 113, 143 Venice 95, 149 Venice Biennale 95, 149 Water-jet 78 West 11, 25, 12 129 Winnipeg 49, 78 Young Architects Program 19, 211, 213 Zurich 35, 37, 155, 159, 216