MANUFACTURING VARIABILITY

Students:

Bruno Hernandez, Dustin Klinger, Joshua Kneer, Rachel Kramp, Brian Kwong, Gabrielle Morales, Vaidehi Anilkumar Patel, Alex Perrino, David Rodriquez, Victoria Thompson, Dandan Wang

Faculty:

GAs:

Term:

Course:

Program:

Daniel Vrana

John Archilla, Caterina Gnecco

Summer 2022

ARC406/607

BS Arch, MArch

Standardization and prefabrication are familiar to architects, but how can we integrate innovative customization technologies within the design process? Methods of fabrication and digital processes are in a state of constant technological evolution. This summer studio exposed students to how a digital workflow can enable customized elements to be manufactured at a potentially industrial scale.

Students focused their experimentation around a workflow utilizing the 5-Axis waterjet cutter to cut wet clay and fired ceramic. This machine enables the production of complex geometries which would otherwise require a custom mold.

Extrusion Mimicry

The course culminated in the composition of two facade mock-ups, the project titled “Extrusion Mimicry,” composed of 72 unique pieces. The resulting elevation has a geometric continuity across the modules, creating a fabric-like flow of material along the prototype facade. To produce a similar product using standard procedures would require cutting extrusion plates for each piece, extruding the wet clay to length, then firing the pieces. Students did the opposite: They extruded rectangular slabs first and then cut each custom shape with the waterjet.

Each phase of this project required translation from a digital image to a physical product through a unique workflow. Understanding the conventions of mold-making, glazing, firing, and assembly, all played a role in transforming a chunk of wet clay into a unique piece of a larger whole.

The studio presented their final work at the Architectural Ceramic Assemblies Workshop, hosted at the University at Buffalo. Students had the opportunity to engage and collaborate with academic teams of architects and engineers nationwide. This experience provided a practical application for students to observe how these experimental techniques are becoming a large part of architectural representation.

“The entire studio showed up everyday ready to try new things out and push past the boundaries of what we learned was possible at manufacturing plants.”

- Bruno

Hernandez