UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE
VOLUME 02
Precedent Analysis Cellophane House by Kieran Timberlake
MoMA Exhibit The Cellophane house was one of five buildings in the MoMA’s Art exhibit, Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling Part II in 2008. The expansive exhibition was meant to display contemporary and modern prefabrication in architecture from 1833 to 2008. These roughly 60 projects were displayed through mediums such as drawings, photographs, models, patent applications, films, and much more. MoMA conceptualized the idea of this exhibit from the concerning issues of sustainability and an increasing population. The Chief Curator of architecture and design, Mr. Bergdoll explains, “In architecture, the history of prefabrication is, in some senses, the history of modernism. The prefabricated house continues to be one of architecture’s most radical pursuits. Prefabrication is a reflection on the house as a critical agent in the discourse of sustainability, architectural invention, and new formal research.” 1 The final five projects were chosen after the consideration of 500 firms and architects, from which only 21 received further consideration. The proposals from said firms and architects were then, “evaluated by a jury of internal Museum curators and staff, as well as invited architects, who advised the curatorial team in making the selection.” 2 The five houses are representative of homes that are varied in manufacturing techniques and different styles, all of which span the economic market.3
“Prefabrication is a reflection on the house as a critical agent in the discourse of sustainability, architectural invention, and new formal research.” - Barry Bergdoll, Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling | MoMA.
East Side of Cellophane House. Digital image. Https://www.dwell.com. Mrch 09, 2010. Accessed September 08, 2017. https://www.dwell.com/article/the-prefab-decade-3c53c45c.
Concept For MoMA’s Home Delivery Exhibit, Kieran Timberlake designed and built an 1,800 square foot, five story house. The house included two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living and dining space, a roof terrace, and a carport located under the main structure. In selecting the materials, they considered the concepts of minimizing embodied energy and
materials that are lightweight, but also reusable.4 For the exterior, they envisioned it as a skin that would selectively filter daylight as well as seasonal heat.5 The house for the exhibit was built as a singlefamily dwelling, but with extensive research and experimentation, Kieran Timberlake implemented components for rapid disassembly and reassembly that could potentially be reconfigured for multi-family users. This would in turn reduce the number
of consultants necessary for building it. 6 The Principal James Timberlake himself described the Cellophane house as, “a matrix for holding things together.” 7 They also believed that by creating these models that this would reduce the excessive amount of waste produced by construction and demolition while also allowing the possibility of configuration for both urban and rural settings. 8
40’ - 0”
40’ - 0”
Photovoltaic Panels PV panels are adhered to the east and west facades to harvest energy.
40’ 30’ - 0”
30’ - 0”
30’
Structural Connection Beams, columns, and accessories are fastened together with T-bolts, rather than using welds or adhesives.
Structure
Aluminum was chosen because of its lightweight qualities and easy assembly/dissassembly.
20’ - 0”
20’ - 0”
20’
10’ - 0”
10’ - 0”
10’
East Elevation SECTION A 0
2
4
SECTION B
8
Floor and Ceiling
The floors and ceilings are polycarbonate plates integrated with the structural components of the house.
A
A
A
Bathroom
The bathrooms are pods that fit in as its own component. Upper mesh windows allow for ventilation through the space.
A
SECTION A 0
2
SECTION B 4
8
Floor and Ceiling
Bathroom
The floors and ceilings are polycarbonate plates integrated with the structural components of the house.
A
A
The bathrooms are pods that fit in as its own component. Upper mesh windows allow for ventilation through the space.
A
A
A
B
BB’
LEVEL ONE 0
2
LEVEL TWO 4
8
CELLOPHANE HOUSE
AA’
CO-LAB ARCH410 | TEAM 4 | DOWD, DURHAM, MCCOWN, PETERSON
LEVEL FOUR
LEVEL THREE AA’
AA’
LEVEL FIVE AA’
AA’
Lighting
Aaron, Peter. Polycarbonate Floor and Acrylic Stairs. Digital image. Https://www.architonic.com. April 30, 2010. Accessed September 06, 2017. https://www. architonic.com/en/project/kierantimberlake-cellophane-house/5100378.
Materials
The material choice was a key component in the execution of the Cellophane House. There were four main materials used to construct the building: aluminum frame, structural plastic, custom-designed steel connectors, and SmartWrap.9 Starting from the inside, the main component is structural plastic. This spans from the floor to the walls, and even the ceiling. The floors
Gale, David. Translucent Resin Wall Partition. In Cellophane House. Philidelphia, PA: Kieran Timberlake, 2015. 22.
Timberlake, Kieran. Section of Aluminum Framing. In Cellophane House. Philidelphia, PA: Kieran Timberlake, 2015. 23.
and ceilings are polycarbonate plates integrated in the structural components of the house to lighten the overall load.10 Even the stairs throughout the building are constructed out of acrylic and fitted together with mortise and tenon joints without the necessity of fasteners or adhesives to create the illusion of floating stair treads.11 The walls are made of translucent resin which separates one space from another while also allowing light to
pass. The exterior façade is made of SmartWrap which can be described as, “a lightweight, energy gathering building envelope composed of a multi-layer skin just a few millimeters thick.” 12 The aluminum frame and steel connectors with be discussed further in a later section.
creating the lighting scheme and implementing the LEDs to promote efficiency and modularity as well as flexibility of assembly within the modules. Informed by the lighting, the house was divided into two zones: the living space and the stairwell. Under the stair treads, 6 inch LEDs were recessed into notches to help illuminate the stairwell. In the living space LEDs were used to create uplighting through the acrylic floors while illuminating the outline of the
structural grid. This enhanced the dichotomy between the horizontal and vertical planes within the structure of the house.14
Arup. Stairs are Lit by LED’s Under Each Tread. In Cellophane House. Philidelphia, PA: Kieran
Arup. The Floors are up-lit with some of the Light Reflecting Back Down from the Ceiling. In
Arup. Wires are Channeled Through T-slots in the Aluminum Structure. In Cellophane House.
Timberlake, 2015. 74.
Cellophane House. Philidelphia, PA: Kieran Timberlake, 2015. 79.
Philidelphia, PA: Kieran Timberlake, 2015. 78.
In the Cellophane house, typical lighting fixtures will not be found. Generic incandescent lighting was replaced with strands of LED lights that were integrated throughout the building. Because of the modularity of the structure, the lighting had to be integrated thoughtfully with slots and channeling in the aluminum members.13 Arup Lighting was integral in
SOLAR RADIATION
Energy Systems As described earlier, the exterior façade is made up of panels of SmartWrap. The wall panels themselves are made up of four layers of Polyethylene Terephthalate that allow light to pass through, but deflects the harmful infrared radiation from the sun. Consequentially, the layers form a pocket within the panels that selectively trap heat and cold to cool or warm up the house. The house then uses that air cavity and windows as a passive ventilation system. Although it wasn’t implemented in the exhibition, the panels also had fans and dampeners to enhance the airflow and either trap or release heat.15
RISING WARM AIR VENTED AT PARAPET
PET WEATHER BARRIER PET WITH PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES AIR SPACE CONTINUES TO VENT @ ROOF 3M SOLAR BLOCKING FILM CLEAR PET INTERIOR LAYER
INTEGRATED AIR DAMPER AT EACH LEVEL (OPERABLE)
INTERIOR LAYER
IR LAYER WN1 FRAME
BUILDING FRAME
OPERATING LAYER
OUTER LAYER WN1 FRAME
Clear PET on inner side of interior frame
IR Blocking Film
Air Cavity vented to exterior
Clear PET with PowerFilm PVModules on inner side of exterior frame
PET Weather Barrier Layer printed with diffusing pattern
Exterior Panel Diagram. Digital image. Https://www.treehugger.com. Accessed September 2017. https://www. treehugger.com/modular-design/home-delivery-wrapping-it-up-with-the-cellophane-house.html.
STACK EFFECT DRAWS IN CONTINUOUS AIR AT BASE OF WALL VENT
WINTER: HEAT RETENTION
HEATED CAVITY AIR BLANKETS PERIMETER
SUMMER: STACK VENTING
HEATED CAVITY AIR EXHAUST AT ROOF
*DAMPERS NOT DEPLOYED IN VERSION CONSTRUCTED FOR EXHIBIT
Energy System Diagram. Digital image. Https://www.architonic.com. April 13, 2010. Accessed September 06, 2017. https://www.architonic.com/en/project/kierantimberlake-cellophane-house/5100378.
Photovoltaic In their mission to reduce embodied energy, the west and east sides of the house have photovoltaic panels adhered to the surface which, “harvest energy from the sun and heat is captured in a cavity between layers and either held or released; minimizing the energy required for heating and cooling.” 16 Timberlake says, “ ‘We’re interested in the idea of a system, but one that the individual can customize.’ The PV panels harness solar power so the building can function ‘off-grid.’ ” 17
SOLAR RADIATION, AMBIENT TEMPERATURE, AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY SENSORS
THERMOCOUPLE AND PENDANT SENSORS
INTERNAL TEMPERATURE AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY SENSORS
Aaron, Peter. Exterior View of PV Panel. Digital image. Https://www.architonic.com. April 13, 2010. Accessed September 07, 2017. https://www.architonic.com/en/project/kierantimberlake-cellophane-house/5100378.
This is the largest factor in achieving their goal in the reduction of embodied energy.
“Diagram of sensor types and locations on the west facade and roof.” Digital image. Http://kierantimberlake. com. August 06, 2008. Accessed September 07, 2017. http://kierantimberlake.com/posts/view/107/.
Structure The aluminum framework is the foundation of the Cellophane House. Aluminum was chosen for the structure because it is strong yet lightweight and is easily assembled and disassembled. The framing system was engineered and manufactured by Bosch Rexroth who designed the framing members that, “feature a T-shaped slot on each side
that serves as the negative receptor for a variety of friction connections. Beams, columns, and accessories are fastened together with T-bolts rather than welds or adhesives, and are installed using a standard ratchet.� 18 Not only are the T-slots used for a structural connection, they can also be used to conceal wiring as well. This is important to be able to do with modular assembly because it refines the design and simplifies connections. Additional custom
connectors were also developed to enhance the abilities of the Bosch framing to meet the standards of free standing residential structures as well as the ability to have reversible connections. The floor panels and wall partitions are taped to the frames with 3M VHB tape, which aids in ease of assembly and disassebly.19
Diagram of Internal Structures. Digital image. Http://openbuildings.com. Accessed September 07, 2017. http://openbuildings.com/buildings/cellophane-house-profile-4548.
40’ - 0”
40’ - 0”
40’ - 0”
40’ - 0”
Photovoltaic Panels
Photovoltaic Panels
Structural Connection
Structural Connection
PV panels are adhered to the east and west facades to harvest energy.
30’ - 0”
30’ - 0”
Structure
Aluminum was chosen because of its lightweight qualities and easy assembly/dissassembly.
30’ - 0”
30’ - 0”
Beams, columns, and accessories are fastened together with T-bolts, rather than using welds or adhesives.
Structure
Aluminum was chosen because of its lightweight qualities and easy assembly/dissassembly.
20’ - 0”
10’ - 0”
0
2
20’ - 0”
20’ - 0”
20’ - 0”
10’ - 0”
10’ - 0”
10’ - 0”
SECTION A
SECTION A 4
8
0
2
SECTION B 4
8
PV panels are adhered to the east and west facades to harvest energy.
SECTION B
Beams, columns, and accessories are fastened together with T-bolts, rather than using welds or adhesives.
Assembly The whole house was prefabricated offsite in 3 months and assembled on site at MoMA in just 16 days. This was possible because, “the whole construction was broken down into integrated assemblies to ease shipping and construction on site. These integrated assemblies, called chunks, are fabricated off site simultaneously, making the assembly of each individual component independent from the components.� 20
All together, there were nine chunks that were then shipped to the site to be assembled by stacking one atop the other using a crane. This strategy dramatically reduces the amount of time on site, if done well with precision.
Onsite Assembly Diagram. Digital image. Http://future-house-genealogy.blogspot.com. Accessed September 06, 2017. http://
Timberlake, Kieran. Assembly of Module. In Cellophane House. Philidelphia, PA: Kieran
future-house-genealogy.blogspot.com/p/cellophane-house-client-xx.html.
Timberlake, 2015.
ROOM SUN SHADE ATTACHMENT
HVAC OUTLET MODULE
MESH SCREEN
BATHROOM POD
BATHROOM SECTION
LAUNDRY SECTION
EXTERIOR WALL
WINDOW FRAME COMPONENT
WINDOW TRACK COMPONENT STRUCTURE
HORIZONTAL CROSS PEICE
ALUMINUM TRACK COMPONENT BEAM SYSTEM
C FRAME
ALUMINUM TRACK COMPONENT
SMALL C FRAME
STAIR WALL COMPONENT
STAIR MODULE
ENTRANCE
CAR PARK
FOUNDATION
MAIN TRACK COMPONENT
Disassembly Following the Home Delivery Exhibition was over, the house needed to be removed from the site. The two options they had were to maintain the chunks and ship them out or to completely disassemble the components to be stored for later assembly. Since they did not have another site for the Cellophane House, they chose a complete disassembly. Before they could start, they had to rigorously document the as-built conditions. The disassembly began by removing chunk by chunk down to grade, and from there they reduced them further to components to be segregated them to be placed into storage and shipped away. As they were breaking down the structure of over 3,000 components, it became apparent that the labeling process would be a feat in itself. At an estimated three day project, it proved to be much more tedious and painstaking when it actually took six weeks to accomplish. Finally, the parts were organized by type and shipped on three flatbed trucks and two dry vans.21
Kieran Timberlake. “Glass is carefully removed and packed in crates. .” Digital image. Http://kierantimberlake.com. Accessed September 08, 2017. http://kierantimberlake.com/ posts/view/103.
Kieran Timberlake. “Workers detach components from the aluminum frame. .” Digital image. Http:// kierantimberlake.com. Accessed September 08, 2017. http://kierantimberlake.com/posts/view/103/.
Future Redux After the MoMA exhibition was over and the Cellophane House was disassembled, Kieran Timberlake received over fifty offers for the structure. Some offers were for the exact one on display at the exhibit and others were more interested in a whole new house. The locations also varied from New Mexico to Russia, and back to the states in Connecticut. In the end, they formally offered it
for sale by advertising it in the Wall Street Journal. Kieran Timberlake held the most interest in relocating The Cellophane House to a site that would allow further monitoring and measuring of results. Because of the housing market crash in 2008, people pulled their offers or greatly reduced them, leaving the architects without the right amount of net benefit, opportunity, or reimbursement so the parts were sent to a storage facility in New Jersey. They still have hope
in it’s potential to serve the public’s needs, believing that it could inform future projects such as public housing or other prefabricated buildings. 22
“Single Family, Urban Site.” Digital image. Http://inhabitat.com. September 18, 2008. Accessed September 09, 2017. http://inhabitat.com/kieran-timberlake-cellophane-house/.
“ Single Family Dwelling, Suburban Site.” Digital image. Http://inhabitat.com. September 18, 2008. Accessed September 09, 2017. http://inhabitat.com/kieran-timberlake-cellophane-house/.
“Single Family Dwelling, Water Front Site.” Digital image. Http://inhabitat.com. September 18, 2008. Accessed September 09, 2017. http://inhabitat.com/kieran-timberlake-cellophane-house/.
“Multifamily Dwelling, Urban Site.” Digital image. Http://inhabitat.com. September 18, 2008. Accessed September 08, 2017. http://inhabitat.com/kieran-timberlake-cellophane-house/.
Bibliography
1. Alter, Lloyd. “Home Delivery: Wrapping It Up With The Cellophane House.” TreeHugger. September 12, 2016. Accessed September 08, 2017. https://www.treehugger.com/modular-design/home-delivery-wrapping-it-up-withthe-cellophane-house.html. 2. “Cellophane House.” OpenBuildings. Accessed September 07, 2017. http://openbuildings.com/buildings/ cellophane-house-profile-4548. 3. Cellophane House™The Museum of Modern Art, Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling exhibit New York, New York.” KIERAN TIMBERLAKE. Accessed September 07, 2017. http://kierantimberlake.com/pages/ view/14/cellophane-house/parent:3. 4. Cohen, Alex, Daniel Cox, Stephen Kieran, Stephen Kieran, and James Timberlake. Cellophane House. Philadelphia: Kieran Timberlake, 2015. 5. Donoff, Elizabeth. “Cellophane House, New York.” Archlighting.com. Accessed September 08, 2017. http:// www.archlighting.com/projects/cellophane-house-new-york_o. 6. “Future House(s):Genealogy.” Cellophane House. Accessed September 08, 2017. http://future-housegenealogy.blogspot.com/p/cellophane-house-client-xx.html. 7. “Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling | MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art. Accessed September 10, 2017. https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/50. 8. Jacobs, Karrie. “The Prefab Decade.” Dwell. March 09, 2010. Accessed September 08, 2017. https://www. dwell.com/article/the-prefab-decade-3c53c45c. 9. “KieranTimberlake Architects.” KieranTimberlake Architects | Cellophane House | Immersive Experience Project Portfolio. Accessed September 07, 2017. http://www.buildwithusa.com/projects/kierantimberlake_ cellophanehouse.html. 10. KieranTimberlake. “Cellophane House by KieranTimberlake | Museums.” Architonic. April 13, 2010. Accessed September 06, 2017. https://www.architonic.com/en/project/kierantimberlake-cellophane-house/5100378. 11. “PREFAB FRIDAY: Cellophane House by KieranTimberlake.” Inhabitat Green Design Innovation Architecture Green Building. September 18, 2008. Accessed September 08, 2017. http://inhabitat.com/kieran-timberlakecellophane-house/.
Notes 1. “Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling | MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art. 2008. pg. 3 2. Ibid. pg. 3 3. Home Delivery. pg. 3 4. Cellophane House™The Museum of Modern Art, Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling exhibitNew York, New York.” pg. 5 5. Alter, Lloyd. “Home Delivery: Wrapping It Up With The Cellophane House.” TreeHugger. September 12, 2017.. pg.5 6. KieranTimberlake. “Cellophane House by KieranTimberlake | Museums.” Architonic. April 13, 2010. pg.5 7. Donoff, Elizabeth. “Cellophane House, New York.” pg.5 8.Ibid pg.5 9. Cellophane House™The Museum of Modern Art, Home Delivery. pg.9 10. “PREFAB FRIDAY: Cellophane House by KieranTimberlake.” Inhabitat Green Design Innovation Architecture Green Building. September 18, 2008.pg.9 11. Alter, Lloyd. “Home Delivery: Wrapping It Up With The Cellophane House.” pg.9 12. Cellophane House™The Museum of Modern Art, Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling exhibit. pg. 9 13. Cohen, Alex, Daniel Cox, Stephen Kieran, Stephen Kieran, and James Timberlake. Cellophane House. Philadelphia: Kieran Timberlake, 2015. pg. 10 14. Donoff, Elizabeth. “Cellophane House, New York. pg. 10 15. Cohen, Alex, Daniel Cox, Stephen Kieran, Stephen Kieran, and James Timberlake. Cellophane House. pg. 11 16.KieranTimberlake. “Cellophane House by KieranTimberlake | Museums.” pg. 13 17. Donoff, Elizabeth. “Cellophane House. pg. 13 18. Cohen, Alex, Daniel Cox, Stephen Kieran, Stephen Kieran, and James Timberlake. Cellophane House. pg.15 19.Ibid.pg. 15 20. Cohen, Alex, Daniel Cox, Stephen Kieran, Stephen Kieran, and James Timberlake. Cellophane House. pg. 17 21. Ibid. pg. 19 22. Cohen, Alex, Daniel Cox, Stephen Kieran, Stephen Kieran, and James Timberlake. Cellophane House. pg. 21