FRANCIS REDMAN PORTFOLIO W W W. F R A N C I S - R E D M A N . C O M
SELECTED WORKS G R A D U AT E S T U D I E S 2016-2017
MORPHLUID PASSIVE THERMORESPONSIVE SYSTEM Year: 2017 / Type: System / Status: Complete
Morphluid envisions a future with passive systems capable of responding to climatic and environmental conditions utilizing the simple and natural phenomena of evaporation. With water as its fuel, the module runs low on expenses and enables society to take action by striding away from regular automated systems while opening the possibility to lower electrical consumption.
Architecture has undergone numerous changes and transcended into an ever evolving system which is both adaptable and sustainable. Thus wielding the power to control and negotiate how a space reacts to the built environment. Depleting resources and large scale propaganda of sustainability have led architects to be environmentally aware and cost effective at the same time. Traditional construction mechanisms are gradually losing their sway in the era of modern architecture leading the way to smart and flexible solutions. “Can fluids along with their state transitions behave as activators for passively operated systems which are capable of replacing electrically powered ones?�
The water heats up and evaporates causing increase in volume due to a transition in state. As the water continues to evaporate, pressure builds up in the container. The pressure within the heater causes water to move to the shader through the water inlet. As the water gradually increases within the shader, the weight of the water causes it to tilt by rotating on its pivot point. The shader also consists of a counterbalance which aids in balancing it and bringing it back to its original position as the temperature reduces during the course of the day. The water is pigmented with a black hydrosoluble dye which clouds the surface of the shader thus cutting out the sunlight which further reduces the heat accumulation within the building. The mechanism is based on the simple concept of high and low pressure points. The liquid tends to move from a high pressure point to a low pressure point.
By building an initial parametric model which allowed us not only to easily digitally fabricate all components of our prototype but also to shift the hinge position and change the geometry of the containers in order to play with the volumes, we were able to then apply calculations to the script by using fulcrum principles along with densities and volumes to get the right weight of the materials used for our prototype. The result of this algorithmic setup gave us the opportunity to explore different formal outcomes for our modules and at the same time providing us with the necessary information to verify the balance between both containers.
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SOLAR BLOSSOM THERMORESPONSIVE STRUCTURES Year: 2016 / Type: Pop-up / Status: Ongoing Team: Francis Redman, Marcel Dawid, Javier Montalvo, Abraham Ninan
Solar Blossom is a thermoresponsive structure that allows the public to comfortably enjoy Barcelona’s beach throughout summer and winter. By using the evaporation and condensation processes as actuators, the structure is able to respond to climatic changes and adapt its formal conditions to generate a corresponding comfort for the public. This project was created as a proposal to solve the lack of activity at Barcelona’s beach during the cold periods of the winter but also to provide a greater comfort during summer time. The intent is to accomodate the area in order to allow the various social and local activities happening in summer to also take place during the winter, and in summer to provide a simple but important quality: shadow.
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After observing and analyzing the area during both summer and winter days, it was obvious that the zone was not adapted to the needs of the users as it did not have a single canopy or tree to provide protection from the sun neither did it have any enclosed space to block the strong wind and low temperatures of the winter. The design of the intervention is strongly based on the material system. The mechanism used to trigger its movement is the water’s change of state from liquid to gas. When in liquid state, the structure is kept in an enclosed state due to the weight of the water deposited in the bottom of the actuating elements. When in gas state, the weight is liberated and the structure rises up because of the internal carbon fiber rods’ tension force. This process has a natural loop as the evaporated water eventually condensates back down, adding the weight again.
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Polyethylene sheets are used as the skin of the structure and carbon fiber rods as the skeleton to provide rigidity and tension. During the design process, several variations of the sealing divisions were created to find the one that gave the best result in terms of balance between evaporation and condensation.
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Condensed / Night / Winter
Evaporated / Day / Summer
Prototype 1.0 - Proof of Concept Because the project is nested within an active public space, the major aspects investigated were movement, activity and behavioral patterns. To find the appropiate location for the system, it was crucial to identify the most frequented zones of the beach and the type of activites carried out by them while there. Understanding all of these information when overlapped with each other allowed us to pin point the optimum location for the structure, therefore allowing a greater group of people to use it.
Dominant paths Active areas Site location
EVOLUTIONARY TOWER STRUCTURAL FORM FINDING Year: 2017 / Type: Computational / Status: Complete
By using Karamba (a structural analysis tool for Grasshopper) to make a structural beam analysis of the tower’s structural diagrid envelope and inputting the displacement as the fitness value into Galapagos (an evolutionary solver plug-in) which is set to minimize it, the solver looks for the best possible combination of the numerical parameters that control the geometry seeking for the optimum balance between form and structure.
COCOON A KERFING EXPERIMENT Year: 2016 / Type: Lamp / Status: Complete Team: Francis Redman, Archana Ravikumar, Nithin Bhargav, Sandesh Kagganti
By taking inspiration from the caterpillar’s cocoon, we developed a geometry to fabricate a lamp that would not only resemble the insect’s monocoque case but that would also challenge the wood bending technique of kerfing. Our final patterns are the result of various iterations that since the beginning sought to create a multi-directional bending surface.
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Because of the organic nature of the cocoon, the joinery system for the lamp is based on small protuberances extending from the pattern’s end and interlocking with matching holes on the adjacent surface. This gives the appearance of interlacing edges. All of these components create a wrapping environment for the light bulb to be put inside, making an analogy between it and a butterfly inside its cocoon.
BONODE CHAIR STRUCTURALLY CONSCIOUS DESIGN Year: 2017 / Type: Furniture / Status: Complete Team: Francis Redman, Cesar Arroyo, Marcel Dawid, Javier Montalvo
When starting our conceptual research for the design of this chair, we found it very interesting how nodes could have the possibility to tie a series of simple linear elements while at the same time creating a complex structure due to its core geometry arrangement. With this in mind, we designed the chair’s geometry and then analyzed each junction to understand how the forces would act. After this we went on to design a series of nodes which vary geometrically depending on how they would manage the structural loads.
SELECTED WORKS U N D E R G R A D U AT E S T U D I E S 2011-2015
URBAN SANCTUARY contrasting spaces Year: 2012 / Type: Spiritual / Status: Design Development
Characterized by light ridges entering through the apertures in between the overlaps of the exterior shell, the sanctuary’s hollow interior is solemnly lit. As the program of the building is that of a columbarium, a series of waiting rooms and offices function at the opposite side. By contrasting these programmatic uses, each acquiring different formal languages and lighting qualities, the experiential impact of going in and out of the sanctuary is amplified.
BOSTON OLYMPICS COMMUNITARY MASTER PLANNING Year: 2015 / Type: Master Plan / Status: Complete
Rising from the street level, this Boston 2024 master plan transforms the Industrial District by creating new mixed-use typologies next to the Olympic Complex while still maintaining the existing transportation infrastucture. It connects Boston’s major developments and green spaces turning them into one continuous path with the use of pedestrian and cycling bridges, while also creating a new promenade with the extension of Fort Point Channel.
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WELLNESS CENTER A SPACE FOR CONTEMPLATION Year: 2014 / Type: Medical / Status: Schematic Design
SECTION B 1’16” = 1’0
Based on the appreciation of the site and its landscape along with the exterior connection to its interior elements, the project’s circulatory mezzanine serves as a guide through a journey accessing the programmatic spaces and ultimately towards a series of meditational platforms. The double height central space in conjunction with the platforms and the filtrating facade folds blur the line between exterior and interior elements.
SCHOOL GYMNASIUM FORM FOLLOWS ORGANIZATION Year: 2015 / Type: Recreational / Status: Construction Documents
Sunken into the ground, the court is surrounded by a circulatory mezzanine which is enclosed by a double glass facade bringing sunlight and ventilation into the arena. The program is divided by a set of ramps, which either take the visitors to the stadium seatings in the mezzanine level or the locker rooms below. This programmatic organization permits the building to function properly for both players and spectators.
SELECTED WORKS PROFESSIONAL WORK
GRUPO Celso PĂŠrez + PRICE CLUB READAPTATION Year: 2015 / Type: Commercial / Status: Complete
The client needed to move offices along with one of their stores into an old and torn down warehouse. Only internal redesigning was asked along with the programmatic specifications of office spaces, meeting and training rooms, dining and storage areas, technical rooms, store area with optimized amount of shelves as well as a back entry for the products to be received by the warehouse and transported to the second floor where the storage for this would be located. By taking a very simple approach, the arrangement of the space came out to be effective in terms of productivity and circulation as well as in maintaining a visual connection between the important nodes of the office floor.
FRANCIS REDMAN W W W. F R A N C I S - R E D M A N . C O M