Jay Chenault Architecture and Digital Fabrication Portfolio 2016

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A rchite ctu re + Digital Fab r icatio n Jay Chenault MAS Architecture + Digital Fabrication, 2016 Master of Architecture, 2015


J ay C h e n au lt

Bio

Nationality: United States Born: 4.22.1992

Contact

P: +41.76.448.6966 E: cjay@student.ethz.ch Parkring 27, 8002 Zürich, CH

Education 2015-16

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich Digital Fabrication + Architecture (master of advanced studies) Prof. Fabio Gramazio and Prof. Matthias Kohler

Kansas State University 2010-15

2014

Architecture (master) Urban Planning (minor)

Dessau International Architecture Graduate School Arts in Architecture (exchange)

Skills

Digital

Experience

RODE Architects

2015

Rhino + Plug-ins Rhinoscript Adobe Creative Suite

Autodesk Revit 3ds Max ABB RobotStudio

Analog

Fabrication Writing + Editing

- Boston, USA As a junior designer I worked on projects from the scale of a single shipping container up to a 400-unit mixeduse residential development. My responsibilities ranged from construction documentation to conceptual design and research.

Columbia Associates Architecture - Columbia, USA 2014 2016

Publication 2016

2016

2012-15 2 / Curricula Vitae

As an student intern I produced diagrams, renderings, and Revit drawings.

NCCR Digital Fabrication Student Worker - Zürich, CH

Text editing and graphics for the dfab.ch website, Annual Report, and newsletter.

DFAB Annual Report

200+ page publication documenting the current research and future outlook of the research conducted within the NCCR Digital Fabrication. As a student I worked closely with the Managing Director to deliver graphics, text, and layout organization.

Design and Robotic Fabrication of a Timber Structure

Master’s thesis summarizing the collaboration and research work of 8 students in the MAS Digital Fabrication. As the primary editor I organized layout design, graphics, and text editing.

Oz Journal - Editor

3 years experience on the architectural journal of Kansas State. Editor of the 37th Edition, titled “Context”.


Digital Fabrication

Pre-Fabricated House This research thesis was a one-year investigation of parametric design and robotic construction methods, which culminated in the fabrication of an experimental house on the ETH Zürich campus.

Facade Prototype A two-week workshop exploring the potential of the Ph. D project “Spatial Wire-Cutting” to develop new architectural expressions informed by the robotic process.

3D Extruded Structures Six-week elective course from Gramazio Kohler Research to develop novel applications for the robotic extrusion 3D-printing method.

Architecture

Trauma Center

Roatan Island - Honduras. A place for short-term treatment, medical education, and community functions.

Innsbruck Pavilions Innsbruck, Austria - A flexible tectonic assembly which illustrates the aesthetic experiences of the city through its site-specific adaptations.

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P re -F abricated H ouse This research thesis was a one-year investigation of parametric design and robotic construction methods, which culminated in the fabrication of an experimental house on the ETH ZĂźrich campus.

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1:1 P rototype E xperimentation Design + Fabrication Process Within the MAS program, the potential for digital fabrication technologies to be integrated into architectural design and construction processes was primarily investigated by means of full-scale 1:1 prototypes. The emphasis on full-scale prototyping was invaluable for exploring these new digitally driven assembly processes to understand both the capabilities and limitations of these new technologies. Our experiences with real materials, assembly methods, testing, and technologies provided insights that allowed us to develop a strong relationship between expressive craftsmanship and innovative digital design methods. The iterative design process was implemented through the parallel structure of computational design studio in conjunction with robotic fabrication experimentation. At the end of the first semester, in December 2015, we had fabricated three fullscale structural prototypes, which were subsequently loadtested, 2 out of 3 were loaded to destruction, and analysed. In the Spring we organized as a collective team and continued to fabricate prototypes according to the evolving design. The lessons learned through this iterative process means that the genealogy of the final housing unit can be traced through the successes and failures of these early experimental prototypes.

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P rototype : T russ Repetitive Pre-Fabricated Nodes The concepts explored through this prototype centered around a design which contained inherent fabrication efficiency. From the early stages of design, we understood the necessity of the final house to be constructed in smaller pre-fabricated modules, before being assembled on-site. This prototype went further to a smaller scale and broke down these pre-fabricated chunks into repetitive nodes. Focusing on a single module allowed us to resolve the fabrication issues on a small scale, which could then be repeated throughout a larger piece. These smaller nodes took the form of a reciprocal frame, which was defined using a computational tool in rhino Python and Grasshopper. These “nodes� were comprised of two halves which by themselves were planar, but when combined created a spatial structural frame. The main advantage of constructing a larger spatial truss from smaller planar components is that the ability to pre-fabricate at a smaller scale emerged. Two beams were placed flat on the platform and then attached with a stiffening plate. The second beam was not released during fixation so that the robot could then directly carry the combined elements to the final place position. We found that a benefit of this additional pre-fabrication allowed us to double-check the accuracy of the placement; while a drawback was the increased time per beam and the added complexity of maneuvering 3 pieces in space compared to a single beam.

SRC Code Computational Design

KUKA Rail, E1 Assembly Position

2. Saw Cut

5 min CNC Prefab Plates

3. Pre-Assembly

4. Assembly

+- 1mm

4 min

Time/ Node 32 min

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l=1m

l = 1.3 m

5 min

1. Pick Up

Base 3x2m


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P rototype : A rch Fabrication to Design Relationship The success of structural load-testing conducted on earlier prototypes encouraged us to push the envelope further in regards to architectural form. The program evolved from a simple single-person living space to an elevated shed which would provide a public space beneath a private enclosure. The increased project ambition and design evolved from our fabrication experiments. Throughout the project the feedback from prototype fabrication, digital design investigation, and parametric structural analysis was a cyclical relationship. As we discovered improvements to the structural efficiency or robotic craftsmanship, the other areas adapted accordingly. Lessons integrated from previous prototypes allowed the team to fabricate more efficiently and with more quality. Limiting the beam to a single cut on each end greatly reduced the amount of time needed for sawing, while also improving the strength of the connections. Additionally we benefited from identifying, during the form generation, the use of planar frames which we could then spatially build upon. These planar components were vital to allow us to attach multiple modules together. This was the first prototype in which multiple modules were separately fabricated and then combined.

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D igital W ork - flow The development and implementation of a novel work-flow was vital to the success of our project. It required us to innovate the organization in both computational data and teamwork. By the time we began final production, the process to exchange

Rhino File Curves

information and to troubleshoot fabrication issues had been streamlined into an efficient operation. This unique work-flow is specific to the design and fabrication constraints of this project, however it is possible to imagine how the underlying logic can be adapted and applied as new architectural expressions are

Rhino Grasshopper (C# Script)

investigated.

Program

The method by which we fabricated the roof is the best anecdote

Creating Structure (Curves)

to demonstrate the effectiveness of this information work-flow. The image on the opposite page highlights the two roof modules, which follow a different computational logic than the rest of the structure. Due to the data organization it was conceivable

Optimization

Calculating Structural Performance (Karamba)

to alter the roof geometry, generate the fabrication data, test the reachability of all members, and then begin fabrication of those modules all within a single day. This potential for rapidly altering designed forms and construction data demonstrates the incredible potential impact of robotic fabrication on design and construction paradigms. My role within the digital work-flow Within the team organization, my role can best be described as fabrication execution. As geometric data was extracted from the computational design model, I then implemented this data

Python Script DFAB

Axis Angles or Target Planes Module Orientation Saw Cut Angles Cut Planes Singularity + Collision Check

Shingle Shingle Placement Plane Shingle Plane Feedback Adjustment

a

b

c

A6

(XYZ planes and saw-cut angles) into a RAPID code. This control

E1

program directly fed commands to the robots and CNC saw. My primary emphasis during the design phase was to develop the “fabrication loop “simulations which could be used to quickly test the effects of design decisions on fabrication. The fabrication loop is the consistent set of RAPID procedures which are executed repeatedly, but with different positions and data for each beam. As we began final production I then began to alter this

ABB RobotStudio (RAPID Code) Robot + Tool Data Procedure Loop Offline Simulation + Workspace Collision Check Shingle Placement Procedure PROFINET device communication

fabrication loop as we ran into unexpected challenges and learned of new opportunities. For example, we learned it was simply too dangerous to move in space with the large 2-meter beams in the same manner as the smaller beams. To resolve this the code was adapted so that when a beam was over 2m, a separate procedure was called so that the robot carried the beam up and over in a safe way. Conversely, we were able to cut even smaller beams (12cm) than planned after I developed a specific procedure which would re-grip the beam in-between the first and second cuts.

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A4

ABB 4600 Robots

A3

A5 A2 A1


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F abrication E xecution Robotic Control Software

Unique to our project is the necessity to define a fabrication

Control of the robots was achieved by utilizing the program ABB

loop which behaves in a consistent, predictable way while

RobotStudio 6.03. An advantage of this strategy is that we were

actually reaching variable positions each time. Since each beam

also able to simulate many fabrication options with confidence

contained unique data, it was necessary to create a generic

that the robotic moves were extremely accurate compared with

control program which could sort through these lists and take

what would happen in the real process. Due to this, many issues

the fabrication data needed at that stage of the process.

were avoided while still in the digital stage and opportunities were able to be recognized and tested with minimal risk, which

To achieve this, each beam in the chunk is represented as

benefited the overall fabrication efficiency.

one number array within a larger list. In this array, each digit represents one stage of the fabrication loop. So, as the control

Fabrication Execution

program executes and reaches the next step in the fabrication

Fabrication execution is the work-flow by which we were able

loop, a 1 means that procedure is executed and a 0 tells the

to translate fabrication data into robotic operations. After

program to skip to the next procedure. This allows us to treat

being extracted from the parametric model via Rhino Python,

each beam individually and pick and choose which procedures

this geometric information was organized into a series of lists

to use.

according to it’s type. For example, for each pre-fabricated chunk of around 100 beams there would be separate lists of

When a procedure, such as “Grip Beam”, is executed, the

100 gripping planes, 200 cutting angles, etc. Using a custom

same sequence of events is triggered each time. However, the

Grasshopper component these lists were translated from XYZ

position where the robot reaches before closing the gripper

planes in Rhino into a .MOD format which could then be read

(pGrip)is defined as a variable. At the end of the procedure, the

by the RAPID code used by ABB robots.

list containing all of the variable gripping planes is incremented. This means that the next time “Grip Beam” is called by the control module, the next gripping plane in the list will be used. In this way we were able to segment the fabrication loop into separate modules that could be interchanged, adjusted, and improved.

Fabrication Data

Gripping Planes Saw Cut Angles Placement Axis Angles / Target Planes

Beam Info Array

VAR num allNumberArryProcedures {33,15} := [[1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1], Gripping + Cutting RobTargets VAR robtarget allPickMaterialPlanes {33} := [[[-401.95, 0.0, 20.0],[0.0, 0.71, 0.71, 0.0],[-2,0,-1,0],[0,9E9,9E9,9E9,9E9,9E9]], Beam Placement Path VAR jointtarget allClear_5 {54} := [[[75.7083, 16.2963, 19.7768, 180.0, -53.9269, 145.4001],[837.43,9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9, 9E9] ] , Saw Cut Angles VAR string allSawData {66} := ["SOL A1 24526 20 A2 9000 80 STA SOL A3 8500 5 ",

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Axis Angles or Target Planes Module Orientation


Specific Procedure: Gripping Beam

Robotic Procedure

PROC rGripBeam() FOR i FROM 0 TO (numGrip) DO IF i>0 THEN

CONTROL (main)

rBuildStructure rGripBeam; rCutShort; rCutStart; rCutEnd; rTransferToPlace;

rClear_1; rClear_2; rPlace; rClear_3; rClear_4; rClear_5;

Gripper Control rSchunk12Init rSchunk12Open rSchunk12Release rReadSawDataCut rSawMoveInPosition rSawCut fSawStatus

MoveJ pOverGripPos,vMax,z100,tGripper\WObj:=wobjSaw; !Gripper Open rSchunk12Open; SetDO doSawClampClose,1; MoveJ Offs( pPreGripBeamPos, 0,0,100),vMax,z10,tGripper\WObj:=wobjSaw; MoveL pPreGripBeamPos,vDown,fine,tGripper\WObj:=wobjSaw; pGrip:=allPickMaterialPlanes{countGrip}; pGrip.extax.eax_a:=pGrip.trans.x+1183.48; MoveL pGrip,vMax,fine,tGripper\WObj:=wobjSaw; !Gripper Close: rSchunk12Close; !open small SAW Gripper SetDO doSawClampClose,0; WaitTime 1.0; MoveL Offs(pGrip,0,0,5),vDown,fine,tGripper\WObj:=wobjSaw; Incr countGrip; ENDIF ENDFOR ENDPROC

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F abrication P rocedure The fabrication procedure “loop� is the constant sequence of

the manual place.

robotic procedures which iterate through lists of variables.

3. Cutting After closing the gripper the beam was then lifted a few

1. Fabrication Loop Initiation

millimeters off of the saw. This removed the friction from sliding

At the beginning of each new fabrication sequence a pause was

directly on the saw surface and improved the cutting accuracy.

included so that it was possible to manually check the previous

The beam was then placed directly on the saw and the cutting

beam placement. This streamlined the process so a beam could

sequence was initiated.

easily be repeated without restarting the entire sequence. This also provided an opportunity to display the beam information

4. Placing Beams

for the dimensions of the upcoming member.

The cut beam was then lifted and moved through a series of pre-defined positions to consistently move the beams away

A

2. Gripping

from the saw and towards the fabrication platform. When

After going to a pre-defined standard position, the gripper

the length of the beam was over 1200mm, such as with the

was opened and descended to the gripping height. Later we

primary structural elements, a separate function was called

identified the advantage of first reaching the correct Y and Z

which moved the beam up and over rather than to the side. This

coordinate, and then sliding to the variable X gripping position.

procedure took longer but guaranteed that the longer beams

This allowed the gripper to slide along the beam and re-orient

would not collide with the fabrication set-up. After reaching a

Time/ Member 1 min/ Beam 30 sec= 3 min. Time Assembly Position

4. Placement ABB - Left

2. Saw Cut A/B ABB - Left

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3. PreDrill A/B ABB - Left


consistent position above the structure, the robot then moved through 2 variable pre-placement positions which allowed for an approach that would not collide with the already built section of the structure. 5. Drilling + Reset Loop After reaching the variable placement position, the procedure would then wait for manual confirmation before opening the gripper and returning to the home position. Before the operator confirmed the placement, the second fabricator would drill the correct screw and secure the beam. The inclusion of a human in this step was necessary in order to manually confirm that the structure was being built accurately. Similar to the preplacement positions, the movement away after drilling included 2 variable waypoints. This meant that after placement, the robot would not collide with the elements that were already placed on its way back to the home position, from where it wold then restart the fabrication loop for the next member.

pause ABB - Right

1. Raw Material Student Raw Material

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D esign Architectural Concept

using these variables and introducing new operations, the

The main aim of the project was to find a paradigm able to embed

different members of the working-group were able to manipulate

digital fabrication processes in the construction of a “minimal

the whole procedure without invalidating its working principles.

housing unit”. In the last few years, topics like “Parametric

The “Master-definition” revealed itself a powerful tool also in

Design”, “Smart Geometry” and “Non-Standard Seriality” have

terms of internal organization of the different tasks: most of the

proposed iterations of a new way of imagining architecture,

routines were easily “detachable” from the rest of definition,

leading to results that are pushing the shift in seeing the art of

giving the possibility to tackle potential problems individually

building towards a more “digital” perspective. There are only

and without the risk of compromising the whole work-flow.

few examples, though, able to show a concrete integration of algorithm-aided design tools from the initial stages of the

The way of discussing the “Architectural Concept” from a

project: the most common work-flow is organized in a way that

geometric perspective needs therefore to be partially updated.

separates the different areas of interest subsequently, from

The geometrical features of the built unit are more a result than

a “drawn” and static design intent all the way down to the

a starting point: the driving parameters have been identified

constructive and assembly system.

in the constructive material (linear wood elements), in the fabrication setup (two non-collaborating robotic arms), in

We saw a reason for this behavior in the misleading application

the dimensions of the working volume (5 x 3 x 2.5 m) and in

of the concept of “Master-model”: a shared and predefined set

the building context, and design intent resolved itself in the

of geometries, ideally frozen in an unchangeable configuration,

arbitrary choice between equally acceptable configurations.

might well have been useful in a pre-algorithmic way of thinking architectural projects, but has proven to be an obstacle for a more dynamic approach. Instead, we introduced the concept of a “Master-definition”, a chain of interconnected operations able to give results according to a set of variables defined up-stream:

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Roof

Second Belt

Balustrade

Floor Slab

First Belt

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Statistics Final Fabrication Time: 5 weeks Pre-fabricated Modules: 46 Individual Beams: 4,178 Ground Level Area: 35m2 2nd Level Area: 20m2 Team Members: Jay Chenault, Alessandro Dell’Endice, Matthias Helmreich Nicholas Hoban, Jesús Medina, Pietro Odaglia Federico Salvalaio, Stavroula Tsafou

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F acade P rototype A two-week workshop exploring the potential of the Ph. D project “Spatial Wire-Cutting� to develop new architectural expressions informed by the robotic process. Team: Jay Chenault, Ahmed Elshalfei, Ludwig Schilling

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D ual -R obot W ire C utting Research Foundation “Robotic Wire Cutting” was a two-week design and build

Fabrication Process

workshop in which innovative facade typologies were explored

After generating the necessary path curves we began to fabricate

through 1:1 scale prototypes. The computational basis for this

from full-size polystyrene foam blocks. The recyclability of

robotic procedure was provided by Romana Rust and her Ph. D

this material and the extremely fast fabrication time provided

research, titled “Spatial Wire Cutting”. Unique to this research

us with an opportunity to design and test with an iterative

is the use of two simultaneous UR robots with a loose hot-wire

process. This back-and-forth relationship between design and

stretched between. What sets this apart from other wire cutting

fabrication meant that the final facade panels were achieved

projects is that a loose wire with a curvature allows for doubly

with a high-level of refinement. The polystyrene blocks were

curved surfaces to be cut in a way that is not possible with a

then used a cheap bespoke moulds upon which cement

straight wire.

composite Swisspearl® panels were materialised.

Design Process Using a grasshopper simulation allowed us to quickly explore surface typologies and to then compare the desired result against the final product. After defining the intended panel edge curves, the necessary robotic path curves were then derived from the computational model.

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Fabrication Simulation Panel Edge Curve: Robot Path Curve:

Prototype Cuts

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D igital + M anual F abrication A unique feature of the process was the feedback between manual and digital craftsmanship. Initially we explored what forms were possible by using smaller blocks cut with standard hand-held hot wires. 1. Spatial Wire Cutting After developing a computational model based off of the manual explorations, we then began full-scale robotic fabrication tests. This usually involved a few passes through the foam block as we refined and corrected the path curves.

2. Material onto Formwork When a desired surface was achieved, several large scale foam moulds were produced. From a large roll of wet composite cement we then cut out the desired panel size. The material did not automatically adopt the form of the mould however, and so therefore it was necessary to shape and form the cement onto the mould by hand. As the surface double-curvature became more dramatic, the amount of manual craftsmanship needed also increased.

3. Panel Edge Refinement While still in its moistened state the excess edges of the panel were removed with a saw. It was also necessary for some panels to be sanded on the edges in order to provide a flush connection to the adjacent panels. We found that as the curvature of the cut increased, the tolerances between the simulated and actual result also increased.

4. Installation onto Structure For the purposes of the final exhibition we produced wooden structures upon which we fixed the facade prototypes using 48mm x 38mm screws.

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F abrication E xperiments Aggregation In the initial fabrication tests we followed the standard practice of using a single polystyrene block per Eternit panel. Essentially, one fabrication sequence would equal one facade panel. After exploring the composite material behavior we realized it was possible to achieve a wider spectrum of surface typology by combining several smaller polystyrene moulds into a single panel. A drawback to this technique is that it requires several more cuts per panel. This was remedied somewhat by using both the positive and negative forms resulting from the wire cutting. Removing Fabrication Constraints Combining the moulds together allowed us to achieve larger panels than previously expected and with customizable dimensions, without ever adjusting the robotic setup. The fabrication setup initially allowed for a maximum size of 800 x 1200mm panels, but through aggregation of smaller moulds the final size was only limited by the size of material and transportation concerns, rather than by the fabrication space.

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F inal P rototype Fabrication Concept Combining several wire-cut forms into a single formwork allows for new forms not previously achievable using a single cut. In this instance one Eternit panel is created from a formwork of six separate polystyrene foam pieces. In the final prototype we combined four 1200mm x 1800mm composite panels into a single vertical facade. Design Concept The edge curves of these smaller moulds creates an alternating field of peaks and valleys which were parametrically defined. The height values of these peaks were assigned as a gradient along a diagonal axis. The highest peak value was constrained to 280mm, which we determined from earlier experiments to be the limit of the material flexibility. It is envisioned that the ability to vary the facade surface would allow for optimization of environmental effects such as solar and wind.

Squish and Material Change

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3 d -E xtruded S tructures Six-week elective course from Gramazio Kohler Research to develop novel applications for the robotic extrusion 3D-printing method. Team: Jay Chenault, Nicholas Hoban, Jesus Medina

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D eployable S tructures Extrusion Process For several years the chair of Digital Fabrication, led by Gramazio Kohler Research, has been exploring the design potential of robotically extruded structures. Using a custom extruder-end effector attached to a UR5 robotic arm the plastic filament is printed spatially, rather than in 2D layers. During the winter break, several classmates and I offered to help finish the fabrication of a large-scale hanging extruded structure. From this fabrication experience, we began to conceive of several strategies in which an extruded structure can be fabricated as a deployable structure. Multi-Material Print After these studies we decided to dive deeper into the material behavior of the ABS filament and began experimenting with “NinjaFlex” plastic which has a high degree of flexibility. This allowed to fabricate a single homogeneous structure with flexibility.

Emilio Pérez Piñero provided the inspiration for experimenting with novel approaches to achieve deployable structures.

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T ypologies 1. Compression A linear compression structure is possible when one diagonal axis is extruded with solid filament while the other diagonal axis uses flexible filament. This creates a triangular truss in one direction which can compress into a more compact form than the original extruded structure.

2. Roll/Unroll In this typology the spatial diagonals are extruded with solid ABS filament, which creates a rigid pyramid structure. The connection layers above and below in the X and Y direction use flexible ABS filament which then allows for the planar surface of the print to adopt a new non-planar form. The printed form can be compressed by rolling the structure in the X or Y direction.

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The flexible ABS portion of these prints are shown as yellow filament.

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F abrication - T ypology 1 1. Base Layer The solid ABS creates a stable base on the fabrication surface.

2. Rigid Truss Creating the triangular truss which provides the structural support for the flexible material. Sometimes it is necessary to use a metal tool to manually create a surface for the ABS to solidify on. This can be remedied by adjusting parameters such as heat temperature, robot speed, and by adding a WaitTime command at certain steps in the sequence.

3. Flexible Connections These individual rigid trusses are interconnected into a single mesh. The robot deposits flexible ABS filament onto the triangle peaks. The extruder too size determines the minimal cell dimension based off of this step. If the valleys are too narrow the tool will crash with the solid trusses.

4. Base Layer 2 The triangle peaks are then connected with another flat layer of flexible ABS. This layer does not add any additional flexibility but provides a base from which additional layers can be built upon. These connections were also valuable for improving quality of the spatial diagonal connections.

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T rauma C enter Roatan Island - Honduras. A place for shortterm treatment, medical education, and community functions. Team: Jay Chenault, Naihao Fan, Kelsie Kremer, Andrew Stith, Samantha Wai

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R esearch + D esign This project was completed as part of a “vertical studio� in which bachelor and master thesis students work within a single team. This organization was a valuable learning experience and gave me a new appreciation of research in the design process. The studio prompt was to design a small hospital on the island of Roatan, which is severely lacking in medical facilities. The design task was to provide the island with an affordable and energy-free trauma center which could expand its functions and grow. Responsibilities included site selection, programming, construction techniques, and envisioning ways to educate and reverse current health trends. Simplicity of construction and patient well-being were the top priorities.

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360° Nurse Awareness


Passive Cooling Program Separation

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P rogram O rganization Doctor’s Apartments

Education + Community Space

Intended for temporary stays. Privacy from the public realm

Multi-functional space that can fill a variety of community roles.

was a vital design element, while remaining close enough to the

At night the walls slide shut to enclose the space as sleeping

medical zone for emergencies. There are front and back porches

quarters for visiting family members who are vital to providing

to provide sunlight throughout the day. These also serve dual

necessary care to patients. There is also a kitchen where family

purpose as public and private space.

members cook meals for the patients. This portion of the program was added after our visit to Roatan.

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Reflection Garden

Medical Ward

These gardens provide a link to nature for the patients. Living

The Medical Ward was designed to be built initially by itself, as

close to nature is a dominant theme of the local Garifuna

more funds were raised the other structures would be added. The

culture and these spaces are intended to improve the morale

Ward is unique from the others in that it requires climate-control

of patients. Serene spaces to reflect or to converse with visitors.

systems. Additionally a main design concern was ensuring the

Programmatically they also serve several roles such as dividing

central nurse’s station had clear views into all spaces in order

the functions of the Trauma Center and increasing cross-

to improve patient care. Learning the relationships and spaces

ventilation.

necessary for a medical-care space such as this was a fresh challenge for me as a designer.

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I nnsbruck P avilions Innsbruck, Austria - A flexible tectonic assembly which illustrates the aesthetic experiences of the city through its site-specific adaptations.

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S tructure F rom E xoskeletons How can the structural diagram of an arthropod exoskeleton inform the design process? Beginning first with the analysis of the hard-bodied tick; an arthropod which adapts its form in response to functional need. My architectural response was a structural system which could be directly altered as a reaction to contextual forces. This adaptation to a common structural system would create a unique form within a repeated set of structures. A program emerged as a result of the structure: A folly physically articulating the natural aesthetic qualities of a place, to bring people in direct contact with the sensory experience.

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S ite A daptations Alt Stadt Recovering the roof of a parking garage as performance and art space.

Inn Riverbank Resolving

the

vertical

separation

between the Inn River and a recreational park.

Hafelekarspitze Providing a threshold and viewing platform for a popular mountain peak.

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O z J ournal |

I ssues 35-37

The student architectural publication of Kansas State is published annually. I was on the staff for 3 years and in my final year of graduate school I became editor-in-chief. Interacting with architects, professors, and theorists provided a valuable educational experience during this time. Additional responsibilities include designing layouts, organizing events, and delegating responsibilities to staff members. My final issue with the journal is titled “Context” and explored the many layers of contextual information that affect our perception of space. Oz 37 Theme Statement: “Decisions cannot be made in isolation. Oz Volume 37 will address the implications of context in Architecture. Responding to context allows buildings to convey values of society and serve as a reflection of time and place. This process originates from a spectrum of influences, not always tangible. We ask what is the role of context in your conception of architecture?” Contributing Authors: The Present Situation David Buege and Marlon Blackwell Then and Now: The Context of Continuity Joseph Biondo and Dan Silberman; Spillman Farmer Architects Drawing in Space Anne Lindberg Context as Continuum Adam Yarinsky; Architecture Research Office Local Code: Real Estates Nicholas de Monchaux Within and Among Brad Cloepfil; Allied Works Architecture Sugar Hill Project: Harlem, New York David Adjaye; Adjaye Associates The Deep Section: Karst Urbanism in Town Branch Commons Kate Orff, Geni Wirth, and Anne Weber; SCAPE/Landscape Architecture Honoring Place, Detail, and Intent: A Case Study Lake|Flato Architects

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NCCR D igital F abrication A nnual R eport About The NCCR Digital Fabrication is one of 21 National Centers of Competence in Research (NCCR) provided by collaboration between the Swiss National Science Foundation and the ETH ZĂźrich. Each year the NCCR Digital Fabrication completes an Annual Report which summarizes the current research and developments of the past year, as well as the future outlook. My Role My contribution to the publication was completed as part of my employment as a student assistant in the NCCR. Initially, I read text submissions as a proof-reader and compiler. Later, I created layouts using Adobe InDesign and organized spreads within our graphic layout. Lastly, I edited or created diagrams which supplemented the texts throughout the document. Perspective The diversity of tasks I completed for this project, in addition to working closely with the Managing Director of the NCCR and Management team, provided an excellent opportunity for improving skills related to editing and graphics for high-quality publications.

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Reference Orkun Kasap

Kevin Deabler

Luka Piskorec

Management + Research Assistant NCCR Digital Fabrication +41.44.633.40 76 kasap@dfab.ch

Principal Architect RODE Architects +1.617.852.6936 kevin@rodearchitects.com

MAS Teaching Lead Gramazio Kohler Research +41.44.633.94.47 piskorec@arch.ethz.ch

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Thank you for your consideration Jay Chenault MAS Architecture + Digital Fabrication Masters of Architecture +41.76.448.6966 cjay@student.ethz.ch online portfolio: https://issuu.com/james-chenault/docs/ jay_chenault_portfolio_issuu

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