Jieru Ding Timber CNC Fabrication

Jieru Ding GAD RC2 2014 Timber CNC Fabrication Project Tutor :Isa誰e Bloch and Moa Carlsson

RC2 Course outline In the twenty-first century, our role as designers is to renegotiate the relationship between the technology of digital fabrication (that struggles with predictability and a lack of materiality) and the notions of craftsmanship (which are to time consuming and exclusive). As both methods possess opposed distinct signs of process, inherent limitations and crucial advantages, it is the core of the conflict to strike a balance between the necessity of process with the noise of possibility. Through a multiple object/ material/fabrication approach we will demonstrate that a combination of all these elements result in better output in terms of typology, performance, material and cost efficiency, mass customisation possibilities and a multiple part/material behaviour.

Rearch cluster 2 is based on the material study concentrating on the dissonance between the design performance and the process of making which is named as the ‘misfit’ existing in producing, assembling, fabricating, structuring and sometimes the material behavior and properties itself.

We will combine computational design tools with a good understanding of material experimentation, by swapping back and forth in between physical studies and the digital environments. This studio will be focusing on a more artistic/intuitive yet digital approach in combination with the integration of physical experiments brought back into the digital realm.

The final project itself will consequently apply these studies onto a series of larger scale designs.

Contents

1.Water-fall Project (Term 1) 1.1 momoents of tables 1.2 Water-fall and misfit experiment

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2.Architectural proposal and site Reaerch 2.1 Tourism Damage 2.2 Environmental Force

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3.Cloud top project (Term 2) 3.1 CNC milling and Bending Misfit 3.2 Vertical Garden

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4.Modular system combined new proposal (Term3) 4.1 Controllability of misfit 4.2 Modular system 4.3 Three types of components 4.4 The revolution of vertical garden

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Water-fall Project (Term 1) My project Water-fall for the first term was mainly exploring the instability and unpredictable of the timber during the CNC machine fabrication process, and kept these components, which normally be treated as flaw or failure (misfits), as the functional characteristic according to the design conditions. The project relied on the research of the wood types, machines and fabrication techniques to predict and control the certain effect as the component in design.

In the Water-fall, the research of the timber misfit were focus on the traces (ditches) and wastes be left by the drill of CNC machine after it passed through. The research of the specific drill types and traces left by them on different types of timber demonstrate the variety of the misfits during the production process, which won’t be notice if the designer doesn’t participate the whole process of making.

The designer as well as maker allowed designers have more control of the outcome, as study and develop the project from the observation of fabrication process.

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Traces

Wood Misfit

Wastes

Reference By Aron Demetz

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Sarah Wigglesworth and Jeremy Till, Increasing disorder in a dinnin Recording different moments of the tables

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CNC Misfit traces and residue biproducts are new layer of design on the digital model during the fabrication process due to the setting of Mastercam (PC-based computer-aided design / computer-aided manufacturing software), drill bites and raw material.

The misfit rely on the geometric, which has the benefit of both fabrication timesaving (one third time of produce smooth surface) and high resolution.

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Axel Kilian described two ways of using CNC machine “Extract the capabilities of the machine and embed them into a generative program that explores the possible forms and cuts within the limitations” and “Design an object and adapt it to the machine’s capabilities”.

Strategy of exploring the high-tech fabrication limitation and cooperation with other technique to represent the design is what we developed along with the design process. Contemporary software and computeraided manufacturing create a fable-like object that ultimately narrates the story of a unique hand-manufactured and antique piece of design.

It is the narrative of fairy tales: something old and something ordinary, something that we think we know, metamorphose into an entirely new thing that dazzles us in its juxtaposition - just like Cinderella.

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The unique trace produce by CNC machine is due to the setting called stepover. The cutting tool must step over and make several adjacent cuts to complete machining a feature (Fig.9). As a result, a small cusp of material, called a scallop, will remain between these cuts on any surrounding walls or on the machined surface if a ball end mill is used.

The size of the step-over distance and the tool diameter will determine the scallop height between each step. Decreasing the step-over distance will minimize the scallop height, but will require more steps, and therefore more time, to machine the feature.

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Functions for traces and wates The vertical garden is the platform for both of the ditches and wastes features to be developed as functionality: ditches for leading in and out the amount of water that plants required, and the hairy wastes attached on the materials for adding friction force to provide the growth environment for specific plants.

Wastes for specific growing enviroment

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The water requirements for plants vary widely depending on: plants types

space and soil

materials for pots and environment

1.Plants with large or very thin leaves and those with fine surface roots usually require more frequent watering.

2.Size of the plant - obviously a large tree will require more water than a small seasonal plant.

3.Flowering plants and rapidly growing plants dry out quickly.

1.A large plant in a small pot will need water more often.

2.Different soil mixes require different watering schedules.

3.Type of soil - clay soils retain a lot of water, where as sand does not.

1.Indoor or outdoor location.

2.Plants in a warm, dry, sunny location need more frequent watering. Aspect - is the plant exposed to sun and wind or protected by other plants or structures.

3.Season - plants grow at different rates at different times of the year.

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Plants

Holding Box Soil

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The physical model of first design of Water-fall has been sliced into four pieces to fabricate from CNC machine: three pieces for plant hold pot and one piece for façade block.

As describe in the study reference part, CNC machine has its limitation of drill reachable depth and only could work on one surface at once. Cut three-dimensional design object into slices in the software, then fabricate small pieces without joints and assemble layers by glue to represent the continuing curve surface. This technique has been defined as “Continuing layers� in previous chapter.

By using the drill machine to explore the trace of drill bites. Step drill bit, hole saw and twist drill bit could present interesting trace. Only twist drill bit could produce Residue Biproducts misfit, since other two have the working principle of damage surrounding material. I choose twist drill to explore further for this project.

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Walnut

Oak

Cedar

Pine

Ash

Cherry

Twist drill bit and timber material behavior with it.

Step drill bit and timber material behavior with it.

Hole saw and timber material behavior with it.

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Physical model made by CNC milling machine

The unique trace produce by CNC machine is due to the setting called step-over. The cutting tool must step over and make several adjacent cuts to complete machining a feature (Fig.9). As a result, a small cusp of material, called a scallop, will remain between these cuts on any surrounding walls or on the machined surface if a ball end mill is used.

The size of the step-over distance and the tool diameter will determine the scallop height between each step.

Decreasing the step-over distance will minimize the scallop height, but will require more steps, and there-

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The vertical garden is the platform for both of the ditches and wastes features to be developed as functionality: ditches for leading in and out the amount of water that plants required, and the hairy wastes attached on the materials for adding friction force to provide the growth environment for specific plants.

Plants types, space and soil, materials for pots and environment decided the plants’ water consumption, which also guided design of the plant holders and water leading directions of the ditches. The strategies of plant holders and ditches could restrict the scales of plants the other way round, and turn the plants into the controllable elements in the ‘Water-fall’.

The Water-fall is a vase, a sculpture, a facade and so on, that form effected by the environmental conditions and design purpose.

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Second proposal the Vase The second and third design of the Water-fall project are more three dimensional than the façade one, and brought with topics of fabricate large scale and three dimensional curvy objects.

Testing and analyzing various strategies of timber, machine and technique’s cooperation to conclude a system of achieving specific material behaviors, is another topic need to be explore and experiment after term one.

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The other two design of the Water-fall project are more three dimensional than the façade one, and brought with topics of fabricate large scale and three dimensional curvy objects.

Testing and analyzing various strategies of timber, machine and technique’s cooperation to conclude a system of achieving specific material behaviors, is another topic need to be explore and experiment after term one.

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Pieces for CNC Fabrication

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Architectural proposal and site Reaerch The Hanging Temple is a temple built into a cliff (75 m or 246 ft above the ground) near Mount Heng in Hunyuan County, Datong City, Shanxi province, China.

Along with the Yungang Grottoes, the Hanging Temple is one of the main tourist attractions and historical sites in the Datong area. Built more than 1,500 years ago, this temple is notable not only for its location on a sheer precipice but also because it is the only existing temple with the combination of three Chinese traditional religions: Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism.

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Hanging Monastery is an architectural wonder. A unique mechanical theory was applied to building the framework. (Fig.13) Crossbeams were half-inserted into the rock as the foundation, while the rock in back became its support.

The research of the Hanging temple supporting structure accompany with the geography conditions of mountain, since it built into a cliff and stood for 1.500 years.

Seen from below, it appears to be a tumbledown castle in the air.

Inside, it provides the same scene as other temples. The supporting construction strategy of the new extension design is based on this half-inserted crossbeam technique, combined with hanging points and columns.

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Hunyuan County

Hanging Temple

We got the suitable areas for hanging points by running grasshopper selection program on 3dmax rebuilt digital mountain model, with setting the rules of selection rock surface larger than 225 square millimetres and angel between 45 and 90 degrees.

Datong City, Shanxi province, China.

The buildable areas of supporting columns are selected in the same methods by invert the facing angels. This geography analyze provided a guide outline of where to apply the design construction combined with other conditions.

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The first part of the visiting loop is the courtyard of monks’ residence area that visitors have to pass through their living area to reach the temple pavilions. The extension design from Hanging Temple took providing more paths for tourists to protect original construction and monks’ lifestyle as one of the design proposals.

Along with the Yungang Grottoes, the Hanging Temple is one of the main tourist attractions and historical sites in the Datong area. Built more than 1,500 years ago, this temple is notable not only for its location on a sheer precipice but also because it is the only existing temple with the combination of three Chinese traditional religions: Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism.

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The buildable areas of supporting columns

Site Research

Photoes on site

Tecniques of the Supporting Structures

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According to site research photo and relative news, roof of north wing was been covered with waterproof material from rain damage for the wooden structure.

The Softimage simulation told the same result: the mountain zone above north wing gathers more rainwater than the others.

Design proposal take this as main condition to form the extension building (envelope), by guiding water away to protect current construction and provide certain functions to the guided water. Water has been the main component to drive and form the geometry design.

The “rainwater zone” in this project is the key to engage misfit character, design proposal and environmental conditions together, as Lynn states, ‘form is therefore shaped by collaboration between the envelope and the active context in which it is situated.’

Site Location

Site model and Rain zone site photo

Cloud top project (Term 2) Digital fabrication and crafts/low-tech manufacturing will be used as an active ingredient in the design process, and we will combine computational design tools with material experimentation, by swapping back and forth between physical media and the digital environments.

This assignment will focus on developing a strong architectural proposals in a multi object way. This translates in the fact that we will design an extension of an existing building (Hanging Temple) by adding own design elements and combination of two kinds of misfits: Bending and CNC machined traces and wastes.

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Combination of two kind of Misfits

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From Misfit about Wood Traces and Wastes to Vertical Garden Proposal

From Misfit about Wood Kerf and Cut Tecnique To Functional Facade and Structure

As both methods possess opposed distinct signs of process, inherent limitations and crucial advantages, it is the core of the conflict to strike a balance between the necessities of process with the noise of possibility. we will demonstrate that a combination of all these elements result in better outputs in terms of typology, performance, material and cost efficiency, mass customization possibilities and a multiple part/material behaviors.

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CNC milling and Bending Misfit

Function of Roughness

More than decoration, the traces of the “rough” fabrication also have the functions of guiding rainwater away from the damaged temple to the vertical garden. The physical test of water guiding abilities is a guideline for setting the rules of traces gaps’ angel, scale and direction to apply them on the design proposal in realistic fabrication.

The first piece with 45-degree paths traces and 12mm gaps have the most effective ability to guide the water exactly following the geometric on surface. The 6mm gaps tunnels in second piece have lots of hairy Residue along with the paths like walls, which guide the water not to flow away from sides but from bottom.

The stories of how these Residue interrupt the original water tunnels and connects them to the new ones are still not explored. The flat and smooth surface in the third sample is for sure don’t have any ability of guiding water into a new direction from gravity.

These three are the samples to demonstrate and define the strategy of traces and Residue: both 12mm tunnels without Residue and 6mm tunnels with Residue could change the water direction into 45 degrees.

This also formed the design geometric could not rotate the angel larger than 45 degrees for water leading purpose, and on the other hand, could have 45 degrees more for the water paths based on the original geometric.

Types of Toolpathed

All the traces and Residue that discussed above are the misfit to be avoided in general fabrication, which normally add one more layer of finish path with smaller drill bit and step¬over distance. This “polish” layer normally takes double of the time than manufacturing the “rough” layer.

If the design purpose is to achieve the “roughness”, it will save waste material and more than two-third of fabrication time than usual. “Continuing layers” technique involves lots of effort on craftsmanship to create curve and continuing forms.

It is true we need “a human soul to create art”(Glenn), which is out of the discussion of time or material saving.

The accompanied benefits of esthetics of “roughness” are worth to be valued as sustainable respond, and also as unpredictable high revolution of design done by machine soul.

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Parallel toolpath

Radial toolpath

Trace guide the water to a new direction from its origin

Trace doesn’t help the geometric to guide water

Parallel toolpath

Scallop toolpath

Trace guide the water to a new direction from its origin

Trace doesn’t help the geometric to guide water 50

Unlike some homogenous materials such as steel and glass, wood make-up itself is grown as a heterogeneous, anisotropic and hierarchical structure with the fibrous and vascular tissue.

These material properties and related behavior are especially well suited for construction techniques that employ the elastic bending of wood in order to form complex, lightweight structures from initially simple, planar building elements1.

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Two kinds bending systems as a whole piece and as joint sheet

Kerf bending and its relative applications and improvements including zip-shape bending and sheet cutting for wood as the ‘misfit’ in the traditional crafting methods which challenge the monopolistic but fallacious orthogonality in wooden materials performance in the long history of wood handicraft without complex processing and equipment.

Kerf bending is the process of cutting a number of slots into a piece of material that allow it to bend. Essentially, by kerfing the part, wood materials become thinner, so it can be flexed to follow a curve2. However, the ‘slots’ and ‘cuts’ are the typical ‘misfits’ in this antique crafting, as these parts are functionally cut to fulfill the bending behavior but without any meanings or attempt of design.

Other defects include imprecise control of bending behavior as the depth, the size and the gaps of slots are cut through experiential recordings and the incapacity of maintaining the elastic bending shapes.

Bending surface

Pocket system for vertical gardern

Digital fabrication has altered the way we think about design and raised the expectations of quality and precision in our work. But it does come at a price. As Frank Lloyd Wright (The Art and Craft of the Machine, 1901) illustrates, this conflict between analogue and machinic processes, is by no means a recent development.

Art requires work, and according to Lloyd, the machine can assist in doing it. His view was that the machine gives people a broader palette of expression to work with it.

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Overall view showed by layers The size and the gaps of slots directly influence the bending outcome, which need to be detailed controlled by CNC machine. During the fabrication process we could also get the CNC misfit in surface and gaps.

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Kerf Bending and CNC misfit share the same production logic of reducing timber material. CNC misfit has to rely on the process of cutting geometric. It also got the limitation of only produce small scale of geometric, which compare to architecture scale. The scale of bending piece reference provide us to the potential to apply CNC misfit on large scale 3d geometric by: product Kerf Bending and CNC misfit on the timber sheet with CNC machine, then bend to present 3d geometric after fabrication.

Kerf bending is the process of cutting a series of slots away that allow the timber material to bend. Wood materials become flexible in the thinner parts to be bend due to the wood grain’s connection. This antique crafting technique be develop as a functional fabrication method, my partner treat it more than technique, but through the cutting technique to control the geometric after bending. It can achieve twist like surface or hard surface geometric could stand by its own.

Construction method could explain the relation of two misfits better. Volume A is the structure to form and immobilize the bending sheet B. The trace on B is the CNC misfit to guide water, and also sheet B is bendable due to the bending misfit cutting. C is purely CNC misfit of water guiding branches, which could benefit the small bending misfit plants holders in D. The whole chunk will be sliced into smaller pieces from horizontal direction and fabricated off site, which connected with traditional wood joints.

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B

C

D

Layers of construction: the anyalysis of the supporting structures under and the logic of the joint connection.

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Chunk of vertical Garden with the paths

From the purpose of reinforcing the columns, the format of orthometric scaffolding becomes the design language to present the power of wooden structure. It is also has split-level platforms that visitor’s view line is in the same level as roof constructions of Hanging Temple, which providing an experience of closer observation of the architecture itself.

Private Chambers on the right wing are designed to have caves as small-scale spaces for both monks and visitors. The bending wood pieces façade covered caves by layers, that creating both private spaces for each cave and public space among the caves.

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Water will still be the main component to drive and form the geometry design, but with more aspects of influences combined with the site conditions: lead out the rain water drop down along with the mountain surface to protect the wooden structure from damage, collect clean water to provide convenience to inhabitation, increase material’s ability of keep moisture by the wood Residue to develop vertical farms.

Design strategies of traces (ditches) and Residue from previous project, which were successfully been tested on physical model for furniture scale.

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Water guiding trace board

Trace connection with bending board

Pockets for vertical garden All the traces and Residue that discussed above are the misfit to be avoided in general fabrication, which normally add one more layer of finish path with smaller drill bit and step¬over distance. This “polish” layer normally takes double of the time than manufacturing the “rough” layer.

If the design purpose is to achieve the “roughness”, it will save waste material and more than two-third of fabrication time than usual. “Continuing layers” technique involves lots of effort on craftsmanship to create curve and continuing forms.

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It is true we need “a human soul to create art”(Glenn), which is out of the discussion of time or material saving.

The accompanied benefits of esthetics of “roughness” are worth to be valued as sustainable respond, and also as unpredictable high revolution of design done by machine soul.

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Digital fabrication has altered the way we think about design and raised the expectations of quality and precision in our work. But it does come at a price. As Frank Lloyd Wright (The Art and Craft of the Machine, 1901) illustrates, this conflict between analogue and machinic processes, is by no means a recent development. Art requires work, and according to Lloyd, the machine can assist in doing it. His view was that the machine gives people a broader palette of expres-

The whole extension design of this project has three main constructions with new walking path crossed over and connected to the existing entrance and visiting paths as a new loop.

The functions of the additional constructions from left are: Vertical Garden, Scaffold Exhibition Zone and Private Chambers.

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Modular System Combined new proposal (Term3) This project explores the relationship between material properties of solid wood and CNC milling technology. By investigating the physical effects of drilling in wood, including traces and residue biproducts, a design system is proposed, with purpose to achieve three tasks in the proposed extension of the Hanging Temple, in Shanxi province, China.

First, to protect the existing timber structure from water damage due to rain.

Second, to guild rain water to specific locations of the temple, where new hydroponic vertical gardens are located, and third, to battle the increased wear of the temple due to tourism, provide new interior spaces and a new circulation path.

The modular system of wooden components, interlocked with traditional Chinese mortise-and-tenon joints, aims to challenge the typically high material wastage of milling, as well as the relationship between buildability and mass customization.

Rules of Trace and Residue Biproducts Before talk about how the traces and residue biproducts misfit are applied in design, we conclude a system of controlling misfit through the physical experimental.

The following chapter will talk about the scale and distribution of timber Residue (residue biproducts) by both geometric and tool-path setting. The trace misfit is the direct reflection of tool-path, and following chapter will mainly discuss the control of trace pattern.

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The scale of the trace is decided by the setting of step-over and step-down. When the distance of step-over is as wide as drill bite’s diameter, the wideness of each trace could be maximally as same as the drill bites. The number of step-down setting is exactly the depth of the trace.

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Waterline Toolpath

Scallop Toolpath

Parallel Toolpath

Radial Toolpath

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1mm toolpath step-over

2mm toolpath step-over

3mm toolpath step-over

2mm toolpath step-down

4mm toolpath step-down

6mm toolpath step-down

Short flat surface before the upslope Short Timber Residue

Middle flat surface before the upslope Middle Timber Residue

Long flat surface before the upslope Long Timber Residue

Scale of Residue

The step-over distance setting decide the gap between every two tool-path, the scale of peak between two Scal- lops is from flat to half size of drill bite along with the short distance setting to long. Timber Residue grow on the top of the peak, the scale of peak decides the wide- ness of Timber Residue. That means we could get maxi- mum half size wide of drill bit Timber Residue.

The step-down is the thickness of materials to cut down. With same step-over distance, small number of step- down setting could produce more layers of light Timber Residue, and large number of step-down will produce thicker and less layer of Timber Residue.

Geometric for milling decided the length Timber Residue.When the drill cut an upslope from bottom to top, the tool-path of the drill move as the staircase. The corner of the staircase movement allows the drill not cut through the Timber Residue start from the flat surface. Longer the flat surface before the upslope, longer the Timber Residue connect at bottom of upslope will be.

Distribution of Residue

Tool-path Influence The downslope won’t present any Timber Residue, but the result could be opposite by change the milling direction in 180 degree. This also explains the zigzag toolpath setting could cause the cutting line produce the opposite outcome as previous cutting line. The Residue distribution is interleaved line by line, and the one-way tool-path could produce Timber Residue area by area.

Through sending a curve shape as two upslope from opposite direction could produce Residue to cover the whole geometric.

one way

In the typical tool-path topologies discussed in Page, only parallel tool-path allows the drill to follow the most off wood grain during the milling. Also from the physical test in Page, layers of tool-path cant help with producing Residue, since the latest layer of tool-path will remove the previous Residue by cut through the connection materials. zigzag

Toolpath direction

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Toolpath direction

Geometric Influence Toolpath direction

With in one-way tool-path setting, only the upslope surface of the geometric could produce Timber Residue. By upside down the curve shape, the areas of Residue’s Distribution is opposite. With in a series of continuing curve shapes, the Residue will only locate at one side as well. This is the most effective geometric to produce Residue, but it might read as Residue covers all the geometric in small scale.

Misfit and Water

Along with the paths going down, the trace misfit grows horizontally from the main path as branches to split the water flow. The water flow move quick on the smooth texture from top, then the flow slow down to be split when it meet horizontal trace misfit from middle part of overall design.

The Biproducts Misfits are also start from the middle of the design, and the scale of these start from smallest to biggest till the bottom of the design, where the water paths end and have hotbed design for plants followed. The large scale of Biproducts Misfits in the bottom are allowed the wild plants grew on the site cliff to climb, with the purpose of guiding plants up into the design.

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Rain

Milled Timber

Site plants grow on milled timber by following rain trace

Site Plants

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Toolpath’s function with water

This applies the tool-path with small step-over setting to present a smooth texture as the main water-guiding path. It also has the branch paths with angle to guide the water into main path. We apply parallel tool-path with 45-degree angle to guide the water following the geometric better as it worked in the physical test in page.

The water guiding paths turn into smaller scale of geometric that merge with the surrounding surface. The tool-path setting here is parallel 180-degree angle to mill the whole surface together. These ditches of trace misfit transform into smaller scale of branches to split the water to cover the surface under the small water-guiding branch.

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Original Geometric

Rain simulation

Toolpath upper and lower zones Toolpath setting

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How the Residue works with water

The Residue Biproducts misfit produced by the tool-path setting in this zone is short and densely distributed, which suitable for the bryophytes to grow on the high-moisturized Residue Biproducts.

In this zone, there are hotbed volumes located at the end of the waterguiding path. The tool-path setting is cut into upslope, which could help Residue misfit to cover the whole geometric. Step-over and step-down are set into produce thick and wide Residue. The large scale of Residue could has a better connection with the root of vegetable plants and keep moisture at the same time.

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Modular System As the specific site circumstance including hanging on the rock surface and delicacy and fragility of prolonged tourist- laden wood structure accompanying with the requirement of design’s objective such as guiding and utilizing water flows and coalescing digital fabrication with traditional artificial wood works, modular system based on the brick layering principles is more suitable and effective comparing with prefabricated bending pieces.

Modular system afford the profound capability of geometric sensibility and exuberance by regulating certain hierarchy for the prototype and scale of basic geometry without the constraints of dissimilating each unit to approach the homophylic aggregation with high geometric resolution and diversity, namely the ‘auto-bespoken’ system in the parametric design process defined by Stephen Gage in his article (‘The Bespoke is a Way of Working, Not a Style’).

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Bending Review

Fabrication Wood Kerf Bending misfit has been explored from furniture scale fabrication technique; the simplified principle of it is cut away certain amount of the material densely to make timber sheet flexible for bending, and need comparably strong pressure from at least two sides to finalize the curvy format. Both cut materials densely and bending the remaining timber sheet could raise the material instability sharply, especially in the case of suffering from rain damage and lead water away.

The whole curvy geometric has been separated into Kerf Bending pieces (approximately 3*3 metres each) horizontally to achieve the designed format, CNC misfit will be applied when the CNC machine milling the gapes and traces of the timber sheet to be bend. The fabrication method challenged of using large scale of CNC machine, but didn’t explore the possibility of producing 3d geometry strategy by using specific machine fabrication character and combined misfit.

Design format The format that bending piece could achieve is decided by the way of cutting, the comparably stable and common cutting could help timber piece with a curvy shape, which we used last term. In the design aspect, our design purpose is to keep the outer façade smooth and continually to guide water away. This curvy piece with curtain angle limited the formats flexibility, such as transfer from large curve façade into a small-enclosed space and from bending skin to blocks volume.

Apply on site For the Kerf Bending pieces to be building in architectural scale, strong bending pressure and stationary basement to finalize are indispensable. A 4-metres-long bending piece need around 10 people to build, and there is no specific machine be designed to construct bending pieces on site now. It’s purely relying on labour to complete the construction, and our cliff site could be the worst condition for the large scale Kerf Bending pieces to be bend and transport.

Bending model from term two

The environmental connection between façade and rocks couldn’t be very specific due to the scale of each bending piece (approximately 3*3 metres each). Especially for the flat edge of timber piece, aforehand site research of the complex cliff condition still can not guarantee the kerf bending piece could be merge with rock without deviation, and any modification on site is very difficult as we talked.

CNC Misfit with Modular System

Fabrication The modular system we intended to apply is CNC machine partly milled on prefabricated timber blocks (240*120* 100millimetres) with joint. The length of thickness decides the scale of the block, and the length of thickness is depend on ordinary CNC machine’s drill reachable depth, which allowed each piece could be cut through or create a sharp curve surface.

With out milling, the prefabricated timber blocks have the benefit of common blocks, which could be quickly and largely produced. We also intended to put the existing timber joint system within the modular blocks, that they are more stable when work as a bricks wall. The joint itself will be the characteristic that could be read afterwards.

Design format By using the same construction principle, but adding layers or change blocks thickness to achieve fluently transformation from skin to volume then to skin. This could provide much more potential in design format.

Reference the timber blocks partly milled Modeling & Fabrication – Syracuse University, 2008

Apply on site The transportation of the blocks to the cliff won’t cause the problem as large and heavy pieces, which do not necessarily rely on heavy machine to carry. As well as the construction technique, even one people also can finish the whole construction by layering the timber blocks. It doesn’t require the specific building technique or certain amount of labour. The site condition is hard to allowed heavy machines’ participation in the whole construction progress, without damage the surrounding environment.

Timber blocks allowed better connection with both rock and existing building: easily to adjust on site. The traditional Chinese timber structural system consist of specific components (Bracket Sets, Beams, columns, curve roofs…) with a serious prefabricated elements from small to large scale the construction, which could change the degree of curve roof or scale of construction by adding or reducing prefabricated elements. Construction could be slightly different due to the weather and site conditions, and the typical formats of every decade are changed with in the system rules.

Our purpose of the CNC misfit Modular system is to achieve being simple to prefabrication and being bespoke to site.

Reference of small scale of modular system to form the geometric

Each block has one joint located in each corner, that allowed the block pieces to be connected and build a stable wall.It has a Stopper to fill in the hole. Each Stopper has a smaller size on one end as a male joint, and the length of each side to be cut away on that end is depend on the near by block. The Stopper could help the surrounding blocks in their own position to represent the curvy geometric.

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Each block has one joint located in each corner , that allowed the block pieces to be connected and build a stable wall. Each block contributes the curve angle within its own thickness, and continues by another to achieve the large scale of curve shape as design.

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For each wood brick, the triangle-shaped cutting notches in corners increase the fastness to resist shearing force and posiwe the similar geometries tionchoose shift. Meanwhile, thewavy fixation of each with crests and though which are according wood brick is completed by verified the central to specific milling joint unit requirements with grooves as inthe four sides geometry as for each piece. each groove may have different relative location.

In spite of the independency of the milling process, the geometry on each unit Therefore, the morphologic flux constitute for the the whole geometry under the principles of modufour bricks and central joint unit is oblar system and can be regarded as the bespoken tained by the way that vertically, the top components accreting withshift highback resolution or brick and bottom brick can and the detailed appendants as the wrinkles forward to achieve non-linear geometryor corrugations of plane fabric.and horizontally there in x-z or y-z

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is same possibility for the left and right The similarity the aggregated bricks and thenbetween the approach to the rela- geometry milling geometry ensurethe the mortivelyand freethe form or more specifically phologic resourcefulness aggregated wavy geometryfor inobservation all the x-y-z in different plan. distance and bridge the milling ‘misfit’ in each piece with the integral design.

The design objects are underpinned by the constructing principle of the modular system in which one jointer is interlocked with four wood bricks to be the elementary unit rather than the traditional joint system which require unique connection between each two pieces to simplify the fabricating and assembling process.

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Components Three types of components as the design language Constructing and fabricating these components in the principle that one jointer fixes four bricks with milling geometry on their surfaces and navigates their relative location to contribute to the geometric form on the larger scale may also allow each brick and joint to be diversified in certain geometric aspects including the measurement of cross sections and length.

In consequence, the modular system with milling surface can translated into certain design languages or architectural components with specific functions or meanings involving the water-guiding effects, the structural values and decorative potentials.

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First Component The first component is functionalized as the water-guiding units. The overall geometry maintains the continuous curve vertically as each row of bricks comes forward with certain distance comparing with the neighboring upper row. Additionally, the geometry assembled by modular bricks waves to form the water-guiding channels. The water-guiding channels consist of milling geometry working as trough to regulate the movement of water flow which differentiate the bricks with milling geometry and regular wood brick by the principle that the units in the areas of waving surface will be fabricated with CNC milling.

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This prototype will leave a hole among every four pieces of blocks. In the design purpose of mill branches of water guiding paths, the water paths have been designed to avoid holes or leading to specific holes where are the hotbed designed for plants.

In the design purpose of enclose space without guiding water proposal, the block wall will remain plain that only build the geometric outline. This provides the contrast in design format, as well as the budget saving strategy.

400 millimetres height 1to 3 scale

800 millimetres width

Second Component The second component is define as the aggregation of fully milled bricks with water-guiding though and clusters of wood flour which are interlocked and interwoven into continuous curve surface with wavy wrinkles to scatter the water flow and benefit the booming of vegetation. The water-guiding branches connecting the main channels for water flow are made of ranges of milled bricks and in the end of each branch, the bowl-shaped space formed by removing some wood bricks and milling certain bricks around them with notches in different scale. These interspaces are used to collect the water flows and foster plaint growing up along with the trough and sprawling around the areas with wood flour.

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As the main function of the vertical faรงade is guiding and reorganizing water flow, the relative high moisture may damage the existing structure and itself. Therefore, comparing with the large integral pieces with continuous fiber resulting in the permeation of moisture, the modular units keep independence to prevent water diffusion and minimalize the quantity of wood bricks which need to be fabricated by suitable wood types with water-proof technology. Meanwhile, the modular system benefit from the constructing and shaping flexibility can avoid the fragile segments of existing buildings to reduce the water erosion effect.

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The second prototype itself has the clear geometric for both main water guiding path and branches connected as plants holder. The whole surface is continuous and all need to be milled to represent the geometric, which take more time to fabricate than first prototype.

The second prototype shared same principle of block wall, but has a Stopper to fill in the hole. Each Stopper has a smaller size on one end as a male joint, and the length of each side to be cut away on that end is depend on the near by block.

The Stopper could help the surrounding blocks in their own position to represent the curvy geometric.

300 millimetres height 1to 2 scale 600 millimetres width

Third Component The last component is transformed by extruding the wood brick in z-axis to the linear elements. Unlike the former two component performed as walls, the third component covered space like canopy which can obtain profound potentials like merging and interposing into the existing building.

In order to achieve more mild wavy geometry on the outside surface and keep high sensibility and dexterity for the inside surface, the measurement of the rectangle cross section are shrank and the length are varied to form different architectural elements involving the column, the ceiling and the furniture. The modular elements shift vertically to shape the wavy geometry requiring the upper surface of linear elements within the bottom parts of these geometries to be milled to achieve smooth surface for guiding water. Also, the underside surface can be fabricated with ‘misfits’ namely the traces and wastes and assembled like jigsaw to acquire decorative meanings as they grow down to touch the original wood works.

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In the column scenario, the new design attached some weight on the existing supporting structure. The supporting basement (volume) of design, that responsible for the most of weight of itself, grew along with the column to merge with the site building.

It also reduced the space occupied by new design’s supporting structure visually; by merge the supporting points with the exiting column positions, but mill some parts away to present the drawings on site columns.

The large scales of Volumes are the vertical garden houses located at the end of water guiding façade. The facade layer of these volumes work as vertical garden, the inner spaces are connect by walk paths for people to walk through.

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Volume component share the same structural system as Skin component, but has a longer Stopper (Fig.21) as a bridge to connect with another wall layer to create a solid like format.

The smaller scales of Volume Components (less than 1 m3) are design as plants hotbed scenarios, where normally locate at the end of water guiding paths (Fig.22). The water guiding faรงade locally transform into volume behind the wall that only read as holes on the wall from the front side.

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Physical Model with three types of components Horizontal typology has longer horizontal Stopper to form the volume. On the top of the faรงade, these horizontal Stoppers could enclose space as roof, which work as longer bridge to connect site wall and designed faรงade from top.

Vertical typology has the same logical with Horizontal typology in vertical way. The Stoppers in Horizontal typology become the supporting columns to hold surrounding blocks when they are vertical.

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Take a prototype (Fig.25) to define the misfits distribute and function accurately. There are four zones in the geometric. Zone one and two have only apply trace misfit to help with the water guiding geometric, and zone three and four have both trace and Residue Biproducts misfit to split the water paths and grow plants.

Overall Tendency Combining the design purpose of guiding water away from roof and rock zone to the lower vertical garden zone, the overall tool-path setting is to produce the smooth texture in main water guiding paths.

Along with the paths going down, the trace misfit grows horizontally from the main path as branches to split the water flow.

The water flow move quick on the smooth texture from top, then the flow slow down to be split when it meet horizontal trace misfit from middle part of overall design.

The Biproducts Misfits are also start from the middle of the design, and the scale of these start from smallest to biggest till the bottom of the design, where the water paths end and have hotbed design for plants followed. The large scale of Biproducts Misfits in the bottom are allowed the wild plants grew on the site cliff to climb, with the purpose of guiding plants up into the design.

1 to 2 scale model 130 millimetres heigth 50 millimetres weith

The evolution of vertical garden new proposal in term 3

The design strategy according to the layers of layers exploration: geometric prototypes, fabrication strategy, tool-path setting and misfit outcome to achieve the proposed extension of the Hanging Temple by protect the existing timber structure from water damage due to rain, guild rain water to new hydroponic vertical gardens below temple and provide new interior spaces and a new circulation path due to tourism impact. The modular system of wooden components, interlocked with traditional Chinese mortise-and-tenon joints, aims to challenge the typically high material wastage of milling, as well as the relationship between buildability and mass customisation.

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section cutting line

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Roof Zone The whole roof is redesigned as a flowing skin to guide water by both geometric and traces on top of the geometric.

More than a skin, the supporting volumes grown from the back of the skin enrich the form with transformation between skin and volume. Where to attached with provide the height varieties to the supporting volumes.

section cutting line

The whole roof is redesigned as a flowing skin to guide water by both geometric and traces on top of the geometric. More than a skin, the supporting volumes grown from the back of the skin enrich the form with transformation between skin and volume. Where to attached with provide the height varieties to the supporting volumes.

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section cutting line The supporting volumes merged with interior are also merged into the religion scenario as the extension decoration. The Residue Biproducts Misfit has the benefit of producing highresolution details based on: primary digital model and less fabrication progress, except from keep moisture for plants. To help with the religion scenario, the roof design allows the light in on top of the Buddha.

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Balcony Zone The supporting columns are merged with Bracket Sets of existing construction not only as structure basement of upper faรงade, but also a merge in form.

The partly blocks be milled away the present the original construction increase the visual richness between old and new. The curve block wall turns into a chair with fluent form to contrast with the straight and rectangular component.

section cutting line

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The interior scenario in balcony zone presents how the new design grows into the temple to provide new spatial functions, which more than enclose space with existing building. The modular system augmented dexterity of geometric form between volume and skin, as well as bespoke to fit the site condition properly during the construction progress.

This scenario presents the proportion of plain blocks without milling and indoor decoration Residue Biproducts. The design form transform from general geometric with plain blocks to milled blocks and Residue Biproducts, which includes varieties of scales to increase the species richness and variability.

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Vertical Garden and Walking Path Zone The vertical garden demonstrate the form influenced function design by keeping the upper water guiding path clear geometric with smooth texture, and lower vertical garden area with small branches of water paths and textures for plants to grow on. These varieties are achieved by change the fabrication setting to apply Trace and Residue Biproducts misfit to lead to the function by the form.

The vertical garden demonstrate the form influenced function design by keeping the upper water guiding path clear geometric with smooth texture, and lower vertical garden area with small branches of water paths and textures for plants to grow on. These varieties are achieved by change the fabrication setting to apply Trace and Residue Biproducts misfit to lead to the function by the form.

The component transform from curvy water guiding and vertical garden faรงade sharply to the vertical solid volume, difference the component prototype by form. The solid volume in vertical garden is the derivative architectural language from site temple not only in form, but also the scale of each volume that is considered as the best scale to be built and supported on the cliff condition.

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Both the timber component and bricks sets in temple complex are the small-scales of modular system, as well as the cliff context is in the small scale. To extend the form connection with both site construction and context, the small-scale modular system is a strategy to control and merge the form. It also has the benefit to transform and build on cliff without large machines, which protect the environment condition during the construction progress. section cutting line

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