Maxime Fouillat - Computational Design Portfolio 2024

PORTFOLIO maxime

fouillat

chitoscopic robotic light waltz

terra incognita

laplacian

sdu zip bending prototype A

Boards - Based prototype of integrated material programming to achieve complex, free-form wooden structures with efficient fabrication process

Wood is an affordable material as well as very easy to work with.

Paired with digital fabrication the opportunities are endless and extreme shapes can be achieved.

Here, we ventured and explored a wood bending techniques called “zipping”. Coming from the more famous kerfing, this technique relies on two complementary elements with oriented slots cut into them to be glued together. The geometry of the slots can program very high curvature in the wood itself, be it boards of battens.

To enable the high curvature bending both sides of the zipper had to be soaked and/steamed to make the wooden fibres more flexible for the duration of the gluing process.

sdu zip bending prototype B

Battens - Based prototype of integrated material programming to achieve complex, free-form wooden structures with efficient fabrication process

hygroshell

Hygroscopic Self-Shaping Timber Shell Pavilion

The ITECH research pavilion 2023 investigates a first of its kind, self-shaping timber building system for autonomous construction. The concept is showcased full scale, through the design, engineering and production of a long spanning lightweight shell made from self-curved wood components. Through advanced computational design we can control the hygromorphic shrinking for in situ shaping of building components. This novel material system embbeds the anisotropic shape change into bilayer packages, glued, machined and clad with shingles in a flat state. When placed on site, these packages actuate through air drying to their final simulated interlocked geometry. The result is a curved roof structure spanning 10m with an incredibly thin 28 mm cross laminated wood cross section. The design breaks typical structural typologies for sustainable materials and displays the full geometric and aesthetic potentials of single curved structures.

Robotic Toolpath for

Milling of Curved Interlocking Joints

terra incognita

Fiber-Reinforced Textiles and Earth Hybrids for enabling novel sustainable freeform typologies.

While earthen materials are being rediscovered, the construction techniques remain unchanged, and in turn the typologies that can be built also did not evolve.

To achieve high-performance shapes with concrete, the industry has developped fabric formworks,, an elegant and efficient solution to reduce molds and increase design freedom. What if clay-based concrete could also benefit from stay-in-place tensile networks to streamline the building process and expand the still narrow design space of earthen construction?

The fundamentals of the new typology are found through the shape-giving properties of natural jute fabric formwork. We generate reinforcement patterns via structural analysis and stitch them onto the fabric with flax fibers to increase tension and bending where needed. Through prototyping and mechanical testing, we propose a circular, materially-informed design-to-fabrication workflow, that allows designing polyhedral branched structures with earth. Once discretized into smaller components, it is possible to prefabricate the formwork in a highly automated way. Once filled on-site, the earth-fabric hybrids can be used in scenarios other than compression; thus supporting novel sustainable earthen typologies.

2. Graph-Based Adjacency Computation

3. Form Diagram with Graph Adjacency

Clay-based Concrete Filling

Flax Fiber Reinforcement

Jute Textile Formwork

Clay Plaster Finishing

novel integrated hybrid material

Doubling of clay bending strength when adding fiber reinforcement

FEM & Fabrication informed pattern

Axial loading Karamba analysis, with compression principe stress.

Vertical loading Karamba analysis, with tension principe stress.

FEM fiber reinforcement patterns combined with hanging system

generative design co2

At the heart of the new innovation focus policy of STRABAG-ZUBLIN lies Generative Design. With sustainability at heart, LCA can be used as a source for both optimization and creativity. 2023-2025 -

The GD CO2 Rhino plugin and Web-App is built in C# and Vue.js. It allows the users to easily create detailed building components with all the materials used and how much. Each of these constructions is composed of layers, which are populated by both internal company knowledge and public CO2 data from the Okobaudat database.

By interacting with the users geometry in their existing environment in Rhino, it is possible to get a real-time summary of the environmental impact of the design for every aspects of the building. Different levels of precision can be reached depending on the type of geometry fed into the tool, ranging from some key dimensions like number of floors and area, up to detailed geometries including the thicknesses of the walls and other components.

The core functionnalities were also integrated in a building configurator focused on prefabricated CLT wall systems Tightly connecting the geometry generation with the CO2 analysis allows to optimize a building based on how sustainable it is, using Machine Learning and Topological description of the design. With the additional data provided for the building system, it also becomes possible to have an estimation of how likely it is to be able to achieve certain European building certifications focused on carbon impact such as DGNB and BNB.

chitoscopic

Investigating emmergant properties of natural fiber composites with biological composite chitin matrix.

Synthetic Fiber Composites have paved the way for lightweight and performative architecture, but at the price of noxious resins used as matrices. This research explores replacing the resins with Chitin and focuses on the intrinsic self-shaping properties as a design and deployment principle for the resulting composite.

Using a Chitosan-infused flax-reinforced jute fabric, three series of experiments were done. First, improving the standard fabrication method through knowledge transfer from synthetic FRPs. Second, trying to identify the parameters influencing hygroscopic shaping. Second, sampling a range of values for those parameters and mapping the radius-curvature relationship. Then, through material programming, a 1:1 stool demonstrator was fabricated and showed significant mechanical properties without the need for any mould.

FRP knowledge transfer

The TFP spacings showed the most influence on curvature of all parameters. To measure the correlation between the two values, computer vision was introduced to easily measure the curvature of 82 different samples. It generated a curve that could be processed and analyzed in Rhino3D.

openCV for python, Hops and Grasshopper.

laplacian growth

A new implementation of electrondischarge with python for fractallike laplacian growth.

Laplacian growth is used to describe isotropic or anisotropic aggregation in nature. It can be applied to describe trees, lightning, corals, crystallisation, metallic dendrites or the analogy we chose for the algorithm : dielectric breakdown. Because of this, it holds a great computational versatility that can be harvested for shape generation with a voxel-based system in Grasshopper.

In a 3D grid system we introduce a nucleation, or charge, that will influence the points around it. Each of those candidate has an electrical potential based on how far they are from the current growth site. The point with the highest potential is chosen as the new growth site, and we converted it into a charge. That charge will influence the equilibrium of the whole system, thus we add a weighed part to all potentials. Each update repeats this process. The points are then computed based on a voxel system in another 3D grid to generate a mesh.

By introducing initial system conditions we can easily generate a vast array of drastically different geometries. Already charged points they will act as repellents and thus can effectively be used as boundary conditions of various shape. It is also possible to introduce attractors that will affect the potential’s value based on the closest point. With very strong attraction we can generate plant-like shapes.

The system is homogeneous by default which generates an isotropic growth. Adding 3D noise simulates a heterogeneous environment and accurately simulates electrical discharge with anisotropic growth like a lightning finding the path of least resistance. Changing the noise colour (frequency) affects which natural shape will be reproduced.

Because the simulation is physically accurate it requires us to update the whole system during every update. This implies a linear increase of the processing time. To address that issue, we initated a careful benchmarking and optimization process

First, instead of working with custom classes, we switched to PointCloud data-type with storage options for the potentials. One is point normals’ lengths, which did not perform well and broke the physics. The second is a user PointValue, which made the growth less exponential.

However, when adding new Candidates it was crucial to not add them if they already existed. This requires a lengthy filtering step. Instead, we generated RTrees from our PointClouds, which let us check only the neighbouring areas of our current GrowthSite.

robotic light waltz

Robotic light sculpture generated from a pianist’s hands movement through the MIDI protocol.

This robotic choreography captured through long exposure photography is a translation of musical movement into light. By converting MIDI messages into 3D trajectories, we can visualize the spacial waltz a musician’s hand perform during a song. Here, we sampled a performance of Debussy’s “Clair de Lune”.

Because western music theory and math are easily translatable into each other, we mapped the different notes onto a 12 tone equal temperaments circle. Because of the tonal range of the song, we extended this circle to include 3 octaves, from a C3 to a C5, which can be represented as a 12*3 polar array and trigonometric circle. Because in MIDI notes are referred to as a simple byte number (0 to 255), trigonometry makes the 2D mapping from those notes to the circle easy. The distance between the centre and the point notes is determined by the velocity, which is by default 62 in MIDI but a rich music performance such as the one sampled uses variable volume. This enabled us to build a matrix for all notes playing at each time unit. Each list of notes from the array got mapped along the Z axis. Notes with long durations acted as attractors for the new ones. For more visual variability, we used a varying LED strip for the implementation, giving them evolution over time and a different colour for each hand of the pianist.

simple soft light

varying led strip

bamboo topology

A form-found bamboo grid-shell questioning irregular element layout as a way to enable more design freedom

Grid shells are a very efficient structural system in terms of material use and performance. However, despite being performing, they require very high optimization and each element relies on its neighbours to act as intended. This means that uncommon features like cut-outs and opening introduce high perturbation and go against the system’s stability.

This Bamboo Topology Pavilion focuses on the consequences of topology alterations to accommodate architectural features we commonly don’t see in strained grid-shells. How can formfinding answer the conflict between design intentions like opening and cut-outs and a closed, demanding structural typology? Given that the initial definition of the grid depends on tradition of the bamboo craftsmen, aesthetic and budget, we covered the second phase of the form-finding process which is optimization and structural analysis

form-finding result relaxed mesh / karamba FEM model

Our form-finding process relies on generating a flat grid based on the relaxed mesh generated by Kangaroo from our initial geometry input. After flattening the hanging shell model, we built an FEM model in Karamba with it in order to determine the loads (manpower) required to erect it. This model can be rediscretized in order to rebuild a strained shell model with those resulting loads in mind.

doubled layer gridshell displacement / utilization

From the strained erected shell we can perform structural analysis with multiple types of loads. In our case we considered gravity, wind loads and UDL. The analysis showed us a second layer of bamboo would be required to minimize utilization peeks. For the sake of the analysis, the second layer was similar to the first one, but a perpendicular pattern would increase performance.

co-botic research team

Arduino & Processing-based sensory interface for real-time feedback and retro-active clay 3D printing on a robotic arm. What values do fabricated object retain from the fabrication process?

During the first phase I focused on developing clay printing tools as well as an interface to gather material and context information during the 3D printing process. The feedback system serves two purposes:

First a real-time loop for the machine to adapt paths and fabrication settings to affect the resulting object. Secondly, a graphic interface in Grasshopper for the user to modify the tool’s behaviour which is theorized to become an intrinsic aspect of the fabricated object.

This aims at effectively transforming adaptive prototyping tools into a hybrid designing process tool. One that can be placed as part of an architectural proposal and participates to the physical manifestation of the designer’s intent.

The Second phase of the research looked at a translation process from small scale prototyping to industrial robot scale prototyping. To preserve the integrity of the parametric design to digital fabrication continuum, turning geometry into comprehensible data for robots became one of the challenges.

For small scale, a simple CSV exporting of points was enough for the robotic arm controller that the laboratory was equipped with. However, in order to scale the process up with a Staübli 6-axis arm, a more versatile and powerful approach was needed. I laid out the ground-work for simulating g-code through the HAL framework , which offers the possibility to easily incorporate sensing data at any time during the fabrication process. Effectively, this allows us to engage more material behaviour informations in the feedback loop and extend the scope of the designer / fabricated-object relationship.

identity through heritage

A bold cultural center gives back to the inhabitants. Meant to honor history by hosting the naval heritage and reusing bricks, it also shelters the blooming creativity.

As part of an extension project for the historic city-center, the city should aim at giving back to its inhabitants through the shape of a Cultural Center. Villeurbanne is a city with a strong social past as well as a distinctive constructive tradition based on brick and industrial techniques. That is why reusing bricks form dismantled landmarks can rebuild a new iconic building with a strong identity.

By hosting a permanent historic exposition as well as a library, danse school and music school, it aims at becoming a central hub for the social life of the neighbourhood. The fluid relief on the façade softens the harsh brick and the light can shine through glass bricks inside the exposition room and main concert hall.

cymatic

An art-research project on the propagation of sound waves inside matter

Cymatic is the name given to many different physics experiments that enable us to visualize sound. The most famous experiment is that of the Chladni plate, for its intricate patterns and easy procedure.

The patterns appear on the object by adding sand onto it. When entering a resonance mode, which is when sound waves bounce back and force inside of it, they will overlap each other and create standing waves. Those standing waves are oscillating waves around nodes, points of inflexion that do not oscillate. In the case of a flat plate, this means this point will not be moving, while the rest will be. Thus, the sand gets pushed back into those immovable areas, which are spread out depending on the frequency of the plate, the materials elasticity modulus, and other parameters.

At the fundamental frequency, the only nodes are the ones fixes for the object, for example the sides of a fixed plate. But every time the sound wave’s frequency is multiplied, the pattern doubles in complexity and intricate line appear.

Those experiments and graphic productions were awarded the first prize at the National French Physics Olympics of 2016 for their uncommon outlook on a physics phenomenon and how it can be used in art.

topology optimization

Office works benefit from ergonomic improvements. Python paired with at-home 3D printig offer the customisation and fabrication means to answer this.

fluid metaballs

Suspended droplets graphic representation based on Markov Chains of Drunkard’s Walk algorithm with grasshopper.

https://youtube.com/shorts/Q4UWXk575kg?feature=share

Q2 2024