The New Normal: Complete Fabrications by MIT Architecture

THE NEW NORMAL

COMPLETE FABRICATIONS

The Keller Gallery at MIT Architecture

EXHIBITION DESIGN AND CURATION ROBERT WHITE AND JASMINE KWAK

EXHIBITION MODELS PROVIDED BY STUDENT GROUPS

EXHIBITION DOCUMENTATION ROBERT WHITE JUSTIN LAVALLEE THE KELLER GALLERY AT MIT ARCHITECTURE ROOM 7-408, MIT 77 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE CAMBRIDGE, MA 02139-2307

SERIES EDITOR

SARAH M. HIRSCHMAN

PUBLISHER

SA+P PRESS CAMBRIDGE, MA 2013

PRINTER

PURITAN PRESS HOLLIS, NH

CONTACT SA+P PRESS ROOM 7-337, MIT 77 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE CAMBRIDGE, MA 02139-2307

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION JUSTIN LAVALLEE

EXPANDED SURFACES

WALKING PAVILION

EXTENDED VESTIGE

RHOMBLER

STICK CHAPEL

KERF PAVILION

FRAMEWORK

NEW NORMAL WAS PRESENTED IN THE KELLER GALLERY AT MIT ARCHITECTURE IN FEBRUARY 2012.

INTRODUCTION JUSTIN LAVALLEE The New Normal exhibition was installed to showcase the results of a competition held amongst the first year Master of Architecture students as the final assignment in their introductory fabrication course titled Complete Fabrications:

The New Normal. The course, taught by Nick Gelpi and myself, took place during the MIT Independent Activities Period (IAP) in January 2012. The competition challenged the students to design a temporary pavilion that would be built on campus later in the year. Construction of a temporary pavilion has long provided architects with the opportunity to experiment with concepts, materials, and processes, while remaining unburdened by many of the constraints of building. The ubiquity of computational power and CAD tools, combined with the increasing accessibility and decreasing cost of digitally driven machines, has allowed architects to become more directly engaged in the process of fabrication while seeking out new opportunities for design and construction. The IAP course at MIT is immersive and hands-on, and challenges the students to complete a sequence of conceptually driven exercises that require a range of techniques using manual and digitally-assisted tools, with the goal of introducing them to our facilities while also establishing connections to contemporary design discourse and professional practice. The pavilion competition gives them an opportunity to demonstrate their recently acquired skills, while pushing them to express a broader design agenda of their own. This year the students worked in teams of four, with seven total teams participating. The work exhibited in the gallery was all produced during a ten day period at the end of the course. During the competition each team was required to develop and fabricate a full-scale prototype or mock-up for each meeting in addition to producing drawings and renderings that helped explain the proposals. Teams chose to work with range of primary materials including wood, sheet metal, metallic cable, thermoplastic, and more. Two of the entries were selected for construction. Final development of the selected proposals took place in a workshop during the spring semester, with construction during the summer. Those projects, Framework and Kerf, are shown both as design proposals from January and in their final built form.

EXPANDED SURFACES RUDY DIEUDONNE, TYLER STEVERMER, YANG WANG, YOU JIN Expanded Surfaces aims to create three-dimensional structural elements out of sheet material by making cuts on the material and stretching or expanding the surface. Two of the most notable examples of the concept applied architecturally are the Pavilion project completed in collaboration with the Emergent Technologies and Design Programme at the Architectural Association for the recent SPOGA furniture design exhibition in Germany and the PC Vector Wall commissioned by MoMA. Whereas the SPOGA Pavilion uses identical elements in simple aggregation to form the pavilion and the PC Vector Wall is based on mass-customization, our pavilion design is derived from the aggregation of four elemental surfaces that are expanded out of a single cut sheet design. In other words, our design calls for standardized manufacturing but results in customized surfaces through the expansion process.

WALKING PAVILION EVELYN TING, LAURA SCHMITZ, MAYA TAKETANI, SHIYU WEI The Walking Pavilion is a cylindrical volume comprised of thermoformed white polyethylene panels. Each of the x-shaped panels is curved to add structural rigidity, making the panels themselves self-supportive without an overall frame. Although the tabs of each panel are specifically angled to form a cylinder, the center of each panel varies in the location and amount of curvature to create a sense of depth and variation within a single surface. The shiny, translucent quality of the white polyethylene further contributes to the blurred facade of the pavilion, and hides occupants of the pavilion from view, excepting their feet. From afar, the pavilion appears as a floating white curtain, propped up solely by the people inside.

9'-1111" 16

1'-227 32"

1" 8'-78

1'-523 32"

EXTENDED VESTIGE ERIC MORRIS, CHRIS MARTIN, FEIFEI FENG, BREANNA ROSSMAN Situated within a courtyard, the 10 foot cuboid suspends itself above a path and between the trees. The cube itself is not perceived upon first inspection, but is seen as a convergence of wired surfaces. These doubly curved surfaces reach from opposing building faces and trace the cubic void through their interrelational crosshatching. Leading up to, under and through the convergence, the viewer receives the perception of the geometry through the bound context. The cube that was intended to go there is only seen and experienced once the viewer interacts and explores the apparent bundle of planar surfaces. The pathway leading the individual on a tour of the floated pavilion travels along a string of moments where the torqued nature of the surfaces can be understood as a means to define something that wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t and isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t there. The primary geometry becomes a compounded projection of what it was supposed to be, a shade that is only defined by a series of lines stretching to represent the pseudo form.

1 18

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CABLE RUNNER JOINT

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CABLE RUNNER JOINT ANGLE 3 116

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FACADE CLAMP SIDE scale:3/4 = 1

FACADE CLAMP ROTATION scale:3/4 = 1

5 11 16

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VARIES

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VARIES

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4 VARIES

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1176

scale:3/4 = 1

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scale:3/4 = 1

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ANGLE VARIES

9 16 1176

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scale:3/4 =VARIES 1

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3 3

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ANGLE FACADE CLAMP TOP

1176

9 16

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5 11 16

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VARIES

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scale:3/4 = 1

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FACADE CLAMP SIDE

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scale:3/4 = 1

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FACADE CLAMP SIDE

RHOMBLER BEOMKI LEE, SUSANNA PHO, RENA YANG, ULISES REYES With Rhombler, our group examines the idea of malleable spaces through the shift of its orientations. We looked at precedents such as Jimenez Laiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s White Elephant and Rem Koolhaasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Prada Transformer to explore ways in which this idea may be further developed. After analyzing a series of regular polyhedra, our group began with the rhombic dodecahedron as a base form because of its practicality in terms of the angle of adjacent faces and the possibility of rolling the entire figure as a whole. Modifications were then made in order to create thresholds in which people can enter, or shelter themselves from the environment with. The main drivers behind which faces remained open and closed were its orientation relative to specific campus buildings as well as the sun. Different orientations provide shade from different angles based on where the sun is located at that time of the year, with the added consequence of changing the orientation its thresholds face relative to campus buildings such as the Student Center, Kresge Hall, and Building 7. The site on the yard in front of the Chapel was chosen because of its prominence in relation to the adjacent buildings.

STICK CHAPEL CLAUDIA BODE, JIE ZHANG, JASMINE KWAK, SHAD LEE Saarinen’s chapel on the MIT campus is a calm place to pause and reflect. The large central oculus, the gently undulating walls, and Saarinen’s masterful treatment of light contribute to a space that provides a brief respite from the often frenetic world outside. This pavilion explores variations of this kind of space (the“chapel” typology) through controlled changes in materiality and light. Rather than one chapel, the pavilion is comprised of thee connected chapel spaces, each slightly different from the others, through which one moves in sequence. Each chapel space is a variation on the basic serene space, utilizing the same basic architectonic language. The pavilion as a whole has a structural frame made of milled plywood ribs, which can be joined without the use of mechanical fasteners for ease of assembly. The individual chapel spaces each are comprised of a perforated sheet “ceiling” from which acrylic or wood dowels are hung. The aggregation of these dowels creates both an implied topography where they are cut, and a light filtration effect which is dependent on materiality. Within the three chapel spaces, variations include changes in dowel material and thickness, attachment method to the perforated sheet, spacing, and materiality of the sheet. In each of the spaces the dowels are cut to form a dome around the person inhabiting the space, making it intensely personal. The exterior milled wood frame plus the three perforated sheet + dowel components form the pavilion. Rather than investigate one fabrication method to its limit and base a pavilion design on this technique, we decided to try to create a powerful aesthetic and emotional experience first, and to design this so that it could be fabricated digitally using a variety of techniques.

KERF PAVILION BRIAN HOFFER, CHRIS MACKEY, TYLER CRAIN, DAVID MIRANOWSKI The design of the pavilion is the result of an old technique reinvented using digital strategies and tools. Kerfing, the cutting of wood to add flexibility, has a long history in wood working. Our research combined the material logic of kerfing with the flexibility of parametric modeling and the accuracy of a CNC router. Our parametric model integrated all the digital steps in the modeling and fabrication process, from initial control over the global form to the unrolling and generation of the cut patterns required to make each unit. The patterns allow the plywood to be bent into a predictable shape without the use of additional tools or techniques. The pavilion is a manifestation of new possibilities for design and construction.

Grain Grain

Grain

The Kerf Pavilion takes advantage of an old technique. The accuracy of CNC routing permits us to take kerfing further, creating complex shapes and surfaces which can be aggregated into larger forms. The constraints of this process depend on the direction of the plywood grain, the size of the bed, and the degree of curvature the wood permits c. 14 degrees per kerf. The cut piece is wet with cold water, bent by hand, and held in place with a waterjet-cut metal bridge.

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Within the limits of what the wood allowed a variety of forms can be created that interconnect tangentially to form a solid and sturdy structure. The design of the pavilion permitted seating on both sides and provided a small amount of shade.

The pavilion is located on the MIT campus at the end of the infinite corridor. Its profile weaves through several trees on the site.

FRAMEWORK

PROJECT SUMMARY

DAVID MOSES, BARRY BEAGEN, TRYGVE WASTVEDT, ROBERT WHITE Explored within the Framework project are many themes that have current disciplinary significance to architects, including the rationalization and construction of complex forms, automation of design to manufacturing processes, new methods to describe construction sequences, mass customization, and reciprocal structures that can span larger distances with smaller components. This pavilion is just one of many forms that we could build using the tools we developed.

CENTER LINES OF JOINT CONNECTION PLANE

2” GALVANIZED DECK SCREWS

3” 0.5”

0.5”

3”

The initial research developed around ways in which many small pieces might aggregate to produce larger structures. Methods of joint making were explored as a way of producing a larger structural logic while remaining within the limitations of our machining capabilities.

Start with doubly curved surface

Configuration file allows editing of parameters

Output NC file for each post.

[main] globalScale = 1

G20 (Inches) G00 (Rapid Positioning) G17 (XY Plane) G40 (Tool Radius Compensation off) G49 (Tool length offset compensation cancel) G80 (Cancel canned cycle) G90 (Absolute programming) T1 M6 (Automatic Tool Change) M0 (Stop!) M3 (Turn on spindle clockwise) F6.0 S2000.0 (Feeds and Speeds)

[gcode] #number of decimal places for coordinates precision = 2 millDiameter = .5 #stepOver and stepDown are percentages of millDiameter stepOver = .7 stepDown = 1 #distance from piece when traveling. How brave are you? clearance = .25 #preamble appended to beginning of each nc file preamble = G20 (Inches) G00 (Rapid Positioning) G17 (XY Plane) G40 (Tool Radius Compensation off) G49 (Tool length offset compensation cancel) G80 (Cancel canned cycle) G90 (Absolute programming) T1 M6 (Automatic Tool Change) ...

(Starting Post p0) (Starting Pocket j0) G00 (Rapid Positioning) Z 0.25X 1.09 Y -0.96 A 70.91 G01 (Linear Interpolation) Z 2.04 X1.28 Y2.16 Z2.04 X1.63 Y2.16 Z2.04 X1.44 Y-0.96 Z2.04 X1.79 Y-0.96 Z2.04 X1.98 Y2.16 Z2.04 X2.33 Y2.16 Z2.04 ...

Label each post and joint for reference. p19 p18 j12

Tile_Surface

Grasshopper script

Write_Gcode Python script

p16 j4

p17 j8 j5 p20

j21 j22 j0 j2j68j3p0

j9 p21 j26j69 j6 j27 j7p1 j23

j16

Populate surface with intersecting sticks

j17

Write gcode to mill lap joints on posts at each intersection

j40 p24 j41 j18 j15 j19

j13

j28 j45j70 p25 j24 j46 j20 j25 p5

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j33 j50 j51 j29 p26 j30p6 j47

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p23 j14 p3

j31 j32 j10 p22 j11p2

j61 p29 j62 j43 j44 p9

j57 p28 j71 j35 j58 j38 j39 p8

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p27 j34 p7 j52 j65 p30 j72 j66 j48 j49 p10

j56 p12

p31 j53 p11 j67

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j55 j60 p13

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Draw toolpath on surface to verify geometry.

Separate each post to compare with milled pieces.

The posts were cut using a digital, 4 axis CNC mill. The process of producing a single post might earlier take several hours of work - now it is done in mere minutes. Not only does this save time and reduce waste, it also allows a designer greater freedom in creating non-standard geometries.

MALE COMPONENT (TYP.)

9/16”

PLAN

1”

SECTION AT ASSEMBLED JOINT (TYP.)

SECTION

1/2”

ELEVATION

FEMALE COMPONENT (TYP.)

3” 9/16”

2” #10 S.S. WOOD SCREW, 2 PER JOINT 2" X 2" ASH LUMBER

PLAN

SECTION

15/32” 1”

ELEVATION

JOINT ASSEMBLY

1. PRE-DRILL HOLES PERPENDICULAR TO LAP JOINT PLANE

2. DRIVE SCREW INTO PRE-DRILLED HOLES

3. JOINT BECOMES A FIXED TRIANGULAR NODE

While architects and builders usually refer to a set of drawings and digital models to understand the assembly of all pieces within a structure, Framework uses a system of labeling that streamlines the construction process and makes drawings unnecessary. Since each post has a unique number, all the joints within that post can be coded with the number of the piece that fits into it. The whole structure was assembled by taking a piece, reading its tag, and connecting the corresponding pieces in the location specified.