Advanced Design | Techne, Spring 2016 | Pavilion, Team 4

[ n odum ]

[nodum] tutor: Symeonidou Ioanna team: Damvopoulou Areti Iliadi Ioanna Mittal Sarra Nousias Chrysostomos

TECHNE 2nd semester academic year 2015-16

_contents Introduction

1

Experimentations

2-5

Final Process

6-7

Generative Digital Modeling

8-14

Unrolling & Numbering

15

Fabrication

16-19

Photo Gallery

20-31

_INTRODUCTION “Nodum� is a two week project. It is a project of four students whose motivation, imagination and energy attributed to the development of the proposed structure. The goal is to figure out, in a short period of time, how a complex structure can be executed.

Through this intensive process, design software tools are taught, parametric modelling techniques are used and organising skills are improved, which integrate with digital fabrication. Although problems recreate problems, it was a challenge to be achieved.

The pavilion was developed by using Rhino and Grasshopper as generative modeling tool and, in the same time, by the production of mock-ups, so as to comprehend fabrication and assembling processes. Through the result, all the difficulties and their solutions are impressed on the construction as it flourish.

Design intent The main aspiration of the team is focused on the development of a structure in which shape, form, assembly and static function coexist and interact all together, as a whole. From the very beginning of the design process, emphasis was placed in the way in which such an integrity could be achieved with the use of panels, arranged in interweaving planar rectangular frames and assembled via notches. The assembly was accomplished with 4 notces on each panel, through which it is attached to 4 other pieces (panels). The challenge of this kind of structure was to be able to be successfully implemented on curved shapes and ensure, not only the accuracy of the curvature of the final geometry via the formation of the nodes, but also its stability. Furthermore, one of the most crucial concerns developed within the team was about the way in which, despite the repetition of the frames, differentiations and varying qualities can be achieved, regarding light and shadow effects or visual contact alterations.

Timeline 1

_EXPERIMENTATIONs

2

3

4

5

NAVIGATION OF THE FINAL PROCESS 6

_final process/ digital & Manual interplay The final model relies on the experimentations - both digital and manual - concerning the ellipse-based model. The previous physical model making and mock-ups, contributed to the disclosure of errors and the identification of weaknesses, leading to a more conscious and responsible decision-making and design process in the last phase.

The rigid elliptic volume is used in a creative way, contributing to the development of another, more interesting, formation. The main difficulties that were encountered along the way were defining an appropriate notch size, compensating for deflection of the structure, and orientation of the edge pieces as they met the ground. Further-

more, the weight of the material itself had to be taken in account.

In our final model, each of the 644 unique pieces of mdf wood 3mm is attached to its neighboring components via notches through “knob�-type knots. According to the overall statics of the structure, the pieces differentiate in size, from bottom to top, so that the structure gets heavier in the lowest parts touching the ground and lighter on the highest and overhanging parts. This differentiation contributes, in the same time, to variable light and shadow effects. Finally, the model itself needed two base rails to reinforce the structure and not let it deviate.

7

_generative digital modeling

[Grasshopper definition] 8

9

[Grasshopper definition] 10

11

12

13

03

[NOTE]: the notch’s width depends on the angle between the two pieces that are going to be joined: if the seam is perpendicular then notch’s width coincides with the piece’s width

[Detail 01: knot] 02

L= [(a/sinθ)*(conθ+1)]

θ α

01

in our case: 87°< θ <93° L

03

04 02

01

03

04 02

01

[Detail 02: conjunction] 14

15

_fabrication

[numbering on model]

The assembly itself gave specific effects and curvature, the shape of the structure and therefore created the desirable space. Undoubtedly, the task of assembly had a key role and that is why it needed appropriate testing. The material - medium density 3mm fibreboard or mdf- was chosen for its static and aesthetic qualities. Apart from the way of assembling, another issue arose, the one of â&#x20AC;&#x153;how to organize the piecesâ&#x20AC;? (logistics). The solution was to number them in such a way that made the assembling and fabrication easy and time beneficial. More precisely, each component was numbered and engraved, on the one hand, (centrally) according to its position in the whole structure and on the other hand, it included numbers in every notch corresponding to its neighboring components.

The task of fabrication was accomplished via laser cut machine. As the mockups were cut in cardboard, the differences with mdf were not negligible. because of the burning material amount and so the notches would have to be designed according to the further calculations to be tight enough for the overall stability of the pavilion. A further lesson was the way of starting to assemble the model. If the model did not begin from the components near the rails, then the curvature that occurred was wrong and irreparable. Due to this process, the team developed understanding thinking, skills and methodologies for customized production.

[laser - cutting]

[manual sorting] 16

[cleaning]:after laser-cutting process, pieces needed to be cleaned in order to avoid stains from leftover burned material on the final model

[assembly]:starting from rails, building up the model in two opposite parts

17

[assembly]:as the two opposite parts are being developed, the structure could not handle the weight, so urgent supports (old models in our case!) were needed

18

[assembly]:building up the open edges of the model by adding the last shortest pieces

[end of assembly] 19

[photo gallery]

20

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22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

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31

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