plastic: kunsthaus graz ARC 730 CONSTRUCTION CASE STUDIES ADVANCED Project No. 1:Thematic Analysis of Current Building Design Techniques and Technologies November 12, 2010 Sebastian Lubczynski Dimitri Karopoulos
Plastic From Greek Origins,“plastikós” : that may be molded In Engineering: Permanent deformation of a solid without fracture In Art: Pliable and mouldable, often in three dimensions
In Biology: Adaptability to change in the environment
_Material Properties Plastics are lightweight, resilient, generally resistant to corrosion and moisture, and can be molded and formed into complex shapes. The material is relatively new to the construction industry, although recently there has been extraordinary growth in their use in building construction. Plastics can be generally defined as a chain like molecular structures that are made by either altering natural products or by transforming petroleum, natural gas, or coal products into an object. Most synthetic plastics, however, are made from distilled crude oil, accounting for approximately eight percent of the world’s application of oil resources. All plastics contain carbon, which has the ability to combine with other atoms to form rings or chains at a chemical level. A long chain of molecules is called a polymer and a short is called a monomer. A polymer is a chain of molecules that can be opaque, transparent, or translucent; it is capable of being molded, extruded, cast or drawn into filaments. Plastics are more generally defined by two types, thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics, which indicate the way which heat is involved in their formation. Thermoplastics will deform under heat or pressure and can be reformed into new shapes multiples times. Thermosetting plastics, after being set and formed, will not breakdown under heat to their constituent chemicals for reformation; however these plastics can be used in higher temperature situations.
_History The plastics industry started in the late 1800’s with plastics being produced from natural resources. These included plastics based on shellac, cellulose and natural rubber. As the petrochemical industry developed in the 1900’s, a wider variety of synthetic plastics were introduced and production of plastics based on natural resources declined even as the overall consumption of plastics rose. These synthetic plastics had more consistent quality and properties, and could be produced at a lower cost. As the world develops, the demand for our non-renewable and limited resources has grown rapidly. This has led to feedstock shortages and petrochemical prices increases. Ironically, manufactures of plastics are now turning back to natural and renewable resources for manufacturing plastics, as they did in the 1800’s.
_Goodyear Tires 1836
_Bakelite (Military) 1907
_Parkskine 1862
_Polyethylene 1933
_Bakelite (Domestic) 1920
_Styrofoam 1954
_Fiberglass 1960
_Large Injection 1990
_Micro Injection 1985
_Natural Plastic 2010
_Translucent
_Color
_Form
_Expansion Joints
_Lightweight
_Fire Resistance
_Durability
_Design Considerations Plastic is a generic term used to describe several chemical compounds. The most common are polyethylene, polyurethane, polystyrene, poly-carbonate, polyvinyl, and polypropylene. As a group, these share many common characteristics, such as their ability to achieve different levels of transparency and color. Plastics typically have a high coefficient of thermal expansion, so construction details must allow for a substantial amount of expansion and contraction due to temperature changes. Plastics are easily cut, formed and bent and some are fire-resistant or classified as slow burning. The building and construction industry is the second largest consumer of plastics, and play an integral role due to their durability, high performance, easy handling and low cost. One of the biggest advantages of plastics is their ability to be shaped to limitless forms. Plastics are generally lower density than other building materials, while their strengthto-weight ratio is typically higher. They can be joined with heat, mechanically with screws or bolts, or by snapping interlocking pieces together with no fasteners. The largest disadvantage to plastics in building applications is that they can be destroyed by fire and may give off toxic gasses. Given the wide range of plastics, all perform differently when subjected to fire. Some plastics burn and create a toxic smoke, while others produce combustible vapors, and still others melt. Fire ratings depend on the type of plastic, its thickness and its coating.
Epoxies Melamines Thermosetting Polyurethanes Silicones
Plastics PVC Nylons Thermoplastic
Polymethyl Methacrylate Vinlys
Perspex Plexiglass Lucite
Polystyrenes
_Plexiglass Plexiglas was originally a trade name for acrylic plastics, but today Plexiglas has become a common manner of identifying this type of plastic, the chemical name for which is polymethyl methacrylate. At temperate temperatures, Plexiglas is solid and glass-like, but a very low temperatures it can become brittle and is easily shattered. Ultraviolet light-inhibiting coatings can be applied during the manufacturing to increase its life-span. Its strength can be enhanced by the use of an additive during its formative chemical reaction, yielding a high-impact acrylic. The unique chemical structure of Plexiglas makes its physical properties of clear visibility and hardness an ideal choice for architectural applications, such as skylights, windows, sigage and exterior cladding components.
_Church in Urubo
_Laban Dance Centre
_50 Argo Street
JAE CHA Architects
Herzog & de Meuron
O’Connor + Houle Architecture
Location: Urubo, Bolivia
Location: Deptford, London
Location: South Yarra, Australia
Type: Extruded Polycarbonate Cladding
Type: Polycarbonate Curtain Wall
Type: Polycarbonate Veneer
Effect: Light Transmittance
Effect: Color Variety and Opacity
Effect: Visual Screen
Typology: Church
Typology: Contemporary Dance Center
Typology: Suburban House
_Arauco Express
_Arauco Express
_BMW Bubble
Felipe Assadi
APA Kurylowicz & Associates
IBZ+L,Bollinger + Grohmann
Location: Santiago, Chile
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Location: Frankfurt, Germany
Type: Multi-wall Polycarbonate Sheet
Type: Multi-wall Polycarbonate Sheet
Type: Plexiglas Paneling
Effect: Light Display
Effect: Translucency
Effect: Form
Typology: Commercial
Typology: Exhibition Pavilion
Typology: Exhibition Pavilion
Graz, Austria 47° 4’1”N ,15°26’4”E
_Competition Background Winning Firm: _Spacelab Cook-Fournier Principles: _Peter Cook + Colin Fournier Client/Owner/Developer: _Florence Griswold Museum Design Features: _Design Philosophy _Iconic Manifestation _Digital Media Facade
_SpaceLab
London based architects, Peter Cook and Colin Fournier formed a temporary collaborative firm, Spacelab; to enter and won the international competition for a landmark museum proposal for Graz, Austria. The Kunsthaus Graz is the firms only realized design proposal. Peter Cook a principal of Archigram, comes from an avant-garde methodology, rethinking norms and manifesting projects of new imagery and technologies. He Lives and works in London and is Professor and Chairman of the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, University College London. His numerous publications include the following major titles: The Power of Contemporary Architecture, Experimental Architecture, and New Spirit in Architecture. He became known through his conceptual projects, including Plug-in City and Instant City. Colin Fournier is also currently living and working in London. He is a professor of architecture and urbanism at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, as well. As with Peter Cook,he designs within a avant-garde methodology. He was Bernard Tschumi’s partner for the overall planning and design of the Parc de la Villette in Paris.
_Project Details Formal name of Project: Kunsthaus Graz Location: Graz, Austria Gross square footage: 141,007 sq. ft. Total construction cost: $50 Million Cost per square ft. : $355 _Kunsthaus Graz Overview The Kunsthaus Graz is an impressive synthesis which unites their innovative design language with the historic
setting of this urban district along the Mur. The aesthetic dialogue between the new biomorphic structure on the bank of the Mur and the old clock tower on Graz’s famous Schloßberg (Castle Hill) is the trade-mark of a city aiming to create a productive tension between tradition and avant-garde. In content as well as from an urbanistic point of view, the new Kunsthaus Graz acts as an interface between past and future. The Kunsthaus Graz is an exhibition hall designed for international exhibitions of multidisciplinary modern and contemporary art. The Kunsthaus will not collect art, it will not institute permanent exhibitions, nor will it have depots or research facilities. It will serve exclusively for the presentation and mediation of a wide range of contemporary artistic productions. The exhibition activities of the Kunsthaus will be determined in agreement and in cooperation with the Neue Galerie am Landesmuseum Joanneum, Styria’s museum for modern and contemporary art, with a long and rich tradition. Berlin based realities : united conceives, designs and realizes a 900 m2 large media installation made of light rings for the eastern facade of the Kunsthaus Graz. BIX – the title of the installation - will be mounted beneath the acrylic glass surface of the building facing the river and city centre. It can be seen as an urban screen: a new instrument and platform for artistic production. The Kunsthaus uses BIX to project its communicative aspect into public space.
_Analysis Process The analysis of the Kunsthaus Graz is going predominantly focus on the arbitrarily shaped blob and application of Plexiglas paneling. The analysis will focus on how the design team took a competition winning idea and were able to ultimately construct it.
_Initial Form The shape of the outer skin was rationalized through a number of influences. The programmatic requirements of the interior spaces, as well as the possible wingspan or the required distance to adjoining buildings (zoning requirements) and ultimately creating an iconic manifestation.
_Design Influences The following principles were generated during the design process and essentially provide the rationale parameters that manifest the blob form:
_Free Form
_Buckminster Fuller
_Digital Platform
The proposal was never to be considered a purely organic approach. The form was intended to be “free form� that was embedded in the surrounding buildings. Structural engineering considerations, influenced the form although it was always desired to communicate the form was arbitrary.
Buckminster Fuller ideology was a source of inspiration when considered the structural components. With this the layout of the triangular space frame was driven by the concept of an ease of connection to rectangular paneling.
The digital platform allows for the realization of the sculptural piece of art roughly based on drawings but basically designed on the intuition of the 3D modeler. The digital platform specifically through Rhino, handles mathematical curves, producing very smooth and clean curvatures.
_Design Ideas : Digital Media Facade + Blue Uniform Blob = Plastic
_A Space Age Material From the conceptual stages of the project, it was envisioned to generate a uniform blob form in a “space like mate
rial�. The identification of this space like material was not resolved until the later stages of the design process. The design process generated a arbitrary form, responded to certain site and functional parameters, but never to the requirements of the potential cladding material, all that was established was that a space frame would be established to support rectangular paneling. Another defining element of the winning proposal was the idea of a media facade, which would require a translucency to the cladding material. As the design team was generating precedents, they began gravitating toward polycarbonates due to their material properties, and their aesthetic appearance; and ultimately their ability to provide the competition winning elements of a blue uniform skin and a media facade.
Team Plexiglass Vs. Team Fiberglass Waste: 0 - 1 Durability: 0 - 1 Fastening: 0 - 1 Transparency: 1 - 1 Customization: 0 - 1 Ultraviolet Radiation: 0 - 1 Fire Resistance Rating: 0 - 1 HALF TIME SCORE
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7
Cost: 1 - 0 FULL TIME SCORE
2
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7
WINNER : TEAM PLEXIGLASS
_Manufacturing Possibilities With having established the rationale for a Plexiglas paneling system, the design team needed to specify the type of polycarbonate and the most efficient process of manufacturing:
_Ship Building
_Casting
_Molding
The Comme de Garรงons Aoyama was a precedent that utilized curved paneling that was prefabricated in a wharf. The building utilized skills that had been common trend for ship builders, but allowed for new horizons for architects. Non-Selection of method was in large part to the high cost.
Casting is utilized in a variety of industries although the cost of tooling is the most influential constraint. This process is not efficient for the production of panels that vary due to formal requirements. A mold that can easily vary and is cheap to manufacture would be the only cost effective process.
The molding process is initiated through a device which produces a repetitive product. The product is defined by the mold, and with the adjustments to the mold, create adjustments to the product through relatively easy means. The ease of adjustments, allows for cost effectivity and thus the select method for panel creation.
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= _Plexiglas Manufacturing Process
The Plexiglas panel manufacturing process can be broken down into three main stages:
Stage 1: The Mold A large rectangular block of Styrofoam approximately the size of a king size bed, is cut through computer aided presets to the desired dimensions by a five axis milling cutter. Stage 2: Firing A standardized 4 x 3 meters flat panel is heated to the point of elasticity, and is then placed upon the Styrofoam mold and gravity begin to take their effect. Stage 3 : Cooling The Plexiglas panel takes its final form as it, cools slowly on the Styrofoam mold to avoid any tensions and deformations.
_Accepting Change
The Plexiglas panels were not considered when determining the initial form. As the design process continued to develop and the Plexiglas material was finalized, the form had to adjust to accommodate to the panels. The Plexiglas panels where molded from two basic rectangular templates 4 x 3 M and 3 x 2 M and therefore adjusted the arbitrary structure of the panelization layout.
_Initial Form
_Form Segmentation: Strips of equal width placed along the circumference
Arrangement of reference points to establish a network of longitudinal and transversal divisions. The network had to be as seamless and evenly distributed as possible. The longitudinal strips (yellow) were the basis for the subdivision of the facade panels.
_Establishing a Network of Longitudinal and Transversal Divisions
The transversal divisions are lying in vertical planes. these planes have a continuous distance from each other. When the longitudinal strips are superimposed the final appearance of the facade becomes visible.
_Rectangular Grid
The skin of the Kunsthaus is a thin, self-supporting shell that has been resolved into a space-frame structure. The triangular layout provides for the required shearing stiffness. The triangular mesh is derived from the longitudinal and transversal divisions that have been shown in the previous images.
_Mesh Topology
Early design stage of the structural framing. This design turned out too complicated becuase the number of elements grew too large.
_Early Structural Triangulation
The design model here is incomplete and some of the triangles on the left side have become very irregular. These issues needed were required to be resolved.
_Early Structural Triangulation
_Overlay: Structural Grid and Paneling
The refined structural space-frame has been fully developed. The refined triangulation layout provided the required shearing stiffness for this type free form
shape.
_Structural Space-frame
_Complete Structural Grid and Skin Overlay
The fixing points are placed on the intersections where both systems meet - a total of about 1800 points. The system follows the distortion of the surface. The skylights are aligned to it and each occupies a hexagonal field within the structure.
_Synthesis
The penalization of the Plexiglas skin is fully realized. Each panel has 6 anchoring points, stiffing the panels from any deformation.
_Plexiglas Skin Section
Faรงade structure
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7
5 6 1
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Synthetic membrane (bitumen compatible waterproofing sheet)
2
Supporting framework, primary steel truss
3
Closed cell steel decking
4
FOAMGLAS insulation
5
Under-faรงade BIX lightning
6
Sprinkler nozzle
7
Support for panels
8
Open-jointed acrylic panels
4 3
2
Future??? Future??? Future???
Future of plastic in the industry: Plastic as a source of design material in the industry comes with large environmental concerns. As a material it releases large amounts of toxic pollutants in its production, the emission of greenhouse gas, and landfills are impacted as a result of the production and disposal of petroleum and petroleum-based plastics. The vast quantities of plastic accumulation in the ocean gyres (systems of rotating ocean currents) have been a major concern over the past decade. One of the great advantages of using plastic for decades was its relatively low price. With the rise in petroleum cost, the cost of producing plastics has risen with it because petroleum is the raw material that is chemically altered to form commercial plastic. With the oil reserves being uncertain, the rise in petroleum cost may increase further and bring the cost of production of plastic along with it. Alternative materials, like oil shale and tar oil, have been explored for the production of plastic but have ultimately been found to expensive in the extraction and production of plastic. Plastic waste from the production line can be easily recycled because it satisfies the conditions for reusing the material. On the other hand, plastics that have been used in the industry would need to go through a complex and expensive collection system to bring them to a state that can be reused in the industry. To breakdown the used synthetic material to its raw state, it would need to go through a reheating process with the use of solvents (thinners) resulting in more toxins being introduced in the transformation.