Bartlett UG2 2016/17_Will

MATERIAL RESEARCH

Stage 1

Mycelium Chair Terreform One

Stage 2

Mycelium Chair Erik Clarenbeek

Stage 3

Mycelium Bricks Phillip Ross

Mycelium branches in an organic pattern while searching for nutrients in the soil. Branches can meet and fuse in genetically identical mycellium (with itself). The centre is cannibalised when the nutrients run out. Creates an efficient network, interesting when applied to structure or urban planning scale.

MYCE

RESEA

ELIUM

ARCH

Stage 4

Stage 5

Mycelium

In 1998 a team from the US Forest Service set out to investigate the cause of large tree die-offs in the Malheur National Forest in east Oregon. After testing fungus found in the trees, they realised that they were all genetically identical. The team calculated that the A. solidipes covered an area of 3.7 sq miles (9.6 sq km), and was somewhere between 1,900 and 8,650 years old.

MYCE

RESEA

ELIUM

ARCH

This is a single ‘Mega-Organism’!

OREGON STATE

50km 50km

Flour

Wallpaper Paste

PVA

Mushroom Tower Mycotecture

In order to bond the sawdust together I tried different glues, to my surprise the starch in flour actually worked the best, creating a super lightweight brick that contains all the components necessary for growing a thriving mycellium population.

BONDING

MATERIAL

Hard and Smooth

Mushroom bound Materials Ecovative

AGENTS

L TESTING

Wouldn’t Dry

Crumbly

15%

20%

25

As I increased the ratio of flower in the sawdust mixture, the brick became less crumbly but also appeared to become more brittle. Another effect of adding more flower appeared to be increased growth of the mycellium as well as other moulds especially on the top face of the brick that wasn’t made so smooth by the casting process.

FLOUR

MATERIAL

5%

30%

BIO SCAFFOLD Natalie Alma

RATIO

L TESTING

40%

SAWDUST TABLE Yaov Avinoam Sawdust and Resin

F

By testing the tensile and compressive strength of the bricks, I can simulate the material much more accurately as well as work out the best ratio to mix my material.

TENSILE S

MATERIAL

STRENGTH

L TESTING

Sawdust brick suspended by welded steel frame.

Newton Meter - measuring force applied to the brick.

Steel frame with cross brasing for lateral stability.

Strong wooden base for lateral stability.

I hope by compressing the bricks while they dry that it will increase their strength by making them a bit denser. I hope this might actually speed the drying process by squeezing out excess water.

COMPRESSING

MATERIAL

Vices to provide pressure (could be replaced with hydraulic press).

Wooden walls slot in for easy removal after material sets.

Strong steel ‘L’ beam framework to prevent deformation.

Base with holes for drainage when water is squeezed out.

Pot for catching water + wooden block feet to suspend device.

G THE BRICKS

L TESTING

Much like rammed earth, strength is improved through compression

In order to mimic the organic forms of mycelium, I have chosen to explore cloth casting as it can create some very unique shapes. As an initial experiment I created a two-dimensional form that plays with a few different geometries in order to test how my material performs when cast.

CLOTH C

MATERIAL

CASTING

L TESTING

FABRIC CAST CONCRETE Joseph Sarafian and Ron Culver

FABRIC CAST CONCRETE Bob Fossil

DIGITAL

TESTING

It.1

It.2

It.3

It.4

MYCELIUM TECHTONICS Mycellium and Cotton wool

I was interested in trying to simulate the nutrient seeking property of mycelium. In order to do this I imagined a grid of mycelium strands that were attracted to areas of high nutrients which I modelled as attractors which diverted the path of the strands towards them.

SIMULATING DIGITAL

4

G MYCELIUM TESTING

It.5

‘NUTRIENT RICH’ AREAS

AREAS OF POROSITY

DIGITAL TESTING

SIMULATING MYCELIUM

It.4

In this iteration I took all the points that were within a certain distance of one another and connected them to create linking structures between individual strands.

It.5

In this iteration I took all the points that were within a certain distance of one another and connected them to create linking structures between individual strands.

SIMULATING DIGITAL

G MYCELIUM TESTING

‘NUTRIENT RICH’ AREAS

AREAS OF POROSITY

‘NUTRIENT RICH’ AREAS

AREAS OF POROSITY

URBAN-AGENCY Rolan Snooks

For my next digital experiment I wanted to concentrate more on branching within the structure in imitation of the structural qualities I identified with the mycelium at the beginning of my project. The structure is formed by manipulating a point cloud. Each ‘node’ is formed by a sphere placed at a point in the point cloud. The closest links between points are found and a slightly concave pipe joins them together.

POINT-CLOUD DIGITAL

D BRANCHING TESTING

POINT-CLOUD DIGITAL

D BRANCHING TESTING

BEAMS

NODES

Using the same script as the previous experiment I tried to generate something a little more structural and using a torus of repel points I created a shell structure with a central column supporting it. I feel like this form is a little too un-curated and lacks a goal.

GENERATING DIGITAL

STRUCTURE TESTING

GENERATING DIGITAL

SINGULAR BRANCHING RES studies

STRUCTURE TESTING

REGULAR TO DIGITAL

I enjoy the interplay between areas of different density across the model. Here I have attempted to mesh the fibrous areas with linear solid blocks. This allows for a range of different geometries to fit a variety of different needs throughout a structure.

BIRD SHOT MODELS Antonio Gaudi

O IRREGULAR TESTING

REGULAR TO DIGITAL

O IRREGULAR TESTING

The last experiment that I rendered was reminiscent of a Gothic arch when it was flipped on its side. I was actually quite surprised with how well it fit when I began analysing it.

REGULAR TO DIGITAL

CLESTORY WINDOWS

NAVE PIERS GOTHIC ARCHES

O IRREGULAR TESTING

STRUCTURE

SUBSTRUCTURE

Step 1: Create bounding geometry. Seperate for areas of different density.

Step 2: Generate points inside geometry, varying density throughout.

GOTHIC VAU DIGITAL

Step 3: Link points together.

ULTING TEST TESTING

Step 4: Pipe the lines and join to regular geometry.

Gothic vaulting is reminiscent of the aesthetic language I have created based around mycelium. The tubular structure mirror the flutes found in Gothic vaults. In this experiment I bound the point generation to the shape of a vault, I’ve tried to vary the density in accordance with the Gothic vault - hence less points in the column and more towards the roof. Key columns are thickened to increase load bearing capacity.

GOTHIC VAU DIGITAL

GOTHIC VAULTING Various

ULTING TEST TESTING

GOTHIC VAU DIGITAL

ULTING TEST TESTING

FABRICATION AND ARCHI

ITECTURAL APPLICATION

Unrolling a module

Here I have extracted one ‘node’ from the vaulting model I made previously. It is simplified down into rings which are then joined together with an organic shape. I hope that I could construct a frame to hold these rings in position so that I can cast in fabric hung between them.

EXTRACTING

PHYSICAL

G MODULES

L MODEL

I repeated the process from the previous page on the whole section of the structure to create a series of modules that could be assembled to form an approximation of the original structure.

EXTRACTING

PHYSICAL

G MODULES

L MODEL

In order to construct these forms I will have to split it into basic modular sections that could hopefully be cast from my sawdust-flour-mycellium mixture. These modules are quite homogeneous so I want to try and vary their size and form in my next iteration.

MODULAR CO

PHYSICAL

ONSTRUCTION

L MODEL

I 3D printed the set of nodes that I created in order to get a feel for the structure in reality before fabricating it with cloth casting techniques.

MODULAR CO

PHYSICAL

ONSTRUCTION

L MODEL

cloth

635

Cloth pattern wood

95

By using the lines from the exploded module I have sown together a net for the module. Next time I wont kiss cut the lines I have to sow along because it made the fabric weaker at that point.

220

SEWING TH

PHYSICAL

HE MOULD

L MODEL

cloth

200

635

wood

200

95

220

Wooden caps

In order to cast it, I had to create a formwork to keep it rigid. I tried to mix the plaster I was using as a test quite thick so that it wouldn’t run through the holes in the stitching but it dried too quickly and wouldn’t run through the mould fully.

CASTING T

PHYSICAL

THE MOULD

L MODEL

SINGLE N

PHYSICAL

NODE 1:1

L MODEL

JOINT ST

PHYSICAL

TRUCTURE

L MODEL

JOINT ST

PHYSICAL

TRUCTURE

L MODEL

N

Ball Court

The Ossuary

Temple of the deer

Xtoloc Cenote

Observatory ‘El Caracol’

Hous the h wri

Chichén Itzá was an ancient Mayan City located in modernday Mexico. The planning of the buildings were aligned to various astronomical phenomena, most notably the movement of the sun and Venus, believed to be brothers in the Mayan religion.

CHICHÉN

RESEA

Sacred Cenote

Tzompantli Venus Platform

El Castillio

se of hidden iting

N ITZĂ

ARCH

Temple of the Warriors

Group of a thousand columbs

Building alignments: Sunset at equinox Northernmost position of Venus Southernmost position of Venus

The building is aligned with the passage of Venus and the solstice suns.

EL CAR

RESEA

RACOL

ARCH

El Caracol is named after a snail due to its spiral stairs. In the half-ruined higher tower of El Caracol, three openings survive. These three openings are small, narrow, and irregularly placed, suggesting that they are actually viewing shafts. It turns out that these windows do in fact align with important astronomical sightlines. Looking through these windows a thousand years ago, observers could have watched for Venus rising at its northern and southern extremes, as well as the equinox sunset.

Kukulkan the feathered serpent god; a representation of him appears on the steps of El Castillo during the spring and fall equinoxes.

Mayan pictograph of V

THE MAYA

RESEA

Venus showing the its orbital cycle.

AN VENUS

ARCH

Mould before filling

Filling process (with help from Ollie Mitchel)

Finished structure with ad-hoc supports to hold in shape.

JOINT ST

PHYSICAL

TRUCTURE

L MODEL

I partially removed part of the skin of the model to show the structure within. It wasn’t strong enough in some places to support itself without the cloth.

JOINT ST

PHYSICAL

TRUCTURE

L MODEL