ADAPTIVE BALLOON FRAMING — CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT DESIGNED WITH CROSS-LAMINATED TIMBER

By Emma Haukom and Amy Caran for the UMN BS in Architecture undergraduate studio 05 taught by Samuel Daley and Nat Madson

This project challenges traditional material systems of residential construction by testing cross-laminated timber as an alternative solution. Cross-laminated timber is an architectural, structural, and finish piece. Its prefabrication versatility lends itself to unique openings and forms to experiment with new residential configurations. Prior to this scheme, we designed a triplex that achieved unit variation by utilizing a balloon framing system in which individual panels were hung at varying heights. The vertical spanels in this scheme were articulated with arch shapes that cued different spatial functions. For the design of cluster development, our intentions for this project are to carry forward these themes of creating variability within the material constraints in a way that responds to our assigned site and introduces a retail-residential typology in which there are adjacencies of different retail spaces and unit types intermingled into the material framework.