This project, supported by SCI-Arc as part of its Materials Lab Program, is an investigation into the advantages and limits of composite materials. Via an asymmetrical structural type-- the cantilever-- the goal was to create massive differences in stress patterns within an object and respond to those patterns in a way which would both index the structural diagram but also exceed it.
Composites are more than a class of materials; they imply a paradigm shift in architecture in terms of allowing real progress on the contemporary desire to blend formal, structural, and ornamental systems. They also engender a new way of thinking about assembly and engineering, where layer-thinking is replaced by chunky parts fused without hardware, where and structure cannot be broken down into discreet vectors. Continuous difference and variability in structural capacity, transparency, pattern, and color becomes the design space, as in nature. Consider insect wings, which are made of bio-composites expressed in a highly differentiated arrangements of translucent cuticle characterized by variable depth, color, and pattern features. The unprecedented way that systems and materials are fused and graded in these wings offer a revolutionary new way of thinking about aesthetics and performance in architectural design.
The piece was evolved with Buro Happold through a feedback loop between morphological developments and structural analysis in ANSYS, where features such as connective armatures and surface pleating were introduced over time. It was also informed by manufacturing logic, in terms of limitations of mold size, requirements for structural joining of components, and grading fiber density and orientation. Based on a consciously under-dimensioned overall thickness of 1/8" fiber-composite layup, a pattern of 2" fiberglass tape was created in order to locally respond to high stress conditions.
The tape operates as a figure embedded in the form: it is a translucent structural tattoo which follows its own aesthetic logic as well as performance demands. The tattoo is made of multiple layers of tape, reaching thicknesses of up to 1/4", with attendant variation in opacity. Critical for the piece is the depth effect that is produced by being able to see the back side of the tattoo as a ghostly silhouette through layers of translucent material.
Composites are more than a class of materials; they imply a paradigm shift in architecture in terms of allowing real progress on the contemporary desire to blend formal, structural, and ornamental systems. They also engender a new way of thinking about assembly and engineering, where layer-thinking is replaced by chunky parts fused without hardware, where and structure cannot be broken down into discreet vectors. Continuous difference and variability in structural capacity, transparency, pattern, and color becomes the design space, as in nature. Consider insect wings, which are made of bio-composites expressed in a highly differentiated arrangements of translucent cuticle characterized by variable depth, color, and pattern features. The unprecedented way that systems and materials are fused and graded in these wings offer a revolutionary new way of thinking about aesthetics and performance in architectural design.
The piece was evolved with Buro Happold through a feedback loop between morphological developments and structural analysis in ANSYS, where features such as connective armatures and surface pleating were introduced over time. It was also informed by manufacturing logic, in terms of limitations of mold size, requirements for structural joining of components, and grading fiber density and orientation. Based on a consciously under-dimensioned overall thickness of 1/8" fiber-composite layup, a pattern of 2" fiberglass tape was created in order to locally respond to high stress conditions.
The tape operates as a figure embedded in the form: it is a translucent structural tattoo which follows its own aesthetic logic as well as performance demands. The tattoo is made of multiple layers of tape, reaching thicknesses of up to 1/4", with attendant variation in opacity. Critical for the piece is the depth effect that is produced by being able to see the back side of the tattoo as a ghostly silhouette through layers of translucent material.