Pixelator!

fun short exercise in making a dull empty warehouse wall in the Netherlands into something a bit more interesting, link

some other great proposals here. 

pixels

using these pixelated screens in defining individual dining zones for a restaurant they also functioned as the main group areas with portals that allowed guests to use the screens as tables. the concept was to break the monotony of a flat surface by pixelizing the wall into modular boxes along the undulating surface, bringing an abstracted representation of the garden inside.

option one was intended to be a living green wall, each box containing soil for growing plants.

 option two used the same boxes as a frame in filled by smaller glass cubes of varying sizes.

experimentadesign lisboa 2009

digital primitive #2: iterative design
digital primitive - caterina tiazzoldi + eduardo benamor duarte

digital primitive extended is an installation that presents the work of a group of architects, designers and manufacturers in new york, representing a conceptual and productive reality in the city.

they are digital because they are the first generation of new york designers and architects graduated in a context characterized by digital modeling techniques and computer numerical control (CNC) manufacturing. they are primitive because they have to provide an answer to the limitations posed by a city like new york.

lúcio has been invited to present current research as part of the digital primitive installation in the cais do sodré underground metro station.

FACETED | FIBROUS | STRUCTURES is a research endeavor focusing on producing complex double-curved structural geometries using standard planar materials assembled together in linear strips. When a material is folded its bending strength is increased parallel to the fold. Using ancient paper folding techniques (origami) as inspiration, the concept of folding flat metal sheets allows one to triangulate geometries and generate long volumetric folded strips that can then be assembled together to create structural ribs.

The apertures and depth of the faceted system can be sized according to solar gain requirements as well as structural performance criteria and/or weight reduction necessity. Using standard CAD/CAM technologies, the folded strips can be easily manufactured from planar sheets using CNC, laser, or water-jet cutters.

Design of the FACETED | FIBROUS | STRUCTURES was developed in Rhino using Rhino Scripting. The structure is generated using a base surface onto which 3 layers of points are plotted. The top layer represents the exterior, the middle layer the center, and the bottom layer the interior. Surfaces are then created from the points using an elongated hexagonal pattern.

XO.S | PAVILION

The XO.S | PAVILION is a formal exercise emulating biomorphic exoskeletal systems, intended to be used as a temporary place of gathering. It funnels pedestrians from one end to the other, compressing at the center and then widening at both ends dividing space into two zones. The pavilion is fabricated from stainless steel folded strips, laser-cut from flat sheets and welded together. The exterior is painted with a high-gloss black car paint finish while the interior and inner faces are painted white.

Random Close Packing

sorry for the hiatus in posting this summer but between the beautiful weather, being busy at the office, and spending time with my 21 month-old daughter i just couldn't find time to post anything new. but alas with the warm summer days gone and vacations nearly forgotten i will be focusing back onto production mode.

above are some images of my interpretation of 'RCP' (random close packing) on a surface. essentially a educlidean grid was generated on the surface,randomly rotated curves were plotted relative to the surface normals and used as paths to extrude variable curve profiles plotted on the surface. a random color range was applied to each surface relative to its z-coordinates.

random close packing (RCP) is an empirical parameter used to characterize the maximum volume fraction of solid objects obtained when they are packed randomly. --Wikipedia

surface tesselation

i've been working on tessellating complex surfaces with flat panels. in order to achieve fixed seams triangulation seems to be the obvious choice so focus can be applied on the design of the reveal between panels. this script plots a grid of points on the surface, draws a polyline through 3 points, rounds the edges of the polyline, and then creates the panel surface.

folded surfaces

here are a few images testing folded surface generation.

paper exhibits zero gaussian curvature at all points on its surface, and only folds naturally along lines of zero curvature. but the curvature along the surface of a non-folded crease in the paper, as is easily done with wet paper or a fingernail, is no longer subject to this constraint. -Wikipedia

cellular house

some further development of the cellular typology. working the floor plan of this detached home to include outdoor terraces at every other cell as well as experimenting with framing the openings on the façade.

cellular house

experimenting with the previous residential cellular typology for a high-rise, one residential module can be used as a detached single-family home, pre-manufactured and assembled on site.

cellular living

following the previous post, here are some studies of stacking the duplex units horizontally.

cellular living

i'm currently working on a residential project based on a voronoi planar composition.