In Reply to: Re: Safe building structures posted by Solomon on August 03, 2003 at 08:13:49:
This research project is a cladding system designed, modeled and fabricated using 3D modeling software and a computer numerically controlled (CNC) mill. The project investigated the manufacture of components directly from a computerized model, bypassing the conventional method of producing documentation to be interpreted by the contractor upon construction. By fabricating directly from the design model, a more efficient process and more accurate product are possible, and the computer can be employed as a tool for the realization of architecture rather than only for its representation.
The secondary purposed of the project was to study the potentials of an unexplored structural system, the differential space-frame, capable of providing a simple construction method for realizing the complex curvilinear forms generated with contemporary 3D software. The differential space frame uses the same tectonic of triangulation that the computer uses to rationalize form, making it ideally suited for the realization of computer designed shapes.
The cladding system for the structure is structurally semi-autonomous, attached to the spaceframe but capable of a degree of formal freedom, separating from the form of the frame. Combined with interior cladding, this system will allow for integration with HVAC, infrastructure and insulation while the exterior cladding performs as an environmental enclosure and envelope.