HUNT ] GATHER [ MOVE

AN ARCHITECTURAL THESIS

NATHANIEL KELLER

 2011 Lawrence Technological University. Lawrence Technological University College of Architecture + Design Nathaniel James Keller Master of Architecture Thesis Advisor_Philip Plowright

in memory of EDH
and dedicated to my loving wife and son

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THESIS STATEMENT INTRODUCTION rp_Panel: THE DEMONSTRATION STRESSED SKIN rp_Panel: SELECTING A SKIN rp_Panel: MATERIAL EXPERIEMENTS JOINERY FITTINGS AND CONNECTIONS Joinery Experiments: SHEET TO SHEET rp_Panel: JOINERY RECIPROCAL FRAME RF_experiment: The Grillage Model rp_Panel: THE RECIPROCAL SHAPE FOLDING folding experiments: SCORING folding experiments: RIBBING folding experiments: FOLDING rp_Panel: THE FOLDS

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THESIS STATEMENT

27 WORDS

This thesis will explore how folding, reciprocal framing and non-impact joinery techniques can be used to transform flat sheet material into a reusable, modular,self supporting architectural system.

INTRODUCTION

EXPLANATION OF INVESTIGATIONS

This investigation starts with understand skin as a building material. Stressed skin construction utilizes the skins abilities to transfer forces across its surface. This technique is used often in architecture and other design fields, but is over shadowed by vector based structural systems. These investigations into the skin aim to explore the capabilities of the stressed skin to be a more efficient building system than vector based models. A stressed skin construction system can become a structural system and enclosure system all in one move; it is a one part system. Vector based building construction types rely on multiple parts to complete the assembly. Usually, in a vector based model, a frame is created to construct the form, then a secondary skin or enclosure system is used to complete the system. The vector based system has been a primary form of construction type since the primitive hut. With advances in digital technology and fabrication techniques, new forms of building systems can be explored that limit the number of parts and utilize material qualities. This is the efficiency of the stressed skin; to become a one part building system. 4

THE BEGINNING
These investigations will use thin sheet plastic as a skin material, but the investigations results are not just limited to plastic sheet material. The following investigations will be focused on the plastics ability to perform during folding, reciprocal framing and conform to non-impact fittings, but the overall process can be performed and tested on other sheet material products as well. There are several types of sheet materials that could be used, but it is important to note that any other sheet material used should possess some of the overall qualities of plastic. The material needs to malleable and formable. This means that the material needs to be easily folded by some sort of mechanical means, whether that is by heat or force. The particular plastic used in these experiments is able to be folded by hand, but any possible material used for the experiments could be folded by stamping or heating. It is important to start with a sheet material that can be formed easy because the reciprocal frame relies on the fold in order to work. Each study in this over all investigation aims to create a modular penalized system that can become self-supporting 5 structure and enclosure at once. The modular panel created at the end of these studies does not represent an actual finished piece of architecture or structure; it represents the combining of the following techniques into one technique. Folding cannot be investigated without thinking about the reciprocal shape and connection process. The reciprocal shape cannot be explored without understand the folding capabilities of the material. The connections become a part of the reciprocal shape and folding forms, thus they need to be thought about during the other studies. Historically, the reciprocal frame, folding techniques and non-impact fittings have been used in separation from each other. This thesis aims to unify the separate design processes into one process that can be used with the sheet material as test subject. Reciprocal framing techniques have been used for hundreds of years. Ancient eastern cultures, the medieval builders, the Renaissance artists and even modern day innovators have used the technique as a way to solve material limitation problems. In history, it starts as system used to overcome a lumber length verses spanning distance

not THE END

problem inquiry, and today continues to be investigated as a form for transferring loads over long distances with smaller light weight members. There are not many examples of the technique being used together with the stressed skin. Most research that is being done now, and the historical examples of reciprocal frame, deal with vector based models of construction. The following reciprocal framing studies will lead to discovering that the process can be transferred into a stressed skin design. Folding has long been used as a generator of building form. It is used by the architect to manipulate light, perspective and circulation at the macro scale of architectural composition. Folding can also be used to create structure and architectural composition at the micro sale. In this thesis folding will be used to create structure within the panel as well as create a form that communicates the tectonic language throughout the architecture. It is important to note that these investigations will not just be looking at the fold for its structural qualities, but also its architectural qualities. The true spirit of this overall investigation is to design a reusable architectural system that can be used in many applications. The final rp_Panel is not a finished architectural product, but is an example of how the architectural and construction industries can use new technologies to create building systems that are easily adaptable to changes in the overall system of the build environment. Non-Impact Joinery is at the heart of these intentions. Non-Impact fittings and connections allow for systems to be internally constructed and externally attached to other systems without the burden of the massive waste that traditional construction joinery techniques encounter. The skin, the fold, the reciprocal frame, and non-impact joinery will not be considered separate processes for this overall investigation. It is all one process; the process of creating a reciprocal plane. A planar system that uses the stressed skin to transfer loads, the fold to react against force and the non-impact fitting to hold the system together.

rp_Panel: THE DEMONSTRATION

rp_Panel PROTOTYPING ALGORITHM

The prototyping algorithm for the rp_Panel investigates the skin, folding, reciprocal frame techniques and joinery. It is imperative that all four investigations are done in unison. Folding cannot be investigated without thinking about the skin material, the reciprocal shape and joinery techniques to hold that shape. All four investigation are weaved within each other. As one changes the others are affected. This is not a linear investigation, as changes occur in folding, it may be necessary to reexamine other areas of the investigation. This is a parametric investigation.

THE SKIN
9

1.

Skin: Selecting materials to investigate. A group of sheet materials are selected to research. The materials are selected based on qualitative data in order to narrow down the material selection for future quantitative research. Polypropylene, Low-Density Polyethylene and High-Density Polyethylene are selected due to initial intuitive material quality features. Folding: Material Experiments (Material Selection) The key to creating a reciprocal panel is the fold. The right material needs to be selected based on its folding capabilities. The folds need to be created along score lines with only the force from ones hand as a tool for folding. Once a material is selected, the scoring and folding techniques need to be refined. The final panel shape is not known during this process, but the types of folds and the folding capabilities of the material are well understood. Reciprocal Plane/Folding: Reciprocal Plane Shape Tessellations There are two major interactions between the reciprocal plane and folding in the rp_Panel. The first is an internal relationship between the fold and reciprocal shape. The second is an exterior, or panel to panel, relationship between fold and reciprocal shape. The internal and external relationships are parametric. As one is modified and refined, the other is changed and may or may not work. The panel requires perfect balance between the folds and the reciprocal shape. Joinery/Folding: Holding the Folds The rp_Panel now needs the reciprocal folds to be held in place. The connections that hold the panel need to work with the folds. If the connection elements work against the folds, the tessellated shape becomes compromised. The connections need to be placed in areas that work with the interior folding of the panel, and do not conflict with the external folded connections of the panel. 10

2.

3.

4.

THE ASSEMBLY
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THE PLANE

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THIS IS A DEMONSTRATION

This is a reciprocal plane demonstration. Each member in the system is holding up two other members in the system while also resting on two other members in the system. This is a five by five panel system; twenty-five total panels. Only ten panels are connect to the suspension cables, leaving the other fifteen panels held up through reciprocating force transfer. The reciprocal panels are design using folding for strength, non-impact joinery for connections and reciprocal planar principles for the assembly method. This is just a demonstration. There is not hidden meaning or metaphor within the demonstration, only real life testable methods in which to create an assembly of self-supporting modular building components. The demonstration is a product of investigations into the before mentioned areas of architectural methods. This should not be looked as a final piece of architecture but as proof of concept for the thesis investigations. These folding, non-impact fittings and reciprocal framing techniques used to install this twenty-five panel system do work, although they are not the only techniques that were found to work during the investigations. The following investigations in this thesis document the failures and successes of all the investigated areas. This is meant to be a guide for future reciprocal plane, folding, and non-impact joinery investigations. This is not a weave, this is a Reciprocal Plane. 16

STRESSED SKIN

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WHAT IS STRESSED SKIN?

A stressed skin construction method is one that uses a skin and former acting in alliance to resist forces. The stressed skin is sometimes referred to as monocoque. A monocoque structure is one that solely relies on its outer shell for support; it does not need formers to complete the system. For the purposes of this investigation, the monocoque will fall under the stressed skin definition since the term envelopes both a systems with formers and ones without. The key to stressed skin design is the alliance of the skin and former acting together to create structure. This means that if the skin is taken away from the former, or former away from the skin, the system fails. What is the skin, and what is a former? The skin is the enclosure or material. It is always a physical material that is used to change or enclose a space. The former can be a physical material, but it is not limited to being a physical material. The former can be a manipulation technique applied to the skin that gives the skin added strength compared to what it previously had. The rp_Panel installation is an example of how folding can be a former for a skin, giving it added strength it did not previously have in its original state. A former can also be a physical material added to the structural system to give the skin strength. This is evident in aircraft and ship building design were internal ribs are used to strengthen the exterior shells of the structures. 18

STRESSED SKIN IN AVIATION

The stressed skin obtains its structural efficiencies from its ability to transfer loads across a surface of material. As a force is applied to the skin the forces are then divided up and carried along multiple paths within the skin. This allows for a relatively weak skin to carry heavy loads. The opposite of stressed skin construction is a vector based structural system. The vector based system transfers loads through linear members to connection points in the structure. A vector based system has several structural efficiencies, but lacks the ability to enclose space without a secondary system attached. A stressed skin structure can enclose space while being the sole structural system as well. This advantage over a vector based systems is why the stressed skin will be explored in this research. Design methods are constantly being discovered, refined and shared between different disciplines in the design world. Architecture, industrial design, automotive design, aeronautical design and even fashion design all inform each other. Each designer is specialized in pursuing innovation within their craft. As innovative design methods and techniques are established in each design field, the other design fields benefit. Architecture has benefited from the innovations in aeronautical stressed skin design methods. Originally aircraft were designed using ridged frame ,or wire frame, construction methods that proved to be very cumbersome and inefficient. Ultimately it did not take aircraft engineers long to develop a more efficiency system for working against the loads an aircraft encounters, while maximizing the potential for carrying cargo within the fuselage. The goal was to create a fuselage that is as aerodynamic as possible, while also keeping the interior free of any obstructions.1 To do this, early aeronautic designers needed to push the structural system to the exterior of the fuselage. The resulting system incorporates the skin for structural integrity and uses forming members to create the shape. This is the driving concept behind modern stressed skin design.

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Stressed skin construction is a hybrid of Rigid Frame and Monocoque construction techniques. The rigid frame uses a vector based member system that translates load from one member to the next at its node points. Traditionally when a skin is then applied to the rigid frame it contributes little to the structural capacity to the system. It becomes merely cosmetic, or in the case of the airplane it becomes aerodynamic. The Monocoque construction technique displaces its structural loads wholly on its exterior skin. The material that makes up the skin then becomes the former and structural system. While a true monocoque structure would allow for an open fuselage, the skin material would need to be thick enough to carry the structural forces. Increasing the thickness of the sheet material adds an enormous amount of weight to the system. Ultimately the stressed skin was used for aircraft design due to its ability to create a light weight structure and maximize the usable interior space of the fuselage. In the stressed skin system, the former and the skin rely on each other to create the system. The system fails when one is taken away. Stressed skin design can be more efficient than what we see in aircraft design. The form of the airplane in driven by aerodynamics, and is not form-active, therefore the stressed skin design of the airplane needs more internal formers that act as supporting structure. Bulkheads and stringers are added to strengthen the fuselage and the wing because of its non-form active shape. This use of the stressed skin and internal sub-elements creates a very efficient system for the airplane to react against structural forces, but is very expensive to produce.2 The practice of Architecture has more freedom to explore the capabilities of stressed skin design, than aeronautical design, due to its ability to create space based on formactive design. Also, aeronautical design is focused on reacting against very particular stresses that an airplane encounters during flight. As architecture explores new shapes, it can find new capacities of the stressed skin based on its form and the resulting forces. Using the stressed

skin as an architectural application also forces the designer to investigate new materials. As form changes, different materials may act differently than one another and change the aesthetic of the structure based on functional and material selection. For comparative analysis, we will look at the statue of liberty as the framed fuselage, and Frank Gherys Experience Music Project as a stressed skin design.

Stressed Skin Airplane Design

Rigid Frame Airplane Design

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Experience Music Project, Frank Ghery

STREESSED SKIN ARCHITECTURE

The Statue of Liberty, finished in 1886, is the combination of a copper skin with armature and bracing for structural support. The cooper skin is designed to be purely sculptural while the armature carries of the loads of the skin. Again, we can compare this architectural technique to the framed fuselage. They both have interior frames with triangulated bracing in which a skin is attached. Using a rigid framed structure such as this, limits the interior space that can be used. The statue of liberty does have internal stair cases that weave throughout the framing in order to allow for vertical transportation, but the design of this vertical transportation does not allow for efficient movement upward. It weaves throughout the structure in an irregular pattern, creating inefficiencies in the system.3 Frank Gherys Experience Music Project, constructed in 2000, is a stressed skin structure. Similar to the stressed skin fuselage, the EMP building uses internal formers that are in direct relationship to the exterior form of the building.4 The internal formers by themselves can stay erected on their own, but cannot enclose space, or react to all of the forces that the structure will encounter from loads the structure

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Statue of Liberty will encounter. When the skin is attached to these internal formers, the structure is now in balance. The formers create the shape and the skin attached to the formers is able to enclose the space while reacting to the forces the structure will encounter. This type of construction frees up the interior space of the building. This type of design methodology also allows the designer to balance the buildings structural components while in digital space. As the skin an formers work together, load testing can be done to determine former spacing and location. This allows the designer to only use an amount of material that is needed for structural integrity. The exterior formers created at the Experience Music Project are created through a design process called sectioning. In sectioning, a form is crated an then section slices are cut through the form to create rib like structural elements. In this project, sectioning was done in one direction so that the internal formers all align parallel to each other. In ship building, we see sectioning done in two directions. Section planes are taken along the length of the ships form in two directions that are perpendicular to each other. A skin is then attached to the formers to give the ship its ability to become buoyant in water, and to help distribute the stresses across the structure.5 In any stressed skin design, it is the skin that creates the structural efficiency. For example, a ship designed to cut through ice not only relies on this structure for distributing the forces acting on it by water distribution, but also point load distribution. As the ice cutter ship moves through the ice, the ice translates different amounts of forces in areas where the ice is thicker. The stressed skin of the ship is able to receive larger point loads and distribute them through the skin and into the formers. The forces are then not just acting on one point, but at multiple points within the system. In the rigid frame structure of the airplane fuselage and Statue of Liberty, the node in the structure receiving the point load has to be able to counteract that force by itself before transferring the loads throughout the other vectors in the system. The spatial purpose of stressed skin design is to get the former and the skin as close to exterior of the structure as 22

possible so that the interior of the structure is free of any interference. The spirit of the stressed skin in architecture is also to allow for a cavity between skins for the placement of a continuous insulative layer. The parabolic concrete stressed skin does this in a truly integrated way. Concrete requires a former during the forming and curing process. The traditional concrete forming process relies on forms to create shape, then these forms are taken away after the pouring and curing process is completed. Parabolic concrete stressed skin construction uses welded wire mesh blocks to create the form and also act as a structural component of the system. In the parabolic concrete stressed skin process, the welded wire frame acts like a traditional concrete form, but it also becomes a part of the skin after the concrete is cured. The concrete and the wire form become one skin that creates space without any other secondary formers.6 Shambhala Village, in New Mexico, is using the parabolic stressed skin construction method. Wire frame blocks, fabricated from four by four inch welded wire mesh, are folded to create rectangular blocks that stack on, and next to each other, to create a barrel vault form that creates the enclosures shape. The wire frame blocks are then wrapped in a metal lathe to which a lightweight fiber reinforced concrete is applied. What is left after the process done is a hollow concrete barrel vaulted structure with openings for windows and doors. This is a low cost method that utilizes new concrete technologies. Fiber reinforced concrete allows for the shell to become very thin while being extremely strong. Keeping the shell thin allows for less material to be used which lowers the weight of the structure, and also allows for a larger cavity between layers of concrete in the wall system. The wall system is constructed in a way to allow for the insulative layer to be pumped into the cavity after the concrete walls have been constructed. Holes are left in the wall to allow for expandable foam insulation to be pumped in the walls cavity. This gives the structure a continuous insulative layer that eliminates any thermal bridging that might be caused by traditional forms of construction. The use of parabolic stressed skin construction at Shambhala Village is only one example of parabolic stressed skin design, 23

although most other precedents we see in architecture do not integrate a cavity for a continuous insulative layer. This is what separates the villages techniques apart from other techniques used in concrete stressed skin design. For instance, Eero Serineens TWA Terminal uses a stressed skin concrete shell as roof structure to cover the terminals entrance area.7 The difference between the concrete stressed skin design at the TWA Terminal, and the homes at Shambhala village is the use of forms. The TWA Terminal Utilized external forms in which the concrete was poured into, then once hardened, the forms are taken away leaving nothing but a concrete shell. This approach does not allow for easy installation of an insulative layer. The insulation would need to be applied to the exterior or interior of the shell. This secondary application defeats the purpose of using the concrete as an interior and exterior finish material. The method used as Shambhala Village allows for an efficient application of the concrete as a structural and finish material. Design Strategies of Parabolic Concrete Stressed Skin Design:8 1. 2. 3. The concrete former becomes a part of the wall system after the concrete is applied to the wall. A form active shape (Barrel Vault) is created to distribute stresses across the skin, through the foundation, and into the ground. The double layer of the concrete skin allows for a cavity to be created in which a continuous insulative layer can be injected.

Untitled by Team Equestrian, Lawrence Technological University

UNTITLED_TEAM EQUESTRIAN

The images above are of a stressed skin demonstration done by a team of students at Lawrence Technological University. The structure consists of internal ribbing, external skin, and non-impact rubber connectors that band the two structural elements together. The ribbing, the skin and the rubber connectors are working together to create one complete system. The ribbing cannot stand by itself. The skin cannot stand by itself. But together they can create a strong system that creates enclosure and structure at the same time.

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rp_Panel: SELECTING THE SKIN

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SKIN SELECTION FOR rp_PANEL

In stressed skin design the skin material choice is imperative to the design. Understanding the material qualities of the skin will dictate the ways in which the stressed skin structure can be designed. This decision will dictate the aesthetic and structural capabilities of the stressed skin. Narrowing down the right skin material for the rp_Panel is the first step in the design process. A set of guidelines are needed to be established for the material in order to narrow down the choices. The rp_Panel will need to have a skin with the following qualities: (1) Easily cut with CNC router (2) Easily Folded by Hand (3) Waterproof (4) Affordable During the material investigation for the rp_Panel it was clear that plastics would be the main materials investigated for the skin of the system. Thin sheets of plastic are generally affordable, although polycarbonates can be 26

expensive because of their enhanced structural capabilities over other plastics. Plastics are readily available in bulk from a multitude of companies around the world. Sheet plastic is turned into everything from milk jugs to car dashboards. Most all plastics are not porous and able to withstand water penetration into the skin. Plastic is easily cut with a CNC Router. The use of a CNC Router is important because some plastics are not easily cut with other CNC equipment such as lasers. The softer plastics, which will be found easier to fold by hand on the folding sections of this investigation, are not easily cut by laser because the material absorbs to much of the heat, thus melting the plastic. The main material quality that the rp_Panel seeks is for a material to be easily folded by hand without adding heat. Many plastics need heat added to a fold in order to get the plastic to change shape. The rp_Panel will be designed so that no other tools will be need to assemble besides the installer hands, thus a plastic that needs heat added to the fold will be eliminated. These folding exercises will be investigated in detail in the folding section of this design investigations. 27

Before the detailed folding exercises are applied to the different plastics, we can eliminate several different types if plastic based on their inability to meet the material qualities necessary for the rp_Panel. Several plastics were initially tested by intuitive methods. A lot can be learned from the feel and look of the plastic. Before the folding experiments take place, it is relatively easy to decipher which plastics will not work based on small scale folding experiments and past knowledge of working with the materials. Below is a list of readily available plastics that may or may not meet our qualities. (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) Acrylic Polycarbonate Polystyrene Polyurethane Polypropylene Polyethylene, Low-Density and High-Density

These plastics listed are not the only plastic available for testing in this investigation, but were selected because they are very easily available to order in bulk and are affordable. Although, some of the plastics listed are much more expensive than the others. Acrylic and Polycarbonate are widely used for architectural applications and are very familiar to architectural students. Architectural schools across the world use these two materials for model making and prototyping. This is mainly because Acrylic and Polycarbonate are available at many building supply stores and they do not need to be ordered from larger scale plastic supply warehouses. Both Acrylic and Polycarbonate offer their own distinct material qualities and economic advantages. Acrylic is cheaper than Polycarbonate but does not have the structural qualities of the Polycarbonate. Although acrylic is easily cut with CNC Routers and Lasers. Polycarbonate can be cut with a CNC router but has limitations when cutting with a Laser. Some lasers will cut the material but it is recommended that the material not be cut on most lasers because the material gives off a vapor that will coat the lasers lens. Regardless of both plastics being readily available, and somewhat easy to cut with either a router or laser, both plastics are very brittle. Even without doing intense folding studies on the material, both materials need to be heated at the hinge points before folding. Acrylic and Polycarbonate will not be good choices to test for becoming the rp_Panel skin. Both Polystyrene and Polyurethane were initially investigated because they both are more malleable than the brittle acrylic and polycarbonate. Although both plastics are not a good choice for rp_Panel skin because both are extremely expensive in sheet form. Both polystyrene and polyurethane are thermo plastics. They are used in their foam and liquid state more widely because of their ability to form into other material states with the addition of heat. This leaves polypropylene as well as low and high density polyethylene as our main material to investigate for the rp_ Panel skin. Both of these plastics are more malleable then acrylic and polycarbonate, and much more economical. These two plastics are not available at local building supply

stores, but are easily accessible through local and national plastic supply warehouses. They come in a wide variety of sheet thicknesses and sizes. The scoring and folding investigation will look these plastics as three different plastic types: Polypropylene, Low-Density Polyethylene and High-Density Polyethylene. Polyethylene will be broken down into its low and high density states because each material state acts differently in the initial tests. Both HDPE, LDPE and Polypropylene exhibit density states that will allow for scoring and folding of the material. While the material investigations taking place during the skin choice stage of the design process are only quantitative, it is important to narrow down the material choices. In this case, we have narrowed down the material choices to plastics that show signs of foldability. Foldability will be defined as any material that is easily folded by hand either after or before machining of the sheet material takes place. It is not necessary to do more scientific experiments on the other plastics we can see will not be foldable. Plastic is our main choice for skin. The rp_Panel could technically be made from other materials such as metal, but the machinery and knowledge of working with metal requires much more training and access to machinery than the plastic. Plastic is much more forgiving than metal during the prototyping stage. Although, metal fabrication should be kept in mind during this prototyping process since metal could be used to make the rp_Panel. Certain metals have much more material strength, per material thickness, than the plastics being studied. A metal rp_Panel is an idea this investigation will keep looking at, but will not be researched due to the limitations mentioned above.

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rp_Panel: MATERIAL EXPERIMENTS

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MATERIAL EXPERIMENTS

The following materials experiments were done on the three plastic sheet materials picked during the skin research. These materials were chosen based on qualitative data found during the initial material search for the rp_Panel. Polypropylene, High-Density and Low-Density Polyethylene were chosen base on their feel and look. The final material chosen for the rp_Panel will be based solely on its scoring and folding capabilities. Polyethylene Thickness: 1/8 Description: Polypropylene has a hard, high gloss surface. The material can be heat formed and plastic welded. The material is approximately 50% translucent. In a flat sheet state, the material is fairly rigid although it is more malleable than acrylic and polycarbonate. Folding with Heat (to a 90 degree fold): The sheet does not show signs of morphing during the heating process, but does become less rigid at the area where heat is applied. The material does not begin to fold on its own after significant heating, it needs to be forced into the 90 degree folded position and held in place until the plastic has cool. If not held in place the material wants to return close to its original shape. 30

Folding with Heat and/or Incision (score and fold): [1] Scoring the Surface: An incision is made to cut just the surface of the material. The material is then folded along the incision until it snaps along the two outer edges when folded to 90 degrees to each other. The material is cut all the way through and now forms two separate pieces. [2] Score halfway through surface: Incision two is made approximately half way through (or 1/16) into the sheet. The sheet is then folded along the score line. This time the sheet snaps before the two opposite ends of the sheet are folded to 90 degrees of each other. [3] Score and Heat: An incision is made, then the material is heated along the incision line. The opposite ends of the material need to be folded almost 180 degrees to each other. The fold it more pliable at this point because the material has been cut all the way through the sheet. A thin layer of plastic is left on the opposite side of the incision line. This layer has not been comprised by the cut, the heating, or the folding and acts as a hinge in the system. Conclusion: Polypropylene (1/8 thickness) cannot be scored and folded without breaking along the incision line without heating the score line first. Once scored, heated and bent, the fold can be potentially held in place by a connection any point along its 180 degree fold angle. Although, when the fold is at 180 degrees to itself, the material is somewhat morphed and does not lay flat at the hinge. This could be caused by the heating of the incision not being focused strictly on the incision area. (a heat gun was used). Potential the fold could become flat at a 180 degree location to itself if a different heating process is used. Color of material is desirable. Approx. 50% translucency allows for a nice amount of light and vision to be accessed or denied from either side of the panel. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Thickness: 1/8 Description: High Density Polyethylene has a hard and milky surface. The material is fairly opaque, but does transmit light and visibility through the material. 31

Folding with Heat and/or Incision (score and fold): The material becomes distorted and discolored more than the polypropylene during heating. We are using a heat gun at this point and the heat in not displaced in a tightly focused area like a straight line thermo plastic bender. After the material has been heated and the effected area becomes flexible enough to bend, the material can be bent to many different angles. The HDPE does not bounce back to its original state as much at the polypropylene. Folding with Heat and Incision (score and fold): [1] Scoring the Surface: Incision one is made to cut just the surface of the material. The material is then folded along the incision until it snaps at about 135 degrees from its score line. The HDPE is more malleable than the polypropylene. It takes more to break this material than polypropylene, although the material does still snap when folded too far. [2] Scoring Half Way Through Surface: The material is scored half way through the material. As the material is folded, it sounds like it breaks at about the 90 degree mark, but does not break all the way through. It seems as though a small layer of skin is holding the back side of the fold together. This method is producing the desired outcome, but seems highly inaccurate and does produce a full break of the fold on occasions. [3] Score/Heat/Fold: The material is scored half way through, then heated along the incision line. As the material is folded along the incision line after being heated, the center core of the material turns white and its slowly begins to delaminated and opens up to create a 180 degree fold. The outside layer on the back side of the fold acts as a hinge. There is no snapping during the process, although the material is still somewhat distorted. Conclusion: Rigidity of material is desirable. Will be easily folded and bent to create connections, but still strong enough to support forces. Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Thickness: 1/8 Description: LDPE has a soft and milky surface. The material

is fairly opaque, but does transmit light and visibility through the material. Folding with Heat (to a 90 degree fold): The material becomes distorted and discolored more than the polypropylene and the HDPE during heating. It folds easier than the two other materials. Seems to be less dense than the other two. Seems to cool very fast and holds its shape better than PP and HDPE, but discoloration is worse than the other two materials tested. Folding with Heat and/or Incision (score and fold): [1] Scoring the Surface: Incision is made to cut just the surface of the material. The material is then folded along the incision until the inner layers of plastics begin to give way. The material does not snap, it slowly delaminates until a thin layer of material is left on the backside of the fold. There is a thin clear layer where the initial incision was made, and a rougher thick white area internal area where the material has been ripped apart. The thin layer of material left on the backside of the fold seems to be fairly strong, although if a fair amount of torsion is applied to the layer, it will rip along the fold line. [2] Scoring Half Way Through Surface: Similar results with scoring half way through the material. The cross-section of the fold does show a clear layer where the material has been cut, and a rough white layer where the material has been torn during folding. [3] Score/Heat/ Fold: This is not need to achieve the desirable results. Conclusion: Rigidity of the material is still desirable, and will allows for easy installation and assembly. The color of material is similar to HDPE and desirable. *The overall advantage goes to this product because of its ability to be cut and folded by hand. Folding Experiments Overall Notes [1] Careful attention needs to paid where fold lines are located. If the fold line is too close to an existing edge condition, there might not be enough leverage to complete the fold. There is a relationship to placement of the fold

from the edge, and the length of the fold. A long fold line that is close to an edge will work, but attention has to be paid to not damage the material. Other folds that are significant distance away from the edge, should be able to be folded by hand. [2] Angled fold lines are possible, although angles that approach 30 degree or less will incur deformation and inconsistency in the fold on the side of its smallest angle. Even with the materials that fold easier than others, these small angled areas along fold lines require a certain amount of force and precision that is not achievable by hand. [3] Heating with a heat gun can cause unwanted deformation and discoloration of material. Look at heating the plastic with a heat strip. This could reduce the amount of the deformation and discoloration by limiting the heat to a localized area. The LDPE was chosen and further material studies will be done during the folding process to determine the best for the material to cut for folding.

32

JOINERY

33

FOUNDATIONS OF JOINERY

Joining is the act or process of putting or bringing things together to make them continuous or to form a unit. As it applies to fabrication, joining is the process of attaching one component, structural element, detail, or part to create and assembly, where the assembly of component parts or elements is required to perform some function of combination of functions that are needed or desired and that cannot be achieved by a simple component or element alone. Robert Messler.9 Messler breaks down the goals of joining materials down to, (1) functionality, (2) manufacturability, (3) cost and (4) aesthetics.10 All four of these goals relate to one another, they are not separate design entities. The functionality of a structure may result from how its manufactured, and the cost of that manufacturing process may affect the aesthetics. This is just an example of how the 4 goals of joining materials can work together, but many more configurations can work within the four goals. It is not a linear function of the four goals, that is to say that the design process does not always have to start with function, it can start with cost, then cost can inform the manufacturability, which then affects the functionality and aesthetics. 34

Diagram from Joining Materials and Structures by Robert Messler

Illustrated above are two types of fabrication techniques that can be used to create the same building component. Figure B is composed a sheet material at its base, and angled material for its ribs. The two forms, plane and angle, can be joined together using any method applicable to the material makeup in order for it to have a standard relative strength compared to figure C. Figure C is a casting of the same shape from figure B, but it requires a much more complicated manufacturing process. Figure C may be considered to have a cleaner detail, and added strength; but this may also cause this unit to cost more. This added cost may also be warranted if the designer is looking for the cleaner detail. Although, this is not to say the unit in figure B is not the aesthetic look that would fit with in a designers particular composition of elements.11 Scale must also be considered when analyzing figures B and C. Scale may determine the fabrication process that is used to create the overall structural composition or even composition of a particular unit within the system. The casting process of figure C is something that can be very difficult at a large scale and can become very costly. 35

If multiple units are needed to be spliced together, figure C would require a secondary system for connection which defeats the purpose of casting the shape in the first place. If larger sections of figure B is needed to fit together, there is flexibility in the length of the sheet material base, and the angles to overlap before being joined together. These two units have opposite qualities to them when constructing at very small scales. At a small scale, the casting or molding of figure C is much easier to work with than working with multiple small scale elements of figure B. The previous analysis of joining or creation of shape is at the foundation of the design process. This analysis is not just limited to the creation of jointing within one unit, it can be used to analyze shape forming and joining of larger systems as well. The key to this illustration is the use of Messlers four goals of joining material; functionality, manufacturability, cost and aesthetic.

theBench by benjamin BERR+natalie HADDAD+brent DEKRYGER: Images from suckerpunchdaily.com

SECTIONING: A CASE STUDY IN JOINERY AND WASTE

The Messler goals for joinery will be a guiding force in designing the reciprocal planar panels and any other joinery exercise in this thesis, but within those four goals lies a subgoal that needs to be addressed; waste. Material waste may be necessary for the panels functionality. Material waste may need to take place as a result of manufacturability, or a no waste design may need to take place in order to create easier manufacturability. The cost of material, either high or low, can determine if waste is an economic issue or non-issue in the design. Most importantly we need to understand if material waste will drive the aesthetics, or will the aesthetics drive the amount of material waste. A vast amount of digital fabrication techniques have been discovered, and continue to be discovered as the result of new technologies. Architecture and product design have taken on new forms due to the ability of the computer to aid in design and the machine to cut that design out extremely precisely. Many current design trends use the computer as a tool to create forms that would be difficult by hand, but become very easy when cut with a machine. Some of the new design practices take advantage of this new tool but do 36

sLice + Chair by Graypants: Images from Graypants.com not take into consideration material waste in the design of these new forms. On the other hand, some designers take advantage of the computers ability to design in little to no waste. This case study will look at the digital fabrication technique of sectioning. Sectioning is a technique that allows the designers to build three dimensional forms from flat sheet material. This works by creating a three dimension form, or surface, in the virtual space of the computer. Then with some relatively simple commands from the design software, the form can be sectioned through on any infinite number of axis to create the forms sections. The sections do not represent the actual surface of the form, they represent the interior of the surface. The process of sectioning did not start in the digital era of design. Architects such as LeCorbusier used this technique to design the structure for the roof at RonChamp.5 The technique used by LeCorbusier started with airplane design. Aeronautical designers started using the process when the airplane was transitioning from vector based construction to stressed skin construction. Using the sections as formers and then draping a skin over the 37 formers was a much more effective way to build airplanes, and in the case of RonChamp, a more effective way to build an airplane wing like roof structure for a building. The advances in digital design have allowed us to understand this sectioning technique better, but the technique should be used very carefully when choosing a fabrication method for any particular form of surface. The first project we will look at is by Graypants, an architectural and product design firm that sells a product called the slice chair. The cafe and dinning chair is produced using digital technologies to design and fabricate the product. The sectioning technique is used to create the chair from three-quarter inch plywood. The beauty of using the sectioning technique is that the form can be created in layers from sheet material. This makes fabricating the chair inexpensive. As the designers were prototyping the chair, they decided to design with the chair little to no material waste. To do this, the layered sections could not follow the desired form of the chair. If the designers were to cut the form of the chair from the sheet material and layer it together, there would be an incredible amount of waste

theBench by benjamin BERR+natalie HADDAD+brent DEKRYGER: Image for suckerpunchdaily.com created due to the forms inefficiency to tessellate within each other. To overcome this obstacle of material waste, the designers break apart the sections in order to create sectioned pieces that tessellate with each other on a four by eight sheet of plywood. There are then three types of sectioned modules to create the chair; a section that creates the form of the entire chair, a section for the seat, and a section for the back of the chair. All three of these modules work together to create a functional and efficient chair. The designers of the Slice Chair could have created the chair from only one full sectioned piece of wood, but the chair would have then encountered close to ninety percent material waste. With a few simple modifications, that do not compromise the chairs form or structural capacity, the team was able to design a system that can produce three chairs from one sheet of material. The only waste during the fabrication process is saw dust.12 The second project to discuss is a project that was student designed and fabricated by students at Lawrence Technological Universities makeLAB. The project is titled theBench and is a created to suit several types of seating styles across the length of the bench. A combination of wood and concrete are used to construct the bench. The wood creates the ribs, or sections, that make up the bench and the concrete forms create the seating platforms for the user to sit on. The major differences between theBench and the Slice chair is the use of two materials in theBench, and the spacing and direction of the sections used to create the two different structures. The Slice Chairs sections touch each other across the length of the structure, and all of the sections are cut in the same planar direction. theBench uses sections that are spaced further apart across the length of the structure, and the structure is made from sections that are cut in two different planar directions. The multidirectional sectioning technique is necessary to act against torsion when the section planes are spaced father apart. Spacing the sections father apart and using the concrete for the solid seat does create better material efficacy in the system, but the structure still creates a massive amount of material waste due to its irregular shape. Since the sections are spaced father apart, each full surface section needs to be created from one piece of material for strength. This is more efficient structural to build this way, but it creates 38

much more material waste compared to the Slice Chair. Even though the designers of theBench used computer software to layout the section panels as efficiently as possible, it was impossible to create true tessellation between the forms. If the designers of theBench used a similar process to the designers of the Slice Chair, it could have been possible to create a bench integrating the wood and concrete together as well as cutting down on material waste. With that said, theBench would not have the same aesthetic and functionality that the designers were aiming for. Both project examples relate to Messlers two piece joinery application, but both deal with (1) functionality, (2) manufacturability, (3) cost and (4) aesthetics in different ways. This case study is not intended to make judgment on whether compromise of design or compromise of material are equal or one is more important than the other. This study is meant to address the issues designers face when working in the present world of digital fabrication. The architect/designer is now closer than ever to fabrication, so Messlers four goals are not just after thoughts left for a fabricator to figure 39

out after the design has been done. These principles of joinery should be in the mind of designers during the design process. The rp_Panel uses these principles as a guide for joinery. These principles can be used across the other areas of design in this thesis; reciprocal plane design and folding design. These two design aspects are intertwined with joinery in this thesis. The reciprocal panel cannot have joinery designed into it, without thinking about the fold, and the fold cannot be determined without taking into consideration the reciprocal nature of the panel.

theBench by benjamin BERR+natalie HADDAD+brent DEKRYGER: Image for suckerpunchdaily.com sLice + Chair by Graypants: Images from Graypants.com

theBench by benjamin BERR+natalie HADDAD+brent DEKRYGER: Image for suckerpunchdaily.com 40

FITTINGS AND CONNECTIONS

41

FITTINGS AND CONNECTIONS

Joinery can be studied for its large scale applications of object joining as explained in the Messler example, or it can be broken down in smaller sub categories explaining how the objects are actually held together. In the case study of the Slice Chair and theBench, different techniques for assembling the whole are explained. But, the investigation of joinery does not stop there. After establishing the way in which the form will be built, in this case a sectioning technique, a secondary joinery technique needs to be determined in order to join the individual parts to each other. These joinery techniques are called fittings or connections. During assembly, when two units connect with each other, combining to create one system instead of two separate units; by definition they are connected through some sort of mechanical connection. These connections can be made with screws, nails, welds and adhesives or friction and pressure just to name a few. All of these mechanical connections or fittings create the language used by joiners to create assemblies of components. The following investigations will break down the craft of joinery down into the categories of impact and nonimpact. Both of these joinery processes do work by joining two or more components together in order to create a full assembly. The differences between the two categories are their effects on the components or units they are joining. Connections made with screws, nails, welds and adhesives are considered impact joinery systems and will damage the host material in a way that will make it hard for that material to be reused for future assemblies. Friction and Pressure connections are non-impact joinery systems that will not damage the material so it can be reused again in another assembly. Non-impact joinery actually allows the installation process to happen a multiple number of times or even an infinite number of times without destroying the host material. 42

Impact Joinery and Fittings Impactful mechanical joinery connections inflict damage to the building materials original state in order to make the connections between parts. For example, lets examine a gypsum board on wood studs on exterior plywood sheathing with batt insulation wall assembly. During the assembly process wood studs are framed together using nails or screws. Then a layer of exterior plywood is glued and nailed (or screwed) to the wood stud frame. A layer of batt insulation is then placed in the cavity of the wood studs and then a layer of gypsum board is nailed (or screwed) to the studs to close off the wall system. This wall system is widely used in the construction industry for its ability to offer low cost and a low amount of skilled trades to assemble the system. It offers weatherproof and thermal barriers, and creates flexibility for intersections with other walls, roofing and floor assemblies. This wall assembly offers very little flexibility in demounting the system in order to reuse the materials if needed. The glue, nails and screws used to mount the plywood and gypsum board compromise the sheet material at installation and destroy the sheet material at demolition. If the plywood and gypsum board are removed and the stud wall with batt insulation is remaining, then yes, it is possible to use the wood studs. Although, during the demolition of the wood studs from each other and the sheet material skin, there can be possible damage to studs as well as fragments of mechanical fasteners left in the studs. This can create problems during re-fabrication and remounting of the wood studs. This wall assembly also fails to sustain itself when its weatherproofing is compromised. None of the components in this assembly can withstand moisture over a long period of time. If the wall does sustain water damage it begins to break down, thus becoming a collection of material waste. Many of these impactful connection techniques are used in traditions millwork assemblies, furniture making and interior/exterior building construction; making our current system of assembly either impossible to reuse or at the very least extremely difficult to reuse any of the building 43

components. This thesis aims to explore existing ways and investigate new ways to join materials and components together in order to reuse those assemblies again together in future different locations and separately in future locations if needed. The idea is to design demoutablity into the system. Impactful joinery does not allow for this to happen. Non-Impact Joinery and Fittings Non-Impactful mechanical joinery connections do not inflict damage to any object in the assembly. The opposite of impact fittings; non-impact fittings do not use any connectors or fittings such as nails, screws, adhesives or welds. The non-impact connections simply use the forces acting on the assemblies shape to hold the components together. The technique of using non-impact fittings in a design offers different challenges and possibilities for the designer. When designing a non-impact structure, the designer must detail into each component the fittings. This means that the designer does not have the luxury of joining two raw components together without first thinking about the connection. To illustrate this point, lets look at Lego block design. This is a popular childrens toy that is created of multiple size blocks. Certain Lego systems can include a multitude of blocks that are irregular shapes and sizes. These systems can create complex assemblies or simple box shaped structures. What links all of the system together are the female and male connectors on each piece. The female connector is negative void taken out of the unit and the male connector is a volume added to the outside of the unit. Regardless of the Lego piece size and shape, it will have either this female of male connector that is interchangeable with any other female of male connector in the system. So when looking at a complex Lego system, the design is actually very simple; the design is in the connections. This Lego connection is a non-impact fitting. The volume of the male connector tabs into the void of the female connection in a way that locks the two units together, but does not damage the unit when the connection is taken apart. The Lego system

places these connections on the underside of the units so that the connection is working with gravity and the self weight of the structure. Theoretically this system can be assembled and taken apart an infinite number of times assuming that the installer is using the correct procedures to mount and demount the units. This is a simple example of a childrens toy that uses non-impact fittings. There are many other childrens toys that use similar types of connection techniques in order to offer the user versatility and longevity of the system. A childrens toy does not undergo the amounts of stresses that a piece of furniture or architectural structure may encounter, but this toy can be an example of a system that creates connection points within the shape of the building unit can be used to create non-impact structures. Non-Impact Joinery and Material Limitations The design of a non-impact fitting is dictated by the material and material dimensions used to complete the assembly. Legos are created with plastic volumetric forms similar to masonry units. This means that without each individuals fittings, the blocks are dimensional in the x, y and z axis. We will define these types of dimensional units by having inherent qualities that allow them to be stacked on multiple sides of the unit. Sheet material does not have this quality. For example, an eight inch piece of plastic sheet material only have dimensional quality in the x and y axis. This is not to say there is no thickness to the plastic sheet material, it is only to say that since the material is so thin in the z direction, it has no structural qualities in the z direction. The material may be manipulated in the z-axis to have structural qualities as we will see when studying folding, but in the sheets raw state it will not be useful to carry load. With that said, it is even more important to think of how sheet material is going to be joined within a system because there are only two planar axis that can be utilized. Having multiple planes to utilize for pressure and friction fittings is imperative for non-impact fitting design. A material with three axis to work with is easier than a material with only two axis. This thesis will focus on

sheet material and axiss available for creating non-impact fittings. Different types of sheet material will have varying qualities that either allow the pressure and friction to penetrate the z-axis. If the Lego joining system is cut into two three-quarter inch sheets of plywood, the system will work because the three-quarter inch plywood has some dimensional qualities in the z-direction. The system may not work as well as a block masonry style system, but the fitting will do its job in joining the two sheets of plywood to a certain extend. There is enough pressure and friction acting at the connection points of the plywood to hold it in place. If this same technique was used to join two sheet of eight inch low density polyethylene, the two sheets will not hold because the surface area in the connection is not enough to apply enough pressure and friction to the fitting in order to hold the two pieces together. Non-impact fittings rely on surface area. Without enough surface area for friction or pressure to take place, the fitting cannot hold the materials together. The following case study on The Instant House is a real world application for modular design using non-impact fittings.

44

THE INSTANT HOUSE

In recent years we have seen areas decimated by natural disasters. New Orleans, Haiti, and Indonesia are three areas that have received quite a bit of attention from philanthropist and volunteer workers as they rebuild. The Instant House is a design for the need to rapidly produce housing in stricken areas around the world.13 Many times temporary housing is brought in to house people while more permanent structures are being rebuilt. The Instant House is not just a proposition for rebuilding areas damaged by natural disasters or areas burdened with housing rapid growing populations; it is a methodology for employing local residents to building their own permanent homes rapidly without the use of heavy machinery or complex tools. The house is assembled as a kit of parts, or a large three dimensional puzzle. The designer creates a three dimensional form that is then broken down into a series of pieces that make up the interior skin, an exterior skin, and forming studs in between the two skins. The computer model can then take each individual piece, flatten them, and integrate the essential joining cuts from which the structure is built. Computer controlled machinery can then cut the pieces from sheet material. In the case of the Instant House varying thicknesses of plywood sheathing material are used. After the plywood has been cut and labeled, it can be shipped to anywhere in the world, where then the user can assemble the structure with only an instruction manual for the puzzle pieces, a rubber mallet, and a crow bar. The Instant Houses designers envision that in the future computer controlled machinery could actually be on site in areas of need where local designers and fabricators would design and build their own structures. The Instant House is not a project based on the design of home; it is a design process in which to build the home quickly and efficiently. The form of the instant house is one derived from replicating the shotgun houses of New Orleans. The designers are very adamant about this project not being about the form of the house, it can become any form, the projects focus on the design production process.14 The Instant Houses biggest breakthrough in design production is through its joining methods. This project

45

The Instant House: Images from sap.mit.edu

questions common construction practices, common construction being a home build of sheet rock, wood studs and exterior sheathing connected by mechanical fasteners. Common construction relies heavily on the fabricator having expertise in use of several construction trades. The Instant Houses structural integrity relies solely on its built in fittings and connections. The house uses a series of notchings and grooves to create fittings in each panel in which the adjacent panels fit into. Non-Impact Joinery and Fabrication Limitations These joinery techniques used in the design of the Instant house allow for the forces to be transferred from sheet to sheet as discussed above but they are also design within the limitations of the fabrication equipment and limitations of

the assembly tools require. The house is design so that all of its panels can be cut using a CNC router. The parameters of the machine limit the design. Joinery that cannot be cut with the machine, or cut easily with the machine; cannot be designed in digital space by the designer. Thus the manufacturability of the house will drive the design. This can either be seen as a limitation or a asset to the designer. The designer cannot create an aesthetic that is unreasonable for the joinery and machine to work with, but if the designer understands these manufacturing limitations ahead of time, it can guide the designs functionality, cost and aesthetic. Many of the fabrication limitations will depend on the machine that the designers and fabricators are using to building the project. The Instant house uses a 3-axis CNC router. To start, the router on the machine used CNC bits 46

that are round. To cut a piece of three-quarter inch plywood the bit diameter will need to be at least one-quarter inch. This means that the router cannot cut straight inside 90 degree corners. If the designers fittings require this type of cut, the tool path for the router needs to be manipulated to allow a secondary piece to fit into the inside 90 degree corner. The Instant House columns require this type of tool path manipulation to create the dovetail joints for the columns in the front of the house. In this case the designer tells the machine to cut deeper into the material at these inside corners creating a half to three-quarter circle that is visible. This may just be a small detail in the Instant House, but the need to manipulate material to create joinery that is outside the limitations of the bit cutting the material can lead to aesthetics that may or may not be desired by the designer. Another joinery technique may need to be used if the designer of the Instant House columns needed the joints in the columns to be perfectly fit without any gaps. While this may be a small detail, the process of knowing the machinery limitations is extremely important when designing a digital fabricated project. 47

Time can be another limitation to fabricating joinery. It is important to understand how long one type of joinery technique may take compared to another. A designer may want a particular type of joint that expresses the aesthetic they are trying to obtain, but if that joinery technique takes ten times longer to machine than another type of joinery technique, the designer may want to weight the cost of time on the project. Fabricating a one off piece of installation art may warrant the time spend to detail intricate joinery, but a mass fabrication project like the Instant House should be designed to treat time as a precious component of cost. The spirit of the Instant House is to use technology to rapidly produce housing in areas that desperately needs shelter for residents. Fabrication time needs to be a driving force in the joinery design. Non-Impact Joinery and Installation Limitations The Instant House also uses joinery that allows for quick assembly. This is because the joinery system have been left very simple and need only a rubber mallet and crowbar to install the components of the house. All of the joinery

systems in the house are either one or two piece joinery systems. This means that either the entire method for joinery is designed into the sheets of plywood, or there is a one secondary piece in the system. The floor joist in the house are all a one piece joinery system. Half lapped cuts are made into each joist that are then slid into the other corresponding joists creating the floor structure. This is a simple and effective way to fabricate and install the floor joist. The exterior wall sheathing and porch columns are two piece joinery systems. The exterior walls use the key fitting as explained above and the columns use the combination of the dovetail and tenon to create a solid column. Each of these two pieces systems still allow for easy installation. The installer needs to line the panels up, then insert to secondary piece to the system. In the case of the Instant House only a rubber mallet and crowbar are needed to complete these installations. If the designers were to have used methods similar to Japanese joinery, they could have achieved an aesthetic with much greater detail within the joinery system than the final Instant House. This would not have been designed within the spirit of the project. Joinery systems with multiple pieces may have still

been able to work within the parameters of only using two tools for installation, but it would add installation time and defeat the purpose of the project. One of the issues this thesis will deal with is how can a system be designed to be installed with the installers hands being the only tool. What type of material do we have to use? What types of joinery techniques allow for this? Within the joinery techniques that can be used, which ones can be installed the fastest?

48

joinery experiments: SHEET TO SHEET

49

STUDIES IN SHEET TO SHEET JOINERY

Traditional joinery methods used in woodworking cannot transfer straight over to the LDPE sheet. Joining the sheet material together is quite different than joining together dimensional material. The eight inch thick LDPE does not have surface area in its z-direction to utilize some of the traditional joinery method such as the dovetail, mortise and tenon, and half lap joints. These joinery techniques need to modified for the sheet material. It is not to say some principles from these techniques cannot be used, but the joinery techniques used in traditional wood working do not transfer to thin sheet material. The following joinery experiments will use some of the principles learned from traditional joinery, but they will modify the fittings to utilize the skins efficiencies. Since the skin does not have enough surface area in the z-direction to support some of the fittings, the following test will seek to find ways to utilize the surface area that the material does have in the x and y directions. The tab becomes a big part of these exercises. The tab connection utilizes skin to skin pressure to hold the fittings together. Some the following fittings are meant to lock two piece of skin parallel to each other, and some other at meant to hold two pieces of skin perpendicular to each other. The goal for the these experiments it see how the skin reacts when the tab is used in different ways. 50

T-Tab
This tab is meant to use two locking mechanism in order to prevent any rotate around the z-axis. This is a parallel sheet to sheet connection. [action] The tab is slid through the main slot in the center of the panel, then the two opposite tabs are slid in separate slots. [reaction] The fitting does prevent any rotation around the z-axis. The sheets do remain parallel to each other.

51

Split-Tab
This tab is meant to use two locking mechanisms in order to prevent any rotation around the z-axis. This is a parallel sheet to sheet connection. [action] The tab is slid through the main slot in the center of the panel, the tabbing mechanism is split and pulled apart to create a curvature tab that fits into two separate tabbing slots. [reaction] The fitting does prevent any rotation around the z-axis and the sheets remain parallel. This tab it more efficient than the T-Tab because it uses less material to complete the same action.

52

Straight-Tab
This tab uses one locking mechanism. [action] The tab is slid through the main slot in the center of the panel that also has a locking profile for the tab to slide into. [reaction] The fitting does not prevent any rotation around the z-axis. The sheets do remain parallel to each.. The fitting is very flexible.

53

Multi-Tab
This tab uses six connections to stabilize the joint. Two tabs per tabbing mechanism. [action] Each tab is slid through two slots. [reaction] Sliding the tabs through two slots gives the fittings stabilization in the x, y and z directions. This tab is the very stable but difficult to install.

54

Double Linear Tab

The fitting is meant to join two sheets parallel to each other. [action] One panel has four linear slots, two slots per tab. The other panel has two tabs with folding lines cut into them. The tabs then slide through and around the corresponding slots. [reaction] This is very strong connection, resisting forces in multiple directions. The connection is somewhat difficult to install.

55

Double Half Lap

The fitting is meant to join two sheets perpendicular to each other. [action] Each panel has two half lapped slots cut into them. One of the panels also has two folding lines cut into it. That panel is then folded along those score lines and inserted into the other panels slots. [reaction] The panels are joined perpendicular to each other, but this connection is very easy to detach. This connection only works when used in compression.

56

Perp Split Tab

The fitting is meant to join two sheets perpendicular to each other. [action] One panel has two tabs split down the center. That panel is inserted into the other panels center slot and then the split tab is connected to corresponding slots on opposite sides of the panel. [reaction] This is very strong connection and easy to install.

57

Interior Lap and Lock

The fitting is meant to join two sheets perpendicular to each other. Similar to the double half lap, but the lapping occurs at the interior of the panel. [action] One panel is folded along two score lines and inserted in the other panels locking profile [reaction] This is very strong connection but difficult to install.

58

rp_Panel: JOINERY

59

PANEL JOINERY METHODS

During the process of creating the rp_Panel. It was debated whether to create a one piece of two piece panel. This decision is centered around the joinery technique that is used to hold the folds together. A one piece system means the all of the folding elements, and joinery elements of the panel are within one piece of machined plastic. A two piece system means that a secondary plastic element needs to be added to the main panel for joinery completion. The following two panels are examples of a one piece and two piece system.

60

One Piece Tab, Switch Back tab Fold Line Panel to Panel Tab Slots Internal Tab Slots

One Piece Tab, Switch Back tab ONE PIECE PANEL

There are many advantages to a one piece panel. Having only one piece of plastic to work with during assembly is very efficient. There are not other pieces in the system that can be lost or mistaken for a different uses. The spirit of creating this modular reusable system is to make the process of putting the system together and taking the system apart as simple as possible. A one piece system is the most efficient use of material to complete this task. All of the reciprocal panels prototyped during these investigations aims to create as little waste as possible. This makes creating a one piece joinery system very difficult. The joinery method for this panels uses a switch back tab to increase the amount of distance the tab can react. Each tab needs to reach to opposite side of the panel. There is not enough area in the plastic to create a straight one piece tab and reach the other side of the panel. The downside to this is that the tab is very difficult to install. Although, this panel does work; it creates a reciprocal shape, is strengthened by folding, and held in place by a non-imapct fitting. 61

62

Secondary Tab One Piece Tab, Straight Tab Fold Line Panel to Panel Tab Slots Internal Tab Slots

One Piece Tab, Straight Tab TWO PIECE PANEL

This two piece panel was ultimately chosen to perform for the reciprocal plane demonstration. It is a combination of a once piece tab with a secondary tab added to hold the panel in place allowing for a much easier assembly. There are some disadvantages to the two piece system. Having an extra piece in the system, although simple in appearance, can add complexity to the panel assembly. These complexities were negated by the simplicity of installation for the secondary tab connection. Having the two piece system allows for an easier connection for the integrated one piece tab. The one piece tab does not need to reach to the other side of the panel. It simply locks into place the fold it is attached to, and lets the secondary tab hold the central hinge in place.

63

64

RECIPROCAL FRAME

65

Mandala Geometry:Sketches by A.E. Piroozfar

ORIGINS OF THE RECIPROCAL FRAME

Little is known about how early humans began experimenting with the reciprocal frame, although we do see remnants of the design method in several cultures. The earliest writings on the reciprocal frame come from Japan. The Buddhist monk Chogen writes of a technique where wood beams were spiral layered together to construct Buddhist temples. Nothing remains of these ancient temples, but the geometric shapes derived from the Mandala as well as modern day temples can give us insight into the early reciprocal frame structures. The Mandala is created with geometric shapes that all lead toward the center. The series of geometric symbols or shapes intertwine with each other to create a unified drawing or installation. The Mandala is used for meditation in Buddhist and Hindu cultures. There intent is to be very detailed and time consuming. The energy that an individual puts into the design is said to invoke trance and lead towards understanding their inner self. The mandala is not just a piece of art created by an artist, it is a representation of sacred space. For architectural applications, the mandala might mean less about sacred space and lead more to the understanding of reciprocal geometry. As the monk creates their mandala, they are working from the outside toward the inside. In plan or in three dimensions we can envision this as being the transition from wall to roof. The center of Mandala is the most important part of the geometric structure, but it is created last. This is because the creator knows that the exterior geometry of the mandala needs to be well thought out in order to create a strong center. We can see these principles in the spiral reciprocal frame. Everything revolves around the center and the exterior of the frame must be in balance in order to work.15 66

Images from Year of the Mud: How to Build a Cob House

THE SPIRAL RECIPROCAL FRAME

These images demonstrate how an ancient reciprocal frame would have been built by the Buddhist Monks. This structure has walls made from Cob, and a Spiral Reciprocal Frame Roof. Each Reciprocal frame roof member spans half of the distance between the opposing walls. The members are then joined in the center so that each member is resting on another member and holding up another member in the system. This allows for the structure to be absent of a center post. The roof is then closed in by adding secondary members to support the waterproofing system.

67

THE MEDIEVAL RECIPROCAL FRAME

In western culture we see the reciprocal frame as floor structure. During the medieval era most buildings were created of wood and stone. Wood was used as the spanning elements for the floor and roof. In larger structures it was difficult to craft larger lengths of wood to span the entire distances needed for enclosure. The builders of this day were subject to the wood beams available to them in the surrounding woods. This is before large span beams could be shipped around the world from forests containing trees larger enough to cut the long beams from. The builders needed to be more creative in their designs if a longer span was desired. Historians do not know if the builders during the medieval period had seen some of the eastern reciprocal frame structures, but we do know the medieval builders expanded the capabilities of the reciprocal frame from the structures seen in the ancient eastern world. The eastern builders used the spiral reciprocal frame to span as roof structure. This system resembles an arch and takes advantage of its ability to guide the forces down to the foundation through a non-horizontal vector. The medieval builders did use the reciprocal frame in this way sometimes, but mainly used the technique for a straight horizontal structure. The horizontal structure does not have the advantage of using gravity as an asset to carry forces down to the ground. In the horizontal, gravity becomes a liability to the system. The horizontal nature of the reciprocal frame during the medieval period creates more practical uses for the system, but creates greater moment forces acting on the structure. The reciprocal frame refined during the medieval period was used to span between vertical wall or support elements. For instance, a combination of beams with lengths shorter than the required span could be framed together in a way so that one end would rest on the wall and the other end on the adjacent beam. The loads of the floor or roof are transferred from one beam to the next beam in the system until each member is carrying an equivalent amount of load in the system. This is the efficiency of the reciprocal frame. It allows the design to incorporate material sizes that would be insufficient for spanning traditional post and lintel construction.16 68

MEDIEVAL RECIPROCAL FRAMING TECHNIQUES

Sketches by A.E. Piroozfar

Wall Support Member Length Secondary Member

Primary Member

Total Span

Plan View: Four Member Framing

Plan View: Four Member Framing for Stairs

HOW DOES THE RECIPROCAL FRAME WORK?

Member Length 2 1 The principles of the system are simple. Each member in the system is resting on another member in the system while also holding up another member in the system. The diagram to the left illustrates the connections needed to build a simple reciprocal frame. Each individual member, one highlighted in red, has three connections points, (1) a connection to the main vertical support system, (2) the connection that transfers load to another member in the system, and (3) the connection that supports one other member in the system. In this four member system, each member has a connection back to the main vertical support structure. It is not necessary for each member in a reciprocal frame to have contact with these main supports as we will see in the developments made during the Renaissance.

Total Span

Plan View: Connection Points 69

MEDIEVAL RECIPROCAL FRAMING ASSEMBLY

Finish Flooring Material

Secondary Structural Supports

Primary Structural Supports

Bearing Walls

AXONOMETRIC

COMPOSITE
70

THE DaVINCI BRIDGE

Sketches by A.E. Piroozfar

THE RENAISSANCE RECIPROCAL FRAME

Leonardo DaVinci and other artists took interest in the reciprocal frame during the renaissance. There are multiple sketches and real world applications seen throughout this period that further develop and refine the framing system. Leonardo DaVincis proposal for a temporary bridge uses two reciprocal frame arches connected together through a set of stringers. This design is much like the spiral reciprocal frame created by the Buddhist monks and stair cases during the medieval period. He uses the qualities of the arches geometric shape and gravity as means for structural stability. The self weight of the bridge and live loads added to the bridge are being transferred from one member to the other at inward locations on the members. This takes the loads away from end points and allows for the bridge to be connected together through gravity pressure fittings. The key to this design is the location of the connection points. The connections do not happen at the end points of the members, but at interior points of the member. This allows the system to negate any need for secondary connections or jointing at the end points to withstand the transfer of forces. This allows for the material strength of the member to carry and transfer the loads. Another breakthrough with the bridge design is the use of stringers. The arc shape of the

71

GRILLAGE MODEL

bridge in elevation is similar to the spiral reciprocal frame; but when the stringer is added to connect the second arc to the first, the structure becomes a functional bridge. DaVinci designed this bridge for military use. The structural system would allow for the bridge to be built over a river or gorge to allow the infantry to pass, then quickly disassembled and carried with the infantry for future use.17 DaVinci was thinking about ways in which to use what is available, similar to the builders during the medieval period. An army could not carry long timbers to span an entire river bed, but they could carry a multitude of smaller members. The capacity to only carry certain size timber drives the design of the reciprocal frame bridge. Sebastiano Serlio also developed sketches for the reciprocal frame around the same time as DaVinci. Both Serlio and DaVinci were familiar with the reciprocal frames of the Medieval period, but they both add innovative techniques into the system. DaVinci makes his bridge entirely made of easily demountable fittings. Serlio takes the grill reciprocal fame developed during the Middle Ages and begins to add members to system. For instance, to span the same

distance or volume used in the medieval structure, Serlios sketches show that the same span can be covered with even shorter members. Grilling the members begins to add smaller secondary spans to the system thus allowing for a very lightweight floor or roof framing system. Breaking the system down into the smaller, light weight parts allows for the reciprocal frame to span greater distances. The image above is a three dimensional representation of some two dimensional grillage sketches that were done by Davinci and Serlio. Each member in the system is resting on two other members and holding up two other members. There are sixty-four members in the system but only twenty members have direct contact with the outside edge beam.

72

RF_experiment: THE GRILLAGE

This model is an interpretation of the renaissance grillage sketches. The members are created from three-quarter inch birch plywood. The members are deeper than they are wide and cut to utilize the strength of the plywood laminations. There are two different shaped modules in the system; one for the edge condition, and one for the interior condition. Both module shapes have corresponding half lapped joinery notches cut into them. Those notches allow for each member either rest or support another member in the system. The half lapped joinery technique allows for the members to align along a flat surface for the introduction of a secondary enclosure system to be placed on top. The half lapped joints create non-impact fittings that require no impactful mechanical connections. The system is held together by pressure. The lap joints act as moment connections when load is added to the system. This system can be installed and taken apart with little effort. 73

FOUR EQUAL UNITS

THE PATTERN

TWO MEMBER UNITS

FOUR MEMBER UNIT

74

FOUR MEMBER RECIPROCAL FRAME

CORNER EDGE CONDITION

75

LOAD APPLIED IN NEGATIVE Z-DIRECTION

LOAD APPLIED IN POSITIVE Z-DIRECTION

Note that the system fails when a load is applied upward on the bottom of the system. If a rigid joinery technique was used for assembly, the fittings could hold this load, but the non-impact half lap joinery system only works in compression. 76

SELF SUPPORTING FRAMEWORK

Students at the University of Kassell along with local carpentry apprentices, have taken a historical approach to wood working and tested its capabilities in the world of digital design. Each member in the system must rest on an adjacent member in the system while also acting against the forces of another member in the system that is resting on it. This installation uses the arch as an efficient method for span distance and covering space, although it explores the arch through an investigation into compound curved surfaces.18 The compound curvature created here starts with a double arch, the double arch is then extruded to create a surface. That surface is then twisted at its ends and center to create the final compound curved surface. With computer software the designer can segment the arches into members that can be fabricated to join together at digitally determined node points. At any point along the design process, these segments can become parametric units within the computer that hold true to a certain material physical properties. In

77

Self Supporting Framework, Images from architonic.com

this case the designers are using four by four inch wood timbers. The properties and dimension of these wood timbers is then imported into the computer model and the resulting form can be determined. This allows the designer to play with multiple forms while also testing the physical capacities of the entire systems limits. The installation at the University of Kassell demonstrates how a complex structure can be broken down into identical length member sections so that the entire structure can be create with one building material size. While each member in the system has the identical material parameters, they are all individual because of the cuts made in the material for jointing. The computer model allows the designer to determine the best jointing configuration while in digital space. In the case of this structural configuration, the compound curved shape creates connections that are not repeatable throughout the system. Each member of the system is then analyzed for the placements of its own individual cuts, becoming a unique member in the system.

This project demonstrates the complex capabilities of digital design in architecture, the structural efficiency of the reciprocal frame, and the simplicity of constructing with one member size building material.

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A FORGOTTEN TECHNIQUE

Why do we not see the reciprocal frame utilized in the modern world more frequently? Has the technique been lost? Is it no longer an efficient use of material to span distance? Or, has modernity caused us to throw away these techniques from the classical world? It seems as though that the reciprocal frame technique was lost when the industrial revolution gave us an abundance of steel to span long distance. We no longer needed design innovation to solve our problems of material limitation. There was no need to piece together beams of wood that were not as long as the span when steel could be purchased and shipped to the construction site from thousands of miles away. Was it material innovation that killed the practice of reciprocal frame? This thesis asks these questions but does not aim to answer them. Although, this thesis does suggest that the reciprocal frame is not a dead technique and can be restored to serve modern design applications. The reciprocal plane constructed in this thesis and the self-supporting frameworks at the University of Kassel are contemporary studies in the future use of the reciprocal frame.

79

Inefficiencies in the system For all of the advantages that we see with using a reciprocal frame system there are two main inefficient in the system. (1) The system cannot carry structural loads until is it is completely constructed, (2) if one member in the system fails, the entire system fails. This is contrary to tradition post and beam construction where the beam spans from one bearing point to the next without any other connections to structural members. In traditional beam bearing construction, a series of beams make up the floor or roof structure. Each beam can be installed separately and can carry load within its designed loading area even if the entire roof system has not being constructed. Also, if there is a failure in the system, only the areas connected to the failed member will be affect. The failed beam does not rely on another members for support. Are these inefficiencies in the system enough to eradicate the technique from our design language?

The Reciprocal Plane The reciprocal frame, as seen in the previous case studies, only deals with vector based structural elements. Then beam is use to span the distances required, thus the enclosure of space that is being spanned needs secondary members and sheathing to enclose the space. At a minimum, this is a two part system; structure and substrate. The following studies will use the same principles used in creating the reciprocal frames, but with translate the principles to a planar system. Moving to a planar system can potentially allow the structural system to be a one part system. The planes, or skin, of the enclosure can be structural and substrate.

80

rp_Panel: THE RECIPROCAL SHAPE

81

THE RECIPROCAL SHAPE

During the beginning of the reciprocal shape experiments it was thought that an irregular panel system could be created. Meaning that a panel system could be created in which all the panels were different shapes and sizes. What would be consistent between the panels would be the connections and folding techniques used for support. This could potentially still be a usable model from creating a reciprocal plane, but during the investigations it was clear the rp_Panels should all be the same shape and size. Focusing on a one size and shape panel guides most of the attention of the investigations on the interior of the panel. The panel needs to be a reciprocal shape, folded for strength and connected together through non-impact fittings. This regular panel system allows for deep attention to be paid to the design of these parameters at the panel level. Future investigations may lead to an irregular panel system, but the rp_Panel focus on a regular tessellated shape design.

82

83

THE UTILITARIAN_9 panel diagram

This assembly diagram shows how nine panels can be connected together to create a reciprocal plane. Stabilization connection are made at the edges of the panels. These connections are parallel connections to keep the panels from slipping against each other in the x,y and z axis. A reciprocal connection is made at each corner intersection of the four panels. Each panel is divided into four quadrants. The NW and SE quadrants are resting upon two other panels. The NE and SW quadrants are supporting two other panels. The connection at the corner quadrants are held together by a moment connection that ties the four panels together. The connection resists against any forces acting in the x,y and z axis as well as any torsion forces that might occur to the panels. Forces that are applied to any and all panels are transferred through the skin of the panels, through the connection points, and finally to the edge conditions that rest on a vertical support system. This creates a flat surface when completely assembled. The surface does not shed water efficiently do to the stabilization connections. _Areas of concern in the geometry Any panel angle that is substantially smaller than 90 degree creates a week connection point because of its inability to connection large amounts of surface area together. Areas over 90 degrees can incur a substantial amount of resistance due to their ability to connection large amounts of material together at one points. This diagram only takes folding into account at the connections, no folding of the panels is taking place outside of the connection areas, thus leaving the center of the panels weak. To use a connection system such as the Utilitarian, the panels would need to be folded in certain areas to create ribbing. These folds can take place at the edge or at interior areas of the panel. 84

PRIMARY CORNER CONNECTION

The Utilitarian reciprocal plane design came from an initial understanding or the renaissance grillage model. The four member system in the grillage model is connected at what seem like the corner of the planar panel. This is why the overlapping of the Utilitarian Panels is design in the way it is. Each corner intersection of the panel is treated like this four member system. Thus each planar panel has four connections points that translate into the sheet area of the panels related quadrants. The problem with this translation from vector to plane is that it is trying to force the planar system to do something not natural for the sheet to sheet contact.

THE VECTOR/PLANAR RELATIONSHIP

After future examination of the grillage model, a new dissection of the parts reveals a smooth translation from vector to sheet material. Each panel in the planar system has multiple vectors within the total makeup of the panel. This is why the four member assembly translation does not work well. But, when multiple members of the grillage model are used to represent one planar panel, a true translation from vector to planar reciprocal framing techniques can occur. Two adjacent parallel members in the grillage model represent one planar module. The planar panels then connect along an entire edge, not at a corner. This will be the main principle of the rp_Panel design.

85

over under under over

over under under over over under under

over under under over

over

over under under over

PLANAR/VECTOR OVERLAY

This is an overlay of the rp_Panel as it relates to the two vector members of the grillage model. The panels tessellate with each other as the shape is rotated 90 degrees back and forth. The panels connect along an edge, not just a corner. 86

PLANAR RP [no folding] This model shows how the reciprocal plane can be assembled

along its edges. There is no folding for strength taking place in these panels. This system is very weak because the sheet material does not have rigidity in the z-direction. Although this model is a representation of the rp_Panel system at the assembly level.

87

Under Over Center Hinge Under Over

RECIPROCAL SHAPE

After establishing that the panels connect along the edges, any tessellated shape that fits with these guidelines may work for the panel. Shown above is panel whose edges are curved and uses curved score lines for folding to strengthen the panel. This panel has the same principles of the final rp_Panel design. There is a central hinge area in which the panel in orientated off of, and corresponding lapping mechanisms on opposite sides of the panel. This layout is in direct relationship to the grillage model. These principles need to stay the same when designing the reciprocal plane, but different shapes can be explored though the folding and tesselation process.

88

FOLDING

89

FOLDING

It is a powerful technique not only for making form but also for creating structure with geometry. When folds are introduced into otherwise planar materials, those materials gain stiffness and rigidity, can span distance, and can often be self supporting. Lisa Iwamotto. 19

90

FOLDING AS SELF-SUPPORTING STRUCTURE

Folding can be a secondary technique used to develop an entire building diagram or a generative design tool to translate a two dimension plane into three dimensions. Folding allows for the sheet material to form regular or irregular shapes that can be tessellated. The rp_Panel uses the fold and tessellation to give it self-supporting strength. To understand how the fold converts the flat sheet plastic into self-supporting structure, we must first understand self-supporting structure. Self Supporting Structures are systems that need no other secondary systems to support them in completing their function. For instance, a roof is meant to cover space, or completely enclose it. In traditional commercial construction, the roofing enclosure system is supported by trusses or beam. The roofing system then becomes non-self-supporting. The roofing system, a 1 metal deck, can be formed to not only enclose the space but become the structural system that carries the associate loads if it is formed to do so. This can be accomplished by forming the metal decking into an arch. That metal arch can then span a given space because of its form, and can also

91

serve as a barrier between inside and out as it did in the non-self supporting assembly. The rp_Panel aims to enclose space with one unified structural and enclosure system. The understanding of self supporting structure starts with the understanding form active shape. Investigating tensile and compressive form active shapes allow us to see how forces work on an object, and how that object can create form to counteract those forces in the most efficient way. For instance, if a cable is hung from two connections point, its natural shapes will be parabolic due to an equal amount of dead load displaced across its surface. The natural parabolic shape will either be deep or shallow based on the distance the connection points are away from each other. If the connections are closer together, the cables shape will become deeper. If the connections are farther apart, the shape will become shallower. If then an external point load is applied to the cable at an point, the cable will create two straight lines from that load back to the connection points. This is tensile form active shape. We can then mirror that

image over the horizontal axis and change the structural material from cable (a tensile structural member) to a solid compressive member. 20 That same load added to the tensile cable structure can be added to the compression solid structure and carry the same load. These are reciprocal form active shapes that have the highest level of structural efficiency built into them. The form stays the same, but the forces change, and the structural material changes.

92

Tesselation Sketches and Folding Models by Ron Resch

FOLDING AND TESSELATION

Self supporting structures react to forces by utilizing shape and the inherent physical properties of the material. Ron Reschs investigation into tessellating paper to create self supporting form optimizes the ability for a material to withstand forces through shape and not just shear mass. As ridges, valleys, and planes are folded into the paper, the papers structural capacity substantially increases. This can be proven true by taking a stock piece of computer paper and applying a load to the center of paper. The piece of paper does not react well to the applied bending forces so it will become concave. We can then take that same piece of paper and create a series of longitudinal folds that will react against that same live load force. The piece of paper can now hold the load. Finally we can create another series of cross sectional folds perpendicular to the first set of folds. Doing this we increase the papers original capacity for carrying a load. We can then study the shape of these folds to determine what shapes reacts to forces in different ways. One series of tessellated shapes may work better in compression; another may work better in tension.

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Tessellation is the repeating of forms and shapes. Tessellating the sheet material gives the constructor a closed circuit of parameters to work within when designing and constructing the form. The inherent ability for tessellated shapes to work within each other, make for simplified design and construction.21 In their simplest forms, tessellated systems can be made of squares, triangles or hexagonal shapes with equal sides. The initial shape is created, and then that shape allows for the shape to duplicated and added to any of its sides. For example, we will start with the square. Then four more squares can be copied and aligned along the four sides of the original square. There are now five squares in the system, and twelve open edge for more square to added. The system can the be added to an infant number of times.

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folding experiments: SCORING

95

SCORING THE MATERIAL

Scoring is the act of making a cut or incision on a material. For these experiments, score lines with be defined as incisions made into the material at the areas of tessellation in order to fold that material in a certain direction along that score line. All of these scoring investigations were done using High-Density Polyethylene as the host material. Using the CNC router offers a wide variety of scoring options. Different size bits offer different size scoring widths, depths and profiles needed to fold the material along the tessellation lines. The width, depth and profile of the incision made into the material will effect and control the materials folding capabilities. Folding along these tessellation lines is critical to creating folds that can become the reciprocal shape of the panel. These experiments only deal with scoring one side of the material, thus limiting the scoring techniques that could be used to create the folds. This was done to cut down on time costs. Scoring on both sides of the material on the CNC would require an added level of complexity in tool pathing and the fabrication process. Since the object of creating the rp_Panel is to create a panel that is simple to fabricate and assemble, scoring will only be made to one side of the material. Since we are only scoring one side of the material, the score lines need to be reactive in the positive and negative z-direction. This investigation is looking for a one sided scoring technique that will act like both sides of the material have been scored. This will allow for faster fabrication and assembly. [HDPE: Material Summary] The material is .125 thick and has two outer layers on each side that act like skin, and inner layers of that act like a solid gel like material. [The Bits] 1. 30 Engraving Bit 2. 0.09, Two Flute Spiral Bit 96

_ V-GROOVE FOLDED AWAY FROM INCISION

_ V-GROOVE FOLDS TOWARD INCISION

97

_ V-GROOVE FOLDS TEAR IN TORSION

30 DEGREE ENGRAVING BIT

[0.01 Incision] The 30 engraving bit was tested in two different ways; as a tool for just breaking the outer layer of the plastic, and the second as a tool for creating the 60 degree profile into the material. Using the bit to just break the outer layer of the material is using the tool to act similar to the utility knife that was used during the material investigations. [Action] Cut the material .01 deep along a tessellation line [Result] The bit does act like the utility knife used in the material experiments. As the bit cuts the 0.01 incision into the material it breaks the outer skin. The material can then be folded along that incision line by hand. As pressure is added to the incision by the hands, the inner layers of plastic break leaving just the outer skin on the opposite side of the incision in tack. The outer skin that is in tack holds the fold together. [The Fold] Since this incision creates a straight score line in the z-direction of the material, the fold can only move in one direction. The fold can move 180 degrees from its original starting state. [Notes] There is a limitation to the stresses that can be applied to remaining outer that holds the fold together. The fold can move back and forth numerous times parallel to the incision line, but when forces are applied to the material perpendicular to the incision the line, the outer skin becomes weak and will tear. [The Fold] The bit creates a V-Groove into the material. The back side outer layer and some of the interior layers remain. The fold can be folded by hand and even begins to fold as gravity acts against the fold, although it is still necessary to use the hands to test the fold. As the fold is made, the inner layers begin to break, leaving the backside outer skin as the remaining hinge material. The fold acts similar to the 0.01, but because of the 30 profile created by the bit, the fold has 210 degrees of flexibility in which to move. The fold can be folded away from the incision 180, and toward the incision 30 before the incision is closed and the material binds on itself. [Notes] Just as the 0.01 incision, the 0.10 Incision is week when forces act perpendicular to the incision line. There is not enough backside skin surface area to keep the material from ripping. [30 Engraving Bit Conclusion] This bit has the ability to score the material, making it easily foldable, but all cuts made to the material leave a weak hinge for the fold due to the small surface area of the hinge. 98 [0.10 Incision] The second tests will be done to see what happens when the bit is engaged deeper into the material leaving the 30 profile. [Action] As the 30 bit engages the material at a depth of 0.1 it is scoring the material 80% of the way through. The bit it cutting through the first layer of the outer skin as well as a large percentage of the inner layers.

_0.03 INCISION

_FOLDING AWAY FROM INCISION

_FOLDING TOWARDS INCISION

99

_HINGE DOES NOT TEAR IN TORSION

TWO FLUTE SPIRAL BIT

0.09 Diameter Two Flute Spiral Bit After the experiments with the 30 engraving bit, it is apparent that the score lines need to be created by a flat tip bit in order to create a larger surface area for the folds hinge. These investigations will test a 0.09 diameter flat face two flute spiral bit. The incision width will always remain 0.09 wide, but different depths will be tested to see how the hinge reacts with different thicknesses. Three different cutting depths will be tested; 20%, 50% and 80% of the way through the material thickness. Since our material thickness is 0.125, the incision depths will be 0.030, 0.060 and 0.090. [Main Action] Each incision will leave a orthogonal groove cut into the material at the depth specified.

0.03 INCISION

This incision has cut through the first level of the outer skin and a few layers into the inner layers of the material. Over half of the inner layers remain as well as the back side outer skin. There is a high volume of material acting as the folding hinge compared to the v-groove bit. [The Fold] The material does fold along the incision line, but due to the shallow cut, the fold can easily be guided away from the incision line to other areas of the panel that have not been cut. This fold needs brute force to engage. No binding occurs at the fold because the incision is not deep enough. Although, The fold does distorts as it passes the 45 fold angle from its starting state. [Notes] This fold acts similar to a fold made along a phantom tessellation line of the raw material. This incision offers little to no advantage for folding. The hinge is extremely hard to tear in the perpendicular direction unlike the v-groove incisions. 100

_FOLDED AWAY FROM INCISION

_FOLDED TOWARD INCISION WHEN BINDING OCCURS

_AFTER BINDING OCCURS THE PANEL DEFORMS

101

_HINGE DOES NOT TEAR IN TORSION

0.06 INCISION

[0.06 Incision] This cut is made halfway through the material. Cutting the outer skin and half of the inner layers of materials. Half of the inner layers and the backside skin at intact. This incision offers more surface areas for the hinge, but seems to create a more pronounce folding line than the 0.03 incision. [The Fold] The material does fold along the incision line. This depth of incision guides the material to fold along the cut much more than the 0.03 cut. At this depth the fold starts to natural take place along the incision line. The panel wants to fold at the incision line, less force is needed to be applied by the hand to get the material to fold. The material does encounter distortion as it is bent passed the 45 fold angle in either direction, but there is less distortion than the 0.03 incision. [Notes] This incision does start to offer an advantage for folding the material. Although the amount of inner layers left seems to hinder the panel from folding extremely easy like the v-groove cuts. The hinge is extremely hard to tear in the perpendicular direction and does offer an unlimited amount of folding action along the incision line. This is due to the great volume of material acting at the hinge. 102

_FOLDED AWAY FROM INCISION

_FOLDED TOWARD INCISION WHEN BINDING OCCURS

_AFTER BINDING OCCURS THE PANEL DEFORMS

103

_HINGE DOES NOT TEAR IN TORSION

0.09 INCISION

[0.09 Incision] This cut takes away the majority of the material in the incision area. Roughly 20% of material remains. Again, leaving much more surface area for the hinge, but now we are left with very few inner layers and the back side skin left. The incision is now square in section; 0.09 deep and 0.09 wide. [The Fold] This fold feels the most natural of all the folds. The material wants to naturally fold along the incision line, and once the fold is engaged it is extremely difficult to change the fold tessellation line as in 0.03 incision fold. The fold can move away from the incision almost 180 before encountering any distortion in the panel. The fold can move into the incision direction just under 45 before binding of the incision occurs and causes distortion in the material. Even with only 20% of the material remaining to act as a hinge, it is very difficult to tear the hinge with a force acting perpendicular to the hinge, although with enough force it is possible to tear. The hinge can be folded back and forth an infinite number of times.

THE WRAP

[The Wrap] The 0.09 incision with a two flute spiral bit will be used to construct the rp_Panel. It offers the flexibility and strength needed to construct the folding reciprocal panel. Folds can be made in either direction within the capabilities needed to create the reciprocal folds. [Investigation Notes: Incision Depth] Incision deeper than 0.09 and 0.1 were not tested due to the capabilities of the CNC motor steps. The steps of the machine are only within 1/64 so any cut deeper than 0.1 has risk of cutting through the material. [Investigation Notes: Panel Distortion] A certain amount of panel distortion may happen during folding, but this should be kept to a minimum. Too much distortion can affect the reciprocal shape and compromise the design, although some distortion happening at the hinge points can create added strength in the panel. 104

folding experiments: RIBBING

105

INTERNAL RIBBING _typical section at 2 face folds (folds require pin to lock in place)
1 = scoring to top side of material 2 = scoring to back side of material _ 45 angle w/ pin _force applied to top face, the triangulation of the fold reacts against buckling _force applied to top face, the flat beam that is create will be inefficient against buckling

_ 90 angle w/ pin

singleFold_ z axis ribbing _the 90 degree fold is strong but can encounter buckling due to force on the folds. the folds can also be locked into place at 45 degrees, (or other angles) to create a z-axis fold. locking the fold in place at the 45 degree angle allows the fold to handle buckling forces more efficiently. _this folding method requires no material to be taken away at its interior, thus allowing the panel to shed water _this fold requires scoring on the front and back faces of the material

perpFold_ z axis ribbing _perpendicular z-axis ribbing allows the panel tessellation lines to meet at a complete 90 degree fold. the 90 degree fold is strong but can encounter buckling due to force on the folds. the folds can also be locked into place at 45 degrees (or other angles) to create a z-axis fold. locking the fold in place at the 45 degree angle allows the fold to handle buckling forces more efficiently. _this folding method requires material to be taken away from the panel at the intersection point. This area of the panel would need to be covered for shedding water.

angleFold_ z axis ribbing _does not work, the tessellation lines need to be perpendicular to each other in order for the ribbing to work. the panel encounters distortion as the folds work against each other.

106

PERP FOLDS_Z-AXIS RIBBING

ANGLE FOLDS_Z-AXIS RIBBING

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EXTERNAL RIBBING
_each panel is folded and locked into place at the interior of the panels. _these folds only deal with strengthening the edge of the panels, the interiors of the panel will still be weak. _these folds only require scoring to one side of the material

_ 45 angle w/ pin

theWrap on Ribbing triangularEdge_Fold boxEdge_Fold _the interior and exterior panel ribbing techniques do create added strength to the panel, but the panel as a whole will not be strengthened enough by these folding techniques alone to become self-supporting in a reciprocal plane. _these folding experiments still leave the panel as a relatively flat panel. This may make it easier to configure into a reciprocal plane, but the panel lacks the integration of reciprocal shape and folding strength 108

folding experiments: FOLDING

109

vex

cave

FULL PANEL ARC FOLD

_action one arched score line is create from one side of the panel to the opposite side. the panel is the then folded along the curve. the area of the panel on the inside of the curve becomes concaved, the area to the outside area of the curve becomes convex. the panel is then moving in two opposite directions on either side of the curve. _this fold can happen between corners or between the flat edges, the panel with act similar in both cases. _this fold starts to give the panel more strength due to the curvature of the two opposite surfaces that are held together by the arch fold line.

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vex

cave

cave

vex

DOUBLE COMPOUND ARC FOLD

vex cave cave

DOUBLE FULL PANEL FOLD [PARALLEL]

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vex cave cave

DOUBLE HALF PANEL FOLD

cave cave vex

cave

cave

QUAD HALF PANEL FOLD

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rp_Panel: THE FOLDS

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THE INVERSE FOLD

The rp_Panel is created using the inverse folding concept. The inverse fold works by using forces to make a fold along a tesselation line, and intern another area of the panel folds in the opposite direction automatically. Essential two folds are created with one force. The picture above shows an example of this. A square is cut with crossing tesselation lines that allow for testing of the fold. As a force is added to the inside of the fold, the back side of the panel moves in the opposite direction. This simple concept is how the shape and folding lines were created for the rp_Panel.

114

THE INVERSE PANEL

This inverse panel works with having only two pressure points. As the two pressure points receive force from the installers hands, the panel automatically folds into place. The pressure applied to these two points force one part of the panel up, and at the same time forces another part of the panel down. With one move the panel can be folded in two directions. The integration of the two dimensional reciprocal shape, and the inverse fold, allows a panel to be created that has enhanced strength and ability to tessellate in three dimension with other panels.

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fold ridge moves up force pushing in fold valley moves down

force pushing in edge moves down

edge moves up

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THE SHEET

THE CUT

THE FOLD
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THE CONNECTION

THE RECIPROCAL PLANE

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Works Cited 1. Cutler, J., and J. Liber. Understanding Aircraft Structures: (Blackwell Pub., 2005), 4 2. MacDonald, A. J. Structure and Architecture: (Architectural Press, 2001), 43. 3. Kolarevic, B. Architecture in the Digital Age: Design and Manufacturing: (Spon Press, 2003), 64. 4. Kolarevic,161 5. Kolarevic,164. 6. Shambhala Village Designs, Modeling a Sustainable Vision, Shambala Village, http://www.shambhalavillage.com/ndx. shtml (accessed October3, 2010) 7. Romn, A. Eero Saarinen: An Architecture of Multiplicity: (Princeton Architectural Press, 2003), 45. 8. Shambhala (accessed October3, 2010) 9. Messler, R. W. Joining of Materials and Structures: From Pragmatic Process to Enabling Technology, (Elsevier, 2004), 3. 10. Messler, 5 11. Messler, 11 12. Graypants Website, graypants.com (accessed July 2, 2011) 13. Sass, Lawrence; Botha, Marcel. The Instant House: A Production System for Construction with Digital Fabrication, (Cabridge, MA: 2010), 1. 14. Sass, 2 15. Larsen, O. P. Reciprocal Frame Architecture: (Architectural Press, 2008), 7. 16. Larsen, 10. 17. Larsen, 11. 18. Vessitat, Unikassel. Self Supporting Framework. http://cms.uni-kassel.de/asl/fb/fgs/fgsa/tk/forschung/parametrischeholztragwerke/selfsupportingframework.html (accessed November 15, 2010) 19. Iwamoto, L. Digital Fabrications: Architectural and Material Techniques: (Princeton Architectural Press, 2009), 60. 20. Veltkamp, M. Free Form Structural Design: Schemes, Systems & Prototypes of Structures for Irregular Shaped Buildings: (IOS Press, 2007), 4. 21. Resch, Ron. Ron Resch Work. DVD. Ron Resch Official Website, 2010: (accessed October 28, 2010).