Material: Wood and Resin  |  Technique: Bending  |  Percentage: 40%

Concept
Our main objectives when designing were to create a facade that allowed solar radiation to penetrate through yet prevent overheating with the use of ventilation. We also focused on fully exploiting our materials and technique and avoided using any additional securing devices such as bolts or screws, creating connections using solely veneer cuttings and resin with the intention of creating continuous units.

Process
We explored various methods of fabrication to achieve the curve we desired, these included creating moulds with the milling machine and laser cutting, however concluded that inflating a balloon into the internal space formed by the woven veneer provided the most manageable solution.

Method

• Cut 1mm thick sheets of veneer into 30mm wide strips by hand. 14 for both the upper and lower facade of 90mm and 1100mm in length respectively.
• Cut slits as shown in diagram. Weave two strips using appropriately located slits, and position the strips to obtain curve.
• Apply masking tape over the strips to prevent unwanted contact with the resin, and inflate balloons in-between the gaps created by the veneer.
• Pour a quick drying white resin into the mould created by the veneer and balloons and allow for it to dry.
• Once the resin is dry, remove the tape and a smooth, curved surface is achieve
• Assemble units onto frame using fishing wire and connect upper and lower units using additional veneer and slits

Future iterations may include a curvature in the veneer strips to provide more coverage, and using a resin that could be manipulated post casting to prevent/fix spillage’s.

IAAC, Digital Fabrication.

The tri-axial ‘waffle’ facade is a project of IaaC, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia developed at Master in Advanced Architecture, MAA02 in 2015 by:

Students:

• Nikos Argyos
• Jessica Dias
• Abdullah Ibrahim

Faculty:

• Alexandre Dubor
• Djordje Stanojevic
• Ricardo Valbuena
• Martin Seymour