Button Bonanza

Design development and structural analysis

Stringing buttons on wire to post-tension

Preliminary arches after post-tensioning

Aluminum Scorpion

Biological Influences: Neuron, Scales, Turtle Shell, Starfish, Throwing Star, Scorpion, Horseshoe Crab

Prototype 2: Formation of the Tail & Skin

Goin with the Grain

Using a homemade desktop wood streamer out of a piece of PVC pipe and an electric teapot, I've been able to transform static basswood strips into bending, curving and elegant (well almost) structural ribs. So far the 3rd prototype has been able to hold on standard masonry brick and with the final prototype four times the size of the last holding double that weight should be no problem. The next step is exploring the structures connection to the ground plane and addressing the bold connections through the wood.

There and Back Again: a tale of inspiration

The original inspiration for this project was in the fractal organization of forests. This served as the base for designing our structural unit which is pictured here.As we began to aggregate the units, we found that there were other sources of inspiration. The lofty canopy of the forest and Cloud City (Star Wars) were early influences. We came to the conclusion that the spaces we were beginning to create were not "cavernous enough". So why not look into caverns as a source of inspiration? So we found ourselves with a cast of characters supporting our design.

Gimli son of Gloin and caverns pictured here:Legolas son of Thranduil and the forest pictured here:

Lando Calrissian and Cloud City (with Boba Fett) pictured here:With inspiration coming from our own world, a galaxy far far away, and Middle Earth we have begun to create real space. It is pictured below:













(Jackson + Paul)

Precast Construction Outside the Box

Precast panels don't have to be planar. Precast isn't limited to cubes. Precast doesn't have to be boring.

In progress...

Rockite turned Furry

molds created out of planting foam, carved out using clay carving tools. rockite mixture picked

up foam surface once poured, leaving a 'furry' texture once the foam was removed by hand

-ted petermann

Team "We Will Rockite You" In Process

Thinking up Forms...

Paper or Plastic?

Plastic!

Generating an Army of Forms.

Connections...

So what next?
Surface Texture, Zip Ties, Craft Foam!
More on this later..

Posted By Team "We Will Rockite You" (Ted, Paul + Hollie)

Concrete Window Panel

These are Megan's initial process experiments. She tried multiple variations of burning and distorting wood to find just the right propety to continue on with.

That property ended up being burning wood lath that had been exposed to dish soap applied with a sponge. As you can see, the sponge technique created a beautiful array of texture and shading based on the amount of soap, texture of sponge, and colour of wood. Once the final technique was decided upon, it was time to go full scale.

This is Megan's final curtain panel. How lovely and aged it looks with fine seams of light bursting through the naturally occuring slits and knots. The leopard pattern burned into the unique grains emphasizes the unique beauty of this project.

Fiery Flowers

Plastic Scales

Derived from 6" plastic messenger tubes, the plastic scales were created through a method of flattening the tubes in boiling water, and were then torched on a flat surface to fuse the sides together. They were then hung on a jig and torched until the bubbles were properly articulated and carmelized. The final scales were attached using wire and placed in an aluminum frame.

Lots of soap dishes