Teammates: Chistine Min, Tristan McGuire
Fiber, force_FORM is a tectonic exploration into the structural, spatial and morphological potential of robotically wound fibrous architectural systems. The fibrous systems so prevalent in nature testify to the potential of such systems, and served as formal and tectonic inspiration for our exploration. The initial studies focused on fiber winding algorithms that laid the fibers through points in three-dimensional space and after several investigations it became clear that only certain winding patterns would produce architecturally feasible prototypes-- those which produced compressed fibrous surfaces through incremental fiber layup. The trajectory of the project was guided by a particular interest in the relationship between the fibers and the scaffold that supported them. Scaffolds were interrogated and edited to create anticlastic fibrous surfaces characterized by a voluptuousness of deep surfaces, enclosing varied hierarchies of spaces while refraining from wrapping the fibers into a hermetically bound object. A discomfort with the scaffold arose, however, as its rigidity created a strict dichotomy between fiber and formwork as the resulting fibrous morphologies were resultants more of the point distribution, as defined by the scaffold, than the layup of fiber. By employing a flexible scaffold, fiber and formwork were enabled to inform each other in a homeostatic equilibrium that fossilized both the tensile forces of the fibers and the resisting force exerted by the framework into a resolved form. The spaces of the final proto-architectural spatial morphology are created by the juxtaposition of modules constructed of aramid and glass fibers laid on flexible carbon fiber tube frames. The banding of the three internal trefoils engage the topography and ramp up to upper levels while carving away a primary bifurcated circulation corridor and several secondary paths into the landscape. Two enclosing pitchers stem from the bifurcation of each of two trefoils and merge at their apexes to shelter the interior forms and delineate internal and external spaces. The resulting proto-architecture provides a rich spatial experience through the fossilization of the forces and logics that guide the fibers to generate their form.
