How to Build (Almost) Anything Customized

Abstract

How to build (almost) anything customized analyzes, through a selection of case studies, the state-of-the-art workflows in the creation of highly customized architecture: unique prototypes for individual customers in specific contexts. Employing computational design tools and high-precision digital machinery, it is currently achievable to build with personalized construction systems, in a relatively limited budget and timeframe. Referential projects in the field of computational design are organized, technologically-wise, by their fundamental focus of customization—skin system, structural application, or interior interface—presenting a wide range of design research, digital techniques, and fabrication strategies. With an overview of the full workflow, that involves different professional actors, production technologies and software interoperability, the case studies are described from design to realization, with particular focus on the advanced fabrication strategies adopted to achieve highly complex architectural systems. Emergent design approaches, some truly experimental and others more consolidated in the practice, are intertwining spatial design with research on new tectonics and material systems to deliver high performance architecture.

Projects Credits

4.1.1 4.2.1 Italy Pavillion, Milano Expo 2015

• Designers: Nemesi & Partners srl, Michele Molè, Susanna Tradati

• Location: Milano, Rho-Pero Area, Italy

• Designed in: 2013

• Completed: to be completed in 2015

• Area Palazzo Italia: 13,275 m² (on 6 levels)

• Cost: n.d.

• Client: Expo 2015 SpA

• Architects: Nemesi & Partners, Arch. Michele Molè, Arch. Susanna Tradati (from preliminary design to working drawings)

• Design team: Alessandro Miele (Coordinator), Alessandro Belilli, Claudio Cortese, Daniele Durante, Enrico Falchetti, Alessandro Franceschini, Davide Giambelli, Alessandra Giannone, Paolo Greco, Mariarosaria Meloni, Fabio Rebolini, Giuseppe Zaccaria, Kai Felix Dorl, Matteo Pavese, Paolo Maselli

• Model maker: Officina06, Gianluca Brancaleone

• Engineering and Cost Management: Proger SpA

• Structural and plant engineering: Bms Progetti Srl

• Sustainability Energy: prof. Livio De Santoli

• Consultants: ABeC (Glass Facade engineering), Mario Nanni (Lighting design), Dario Paini (Acustics), Systematica Srl (Flows), Energo SpA (Fluid dynamic), GTA Srl (Environmental feasibility), Zomraude Chantal Chalouhi (Fire system), Samuele Sassi- FSC Engineering srl/Ramboll Group (Fire engineering), Studio Montanari & Partners S.r.l. (Food manager)

• Contractors:

• Foundations: Mantovani Group

• Building: Italiana Costruzioni S.p.A. with Consorzio Veneto Cooperativo S.C.P.A.

• External facade: Italcementi SpA with Styl-Comp Group

• Shingle: Stahlbau Pichler

4.1.2 4.2.2 Ofenhalle, Brickfaçade of Keller AG Headquarter

• Designer: Gramazio & Kohler

• Location: Pfungen, Switzerland

• Designed in: 2010

• Completed: 2012

• Area: façade area: 167 m²

• Cost: CHF 339,000

• Client: Keller AG Ziegeleien

• Design Team: Philipp Hübner (project lead), Matthias Helmreich, Kathrin Hiebler, Marion Ott, Sarah Schneider

• Local Partner: N.A.

• Façade Engineering: Engineering Steel façade: Bona + Fischer Ingenieurbüro AG, Winterthur

• Building Physics Glass façade: Raumanzug GmbH, Zürich

• Structural Engineering Brick Elements: Keller AG Ziegeleien

• Fabrication data creation: R-O-B Technologies AG, Zürich

• Selected contractor: brick façade: Basement Brick-AG, Pfungen

• Steel façade: Geilinger windows and façades AG, Winterthur

4.1.3 4.2.3 Tori Tori Restaurant

• Designer: Rojkind Arquitectos

• Location: Mexico City, Mexico

• Designed in: 2009

• Completed in: 2011

• Cost: Confidential

• Client: Confidential

• Area: 629 m²

• Architects: Rojkind arquitectos, Michael Rojkind, Gerardo Salinas

• Project Team: Tere Levy, Agustín Pereyra, Raúl Araiza, Carlos Alberto Ríos, Isaac Smeke J., Enrique F. De La Barrera, Daniela Dustamante, Daniel Hernández

• Esrawe Studio: Héctor Esrawe [principal in charge]

• Project Team: Ricardo Casas, Basia Pineda, Ian Castillo, Karianne Rygh, Alejandra Castelao, Jorge Bracho, Alejandro Zárate, Marcela Muñoz, Edgar Sánchez, Rodrigo L. Franco

• Design Computational Consultants: Kokkugia [Roland Snooks, Robert Stuart-Smith]

• Construction: Zda Desarrollo + Arquitectura [Yuri Zagorin]

• Structural Engineering: Ing. Juan Felipe Heredia

• Façade Engineering: Grupo Mas [Ing. Eduardo Flores]

• MEP: quantum diseño

• Lighting Design: luz en arquitectura [Arq. Kai Diederichsen]

4.1.4 4.2.4 Zahner Factory Expansion

• Designer: Crawford Architects

• Location: 1400 East 9th Street, Kansas City, Missouri, USA

• Designed in: 2009

• Completed in: 2011

• Cost: $1 million

• Client: Zahner

• Local Partner: Crawford Architects, Kansas City, Missouri, USA

• Structural Engineer: Wallace Engineering, Kansas City, Missouri, USA

• Mechanical Engineer: M.E. Group, Inc.

• Electrical Engineer: M.E. Group, Inc.

• Façade Engineering: Zahner, Kansas City, Missouri, USA

4.1.5 4.2.5 New York by Gehry

• Designer: Gehry Partners, LLP

• Location: New York, USA

• Designed in: 2004–2006

• Completed in: 2012

• Cost: $680 million–$90 million for the curtain wall

• Client: Forest City Ratner Companies, USA

• Environmental Engineer: Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers

• Main Contractor: Kreisler Borg Florman General Construction Company

• Structural Engineer: WSP Cantor Seinuk

• MEP Engineer: Jaros Baum & Bolles

• Curtain Wall: Permasteelisa Group

4.1.6 4.2.6 Arboskin

• Designer: ITKE (Institute for Building Construction and Structural Design)

• Location: Stuttgart, Germany

• Designed in: 2013

• Completed in: 2013

• Cost: Confidential

• Client: Speculative Research

• Designers: ITKE University

• Project Management: Dipl.Ing. Carmen Köhler

• Construction Management: Dipl.Ing. Manfred R. Hammer

• Structural Design: Dipl.Ing. Thiemo Fildhuth

• Student Design Team: Martin Loučka, Peter Kohlhammer, Adrian Grygar

• Geometry Programming Martin Loučka

• Realisation: Adrian Grygar, Serge Deisner, Maximilian Kurz, Martin Loučka, Paco Motzer, Jan Tondera, Dennis Gerlach, Alexander Mironov, Dominik Heizmann, Svenja, Felis, Maximilian Schäfer, Benjamin Fritsch supported by Michael Tondera (Fakultätswerkstatt Architektur)

• Façade Materials: Dr. Michael Schweizer, TECNARO GmbH, Ilsfeld-Auenstein

• Pyramid production: Frank Braun, Hans-Peter Braun, BAUER THERMOFORMING GmbH & Co. KG, Talheim

• Material Consultant: Institute for water engineering, water quality and waste management, ISWA.

4.1.7 4.3.1 6, Bevis Marks

• Designer: Fletcher Priest Architects

• Location: 6 Bevis Marks, London, UK

• Designed in: December 2008

• Completed: Spring 2014

• Cost: £52 million

• Client: AXA, BlackRock, Wells Fargo and CORE

• Design Team: Ed Williams, Sam Craig, Anne Schroeder, Christina Stellmacher, Evonne Tam, Jonathan Hodge, Mareike Langkitsch

• Main Contractor: Skanska

• Facade Engineering: NET, Lindner, Vector-Foiltec

• Structural Engineering: Waterman Building Structures, David Dexter Associates

4.1.8 4.3.2 Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport

• Designer: Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas

• Location: Bao’an District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China

• Designed in: 2008

• Completed in: 2013

• Area: 500,000 m² in phase 3

• Cost: €734 million

• Client: Shenzhen Airport (Group) Co., Ltd.

• Interior Design: Fuksas Design (internet-point, check-in “island”, security-check, gates, passport-check areas, shop box, baggage-claim “islands”, info-point, ventilation trees, signage, commercial desk and washrooms)

• Structures, Façade and Parametric Design: Knippers Helbig Engineering, Stuttgart, NY

• Architect of Record: BIAD (Beijing Institute of Architectural Design), Beijing

• Lighting Consulting: Speirs & Major Associates, Edinburgh, London

• Developer: Shenzhen Planning Bureau; Shenzhen Airport (Group) Co., Ltd.

• General Contractor: China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited, China Construction Eighth Engineering Division

• Steel Contractor: China Construction the Third Engineering

• Façade Contractor: Shenzhen Sanxin Façade Engineering Co., Ltd; Shenzhen Ruihua Construction Co., Ltd; China Fangda Group Co., Ltd.

4.1.9 4.3.3 Building Bytes

• Designer: Brian Peters (DesignLabWorkshop)

• Location: European Ceramic Work Centre, Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

• Designed in: 2012

• Completed in: Ongoing

• Cost: Confidential

• Client: Speculative Research

• Architects: Brian Peters, DesignLabWorkshop, Kent, Ohio, USA

• Local Partner: N.A.

4.1.10 4.3.4 3D Print Canal House

• Designer: DUS Architects

• Location: Badhuiskade 11, Amsterdam North, Netherlands

• Designed in: 2013

• Completed: Ongoing

• Cost: N.A.

• Client: Self-initiated project by DUS Architects

• Premium Partners

• DUS Architects, Henkel; Heijmans; Stichting Doen; Amsterdam Fonds Voor De Kunst; Gemeente Amsterdam/EZ.

• Partners

• Amsterdam Smart City; Alliander; Ultimaker; Fiction Factory; Tentech; Rooie Joris;

• Amsterdam Energie; Breedband Nederland/Aaldering ICT; Westpoort Warmte; Aon; Rsa; Protospace; Buko.

4.1.11 4.4.1 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame & Northwest Louisiana History Museum

• Designer: Trahan Architects

• Location: 800 Front St, Natchitoches, Louisiana, USA

• Designed in: 2010

• Completed in: 2013

• Cost: $12.6 million

• Client: State of Louisiana, Office of Facility, Planning & Control

• Design Team: Victor F. “Trey” Trahan III, FAIA; Brad McWhirter, AIA; Ed Gaskin, AIA; Mark Hash; Michael McCune, AIA; Sean David; Blake Fisher; Erik Herrmann; David Merlin, AIA; Benjamin Rath; Judson Terry

• Interior Designer: Lauren Bombet Interiors

• General Contractor: VCC

• M/E/P/FP Engineer: Associated Design Group, Inc.

• Structural Engineering: LBYD, Inc.

• Civil Engineering: CSRS, Inc.

• Geotechnical Engineer: GeoConsultants

• Landscape Architect: Reed Hilderbrand LLC

• BIM Manager and Technology Consultant: CASE

• Cast Stone Support Steel Geometry and Detailing: Method Design

• Cast Stone Support Steel Engineer: David Kufferman PE

• Cast Stone Manufacturer: Advanced Cast Stone

• Cast Stone Installer: Masonry Arts

• Steel Structure Installers: Champion Steel (Louisiana) and CMC of (South Carolina)

4.1.12 4.4.2 One Main Street

• Designer: dECOi

• Location: Boston, USA

• Completed: 2009

• Cost: Confidential

• Client: CChange Investments/Zero+

• Architects: dECOi Mark Goulthorpe, Raphael Crespin (Project Architect), Gabriel Blue Cira, Matt Trimble, Priyanka Shah

• MIT: Kaustuv de Biswas

• Mathematics: Prof Alex Scott (Oxford University)

• Consultants: Helen Heitman, Pablo Garcia (Gensler Associates)

• General Contractor: Paul Jacobson (Tricore)

• Local Partner(Millwork Contractor): Shawn Keller (CWKeller)

4.1.13 4.4.3 Digital Grotesque

• Designer: Michael Hansmeyer & Benjamin Dillenburger

• Location: CAAD department, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH, Zürich, Switzerland

• Designed in: 2012

• Completed in: 2013

• Cost: Confidential

• Client: FRAC Centre museum, Orléans

• Fabrication: Maria Smigielska, Miro Eichelberger, Yuko Ishizu, Jeanne Wellinger, Tihomir Janjusevic, Nicolás, Miranda Turu, Evi Xexaki, Akihiko Tanigaito

• Video & Photo: Demetris Shammas, Achilleas Xydis

• Partners and Sponsors: Chair for CAAD—Prof. Hovestadt, ETH Zurich—Department of Architecture, Voxeljet AG, FRAC Centre, Strobel Quarzsand GmbH

4.1.14 4.4.4 Resonant Chamber

• Designer: RVTR

• Location: Liberty Research Annex, 305 W Liberty St. Ann Arbor, MI, USA

• Designed in: 2011–2012

• Completed: 2012

• Cost: $25,000—prototype construction

• Research Funding: 2011 Taubman College Research Through Making Program, 2011 U-M Office for the Vice President of Research, 2012 SSHRC Research Creation Grant

• Client: The University of Michigan

• Design Team: Geoffrey Thün, Wes McGee, Kathy Velikov (leads) Lisa Sauvé, Mary O’Malley, Adam Smith, Colin Ripley, David Lieberman (design research collaborators) Katie Wirtz, Ian Ting, Lief Millar (prototyping)

• Collaborators: Raj Patel, Terence Caulkins and Dave Rife—ARUP Acoustic Consultants Jerome Lynch, Devki Desai, Mike Kane (Embedded Sensing and Wireless Integrated Microsystem Integration)

• Consultants

• Digital Fabrication: Wes McGee, Matter Design, Ann Arbor/Boston

• Acoustic Engineering: Raj Patel, Terence Caulkins and Dave Rife ARUP Acoustics, New York

• Embedded Sensing and Wireless Integrated Microsystem Integration: d

• Jerome Lynch, Devki Desai, Mike Kane (University of Michigan)

4.1.15 4.4.5 Temporal Synapse

• Designer: PROJECTiONE

• Location: Eskenazi Health centre, 1001 W 10th St, Indianapolis, USA

• Designed in: 2013–2014

• Completed: 2014

• Cost: Confidential

• Client: Eskenazi Health centre in Indianapolis

• Design Principals: Kyle Perry and Adam Beunte

• Hardwares and Software consultant: Eric Brockmeyer