Abstract
This project-based paper describes the iterative design, structural optimization, and fabrication of the experimental grid shell structure developed for the MASS Lo-Fab pavilion. In this case, formal complexity is resolved through functional complexity that emerges in both elements of the structural system—the node and the strut—that each maintain a level of simplicity appropriate to respective manufacturing processes and material properties. The structure was fabricated using state-of-the art collaborative robotic fabrication techniques and a combination of traditional craftsmanship and computationally driven manufacturing processes. In order to move from the computational design environment to one of material, the team worked in collaboration with AutodeskTM to develop a novel design-to-robotic fabrication workflow using the emerging visual scripting interface Dynamo. A custom robotically assisted welding process was developed to assemble 1880 steel parts making up 376 nodes that saved over 3 weeks of labor when compared to traditional processes.
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Acknowledgments
This project-based research was conducted with the support of Autodesk, the Autodesk BUILD Space; Virginia Tech College of Architecture and Urban Studies, Virginia Tech School of Archtiecture + Design, Center for Design Research and The Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology; the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy; The United Nathans; and Rudabega. Project collaborators include Adam Allard, Alan Ricks, Ashleigh Otto, Brendan Kellogg, Chip Clark, Cole Smith, Conor Byrne, David Barrett, David Scurry, Ed Coe, Giorgia Cannici, Gustav Fagerstrom, Jason Zawitkowski, Jeff Snyder, Jonatan Anders, Jonathan Rugh, Justin Lavallee, Kyle Barker, Mark Leach, Martin Philipp Angst, Michael Murphy, Mike Steehler, Nathan King, Nathan Melenbrink, Nick Cote, Nikki King, Paul King, Robert Dunay, Steve Bickley, and Victoria Smith. Mike Dewberry, Matt Jezyk, Ian Keough and others who contributed to the development of the Dynamo-to-robot workflow.
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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
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King, N., Melenbrink, N., Cote, N., Fagerström, G. (2016). BUILD-ing the MASS Lo-Fab Pavilion. In: Reinhardt, D., Saunders, R., Burry, J. (eds) Robotic Fabrication in Architecture, Art and Design 2016. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26378-6_29
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26378-6_29
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