Continuing from the Thermodynamic Fabrications workshop we move on to the Ecosystemic Structures to further improve our Urban Synthesis project and refine the form of our building, according to the building materials of our choosing and the methods of construction we’d want to employ.
This structural design further empowers the idea of dynamic adaptability and porosity of the building. The load-bearing structure sits atop of the concrete foundation and consists of a series of prefabricated, interlocking timber columns and beams, between which the timber frame wall panels and floor panels are slotted in. The focus on rapid assembly of the building is aimed to prevent the unnecessary emission of CO2.
While exploring the idea of modules, we also played with the scale of the grid that spans across the whole project – from macro to micro. The biggest modules visually separate the industry of the ground floor from the residential modules. It’s the columns and bracings that hold the plinth. The dimension of such modules is 8m by 8m by 6m and we consider them being of macro scale.
The furniture of common spaces, on the other hand, is the result of subdivision and extrusion of a timber structure frame of the wall panel of a basic 4x4x3m residential module. The module is proportionally subdivided that way it has 3 divisions horizontally and 4 vertically. It is then subdivided further by the factor of two to suit the dimensions of relevant furniture to come to micro or, in other words, human scale.
To test our structure, we constructed a balsa model of a part of our building of a 1:50 scale. We found out that, while our structure works for the most part, we’d need to refine our design a bit to figure out a way to introduce additional diagonal bracings, in a way that they’re not conflicting with our floor layouts.
Balsa model – 1:50 scale
Balsa model – 1:50 scale
After researching about prefabrication in timber construction and after testing out our timber structure with our model, we came a step closer to finishing the Urban Synthesis project. With each workshop our understanding of the design process deepens and our vision crystalizes. Looking forward, we are eager to reflect on the knowledge we gained to apply it in the future projects.
