FIBROUS PNEUMATICITY

Academic research
Harvard Graduate School of Design, 2014

The use of carbon and glass fiber as construction materials presents opportunities for innovative architectural building practices, given the combination of their ultra-lightweight and high strength characteristics. While these fibrous materials have been used frequently in molded composite applications, their potential to operate outside that realm has been largely unexplored. Inspired by pneumatic-like structures found in nature, our project utilizes carbon and glass fiber to translate biological constructs into architectural space. The system consists of two parts: first, a sectional cell structure; second, a pair of surfaces, consisting of a fibrous layer and a membrane layer which enclose the cell structure. These integrated design components rely on the inherent qualities of fibrous materials - providing both performative and experiential functions, while responding parametrically to desired structural, spatial, and luminous qualities. Our project ultimately exemplifies the seamless relationship between function and aesthetic, allowing quantitative material performance to be understood through diverse architectural experiences.

ADVISED BY ACHIM MENGES
IN COLLABORATION WITH MIKE JOHNSON

MATERIAL PERFORMANCE: FIBROUS TECTONICS & ARCHITECTURAL MORPHOLOGY, 2016 (PRINT)
HARVARD GSD PLATFORM 8, 2016
SUPERARCHITECTS.COM, 2015
SUCKERPUNCH.COM, 2015
PLATFORM 8 EXHIBITION, HARVARD GSD, 2016