GLASS STEREOTOMY
Software used: Autocad 2010, Photoshop, Ilustrator, Rhino and Grasshopper
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Glass is mainly used for being invisible and flat. It is being used as a barrier or a screen that can create separation, yet the transparency keeps the visual connection. Glass does not structurally stable in tension but it can resist a certain amount of compression strength which gives glass the possibility of being a structural element. The design research then focused on the geometry of glass. The intention was to come up with a structural system built by variable units that is generated by a single mold using different variables.
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The design research proposes to design a glass structure made up of variable units following glass stereotomy. To make the numerous number of variable units it is expected to have numerous mold as it is known that, formation of glass always needs molds. This project also focused on coming up with one single mold that can generate variable molds by using the traditional slip casting method for mold making,
filigree construction
Solid construction
At the ETH Zurich architecture in the lecture on the “morphology of the architectural” theorist Kenneth Frampton drew on the works of Eugène Violletle-Duc and Gottfried Semper, who together pioneered the theory of architecture and distinguished between the development of architectural forms from their origins as “earthworks” and “roofworks”, or with the terms stereotomy (solid construction) and tectonics ( filigree construction) that are used in architecture theory.
According to the lecture they established the term “earthwork” or stereotomy includes all the building techniques of solid wall construction ( cob, pisé and adobe, clay-and-stone masonry, etc. and their stereotomic forms such as walls, arches, vaults and domes). Where the term “roofwork”, tectonic structure or filigree construction is thus a structure of slender members, a weave of straight or rodlike elements assembled to form a planar or spatial lattice in which the loadbearing and separating functions are fulfilled by different elements. It encompasses all structures with linear and rodlike members – textile-like woven structures which span open spaces as “covers”, forming the “ roof”, the overhead boundary to the space below.
The use of modular unit can be vastly seen in masonry work. stereotomy, the art of cutting stone into measured forms such that in the ideal case the simple layering of dressed stones and the pull of gravity are sufficient for the stability of the building, without the use of any additional media such as mortar etc. It becomes clear from this that solid constructions can only accommodate compressive forces and cannot handle tensile forces.
Slipcasting is a technique for the mass-production of pottery and ceramics, especially for shapes not easily made on a wheel. A liquid clay body slip (usually mixed in a blunger) is poured into plaster moulds and allowed to form a layer, the cast, on the inside cavity of the mould.
Variable 01: rotation of the mold
slip cast technique
Variable 02: Amount of pouring for the mold
Variables | GENERATING PARAMETER
Variable 03: Pressure
Arch formed by variable units generated by glass blowing
Partial dome formed by variable units generated by glass blowing
Form Generation and Investigation on Making Process | FORM FINDING
rotation of mold and generating variable molds
Plaster mold for making slip casted molds
Generating variable units by rotating the mold in X axis
Generating variable units by rotating the mold in X and Y axis
Generating variable units by rotating the mold in X and Z axis
Generating variable units to creat a vault by rotating the mold by 15 degree
Light test for one of the arches for the vault by rotating the mold by 15 degree
Generating variable units for making a dome by rotating the mold in X axis
Generating variable units for making a dome by rotating the mold in X axis
Case study of circular and catenery geometry
Aquiring variable units from a sigle mold for Stereotomic dome
Generation of cateneries of varying degree of curvature
making process of variable clay mold from the single mother mold
variables for making the molds by slip casting in single mother mold
Cast Glass: Rotation, Pouring and Time | GENERATING PARAMETER
variables for making the molds by slip casting in single mother mold
Making | SPATIAL IMPLICATION
plan and top view
spatial quality [top], Section [bottom]
spatial quality [top], Section [bottom]
spatial quality [top], Section [bottom]
Mold for making the stereotomic stucture for blown glass
SUMMARY OF REVIEWERS' COMMENTS
In the final review the project was highly appreciated. Critics emphacized how the focus on purity of geometry was kept all through the investigation. The project not only worked on the geometry but also degined the making process. However one of the criticism was how the joints would be inbetween two arches. Several ideas of using the making process for the lateral connection in between the arches in the catenery structure. Using ceremic bisque as the binding material could be one of the options for the lateral binding.
SELF CRITIQUE
The design research was challenging because it intended to explore uncharted territories as far as traditional application of glass is concerned. The other challenge was the time frame in which the research had to be done. The basic structure of the research demanded extensive use of time but It was very limited. At the same time, fabrication of glass requires extended period of times.
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On the other hand, the main criticism of the project was directed towards the translation of investigation of the material properties to an architectural design. While it is true that there is an apparent discontinuity between the two phases of the project, it could have been easily overcome through a clearer visual narrative of the design process, through the making of supporting physical models, most of which were part of the design process but never documented.
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One of the criticism about the project is the single mold . For casting and blowing two different mold is required to produce variable molds. The thickness of the slip casting is not always the same depending on the quality of slip. More glass castng would be more helpful to understand the material more. The posbility for the lateral binding for the catenery arches need to be investigated more.
As a whole, I believe, the project was a good investigative attempt and design exploration. In terms of developing an alternative reading of glass as a material, the project succeeds in doing so by showing glimpses of its true potential. With further design exploration and necessary investigation into the nature of the material, the project has the potential to further develop and discover unexpected design outcomes.