MAIL ORDER HOUSE, 2nd Year Undergraduate Design Studio
, Cornell University, AAP
Summer 2007, Department of Architecture
Studio Instructor: Dana Čupková; Consultation: Kevin Pratt
This exploratory studio sought to question the general definition of efficiency within the construction industry and incorporated issues of deconstruction, recyclability of materials, adaptation and component recovery into the architectural design process. The goal of the studio was to propose a simple building assembly system composed of lightweight recyclable materials: high density foam and impregnated cardboard. Since the days of the Bauhaus the issue of craft has challenged the traditional definition of materiality through means of tooling. The properties of any material in its primitive form and geometry can be modified through basic tools to perform different structural functions. For example, the softness of paper can be altered by geometric folds of deliberate patterns to withstand vertical and lateral loads. This studio operated on the this basic premise and produced systems of components made of impregnated cardboard and structural foam that could be assembled to form a complete enclosure capable of withstanding basic structural loads and climactic conditions while remaining easy to demount and ship. The notion of repetition, a systematic understanding of the modular logic of the component, and the concept of variation within the sequence of assembly and dis-assembly was tested through a series of physical models, drawings and computer models.
Summer 2007, Department of Architecture
Studio Instructor: Dana Čupková; Consultation: Kevin Pratt
This exploratory studio sought to question the general definition of efficiency within the construction industry and incorporated issues of deconstruction, recyclability of materials, adaptation and component recovery into the architectural design process. The goal of the studio was to propose a simple building assembly system composed of lightweight recyclable materials: high density foam and impregnated cardboard. Since the days of the Bauhaus the issue of craft has challenged the traditional definition of materiality through means of tooling. The properties of any material in its primitive form and geometry can be modified through basic tools to perform different structural functions. For example, the softness of paper can be altered by geometric folds of deliberate patterns to withstand vertical and lateral loads. This studio operated on the this basic premise and produced systems of components made of impregnated cardboard and structural foam that could be assembled to form a complete enclosure capable of withstanding basic structural loads and climactic conditions while remaining easy to demount and ship. The notion of repetition, a systematic understanding of the modular logic of the component, and the concept of variation within the sequence of assembly and dis-assembly was tested through a series of physical models, drawings and computer models.