CraftAnd Concept

In Architecture12.15.2010 Arch 571 Eric White

The Beauty and Poetry of MethodsAnd Materials in Support of an Idea

2 Table of Contents

Desiging the Object

Concept Statement

Documented Process

Experimentation

Production Drawings

Components of chair

Filmstrip

Product

Cost Analysis

Production Hours

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6-8

9-11

12

13-14

14-15

16-17

18-19

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Desiging the Construct

Concept Statement

Documented Process

Construction Process

Construct

Construct Perspectives

Cost Analysis

Production Hours

Afterword

Aknowledgements

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24-25

26-29

30-33

34-35

36-37

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40-41

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Restrictive Radii

Designing the Object

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Concept

Concept- Through the experimentation process of weaving wood and metal, I am defi ning a chair form through the elegance of a curvilinear line bending upon itself that is controlled through linear geometries.

Process - I worked with several materials to attempt to weave metal and wood to create a fabric that would take the form of a chair. I then found kerf joints, which is one process of curving wood. I studied how I could make this joint structural after the kerfs were cut and still allow for the wood to bend. This worked to an extent, but did not bind the materials horizontally. Using slats in the kerfs binds wood horizontally and also takes loads in compression. Through more studies, I have simplifi ed the Kerf joint to blocks and slats without the veneer on top. The use of three specifi c radii (1deg. ,3deg. and 5 deg.) creates the form and in elevation the slats bind the chair together horizontally. The slats transfer the load of the person to the blocks to take the load to the fl oor.

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Materials and Construction - Using the idea of a Kerfs joint I will be able to construct a curvilinear chair form bending upon itself. This will be achieved in section with trapezoidal and rectilinear forms. The chair can be constructed in a straightforward fashion by constructing each slat with the blocks space evenly apart. The trapezoids are created from 1”x2” pine wood with three radii to control the curvature of the chair. The connection will made with wood glue adhesive with its strength and ability to hold in shear and tension. In order to accommodate the moment of a person sitting in the chair, the blocks and slats become thicker to create more moment strength at specifi c joints. Also, screws are concealed within the wood at the most extreme moments and tensions to aid in the strength of the adhesive.

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ProcessI began my process by experimenting with wood and metal. The thought of merging these two rigid and structural components was very intriguing. I managed to weave a few models to fi nd a balance between the materials. The studies I looked at showed this combination was not going to make a satisfactory chair. From here, I studied how kerfs were used to bend wood and keep it strong in compression. Glue and resin seemed to fail in providing the tension needed in this connection so I pushed experimentation further with a study of how the kerfs are comprised.

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Block & Slat IdeasWhen the kerfs and slats are decomposed, it becomes essentially blocks and slats glued together with a veneer to add strength. This lead me to the idea of creating radii for different points in the chair to cut out block to fi t those conditions.

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ExperimentationI experimented with a 3/4” thick piece of pine and wrapping it with a 1/16” veneer on both sides. The prototype failed in moment leading to the deeper sections to accommodate that moment.

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Production Drawings 12

0

0 0

00

0 00

108

# of blocks cut # of slats cut

11436

78

8436

0 1 3 5

48

12

48

16

2

20

3/4”

1-1/8”

1-3/8”

2”

24”

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Here is shown all the 516 piece of Pine wood blocks setting on my desk after being cut out with a miter saw. On the right is the 86 pieces of slats that were ripped on the table saw. Everything seen was made out of eight 1”x4”x8’ pieces of Pine lumber. All sizes were sorted and accounted for to make production of the chair easier.

Chair Components14

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Clips of Production

The process of production starts at one end of the chair and ending at the other. Each section was glued on and clamped for the glue to set while the next section was being prepared. Only in the sections of the chair with the most moment have screws concealed within the wood. This reinforces the wood/glue in tension and moment begin placed upon it.

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ProductBelow is a rhino model of the fi nal version of the chair. On the right is the prototype created from my drawings. The elegance of the line shows through with some slight variations to the shape of the chair due to production changes.

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Material Cost

Material Type Store Quantity Unit Cost Cost

1”x4”x8’ Select Pine Lowe’s 5 $9.37 $46.85

1”x4”x8’ Select Pine Home Depot 3 $11.40 $34.20

Wood Glue 1 Pint Lowe’s 2 $4.39 $8.78

Screws 5lb. Box Lowe’s 1 $11.59 $11.59

Clamps 1-1/2” Lowe’s 5 $1.99 $9.95

$111.37

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Production Hours Logged

Stage Units Hrs. /Unit Mins./Unit Total Hour

Cutting Slats 86 0.035 2.1 3 Cutting Blocks 516 0.008 0.5 4

Gluing Blocks 172 0.041 2.4 7

Producing Chair 86 0.465 27.9 40

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Tensile Infrastructure

Designing the Construct

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Concept- Through using a tensile infrastructure within the block and slat system, an elegant mechanical architecture is created. The idea os this symantec and syntatic transformation was to create a system making process of producing the chair prototype easier to manufacture. This system allows for a track and rollers to be placed below the structure enabling people to roll out the pavilion into a bridge making this a functional piece.

Process - This process included creating several study models and having many successful disasters enable me to progress this design as well as the chair to their current states. The entire process came through the idea of weaving metal and wood together and from there I looked to kerf bendng. Then I broke down the kerf joint and looked at in in detail with the block and slat. Through this process I found similer methods of construction to create a bend in wood without cutting the wood in a curvilinear shape.

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Materials and Construction -Using the same idea of the chair prototype, I constructed the same type of block and slats as before;however, with this new idea of a functional bridge/pavilion, I had to cut more slats and drill holes into the blocks to accomodate the new T-section system. This enabled construction to be faster stringing the cable through the blocks and slats. Once this is completed, the bridge will be connected to a ram pulling the tension i nthe two cable system tight while attachign the cables to the ground. Through this two cable system people will be able ot push out the pavilion to have a cantilevered bridge over a river or gorge. The sections with the most action (ie. cambered blocks) are deeper than the rest of the system pieces to work with the moment in the tension system.

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Process of New System26

The new system looked at removing the glue joints and creating a tension system that needed a solution to how the blocks would be strung together making them stable. This enabled me to experiment with pulleys, gears, and hinges for users to roll up a pavilion/bridge with this orthogonal block and slat sytem.

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Retracting Section Analysis29

Construct Process and IdeasLooking at the details of the new idea of this tensile infrastructure enables for a large amount of interaction with the people using the pavilion and bridge.

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21

021

# of blocks cut # of slats cut

3

0 3

30

72

51

1”

3/8”

1441/2”

1-1/2”

24”

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Construction of PrototypeConstructing the prototype for this pavilion/bridge was much easier than the chair prototype. With some gluing of the system of block T-sections, The blocks remains rigid as I strung the cable through and tension cables by turnbuckles allowingthe new system to operate correctly. The construction time needed with this construction was almost a quarter of the time of constructing the chair prototype.

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Construct DetailsThe fi nal details of the prototype worked as designed. Below showing the two cable system coming out of the pavilion/bridge system. Having this detail allows fdor people to push and pull the construct making this functional piece either a pavilion or a cantilevered bridge.

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Material Cost Material Type Store Quantity Unit Cost Cost

1”x4”x8’ Select Pine Lowe’s 6 $9.37 $56.22

1/2”x2’x2’ Plywood Home Depot 3 $4.59 $13.77

Cable Steel Lowe’s 30 $0.22 $6.60

Screws 2lb. Box Lowe’s 1 $4.59 $4.59

Turnbuckles 1/2” Lowes 3 $2.49 $7.47

Glides Heavy Duty Lowes 3 $4.89 $14.67

$103.32

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Production Hours Logged Stage Units Hours /Unit Minutes/Unit Total Hours Woodshop Cutting Slats 84 0.024 1.4 2

Woodshop Cutting Blocks 78 0.032 1.9 2.5 Woodshop Drilling Blocks 78 0.019 1.2 1.5

Stringing Blocks Together 54 0.065 3.9 3.5

Attaching Tension Device 3 1.333 80.0 4 13.5

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Afterword- The process of fi nding how to create curvilinear wood joint with orthogonally cut pieces was a success. Through the process of trial and error along with design, I arrived to well informed conclusions about how to design and construct this system. I was able to make the construction time of a similarly sized prototype as the chair in nearly a quarter of the time after I removed the glue joints and create and T-section system with the blocks. After completing the process of designing the new construct through the chair prototype idea, I found my design had some hiccups and simple problems that will need to be corrected. The entire pavilion shape worked well except when the people would roll up the bridge, the pieces active in bending the bridge up were too few. To correct this problem, The entire cantilevered piece will have to be activated in order for a human to accomodate the moment with the cantilevered bridge. Doing this will make the pavilion become a half circle shape in section and rol out as a single fl at line when working at a cantilevered bridge.

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Another hiccups along the way was drilling the holes for this construct. I learned that even with the accuracy of a jig and drill press there is still some inaccuracy at the model scale. Being off just a sisteenth of an inch either way creates friction in the cable that makes the pulling and pushing motion of the bridge more diffi cult. At full scale this would not be a problem because minute inaccuracies would not be noticed as much as the model.

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AcknowledgementsLowe’s1904 North Prospect AvenueChampaign, IL 61822(217) 373-7300Wood/Screws

Home Depot820 Bloomington Rd.Champaign, IL 61820(217) 356-2629Wood/Glue

FamilyHelping cut out wood pieces

Meijer2401 N. Prospect AvenueChampaign, IL 61822(217) 353-4000Resin

Prof. Jeff PossEncouragement and facilitating my process

Tim CopelandPower Tools

Pictures I wish I took:Experiments before I broke themMe Cutting out block pieces on the Miter SawMe Ripping slats on the Table Saw

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