archolab » Installation https://archolab.com Architectural Research Collaborative Fri, 25 Jul 2014 18:25:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.40 Morphfaux https://archolab.com/archives/40 https://archolab.com/archives/40#comments Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:11:50 +0000 http://archolab.com/?p=40 Recovering Plaster as Architectural Substrate

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Morphfaux is an applied research project that revisits the virtually lost craft of plaster to explore its potential for producing innovative architectural elements through the use of contemporary digital technology. The research challenges the flatness of modern, standardized dry wall construction and explores plaster’s malleability as a material that can be applied thick and thin, finished to appear smooth or textured, and tooled while liquid or cured. If the invention of industrialized modern building products such as drywall led to the demise of the plasterer as a tradesperson, our research seeks alliances between the abilities of the human hand and those of automation. By transforming historic methods using new robotic tools, Morphfaux has broadened the possibilities of architectural plaster. While our research has produced forms not possible by human skill alone, it also clearly illustrates a symbiotic relationship between the human body and robotic machines where human dexterity and robotic precision are choreographed in the production of innovative plastering techniques.

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]]> https://archolab.com/archives/40/feed 0 Spring Back https://archolab.com/archives/42 https://archolab.com/archives/42#comments Sat, 13 Feb 2010 16:10:02 +0000 http://archolab.com/?p=42 Digital Steam Bending

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In the mid-nineteenth century, at the same time that Great Lakes craftsmen utilized abundant regional lumber to construct bent-wood snowshoes and canoes, Michael Thonet was manufacturing his iconic Café Chair No. 14. Steam-bent construction was lightweight, rigid, and compact, making it ideal for mass production. But unlike many industrial processes, steam bending used local and renewable materials, lent itself to easy disassembly / repurposing of material, and required no toxic adhesives.
While steam bending remains a viable craft-based practice its chapter in the history of early industrial production was relatively short-lived, having been quickly replaced with tubular steel and other more predictable, more thoroughly modern materials. Practicing in the post-industrial meltdown of the American Midwest, we began our research by probing this virtually forgotten technique.  This return provided a frame within which to speculate about new modes of digital fabrication at an architectural scale.
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