Project courtesy Salamatina Gallery. Please contact the gallery for more information on the project.

Description: The latest iteration of the “P” series of projects (P_Wall(2009), P_Wall (2006), P_Wall (Weathering)), the Seed takes the series into a new dimension. Inspired by the vitality of the Redwood Grove at the UC Botanical Garden, the Seed attempts to embody the fertility, wonder, and strength of the redwoods through the placement of this mysterious concrete object within the Grove. The form is composed of 32 thin-shell fiber-reinforced concrete panels that are based off of plaster patterns made from casting liquid plaster into fabric forms. The fabric expands under the mass of the plaster slurry until it finds a state of equilibrium with the tensioned fabric. This play between the pressure of the liquid versus the tension in the fabric fibers mirrors the dynamic conflict that exists within every cell of organic bodies.

Credits: Andrew Kudless (Design), Ron Rael of Emerging Objects for the fabrication of the 3D-printed concrete prototype, Mark Rogero of ConcreteWorks for the generous donation of fabrication support, David Shook for engineering support, and Shirley Watts and Mary Anne Friel (curators and organizers of the exhibition, and all of the staff of the Botanical Garden for their support.

Rendering of Seed within the Botanical Garden's Redwood Grove

3D printed concrete prototype by Emerging Objects

3D printed concrete prototype by Emerging Objects

3D printed concrete prototype by Emerging Objects

3D printed concrete prototype components by Emerging Objects

3D printed concrete prototype components by Emerging Objects

Inflation Test 01 from Andrew Kudless on Vimeo.

Project courtesy Salamatina Gallery. Please contact the gallery for more information on the project.

Description: The latest in a series of projects exploring cellular morphologies, Chrysalis (III) investigates the self-organization of barnacle-like cells across an underlying substrate surface. The cells shift and slide across the surface as they attempt to find a more balanced packed state through the use of a relaxed spring network constrained to the surface. Each cell is composed of two parts: a cone-like outer surface made from cherry veneer and a non-planer inner plate made from poplar veneer that stresses the outer cone into shape. Each of the 1000 cell components are unfolded flat in the digital model, digitally fabricated, and hand assembled.

For more information about the exhibition, please download the Multiversites Creatives press releases in English or French.

Credits: Andrew Kudless (Design), Jason Vereschak and Emily Kirwan (Fabrication Support), Maciej Fiszer (for the lending of assembly space in Paris), and the Pompidou Centre Industrial Prospectives Department (Valerie Guillaume, Hélène Ducate, Dominique Kalabane, and Marguerite Reverchon)

Orthographic Drawings

Diagram of Plate Formation

Still frames of 2D animation of cell relaxation from pure voronoi network to relaxed voronoi network (vorlax)

Assembly Diagram showing the various stages over 5 days in different colors

Vorlax in 2D from Andrew Kudless on Vimeo.

Vorlax on Surface from Andrew Kudless on Vimeo.

Description: This 4-day workshop at SmartGeometry 2012 focused on the design and construction of a wooden gridshell using only straight wood members bent along geodesic lines on a relaxed surface. Using parametric tools, the design was developed and analyzed to minimize material waste while maximizing its architectural presence in the space. In addition, a feedback loop was designed between the parametric geometric model and a structural model allowing for a smooth workflow that integrated geometry, structures, and material performance.

More information on the Smartgeometrty website.

Workshop Collaborators: Elif Erdogan, Giuseppe Giacoppo, Alexander Jordan, Chu-Hao Pan, Lara Alegria Mira, Elliot Mistur, Artyom Maxim, Sarah Murray, Dan Reynolds, Oliver Sjöberg, Caressa Siu, Elsa Wifstrand, Katja Virta

Photo by Mark Cabrinha

Photo by Mark Cabrinha

Photo by Mark Cabrinha

Photo by Mark Cabrinha

Photo by Mark Cabrinha

Photo by Mark Cabrinha

Photo by Mark Cabrinha

Front Elevation

Side Elevation

Assembly Plan

Rendering showing proposed mini-lath skin

2D Lath Layout

Detail of 2D Lath Layout

Curvature Analysis of smallest bending radii in structure

Smartgeometry 2012 Gridshell Digital Tectonics Cluster from Andrew Kudless on Vimeo.

sg2012 cluster: gridshell digital tectonics from Marc Webb on Vimeo.

Description: This project was the result of a 4-day workshop taught with Marc Swackhamer at the University of Minnesota School of Architecture in March 2012. The workshop explored the design and fabrication of shell structures. Inspired by the work of designers such as Guadi, Otto, and Isler, the workshop explored how digital tools could be used in the design, simulation, and fabrication of a contemporary thin-shell structure. The workshop was structured in the following way:

• Day 1: Parametric Modeling Tutorials and Lecture on Thin-Shell Structures
• Day 2: Design Competition among student teams
• Day 3: Fabrication
• Day 4: Assembly

Credits: The project could not have happened without the amazingly talented and dedicated students at the University of Minnesota who designed and built the structure using the tools that I provided them at the beginning of the workshop. Thanks to all of them:
Namdi Alexander, Daniel Aversa, Tia Bell, Alex Berger, Amy Ennen, Andrew Gardner, John Greene, Kelly Greiner, Artemis Hansen, David Horner, Jonathon Jacobs, Hwan Kim, Jenn McGinnity, Shona Mosites, Kristen Salkas, Stuart Shrimpton, Paul Treml, Katie Umenthum, Pablo Villamil.

Catalyst Hexshell from Andrew Kudless on Vimeo.

Construction drawing used by the team to divide the larger shell into smaller assemblies.

Catalyst Catenary Simulation from Andrew Kudless on Vimeo.

Catalyst Catenary Construction Time Lapse from Andrew Kudless on Vimeo.

SFMoMA has reinstalled the P_Wall (2009) piece in their 5th Floor Gallery overlooking the Sculpture Garden. The wall is part of their “The More Things Change” exhibition focusing on the work of emerging artists over the last decade. The exhibition closes on November 6, 2011.

(Note: The amazing chair shown in the images is, unfortunately, not mine. The chair is by Dutch designers Tejo Remy & René Veenhuizen. The curators at SFMoMA did a great job pairing the wall and chair together.)

Description:
This workshop explored material systems through an iterative design process that alternates between analogue and digital modeling techniques. The workshop introduced students to various physical form-finding techniques that investigate and simulate the interrelatedness of material, structure, and form. After completing these hands-on experiments, students were given an intensive introduction to parametric modeling using the Grasshopper plug-in for the 3D modeling program Rhino. Using this generative design environment, students began to explore how to abstract the principles learned in the physical form-finding models into digital para-metric models. Finally, workshop students developed a series of digitally fabricated models from their digital models that resonate with the logic and material forces of the initial physical experiments.

The workshop was part of a larger studio taught by Prof. Wendy Fok of WE-Designs.org.

Description
Aldgate, one of the medieval gates of London, sits between the old City and the new eastern development for the 2012 Olympics. The Aldgate Aerial Park resists the binary relationship of the traditional gate typology. More than just a singular threshold between one urban zone and another, the network of vaults span multiple streets and pathways. Rather than a simple opening between one place and another, it expands out into the city and forms its own identity as a new urban park. The aerial park creates a space of relaxation and community above the chaos of the city streets. The cells of the park include amphitheaters, gardens, restrooms, and open spaces. Rather than reinforce the dividing line between new and old London, the new gate attempts to create a spatial blur that brings people together.

Biodynamic Structures: July 2011
San Francisco Visiting School
California College of the Arts
Monday 11 to Friday 22 July, 2011

I am happy to announce that I will be teaching again at this summer’s Architectural Association San Francisco Visiting School at CCA. For more information, please visit the main website for the workshop. We have a great line up of Grasshopper, Kangaroo, and Firefly workshops as well as lectures on fabrication, design, and material systems by many leading designers and thinkers including Jason Kelly Johnson from Future Cities Lab, Andy Payne from Lift Architects/GSD, Ronnie Parsons and Gil Akos from Studio Mode/Pratt, and Michael Weinstock, Evan Greenberg, Christina Doumpioti, George Jeronimidis and Toni Kotnik from the EmTech Program at the AA in London.