1. Continuing the ‘Continua’
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MARCIN WÓJCIK
The Oslo School of Architecture and Design AHO, Oslo, Norway
marcin.wojcik@aho.no
SYLWIA KŁACZYŃSKA
West Pomeranian University of Technology ZUT, Szczecin, Poland
sklaczynska@zut.edu.pl
Rethinking Comprehensive Design: Speculative Counterculture, 19th International Conference of the Association of Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia CAADRIA 2014, Kyoto, JAPAN
THE CONTINUA SERIES
Erwin Hauer (b.1926) is an Austrian-American sculptor, known for repetitive screen-wall systems
based on modular elements cast in concrete, gypsum or acrylic resin or later CNC-milled in MDF
and limestone (Hauer, 2004). These methods are time and energy consuming and produce waste. Our
previous research (Kłaczyńska, 2013) indicates that Design 3 (1952) from the ‘Continua’ series would
be applicable for external light-breaking building envelopes due to its light diffusing, wind and sound
breaking capabilities.
We set out to develop the ‘Continua’ series into a new system that minimises wastage and performs in a
controlled way. The new system uses thin (ca. 5 mm) plywood as structural material, what is enabled by
the contemporary digital tools and by following the biological paradigm. Thin plywood is bent to form
and thus achieving strength locally, while global strength is achieved by the distribution of modules.
By doing so, much less material and time are used to produce a final piece. This solution required
reconfiguration of the modules, but the geometrical features of the original are sustained.
THE BIOMIMETIC APPROACH
The re-design of the ‘Continua’ series takes inspiration from the biomimetic approach. Biological
systems utilise information, stored in the genetic code, rather than energy, in order to solve technical
problems. Energy is used sparingly, single material often serves both structural and protective purposes,
the distinction between material and structure is blurred (Vincent et al., 2006). According to Vincent,
in biology, conversely to engineering, form is cheap and materials are expensive. Biological solutions
are hierarchical, and such organisation yields at least ten-fold savings in material. In mass-production
the costs of manufacturing exceed the saving in material thus hierarchical organisation is less common
(Lakes, 1993). This may change as the CNC machines enable variation without extra production time, a
feature used in our project, where a CNC laser cutter allows for adapting the geometry in response to the
structural and environmental factors. Similarly to the Eiffel Tower, our proposal contains three orders of
structural elements that themselves have structure: (1) material behaviour is dependent on the number
and stacking sequence of laminas, (2) single module stiffness is achieved by bending and (3) the global
stiffness is achieved by the distribution of the modules. Global form is controlled locally using the
method of parametric design, where the local geometry, resulting in the size of the opening, is variable
within the modular framework. By doing so it is possible to control the amount of light entering through
the screen.
Further development of the system includes providing for self-support through the overall geometry, e.g.
shells and adding material criteria as the elastic bending parameter.
REFERENCES
HAUER, E. 2004. Erwin Hauer: continua : architectural screens and walls, New York, Princeton Architectural Press.
KŁACZYŃSKA, S. ‘Transition Zone’ jako opozycja dla ściany. In: WAGNER, T., ed. Modernity in Architecture. Integration - Identification - Innovation,
2013. Gliwice: Wydział Architektury Politechniki Śląskiej w Gliwicach, 107-122.
LAKES, R. 1993. Materials with structural hierarchy. Nature, 361, 511-515.
VINCENT, J. F. V., BOGATYREVA, O. A., BOGATYREV, N. R., BOWYER, A. & PAHL, A.-K. 2006. Biomimetics: its practice and theory. Journal of The
Royal Society Interface, 3, 471-482.
APPLICATION OF THIN PLYWOOD IN CONSTRUCTION THROUGH BIOLOGICALLY INSPIRED APPROACH
(1) (2) (3)
photo: Saaraa Premji