FABRICATION FUTURES
With growing interest in timber construction, an increase in plantation forests is seen, resulting in a scarcity of biodiversity in the affected areas. By thinking globally but producing locally, the study interrogates the importance of bio-regional design based on local fabrication, resources, and climate. The study demonstrates bio-regional design by finding a use for local timber offcuts and creating a workflow that promotes appreciation of the true form of timber and not just as a standardized material, shifting mindsets.
A inventory if eleven Silver Birch branches were reclaimed from tree pruning services on campus. Photogrammetry was used to scan these branches and making a digital inventory. Hundreds of pictures were taken and processed in Agisoft to obtain cloud points. For the design logic all the branches are used. The branches were segregated by finding the angles between the them . This was done by contouring, finding an area centroid and drawing a curve through those points.
Dovetail joint is chosen as the joint as it is strong and great for CNC. The resulting zigzag design formed from optimally rotated dovetail joints, located at the ends of each branch accordingly. Angled connectors enable each irregular branch to form a flat structural network, which was not possible with early iterations of a flat dovetail. In a process of trial and error to minimise planar variation, the possibilities uncovered through altering the rotation angle of the dovetail and interchanging individual branches has supported our endeavors for design flexibility. The simplicity of a dovetail attachment carved into natural timber creates materially economic connections and uncovers connection possibilities for structural networks. Two connectors of 30o and one of 45o is added to make the roof profile more dynamic. These connectors can be made in different angles depending on the design.
PAVILION
The current processing mainly involves 3-axis CNC machining and 4-axis CNC machining technology. The former is suitable for processing complex-shaped branches in two-dimensional directions, whereas the latter is more suitable for processing linear-shaped branches requiring rotational machining. Both processes include a similar roughing step and two profiling steps, employing increasingly precise tool-paths and smaller-sized drill bits to achieve the desired outcome.
MELBOURNE DESIGN WEEK
