D_116 Hybrid Modeling: An Architecture for a Computer Numerically Controlled Manufacturing Facility

Jennifer Lee and Pablo Castro

OBRA Architects

New York, NY - USA

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Problem #1Ð A conceptual gap: Aspiring to the creation of an architecture of the idea, design follows a path that leads to a progressive disregard of form. The use of computers with their tremendous power for nonlinear mathematical computation, affords a rich conceptual opportunity to fulfill some of those aspirations. The construction industry, suffering from a pervasive inclination to view architecture instrumentally, lags far behind. Furthermore, progress, in the form of the development of new materials and the reconsideration of the untapped potential of traditional ones, is hampered by ossified construction codes as well as the uncharted nature of the physical qualities of materials themselves. The art of construction in the United States has become a recombinatory game of assembly of pre-approved parts.

Problem #2Ð Computer renderings: The interest for powerful software platforms is eventually subservient to the experience of built architectural space. In that context, mechanisms of design control with eyes on that experience become essential. The shortcomings of computer-rendered virtual space materialize in various ways: in a lack of three-dimensional physical interface; in a lack of acceptably accurate material qualities; in a lack of control of scale in relation to the level of development of the design; and at times in a kind of finished-product photographic quality which seems to leave little room for further development.// A two-fold strategy: With intent to seek possible solutions to the problems of disconnection between conception and construction as well as modes of spatial representation for architectural design, we propose to explore a process of design experimentation using "hybrid models." The powerful tool of computer numerically controlled (CNC) milling is incorporated into design studies for a program for a manufacturing facility of precision gearheads and frictionless slides milled from solid metal using computer-controlled tooling sytems. //

Sited in a planned modified industrial park district, the building requires a continuous and largely unobstructed floor suface to allow perpetual retooling of the plant with combined program of office and educational space for the work lives of manufacturing team, engineers, and administrators. The footprint of the building is determined by zoning setbacks and parking requirements. To minimize the number of columns and increase potential for unforeseeable change, the roof structure is designed as a long-span structure which allows free flow of movement and materials through the building. The upper level contains office spaces, cafeteria, lecture hall, library and gymnasium, linked to the factory floor both visually and physically with stairs, elevators, and ramps. The layout suggests a programmatic pedagogical construct in which teaching can take place within the manufacturing company and experience can be enhanced by the spatial relationships within the building itself. The project proposes a striation of gardens which enhance visual connection to the manufacturing floor below and bring in natural light, acting as a modulating device, a passive solar shade. This creates a roofscape of humanizing cracks for suburban workers to find opportunities to enjoy time outdoors, a habit paradoxically more common to the routine of city workers. //

A design method with "hybrid models" enlists advantages of CNC milling, along with traditional model-making techniques, to introduce an intermediary level of critique, testing, and experimentation, which helps retain the physical and haptic properties of materiality while enabling the computational freedom made possible by computer-aided design. Drafted with the aid of CAD programs, elements of the design featuring complexities hard to model by hand can be made by CNC milling using materials with physical qualities similar to those of materials intended for actual building construction, thus effecting a more rigorous design experimentation. //

Future outlook: The introduction of computer-aided manufacturing into the construction industry presents an immediacy of product with exciting potential for its capacity to build large-scale projects both efficiently and quickly. This could return the Architect to a more direct relationship to the built environment, via the computer. The use of a technology usually more available to mechanical engineer or machinist is utilized as a tool to help advance the use of materials and to introduce new materials when their suitability to these expanded manufacturing methods becomes evident. This strategy translates to the construction process through changes in scale and provides relative independence from limitations imposed on design by contractors and others while allowing "rapid feedback" from engineers and craftsmen. By exploring CNC milling and its potential as a tool, we can consider the division of manual and mental labor. By moving forward with a technology which has widened that separation, we can explore possibilities of bridging the connection between the physical and the imaginable.