{"id":1682,"date":"2013-05-07T06:30:33","date_gmt":"2013-05-07T13:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/compositesandarchitecture.com\/?p=1682"},"modified":"2013-05-07T08:43:41","modified_gmt":"2013-05-07T15:43:41","slug":"strength-in-togetherness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kreysler.zaab.org\/?p=1682","title":{"rendered":"Strength in Togetherness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Justin Diles, Lefevre Fellow at the Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture at Ohio State University, recently mounted an exhibition of an innovative project, an FRP wall molded in multiple pieces of irregular, blobular forms that slide together in a way that gains structural strength while being held together only by friction.<\/p>\n

from the Ohio State University website:<\/em><\/p>\n

ABSTRACT<\/b><\/p>\n

The freestanding walls featured in the exhibition\u00a0Eigenforms<\/i>\u00a0explore how latent structural failure principles can be employed to design richly dimensional architectural surfaces and volumes. The patterning of the models specifically incorporates buckling, a mathematical instability leading to failure modes with complex sinusoidal deformations. The revolutionary Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler was the first to capture this phenomenon with an equation in 1757. With contemporary finite element method (FEM) analysis programs, structural engineers regularly use computational implementations of Euler\u2019s insights to study how structures may fail. Through his LeFevre-supported research, KSA Fellow Justin Diles has employed these same methods to determine how the signature deformations of buckling can be used to design intricate, puzzle-like tectonic assemblies. The black and white patterns of the exhibition models track the multiple failure modes\u2014referred to as\u00a0Eigenmodes<\/i>\u00a0in FEM simulation tools\u2014brought together in each study. The resulting surfaces\u2014portions of buckling modes grafted into new assemblies\u2014are held together only by friction along structural flanges and freely slide apart into individual pieces. Provisionally stable, these configurations are evocative of the instability lurking within any architectural structure.<\/p>\n

Precise fabrication procedures were required to realize the complexly-curved sinusoidal forms of the exhibition models. The components of the small models are made from 3D-printed plastic\u2014manually-finished and painted\u2014and the components of the large Eigenform wall are made from contemporary composite materials. Carbon fiber and E-glass reinforcement and high-strength epoxy resin were laid-up by hand in expanded polystyrene foam molds\u2014each individually cut with the KSA Fabrication Lab\u2019s 3-axis CNC mill\u2014to produce parts that have a tolerance of 1\/32\u201d along joining seams. White components, each produced in a single open-faced mold, are open on one side; black components, closed volumes, required two molds to produce pieces that were fused into hollow shells. The interplay of open and closed volumes within the structure highlights the multiple possible readings of the studies: closed, thick and massive versus open, laminar and light. Despite their (often) massive appearance, the individual components of the large Eigenform wall are very lightweight. The individual elements achieve exceptional strength and stiffness relative to their mass when joined in the overall assembly.<\/p>\n

PROJECT TEAM<\/b><\/p>\n

The LeFevre Fellowship is awarded annually to an architect who is just beginning to make their mark on the profession. It affords the practitioner a platform to develop their research, culminating in spring semester with a public lecture and monograph or exhibition in the Banvard Gallery.\u00a0Justin Diles<\/b><\/a>, a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, is the KSA\u2019s LeFevre Fellow in residence during the 2012-13 academic year.<\/p>\n

Eigenforms: Justin Diles
\n<\/b>Banvard Gallery \/ Knowlton Hall
\nApril 3, 2013 – 5:00pm\u00a0to\u00a0August 30, 2013 – 5:00pm<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE SHOW<\/b><\/p>\n

The KSA Banvard Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9:00AM to 5:00PM and is free and open to the public. The Gallery is located on the first floor of Knowlton Hall on the campus of The Ohio State University.<\/p>\n

images via OSU<\/a> and Justin Diles<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t