STA’s Josh Castellano and teammates Cameron Chateauneuf and Andrae Ferguson completed a temporary transformation of The Boston Architectural College’s 320 Newbury Street building vestibule. The project was part of a semester long workshop “Material :: Digital” that explored the techniques, technology, and discourse to understand common methods of contemporary digital fabrication. The course investigated three major methodologies: sectioning, folding and contouring. Constraints of digital fabrication technology and equipment offered the potential to work at a human scale, constructing spatial elements that easily relate to the body.
For this vestibule transformation, The BAC’s laser cutter was the primary tool used in fabrication. Other essential technologies, like software was used. The process is outlined below.
- Design constraints, such as existing conditions, were documented and entered into Rhino3D.
- Design of paneling system was created in Rhino3D
- Grasshopper definitions (scripts) were developed to create individual triangle panels that included armature mechanism, such as folding tabs, and a numbering system.
- Panels were cut out of Bistrol paper using the BAC’s laser cutter. Total cut time was 10 hours.
- A non-invasive armature structure was created using PVC pipes, screw hooks and fishing line.
- Triangle panels were hung from this structure. Total installation time was 4 hours.
The outcome of the installation transforms the user’s experience of the space and allows people to have a different interaction with the entrance. Visitors notice the space well before they enter it — as the suspended system is visible from the outside, thus the transformation makes the entrance more inviting.
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