Jacal Digital

> Jacal Wall

2009-04-04T23:08:00.000-07:00

Thought I would revisit some ideas I've had since the Jacal project. This is a version of Jacal Digital as a wall unit. Instead of creating the total enclosure, what if the hybrid earth wall fit into a simple box earth house? This design embeds seating, shading and storage into one wall surface.

>Jacal Physical

2008-01-09T08:51:00.000-08:00

Full Scale. The above process is a full scale iteration of the confessional. The form is very nice yet the top seems unresolved still. Staking it to the ground is much more effective and elegant then the former base idea. Unfortunately the material is not quite stiff enough to hold a human figure. Perhaps with the mud plaster the form will be stiff enough to accept a seated person. Despite the flimsiness of the final, the form holds the body really well. Mud anyone?

>Jacal Final

2007-12-16T15:35:00.001-08:00

The final form, with thinner pieces and more regulated structure, is produced using .08 PETFG plastic sheets. Four sheets were used to mill the final pieces. Two passes, the hole pass and the contour pass, were used for each sheet. The final pieces were milled with almost not production problems, the lessons learned from the half scale model proved valuable. Within the next day or so the final form will be pinned and constructed.

>Sub-structure acrylic

2007-12-04T15:10:00.000-08:00

Above demonstrates at full scale integrating the weave into the super structure. The dimensions of the members are from the rhino model and show spacing currently used in the digital model. By notching the superstructure, thinner strips of acrylic could be introduced accurately and seamlessly. the scale of these notches is too bulky however. Also, there needs to be the same number of horizontal notches, as vertical notches-the striped member doesn't follow the weave logic due to the 3x4 arrangement. Is this dense enough to accept mud plaster? The spacing of the thin members leaves about a 1"x.75" gap. On the final I will use a 4x4 notch scheme with a much shallower notch, perhaps half of what is shown, allowing for the desired weave.

>Sub-structure

2007-12-03T09:10:00.001-08:00

Two weaving approaches were taken-weave within the grid and weave within the wing nut points. There seems to be more logic and dependability from weaving within the grid. I would like to try a notched scheme that would allow the fishing line to become more integrated to the members.

>Forgive me Father for I have THINNED

2007-11-20T13:58:00.000-08:00

Above demonstrates a rendered version of the jacal with slimmer members and more of them. Also the top conditions becomes more resolved. Instead of a thick defined end to the form, the plastic pieces will be revealed to carry the eye upward, blurring the boundary between mud, plastic, and sky.

>forgive me father for I have deSIgNNED

2007-10-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

Half scale. At this telling scale I really got a grasp on how to achieve the final scale. Using the router produced many problems such as laminating the acrylic to osb for backing. In hindsight, laminating the plastic to MDF will produce a more reliable finished product. Using the cheap osb created many warps and caused chips and breaks in the pieces. Also, acrylic is somewhat brittle. After discovering polycarbonate, I believe this is a more suited material. Polycarbonate has a higher rubber content and is far more flexible. However despite the problems the form comes across quite seductively.

>Confess: Iteration 2

2007-10-09T13:34:00.000-07:00

Above demonstrates a practical application of the pinned tensioned tectonic. Chip board was used for economic reasons. However, acrylic or plexi glass will be experimented with next. Even with chip board, the pinned form comes forth from the intersections. This shows that the idea is practical. The scale of the connectors is way too large and are perhaps close to the scale of the final pins. I think a 6"=1' scale model could be next. This would allow a proper experimentation with plastic and the use of the CNC. Since the upper most members are so delicate (.5" at full scale) working in model form is difficult.Also, the secondary layer of the woven string can be applied at the next scale.

>Confess: Iteration 2

2007-10-07T10:47:00.000-07:00

Applying the technique used in the structural experiment-woven uv grid, allows for the development of a more complex form. The idea of the screen and two seats becomes the formal expression of the confessional. As seen in the plan (bottom) the form creates an entrance into the cocoon like volume, the break in the form also peels the corner in to create the dividing screen. Mud would be applied to the exterior, and the structure and woven materials would be exposed on the entrance flap to create the privacy screen-dense for sight, but allowing sound to pass.

The bottom most structural diagram describes lofting between uv curves-hugging the form more then the extruded idea. Not sure which is the most effective.

>Structure: Tangential Grid

2007-10-05T10:30:00.001-07:00

An experiment. Take a doubley curved object, regulate the uv curves, then create developable surfaces from the controlled moments. Because they are tangent, once the moments are pinned, the material will begin to fold and curve based on the pins. Thus, a flat woven structure can be used as an alternative to a grid structure.

>Confess: Iteration 1

2007-09-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

Confession+Catholicism yields the 1500 year old tradition of the confessional. A spacial artifact that holds the confessor and priest. A confessional can be as simple as a screen dividing a room, or as ornate as a carved Gothic example. From these two extremes yields the above process.

In plan(top) two spaces are wrapped by the surface. A priestly space which has a more direct entrance and a confession space that pulls you in more slowly, allowing a transition between the exterior and interior. The form also shades the tops of the two zones-allowing a greater sense of privacy, and buffering sound.

The screen is located in the middle of the two spaces. It follows the form yet reveals the woven structure.

Furniture could be incorporated into the form, however to keep the form a developable surface, furniture could be incorporated separately.

>Form:Roof Iteration 2

2007-09-20T16:03:00.001-07:00

This iteration represents a condition where the Jacal would be a suspended entity-defining the character of the space. After several refinements I developed the above attempt to utilize a prefab steel building system as the superstructure which the woven mud could be hung. The large occulus breaks the glass cover while the wind chutes are designed below the enclosure.

>Form:San Isidro as Departure

2007-09-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

San Isidro church is an abandoned ruin in the city of Antonito, CO. Built in1932, San Isidro is an interesting case where form can be influenced by the function of the church. this roof structure scheme creates an occulus that corresponds to the sun angles in the area. The wind scoops on the westerly side catch the prevailing winds to provide ventilation to the church. the hyperbolic vault is a visual reference to the gable roof that once sat on the structure-it is also a very structural roof system.

>Weaving:Sketch model 3

2007-09-14T08:49:00.000-07:00

The above attempts take the previous sketch to the next level-a more ruled surface and structure. However, I recognize some inaccuracies in the unrollsrf command in Rhino. The end result is very interesting, yet it is not the expected result. Compared to the Rhino generated surface the above differs in curvature. Noticing these differences, should I continue with the above, finishing the weave. Or, leave the above as is and investigate better fabrication techniques?

>Weaving:Sketch model 2

2007-09-13T12:05:00.000-07:00

The above begins to take the last sketch to the next level. A weave is nothing if the defined points are not accurate. Much like a loom, I tried to fix known intersection to then weave between. Though the surface is simple and the points of control few, this begins to address the accurate process for weaving a surface. The unroll command is not successful for point defining because it lays flat all points, thus connecting the points only creates a flat weave. Yet, when specific strips are split and unrolled individually from a surface, then the surface can take shape. The next sketch will address multiple control points, and a woven intervention between the control points.

>Weaving:Sketch model 1

2007-09-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

The above photos represent a sketch attempt at digitally generated weaving. From a surface in Rhino, I adjusted the U/V curves to striate the surface into two stripped files. Then, through the UnRoll command i created two templates-one for horizontal weaving and one for vertical weaving. Learning from the Native American basket techniques I tried to create thicker vertical bands and more slender and flexible horizontal bands. After a few passes at weaving the two together i realized that chipboard is not the best material. Also, I'm wrestling with how the surface's undulations will be registered....how will the weave pull in and out as a surface does?

>Rapid Prototypes: Dr.Behrokh Khoshnevis

2007-09-07T08:29:00.000-07:00

Dr.Behrokh Khoshnevis' research centers around the use of countour crafting.A process which can rapidly create a building through a robotic layering process. Many advantages are found with this process especially in relief situtions where large scale rebuiding is needed. In more recent studyies Dr.Khoshnevis has experimented with the layering of cermics, much like that of a pot.

>Weaving:Takeo Tanabe

2007-09-06T13:30:00.000-07:00

Takeo Tanabe is an amazing bamboo weaving artist from Japan. He was educated Osaka and Tokyo where he graduated with a degree in sculpture. As a fourth generation weaver he carries with him a long history of intrinsic techniques-allowing him to formaly push the limits of hand weaving.

>Weaving:Yurt Dwelling

2007-09-06T13:26:00.000-07:00

The Yurt is a common domical dwelling found throughout Northern Afghanistan and also in the Pamir Mountains. The dwelling is a simple one room space but the construction is a fairly sophisticated process. The Yurt is consisted of a lattice wall system fram that can expand and contract due to the pinned lattice work. A roof system of willow wood is also pinned to the frame and the whole structure is then finished with a covering of felt, ropes and woven reed. The above examples are but two styles of Yurts, whose forms vary slightly by tribe.

>Weaving:Yurok Native American Tribe

2007-09-06T12:42:00.000-07:00

coiling

twining

plaiting

Yurok Pot

warp/weft chart

The above diagram quickly demonstrates the array of materials and strategies that one tribe, the Yurok located in the northern Californian Mountains, uses for its basket design strategies. There are hundreds of Native American tribes, each with their own culture that shapes the nature of their basket weaving. However some general parallels can be made-each tribe utilizes some form of warp and weft weaving. More specifically coiling, twining, and plaiting are common, time tested techniques. The specific materials may change from tribe to tribe but the concepts remain the same. For example, finer grasses are woven for more water tight baskets and beefier material for more structural pots.

>Ceramic:Pottery of Islamic Cultures

2007-09-06T09:23:00.000-07:00

Ceramic are a ubiquitous reality to almost every major cultural society since the dawn of time-from native Americans to ancient Greeks. Yet, by the very nature of Islamic culture the examples and breadth of pottery is overwhelming. Due to the religious view on imagery, Islamic pottery becomes a skilled experimentation in graphics and to some extent form. Also, the prevalence of earth architecture in these societies also makes the above examples interesting.

The basic curvilinear forms taken by these pieces begin to speak to the structural and production realties of using earth. Since the above examples are the result of hand crafting, molding and shaping becomes a free form act. Also, basic physics informs us that a curved surface is more structural then a flat surface. Hence, the structural logic of an egg-and how egg like many pottery becomes. This must be an excepted form due to its strength from repeated inherent cultural knowledge.

From a process stand point, many Islamic pots were fired, then glazed. A logical process to strengthen the pots. Also, the above examples reveal the innovation of mold use to heighten the production of some pots.

>Ceramic:Full Scale Dwelling

2007-09-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

“Now the time has come to create a new scale in the ceramic world, to walk out from the womb of a pot to the space of a room.”-Nader Khalili

Using traditional Islamic glazing and firing as a departure point, Nader and his collegues sought to create a full scale ceramic architecture. From the cultural use of ceramic tiles for flooring and wall material, ceramic for wash basins and water closets Nader actually created an entire system that contained many of these systems built into the ceramic architectural form.
From the conception of the full scale ceramic house came the execution. After learning from local (Iranian) artisans, Nader perfected the glazing strategy to be used-even using the pesticide sprayers ubiquitous to the farming region for the glaze spray guns. After glazing, then the entire structure was used as a kiln, firing itself. On one occasion Nader used a single firing, a process to set the glaze and ceramic. But, the most effective results were obtained in the usual two fire system. the first firing known as the bisque, lasted for 24 hours. The second firing to set the glaze lasted for 12 hours.
While somewhat limited, Nader's experiment raises excellent notions of scale and the use of traditional techniques in earth architecture.

>Adobe

2007-08-30T22:08:00.001-07:00

Nader Khalili defines Adobe as "a sun dried construction block made of earth-clay and sand; the essential building block of many earth structures. This material is common in arid climates particularly in the South-West of North America and in the Middle East. Specific examples can be found in Taos Pueblo, New Mexico and Boshrouyeh, Iran. The process is relatively simple- simply experiment with the native soils to determine the appropriate mixture of clay and sand. Make several test blocks, if the mixture contains too much clay it will be full of cracks. If the mixture has too much sand it will crumble easily. US building codes call for blocks with no less the 25% clay and no more than 45% clay. Straw is also incorporated into mixtures for obvious reasons of structural integrity. I can begin to see a possible relationship betweent the use of straw in Adobe, and the use of lattice works in other mud architectures.

Geltaftan (fired-earth) differs from Adobe due to its higher clay content. It is also purer then adobe containing less rocks and debris.

>Bahareque

2007-08-30T21:44:00.000-07:00

"To make a bahareque house, the four main posts called horcones are put up. At the top they are connected by roof beams called vigas. Then a lattice work of woven wood is made that reaches from floor to roof beams, but this does not support the roof. This lattice work forms the wall that is filled with mud. Then the women finish it off with repello -- layers of yellow and white mud that look like white washing. Every month the women do minor repairs to the repello to keep the house looking nice"-exerpt from here.

Bahareque is the South American and Latin American example of a mud and woven lattice work architecture. The above examples demonstrate the woven lattice work, mud filled lattice, and finished exterior of a typical bahareque process.

>Quincha and Pau-a-Pique

2007-08-27T09:48:00.000-07:00

Quincha, is a Spanish form of Wattle and Daub-notable for its reduced weight which allows for greater structural flexibility. The innovation of Quincha was in response to an earthquake which shook the city of Lima in 1687. The new and improved Wattle and Daub system consisted of cane or giant reed and made the structures much more impervious the the deformations caused by earthquakes. The Spanish and Portuguese societies used essentially the same system yet the Portuguese term is called Pau-a-Pique.

>Wattle and Daub

2007-08-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

Wattle and Daub refers to the process of layering a mixture of sand and clay onto a woven lattice framework. The wattles being the woven frame work and the daub being the mixture applied to the surface. This form of construction is most commonly found in the formation of housing. White washing the finished surface helps protect agianst rain, and unwashed surfaces are common to arid climates such as the examples found in Catalhoyuc,Turkey. It is most common in English societies spreading throughout northern Europe with a drastic decline in production around the 18th century. This particular process also spawned the use of plaster and lathe on the interior of houses.