Reconfigurable Modular System

EMERGENT TECHNOLOGIES & DESIGN CORE STUDIO I DOCUMENTATION

RECONFIGURABLE MODULAR SYSTEM

Directors: Michael Weinstock, George Jeronimidis Studio Master: Evan Greenberg Master Tutors : Manja VandeWorp, Elif Erdine Design Team : Anna Barros, Jose Cherem Julia Hajnal, Sharath Gavini

ABSTRACT

This project aims to design and develop a material system at an architectural scale in which the design process is deeply informed by an understanding of the mechanical, physical, and chemical properties of wood. For the initial geometrical experiments wood veneer laminated with waterproof tape was used to develop a hydromorphic system that took advantage of wood’s hygroscopic nature. Due to of a lack of control over the performance of our composite material as well as a limit in terms of scalability, we did not achieve the expected results. The project turned its focus to the design and prototyping of a new material system that could translate the behaviour of the previously developed laminate material into the architectural scale.

At the same time it aimed to design a geometrical system that could achieve various stable configurations and alternate between them using local, punctual actuators.

Digital and physical testing of these two routes led to the design of a new component that uses plywood’s elastic property to gain rigidity while maintaining a relatively low weight.

Each component has a square boundary that approximates a hyperbolic paraboloid so that by joining nine of them in a three by three grid they generate a region that also approximates a hyperbolic surface. Control over the stiffness and curvature in a given region is obtained by variation in the amount of rotation within each component conforming it. The global geometry is generated through the addition of multiple regions populating a given square grid. The design of the component was optimized through a number of physical and digital tests from which three variations of the component were selected with low, medium, and high torsion (15°, 30°, and 45° degrees of rotation respectively). The modular nature of the system allows for reconfigurability at a local scale as a response to changes of the support and load conditions at a global scale, making it a versatile system capable of adapting to varying programmatic needs. Designing a jointing solution and a fabrication process that allowed reconfigurability was key to the development of the system.

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INDEX

06

INTRODUCTION

09

RESEARCH STRATEGY

11

RESEARCH | Material System

12

MATERIAL SYSTEM | Experiment I

15

MATERIAL SYSTEM | Experiment II

19

COMPONENT

20

COMPONENT | Experiment I

22

COMPONENT | Final Design

25

SYSTEM AGGREGATION

26 27 28 31 32 34 36 39

AGGREGATION | Regional Variation

AGGREGATION | Configurations JOINT SYSTEM JOINT | Experiment I FABRICATION PROCESS CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY

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AGGREGATION | Possibilities

5

INTRODUCTION

Every material has embedded within it a set of physical, chemical and mechanic properties that define it. Understanding these and using them to inform the development of a system makes the design process organic and at the same time highly methodical. The outcome of this process is an expression of the material itself.

This project focuses on wood’s hygroscopic and orthotropic properties but also takes advantage of its fibre composition and flexibility, which allows it to store elastic energy. A number of material experiments were performed, mostly dealing with the lamination of wood veneer with a non-hygroscopic material (waterproof tape) and subjecting it to drastic changes in relative humidity to cause a deformation due to differential expansion within the orthotropic laminate material. After conclusion from those experiments, the projects focus divided in two. On one hand, it was aimed at the development of a material system that could translate the behaviour of the previously developed laminate material into the architectural scale. On the other, it was aimed at the design of a geometrical system that could achieve various stable configurations and alternate between them using local, punctual actuators.

This led to the development of a new component that could take advantage of other material properties of wood such as fibre directionality and flexibility.

For the following experiments plywood was used as a material system. Because of the way in which it is constructed, with layers of veneer that alternate the direction of their grain, plywood is flexible in both of its axis allowing it to take torsion and store elastic energy. Using these properties as design drivers, a new component capable of storing elastic energy within it was developed.

The design and prototyping of various jointing solutions and fabrication strategies that would facilitate the assembly and disassembly processes was key for the development of the project in order to achieve a system capable of global adaptation through local reconfiguration.

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RESEARCH STRATEGY

MATERIAL SYSTEM

MATERIAL LOGIC

RESPONSIVE SYSTEM

FORM FINDING COMPONENT BASED SYSTEM

Hydromorphic response Activators

Possible reconfiguration

LOCAL EXPERIMENTS ON COMPONENT

GLOBAL GEOMETRY

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Timber tests to achieve curvature

9

RESEARCH | MATERIAL SYSTEM The investigation of the behaviour of wood for a material system began exploring wood veneer components and the expansion after changes in relative humidity. The arrangement consists on concentric rings to gain more height after displacement.

Initial position

Initial position

Final position

Final position

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Polar arrangement

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MATERIAL SYSTEM | EXPERIMENT I The first layer of components was built using polypropylene, to be easily dislocated when the system is activated. The inner layer is composed of almonds bilayer components, using wood veneer and gorilla waterproof tape. The arrangement has half of the almonds with the hydrophobic layer in the inside, and half on the outside, thus the behaviour of wood veneer goes according to the fibre directions. Therefore, we can take advantage of this behaviour to improve the system’s performance.

Top view - Model with 3/15 activators

Top view - Model with 15 activators

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Top view - Model with 15 activators

Side view +RH - Model with 3/15 activators

Side view +RH - Model with 15 activators

EXPERIMENT RESULTS After testing our hypothesis through digital and physical models, we concluded that wood veneer, being an anisotropic material, did not provide the level of precision and control that the system required to perform. Another major drawback of veneer is its limit in terms of scalability since it becomes considerably less rigid as it becomes larger and there is a commercial availability limit of around 250mm on the edge transversal to the fibres.

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Top view - Model with 3/15 activators

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EXPERIMENT II | MATERIAL SYSTEM

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The second experiment was developed in order to translate the material system into the architectural scale. The objective was to explore a material that could achieve stable configurations within a geometrical system.

15

MATERIAL SYSTEM | EXPERIMENT II The hypothesis for this experiment was that by embedding strips of timber into a pattern of grooves milled in the plywood, we could achieve a hydromorphic material that is scalable, capable of bearing loads, and that allows control over the pattern in which the active material is embedded and therefore control over the direction and amount of curvature. The diagrams show the proportion between length and width and the alterations after changes in relative humidity.

20 cm

20 cm

20 cm

40 cm

20 cm

60 cm

20 cm

80 cm

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EXPERIMENT RESULTS From a number of material experiments it’s concluded that due to manufacturing imprecisions and a lack of control over the properties of the utilized timber, it was not possible to achieve the amount of curvature required for the development of a hydromorphic material system at an architectural scale.

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DEFORMATION TABLE

17

COMPONENT The results and conclusions taken from the previous experiments helped to define a new component using plywood and could take advantage of other material properties such as fibre directionally and flexibly.

Pre-stressed strip

30cm

30cm

3cm

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Defined angle

19

COMPONENT | EXPERIMENT I After testing a bilayer logic to scale our system, further experiments were made on materials. The objective of this experiment was to understand the limitations and behaviour of plywood, in terms of deformations when forces applied.

This experiment shows how manipulating the relation of width and length of the strips and perpendicular wood grain direction, it formed a unique bending behaviour which was tested on the component.

curvature angle 5째

curvature angle 16째

curvature angle 35째

curvature angle 45째 20 RECONFIGURABLE MODULAR SYSTEM

angle of twisting 4째

angle of twisting 9째

angle of twisting 19째

EXPERIMENT RESULTS The experiment of twisted elements provided an interesting curvature within the component and a wide of range of possible configurations and aggregation.

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angle of twisting 16째

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COMPONENT | FINAL DESIGN After implementing the results from the experiments, the final design for the component was defined, with three variations as shown.

1

2 x

Initial geometry with zero degree of rotation.

3 The central element are re-shaped to meet each other. A simple slot makes them lock in position and store the elastic energy from the rotation, adding stiffness to the component.

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Rotation of the upper strip along the component’s central axis to the predetermined angle (x).

Central elements get separated and elastic energy tries to reverse the rotation.

4 Geometrical optimization of central elements.

Component variation; 0°, 15°, 30° and 45°

COMPONENT| FIBRE DIRECTIONALITY

15° 30° 45° component angle and grain direction

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The final configuration of the component’s strips were fabricated relating the inner angle of the component and the direction of the grain of plywood. By this technique, we increase the element’s flexibility and torsion.

23

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By joining nine components in a three by three grid we obtain a region, the smallest possible configuration in which all conditions are present (central, edge, and corner). Control over the stiffness and curvature in a given region is obtained by variation in the amount of rotation in each component conforming it. The resulting geometry always approximates a hyperbolic paraboloid. The global geometry is generated through the addition of multiple regions populating a given square grid. To define which region to use for each cell on the global grid, structural analysis is performed on a hyperbolic surface with specific anchor points and loads. The data obtained is used to inform the populating of regions for that given global configuration.

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SYSTEM AGGREGATION

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AGGREGATION | REGIONAL VARIATION Throughout the assembly process, each component has to travel a specific distance to meet with its adjacent components. This distance is directly related to the amount of elastic energy that gets stored within the system, which adds rigidity to the structure but can make it fail if it exceeds the material limit of plywood. In order to understand how much this distance varies with each combination of components, all possible combinations were mapped. From this analysis together with material tests it was deduced that a 45° component cannot meet another one of its type since the torsion generated causes the material to fail. In order to ensure that this rule was kept throughout the global aggregation, 45° angled components were only positioned at the centre of each region. ab c de f

45° a: 45° - 45° = 191mm b: 45° - 30° = 163mm c: 45° - 15° = 130mm

30°

15°

d: 30° - 30° = 135mm e: 30° - 15° = 102mm f: 15° - 15° = 70mm

Surface approximation - 0° Components

Surface approximation - 15°

Surface approximation - 30°

Surface approximation - 45°

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POSSIBILITIES | AGGREGATION

15°

a

15°

30°

30° d

30°

45°

30° b

30°

30°

15° c

a+b+c+d=torsion value

30°

45°

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In order to avoid having two adjacent 45 ° components, they were only positioned in the centre of each region. Parting from that rule, all possible regional combinations were digitally generated. From each one, a torsion value was extracted by adding all of the distances that each component must travel within each region. This value is then used to define the selection of a region for a given position on global configuration. After establishing these rules, the possible aggregation within this system are shown below.

27

AGGREGATION | CONFIGURATIONS Three possible configurations with different anchor and load conditions were explored digitally and one of them was physically prototyped. A method for poststressing the system by punctual deformations using a belt mechanism in order to add local rigidity was also explored.

CANTILEVER

Low stress region High stress region

Top 30˚

15˚

15˚

15˚

45˚

15˚

15˚

15˚

30˚ 125.8 Torsion value (Lowest)

15˚

30˚

30˚

30˚

45˚

30˚

30˚

30˚

15˚ 182.9 Torsion value (Highest)

Post-tensioning 28 RECONFIGURABLE MODULAR SYSTEM

Top

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WALL

Top

CANOPY

29

Global Curvature

Max. buckling

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JOINT SYSTEM

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Each component has an amount of torsion applied by rotating one of its ends in relation to the other, giving its stiffness. In order to connect these pieces the joints need to allow some displacement and tolerance for the naked edges to meet.

Additionally, they are responsible for generating the bending and twisting when the components are put together. This configuration generates a virtual hyperbolic paraboloid.

The next experiments show studies to find the appropriate solution to the system.

31

JOINT | EXPERIMENT I

Laborious assembly Cotton

Too much tolerance Cotton

No Tolerance Piano hinge 32 RECONFIGURABLE MODULAR SYSTEM

JOINT SOLUTION

4.2cm

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4.2cm

The solution that showed itself to be efficient was using polypropylene connections and plastic screws in order to decrease the friction between the plywood components and give the needed tolerance and result.

33

FABRICATION PROCESS For the final prototype it was used 1.6mm plywood, 10mm polypropylene on the joints and plastic screws connecting the components.

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CONCLUSION

The system developed opens itself to a wide range of possibilities in terms of function and organization. Although some of these options have already been explored through digital models and physical prototypes, there are still many possibilities left unexplored.

Even though the 45째 component could handle the amount of torsion when isolated, after aggregating it with more components the torsion added by the fabrication process caused it to fail.

Therefore, the three variations of the component (15째, 30째, and 45째) should be re-considered.

Further testing is needed focused at the post-tensioning of the system by punctual deformations. It is possible that the tension added by these deformations might be enough to replace the differential tensioning by component variation. This would mean having only one component type populating the grid and using the stress data from the structural analysis to apply local deformations along the surface and achieve differential rigidity.

The jointing solution used for the connection between components allows for a pre-assembly of every component off-site and the relatively quick assembly of the entire system in site. It also allows for the pre-assembly of regions that can accommodate their size to the transportation constraints of every particular case. Polypropylene was used for these joints on the latest prototype because of its ability to take some of the torsion applied on each component during the assembly process and because contrary to the fabric joints explored, it allows the aforementioned reconfigurability.

Other materials such as thin sheet metal could be explored as a more stable and permanent solution since the polypropylene joints were allowing too much deformation, causing the system to lose some stiffness.

Boundary conditions and supports for different configurations must be designed and prototyped.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Occupying and connecting : thoughts on territories and spheres of influence with particular reference to human settlement / Otto, Frei, 1925-2015

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Smart architecture / Hinte, Ed van, 1951

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EMERGENT TECHNOLOGIES & DESIGN