TRANSLUCENCE Gallery Bench

TRANSLUCENCE Gallery Bench

Victoria University of Wellington - Te Herunga Waka Hans-Christian Wilhelm

Ben Waddington - 300444816 - SARC 212 2019 Dion Andrews Graeme Crawley Phil Nelson Steven Almond Coastal Fasteners Wellington City Timbers Ltd PSP Limited

TRANSLUCENCE The big bench exhibition asked students to design a bench which could connect to other students work to fill the faculty of architecture and design’s

atrium with seating. Translucence adopted a friction fit plywood structure similar to the ribbed structure of a yacht and covered this with a skin made from twin wall polycarbonate. The design intent was to be lightweight and to express a warm structure through the surface of the seat.

The concept of flat pack furniture was adopted to provide more efficient options for storage and transportation and was produced with digital fabrication and engineered materials. This streamlined the process from design to production, with benefits including reduced waste, reduced production time, increased profits, and accurate replication of production processes.

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1. All timber components for the two benches were milled from one standard sheet of 18mm Meranti plywood.

2, 3, 4. The nested components are sawn free and then sanded, cutting through the tabs left by the CNC router.

5, 6. Both benches are assembled without the bottom chords installed.

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7, 8. An offcut was then tested on the CNC to determine fitment tollerances and cut finish.

9. Two twin wall polycarbonate covers are cut from a single standard sheet, requiring two opposing cut paths at high speed.

10, 11, 12. The covers are cut free, and grooves are cut at the bends, allowing a test fit.

13, 14. The bottom cords require all components to be plumb and correctly positioned so that threaded inserts can be accurately installed.

15. The final assembly, with the covers still protected.

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