Class Brief

By hybridizing traditional formwork methods with digital fabrication techniques, we will design systems which move beyond the repetition inherent in casting. Our software tools will include Rhino, Rhinoscript and Grasshopper, Solidworks and Mastercam. We will use the full range of digital fabrication tools at GSAPP including the 3axis mill, vacuformer and rotational molder and 3d printers. We will learn and use silicone casting methods.

This semester's class will begin to form a basis of research and ideas for a possible design/build at the Malawi Academy in Lilongwe, Malawi, Africa.

The brief is to design a brick folly which becomes part of the Malawi Academy’s “educational landscape”. The “folly” will be made of compressed earth bricks or concrete bricks. Its size will correspond approximately to a large playground structure.

Light is your medium to manipulate. How can you use the sun to teach? How will your folly use sunlight to create an architectural/educational narrative?

Surface, structure, porosity and performance of the brick system are your main tools. The overall focus is systemic: we will be designing the components that become a flexible building system.