materials and methods of construction
Arch 266 - University of Idaho
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Students learn the capabilities of metal and wood through direct engagement in a project that tasks them with the creation of a full-scale prototype “machine”. Successful designs demonstrate an understanding of how detailing of connections (both fixed and operable) between parts affect performance, durability and aesthetics.
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A common method of verifying concrete strength, the test cube, is reimagined as a hands-on exploration of its formal, compositional, and expressive qualities.
Students are tasked with creating three 4” x 4” x 4” cubes, each with different objectives, ranging from lightest weight, smoothest surface, and expression of casting mould material and assembly.
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This project is an effort to get students to see materials as a means of producing an effect, balanced against the technical requirement of structural integrity.
They are tasked with manipulating a threshold of light as it passes through a self supporting structure. Initially designed with wood as the primary material, more recent project iterations have used paper as the sole building material. in this way, the structural and formal choices made better inform limitations on how light will be filter, directed, captured, focused, and/ or diffused light to the desired effect.
The final designs are then combined into a single display the students can reference to inspire their other coursework.