pushPOKEpunch
M. Arch Thesis - Taubman College
Design development pre-final stage of an interlocking panel system using only 3 unique molds. Design: Kristen Gandy and Steven Scharrer Rhino Model and Drawing: Kristen Gandy Layout Design: Steven Scharrer
Material and Method testing 2: Unique Concrete Panel System Cast Surface manipulation of a flexible formwork with reconfigurable surface manipulation tools from CNC Milled wood elements. Design: Kristen Gandy and Steven Scharrer Rhino Model and mold fabrication: Kristen Gandy Concrete Casting: Kristen Gandy and Steven Scharrer
One of the 54 unique concrete cast blocks for the final thesis exhibition and project conclusion. Design: Kristen Gandy and Steven Scharrer Photo Credit: Kristen Gandy Concrete Casting and Fabrication: Kristen Gandy and Steven Scharrer
Three of the 54 unique concrete cast blocks for the final thesis exhibition and project conclusion. Design: Kristen Gandy and Steven Scharrer Photo Credit: Kristen Gandy Concrete Casting and Fabrication: Kristen Gandy and Steven Scharrer
Three of the 54 unique concrete cast blocks for the final thesis exhibition and project conclusion. Design: Kristen Gandy and Steven Scharrer Photo Credit: Kristen Gandy Concrete Casting and Fabrication: Kristen Gandy and Steven Scharrer
One of the 54 unique concrete cast blocks for the final thesis exhibition and project conclusion. Design: Kristen Gandy and Steven Scharrer Photo Credit: Kristen Gandy Concrete Casting and Fabrication: Kristen Gandy and Steven Scharrer
One of the 54 unique concrete cast blocks for the final thesis exhibition and project conclusion. Design: Kristen Gandy and Steven Scharrer Photo Credit: Kristen Gandy Concrete Casting and Fabrication: Kristen Gandy and Steven Scharrer
Two of the 54 unique concrete cast blocks for the final thesis exhibition and project conclusion. Design: Kristen Gandy and Steven Scharrer Photo Credit: Kristen Gandy Concrete Casting and Fabrication: Kristen Gandy and Steven Scharrer
One of the 54 unique concrete cast blocks for the final thesis exhibition and project conclusion. Design: Kristen Gandy and Steven Scharrer Photo Credit: Kristen Gandy Concrete Casting and Fabrication: Kristen Gandy and Steven Scharrer
See the full thesis process on issuu:
PushPokePunch leverages the properties of concrete’s fluid nature in
order to produce a negotiable boundary condition. Historically, architecture has addressed the spatial marker, or boundary, as more of a barrier. A barrier makes work of actively impeding spatial negotiation, and inhibits relationships across spatial territories. A boundary, however, has variable definitions of space. A boundary can be as thin as line on a map, as abstract as an idea, or as thick as a buttressed gate surrounding a castle. These variable definitions are seldom made manifest in a physical state.
As a matter of surface and structure, a boundary necessitates a mediation of material between solidity and porosity, a condition which can be readily addressed through use of concrete. Yet, concrete has been most often deployed in the form of impassable barrier conditions, like the mortared stacking of the Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU), for example. PushPokePunch investigates the latent physical potentials of concrete building units, like the CMU, with consideration to the fluidity of concrete. Here, the fluidity of concrete is incorporated into the unit mold, permitting a blurring between the casting process and cast outcome, producing both a double-sided unit and double-sided boundary condition.
Forming of the concrete in this way requires an unconventional method of casting. Using a spherical grid, we developed a formwork that allows for both formal variability and standardized construction. This permits a variety of formal conditions and possibilities through a singular unit mold with reliability and repeatability.
Project Team: Kristen Gandy, Steven Scharrer
Advisors: Tsz Yan Ng, Wes McGee
Deliverables:
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Two semesters of material testing and design of a concrete architectural element
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Final 1:1 scale concrete design object
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Exhibition of work and process with appropriate drawings and images
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Final presentation and review at thesis show