Projects

Timber Tectonics in the Digital Age

Aaryn Gray, Alex Hilton, Fatima Al-Shaibani, Kalei Kittleson, with instructors Nancy Cheng, Mariapaola Riggio, Isaac Martinotti, and Sujit Bhandhari

Tallwood Design Institute, Department of Architecture at the University of Oregon and the Department of Wood Science & Engineering at Oregon State University
USA

Students need to learn digital workflow and collaboration skills through practical experience on design projects. An interdisciplinary hybrid digital course, Timber Tectonic in the Digital Age, challenges students to learn parametric design, structural simulation and wood detailing by applying techniques to the design and detailing of a small structure. The Harvest Hall for the Portland Apple Festival in this video is a nomadic performance stage designed, analyzed and prototyped by four students in Master of Science in Architecture, Bachelor of Architecture, and Bachelor of Architectural Engineering programs. They negotiated design options and developed a folded plate cantilever structure. They worked out the steps for shop pre-fabrication and on-site assembly through virtual simulation and hands-construction efforts. Students learn about the context of timber construction and how to digital techniques are changing the relationship between manufacturers, designers, builders, and clients. This course is concurrently taught by Prof. Nancy Yen-wen Cheng at University of Oregon and Prof. Mariapaola Riggio at Oregon State University. (this video comes from the course analyzed in paper 386)