2 + 1: Heat-Formed Gridshells features a series of structures that were form found at a large scale. Our structures align with the symposium theme, “the living past as a source of innovation,” by taking inspiration from Antoni Gaudí, Heinz Isler, and others that made hanging physical models. However, while they used models to inform their full-scale works, our structures rely on hanging and inverting to create full-scale gridshells. Additionally, our work investigates how different thermoplastics such as 3D printed polylactic acid (PLA) and acrylic can be integrated into these form-finding design/fabrication methods. Heating complements hanging and inverting to temporarily reduce the stiffness of the thermoplastics to generate curved forms.
The goal of this pavilion is to demonstrate that the physical form-finding methods that have often been presented and debated at IASS symposia can integrate digital fabrication processes, use less conventional building materials, and be implemented across scales to enable designers to directly make pavilions, sculptures, or potentially formwork.
The pavilion consists of 2 gridshells made from 3D printed panels of PLA + 1 gridshell constructed from wood elements connected with acrylic plates. The two different kinds of gridshells were both created using heat-based form-finding. They are exhibited together to demonstrate the versatility of this form-finding method. Additionally, the contrast within our pavilion encourages conversations related to fabrication and material choices.
