A bit about the project before I let you loose on the pics. The purpose of the project was to design an "outdoor cafe" under 500 sq ft which can be constructed through pre-fabrication methods, primarily by using a CNC router. The whole point of the design computing course, however is to teach how to effectively communicate design ideas through use of AutoCAD and 3Ds Max as well as rapid prototyping methods, such as laser cutting and 3D printing. So now some pics...
Some renderings primarily of the outside of the cafe. The outer decoration serves as a "rain screen" which protects the outer wall from weathering and creates a pressure differential to promote evaporation. The series of windows that frame the front walls are fold-able doors which can be collapsed to completely open up the two walls to the outside.
Now, a quick snapshot of the 1/6 scale model I took before our review. On top of the model are two other models. On the left there is a model of my first design of the rainscreen, which I ultimately changed the design of to the array of rectangles because the lattice of undulating triangles proved too much of a headache to apply to the larger model and it didn't flow with the rest of the building design. The model on the right is a 3D print of an earlier iteration which proved to be far too heavy and did not really foster the "outdoor" criteria of the project. Nevertheless, it did print well and I kept all the inside detail identical between these two iterations. The pieces for the large and the rain screen model were both cut with a laser cutter.
A closer look at the 3D Print:
If you would like to see how a 3D printer works, check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7h09dTVkdw
Likewise for a laser cutter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MAd0WLRuUg
Labels: architecture, MIT, models, projects
