OUTCOMES
Central to my belief in the architecture profession is the role of exploration, risk and craft - essentially "questions" and "potentiality".  My passion for change, emerging technology and the environment means exploration is not only continual, it is necessary.​


June A Grant, Principal

Organized as a column composed of two hemispherical bookshelves. By using a repetition of very radial arms and notched spines, the structure is built by hand.  One important goal, was that the final product should maintain a sense of elegance despite being made by a adhoc team of volunteers. 
 
Complexity and connection details should not detract from the end result.  This was important because we wanted to show that “hand-made” does not have to mean “under-considered”.  It was critical that each shelf sat snugly into each spine to create a perfect 't".
 
The desire was to create a piece with continuous reading.  Where the density of books at the base is contrasted by the photo canopy above. This idea of continuous flow and variation is central to our current thoughts​.

!LABnotes 2 - Geometry Portal

!LABnotes 1 - Paramatric Modeling

PROTOTYPING IN THE DESIGN STUDIO

Traditional design methods require pages of drawings handed over to shop fabricators for bid, followed by shop drawing review and approval and finally construction where yet still designers field questions though-out.  All of this increases the cost of a project and increases the chance of error. The flexibility to respond quickly on short notice truly reflects the positive benefits of Digital Craft and our ability to provide an economical and attractive bespoke solution. 

These events and self-directed projects allow exploration at a low cost but yield high returns on increased in-house expertise.  blink!LAB’s commitment to digital-craft is a direct lineage from the NASA Ames and GE projects where the digital design files were sent directly to the fabricator. During the GE project, there was only one intermediate step (shop drawing review) between design and fabrication.  The Street Corner Library and last year's Geometry Portal required no intermediate steps. In both, the cnc and laser cutters as well as the pipe forms were numerically-controlled, increasing precision that is typically uncertain with traditionally built projects.​​​

DESIGN-BUILD PROJECTS EXPLORE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN ORDER TO ARRIVE AT BESPOKE OR LOWER COST SOLUTIONS.


From light fixtures to book shelves, we have demonstrated the advantages of designig with code. Projects in the !LAB:  

  1. REFLECT MULTIPLICITY
  2. EXPLORE MATERIALITY
  3. FOCUS ON CRAFTSMANSHIP 
  4. OPERATE IN PRODUCTIVE COLLABORATION 
  5. ARRIVE AT A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE

The !LAB is where we  DISCOVER, PLAN, BUILD, REVIEW, repeat.

DIGITAL CRAFT + ASSEMBLY
Design Tools:  Grasshopper3D, Rhino3d, CNC Machine 

Focus: A framework and algorithm that simplifies assembly and proves contemporary design methods can be economically achieved. 

Result: A clear functional method requiring minimal skills. 
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MATERIALS + ASSEMBLY   
 
The Hoover Durant History Tower is an exploration in digital craft and public education.  Each tower is cut from 6 sheets of 3/4" plywood. By employing perpendicular finger notches, the parts achieve greater structural rigidity, as well as, generates the an image of a crated tower.  
 
The perfectly cut sheets form a tapered profile. Structurally this allowed the tower to have the greatest amount of material towards the base/ground for strength and stiffness and the least at the top. Each of the 11 unique pieces were based on an algorithm and CNC cut on a full-size bed
HOOVER DURANT STREET CORNER LIBRARY 
Architecture: blink!LAB architecture
Fabrication: blink!LAB architecture, Oakology

BUILD TEAM
June Grant, blink!LAB architecture
Residents of Hoover Foster, Oakland

CONSTRUCTION DETAILS
Material $500
Machining $545
Design & Model – 20 hours

Installation - 1 hour

CNC Machine - Shopbot

HOOVER DURANT - STREET CORNER LIBRARY 

The Photo History Canopy is system of simple plastic pipes corners and 3D-Printed C-clamps.  The location of intermediate pipes and connections were parametrically determined to control and maintain the desired curvature and tension. Real-world construction typically requires prior knowledge and skills.  However by pre-numbering each banner and pipe chord, children will be able to sequentially connect and assemble each piece in its required location.  To further assist our participants a large color-coded graphic layout will be provided.

!LABnotes 3

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