FABRI-CATION SAMPLES

Kris Walters jr.

Minimal Surface Building Unit

The project examines the potential variation and conservation that can be embedded within four masonry units.

Formally, we begin with the P-Schwarz Infinite Period Minimal Surface, which makes up the base module. Three variations are derived formally from this in which the aperture increases in diameter.

With four molds, eight different modules can be assembled, which are then able to interact with each other establishing a building system capable of a range of variability. Such variability could be in response to structure, optical qualities, solar orientation, or program.

The material volume to spatial volume is quite low resulting in less material usage. Additionally, by reducing the module to a simplified part, shipping of the parts becomes more efficient as the parts can be nested and pack more densely. Upon arriving on the site, it would then be assembled into their respective module.

Instructors: Glenn Wilcox Team Members: Gavet Douangvichit, John Puff, Kris Walters jr.

2009

Large Format Additive Fabrication

While digital design tools available to architects continue to expand, allowing them to create complex forms, the ability to fabricate such forms in large scale has lingered. The aim of this project was to close that gap by removing the scale limitation of conventional 3d printers and enter into the realm of full-scale rapid prototyping.

The system developed utilizes a 6-axis robotic arm on a 30 foot track in order to control a nozzle that extrudes a quick-curing two-part polyurethane foam. In addition to the scale advantage, the system requires no secondary support structure; capable of cantilevering over a foot with virtually no deflection.

In addition to designing and fabricating the physical system, code to operate the robotic arm also had to be developed. This was achieved through the creation of a rhinoscript capable of producing kuka robot language (krl) code from 3d geometry.

Instructors: Wes McGee + Dave Pigram Project Leader: Kris Walters Additional Members: Les Key, John Puff, Jaeryong Oh, Dan Weissman2009

Project Leaders: Kris Walters, jr., Nogcthy Phan Additional Members: Rachel Piazza, Andrew Norskog, Tom Lee

2010

Reading Room Competition

The University of Michigan College of Architecture held a design competition for a new reading space for students. My teams entry won and we went on to refine and fabricate the design. The design allows for a visual distinction between University related publications from subscriptions. In addition, there are two additional levels of organization. Periodicals or books can be displayed at the top of the corian ribbons, setting itself apart from more typical magazines. The primary fabrication method employed is thermoformed corian. Mounting the ply substrate is achieved through low-profile cleats attached to the CMU wall and ply. The corian is friction-fit through the ply and proves exceptionally strong given the high tolerances we were able to achieve.

Matter Design Studio - Periscope

Periscope, designed and fabricated by Matter Design Studio, is the winning entry in the 2010 10UP! design competition. The project involved robotically swarf cutting large blocks of extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) into unique parts that when assembled formed a 45 foot tower.

In between every three coursings of foam, a wood substrate guides tension wires through the sub-assemblies. My role involved cnc routing these substrates and aiding in creating the sub-assemblies that would be shipped to the site prior to final assembly.

TheVeryMany - Sukkah City

In 2010 the annual Sukkah City design competition came to New York. TheVeryMany’s entry headed by Marc Fornes, involved thousands of unique strips of walnut veneer riveted together to make a single formal structure.

Facing an intense deadline, I took the opportunity to aid in the fabrication of the Sukkah. After a stressful week, the last of the parts made their way from Ann Arbor to Brooklyn for assembly. Unfortunately, the final assembly collapsed during transport due to the stress of the retaining straps.

2010