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In our everyday lives, we are used to the term “Standard value”. We often hear different values of this term in our daily interactions with the people around us. The most common and known place where the values of this term are seen to be used is a ‘Grocery store’. We are very familiar with lines like ‘Pack 200 grams lintel’ or ‘1 liter milk sachet’, ‘2 kgs of detergent’ etc.
Over the period of time, these values have been intertwined in our lives such that we hardly ever realize that these were given to us by someone that too, a few hundred years ago. A similar practice of this is also seen in the building construction industry. The entire industry operates on standard values of materials right from the point where the material is sourced or extracted in its raw form to its final display on the warehouse racks.
The use of ‘standard’ for the sake of easy management of goods, etc., have largely impacted the design practices of this industry. The design largely is dominated by the standard sizes of the materials available in the market rather than it being the other way round. We usually obtain materials in their natural form and have the skill to craft the materials according to our requirements. However, this doesn’t seem to be the way followed by the industry or in the design process at large.
One of the methods can also be of developing unique systems using the standard element values for example:
a) Weaving through Geometry and Natural Systems
The Bamboo Basket: The bamboo basket is formed through the weaving of standard size cut bamboo strips. The idea here is creating a unified stable form by using another stable form processed through fragmentation to form a stable form. The weaves can also be of various kinds through experimentation. The tools here used also then start playing an important role in this system.
While weaving a bamboo basket, the hand becomes the tool here. The tightening of the thread, the weaving directed by the hand creates a scaled orthogonal weaving. The rigor needs to be generated by the hand which works as a tool to create the scaled weaving of the bamboo basket. Basically, in craft, the material teaches the craft using the hand as a tool.
bb) Understanding structural systems through Nature
One can observe and learn how to generate a structure from a leaf.
Through these learnings, the design process started by working out a portal whose truss would be inspired from the palm trees and the truss itself would allow openings for ventilation and roof geometry, etc.
We further tried to add 3-dimensionality to the 2d portal where we started placing vertical timber members at specific distances with MS bars holding them at intervals to form a sturdy column. At around the vertical end of the column, four members acting as beams would come out and form a geometry similar to the canopy of a tree.
Many such columns get placed and form a network roof by connecting the members of the canopy.
The detailed section shows how the entire joinery at the node takes place:
(Section plot)
· The steel cleats are screwed to the wood column
· The steel plates are welded to the cleats
· The steel pieces between the slant wooden members are bolter together and this steel piece gets welded back to the steel plate.
Using this column as a module along with the thought of creating a network roof, the program for this pavilion is a café seating space where the spaces between the columns by themselves start creating degrees of openness ranging from intimate cubicles to bigger dining which accommodate larger masses altogether.
Learnings through Discussion:
When you look at a palm tree more closely, you can densify the structure through its geometry. Each element will allow the other element to grow. Having derived the geometry from a palm tree, the arrangement is that of an organic structure. Since it was a low-density structure, connecting two or more modules and also connecting it to the ground with steel cables will help in making the structure stable. Idea of staggering becomes important when multiple branches are staggered with more gaps in between. We need to elementalize the approach of working while weaving the structure.
Reflections:
The discussions emerged a whole new lot of reflections where the most important one seemed to be ‘One must learn to grow a building and not build a building’. We should always try to elementalize the approach of working as it is one of the better methods that will help generate newer systems. These newer systems get generated through constant experimentation of bringing together smaller elements and seeing their possibilities.
While doing so, it is important that this experimentation is in the format of physical models to understand the material possibilities and constraints, the load transfer, the weaker nodes which open doors to create newer joinery details, etc.
One must know the characteristics of a material to make its use to the fullest
E.g., Timber has the characteristics and quality to allow creation of horizontal beams and vertical columns. However, concrete owns the possibility to be sculpted or poured and casted into various interesting forms. But today, concrete is used to make beams and columns which was a primary characteristic of timber and not concrete. The standards of the building material industry here, thus dominate the forms.
All in all, there needs to be constant experimentation in order to derive unique building systems that get generated through various elements rather than it being a direct approach using the already available standard values.
Project By:
Neha Dalvi
Dishita Galchat
Urmi Bhanushali
Rajvi Shah
Vanshita Purwar
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