MORPH
Same Geometry, Different Purpose
MORPH: A pavilion that uses the manipulation of triangles to serve programmatic elements and respond to the daylight environment. Oriented the triangle one way, it could be served as a bench; enlarge the same triangle, it becomes a table; rotate it 170 degrees, and it becomes a shading device. Instead of only using a space frame as a supporting structure, Trilateral Twist highlights the triangular quality of a space frame system and uses it as the driving force in its formal design.
The pavilion is situated at the grass patch right beside the cross intersection in the cut. As students always occupy the area next to the Fence, we decided to place the pavilion there in order to provide more seating and work space to the community. Rather than using a space frame system solely for structural integrity, the triangularity of the space frame itself insinuates form. Through parametrically experimenting and altering the orientation, rotation, and size of triangular sections along a spline, the strip-like pavilion shapeshifts into different forms that serve different programmatic elements. The sizing of the triangle also determines the size of the panel, thus by increasing the size of the triangles that faces along the sun path, it can provide most efficient shading for the majority of the day while still allowing small seams of light to penetrate through.
Construction System
The pavilion is divided into two primary layers, the space frame and the panels. The space frame construction is simple: using 1 ¼” PVC pipes as connectors and laminated 5” x 5” x 3” wood blocks as joints to connect the PVC pipes. The blocks act as nodes and are placed in every vertices of the pavilion. The panels consist of a fabric material, which are then connected with hooks in each corner. These hooks are then drilled into the laminated block; this allows the fabric material to stretch and maintain its tensile strength. Finally, the two specific sized wooden panels are drilled into both ends of the pavilion, which functions as bench and table.
Digital Fabrication
A module of the seating area of the pavilion was fabricated at one to one scale using 5”x5”x3” wood blocks as joints and PVC pipes as connecting frames. The holes in which the pipes are inserted are fabricated using the 4-axis CNC mill using the rotation and hole pocketing operations. The blocks would be rotated at an angle in which the insertion is parallel to the bit of the mill to accurately fabricate the joints. At the same time, we also explored the drill press in the woodshop as an alternative and more manual approach. The new fabrication method is no different from the previous except for the fact that we would need to rotate the blocks manually. As such, we created jigs to lean the blocks on to achieve the desired angles. Finally, the pipes are inserted into the joints to create an accurate module of the pavilion.
