BENDSCAPE results from a two-semester work by the students in Machining PRAXIS in Architecture I & II, at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna’s Institute of Architecture.

In this study, the students began learning the processes of 3-axis machining and developed their expertise by experimenting with wood bending techniques based on subtraction. During this process, the students became familiar with the advantages and difficulties of machining. They learned how to handle CAM operations and how to employ CNC machines to manufacture the desired piece.

The students experimented on self-developed patterns of slit or KERF cuts to bend a given piece of 15 mm plywood. In the course of this experiment, the students learnt about the geometrical problems of developing a pattern for machining, restrictions of executing certain cut operations, machinic limitations, pros and cons of specific operations, material constraints and the diverging character of various types of wood vis a vis same machining operations. This experience guided them through the task for the second semester.

In the second semester, the students learned the basics of robotic machining in the beginning and, followed up by experimenting with more special techniques of making. Simultaneously, they were assigned to pick from the first-semester prototypes and to develop a full-scale pavilion. The design and the realization of the installation involved several steps including developing a task-specific design and a fabrication tool. The students at first employed their first semester’ knowledge together with the 3D Scans of some of the prototypes they had made then, to investigate the possible design options. They then developed a primary grasshopper script to simulate the behaviour of some of the test pieces through which gathered enough knowledge to be able to simulate a bent element with a very low tolerance.

The course instructor then developed a plugin (based on C#) to show the students the advantages of coding when operating at such a level. The plugin provided more accuracy to the simulation and performed better in computation. The development of this tool depended on the knowledge that the students had gained through material behaviour tests and machining experiments during the two semesters of work.

The plugin also allowed the students to turn off fabrication detail calculations during the design process and still be one click away from the production stage. This grasshopper plugin produces all the necessary information, toolpaths and the RAPID code needed for the manufacturing of the pavilion. A tool which served the project from design to manufacturing and assembly.

The BENDSCAPE Pavilion is made of 60 elements in total which are made of 29 unique typologies. Manufactured and assembled in a week with collaborative work of 12 students + 1 instructor at the Institute of Architecture at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna.

Course Leader: Afshin Koupaei, Univ-. Ass. MArch.

STUDENTS : C.H. CHEN, L. BRAUNGER, N. NEURURER, C. BRAML, L. MACKOWSKI, T. FABINI, O. KACSO, W. ZHOU, P. MALÁSEK, , Z. TAN, J. HE, T. ROBLEK

UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED ARTS IN VIENNA

INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTURE

DIGITAL DESIGN AND PRODUCTION LAB