The research involved automated procedures to deform sheet metal into a variety of desired shapes. The specific process for producing the forms in this documentation centered around the use of an adapted CNC toolpath generator. This operation was used to turn a parametrically generated surface to produce a series of toolpaths for a robotic arm to trace. The arm used a rounded metal bit to deform sheet metal into an approximation of the modeled surface. This process became more complex with the addition of a pegboard to support the material from underneath so that a more consistent deformation could be achieved. The study is a testament to both the potential for automated digital fabrication and the unique materiality of sheet steel. It is our hope that the future of this research will demonstrate a new methodology for utilizing steel in architecture, pushing the boundaries for what is possible both aesthetically and structurally in the built environment.
Metabolism Past and Future →
Images from a Utopian Past
Initially presented as "Images from a Utopian Past: A Contextualization of the Metabolist Movement"-- Metabolism was a branch of Japanese Modernism that infused biological notions of systematic growth into architecture and later the urban fabric in the form of, first monolithic superstructures, and later urban planning.