Gusto: Rationalizing Computational Masonry Design (2020)
article⁄Gusto: Rationalizing Computational Masonry Design (2020)
abstract⁄Gusto 501 is a multilevel Infill Building on the footprint of an old car garage. Surrounded by an overpass and former factories, the restaurant and event spaces take the form of a ‘Hyper garage’ as a nod to its urban context. The interior is punctuated with standard terracotta blocks formed to create an intricate play of shadows during the day and embedded with LEDs to provide atmospheric illumination at night. The client’s vision, our narrative, and the program demanded an innovative use of the primal material terracotta. The scale of the project required the use of 3,700 blocks. Within the array wrapped around a 50ft tall interior volume, each block needed to be formed and sequenced uniquely to maintain structural integrity and interface with building systems, and express the sculptural qualities our team had designed. Standard approaches to the masonry could not achieve the effects our team was striving for we had to develop our groundup process to manufacture and install masscustomized masonry. The design process involved an algorithmic approach to a series of cuts and geometric manipulations to the blocks that allowed for nearendless combinationsconfigurations to create a dynamic interior facade system. Partisans, partnering with a terracotta block manufacturer, a local mason, and a masonry engineer, pursued simplifying production using wire cutter systems. Digital and physical mockups were then used to create a robust library of parameterized design criteria that optimized corbelling, grout thickness, weight, and fabrication complexity. Working sets of drawings were automated through a fully integrated BIM model, simplifying and speeding up installation. The challenge of marrying these processes with the physical realities of installation required another level of collaboration that included the masons themselves and the electricians who would eventually combine lighting systems into the sculpted block array.
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| Year |
2020 |
| Authors |
Josephson, Alex; Friedman, Jonathan; Salance, Benjamin; Vasyliv, Ivan; Melnichuk, Tim. |
| Issue |
ACADIA 2020: Distributed Proximities / Volume II: Projects |
| Pages |
154-159 |
| Library link |
N/A |
| Entry filename |
gusto-rationalizing-computational-masonry-design |
