Parametric Photo V-Carve for Variable Surfaces (2020)
article⁄Parametric Photo V-Carve for Variable Surfaces (2020)
abstract⁄This research project was part of the design and construction of the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers MEL at the University of Virginia UVA. The MEL was dedicated to an estimated 4,000 enslaved persons who worked at UVA between 1817 and 1865. The 80footdiameter memorial is a tapered toroidal shape composed of 75 stone blocks. This project demonstrates how computational design tools along with robotic digital fabrication can be used to achieve unique social and experiential effects in an architectural application. The memorial’s design was informed by an extensive community engagement process that clarified the importance of including a visual representation of enslaved people on the memorial. With this input, the eyes of Isabella Gibbons were selected to be used as a symbolic representation of triumph on the outer wall of the memorial. The MEL project could not rely solely on prior methods or existing software applications to design and fabricate this portrait due to four particularities of the project material, geometry, representation, and scale. To address these challenges, the MEL design team employed an interdisciplinary collaborative process to develop an innovative parametric design technique parametric photo Vcarve. This technique allowed the MEL design team to render a largescale photorealistic portrait into stone. This project demonstrates how the synthesis of artistic motivations, computational design, and robotic digital fabrication can develop unique expressions that shape personal and cultural experiences.
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| Year |
2020 |
| Authors |
Kim, Namjoo; Otitigbe, Eto; Shannon, Caroline; Smith, Brian; Seyedahmadian, Alireza; Howeler, Eric; Yoon, J. Meejin; Marshall, Durham; Durham, James. |
| Issue |
ACADIA 2020: Distributed Proximities / Volume I: Technical Papers |
| Pages |
484-493. |
| Library link |
N/A |
| Entry filename |
parametric-photo-v-carve-variable-surfaces |
