Advanced timber construction has been a topic of great interest to the architecture and building industry due to its versatility and sustainable performance (carbon sequestration, renewability of resources, and so on.) Conventional light timber frame construction relies on redundant studs and an abundance of “dumb” fasteners (nails.) Current research focuses on mass-timber construction using glue-laminated beams and cross-laminated timber systems; however, both of these systems depend on sophisticated manufacturing facilities and require significant amounts of adhesives. FLOCK explores an alternative post-tensioned system to support a free-standing timber wall using no adhesives, no fasteners, and relatively simple fabrication techniques. By utilizing the advanced geometric controls afforded by parametric software and standard production of repeated components, the project achieves formal complexity via simple means.
The project also challenges the expectation that the combination of advanced design computation and digital fabrication results in projects with built with fine tolerance and high precision. Instead, FLOCK is a low-resolution construction designed with high-precision software. The inherent looseness of the system permits the use of average quality materials and yields an unexpected lack of control and the scale of the individual part.
FLOCK was designed as the inaugural installation in the Little Gallery in Omaha, Nebraska and was accompanied by MOD's Soft Stones.
Photographs by Colin Conces.
Partial support provided by the University of Nebraska College of Architecture.
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