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Organic SLO_GEN table - made with HI-MACS®
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Organic SLO_GEN table - made with HI-MACS®
Type
The challenge of joining structural engineering with the
solid surface thermoforming
Organic SLO_GEN table -
made with HI-MACS® - amazes visitors at Gensler offices The
SLO_Gen communal table is the new
focal point of Gensler’s Los Angeles
office
lobby, and the result of an innovative partnership between Gensler and the
Department
of Architecture at the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at Cal
Poly,
San Luis Obispo (California).
In
order to achieve the stunning and outstanding curves, HI-MACS® turned out to be the key material thanks to its
thermoforming properties, resistance, seamless joints and the smooth surface,
which convinced the architects and engineers from the first meeting.
In
2011, professors Jim Doerfler and Mark Cabrinha, co-directors of Cal
Poly’s Digital Fabrication Lab (“d[Fab]Lab”) reached out to Gensler L.A. design
director Shawn Gehle to create a fully-virtualized studio focused on digital
fabrication and online collaboration tools.
In
response, Gehle authored a unique, 10-week seminar that would allow students
access to the firm’s design talent and explore form-finding and digital
fabrication techniques through the design of a custom furniture piece.
The
design brief simply outlined a piece that could accommodate standing and
sitting space for guests and storage for the firm’s design publications. The
piece would need to be site-specific and prominently featured in Gensler’s new
downtown Los Angeles office.
A virtual 3D prototype
Beyond
an initial in-person meeting, Cal Poly students and d[Fab]Lab faculty met with
Gensler advisors via the online collaboration tool GoToMeeting to conduct
weekly seminar discussions and review the team’s progress. In addition to
bridging the 300-mile gap between designers in Los Angeles and students and
faculty in San Luis Obispo, this method allowed professional consultants and
materials specialists to participate easily, while exposing students to the
kind of virtual collaboration that is prevalent in professional practice today.
Maintaining a focus on a digital workflow, the team’s design and documentation
process also was conducted virtually, substituting a 3-D model as the
deliverable for fabrication in lieu of a traditional set of 2-D drawings.
Over
the course of the seminar, the original concepts of three students were
developed and refined using the 3-D modeling software Rhino and T-Splines, and
virtually reviewed and critiqued weekly with Gensler’s design staff.
Structural
engineers at Buro Happold and HI-MACS®
solid surfacing material provider LG Hausys joined multiple discussions to
examine schemes and offer insight on constructability, cost and structural
integrity. A final, in-person meeting in Los Angeles focused on the review of
physical prototypes and material samples, and enabled the team to address the
challenges of forming fiberglass vs. Solid Surface HI-MACS® as the table’s predominant surface material.
Inspired by the design and opportunity, LG Hausys became a partner in the
project, providing technical expertise and support for their HI-MACS® solid
surface material, which proved to be the ideal material for achieving the
table’s draped surface. LG Hausys also introduced the team to the capabilities
of R.D. Wing Co. Inc., the Seattle-based fabrication specialists who ultimately
constructed and delivered the table’s design.
The SLO_Gen table was recently installed in the main
entry of Gensler Los Angeles, where its dramatic profile continues to lure
pedestrians in from the street and prompt conversation on its origin. Thanks to
the HI-MACS® outstanding capacity to be combined with other materials, the
combination between the white colour of the solid surface with the natural Wood
creates a soft and elegant contrast.
For more information,
check out the video about this project
PROJECT INFORMATION
Project: SLO_GEN table
Location: Gensler Los Angeles, Los Angeles (California, USA)
Design: Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Department of Architecture,
College of Architecture and Environmental Design www.arch.calpoly.edu
Faculty: Jim Doerfler, Mark Cabrinha
Students:
Ben Hait-Campbell, Cory Walker, Kegan Charles Flanderka
Gensler
Los Angeles www.gensler.com
Engineering: Buro Happold: Garrett Jones, Gary Lau, Greg Otto, Liz
Mahlow www.burohappold.com
Fabrication: R.D. Wing Co.,
Inc. www.rdwing.com
Material: HI-MACS® www.himacs.eu
Photo credits: ©Gensler Los Angeles
solid surface thermoforming
Organic SLO_GEN table -
made with HI-MACS® - amazes visitors at Gensler offices The
SLO_Gen communal table is the new
focal point of Gensler’s Los Angeles
office
lobby, and the result of an innovative partnership between Gensler and the
Department
of Architecture at the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at Cal
Poly,
San Luis Obispo (California).
In
order to achieve the stunning and outstanding curves, HI-MACS® turned out to be the key material thanks to its
thermoforming properties, resistance, seamless joints and the smooth surface,
which convinced the architects and engineers from the first meeting.
In
2011, professors Jim Doerfler and Mark Cabrinha, co-directors of Cal
Poly’s Digital Fabrication Lab (“d[Fab]Lab”) reached out to Gensler L.A. design
director Shawn Gehle to create a fully-virtualized studio focused on digital
fabrication and online collaboration tools.
In
response, Gehle authored a unique, 10-week seminar that would allow students
access to the firm’s design talent and explore form-finding and digital
fabrication techniques through the design of a custom furniture piece.
The
design brief simply outlined a piece that could accommodate standing and
sitting space for guests and storage for the firm’s design publications. The
piece would need to be site-specific and prominently featured in Gensler’s new
downtown Los Angeles office.
A virtual 3D prototype
Beyond
an initial in-person meeting, Cal Poly students and d[Fab]Lab faculty met with
Gensler advisors via the online collaboration tool GoToMeeting to conduct
weekly seminar discussions and review the team’s progress. In addition to
bridging the 300-mile gap between designers in Los Angeles and students and
faculty in San Luis Obispo, this method allowed professional consultants and
materials specialists to participate easily, while exposing students to the
kind of virtual collaboration that is prevalent in professional practice today.
Maintaining a focus on a digital workflow, the team’s design and documentation
process also was conducted virtually, substituting a 3-D model as the
deliverable for fabrication in lieu of a traditional set of 2-D drawings.
Over
the course of the seminar, the original concepts of three students were
developed and refined using the 3-D modeling software Rhino and T-Splines, and
virtually reviewed and critiqued weekly with Gensler’s design staff.
Structural
engineers at Buro Happold and HI-MACS®
solid surfacing material provider LG Hausys joined multiple discussions to
examine schemes and offer insight on constructability, cost and structural
integrity. A final, in-person meeting in Los Angeles focused on the review of
physical prototypes and material samples, and enabled the team to address the
challenges of forming fiberglass vs. Solid Surface HI-MACS® as the table’s predominant surface material.
Inspired by the design and opportunity, LG Hausys became a partner in the
project, providing technical expertise and support for their HI-MACS® solid
surface material, which proved to be the ideal material for achieving the
table’s draped surface. LG Hausys also introduced the team to the capabilities
of R.D. Wing Co. Inc., the Seattle-based fabrication specialists who ultimately
constructed and delivered the table’s design.
The SLO_Gen table was recently installed in the main
entry of Gensler Los Angeles, where its dramatic profile continues to lure
pedestrians in from the street and prompt conversation on its origin. Thanks to
the HI-MACS® outstanding capacity to be combined with other materials, the
combination between the white colour of the solid surface with the natural Wood
creates a soft and elegant contrast.
For more information,
check out the video about this project
PROJECT INFORMATION
Project: SLO_GEN table
Location: Gensler Los Angeles, Los Angeles (California, USA)
Design: Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Department of Architecture,
College of Architecture and Environmental Design www.arch.calpoly.edu
Faculty: Jim Doerfler, Mark Cabrinha
Students:
Ben Hait-Campbell, Cory Walker, Kegan Charles Flanderka
Gensler
Los Angeles www.gensler.com
Engineering: Buro Happold: Garrett Jones, Gary Lau, Greg Otto, Liz
Mahlow www.burohappold.com
Fabrication: R.D. Wing Co.,
Inc. www.rdwing.com
Material: HI-MACS® www.himacs.eu
Photo credits: ©Gensler Los Angeles
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