The objective: exploit performative capacity of plywood by manipulating the surface through subtractive techniques.The strategy: 1/16 inch thick birch plywood was selected for its superior bendability. Two lines of inquiry: variations in direction, depth, and spacing of cuts into the material, with a goal towards affecting flexibility, and creating “flaps” that would open away from the surface as a result of their rigidity, admiting light and air. An unexpected benefit: beautiful modulation of light and shade.Toolpaths were drawn “manually” in Rhino and then assigned in MasterCAM.One of the major challenges in this project was that the thin material pushed the limits of the CNC routers tolerance, resulting in several disastrous protoypes, as well as an unintentional, but lovely filligreed-lattice effect in one iteration.Group Project with one partner.
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