{"id":372,"date":"2014-02-24T01:43:14","date_gmt":"2014-02-24T01:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/graphicdisplayusa.com\/blog\/?p=372"},"modified":"2020-02-11T23:43:50","modified_gmt":"2020-02-11T23:43:50","slug":"dibond-helps-students-bend-rules-architectural-exhibit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/3acompositesusa.com\/blog\/dibond-helps-students-bend-rules-architectural-exhibit\/","title":{"rendered":"Dibond Helps Students Bend The Rules In Architectural Exhibit"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Graduate students were \u201cBending the Rules\u201d in a recent exhibit at the Pratt Institute\u2019s School of Architecture<\/a> in Brooklyn, N.Y., with four full-scale architectural design pieces fabricated with Dibond aluminum composite material (ACM).<\/p>\n

The \u201cBending the Rules\u201d exhibit \u2013 displayed Jan. 30 through Feb. 14 in the Hazel and Robert H. Siegel Gallery in Higgins Hall \u2013 was the culmination of students\u2019 work in the fall 2013 \u201cScripting and Form\u201d seminar in the Pratt Institute\u2019s Graduate Architecture and Urban Design (GAUD) program.<\/p>\n

Students worked in teams of three to create four large-scale sculptural pavilions each measuring approximately 20-by- 30 feet by 20-feet tall and entitled: \u201cGen-Z: Faceted + Furious,\u201d \u201cBi-Lamina: Peeling Back the Curtain,\u201d \u201cAlluminatis: Hexadeca\u201d and \u201cDisplay Facets: Folding Lights.\u201d<\/p>\n

The seminar \u2013 taught by Robert Cervellione, visiting professor and coordinator of digital instructors, Pratt Institute GAUD \u2013 focused on the use of computer-based parametric design tools to model and simulate material behavior, specifically adaptive foldable structures. The design and conception of each project blended computational design tools as well as traditional techniques of paper folding.<\/p>\n

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\n\u201cBy utilizing advanced computational design tools, it allowed for complex fold and cut patterns to be generated and simulated at large scales in order to predict real-world behaviors,\u201d said Cervellione, who has taught this seminar for the past three years utilizing Bentley GenerativeComponents software.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ability to streamline the whole building material fabrication process is a very hot topic by both architectural academic researchers and real-world engineering firms,\u201d said Cervellione. \u201cWe\u2019re moving to a 100 percent digital design process.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Pratt architectural students may expect to incorporate Alucobond aluminum composite in their future professional building designs, the heavy-duty building product was not a practical choice for construction of these architectural sculptures. So, Dibond \u2013 Alucobond\u2019s lighter-weight graphic display sister product \u2013 stepped in.<\/p>\n

Dibond graphic display board is a rigid, durable aluminum composite material consisting of two pre-painted sheets of 0.012-inch aluminum bonded to a solid polyethylene core \u2013 a unique composition that makes it approximately one-half the weight of aluminum. Dibond is available in the standard 2mm, 3mm and 4mm thicknesses. As the flattest panel on the market, Dibond offers a superior surface for displaying digital and screen-printed graphics. Dibond won\u2019t bow or oil can. And, Dibond products offer significant cost savings, ease of fabrication and rigidity when compared to other aluminum laminates.<\/p>\n

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\n\u201cDibond was the perfect product to create these designs because it fabricated quickly and was easy to handle,\u201d said Cervellione. \u201cWe wanted to demonstrate how building facades can be constructed with advanced fabrication techniques. The (scored) material is delivered to the jobsite flat on pallets and then is folded in place.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to computer design, seminar students completed all material fabrication and installation for the \u201cBending the Rules\u201d exhibit. Before fabricating the large-scale pieces, students constructed lower-cost models with 10 sheets of 48-inch by 96-inch Sintra\u00ae graphic display board by 3A Composites USA in the Bright White color and 3mm thickness.<\/p>\n

(Sintra is a lightweight-yet-rigid expanded PVC material that is easy to fabricate with wood or foam board techniques. It cuts cleanly, creating smooth edges; and, it can be direct printed and accept vinyl graphics as well as be heat formed and laminated to other materials.)<\/p>\n

The large-scale \u201cBending the Rules\u201d pieces were created from 110 4-by-8 foot 4mm thick Dibond panels in the black facer\/black core\/black facer color configuration. Students cut the Dibond with a CNC router into 220 1-by-1 meter panels that were scored for folding into the installation designs. The 1-by-1 meter Dibond panels were joined together with 3M\u2122 VHB\u2122 Tape \u2013 another real-world building construction product.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents were able to get their hands on real-world materials,\u201d said Cervellione. \u201cAlucobond is one of the most popular building materials. As architects, we never get our hands dirty. This project gave students the opportunity to see just how easy it is to fabricate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cervellione described the Dibond panels in the black over white color configuration as \u201cfantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe finished designs are amazing,\u201d said Cervellione. \u201cYou can see both sides of the Dibond panels in the exhibit pieces. You get a really different look depending on which side was scored. We got two unique looks out of these panels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cervellione said the \u201cBending the Rules\u201d exhibit is of interest not only to building design and construction professionals but to members of the general public.<\/p>\n

\u201cArchitects and engineers are interested to see how we are moving building skin and fabrication techniques beyond current standards through computer design, which also is freeing our designs,\u201d said Cervellione. \u201cWhile this exhibit was definitely focused on how architectural design can deploy these techniques with buildings, architecture is also sculptural art. We\u2019re not just manipulating the performance of a building. We\u2019re expressing ourselves through art at the building scale. We want to understand this material both structurally and aesthetically.\u201d<\/p>\n