TERRA gets it’s name from the raw earth that is used as the main building material to 3D print the housing modules. As the brief was about archologies, I set out to bring the self-sufficient, countryside lifestyle into East London. The eco village consists of four 10-storey high communities which each are centred around a digester which reuses the waste to create the power on site as well as bio-gas for fuel. Each housing unit has it’s own greenhouse made from 3d printed bioplastic surrounding their home to grown their own food and there are also external allotments and composting facilities on site.
The ground floor is designed for commercial use favouring sustainable businesses and vegan cafes for example.The proposal is situated in East London at Marian Place where there are 4 disused gas holders currently. Terra is replacing the outdated, unsustainable forms of supplying London with gas with a new, green alternative energy.The benefits of the 3D printing construction process is that buildings can be built in days rather than months. Printing on site reduces transportation costs and emissions as well as there being 30% less construction waste produced.Another benefit of 3D printing is that the furniture can be built-in, and free-from geometries can be achieved. Openings such as windows and doors are designed to suit the 3D printing overhang limits.
‘Growth From The Ger’ seeks to analyse the vernacular structure of the traditional nomad home and use parametric thinking to create a deployable structure that can grow by modular.
‘Ger’ meaning ‘home’ is a Mongolian word which describes the portable dwelling. Commonly known as a ‘yurt’, a Turkish word, the yurt offered a sustainable lifestyle for the nomadic tribes of the steppes of Central Asia. It allowed nomads to migrate seasonally, catering to their livestock, water access and in relation to the status of wars/conflicts. An ancient structure, it has developed in material and joinery, however the concept prominently remaining the same.
Inspiration
Growing up in London, I fell in love with the transportable home when I first visited Mongolia at the age of 17. The symmetrical framework and circulating walls create a calm and peaceful environment. In the winter it keeps the cold out and in the summer keeps the heat out. The traditional understanding of placement and ways of living within it, which seems similar to a place of worship, builds upon the concept of respect towards life and its offerings.
Understanding the beauty of the lifestyle, I also understand the struggles that come with it and with these in mind, I wanted to explore ways of solving it whilst keeping the positives of the lifestyle it offers.
Pros: Deployable, transportable, timber, vernacular, can be assembled and dissembled by one family, can vary in size/easily scaleable depending on user, low maintenance, sustainable, autonomous.
Cons: Difficult to sustain singularly, not water proof, no privacy, no separation of space, low ceiling height, can’t attach gers together, low levels of security.
A digital render produced on Rhino, showing the steps of building a ger in elevation.
Lattice Analysis and Testing
To understand the possibilities of the lattice wall, I created a 1:20 plywood model using 1mm fishing wire as the joinery. This created various circular spirals and curves. The loose fit of the wire within the holes of timber pieces allowed such curves to happen and created an expanding body. The expansion and flexible joinery allows it to cover a wider space in relation to the amount of material used.
A series of photos showing the expansion and various curves of the lattice model.
I created the same latticework at 1:2 scale to see if the same curvature was created.
1:2 plywood model testing flexible joinery and curvature at large scale.
Locking the curve to create a habitable space. I did this by changing the types of joints in different parts of the structure.
A series of images showing the deployment of the structure and locked into place.
To create a smoother and more beautiful curve I change the baton to a dowel and densify the structure.
Model photo of curve in full expansion.
To lock the lattice curve in expansion I extrude legs that meet the ground and tie together.
Model photo of curve in full expansion and locked in place.
Manufacturing and assembly
Diagram of the construction sequence of model.A series of photos showing 1:2 scale model being deployed.1:2 prototype made from 18mmx18mm square plywood sticks joined together by twine.
The model made from sheet plywood cost approximately £30 and took one working day to make for one person. However, a more sustainable material and process needed to be considered as the process of making plywood contradicted this.
Photo showing the modular growth of the module. Models made from 18x18mm square sticks of softwood timber and joined together with twine.
This model can be made by one person with the use of a wood workshop. The timber pieces were bought at 18mm x 95mm x 4200mm, 13 pieces of these were enough to make three modules, roughly costing £170 in total. Each module takes approximately 5 hours to construct, this involves the tying of the measured length twine joints. The structure is lightweight and each module is easily transportable by one person.
Growth from the ger: modular growth
Digital render of modules arrayed together at angles, produced on Grasshopper and Rhino. Perspective view.Digital render of modules arrayed together at angles, produced on Grasshopper and Rhino. Perspective view.Digital render of modules arrayed together at angles, produced on Grasshopper and Rhino. Plan view.Digital render of modules arrayed together at angles, produced on Grasshopper and Rhino. Diagram showing the plan functions of each space and modules.
It was DS10’s Final crit yesterday which concludes our BRIEF03:TEMPLE. Wonderful day with a wide spectrum of temples showing the concerns and fascinations of a group of twenty-one architectural students in 2013. A myriad of political and spiritual statements on today’s society helped by parametric design tools and physical modelling. Here is the list of all the themes that emerged in the third term:
Temple to Love and Lust in Brighton, U.K. – by Georgia-Rose Collard-Watson
Temple to Revolution in Tahrir Square, Egypt – by Luka Kreze
Temple to Making in the City of London, U.K. – by Michael Clarke
Temple to Vibrations on Mount Neru, Tanzania – by Dhiren Pattel
Temple to Crowdfunding the City of London, U.K. – by Sarah Shuttleworth
Temple to Infinity in the Mojave Desert, U.S.A – by Andrei Jippa
Temple to Augmented Reality near Oxford Street, London, U.K. – by Mark Simpson
Temple to Gin, near Kings Cross, London, U.K. – by George Guest
Temple to Permaculture, in Totness, U.K. – by Philp Hurrel
Temple to Bees, in the Olympic Park, London, U.K. – by Jake Alsop
Temple against Electro-Magnetic Radiations, in Snowdonia National Park, U.K. – by Chris Ingram
Temple against Pre-Packaged Meat, in Smithfield Market, London, U.K. – by Alex Woolgar
Temple to Bio-Polymers, in Thelford, U.K. – by Marilu Valente
Temple against Consumerism, in Selfridges, London, U.K. – by Jessica Beagleman
Temple to Online Knowledge,in the Sillicon Roundabour, London, U.K. – by Tim Clare
Temple to the Awareness of Death, in Mexico – by Thanasis Korras
Temple of Illusion, in South Bank, London, U.K.- by Daniel Dodds
Temple to Water on the Thames, London, U.K. – by William Garforth-Bless
Temple to Atheism in Lower Lea Valley Park, London, U.K. – by Emma Whitehead
Temple to Light in Elephant and Castle, London, U.K. – by Josh Haywood
Temple to Sun Worshipin the Wyndham Council Estate, Camberwell London, U.K. – by Natasha Coutts
Thank you very much to all our external critiques: William Firebrace, Jeanne Sillett, Harri Lewis and Jack Munro. Two weeks more to go until the hand-in of portfolios (28th May). Here are couple pictures:
Luka Kreze’s thorned tensegrity architecture against dictatorship on Tahrir Square – A manual to start a revolution.
Jake Alsop’s wax-generated temple for Bees
Chris Ingram’s Slate Community, away from electro-magnetic radiation
Marilu Valente’s Digital/Physical experiement on elastic bio-polymer
Marilu Valente’s diagramming of the bio-polymer stretch
Emma’s ‘Agora’ – forum for Sunday assembly – atheist congregation
Sarah Shuttleworth’s Temple to crowdfunding – Kickstarter HQ
Crowdfunded structure for Sarah Shuttleworth’s roof
Jessica Beagleman’s “Atelier” on the roof of Selfridges is made of sewed pieces of plywood/
William Garforth-Bless’Temple to Water using a thin fiber glass shell and floating components on the Thames
Philip Hurrell’s Temple to the Transition Movement in Totness, Devon
Daniel Dodds’ abstract for the Temple of Illustion
Tim Clare’s temple to online knowledge is an irregular gridshell following learning spaces
The story of a reciprocal structure and a temple to making by Michael Clarke
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