MakMax Australia and LAVA Green Void for Sydney Customs House

Architect: LAVA.
Design Engineer, Fabrication & Construction: MakMax Australia.
Client: Sydney Customs House.
3D Photographer: Peter Murphy.

Sydney Customs House has rolled out the green carpet to unveil a unique addition to its architectural history. It has been given an ultra-modern edge with the a futuristic yet organic 3D structure known as the "Green Void," the latest collaboration between MakMax and Chris Bosse of LAVA.

The lightweight Lycra sculpture hovers within the Customs House atrium, taking in Café Sydney's top floor position stretching to the model of Sydney incased in the glass floor at ground level. The translucent fabric allows ample amounts of sunlight through from the atrium some 5 floors above creating a surreal experience as the surroundings take on a lime green glow. At night the structure is illuminated to take on the look of lava bubbling up from a volcano.

MakMax and Chris Bosse have previously worked on projects such as the Moet and Chandon Marquee and POL Oxygen stand but nothing could compare to this most recent collaboration. "This is the most ambitious Lycra structure we have ever attempted," says Daniel Cook MakMax Sales & Marketing Manager. Being a heritage listed building many challenges were faced in the design process. "We had to create a surface floating in space, supported by a heritage listed façade which we were not allowed to permanently anchor to, as well as support a fixed fabric edge that was not excessively heavy," Daniel explained. "The end result is a credit to the engineering design, patterning and fabrication process."

The project shows a new way of digital workflow, generating space out of light weight material in an extremely short time. The computer-model feeds directly into the finite element software for generation of true fabric form which marries with the manufacturing process.

Lycra has been given new life with applications such as custom designed fabrics That stretch the possibilities of modern architecture. "The fabric is a standard 80% Nylon / 20% Lycra which is sourced from a manufacturer traditionally to dealing with dancewear manufacturers," Daniel said.

With sustainability being at the forefront of every architect's design concept MakMax has been leading the way with bespoke tensile membrane structures and use of minimal materials. The total fabric weighs a mere 45kilograms and is stretched over 12% past its original size to create its final shape. The use of such fabric allows it to be folded and fit inside a sports bag, yet has enough elasticity to fill a volume of 160 cubic metres. The total surface area is 233 square metres. Minimal amounts of Aluminium and hardware were a necessity to enhance the fabrics natural curvature. "The fabric is supported by only five rings; intricate patterns limited by the 1.5metre fabric roll width create the structures form. The complete structure including the Aluminium edges weighs 210 Kilograms," Daniel continued.

The form was taken from an architectural model developed by LAVA. Utilizing force density shaping and elastic analysis the final shape was found to complement ring supports. Cutting patterns were developed through scribing geodesics through the structure at strategic locations and flattening using an energy method more able to handle the highly curved surface. "The riggers dubbed the structure 'Shrek's ears' which is a great example of digital media being translated into fabric design," Daniel explains.

This towering structure oozes charisma and was embraced by the public at its launch Wednesday night. The Green Void will remain on display until June 2009.