Incubator Pavilion Sustainable Design Projects from UTS
DesignBUILD RAW 2017 set the stage for a young roster of sustainable design projects at the recently held DesignBUILD Expo 2017 May 3-5 at the International Convention Centre (ICC). The Sydney debut of DesignBUILD RAW was participated by students from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), the University of Sydney, and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).
What is DesignBUILD RAW?
DesignBUILD RAW is a collaborative effort with the leading architecture and design universities in Australia, in which students showcase sustainable design projects to the top industry professionals. Its conception was driven by DesignBUILD's pursuit to foster building design inspiration among the next generation of experts in the industry.
Sustainable Design Projects at DesignBUILD RAW 2017
DesignBUILD RAW 2017 invited students to compete in developing sustainable design projects for the feature Incubator stand, the two seminar theatres, and the breakout areas around the show floor. The submitted tenders must be established on the core themes of DesignBUILD: collaboration, compliance, innovation and sustainability. Through DesignBUILD RAW, students were given the opportunity to experience professional work in the industry, with real-life client briefing scenarios, supplier consultation and budget constraints.
The winning team for the design of the Incubator stand hails from UTS. The entry featured the integration of plywood panels, folded to establish structural balance and integrity. The idea sparked from a summer elective for the Master of Architecture students, in which they brainstormed on origami, the Japanese art of folding paper.
Paula Vigeant, the subject coordinator at UTS and DesignBUILD spokesperson, expressed that "there's a lot of interest" in origami since paper has no structural capacity. The students analysed the structural and dynamic properties of foldable materials to lay the foundation for a stable structural system.
Vigeant explained, "When you fold materials, you're actually doing something that's more materially efficient in design, and also conserving materials . . . [and] energy. It's more environmentally friendly."
The UTS Incubator stand design incorporates internally reinforcing structural columns, cleverly laid out within the system. The walls of the system are flexible, with screw rods, bolted cover elements, and triangular inserts shoring them up.
In choosing plywood as a building material, the team carried out a process of elimination to develop a concept until it could be prototyped. Vigeant added, "There's a lot of parametric modelling involved as well . . . [such as] the bending of the shelves, [and] the way that those slits are cut into the timber to make it bend. You have to get the radiuses right in order for it to bend without snapping."
Reflecting on DesignBUILD RAW 2017, Vigeant shared, "When you actually push them [the students] into the world of joining stuff together, you get a completely different appreciation of how architecture becomes a building."
Stay tuned for updates on DesignBUILD Expo 2018! Visit the official website of DesignBUILD at www.designbuildexpo.com.au to learn more.
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