SOL | SURFACE

[in collaboration with CIEE Barcelona students: Eitan Albukrek- Tulane University, Curtis Budd - California Polytechnic State University]

SITE // Barceloneta beach - Barcelona, Spain
PROGRAM // temporal chiringuito, or beach bar
SEMESTER // fall 2019
- STUDIO ADVISOR // Rodrigo Aguirre, Institut d'Arquitectura Avançada de Catalunya
- FABRICATION ADVISOR // Ricardo Mayor, Institut d'Arquitectura Avançada de Catalunya

PROJECT STATEMENT

SOL|SURFACE posits fabric as an aesthetic, performative informant toward the reinterpretation of the beach bar, or chiringuito. The task of the studio was to choose a material and move forward with experimentation in hopes that the seemingly non-architectural aspects of the material would reveal itself and inform the form of the proposal.

The chosen material to experiment with was a polyester-spandex mix fabric. Through experimenting with this material, it is possible to exploit the tensile properties of the fabric through manufacturing a formfinding apparatus and simulating the physics of the fabric by using the kangaroo physics simulator for Rhino. The material experiments began with an exploration using fabric, sticks, and cardboard as materials for rough study modelling. The initial models showed that fabric can also be hardened using a 1:1 ratio of glue and water which allowed us to develop three formmaking apparatuses. The formbox was developed using laser cut acrylic and an organized grid of points on all sides except the bottom. Fabric was then simulated in kangaroo to a desired form. Afterwards, the fabric was soaked in the glue and then pulled to the predetermined points in the box. The attachment points to the fabric were also determined using kangaroo and allowed us to generate interesting forms that exploited the unusual curves, folds, and tensility the fabric showed. Results from the experiments were documented as five sets of three models, each experimenting with a different variable.

Moving into the project development phase, the most interesting results were produced from model sets C and D. In these sets, fabric was chosen using variable attachment points and points in the box. An additional piece of fabric was also added to one trial in set D. Using these methodologies, form was developed based on the same tactics but on the scale of the chiringuito. Through following a similar methodology, fabric was simulated on a large scale and a net-like panelization was developed for ease of construction and transportation. The resultant beach bar is therefore a surface of tensed panels connected to each other via kerfing and a flexible fabric, allowing further deformation, tensility, and performance as shaded modules.