design and digital fabrication
Surface, Screen & Structure is a digital fabrication course within the Technology Sequence at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University. This course focuses on the design and digital fabrication of stainless steel, panelized cladding systems. These systems will be designed for the New Inc building, a museum-led incubator and co-working space, located directly adjacent to the New Museum on the Bowery. Utilizing the simple masonry façade of the New Inc building as our canvas, this course challenges the students to develop a comprehensive cladding strategy in response to the diverse architectural fabric developing along the Bowery and the complex program within the incubator itself. The cladding systems will be designed to perform as functional shading, ornamental expression and graphic branding, while engaging with the city at multiple scales. Students are challenged to design thoughtful solutions that spatially and functionally resolve their concepts within a strict set of intrinsic and extrinsic constraints. These constraints include but are not limited to: light transmittance, structural loading, thermal
Throughout the semester students will meet with professionals in the fields of architectural cladding, structural engineering, lighting design, rain screen manufacturing and metal fabricators in order to further refine their designs. Students will build two iterative, full-scale prototypes from 20 gauge stainless steel sheet, allowing for an unparalleled opportunity to experiment, learn and modify. Each prototype will be tested for material, tectonic and design failures, combining hands-on learning with physical optimization. All fabrication will be done with Maloya Laser and their 4000 watt laser cutter in conjunction with GSAPP’s digital fabrication lab. Students will have the opportunity to learn and work directly with Maloya Laser’s President, Reto Hug, and their CAD/CAM fabrication experts.
This course is generously sponsored by and in collaboration with Maloya.
HEX Prototype and Infill Panel Options
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Surface, Screen & Structure 
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