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KERBYNYC

YEAR:Summer 2015

SIZE:26′ x 10′ x 8′

LOCATION:Governors Island, NY

TEAM:Jordan Meerdink, Shalini Amin, Max Hartman, Nutchanun Boontassaro, Julien Gonzales, Tayna Griffiths, Nicole Mater, Jasmine Ho, Fangcheng Fei

 

KerbyNYC is a collapsible pavilion that uses kerf cut plywood as flexible construction material that can be applied like a skin to a structural framework. While the initial project brief required a built pavilion, we were also interested in designing a flat pack structure that could be quickly moved, assembled, and disassembled in a matter of hours. We considered how a standard construction material, birch plywood, could be re-manipulated to behave in different ways. The system that we ultimately developed has the potential to be applied to projects of many different shapes and scales.

Initial experiments with prototypes showed us that patterns cut through wood can produce a flexible joint. After much material testing we came up with a pattern that combined the right amount of stability, flexibility, and durability. With a kerfing pattern developed, we further optimized the design for rapid fabrication on a CNC mill. The shape was conceived as two interlocking shells generating a path between them. Visibility and pace of the viewer change as one moves through the structure. The basic form, generated in 3DS Max, is a doubly curved surface that is panelized and unrolled as flat sheets for fabrication. The plywood sheet behaves like a fabric, folding and stretching with little structural strength. However, once the panels are joined to ribs the entire assembly becomes a rigid modular wall system.

KerbyNYC was CNC milled from 22 sheets of plywood and is uses plywood exclusively in its construction. It was first assembled at Columbia University,then was later disassembled and moved to a new site on Governors Island. A room is created by the interaction of the two shells where occupants can sit and slow their pace. Users of the space move from a set of external benches on the project tail, through an entrance to the central space, and then leave through the second entrance. KerbyNYC rethinks the possibilities of a standard building material and uses it to create a fun organic form that is warm and exciting.

PROJECT INFO

YEAR: Summer 2015

SIZE: 26' x 10' x 8'

LOCATION: Governors Island, NY

KerbyNYC is a collapsible pavilion that uses kerf cut plywood as flexible construction material that can be applied like a skin to a structural framework. While the initial project brief required a built pavilion, we were also interested in designing a flat pack structure that could be quickly moved, assembled, and disassembled in a matter of hours. We considered how a standard construction material, birch plywood, could be re-manipulated to behave in different ways. The system that we ultimately developed has the potential to be applied to projects of many different shapes and scales.

Initial experiments with prototypes showed us that patterns cut through wood can produce a flexible joint. After much material testing we came up with a pattern that combined the right amount of stability, flexibility, and durability. With a kerfing pattern developed, we further optimized the design for rapid fabrication on a CNC mill. The shape was conceived as two interlocking shells generating a path between them. Visibility and pace of the viewer change as one moves through the structure. The basic form, generated in 3DS Max, is a doubly curved surface that is panelized and unrolled as flat sheets for fabrication. The plywood sheet behaves like a fabric, folding and stretching with little structural strength. However, once the panels are joined to ribs the entire assembly becomes a rigid modular wall system.

KerbyNYC was CNC milled from 22 sheets of plywood and is uses plywood exclusively in its construction. It was first assembled at Columbia University,then was later disassembled and moved to a new site on Governors Island. A room is created by the interaction of the two shells where occupants can sit and slow their pace. Users of the space move from a set of external benches on the project tail, through an entrance to the central space, and then leave through the second entrance. KerbyNYC rethinks the possibilities of a standard building material and uses it to create a fun organic form that is warm and exciting.