With Drawn Wall, we are further pursuing a line of research that generates shapes using a strategy of variable forming. The technique we propose replaces a traditional vacuum-forming mold with an automated pulley and cable system. Polystyrene sheets are heated in the vacuum-former until they begin to sag. Once they are heated sufficiently, four automated pulleys draw elongated legs out of the plastic sheet. Each pulley has a360 degree range of freedom in plan and can also move down, away from the material plane. This generates the new shape of the unit and gives significant control and freedom to the designer. Once formed, the units are stacked, back-to-back, and feet-to-feet, alternately. They are held together in tension through an internal cable system that pulls them tight.
Because each module is shaped differently, the overall form of the wall emerges as a curved, elliptical cone. Openings in the wall vary along its length allowing for strategically deployed areas of porosity and density that respond to views, breezes, or other conditions on the site.
SALA’s HiLo Lab and HouMinn Practice.